Day 34: Last day in London

After getting back late last evening from Witham to Ryan's place at Clapham Common, we realise that's it is effectively our last full day in London. 

OMG I need another suitcase to take back the things I've bought and collected on my trip. My backpack suddenly seems so small. 

In London we stayed with Ryan and his roommates - Richie, Ali, Graham And Al Bano. These guys are super fun, awesome cooks, with strict house rules and a home that was so spic and span that it could put the girls hostel I live in back in Mumbai to shame. 

Well on the morning of our last day, Richie took us to a local eatery where we has a super sumptuous English breakfast. After breakfast Richie headed to work while Ryan, Tan and I went to Oxford Circus to do some last minute shopping. Primark, Hamleys, Sainsbury's were all on the list. By evening we had so much to stuff to take back home. 

A not so quite dinner then followed at Ryan's place. Nostalgia was creeping up. I was happy to go home but I did not want this trip to end EVER.

Day 33: A flowery day at Chelmsford

Another day in the county of Essex. We take the train to Chelmford. Violet says we must see this beautiful garden here – Hyde Hall. Problem is we don’t know how to get there. But no worries. We get exploring. At the local bus station we learn that the bus has already left and the next one is in 3 hours. The only to get there now is a taxi.

I think the word taxi had Tanaya and my mind doing mental calculations on how broke we were going to be after this ride, how many more meals would we have to skip… with a heavy heart we decided to cab it out. The route was scenic but I think I was more concerned about the meter ticking.

 Hyde Hall is in the middle of nowhere. On top of a hillock you can miss it, if you are not a local. This 360 acre of land is home to almost all plants on the planet. Flowers the size of your face to exotic trees whose names you had only heard before, can be found in this amazing haven.



Check out my photos below, it shows the garden in full bloom and what you can expect when you visit RHS Garden, Hyde Hall.

After spending all morning and afternoon at the gardens we hitchhike back into Chelmsford. A young gentleman was kind enough to give us a drop back after which we spent some time at High Chelmer Shopping Centre.

Soon it was time to head back to Witham, pack our bags, thank Violet & Bruno for opening their home to us and taking us around and head back to London. It’s almost the end of the trip. I can feel our feet dragging. Not because of the heavy bags on our shoulders, but due to the realization that this fantastic trip will soon come to an end.

Day 32: Witham - Colchester - Clacton-on-Sea

We get up to an extremely quiet house. I tip toe downstairs not wanting to wake up anyone and find Violet already up. I then woke up Tan and proceeded to help Violet spruce up some breakfast. Not before long we were out walking the streets of Witham to find a bus to take us to Colchester.

Colchester is a historical army town. Remember the rhyme Old King Cole, well I presume it originated here.  The major of the day we spent visiting the Colchester Castle Museum , a beautiful park adjoining it and another museum whose name I cannot recollect. After a lazy lunch by the pond feeding the ducks we walked about the town till we stopped at a local bar for some drinks.


Tada! Let me introduce you to the most fantastic drink on this planet. PIMMS!  This drink is mind-blowing. I loved it and I suggested when you in England please walk into a bar and demand it! Do check this link for more information.

By now it was early evening, time to head back to Witham as Bruno, Violet’s husband, was taking us out for dinner. Freshened up we head out to Clacton-on-Sea. Yeah we are going to the beachside. Lovely! Clactopn-on-Sea was closed for the tourist off season. But the beach in twilight is so perfect. We dined at a restaurant at Clacton Pier. The food was delicious.



A light rain ended the evening as we drove back. All in all it was a wonderful day in the English countryside.

Day 31: Getting to Witham

Witham was not on our travel plans. But having come to England I had promised to meet a much cherished friend, who also was my next door neighbor in Goa. Violet is a real nice person and we experienced first-hand what a lovely host she is. From cooking us a sumptuous welcome to Witham dinner to taking us around the county of Essex, meeting Violet was so much fun.

Getting to Witham was quite an eventful journey. From Glasgow we had to get into London first as we were supposed to meet Violet’s husband Bruno there. However were some train lines down and most of the trains were not plying. We were almost going to give up and proceed to Clapham Common (Ryan’s place) when the indicators signaled a train to Witham. A mad dash to grab a seat saw us in an even stuffed up train. The situation did not improve all along the journey. At Witham station things did not improve, thankfully we met up with Bruno who was able to take us to his home.

We were hungry and like I said before Violet had prepared a sumptuous dinner which we all gobbled up in silence. It was quite late in the evening and after catching up on the years we missed we called it a night. Tomorrow Violet has promised to take us around Witham and the county of Essex.

By the way I must mention Violet has a cozy and amazing home with a lovely garden

Day 30: Galivanting in Glasgow!

It was time to say goodbye to Edinburgh and head to Glasgow. A short train ride and we at Glasgow Central. Like all railway stations in Europe this one too is beautiful. Luckily our hotel was not too far from the station and in a few minutes we managed to locate it.

While at Glasgow we stayed at the Alexander Thompson Hotel on Argyle Street. The hotel is rather cramped, with six floors just rising vertically without any thought of expanding horizontally, but since we were here for just a night it did not matter. However what mattered was the uncontrolled excitement of an Indian origin housekeeping staff on spotting two Indians girls. She told us that she was from Punjab and asked if we were on vacation but man was she glad to see us. Abroad any Indian you spot becomes family… grrr!

Anyway the room at Alexander Thompson was functional and modern. There is no restaurant but breakfast was served in the dining hall. Like I mentioned before Glasgow was a day trip. So after dumping our bags and refreshing a bit at the hotel, it was time to hit the streets. Let me tell you one thing. Glasgow is pretty, very pretty with flowers around every bend.

First on the cards - the Necropolis. We could take the local transport to get there, but considering how we tend to miss the stops we decided to walk it out. It did not look far off on the map. Following the map we made our way to the Necropolis, and found it rather easily.


The Necropolis http://www.glasgownecropolis.org is a Victorian cemetery in Glasgow, situated on a hill and the resting place of over 50,000 people. The trek up hill is beautiful. To get to the main entrance one has to cross a bridge, known as the ‘Bridge of Sighs’ as it was part of the route of funeral processions. The cemetery's paths meander uphill towards the summit, where a dominating statue of John Knox was erected in 1825. You will find tombs designed by famous personalities, namely Alexander Thomson, John Bryce and David Hamilton. Though we were walking in a cemetery, which is weird, you cannot help but feel at peace here. The tombs are so pretty and peaceful and the view from the summit is amazing. It’s almost as if all the souls are looking down protecting the city of Glasgow.

After spending a major of our afternoon roaming the Necropolis, we then headed to Glasgow Cathedral or St Mungo's Cathedral as it is commonly known as. The cathedral is simply striking built in Victorian style. The Pastor invited us for the service and it being Sunday Tan forced me to go for mass. The service was perfect and heavenly with its piped organ choir. After the service there was a small gathering, where we thanked the pastor for the wonderful service and making two Indians girls feel at ease in a foreign country.
Since photography is prohibited in the Cathedral, we could not click any pictures of this beautiful place. Do click here to see this magnificent structure.

From here we lazed back our way into town, exploring the streets of Glasgow with my Lonely Planet Europe on a shoestring guidebook. We spent the rest of the evening walking about Buchanan Street, Argyle Street, and Sauchiehall Street. Oh and they have Primark here too, my favorite store in the whole world. Click here to familiarize yourself with the streets of Glasgow.

The evening ended with dinner at McDonald’s, the cheapest place to dine since we were at the end of our trip and short on cash. Yum but not exactly yum.