Yes!

But this is the last travelogue post, and it’s filled with castle-y goodness. (Not to mention the traditional exotic bathroom photo.)

We hadn’t even made it Scotland yet in my previous Britain ’07 entry. So buckle up because today we’re going to cover a lot of ground before we board the plane back to the Colonies.

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If not for friends living in Norwich, we would have had no reason to go there.

It’s not really near any of the other “must-see” spots, like London, Stratford, York, or Edinburgh. It’s off to the right side, in a bulge of the country, about twenty-five miles from the east coast.

But Norwich has everything! (That is apparently the city’s motto … but it’s true.)

Not only does it have plenty of ancient history – which you want when you’re visiting Britain – it’s full of modern shops and restaurants and museums. You can visit the 900-year-old Norman castle and the gorgeous cathedral, then spend a couple of hours in the fantastic new children’s museum, Origins, where you can lift flaps and push buttons and learn all kinds of cool things about the region’s history.

Norwich has everything … except the crowds and traffic and tourists that you will find in more heavily-touristed towns. I don’t know about you, but when I’m an American tourist … I prefer not to be awash in other American tourists. Too many of us in one place is overpowering.

The broad Norfolk accent accompanies you like a friendly guide as you navigate the city. It’s a writer’s delight, puzzling and intricate. (See my attempt at the vernacular and its accompanying translation at the end of this entry.)

But what made Norwich a must-see stop for us was the presence of my old friends R & M, and their two daughters.

This was what greeted us when we arrived at R & M’s house in Norwich:

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“Now pulling into the station … the Post-Vacation Blues Train, terminating at Slumpington, with stops in Daily Grind, Messy House, and Seething. (Heh. There really is a Seething in Norwich.) All aboard!”

It took more than a week to show up, but the P-V Blues Train arrived today with a vengeance.

Am I really not on vacation anymore? I’m back to cooking and cleaning and going to work like I was never gone?!

Is that really all the time I got to spend with my friends? Writing about Wendy really drove home how little time I had with her. And I haven’t even told you about R and M, and their two girls yet. But I miss them desperately, too!

Two Mondays ago I woke up in Scarborough. It’s on the eastern coast of England. Yes, I think it’s the one in “Scarborough Fair.”

I woke up really cranky that day, because I didn’t ever get to sleep.

I exaggerate.

I got about four hours of sleep.

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:-D

Wendy had the dorm room next to me when I lived in England for a year.

She had spiky blonde hair, wore short black boots with lots of buckles, and had posters of people I’d never heard of on her bedroom walls –Sisters of Mercy, Joy Division, and Siouxsie and the Banshees. She was little but cool.

I had big hair, wore colored leggings, and had posters of Sting and U2 on my walls.

Yeah.

That’s how I rolled.

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Thunderstorms in Newark sent our plane to Cleveland.

dotificus! I was in your state for a couple of hours! And onegrapeshy! And sbennetwealer! And … is anyone else an Ohioan?

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Through England -

Seething
Spixworth
Blickling
Beccles

Creake South
Crimplesham
Pinchbeck
Bicker

Icklingham
Ugthorpe
Foggathorpe
Grinkle

Shiney Row
Spennymoor
Amble
Flodden

( And into Scotland )