Architecture is the thoughtful making of space.
Louis Kahn
8 Comments CherryPie on Nov 24th 2024
Case packed; we check out of the Premier Inn before our last breakfast in St Albans. We both had a senior moment in the car park; we paid the car parking fee put the bags in the car and then remembered that we were walking into town for breakfast!
We had to leave the car park and drove round the corner to re-enter the car park and were surprised find that the next entrance was to a different car park albeit part of the same building complex.
Mischief managed, we walked into town and settled on breakfast in The Street Café due to the appealing breakfast menu options. Luckily there was one table available and once seated, I perused the menu beyond the breakfast options and noticed ‘tomatoes on bruschetta with herbs and balsamic vinegar’. That is my kind of heaven for breakfast and, when it came, it was beautifully presented with the tomatoes diced and piled on the crispy toasted bruschetta with balsamic vinegar drizzled across the plate. Mr C’s ‘full English’ was equally well presented.
Before leaving town, we walked to the war memorial which we had been meaning to visit but hadn’t quite made it to. We looked at the names on the memorial to see if any of our family names were there.
We drove to the nearby De Haviland Aircraft museum, arriving just before it opened. As we queued to pay it was quite noticeable that I was the ‘token girly’.
When we arrived in the first hangar, we were greeted by one of the volunteer guides who explained the aircraft exhibits on display, the Mosquito prototype and the Horsa Glider in a corner of the hangar. The guide explained the Mosquito was constructed of wood and that layers of materials were used to strengthen the wings. The Horsa Glider was of particular interest to Mr C as his grandfather lost his life landing in the sea on one of these during the invasion of Sicily in 1943.
Mr C told the guide the story of his grandfather. The same guide caught up with Mr C when he arrived at the Horsa to share additional information about the aircraft.
We looked round the other hangars walking through a de Havilland Comet and looking at an autogyro. We were also taken into a workshop and shown the restoration process of a passenger aircraft’s wings. By this time, we were thinking of lunch and decided that the café menu options weren’t quite what we were looking for.
So, once again we perused ‘The Extra Mile’ and settled on Fred & Ginger Coffee in Kings Langley High Street. The food was delicious, my choice was toasted tomato and mozzarella of focaccia bread.
On our way home we picked up dinner items for ‘fine dining’ at chez nous.
10 Comments CherryPie on Nov 20th 2024
When I awoke after another comfortable night’s sleep Mr C presented me with a small pile of presents for my birthday. I had a lot of fun opening them to find a couple of books, a Wrendale mug (to add to our collection) and the much-anticipated expansion pack to my board game Apiary.
After a slow start we had a late breakfast in Weatherspoon’s. Their expansive breakfast menu caters for everyone. The St Albans Waterend Barn had an open fire, a lovely welcoming atmosphere and Mr C was able to indulge in a full English breakfast.
We lingered a while before mooching around Dyas and Waterstones whilst we waited for St Albans Museum and Gallery to open at 11am. The museum’s current exhibition is about prisoners and crime which we found interesting and thought provoking. The museum is housed in the former town hall, where amongst other things, an octagonal courtroom, subterranean cells and the Assembly Room can be viewed.
After our visit it was a little too early for lunch so we left the museum’s tempting food options behind, deciding instead to visit ‘The Bookshop on the Hill’ which has an adjoining café. Mr C consulted Google maps and headed in the direction of our hotel, but when we arrived, he realised that we had been walking in completely the wrong direction to where the bookshop is located. Mr C then plotted a new route which found us back at the museum where we walked a short distance down the hill to find the bookshop.
The bookshop is independent and not part of a chain which meant it was lovely to explore. We browsed the eclectic offerings with Mr C lingering a little longer than me. The bookshop is rather small so I waited outside and noticed that I had a missed called from mum. I thought she had phoned me to wish me a happy birthday so I tried to return her call only to find that her mobile phone was now switched off.
Unfortunately, the café adjoining the bookshop is not open on Tuesdays! We walked the short distance back to the museum and its tempting food options and enjoyed an ‘artisan’ toastie in the former courtroom.
We walked into the nearby Maltings shopping arcade away from the noisy streets so I could phone mum back on her home phone rather than her mobile. She was surprised to hear from me and it transpired that she had pressed the wrong button whilst trying to phone a friend to take her to a morning gathering. The arcade turned out to be not as quiet as it should have been. Whilst I was on the phone some workmen were noisily dragging some scaffolding next to where I was seated.
Next, we walked to St. Albans South Signal Box which was a longer walk than anticipated. We arrived to find that it was closed and only opens on Sunday’s. We walked back to St Albans via a different route and were drawn to revisit the Cathedral.
We had refreshments in the café first. The Cathedral had the same calming ambiance that we had experienced on the previous day. It was interesting to see the Cathedral lit in different colours as dusk descended.
After our busy day it was time to return to the hotel to chill out before dining in ‘The Ivy’ where I chose my usual dish, fishcake with crushed peas and then truffles to follow. As the evening progressed, what was a slight chilliness as we started our meal turned into a full-on cold blast from the empty side of the room.
The waiter who took our payment had already checked that the heating was turned on and working normally when the ladies on the table next to us complained that it was cold. It was only when I said that the cold air was coming from the empty part of the room that he frowned and had a light bulb moment. There was a door at the far end of that room that someone had left open by a merest sliver that no one could see. He was thankful we had solved the problem and apologetic in equal measures.
We had a nightcap in Weatherspoons, where we were able to warm up before returning to the hotel for the last sleep of our mini adventure.
10 Comments CherryPie on Nov 18th 2024
I woke up suitably refreshed after a good night’s sleep. We decided not have breakfast in the hotel restaurant; there were many other options nearby. Mr C settled on ‘Café on the Corner’ which we found was run by a community charity, helping people who have limited learning capabilities or difficulties. We had to wait a little before being served with our freshly prepared breakfast, which was not a bad thing; it was lovely to chill out and relax. I chose waffles with strawberries and maple syrup and Mr C chose scrambled egg on toast (the full English breakfast not being available on weekdays).
Feeling comfortably replete, we walked to St Albans Cathedral via the Vintry Garden, which we found to be serene and peaceful. Then, just outside the Cathedral and in another garden space, I paused to look at a paving stone with an inscription that I noticed on the pathway. When I continued walking, a local man stopped to talk with me. He told me that this garden space was new and that he hadn’t noticed the inscribed paving stone before he saw me looking at it and that now he needed to go and research the name ‘Lucas’ that was mentioned on it.
We were greeted with a warm welcome when we entered the Cathedral. The route we chose took us to the East End of the Cathedral where the Shrines of St Alban and St Amphibalus are located. This part of the Cathedral is also near to the former monastery and monk’s cemetery. This area was extremely peaceful and calming with a ‘Spiritual’ air within.
When we stepped out of that part of the Cathedral the Spiritual feeling was less pronounced as we enjoyed our walk around the rest of this amazing Cathedral.
Before leaving, we had lunch in the Cathedral Café (Abbot’s Kitchen) where we shared a Tuna Mayo Baguette. Whilst eating, I looked at the guide book that I had purchased in the shop. Mr C realised that he had completely missed one of the altars and we both realised that we had missed some of the mediaeval artworks on the stone pillars. We had walked down the side aisles and not along the central aisle to the altar.
We returned to the west end of the Cathedral and were lucky to arrive just as the paintings were being illuminated with a digital overlay. As I walked around the Cathedral several people stopped to talk with me including a local lady that said it was her special place to visit and that she was always finding something new. It was lovely to have conversations with local people who love their Cathedral.
Next, we walked through Verulamium Park to the Verulamium Museum of Roman history. Parts of the park were flooded due to recent heavy rain fall; this included our preferred route through the park back to town. Instead, we walked along a lovely street with quaint terraced rows and we were happy not to have missed seeing them.
Back in town after our long walk we enjoyed a slice of cake in Little Roma followed by a book and board game fix in Waterstones before returning to our hotel room to freshen up for dinner in L’Italiana. Before dining we ordered G&T as an aperitif in the hotel bar. This turned out to be a saga payment wise, the till had gone down!
The Italian food and experience was amazing, I chose Chicken Milanese with rosemary roast potatoes and Mr C chose steak which looked amazing. I had some Italian ice cream for dessert and Mr C chose tiramisu. We were even treated to a complimentary Limoncello after our meal.
Before returning to the hotel we had a nightcap in ‘The Saint & Sinner’, a fun themed pub which I enjoyed but Mr C was not so enamoured.
12 Comments CherryPie on Nov 16th 2024
We left neither early nor late but precisely when we meant to. The journey, although tedious, was smooth without any hitches. Along the way we took a detour to have lunch in an ‘Extra Mile’ recommended eatery. The café was located in a small Rural Shopping Yard in the quaint village of Castle Ashby. Somehow, we managed to miss part of the menu options until after we ordered! The food when it arrived was delicious and, after we were comfortably replete, we had a mooch round the deli and eclectic shops that were also in the farm yard.
On the way to the café to save time we had used Mr C’s ‘magical mystery tour’ in-car SatNav (the TomTom was set to our hotel destination). The route took us along main roads and complicated junctions before eventually arriving in the countryside. Our outward journey using TomTom navigation took us along pleasant country lanes before arriving back at the motorway for the final leg of our journey.
When we arrived in St Albans, we parked our car and headed to our hotel, The Premier Inn, to check in and enjoy a refreshing cup of tea in our room. Mr C then walked into town to explore and get his bearings. I stayed behind, choosing to chill out with a colouring book and coloured pencils.
We dined in Bar Meze which is just across the road from the Premier Inn. It is a small family run restaurant and we were warmly welcomed by the owner when we arrived. The food has Greek, Ottoman and Arabic influences. We chose a selection of dishes to share, all of which were delicious.
Before returning to the hotel for the evening we had a nightcap in the nearby Cock Inn which, unusually for a Sunday, was lively and full of atmosphere.
8 Comments CherryPie on Nov 13th 2024
Through the dancing poppies stole A breeze, most softly lulling to my soul.
John Keats
12 Comments CherryPie on Nov 10th 2024
… from a birthday adventure
or… was it just a welcome time to chill out 
12 Comments CherryPie on Nov 7th 2024
