Sunday Lunch, Good-Bye Visits and The Voyage Home

Incredibly, I have already been back at work for (almost) a whole week. It was busy enough without being actually stressful. But this post is about our last day in Ripon and the trip home.

On Sunday (04.08.2024), it rained a little in the morning, but had stopped by the time we walked the short distance to Mary's for our good-bye visit. This time, we didn't sit in her garden, as it would have still been a little damp and chilly for her. 

Writing Saturday's blog post at our foldaway dining table

We then walked back to the cottage in time for my sister-in-law to pick us up for lunch at another garden centre, Tates this time, with their restaurant The Olive Tree. Just like the one we went to on the Saturday a week before, this one was dog-friendly, and so Ruby joined us along with my sister-in-law's husband, their daughter and her boyfriend (we'd been visiting them in York Friday a week ago).

Our meal was good, but even better was that we got to see the entire family before our departure the next day.

Back at the cottage around 4:00 pm, we followed our well established pattern of a rest and tea/coffee afterwards. I went on a good-bye walk through Ripon but cut it short when a slight drizzle made it less pleasant.

Our landlady came over for a good-bye chat. We agreed that we are definitely going for a day out together again next year; this year's day at Bolton Abbey had been so nice.

For our evening meal, we used up what we had left in the kitchen, and there was still enough left for my sister to prepare sandwiches for us for tomorrow.

Packing was done quickly, as it always is when we leave - we don't have to decide what to take. I looked at the clock when I started (10:00 pm) and finished (10:15 pm). Of course, the next morning I was to add my toiletries and the few bits and bobs that always remain out until the last minute, such as the mobile phone charger.

Monday (05.08.2024) meant an early start for us, but we both woke up before the alarm.

My sister-in-law arrived just before 7:30 to take us to Harrogate train station. Of course we could get there on the 36 bus, but it is just so much nicer that way. Once again, our landlord and landlady were around for one last hug and good-bye.

You never know how much traffic you have to contend with, but we arrived at the station early enough for us to catch one train before the one we had planned. This turned out to be a good move, since the next one was running a little late. Not really a problem, but I rather wait for my connection than having to run across busy Leeds station, dragging my big suitcase along.

On the Azuma train from Leeds to London

The train from Leeds to London was on time, and there we did everything in reverse we had done two weeks ago: Cross the street from King's Cross to St. Pancras, go through border control and check-in for the Eurostar, wait around 1 1/2 hours in a very crowded area (using some of that time to buy sandwiches for the next part of the trip) and eventually board the Eurostar.

Unfortunately, our seats were right behind a wall panel; looking out of the window was nearly impossible. Whoever designs the interior of a train should be made to sit there themselves for several hours! Since the train was fully booked, changing seats wasn't possible.

Of course, something like that is very much a First World problem, and we simply resorted to reading and playing games on our ipads instead of watching the French countryside pass by.

In Paris, we had again plenty of time, with less than 15 minutes needed for the walk from Gare du Nord to Gare de l'Est. It always takes a long time for the platform to be announced, and so we stood in the large main hall of the station along with hundreds of people, eyes glued to the monitors where it seemed that the platforms were shown for all trains apart from ours.

Click to enlarge; you can see our TGV to Stuttgart listed on the left monitor.

The beautiful window of one of the halls at Gare du l'Est

Eventually, the magic number appeared, and we crossed the full length of the stations - ours was the very last platform.

The TGV was full, too, and for a while it seemed that we'd have to deal with a very high noise level - folks were very chatty, and one group near us were talking loudly across the aisle to each other. By this stage, I started to feel a bit irritable (noise does that to me), and was therefore really glad when they all calmed down after a while.

Our seats were on the upper floor of the train, and by a window this time :-)

Do NOT click to enlarge, unless you want a close-up of my wrinkly neck. I should start calling myself Turtle instead of Meks.

Once we'd arrived in Stuttgart, we didn't have a long wait, and the last leg of the journey to Ludwigsburg takes only around 10 minutes anway.

My sister and I hugged good-bye at the station and parted ways. With a sigh of relief, I shut the door to my flat from the inside shortly after 9:30 pm.

It had been a long day; a trouble-free journey, just very long. Our Yorkshire Holiday had come to an end.