Unashamedly Old Farty
Reykjavik. Yawn yawn, rain, wind, traffic, SUVs that have never been near a bleeding farm, let alone mountain, big roads, pretentious people and... the odd shop. After the five hour drive in the luxury romabill, my back was hardly in the best of shapes, but I did need to do my annual Debenhams run in the hope of finally getting a double duvet. Scandinavia is a strange place where lovers don't so much share a bed as stick to single ones together and each have their own sheets and covers. And still they have the highest birthrate in Europe. Perhaps there is something in this....
The car, incidentally, was most accommodating and only scared us once with a flat tyre on Saturday morning. Broken valve. Trouble was trying to find a garage to get a tyre on the Easter weekend; and we needed to come home on Monday for the midwife appointment today (Tuesday). We are still on the spiky winter deck, but the spare is a summer tyre, so it wouldn't really have done to drive the 400km home with one odd tyre.
So, Thursday morning, off we go and get to The Mall. Which is SHUT!!! Minor panic sets in. I KNOW it is Easter, but surely the shops shut Friday and Sunday and Monday, not Thursday??? No information at the Mall, no-one there, no signs about opening hours (well, apart from the saying it was open from 11am on Thursdays - just obviously not this one.) Back into town and Mall # 2 which is similarly unoccupied, but at least has a sign stating it would open at 1pm. Phew! Just on Sunday hours. FINALLY, after one year of waiting, got my double duvet. And a couple of babygros even though we said we didn't need to buy any clothes. And, believe it or not from the man who thinks a pram is "just a pram," it was hubby who got excited and wanted to buy them.
Sunday morning I rolled over and said to hubby... "I'm ready to go home now" and he looked and said he felt the same. We just want to be HOME in our little flat in our little town, lying on the sofa reading the paper. That is life. That is the most blissful thing I can imagine. And here I am. Home. At work right now, on a holiday, but never mind. Next weekend, I can find 10 minutes to lie on the sofa and read my paper ;)
24+2 and losing count.
The car, incidentally, was most accommodating and only scared us once with a flat tyre on Saturday morning. Broken valve. Trouble was trying to find a garage to get a tyre on the Easter weekend; and we needed to come home on Monday for the midwife appointment today (Tuesday). We are still on the spiky winter deck, but the spare is a summer tyre, so it wouldn't really have done to drive the 400km home with one odd tyre.
So, Thursday morning, off we go and get to The Mall. Which is SHUT!!! Minor panic sets in. I KNOW it is Easter, but surely the shops shut Friday and Sunday and Monday, not Thursday??? No information at the Mall, no-one there, no signs about opening hours (well, apart from the saying it was open from 11am on Thursdays - just obviously not this one.) Back into town and Mall # 2 which is similarly unoccupied, but at least has a sign stating it would open at 1pm. Phew! Just on Sunday hours. FINALLY, after one year of waiting, got my double duvet. And a couple of babygros even though we said we didn't need to buy any clothes. And, believe it or not from the man who thinks a pram is "just a pram," it was hubby who got excited and wanted to buy them.
Sunday morning I rolled over and said to hubby... "I'm ready to go home now" and he looked and said he felt the same. We just want to be HOME in our little flat in our little town, lying on the sofa reading the paper. That is life. That is the most blissful thing I can imagine. And here I am. Home. At work right now, on a holiday, but never mind. Next weekend, I can find 10 minutes to lie on the sofa and read my paper ;)
24+2 and losing count.
posted by ex_pat @ 7:48 PM
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