(When two girls are on a roll- You’re in for a long yet fun read)
Good things always start without a plan. They hit you amidst the routine of your life and you never expect magic was just around the corner. So, for me- It all started with a video call one night with our friends in Scotland who wanted to discuss about a life-turning decision they had to take. When pondered over the conversation later, we all woke up next morning feeling closer to each other and expressed our sentiments in our group chat. In the flow of emotions, I asked the girl out on a date. Never expected it to materialise, nonetheless never also expected it wouldn’t really happen.
Next day, she was looking up for places we could go. She called me during lunch to discuss on a suitable weekend and before we knew, we had booked our stay in York, a historic walled city in North Yorkshire, England located at the confluence of river Ouse and Foss. The city was founded by the Romans in 71 AD. Ancient charm never fades, isn’t it?
It was 4 days till the D-Day!!
As per the plan, she was going to take the train from Edinburgh and I was to drive. Drive nearly 240 miles. Wohoo- a first time for many things- first long self-drive. The husband was confident that I would be able to easily pull it off (rather drive it off 😉).
I did not let my mind ponder over it until the day of my travel. Everyone at my work was concerned as I was leaving straight after work. My manager was kind (and worried!) that he allowed me to leave early.
A vortex of emotions hit me- and hit me hard. The butterflies had found their way in to my gut and I was feeling confident one minute and nervous the other. Nevertheless, I shot off at the decided time, put up the online radio for Hindi songs, put up the navigation, had a hydrating drink and a couple of Mars bars within my reach, perfect air con temperature, said a short prayer and started the ignition- Vrrrooommm!!!!!
The scene was straight out of a movie- 5 hours of quality Me-time while on the wheels. Perfect time to think, ponder and wonder. Amidst scores of thoughts and its sub trails- one conversation with the husband kept lingering on. During one of our late-night talks while checking out the route to York, he asked me out of the blue that what would happen if I meet with some untoward incident on the road? Instantly, I told, “I will give you a call”. He smiled, not sure in agreement, for my innocence or for the dedication I have for him, but he said, OK. My self-pondering revealed to me that the first thing I would really do will be to call him in an unfortunate event. One never knows how little things can make you feel loved. The urge to spend even the best weekend with your friend loses its true flavour if you don’t have anyone to share it with. Being blessed with someone to go back to, to have someone to go home to, someone who would just drop in and rescue you from any situation you land yourself in, in any part of the world – I guess this is love!
It was a safe drive. While I reached on time, the long and arduous wait for my friend, Swara (this is how she prefers to be addressed) began. Her train was late so I drove to the nearest Sainsbury’s and got us a pizza. Just when pizza was ready, it was time for me to leave for the station to pick up Swara. We ended up having dinner at 11:30 pm. We were so thrilled just because we had made it to the trip that we had to watch our loud, harsh voices so as not to wake up other guests.
With no plan in our heads, we took the bus to town centre next morning where a lovely lady who we bumped into on the bus stop, guided us about the buses and things to do in the city. As soon as we stepped outside the bus, I announced let’s start with walking along the City Wall. After a quick coffee and muffin break at a beautiful local café, we approached the nearest start point for the wall.
Conversations flowing endlessly – some insightful, some routine, some crazy, some experiences, and some philosophical. Conversations with no agenda. We were just us – 2 late 20’s (okay, just 30’s) women being themselves, with no restrictions, no guards, just free-spirited women. I believe this is that age when you have gained enough experience to understand your own mistakes and still have left enough of lifetime to work on them.
To find a soulmate in this phase who vibes at the same frequency as yours is a prayer heard.
We reached the Castle Museum which is next to the Clifford’s Tower, the river Ouse and the Rose Theatre. We decided to do the cruise or boat ride on that day and leave the museum for Sunday as it was forecasted to rain on Sunday.
As we walked through the square of the Rose Theatre grounds which had a few food and drink stalls, we came across the Box Office. They were running Shakespeare’s theatres and there was one show that evening. The cheapest tickets were within our budget and we decided to go for it. We got the tickets and now had a long afternoon before the show.
We went up to the river but both cruise and boats had a long queue and we didn’t want to spend that long waiting for a boat whilst we could do a lot of other things in its stead. We made our way to the famous old street, the Shambles which served as an inspiration for the Diagon Alley in Harry Potter movie series. We walked around the street and market, bought ourselves a Harry Potter souvenir, bought gifts for our husbands, enjoyed some great street shows until it was time for us to head for the theatre to queue up for best place.
The theatre square was buzzing with people. A theatre actor suddenly showed up and involved the guests with some game in which Swara and I volunteered which is way against our normal selves. We soon queued up and entered the theatre, only to be left dumbfounded. We had got ourselves standing tickets for a 3 hour show after walking the whole town since morning (roughly 13 kms)!
It was an open area to stand surrounded by stables for seating all around and above us. We named it the Hall of Shame! So, we found us a good spot right in the centre and in the front. We saw people sitting down on floor and so did we. Within 5 minutes, a young, lovely looking girl walked up to a group sitting next to us, asked them to stand up as the theatre was going to be full and threw a glance at us. Urgh!
Swara suggested we take a spot closer to the door if we want to leave half way. We moved to our new spot and waited for the show. For the first half an hour to one hour, we couldn’t understand much of what was going on. Tiredness was pouring in and I was afraid Swara would give up. But the story picked up quickly enough to stop at an interesting junction for interval. We rested during the interval and got back up for the second half. Towards the end of it, the script and actors had engrossed us deeply. We were jumping, clapping and dancing at the rhythm the actors and the musicians were throwing at us.
Later, we came to know that the Midsummer Night’s Dream is the most popular comedy written by William Shakespeare in 1595-96 portraying the events surrounding the marriage of Theseus, Duke of Athens, to Hippolyta, the former queen of the Amazons. Really looking forward to reading it now.
We called the day by watching The Polar Express movie from the DVD collection of our hosts. The next morning started with black coffee and toasted bread with butter, thanks to Swara.
We took the car to the town centre as we had checked out and wanted to leave straight from there. To our delightful surprise, it was a good partially sunny day with a bit more wind. Which meant we could do the boat ride!!! Being early, there was no queue and we got ourselves a self-driven motor boat within 5 minutes, putting together all the cash we had between us. It turned out to be one of the best adventures of our lives.
Following a delicious brunch at a local restaurant, we walked alongside the river Ouse having some endearing conversations that I am sure we both benefitted from. We got different outlook to things and phases that we experience in life. Connecting with each other in a beautiful, refreshing and happening city, helped us connect to our own selves. Having found a deeper way in and our souls cherished, we embarked on our respective return journeys. My journey was filled with thoughts of the incredible memories of past 2 days and an undying longing to meet my husband and pour out my experiences to him.
A home filled with warmth is I guess the end for every holiday and adventure.
Visit my page for the pictures- I’m sure you would not like to miss it. See them here – https://www.instagram.com/himalayaswithin/
Written by: Chahna D. | Edited by: Milauni T.
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