As Far as Time can Tell

Layah had the one Schokkokuss left from the box (which I kindly let her have, although forced her to have might be how she described it). The long few minutes that followed was in silence as I crept around the house quite similarly to searching a dark haunted house not knowing when the jump would happen……stress kick if you ask me. I reached the top steps embracing for what was to come (dramatic music please),

Woe, woe! For I am least of those joyed and do but conquer the most bought and splendid Emperor of shades thus liken’d to the overcasting clouds, uncolour’d and plain to compare with what was so splendid a warmth, now stir’d deep into the thick concoction of time. So to farewell fine colour and merriment; pack’d and hid in boards of card within boards of cup ’til on wings of ancient angels flies 322 days hence and all glory sees once again sweet light of yonder day. TL;DR: We packed away the Christmas decorations 🙁

To kick off the new year running on what could only have been about 5 hours sleep due to the continuous noise of popping fireworks, we found ourselves again back at the airport preparing for take-off not knowing what adventures these next few days would hold in England.  

Alright, if you’re already doubting the literal interpretation of the first half of the title, I shall say in my defence that so far we’ve celebrated 3 separate Christmases, decorated a total area comparable to the Taj Mahal, listened to about 120 hours of Christmas music (not including our own constant singing) and eaten 5 ½ Christmas’s worth of Christmas food…Some of that’s an exaggeration – but how something feels is often an extrapolation of the literal experience anyway so it wouldn’t be inaccurate to add “it felt like” in front of that paragraph!

Can a 3 hour train ride be made more entertaining by watching Layah struggle to open a carriage door on a train?  Yes, yes it can and if you saw it you’d all be on my side.

Stepping onto the Alena was like walking into another world in which we happened to be foreign princesses.  And so it remained for the 5 days during which we were esteemed guests on the enormous and majestic river cruise ship.

There’s nothing quite like the nostalgia of waking up in a warm bed, opening the window to crisp winter air and breathing in the reality that you’re in a different world from where you normally find yourself.  In our case that happens to be right smack bang in the shadow of a castle.  Magical!

Day One started as any good day should: with a good breakfast.  The easy-going morning was quieter than normal as the anticipation mounted, but it only really struck me when we were invited to commence boarding procedures in our little tin shed of an airport that we were well and truly leaving. 

In the beginning there were 2. They were many things: Christians, humans (at least we think they were???), girls, sisters. Now they are travellers. This is their adventure…