Anniversary weekend to Ely

11 October 2007 ~ 12:07

We set off early as our train was due to leave London at 11.45. It was a nice journey through picturesque countryside (despite having to switch to a bus for part of the journey due to the oft-quoted �engineering works.� We took a taxi from Ely Station to our hotel, a Travelodge slightly out of town. As soon as we�d dropped our things off we set out to walk into the town centre, an approximately 25 minute walk.

It was cooler than I�d banked on and I was wearing just a sleeveless top, cord jacket and summer sandals. The weather forecast had said it would be a warm, sunny weekend. In fact it was cloudy and looked as if it might rain any minute.

Ely is not far from Cambridge, the famous university town (we�d changed trains there, so at long last Mark could say he�d been to the namesake of the equally famous MA Cambridge which neighbours his home city of Watertown, MA). It is small but famous for its magnificent cathedral as well as the fact that in the Middle Ages, it was an �island� surrounded by marshland, and sometimes referred to as �the isle of Ely.� In other words it was in a good defensive position.

We were both pretty hungry and thirsty so we headed to The Lamb Hotel for lunch. I was interested in this hotel as I�d considered booking it. It is a nice place, but the Travelodge was about half the price. Mark downed a couple of pints of beer, a tuna sandwich and some chips (fries). I downed a diet coke, a cheese sandwich and helped him out with his chips.

Then it was time to walk around and explore the small town. We visited the cathedral first, where I lit a candle for Star�s late sister, Honey. I took some photos of Mark and the dragon girls Tiny & Bridgey outside the cathedral. We found a cute shop that sold all sorts of animally stuff including Angelina Ballerina bags and Angelina Ballerina �My Room� signs with different girls� names on. I bought some squirrel Christmas wrapping paper which also had bunnies and owls on it. Upstairs was a tea shop where we had a drink and a piece of cake. We walked around some more of the town � there were some very interesting shops as well as the usual chain stores. Then we headed back to the hotel.

As we were pretty full from lunch and the stuff from the tea shop, we decided to skip dinner and bought some snacks like instant noodles from the garage/convenience store in the little complex by the hotel (there was also a �Little Chef� restaurant). We settled down for the night, had a bath together and watched a couple of shows, Robin Hood and Strictly Come Dancing (the UK�s �Dancing with the Stars�). Mark gave me my anniversary card and present which was a �Sugar & Spice� figurine of a rat that had overindulged, entitled �Chocoholic.� I had already given him his, and we�d had cards from the girls, my mum, Mark�s parents and sister. Mark had bought a bottle of wine but the hotel didn�t have a corkscrew so he had to go to the little mini mart and buy one.

Unfortunately, just as we were about to watch one of our favourite shows �Casualty,� Mark began to feel unwell. I confess, at first I thought he might have been putting it on, but when I saw him rush to the bathroom and vomit loads of times, I knew he was really ill. However having been sick, he felt a lot better. So we were able to settle down and cuddle up. Mark means the world to me and I know I mean the world to him. The last 9 years have been, in the main part, a blast, and I hope to enjoy years and years more together having fun and just being there for each other. Love you, Hon.



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