It was freezing again, and the pipes from the car washer reservoir had frozen, which meant that the windscreen was smeared with a salty crust. I put up with it until we reached Oxford when I insisted on stopping to pour some warm water over the windscreen. Thankfully, I'd had the foresight to bring a bottle to do this! However, within a few minutes, it was bad again, which made driving really horrible. If the sun had been fully out it would have been even worse!
By some stroke of luck (for us anyway) we were all halted on the A34 while the police dealt with a broken-down car. While we sat and waited, the pipes thawed out and I was able to clear the windscreen. Hooray! I have a real thing about it being absolutely clear so it was a huge relief!
We carried on and encountered heavy traffic on the M3 as we neared Winchester. I'd wanted to meet Abbie and Mike at the Park and Ride, but Mike wanted us to go to the flat. We had the hamper to deliver and once this was done, and we'd cuddled the cats, we set back off the way we'd come to the beautiful Cathedral city.
The traffic was heavy but we made it to the Park and Ride and managed to get on a bus that was waiting. It only cost us £3.50 to park the car and the return journey! The driver was a real character and kept us amused on the journey to the city centre. Once off the bus, we walked up the main street looking at all the regular market stalls lining the thoroughfare. I spotted a stall selling Australian hats made from Kangaroo skin and beckoned Keith over. He'd been looking at leather hats in Spain, but they'd all been too big, but these were perfect for him, and the one he picked looked great!
We carried on along the street to the Cathedral, which is where the traditional Christmas market is held. Along the way, we saw some lovely shops and restaurants, including a Giggling Squid. We're coming back!
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| A back shot of Keith and Aussie hat |
To get into the Christmas market we had to queue, but this moved very quickly. Mike had a bit of a strop and went off in search of some bratwurst, so just the four of us went in. It was a shame, as there were loads of food and drink stalls with mulled wine and cider, bratwurst, chestnuts, sweet almonds and all manner of foods available. The variety of stalls was huge - gifts, clothing, alcohol, wines, beers, decorations, jewellery, you name it! We even saw the same stalls as Oxford, so they obviously do a lot of trade at the Christmas markets!
Sophie, Abbie and I had mulled drinks - wine and cider - and I bought a bag of sugared almonds to share which were delicious!
Understandably, in the week before Christmas, it was heaving with people so we decided to make our way to the pub and met Mike outside the market He had bought a present for Abbie and was in a slightly better mood after having something to eat! Mike had warned me that the pub was up a steep hill, but we took it slowly and enjoyed looking in all the shops on the way.
The St James Tavern is a very cosy, pretty pub and we found our table right next to the fire. Lovely! We were all cold so this was a bonus! We had a drink and then ordered our meals. Keith and I went with Mud pies (as seen on Aldi's Next Big Thing) while Sophie, Mike and Abbie went for the shin of beef.
The food was lovely, but the portions of the beef were a bit on the small side for the price of £17.50! Our pies were delicious and we'll definitely look out for them in Aldi!
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| Mike wearing Keith's new hat |
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| And now Sophie's wearing it. It suits her so much! |
Sophie, Abbie and I managed desserts of panna cotta and apple and blackberry crumble and then reluctantly we had to leave as it was almost 4pm. Outside it was cold and we walked down to the station to get the park and ride bus back to the car park. The first two buses were completely full but they were running every ten minutes so we hoped the next one would have space. Luckily, it did otherwise we were contemplating getting a taxi, which kind of defeated the whole exercise!
It wasn't a long journey and by the time we got back, it was fully dark. We re-joined the M3, dropped Abbie and Mike back off (I had a lovely cuddle with the squidgy, warm Hugo), and set off back home.
The journey home was not pleasant as there are no lights at all on the A34 (and hardly any on the A43 either), so it was a huge relief to get home and get changed into something comfortable. I had a stiff drink (I think I deserved one!) and we spent the rest of the evening relaxing. Hooray, it's Sunday tomorrow!
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