Thursday morning wasn't so great - I didn't sleep well and managed to rip the jeans I was going to wear. After stuffing my washing into my bag I headed out early to get to the bank. My card hadn't arrived yet, so I had scribbled down some phrases to explain that and ask if they could tell me what my balance was and could I make a withdrawal. Got through the first bits okay, only to find that my balance was the money I had put in - so I didn't need the last bit. Batting away the remnants of my dreams of buying giant Golden-Hasse (Lindt Gold Bunnies in the UK) as presents, I trudged into work.
A French translator introduced himself to me on the way in, people I didn't know smiled and said hi, and it was generally lovely. An impending long weekend will do that to people, but I chose to take it personally. The UK team were going out to a German restaurant that evening, which I would miss, but we did have lunch together in the Chinese. I got out relatively on time and was surprised by the mere 3.90 Euro and 45 minutes it took to get to the airport.
We had some loud but otherwise harmless youth until the main station, then they swapped out with football supporters on their way to a local game - beer and singing aplenty. A British guy remarked to his neighbour that beer, football and youth were a bad mix and was agreed with - he assumed he'd found a fellow Englishman but the guy was actually from Frankfurt. Herr Britisch then went on to quote Shakespeare and go beyond the limit of the man's excellent English, which struck me as pretentious and annoyed me (especially seen how useless my German is).
After sending me an online check-in email, BA then wouldn't allow me to check in online and were either useless or deliberately witholding information and didn't tell us we were nearly an hour delayed until we were boarded and had our phones turned off. High winds at Heathrow.
When we did get there, just over 40 mins late, David was waiting for me - with a latte and a slice of carrot cake, and a little Gold Bunny. The man knows how to make me feel welcome. We headed out to the rental car, a Chevrolet Matiz. Feather-light steering and juddering controls, but at least not as noisy at speed as the Ford Ka was. There was a certain amount of being blown around the lane on the motorway though.
Friday, Saturday and Sunday were spent at David's parents, sitting at the kitchen table identifying birds, eating, chatting and generally having a wonderfully restorative weekend. Did my washing and hung some on the line for the first time in I don't know how long. The weather was bizarre, with bright spells, high winds, sleet and a bit of snow that stuck for a few hours on Sunday morning. David's mom was wished a Happy Christmas at church. Also had my first game of Scrabble in I don't know how long. David helped set up their new laptop and broadband, and I managed to get another pair of jeans. We left just in time to hit the shops on Sunday and I got the PG Tips pyramid tea bags that had been demanded of me.
We weren't sure what to do on Monday - the weather forecast was poor, but we really wanted to go to Longleat safari park. In the end I finished my packing (bringing back an extra piece of luggage to get some more clothes and shoes) and pushed everything into the Matiz' underdeveloped boot to head out past Andover and Stonehenge to Longleat.
We were in luck - the sky cleared on the way there, we made great time and we got in at 9:30 when we thought we'd have to wait until 10:00. We headed into the safari, taking the chance to get out of the car and walk around the wallabies and goats and grab a tea and a sandwich before getting back in the car. (By the way, if you go there beware of the cafes - one seems to be twice the price of the other.)
And then it was giraffes and emus and zebras and camels, oh my! Followed by many different kinds of deer and even a chance to feed them. Well, let me rephrase that. You could avoid feeding them by a) not buying food and b) driving through swiftly with the windows up. Once you pulled over with the window down, you had a deer in each side of the car faster than you could get the food ready. Just as pushy as the sacred deer in Japan! And they drool. Seriously.
We got several photos of the supposedly elusive Bongos, who were happy to be photographed while grazing. Others walking into the spotlight were the camels and some very impressive African cattle. Then it was in to the monkeys, with ample warnings to kiss your car trim goodbye and even an opportunity to U-turn out of it. They weren't interested in the rental car - too rounded - but loved 4x4s, anything with a roof rack or spare tyre and we saw five of them on an old (flat-roofed and flat-bonneted) Jaguar. The babies swung off anything that stuck out when they weren't chasing each other around the trees.
We concluded that the endless stream of cars was the enrichment activity and new toys for the monkeys, and that Nature will have your windscreen wipers.
Carrying on with our CD narrated by one of the presenters of Animal Park, which was a nice touch, we hit the big time - the big cats. Queues of traffic built up as people stopped to stare at and photograph tigers having their mid-morning snack and sleeping on the roof of the hides, and lionesses pacing about their wooded lawns. There are two lion prides, and the second had youngish cubs who were running around and jumping on their elders. Finally we went through Wolf Wood, where most of the residents were lying around doing their own brand of regal. One was tearing apart lunch, but despite signs all over of "CAUTION Wolf pups in road" we didn't see any.
Once out of the safari, we drove around to the grounds and headed for Pets Corner, home of the smaller and fluffier things. The parrot show was on, so we took advantage of the lull to check out the degus and rabbits, ground squirrels and Siberian chipmunks (think little albino squirrels). Ducking through the insect and reptile house got me the chance to hold a Chilean rose tarantula, which was absolutely lovely. The keeper was also very tempting when she said they could be acquired for £15, live in a quite small box lined with earth and only need 2 live crickets a week...
(Later research seems to indicate they don't like handling, which is both confusing and real shame if it is true - I don't want to stress anything. Best quote: "A happy spider is an unseen spider".)
The stars of the area were the otters, proud parents Rosie and Romeo and their two young kits. Six others had already been born and sent to other zoos, and Rosie was due to give birth again in April! She did have a distinct waddle. Very romantically, Romeo was giving her some of his food, just in case her "I'm cute! Feed me!" face failed to work.
We went for some food next, an excellent cottage pie for me and mushroom quiche for David. Expensive, but not bad. Next up was the safari boat, out into the lake with the gregarious Californian sea lions. They had already been fed - 65kg of fish - but were always given treats for chasing the boat. We saw the hippos from a distance (the only way to see the perpetually grumpy animals according to the guide) and also the elderly gorilla Nico, sitting on the porch of his house watching the rain. The guide gave a very moving talk about the status of the gorilla which had us reaching in our pockets for the collection boxes on the pier next to the meercats.
After that we judged we had just enough time to get to the batcave! After a few displays of insects (including my personal squee item, some real live and very large Deaths Head cockroaches) we got into the bat room. They were being fed and seemed to fall elegantly from the ceiling to lie wings out, flat on their stomachs to chew on fruit. They even adopted that position for the water bowl. The fruit kebabs suspended from ropes were a real favourite - one bat was on each, holding on to the top with its feet and munching away while mantling it with its wings. As the keeper said, relax, they're not going to hit you. They're good at this.
Final stop was the butterfly garden, and what a finale. Massive butterflies with wings like owls' faces lined the roof, with ones the colour of mother of pearl or cobalt flapping through the garden. Others were an amazing velvet black and startling red. David got some fantastic photos, even if we couldn't get the glasswing to stay still long enough.
Then we hit the road, just in case we didn't make good time back - all too possible with a combination of ropy weather and Bank Holiday traffic. We did it pretty well, from Longleat to the drop-off at Heathrow Terminal 1 in 3 hours. Back on the plane.
I was oddly tired by the time I got back, and the efficient German S and U-bahns got me home as soon as I figured out what ones I wanted to be on and managed to buy a ticket. Following some loud Americans who were going my way helped. It seemed to be shift change, with loads of police and men in hi-vis jackets in the station. I glared at the stairs, but as there's no option I climbed up. At least my suitcase was comparatively light this time.
Today was all right - up early to go to the bank again as I still don't have my card (I got my pin and some info for online banking, so I know they have the address right) but this time managed to not be understood and had to hand my notes over to the cashier. Money still isn't in my account so I withdrew from my UK account to cover me for another two weeks or so. Worked away on the instructions of A, got a confusing comment from B, A checks with B and realises there has been a misunderstanding, I have to throw away my morning's work. It ended with translators finding all the day's issues between 5:00 and 5:30, which is when I wanted to leave. I did manage to get away soon after.
Right into the snow that had been falling for an hour or so - huge fat wet flakes that were just about sticking on the dual carriageway dividers. It cleared a little, we hit the supermarket (I had given up on my daydream of blowing a stack of Euros in the Asian food shop) and I took the U-bahn back just in case it started up again. Must wear the hiking boots tomorrow, as it's forecast to be -3 tonight and tomorrow night with snow.
It was wonderful to be back in the UK - but I also have a trip to Koln/Cologne to look forward to this weekend! My first trip on the InterCity Express, just over an hour. Shall bring the camera...
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