Bedford, Bedfordshire - Day 1 & 2

Bedford, Bedfordshire is a quaint little town on the River Ouse about a hour north of London and almost in the middle of Cambridge and Oxford. This is where we are staying for the next 9 days and where many of our prospective home choices are located.

Our home away from home for the next 9 days is The Swan Hotel. So cozy and cute!

 

 

 

Chris had to work for a bit yesterday, so I took a trip to the local "Boots" to purchase a couple of necessities - a hair dryer and flat iron! Gotta love 220 volt! 

When he returned home, it was off to the local pub for a beverage - our first date, you might say! When in London....

 

 

So much change here - everything from £2 down is a coin!

 

After the pub, Chris took me to his favorite Italian place. It is one little door off the street that leads to a basement. Upon entering the basement you feel as though you've entered Italy! Alex, the chef, is a true italian and a genius! Our waitress was Italian, as well. What followed was quite possibly the best italian food I have ever consumed! Suffice it to say that NO vampires will be in our proximity for weeks!

 

 

When we left, I made Alex come out of the kitchen and gave him a big 'ol Texas sized hug!

THURSDAY

Having been awake for nearly 40 hours and still not being able to sleep - I took a couple of Tylenol PM and slept for 12 hours! Then, it was time to face Bedford on my own for the day. 

First stop was the little cafe in the hotel. The food here is forcing me outside my boundaries. For those of you who know me well, know that I am the pickiest of eaters! Anyway, ordered the ham sandwich with red onion chutney - whatever the heck that is! (Nope - the bread isn't gluten free - I decided to pay for it later). Well - chutney is delicious! It's like a relish only sweeter. The red onion was sort of pickled! delicious!

Then, it was time for a walk on the river.

I got to watch the Rowing School during their training exercises. So cool! From what I can tell, each team has a bicycler that follows along on the sidewalk giving instruction as the coxsman gives orders from the boat. Fascinating to watch!

Here are some pics along the river...

 

 

 

 

Here are some random pics from around town - these are actually from Wednesday - they have a Market on Wed and Sat...

 

 

 

OBSERVATIONS FROM MY WALK:

1) I could get used to walking the River Ouse every day

2) No one reads the "Do not feed the geese signs" on the river

3) I wish fanny packs would come back - they were so useful!

4) Hardest thing to find in Debbenham's - socks! They were with the lingerie on the 3rd floor! Then, I was limited to one style of 

trainers (athletic socks)

5) Escalators in Debbenham's only go up

6) New word of the day - "plasters" = band-ads - needed due to the crappy "trainers" I had on during said walk

7) Navigating the money is a challenge - I would be screwed if we were moving to a country with a different language!