Sorry, no photos. The internet in this hotel is slower than Frankenstein walkin’ through glue (as the mother character says in Mart Crowley’s play A Breeze from the Gulf.) I will perhaps add them when I get to stronger internet someplace.
1) After coffee and croissants, I walked through a mix of neighborhood styles through sunny weather to the station, where I boarded the train to Leamington Spa. Christian joined me when the train stopped at Kenilworth; Paul had family obligations and couldn’t be with us.
2) In a twinkling we arrived in Leamington, where it was raining a bit. Christian had promised a light day after all the trekking I’ve been doing. We took in the local art gallery/community center, once the famous Royal Pump Rooms as part of the spa. Bits of the spa have been preserved as museum exhibitions, and they had some interesting art on display, including a Tuke, and a set of four shelves with white and pastel covered jars on them that reminded me of a friend’s bathroom.
3) We walked through Jephson Gardens, got coffees (I have finally learned to order a “flat white”), and sat on a bench to catch up on four years and admire some astonishing trees. One little old gentleman riding a scooter admired my hat.
4) We continued our promenade by wandering through a small glasshouse (we’d say conservatory in the US), and then settled on an Italian place for lunch: rosé and chicken panini . . . and another rosé. Then some mild windowshopping . . . and heavy rain. We returned to the pump rooms lobby for shelter, and then off to the station.
5) Back in Kenilworth, it was pleasant to reawaken my memory to sights seen on my last visit. Christian allowed me to duck into St. Nicholas Church on the way home, and beautiful and empty old church with lovely stained glass.
6) My kind friends had taken care of my laundry, and it was then up to me to repack my suitcase before the cocktail. I must say, the Brown Gold cocktail they serve is like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with whiskey. Absolutely delightful.
7) Christian had arranged for us to dine early at the local pub, the Virgins and Castle. Walking there the early evening sun was bright and brilliant. Whatever might have been in the air had been washed away by the rain! Kenilworth really is quite lovely.
8) For about the first 40 minutes of our evening we had a table for two alone in a back dining room and were able to talk with abandon. We were seated near old (or old-style) leaded and mullioned windows overlooking a tree-lined patio. But after two quartets of People Older Than I arrived, I had to be more considered in my volume.
9) Old fashioneds (I just wasn’t in the mood for a pint), breaded Brie to start, and then a burger. Christian had some sort of chorizo hash followed by lemon chicken. We finished off with a stimulating glass of rioja, but not the rioja he introduced me to on my last visit.
10) I was deposited in an über to return to my hotel, and the drive from Coventry was made more beautiful by the gentle and clear light of the sunset. Nothing to my mind could have been more English.
11) Tomorrow, Bath! Tonight, sleep and gratitude.