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Anyone who has travelled for an extended period of time will know the exhaustion that sets in after months of adventures. It's counterintuitive; holidays are supposed to refresh and invigorate us. And they do! The TwentyFifteen Plan has been everything we imagined and more so far. But I'll admit; somewhere between 24 hour bus / train transits, altitude sickness, food poisoning and bouts of gastro the shine of constant adventures wears off a little. Furthermore our time in both NYC and London was epic, but it was hectic. We were go go go the whole time. This is why we were so keen for a bit of down time in Glenis' (Sjane's mum) old hometown Glossop.
This is possibly the hardest blog I've had to write so far, because we've done so little but so much. Every day we've filled our time strolling around the town on errands, doing the familiar household routines of cooking dinners and baking, and visiting Sjane's grandad Tompa. Many of the stories I've been told of Glossop for the past 6-odd years have circulated around Tompa's house in Princess Street. It's the Barber family base, and it was nice to stroll the house with Sjane showing me where she's lived and where various family tales occurred over the years. All of the locals know Tompa, and he is famous for sitting in the old shop out front of his house chatting to all the passers-by. Everyone who leaves after a chat with Tom takes a lolly or sweet; and I've happily slipped straight into that norm.
Aside from our days poking around Glossop doing not much at all we've been quite productive. Sjane signed us both up for free 7 day passes at the local gym (I avoided this like the plague, but did end up quite enjoying a couple of spin classes). We've hiked the moors that surround the township and run the streets to work off the extra puddings (desserts) we've indulged in. I have poked my head out the second-story loft windows on a daily basis to gaze at the patchwork farmlands and stone houses dotting the surrounding hillside as the sun rises and sets. We took a day trip in to Manchester, saw the sights and took in a movie for date night. We hit the road a couple of times: heading south into the Peak District National Park and poking around the small townships, as well as a day exploring the historic city of York. We got neck-deep in a crowd of buzzing Glossopian football fanatics as they cheered and chanted their way to a grand final at Wembley. Later I inadvertently found myself in the middle of an impending pub brawl between the Glossop keeper and a very brave/stupid away team supporter. We were having a few drinks at the pub closest to the game field (ironically the same place Sjane worked when she lived here ten years ago).
By far the nicest and most important experience for me here has been meeting and getting to know a large chunk of Sjane's English family. Stories only go so far to giving you an idea of what people are like, and I've really enjoyed being able to put faces and personalities to names I've known so long. Best of all has been feeling like we're surrounded by family again. Sitting on the couch in the family home was exactly the therapy we needed after being on the road so long. Thank you Nigel and Wendy for opening your doors to us and welcoming us home.
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