{"id":42473,"date":"2025-02-22T11:16:00","date_gmt":"2025-02-22T11:16:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hrefna.com\/blog\/?p=42473"},"modified":"2025-09-21T13:04:40","modified_gmt":"2025-09-21T13:04:40","slug":"uk-rochester-go-karting-shopping-music","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hrefna.com\/blog\/2025\/02\/uk-rochester-go-karting-shopping-music\/","title":{"rendered":"UK: Rochester \/ Go-Karting \/ Shopping \/ Music"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

[Photos taken 22- 28 February 2025, posted online 21 September 2025. Have painted Anna’s room, and rearranged furniture now that she’s removed a lot of her stuff. Brother commented it looked like a mausoleum!<\/em>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We played tourists, and took the train to Rochester<\/a> to walk around. We usually just go past it on our way to London, but it’s actually got a really nice main\/high-street, plus an impressive cathedral<\/a> and castle<\/a>-ruins. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The following day we tried to do a bit of shopping, then went go-karting<\/a>, before going to see my brother Anthony play with his band on jam-night for a bit. On our third day we went to the Bluewater shopping center<\/a> and really shopped, before flying back to Iceland on the fourth day, sans Finnur who’d diverted to Amsterdam.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The final days of February were otherwise uneventful, as we just waited for the days to get longer…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Saturday 22 February 2025<\/h2>\n\n\n
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The kids posing with Rochester Castle in the background.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n
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Our trip began by parking the car close to the train station, and walking there.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Waiting for the train, we got lucky and one was very close when we arrived.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Twenty minutes later we were in front of the City Wall pub<\/a>, where my brother Anthony often plays.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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This is the last building mentioned in the works of Charles Dickens<\/a> (the home of Mr. Tope<\/a>). I kind of enjoyed how the guys legs are angled similar to the roof above!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Passing the very old graveyard next to the cathedral.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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The Rochester cathedral<\/a> entrance.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Uh, that was unexpected! Yup, a huge sphere with the face of Mars<\/a> was hanging inside.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Am I in space?!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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The organ<\/a> was surprisingly gorgeous.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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A closer view of the decorated pipes.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Organists listed by year and name. As it happened, one was practicing on the organ as we were visiting.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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The organists, Anna, and Mars.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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The little doorway we were standing in led to where the choir sits, but it was closed to visitors.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Standing on old remains.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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A little alcove held a much smaller organ, also decorated.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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That must have been a lot of work!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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The pretty windows.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Prayer requests.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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How much money do you have to have to get a statue of you on your casket?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Well, he was a lot of things apparently.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Surely there is a rule who gets to be interred in the walls, and the floors? Or this place would be overrun by plaques.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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The actual altar in current use, I think.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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The organ from the choir side.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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They like their lists of people, and I applaud their dedication to record keeping!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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This cathedral is seriously old!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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A zodiac in a church? Surprising.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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A sign pertaining to the Robes of the Dean of the Most Honorable Order of the Bath. I wonder if there’s a least honorable one?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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It’s quite a lovely cathedral!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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A place to touch it seems.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Making our way towards the exit…<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Maintaining this huge building must take a lot of work and equipment.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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We found the exit!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Walking around to get to the castle, which is almost next to the cathedral, but the cathedral exit is away from the castle.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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See the leaning house?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Yup, that one. The castle is beyond the walkway.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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It’s got a great name: “The Wonky House”!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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The view at the end of the walkway.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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A drawn map of the area.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Taking photos with the historic Rochester bridge in the background.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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The other direction.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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The Medway River is right there.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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We decided to check out the keep itself.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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More signage.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Basically, only the stones are still standing. All the wood went up in flames at some point, and was never rebuilt.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Life is tough for pigeons.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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One section of the keep, there’s another one on the other side of the left wall.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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A helpful timeline.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Turns out the cathedral and the castle are about the same age, but one’s been maintained and the other not so much.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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They had these interesting “smell” boxes.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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About mid-way up, and now looking into the other side as well.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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More signage. Nice drawing, small letters.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Looking from the performance perce.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Kiddos in the impressive stairwells, found in all four corners I think.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Made it to the top.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Nice views! <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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The netting.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Obligatory fancy houses close to the river.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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The cathedral next door.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Signage.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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No castle is complete without a cesspit!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Well, that was interesting!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Kids requested boba-tea…<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Coming down the high-street with their sugary concoctions.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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We found the train station, and headed back the way we’d come.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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The local good-food place.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Good-looking people with good-looking food!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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The gang on the other side.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Get in my tummy! Yum!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Sunday 23 February 2025<\/h2>\n\n\n
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The kids needed various things, so we headed to a small nearby shopping center.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Bjarki had just finished reading the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, and we kept bumping into it!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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I’m always on the hunt for book recommendations.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Blood sugar always depletes quickly while we’re shopping, so we found a cafe to replenish it. This one had somewhat outrageously huge muffins.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Yum, yum!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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I decided it was time to upgrade our luggage to 4-wheels, from the 2-wheels we’ve been lugging around for years… There was much speculation about what we should buy.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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The evening before we’d made a booking to go karting at this recently opened facility close to home-base.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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The first electric go-kart I’ve seen that’s on two floors!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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In the waiting lounge before watching the obligatory safety video.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Waiting downstairs for our turn.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Helmets on!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Getting in our cars. We didn’t have anybody else on the track during our run.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Finnur was victorious!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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He happily took his rightful place on the top podium!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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We waited while another group finished their turn, and then we had another go. Finnur won AGAIN, but it was a much closer call, and we all improved our times. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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The tree vs the pole.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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That evening a few of us went to see Anthony play at the Gillingham Ship Pub<\/a>. He’s a part of hosting an “open mike” jam session, where people show up to sing or play an instrument with solid backup.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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The Zac Schulze Gang<\/a> (Ant’s band) was already playing when we arrived.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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The area is subdivided into a few areas, the band area is pretty cozy. You could see people lined up with their instruments, or drum-sticks, getting ready to join the fray.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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The stage-view from the bar.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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A guitar player came on to play with the gang.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Chatting out back with what sounded like the Gang’s number one fan.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Grandson, daughter, father, son.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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The ship’s ship as we were heading out.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Monday 24 February 2025<\/h2>\n\n\n
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Hoping to catch a glimpse of the Eurostar train, as Finnur had left earlier that morning to travel via London and the Eurostar to Amsterdam for a week of work-related meetings.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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We stumbled into a specialist running shoe shop and the assistant quickly sold us shoes that fit Bjarki a whole lot better than his old shoes.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Refueling!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Who’s taller?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Always on the lookout for books…!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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The Hitchhiker’s Guide at Waterstones.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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The ‘intellectual’ table.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Self-checkout in clothing stores is interesting.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Dinner being made.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Almost ready!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Ant mid-story after stopping by for dinner, and goodbye hugs.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Tuesday 25 February 2025<\/h2>\n\n\n
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It was the end of our winter break, as we arrived at Gatwick airport at 10 in the morning. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Goodbye selfie!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Our bag was within limits!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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We found a nice place for lunch.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Emma had a hankering for a Starbucks cake-pop. Don’t ask!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Our noon-flight got delayed by a couple hours. Sigh…<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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The only reasonable thing to do was to order desserts!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Finally boarding shortly before 14 (2 pm).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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This might be my new documenting fad, the airplane type I’m flying in?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Goodbye green grass.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Hello snowy ground.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Being left in the dust.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Found the car in the long-term parking lot.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Our new luggage fit perfectly in its designated spot!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Wednesday 26 February 2025<\/h2>\n\n\n
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With Finnur still in Amsterdam, I was on cooking duty. First up: chicken soup.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Emma got tired of the randomness of one drawer, and re-sorted the whole thing. All of a sudden we had a lot of tweezers!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Thursday 27 February 2025<\/h2>\n\n\n
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Day two of dinner making: fish.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Emma with some slime we’d picked up in the UK.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Such an interesting texture!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Really quite cool.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Friday 28 February 2025<\/h2>\n\n\n
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My stop-doom-scrolling-knitting-project coming along nicely.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Even had some lovely flowers to keep me company, and the yarn-holder. And that was the end of February 2025!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[Photos taken 22- 28 February 2025, posted online 21 September 2025. Have painted Anna’s room, and rearranged furniture now that she’s removed a lot of her stuff. Brother commented it looked like a mausoleum!<\/em>]<\/p>\n

We played tourists, and took the train to Rochester<\/a> to walk around. We usually just go past it on our way to London, but it’s actually got a really nice main\/high-street, plus an impressive cathedral<\/a> and castle<\/a>-ruins. <\/p>\n

The following day we tried to do a bit of shopping, then went go-karting<\/a>, before going to see my brother Anthony play with his band on jam-night for a bit. On our third day we went to the Bluewater shopping center<\/a> and really shopped, before flying back to Iceland on the fourth day, sans Finnur who’d diverted to Amsterdam.<\/p>\n

The final days of February were otherwise uneventful, as we just waited for the days to get longer…<\/p>\n

Saturday 22 February 2025<\/h2>\n
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The kids posing with Rochester Castle in the background.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-42473","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","post-container col-md-12"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hrefna.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42473","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hrefna.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hrefna.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hrefna.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hrefna.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=42473"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/hrefna.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42473\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":42603,"href":"https:\/\/hrefna.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42473\/revisions\/42603"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hrefna.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42473"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hrefna.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=42473"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hrefna.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=42473"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}