There’s something wonderfully slow about a Sunday in England.
After the drama of swapping hire cars yesterday, today was much more relaxed… although it did begin with me intentionally messing up my sleep schedule.
Yes, you read that correctly.
One of the advantages of working remotely is that I can spend time with family in the UK without using months of annual leave, but it does mean my body clock has to live somewhere between Norwich and Wellington. So I’d deliberately stayed awake late the night before to start shifting myself back onto New Zealand working hours.
Mum wasn’t feeling 100%, so Lia and I left her to have a quiet morning while we headed into Norwich for a wander.
One thing I’d completely forgotten about Sundays in the UK…
Nothing opens early!
We parked at The Forum just after 9am only to remember most of the shops don’t open until 10am. No problem though—Norwich is one of those cities that’s made for wandering.
The Lanes are full of colourful little shops, old buildings and quirky corners, so there was plenty to explore while the rest of the city slowly woke up.
Then came what I considered an essential cultural experience for Lia…
Her first proper English Cream Tea.
We found ourselves at Biddy’s Tea Room, where she was introduced to the magical combination of warm homemade scones, clotted cream, jam and a proper pot of tea.
I decided not to tell her there is an entire national debate over whether the cream or the jam goes on first. Some things are best learned gradually!
From there we wandered through an old church that has been transformed into an antiques centre. I always love places like this because you never quite know what you’re going to find. We had a few laughs looking through the random collection of treasures before continuing our stroll through the city.
As more shops opened, I pointed Lia towards Primark while I made what was clearly the more important stop…
Hotter Shoes.
Completely by accident they were running 25% off, and even more amazingly they actually had my size in stock.
Clearly it was fate.
I’m pretty sure the shoes found me rather than the other way around.
One thing I always enjoy about travelling is spotting the little details that locals probably don’t even notice anymore.
The Lord Mayor’s lion proudly wearing a traffic cone on its head,
A beautiful Scottish thistle somehow growing in the middle of Norwich.
A barber shop proudly displaying Christopher Walken’s face with the words “No Walkens Accepted.”
It’s those little moments that end up making me smile just as much as the famous landmarks.
Eventually it was time to tackle Tesco for a few supplies.
I somehow spent an embarrassingly long time trying to decide whether I actually needed another reusable shopping bag before convincing myself I absolutely did. Another insulated drink bottle also found its way into the trolley because apparently I collect those now.
Next stop was Jarrolds, where I naturally wandered into the stationery department. I was hoping to browse their pen selection, but instead found myself leaving with some lovely Japanese stickers. Apparently even on holiday I can’t resist stationery.
Then it was off to IKEA.
Honestly, IKEA might just be one of the best-value lunch spots in Britain. Between us we demolished meatballs, hot dogs and drinks for about £10, before wandering through the store picking up a few travel essentials… and, naturally, another bag of Swedish meatballs to take home.
Then holiday mode paused.
One of the reasons this trip is possible is because I’m mixing travel with working remotely for Z back in New Zealand. So while everyone else was winding down for Sunday afternoon, I headed back to Mum’s house, opened the laptop and started my workday.
There was just enough time between Teams calls to cook dinner for the family before jumping straight back into meetings that stretched right through until around 1am.
Not exactly your typical holiday evening.
By the end of the day I’d somehow managed to fit in:
- A wander through historic Norwich
- Lia’s first proper cream tea
- New shoes
- Stationery shopping
- IKEA meatballs
- A full New Zealand workday
Not a bad effort for a Sunday.
Tomorrow the real adventure begins…
The motorhome is waiting.
Suggested title:
- Day 4 – Sundays, Scones & Shopping Before the Road Trip
- Day 4 – Cream Tea, Cobbled Streets and a Late-Night Workday
- Day 4 – Norwich: Cream Tea, New Shoes & IKEA Meatballs (my favourite)
I also love the Christopher Walken photo. I’d definitely give that its own caption:
Only in Norwich… a barber shop with “No Walkens Accepted.” I laughed far more than I probably should have. 😂
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