Work trip - walking adventures, eating adventures, thoughts etc.

I'm currently posting from a train, on my way home from 2 nights in Leeds.  I so enjoyed a bit of space to think, although I also felt like it took me 36 of my 48 hours to decompress enough to start thinking.  Also, I was traveling for work so I did spend my days in the office as well.  My first office day felt exhausting, which I think is a side effect of being primarily work from home. 

First - Walks!  

Elisabeth does a bloggy walking challenge every October and I love following all the bloggy walkers around the world.  

On Monday I didn't get much of a walk in, but I had 20 minutes to walk around Kings Cross Station before my evening train to Leeds

Inside the station there was a random non-train queue, and of course it was platform 9 and 3/4!  So many muggles!

On Tuesday I finished work around 5:45 and decided to go for a quick walk through Leeds in the evening.  I hadn't explored Leeds before and I didn't realize how big it is - it's the 5th largest metro area in the UK.

During my walk I saw a recognizable sign... but one I did not expect to see in the Leeds:

Chick-fil-a??? in Leeds? Bizarre.  I had also just read Suzanne's post on likes which included a nod to Chick-fil-a so it felt extra bizarre to see this American fast food joint in the British wild.

Food

On my first day in Leeds I went down to the hotel breakfast and didn't feel like any of it was actually food.  My kids would love it, the weird fried eggs and sausages and white bread, but I've been trying to eat more protein and non processed food recently and hotel breakfasts are definitely not that.  I found a local cafe and ordered a granola bowl and a latte and had the most AMAZING breakfast

I went back again the next day and also I have decided I need to make myself delicious breakfast bowls from now on.  It had Cacao Nibs! and chia seeds sprinkled on top.  And other crunchy delicious things.  

Also, it cost £9.50 for this breakfast, which I felt was a great bargain for such deliciousness.

This morning I was writing in my planner and eating this breakfast while The Postal Service "Such Great Heights" was playing and I realized I was having a perfect moment.  I sat and enjoyed everything about it - the cafe, the ambiance, the food, the quiet.  No one asking me things.  Nowhere to go.  No to do list.  Just breakfast and a full day of work ahead.  It was glorious.

I also went out to dinner by myself on this trip, something I've somewhat dreaded previously.  This time, I loved it.  The quiet, eating slowly, watching people, thinking... it was dreamy.  It would have been better if Andy could have been there, but dinner alone is actually kind of awesome.  Maybe that's a sign I'm getting old(er)

Some realizations from this trip

• I really love travel and adventure and right now I don't do much of it
• I'm not sure incorporating kids into things I like is a recipe for success.  I loved my dinner alone.  I don't love being at restaurants with young kids.
• I live where I do because it's less than an hour from lots of beautiful places, and I almost never see any of them.  Maybe that's just the stage of life I'm in.
• Being home for nap time every day between 12 and 2 is highly adventure limiting.  Again, maybe it's just the stage I'm in.
• I spend a lot of time in my own home.  
• I spend a lot of time thinking about logistics and plans (short and long term) for other people.
• I spend a lot of time thinking about what to feed kids and others and need to spend some fraction of that time figuring out what I am going to eat and planning my own intentional food

It's been a nice and productive few days away.  I am lucky I get to travel for work, and that I have the childcare support structure to make work trips possible.