First thoughts, married 3 years

We were discussing the first thoughts that come into our heads when we wake up in the morning a couple of days ago. I explained that my first thought was nearly always ‘What am I going to eat today?’ Husband’s first thought every day is ‘What am I going to wear today?’ Clothes don’t really feature high on my priority list – maybe this has something to do with having hand-me-downs from two older brothers. There’s a famous family story of a beach holiday in Bournemouth when I was about 2 years old, haircut very short, and a nearby family saying “What a sweet little boy!” at which point I removed my bottoms and a cry of “Oh, it’s a little girl!” followed. 

So packing for the anniversary weekend is no big deal for me….throw a couple of tops and my ‘wedding’ coat in a bag, toothbrush and toothpaste, and I’m done. Husband lays out hundreds of combinations on the bed, irons every shirt he has, and then cleans all his shoes before making his final selection about an hour before we leave. I am never sure why he irons stuff and then folds it into a bag? It’s only going to get creased and wrinkled…Oddly, this divergence in our behaviour continues when we arrive at a hotel/villa. I check out where the tea/coffee making is and if there are any biscuits while Husband unpacks everything and hangs it all up. We laugh about it – particularly as there is usually only one hanger left for me to put all my stuff on (that’s if I decide it’s worth taking out my stuff out of the bag)…

We have spent the last three wedding anniversaries in London staying at the St Martin’s Lane hotel. It’s lovely – very central, modern and quirky rooms with enormous beds and crisp white sheets, and white fluffy bathrobes. We drive up in Husband’s car and feel like movie stars when we pull up in front of the hotel and beckon over the doorman to take the car and park it for us. So nonchalantly. This year, driving up the A3, Husband was his usual car-spotting self. Every now and then he says “Oooooohh, Carrera GT3”, or “Targa”, or “911 GT2”. I have slowly come to realise that (a) I don’t need to respond to these comments, and (b) he loves to spot Porsche on the road. It’s a little like his first thought on waking is clothes. His first thought when setting off on a drive is “What type of Porsche am I going to see today?” He also jeers and tuts at lesser makes/models. So when we pass a Ferrari on a ‘flatbed’, he starts laughing and sniggering. 

Pulling up outside the hotel a short time later, the doorman is looking quizzically at the car and comes over, bends down and says “There’s some sort of liquid pouring out the bottom of your car”. Not the movie star arrival I was hoping for and I stepped out and saw orange water flooding down the road looking distinctly like engine coolant. What a nightmare. Husband had just had the car serviced and checked over as we are off on a driving holiday very soon. Googling what to do when orange fluid is leaking from your Porsche was not great reading and Husband might live to regret his Ferrari flatbed snigger. Tomorrow I think he will be accompanying his car on a flatbed back to the garage. Dreams and their realities!

Despite the auspicious start, we had a great weekend. We usually spend hours in Stanfords and buy a map or two (this year, I bought a map of Bulgaria as I am off on a cycling holiday there in June and I almost bought a trekking in the Dolomites book – walking ladies next trip.). A wander in Covent Garden usually ends up in the London Transport Museum where I sit and marvel at the clever way they get an underground sign on the top of my cappuccino and Husband spends a good hour looking at books about old tube stations. Thank goodness opposites attract. This year, we went to Sushisamba for the second time. If you like heights (38 floors up) and Japanese/Peruvian/Brazilian fusion food, then eat here. It’s fantastic.