The British Museum and Jolly's Indian Restaurant

With only two days left of our holiday, we headed to the British Museum, train to Waterloo then tube to Tottenham Court Road, too easy! However, my mind drifted off thinking about all the work I had to do when I got home and we completely missed the station. No problem- hopped off at Euston, and caught the tube going back the other way almost immediately,  stayed focussed, and didn't miss it second time round!

We walked up Great Russell Street to the entrance to the British Museum- you can't miss it- it's enormous! First we explored the Ming Dynasty special exhibition- just amazing how old the artifacts were. To put it in perspective, everything here was before Christopher Columbus was even born! What great condition they were in! Next it was off to see Elgin's Marbles. OMG- there's so many of the friezes, the metopes and the pediment pieces here- Athens is NEVER going to be able to get them back from the British Museum- they'll have huge empty spaces on the walls. It would be nice to see them in their original place (the Parthenon) but I can never see that happening.

The left was "under maintenance" so we had to take the stairs. Ross took one look at the stairs and decided to call it a day, as his legs had given up. Mine seem to be getting stronger- maybe I am getting fitter- so on and upwards I went to explore the upper floors on my own. Where do I start? Ancient Britons, Roman Empire, the Etruscans, a magnificent collection of old clocks and watches, and an amazing collection of extremely ancient coins were a few that I remember. I wandered as far as my feet could carry me, and only decided to leave when my right foot caught on fire. (figuratively)

I managed to find my way back to the tube station, and luckily jumped straight on one heading to Waterloo, which is an enormous station/tube complex. I managed to follow the signs to platform 15, where a train was just about to pull out. I hurried to get on, not having time to check if this was the right train. Hah, I thought if I'm on the wrong one, I'll just get off at the next stop and try again, so was very happy to hear I was on the right train when they announced the next station. The train Citymapper  suggested I catch was the express, but this wasn't it. It didn't matter as I wasn't in any hurry.

Walking down the High Street, I spied two bobbies- they're few and far between here- and stopped to take a photo. One of them saw me and asked would I like a photo with him. Hell, yeah! (see photo)
On to home and a short rest and a pint of cider before heading off to dinner at Jolly's across the road where we met Angela and Joe and Eli ( who was sound asleep in his new stroller). Pappadums were followed by samosas, tandoori lamb chops and mushrooms and that was just starters! Mains followed and I had a malayan prawn dish, with coconut, pineapple and cream- every rich and I could only eat half of it. ( I just ate the rest for breakfast!-yummy!)

Home for shower, bed and Glee! I didn't even get to see the end of the episode, and slept like a log all night. Only one day to go!

Westfield and Hampshire Hog

The plan was lunch at the Hampshire Hog, followed by a visit to Westfield. However, we were ready so early we decided to head to Westfield first.  After a few buses, we arrived. It's huge! We had morning tea at Ca'puccino Cafe. I had a basil and lemon real lemon drink- very refreshing and strawberry tiramisu as a change from pannacotta. Off to M&S to buy some polos for Ross. I succumbed to temptation and bought a nightie with " Today I don't feel like doing anything at all" on it, for the days I'm in my nightie all day which according to some people is every day!

Then a couple of buses to the Hampshire Hog where Angela had booked a table outside. It was a beautiful day and was very relaxing sharing roast pork and roast chicken with yorkshire pudding and gravy with Ross, Angela, Joe, Angela's sister Jen, and Katrina Sly all Aussies who live and work in London. After a couple of bottles of really good red wine, and an Irish coffee, we headed home. Somehow we managed to get on the right bus going in the right direction but we had transferred to it actually after the stop we had to get off at. difficult to explain. I kept saying to Ross I don't recognise anything, but the only times we've taken this bus have been late at night on our way home from Joe's and it was still light at this stage.

Once we realised our error, we hopped off and decided to have a coffee while waiting for the return bus. The coffee turned out to be coffee and pannacotta- just can't get enough- at a lovely little Italian restaurant called Canta Napoli at Teddington. Finally arrived home to watch a half hour of TV before bed, but for some reason, did not sleep well at all! Maybe it was all that food!

Bletchley Park

Bletchley Park has been on Ross' bucket list for a while, so we decided we'd get going early and spend the day there. Even so, after a train, a tube and another train, it was just on midday when we arrived. After getting our bearings (it's a huge estate) and looking through the displays in block C, we ate lunch- an egg and bacon sandwich with an elderflower sparkling water for me- and then headed up to the Mansion to join the 1pm tour. Our guide was very informative and we found out everything we wanted to know which no one knew about till 30 years after the war finished. It was fascinating! We heard about the lives of some of the men and women who worked here during the war- over 9,000 on round-the-clock shifts, so 3,000 people coming and going every eight hours and no one in the village ever questioned it. It was wartime I suppose.

This was the place that the codebreakers worked day and night to break the Enigma codes- the Germans made a new code every single day so every single day it had to be broken. The Enigma machine had initially three rotating wheels so when a letter was typed, another letter was selected, I think 25x25x25 possibilities- the only thing that wasn't possible was the same letter was selected! Not much of a hint! As the war progressed, the Germans increased the difficulty of the Enigma machine by adding more wheels. Hitler also had a machine called a Lorenz whose code could only be cracked with the help of Colossus (a huge computer) and Tunny ( to decipher the code). They helped the D-Day invasion succeed by fooling Hitler into thinking they would land near Calais- so very very clever!

The operation started in The Mansion before the war and rapidly expanded to many huts where 3,000 people worked. The Mansion itself wasn't very old by English standards built in the late 1870's and was purchased by the Leon family in 1882. http://www.bletchleypark.org.uk if you want to know more. The saddest thing was Alan Turing  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Turing who was a major driving force in the development of machines to speed up the decrypting process was found guilty as a homosexual after the war and committed suicide by biting an apple coated in cyanide, whereas the German commander behind the Enigma machines was released after 3 years in jail. No charges were laid.

I tend to get carried away with history and its injustices. I sat sunning myself by the lake (it was a glorious day) while Ross walked a few more miles to actually see the Colossus and Tunny machines. I sat imagining what it would have been like to have been one of the workers back then. They had recordings at points around the lake of meetings between young men and women who worked there, so it was not too difficult to put myself back in history. The park itself is very peaceful with so much history that was secret for so long!

We then trained it back to Euston and headed to Joe and Angela's for a delicious Chinese takeaway, washed down with an Argentinian red- very multicultural. Joe dropped us back to our apartment- I don't think we could have managed an eight bus trip today- and once again I was showered and in bed asleep in seconds.

Blenheim Palace and Lacock Medieval Village

Up early, showered, dressed, and ready to go to Blenheim, Winston Churchill's birthplace. Whilst waiting for Joe and Eli, we grabbed a coffee downstairs at the Whitton Cafe. Bad mistake! By the time we arrived at Blenheim Palace, I was beyond busting! To add to my distress we had to park miles away! The cool wind was blowing straight through me as I scurried across the palace grounds to find the loo. I was tempted to ease my pain by using the nearest tree except the grounds were buzzing with people- nowhere to hide! Arrggghhh!

We started the tour with the State Rooms, which have some beautiful porcelain collections. I loved the Chinese collections- they'd be worth a pretty penny and are very pretty as well- but was entranced by the book collection in the Great Hall. Almost every book looked like first editions, with a preponderance of history books. Scattered amongst them, I spied a few classics; Jane Austen and Charles Dickens. Sadly, the huge room wasn't very conducive to curling up with a good book as most of the lounge chairs looked to be extremely uncomfortable ( not that I actually dared to sit on one!)

We wandered out to the Water Gardens overlooking the beautiful lake. It was here that we enjoyed "morning tea" of coffee and cake, even though it was past noon. I wanted to walk along the lakeside as apparently it's a beautiful walk, but alas, if I wanted to get to Lacock, there wouldn't be time. You can't do everything, although you can try! There was also an Arboretum, Rose Garden and Cascades which we didn't get to see. We did walk down to the Butterfly House, which was hot and humid but very pretty. Most of the flowers are common in Australia, but were much healthier specimens than my potted variety. The walk to the Butterfly House had knackered me, so Joe walked back to get the car while we stayed with Eli. We pushed him down to the Marlborough Maze, but the recommended time was 25 minutes so we didn't venture in to try to solve it.

We all piled back into the car and everyone nodded off to sleep except Joe ( thank goodness, as he was driving!) We arrived at Lacock at 4pm just in time for lunch! I wasn't hungry until I read the menu, and suddenly I was starving! Ross and I ordered the broccoli and stilton soup, which was indescribably delicious and then I ordered beef and ale pie with chips and peas, while Ross had moroccan lamb pie, and Joe had fish- all served with chips as they're supposed to be. I was actually full after the soup as it came with fresh crusty bread and butter and I should have stopped there. I really have to learn to stop eating so much!

Ross and I then headed off to the Abbey actually called St Cyriac's Church. I really enjoyed its simple beauty. Built in 1271 ( I think) it has survived through the centuries uncelebrated and still serves as a church to the village. I love places like this! Then it was time to head back to London. We were thoroughly exhausted (again!) but had enjoyed a wonderful day exploring the countryside with Joe and Eli, who is the best, most uncomplaining baby you will ever hope to meet.

"The Book of Mormon" and Harrods

Finally, a sleep in! Today's the day we're going to see a West End show recommended by Angela; "The Book of Mormon" matinee. After finding the Prince of Wales theatre and exchanging our piece of paper for tickets, we looked for a place to have some lunch. Not a lot of choice- TGI Friday's, Concerto Caffe or the Angus Steakhouse. We chose the latter as we both had a hankering for steak.

Styled along the lines of Hog's Breath,we had high expectations of the size and tastiness of the meal, so we skipped starters and went straight for mains. 40 minutes later, and a couple of enquiries, we were served our meal, which was average at best. The onion rings were delicious, but my steak was quite tough. I'd had a glass of red which I'd finished while waiting for the meal so didn't enjoy it nearly as much as if I'd had it with the meal. I must say the staff were fantastic though; very friendly and helpful. We didn't have time for dessert if  we were going to make the show on time, so determined to return for the double dessert if we couldn't find anywhere else.

Our seats were not far from the back but we had an excellent view as the theatre wasn't very big. "The Book of Mormon" was very funny and irreverent from the very start, but I wouldn't say I fell in love with the music. They received a standing ovation at the conclusion of the show- the actors were extremely well-cast- especially Arnold Cunningham.

We headed off to look for dessert and found ourselves back at the Steakhouse, ordering the massive (see photo) rocky road sundae to share. For your information, we tried very hard but we just couldn't eat the lot. We helped wash it down with a coffee- mine was the Irish variety. Delicious!

After that feast, I was ready for home, but Ross encouraged me to take a "quick visit" to Harrod's. Let me tell you there is no such thing as a quick visit to Harrod's! It occupies an entire block at Knightsbridge, with five complete floors divided into separate sections or even shops. We started at the top, "Shoe Heaven", and slowly descended via the Egyptian escalator. Most items were unpriced, and the few markdowns I did find were still very expensive! A beach towel was marked down from 280 to 99 pounds about $160, four times the price I would normally pay. Needless to say,  I left it there on the shelf.

Next was the Disney shop where we did actually buy some reasonably priced items ( not for ourselves!)  and kept on going down, down, down to the ground floor. By the time we exited it was almost closing (9pm) and we had a long way to go home. Fortunately we managed to "tube" it all the way to Hounslow East, then bus it home right to our Fourways Corner. The transport system here is magnificent! Completely knackered, it was shower and bed for me.

Brighton

After a day of rest and relaxation and a beaut barbie at Joe and Angela's, we headed off to Brighton. First the train to Clapham Junction, then change for the train to Brighton. Easy! We'll be there at 10.25 I message Rosa. An unforeseen problem with signals at Haywards Heath delayed our arrival by an hour and a quarter. After sitting for an hour in the train, everyone was transferred to another train which was standing room only, but there was no chance of falling over as we were in like sardines. A young girl offered me her seat, which I politely declined as I didn't think it could be far to Brighton. I'll accept next time- my feet were on fire by the time the train pulled into the station.

Ross recognised Rosa immediately: I was a bit slower. We headed towards the sea: Brighton Pier was the only thing I knew about Brighton, but there's so much more! Rosa took us there via the Lanes, the old fishing village section of town, where shops now occupy the fishermen's huts, and the streets are winding and narrow. I loved it! After a short walk, we came across Choccywoccydoodah, which Hannah said was worth a visit. What an understatement! We climbed the stairs to the cafe where we each had a different hot chocolate; more like a meal than a drink! I've never seen or tasted anything like it!

Then through more lanes to a courtyard with a pretty fountain, then down to the King's Road and on to the Pier. I was determined to walk to the end which I did! The Pier was all I imagined it to be. We loved the old music from the seventies and eighties which I always associate with places like this; Lido Shuffle, Xanadu and Walkin' on Sunshine to name a few. Ross dared me to go on the roller coaster at the end of the pier- is he crazy?

We strolled back to the foreshore where we enjoyed fish'n'chips at OhSoSocial, which Rosa had recommended as one of the few fish'n'chip places on the seafront that is delicious and reasonable priced. This is the value of seeing a place with a local! I ordered a Sol beer, but was brought a Heineken- I was so thirsty I could have drunk both! Ross had a passionfruit Rekorderlig, and Rosa had a Speckled Hen. Funny name for a beer!  The fish and chip meals were delicious too.

After dipping my toes in the pebbles (no sand here), we headed back to the Royal Pavilion gardens where we rested once again: this time for a coffee. Just a beautiful relaxing place to be; families and young people enjoying picnics on the lawns, a busker playing guitar, and a general sense of peacefulness.

Rosa left us here to enjoy the Royal Pavilion on our own. We went inside and checked out the first two rooms, but there was nowhere to sit so I decided to buy a book instead. Oh God, I hope Stacey doesn't read this. It was getting quite late so we decided we'd head back to the station to catch the train back to London. We arrived just on dark completely knackered, but what a wonderful day we'd had!

The Shard and Covent Garden

We've made bookings for brunch at the Aqua Shard restaurant 31 storeys high with a view all over London- not sure if it's higher than the Eye or not, probably is! There's some sort of disruption to train services today, so we had to catch a bus to Hounslow, then tube it from Hounslow East to Kings Cross St Pancras, then another tube to London Bridge- almost 2 hours in total. We arrived right on time with Joe and Angela and Eli only seconds behind us! Perfect timing!

It's 29 pounds if you just want to go to the viewing platform but 48 pounds for a 3 course brunch including a cocktail! We started with the cocktail,  a 31 ( named after the height of the restaurant I'm gathering) which was a delicious champagne cocktail made with English sparkling wine: 10 pound 50p if you wanted to buy an extra one. For entree, I chose lobster benedict- bit of a change to our eggs benedict at Scuzi- and looked so scrumptious I forgot to take a photo of it as is my habit. For mains, I chose rump steak with black pudding, mushrooms, tomato and poached egg. The black pudding was the best I've had, but the steak was a little tough! I forgot to take a photo of this too- my hunger overcame the need for photo- but managed to take a shot of my trifle for dessert. (See Facebook for photo.)

After brunch,  we headed off to Covent Garden via tube, where Ross and I found somewhere to sit at a bistro called Tuttons. The seats were comfy so I had an Old Rascal cider, while Ross drank a coffee. Then off to the "Bond in Action" exhibit just round the corner. Since I've only ever seen one bond film in my entire life (Skyfall), I thought I'd give it a miss and let Joe enjoy it with his dad. I returned to Angela and Eli and had fun with Eli watching the pigeons.

Ross and Joe returned and we headed off to SNOG, the frozen yoghurt chain, and indulged in our favourite with lots of berries. Angela suggested it was a nice walk across Waterloo Bridge so we walked down to the Strand and along the Strand to the Bridge. Ross didn't want to walk but I encouraged him saying "It'd be nice to see the sights from the bridge," so he reluctantly agreed. Nedd I say he was right? It was miles and miles (at least it felt like it with burning feet!), but we saw Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament, the Eye, and the Shard, and all the river boats. We finally reached Waterloo Station and caught the train to Hounslow, where we fortunately managed to catch a bus right back to our apartment as my feet were now beyond any form of walking.

Ross ran a bath for me to prevent a repeat of the overflowing incident, after which I lay on the bed and fell asleep on my wet towel! I think I must have been exhausted as I completely missed dinner. So did Ross as he tells me this morning he fell asleep on the lounge. At least I made it to the bed!

Hampton Court Palace and Maze

Our day started at the local hydrotherapy pool- no I'm not back into aqua although I will be as soon as my feet touch Australian soil. We were there to watch Eli at his swimming lesson. He loves the water! Joe drove us back to Richmond through the famous Richmond Deer Park, the scene of the famous Fenton youtube video, although we didn't see a single deer. We stopped at King Henry's Mound- not even big enough to be called a hill- and were amazed by the view out to Windsor castle to the south-west, and amazingly to St Paul's Cathedral in the city! Through a telescope, I could see St Paul's clearly-very cool! They keep trees cut back and don't allow buildings to block this direct line of sight. There are apparently eight such lines of sight, obviously a very important thing in centuries past.

Joe dropped us off and we walked down to the river and to catch the 11am cruise to Hampton Court Palace. We sat right up the front, even though it was a bit chilly, and I was so pleased we did as we actually went through a lock! The lock gate closed behind us, water rushed in, and we rose up to the level of the river above us. I was very impressed as was the three year old sitting beside us. We cruised upstream admiring the beautiful homes and gardens backing onto the river until we reached Kingston where we hopped off ( well hopped off might be a bit of a stretch of the imagination as I had my hiking stick with me today!) and boarded a larger boat for the rest of the journey to Hampton Court.

We cruised past Hampton Court Palace on our right, so jumped off (once again I might have said clambered off), crossed the bridge to the town of Hampton Court looking for the Palace which we thought must have been behind the town. However we were both wrong! The boat must have done a 180 degree turn to pull into the wharf which neither of us noticed. Ross had gone downstairs to throw our rubbish in the bin, but my only excuse was that I had drunk a bottle of Magners cider on the way!

By this time, I needed to find a loo (a pint of cider!) and found one in an English pub called The Prince of Wales. The aromas wafting from the kitchen reminded me of seafood chowder so we stopped for a "bite to eat". I ordered garlic an chilli prawns and salt and pepper squid- really delicious- washed down with a glass of pinot grigio.  Ross asked our waiter where the palace was, which was when we founf out it was EXACTLY where we got off the boat!

So off to the palace we went. Firstly we entered Henry VIII's apartments which were really interesting, then we walked through William III's ( William of Orange) palace. Henry's palace was built in the Tudor style and William's in Baroque. Fascinating! This is my favourite castle so far! We wanted to walk through the gardens but were running out of time. Finally we caught up to Joe and Angela and Eli for a coffee in the Riverside Restaurant where I had an Irish Coffee which warmed me up. I wasn't quite exhausted so was tempted to solve the maze! I love mazes. We finally got to the middle using my brilliant navigation skills. ( pure luck really!) In my search for a loo, we found the impressive vegetable gardens which provide veggies for the palace restaurants. Also the staff are able to buy remaining veggies very cheaply from a barrow in Tennis Court Lane every Wednesday.

We jogged back to the car ( read as hobbled!) well, actually Angela jogged pushing Eli and the pram, and Joe drove back to their house via Bushy Park where we saw deer- lots of deer! While we had some fun with Eli, Joe cooked us a scrumptious meal of Spatchcock with Tuscan Beans, which I not only had seconds, but thirds! So no wonder I felt a little ill on the bus ride home. After another long day, I collapsed into bed, and didn't wake up till almost 5am! Off to brunch at the Shard today!

Windsor Castle

Today, we're off to Windsor Castle which isn't too far from our apartment by train. We waited at Whitton station for Angela, Joe and Eli who were already on the train from Richmond. Eli entertained us the whole way. His laugh is contagious- he's such a happy baby!

Walking out of the station, we looked up to see Windsor Castle towering above us. Feeling a little daunted, we started up the hill. At this point, I realised I should have brought my hiking sticks. Onward and upward. By the time we reached the top, I wanted to take the load off my feet, but I persevered enough to get through the state apartments and see the doll's house. Maybe it was my state of mind (read this as feet were killing me), but I didn't enjoy the castle as much as I thought I would. I just couldn't wait until I reached the end! To add insult to injury, firstly I was admonished for having a can of drink- sparkling water with a shot of pure lemon juice, so had to scull it, then for taking a photo- not of anything inside the rooms, but looking out through the window at the view!

Next, Ross suggested we go through St George's Chapel. I reluctantly agreed, but it was worth it. I enjoyed it much more than the state apartments. Ross bought me a book which I'll probably enjoy more, reading about the history of the apartments.

What goes up must come down and so we then had to walk all the way down the hill, all the while looking for a toilet! After being sent from pillar to post, given so many conflicting directions as to their whereabouts, finally found one- down two flights of stairs! At this point, we caught up with the rest of the family, and started looking for somewhere to have afternoon tea. I wasn't hungry- all I wanted was to sit down!

We found a place called The Crooked House of Windsor- it really was very crooked- and had a delicious afternoon tea. I chose "The Duchess of Bedfordshire" which consisted off freshly baked scones, jam and a generous serving of Cornish clotted cream accompanied by a very large cup of coffee. Enough fuel to get me back to the station. I don't even remember the train trip home- I was knackered, collapsed on the bed and thought I'd go to sleep but didn't really. After an hour or so, I felt revived, had a shower, poured myself a Zinfandel and made a small cheese platter for dinner while watching something on TV, either The Chase or University Challenge. I was going to stay up for Mastermind, but a huge wave of sleepiness came over me suddenly and I had to go to bed, or I would have fallen asleep on the lounge. I slept like  a log until after 3am, so am waking up later and later each day. I'll be back to normal by the time I have to leave for home!

The Houses of Parliament

We started the day with a full English breakfast at the Whitton Cafe just underneath our apartment. 5 pounds including toast and coffee. Bargain- and delicious- eggs, bacon, black pudding, mushrooms. We sat at a table on the footpath which was a little chilly. My feet were freezing in sandals- I thought about going up to get my boots but was too lazy and it's supposed to be 26 later today.

Across the road to catch the bus to Joe's. Angela is at work and Eli is having his morning nap, so we started planning where we want to go and when. All that we planned was we'd all go to the Houses of Parliament when Eli woke up; we'd head down to Windsor Castle tomorrow afternoon, and have brunch at the Aqua Restaurant at the Shard on Sunday- really looking forward to that!

So off we trekked to the Houses of Parliament via Richmond. The tube emerged at Westminster right out the front and I have never seen so many heavily armed police and security men in all my life- and Parliament isn't even sitting! Joe's little scissors which he carries to cut open Eli's milk were confiscated and he had to collect them as we were leaving. Anyway, it was nothing like I had imagined- nothing like Parliament House in Australia- but the history on the audio was fascinating. Of course you are not allowed to take photos inside, but I would have loved to. Everything was old- rich red leather for the House of Lords and oxford green for the House of Commons, just in case a member wandered in drunk and went to the wrong place. :-) Small microphones hung down from the very high ceiling, and speakers were embedded in the leather seats. The seats were long benches with the government sitting on one side facing the opposition on the other. There's not enough room for the 630 members of the Commons so some have to stand or sit on the floor! Amazing!

We headed to the cafe for a pretty coffee while Eli drank his bottle. We ate our sandwiches which we had bought at Sainsbury's at Richmond on our way. All three of us had a huge sandwich, a drink and a packet of crisps for less than 10 pounds total! Bargain!

Back home to Joe's for a delightful Indian dinner which made up for its lateness by its deliciousness. Cheese naan, samosas, and butter chicken was my order, but we ended up sharing everything, so it was a real Indian banquet. After another bottle of Prosecco (half price and quite quaffable), a glass of chardonnay and a glass of red, I was ready for bed.

Westmister Abbey, the Tower of Big Ben, the rosy red cheeks of the little children...

We decided to make an early start since we spent the best part of yesterday in bed. The plan was to go to Heralds Place (the airbnb where I'm staying in November) to check it out, then head in to do the Houses of Parliament tour. We successfully completed the first part of the plan, but that's where it stopped. We caught the correct number bus but it just went in the wrong direction so we stayed on it until it terminated at Camberwell Green where we climbed down (we were right up front up top), hopped off, and grabbed a coffee at Macca's.

The bus stop was very close to Westminster Abbey, so we thought we'd do a quick tour of it first. It's so big there's no such thing as a quick tour, but we enjoyed it anyway, apart from there being nowhere to sit down until we got to the Cloisters. More of a graveyard than a church, it was interesting to see the many famous people who've been interred there over the centuries. Poet's Corner was my favourite, also the tomb of the unknown soldier which holds pride of place in the centre of the Abbey. I'd learned about this at primary school, and finally got to visit almost 60 years later. The Abbey itself is beautiful, but as always, I thought too much money had been spent on ornamentation, and too much money was being charged just to see it.  I have a deep-seated dislike of being charged to enter a church!

Next stop- Churchill War Rooms. This was the underground complex where Churchill and the top brass conducted military operations during the war. The floor had been reinforced with a concrete slab, and all the rooms furnished as they would have been during the war. It was like a rabbit warren and inevitably, I became completely lost, saw some rooms twice and I'm sure I missed others. They even had an interactive timeline which really helped me understand what was happening during the war, and a trivia corner about Winston Churchill himself where you could sit down (yay!) and answer questions on Winston Churchill before being told the answer. How tall was he? What colour eyes did he have? Where was he born? etc Of course I knew all of them! :-)

By this stage, we were both starting to get peckish (read this as starving) and set out in search of a good ol' British pub. We hopped on a bus to Covent Garden, but ended up at Trafalgar Square where we found The Chandos. It had a bar downstairs but upstairs was the Opera Room, where we managed to find a table in the corner and collapsed into comfy chairs. We ordered two different types of pies  washed down with cider/ale. What a huge, scrumptious meal!

There was no way I was going to tackle the Houses of Parliament now. Across the road was a Flight Centre, so Ross thought he'd try to change our flight home to avoid Bali and the domestic route from Jakarta to Bali. Oh yes, it could be done- by cancelling our entire ticket and purchasing a one-way ticket with another airline at a minimum cost of $3200- ridiculous- so we have a 7 and half hour stopover at Bali-- we thought 4 hours was bad enough. Any suggestions? Don't say go to the beach-it's 7 and a half hours at night!

We headed home on the train after a long day. Ross hopped off at Richmond to visit Joe, and I managed to stay awake, well almost, till my stop at Whitton. Actually I fell asleep and woke up when we pulled into Twickenham, the station before Whitton, so I stood up for the rest of the trip. We needed some supplies at the supermarket so crossed over the High Street to Tesco's- one of my favourite supermarkets. I bought bread, ham, and cheese for toasted sandwiches, and raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, double cream and two tubs of Kelly's Cornish Clotted Cream Ice-cream (it was on special) for dessert. (They are all still in the fridge!) Also bought a bottle of Prosecco which is not, and some Radox to have a bath- it was buy one, get one free for 1.50. 75p each- bargain! I put those to good use immediately luxuriating in a hot bath sipping Prosecco. Naturally, after I managed to get out of the bath ( it's narrow- the English are not as fat as us Aussies), I lay down and fell asleep. Apart from semi-waking to let Ross in, I slept for the next 8 and a half hours. I was awake at 2.30am again, but at least I'd had a really good sleep.

Lazin' around in London

Well our first full day in London and what do we do? Sleep in till 11.15am of course! We managed to get up, have some yummy breakkie cereal, and get to Gymboree ay 2.30pm. Gymboree is still the same as it was 25 years ago, and Eli loves it! A lovely coffee shop next door called Harris & Hoole beckoned us in for a lovely latte after which we decided to walk home to Joe's along the banks of the River Thames with me pushing the pram, calling in to the co-op for provisions for tonight's barbecue. Oh how I love supermarkets overseas! I couldn't resist the creme brulee or the caramel pannacotta so bought both. Ross also bought Cornish Clotted Cream ice-cream. Yum! I wound up eating both the creme brulees ( 650 calories) and having some of the ice-cream with raspberries and blueberries. I'll have to either walk it off or starve tomorrow. I decided to start by walking back to our apartment, but didn't get too far before I caved and we caught the bus. So it looks like starvation is in order.

By the time I showered and crawled into bed thoroughly exhausted, it was after 11pm so I thought  I'd crash till dawn but no such luck. I woke up three times before 2 am but managed to get back to sleep. However I failed n the 4th attempt so have stayed awake with the plan to make an early start this morning.

London at Last!

After flying for an eternity (37 hours 15 minutes to be exact), we made it to London- yay! and more to the point, so did our suitcases! YAY! The flight from Jakarta to Amsterdam was a long one- 16 hours- but amazingly one of the best long haul flights I've ever done! This is where the cabin crew earned their stars to be the best in the world. We boarded the 777-800 and immediately fell asleep. I think I was  asleep even before we were airborne. There was a bottle of water waiting for every passenger on our seats, which I gulped down as the last thing I drank was the Starbucks coffee 5 hours ago!

Unfortunately, did not sleep for more than a couple of hours, then had the shortest catnaps imaginable averaging 2-3 minutes ( there was the flight screen directly in front of me) until I roused myself, went to the bathroom, washed my face, cleaned my teeth and felt like a million dollars. I turned on my reading light to find the remote for the movies, and then the whole cabin lights came on and we were served a meal! They must have been waiting for the first passenger to stir from slumber as the whole plane was in darkness until that moment. The only thing I remember about the meal was the guava jelly- it was so delicious I ate Ross' as well! It must have been the sugar spike, because now I was hyper.

I managed to get my screen going, and watched a series of movies- Chef, We're the Millers, the Double (weird movie with Jesse Eisenberg), to name a few. Ross then recommended a TV Series called Better with You, which was very funny. Then came breakfast: croissant, yoghurt, juice, fresh fruit, omelette, and a cup of English Breakfast Tea before landing at Schipol International Airport in Amsterdam. Europe at last! After another short uneventful flight, we landed at Gatwick to be met by Joe and little Eli. So pleased we had decided not to get the train, as we were dead on our feet.

Joe drove us directly to our apartment, Ross collected the keys from the cafe, and we were here at the place we're going to call home for the next couple of weeks! After a lovely cup of coffee, I jumped into the long-awaited shower. Oh no, there was no hot water! We didn't know we had to turn on the hot water when we arrived. So cold shower it was! After hopping across the road to the Lidl supermarket for some breakfast supplies (and wine), we headed off to Joe and Angela's at Isleworth. They live in a beautiful double storey terrace house, with a delightful back garden where we sat on the deck sipping a lovely red enjoying the last remaining warmth of the day. Yes, it was a beautiful day in London- perfect weather. Don't believe everything they tell you about London's weather!

After a delicious Thai takeaway, we headed home and crashed!

Jakarta- The Saga Continues...

We’ve been awake for 20 hours so we’re starting to get a bit tired and frazzled. After being told at Bali that our suitcases would be sent straight through to London, we didn’t think we’d have to worry about them, but Ross talked to a girl going to London who’d been told she had to get her suitcase off the baggage carousel in Jakarta so we thought we’d better check to make sure, since nothing we’ve been told has been correct so far! Well, her suitcase didn’t come off and neither did one of ours! Two did though, but after much searching for “lost property”, Ross found a Garuda woman who “seemed” to know what she was talking about. Apparently, “some” of the suitcases got transferred directly, while others, such as our two, got accidentally offloaded at Jakarta. They have no clue what they are doing! By this stage I am hanging out for a “real” coffee as we had seen a Starbucks at Domestic. We asked another Garuda lady where gate E2 was, and she pointed down to the right and mentioned something to Ross about “airport tax”. Ross was almost to the end of his tether by this stage ,as he had been informed by the travel agent that there was no more taxes to pay apart from the Bali one. He had already paid $70US for the “pleasure” of flying via Bali! The cost of this tax was 300,000 rupiah, about $25, but another thing to have to do- find an ATM etc etc. Ross managed to get the dough, and then we headed through customs and found a Starbucks where a large coffee was gratefully consumed, to give me back some human qualities. I am now so tired “zombie” would be a more apt description! 

To get to gate 2, we had to go through another security checkpoint with the most sensitive scanner we’ve yet encountered. I had to take off my bangles, watch, AND sandals, but at least I didn’t have to take my laptop and iPad out of my bag!! So off we went to find gate 1 ( our gate 2 had been changed to gate1!) We trudged along the corridor to gate 1, only to be told it would be another 2 hours before we would be allowed into that area! There were about a hundred empty seats in there, but here we are on the last available seat in the common area.

Ross asked where the chemist/pharmacy was and was told it was down the end of the corridor. I opted to sit with my feet up and wait for him. He just arrived back after walking miles, flopped down on the seat beside me and when I asked how he went (we wanted Tears for Eyes), he replied, ”You’re not going to believe this- there is no effing pharmacy!” at which point, I burst into hysterical laughter! We were still giggling when some soldiers came and told us to move. We feebly tried to argue, but then we realized they were opening the other x-ray machine, so thought we’d have another try to get into gate 1 waiting area. He saw us coming and said we were still too early at which point, I gasped, “I need to use the toilet!” Miraculously I was ushered through and Ross just mumbled and followed. So we are here waiting. Ross just informed me it’s only another 2 hours to go. We cannot wait to get out of this hellhole!

Bamboozled in Bloody Bali...

Where do I begin? Let’s start on a positive note. The toilets are immaculately clean; the reason being there’s a poor woman on her hands and knees cleaning the floors with a rag. How do I know this, you ask?  While I was sitting there regaining my breath after an ongoing nightmare, I espied a thin brown hand coming under the wall. At first I thought it was a child, but alas, it was the cleaning woman. And that’s the only good thing I have to say about Bali Airport aka Denpasar.

·     To start at the beginning, we were handed two forms on the plane, a customs declaration and an arrival/departure card.

·     My customs declaration was in Indonesian, but fortunately, Ross’ was in English so we filled those out.  Then I filled out the Arrival/ Departure form only to be told by the air-hostess that I didn’t need to fill out that one because we were in transit, so I ripped it up. 

·     When we landed, we walked across the tarmac to a bus which took us to the terminal and that’s when the “fun” started!

·     We were told to go to the first transit desk, which we did, and we were then told to go to the Visa counter to purchase a Visa for 35 US dollars each. That was straightforward.

·     Then we had to fill out the arrival/departure forms, and line up in an extremely long line. We asked since we were in transit could we go to the front of the line as we thought we only had 2 hours total here. The answer was an emphatic “No, you must line up.” OK. 

·     Another person when questioned told us we had to go to the transit desk (where we had just been!).  Everyone seems to have a different story. At this stage, I was very forgiving as they only started this route last week.

·     At immigration where we were classified as “Foreigners”,  Ross got through, but my guy said I had to go back and get a refund on the Visa. I was completely bamboozled! He then asked Ross’ guy who then went to ask someone else, and then I had to go back to the counter to get my passport stamped or whatever. The last official told us we had to go get our suitcases from carousel 4.

·     Ross, very fortunately as it turned out, grabbed a luggage trolley and loaded all our bags onto it.  As we had been told, we turned right after luggage and ran into a blank wall! That wasn’t right.

·     Then we backtracked to find where we had to hand in our customs declaration. There was a big x-ray scanner with no signs on it so I walked straight past and handed both our forms to one of the customs guys, then Ross was pulled up by another customs guy and had to put all of the luggage through the scanner.

·     I then lost sight of the customs guy I had handed the forms to, but managed to point to one and say ”him”.

·     Then we had to go though a narrow door with no signs to the domestic area to try to find where to drop off our suitcases. This was like a maze.

·     We finally found the check-in area and located a check in for Garuda Indonesia. Unfortunately, it was Business Class only. Of course Ross says “can you make us Business?” No, the economy desk (we gathered that was what she was trying to say) was round the corner down past Lion Airways.

·     Well, we finally found where to check in our bags except they had flight numbers which didn’t correspond with ours, but I stayed in the line nonetheless. As  I reached the front of the line, the check-in girl came out from around the counter and took down the flight numbers) they were slot-in cardboard or plastic!)

·     I thought I’m just going to put our bags on here and see what happens. Ross is doubtful our bags will ever get to London!

·     Then we decide to make a quick trip to the toilet (the whereabouts of which we had to enquire as there were NO signs!)

·     After my fun trip to the toilet, we can see where we have to go (gate 20) but can’t see how to get there, so we ask a person just sitting there who tells us we go through beside her, but we have to leave the luggage trolley behind, which we did.

·     We managed to make it to gate 20 (of course, the VERY last one in the terminal) and have just had the worst coffee in the history of man ( I only drank half of it, it was so bad!) and am waiting for our flight to Jakarta. Ross reckons he’s never coming here again until I reminded him our flight comes back in the reverse order. He’s not happy. He says the only thing that makes the whole shebang bearable is that he’s with me. Isn’t that sweet?

The countdown starts...6 days to go!

Well here I am at some ungodly hour, unable to sleep, and filled with as much excitement as trepidation thinking about my upcoming trip to London- slightly worried about flying Garuda- I know, they'll probably be amazing- but after always having flown Qantas, I feel like I'm deserting a sinking ship purely on price!

Ross just suggested I make notes on my phone so I don't forget anything important. I always stress about what to take, and what not to take. My last big trip, I took FAR too much and actually sent a big box of unnecessary items home from Oslo- just 3 weeks into the trip. Stacey was right-I didn't need a single one of them.

This trip is going to be a lot easier in many ways. We're going to be staying in one spot for the entire time, not continually on the move train hopping around Europe, not knowing what our next accommodation was going to provide us with. And we know someone in London- Ross' son Joe, his wife Angela, and their delightful baby boy, Eli so we're not going to be on our own in a big city living on our wits. This thought is actually bringing out the inner calm in me, which I know exists, but just gets covered in layers of stress.

Dawn is breaking, and in 6 days' time, we'll be on our way via Bali, Jakarta and Amsterdam. Getting excited again just mentioning these places!