McLays in Europe

We left John and Alison with their married life(and Children) at 8.45am and set the GPS for the Europecar office at Heathrow airport. We both had final cuddles of the two boys before we left knowing that next time we saw them they would be big boys (certainly bigger boys) We have been invited to come back for Christmas, so maybe in a couple of years). The drive to Heathrow went perfectly to plan until in the airport on a large roundabout Ian went off on the wrong exit (this had happened a few times but only one memorable honk occured as a consequence) then we had to turn back, but all came together and we rolled into the office ahead of the return time.

The VW Polo was a low power car (1.2 litre) but excellent for the England conditions where winding, narrow roads required manouvability and turning capabilities and the economy was great considering fuel is expensive.

We were some hours early for the flight but that was ok and time soon passed as we drank coffee and read papers. The last political debate was scheduled for that night. We had become interested with the British politics and this was the first election where Britain had TV debates between the leaders. The flight to Doha over 7 hours was boring for Alison but ok for Ian as he watched Avatar twice (he hadn't realised Sigorney Weaver was in it). The 2 hour stopover in Doha is interesting as there are people of all nationalities passing through and it is fascinating to see all the different styles of dress and everyone mixing it all together. On landing in Doha in the middle of the night it could be clearly seen as a place we might want to overnight at next time as it looked interesting from the air. The layout to the city had obviously been well planned and the night lighting gave it an exotic appearance! As we were getting things together to get off the plane we struck up a conversation with an English lady sitting behind us.'Oh' said Ian, 'are you getting off here?'' Yes.' Alison said 'Oh we would like to overnight here, what is it like?'Then she added " I am here for an interview to be nanny for the Royal Family!!!!!' We wonder if she got the job.

For our next leg to Singapore we were shuffled into a transfer bus to get to our flight and were in there for half an hour. This was a bit uncomfortable as it was standing room only. There were so many people on that flight (4 bus loads). Seven hours later we arrived in Singapore and it was daylight. Alison slept most the way but Ian again watched movies. We had to wait another 5 hours in Singapore which was a little tedious. Due to lack of sleep, Ian had to lay down, but the airport did not seem the place, so doing the Aussie thing he found some lawn out the front of the terminal and lay there in the shade for an hour. Alison was not happy and thought there might be a Singapore law against that, as Singapore seems to have laws for just about everything.

Finally we boarded our last flight which was around 4 hours to Darwin. We quickly passed through customs and Melissa was there to pick us up. We arived home at around 3am and sat talking until 5.30am, neither of us really tired (although we knew we were both exhausted). The decision to head to bed was finally agreed and once there we could have slept for a week.

We both agreed that we made excellent travelling companions and that the trip was fantastic. We watched Doc Martin the next night and just couldn't believe we had just been there!

Wednesday was our last day in England and we had planned to just take it easy and prepare for the long flight home. But hey, we won't be back for a while so decided to head into Chesham for some shopping as we had offered to cook John and Alison dinner for the last night. We had last seen the shops in December 2007 when Christmas was in the air and frost on the ground. This time it was a different scene. We hit The High Street (every town in England has one of these) and it was market day. The temperature was very mild by Australian standards but looked like it might hit 20 degrees celcius and sunny.

Ian managed another haircut at the hairdresser he had visited in 2007 and found them very welcoming and a chat about Australia certainly was of interest to the girls there. Alison worked the market stalls and managed to give a few of the stallholders a laugh or two as she ordered vegetables by their Australian title and did not follow their protocol - whatever it was. It was interesting to see fresh meat, although covered, was layed out on the benches without refrigeration.

We shared a plate of nacchos for lunch in our last English Pub (for this visit) and had a great chat with 4 old boys on subjects that ranged from the usual snakes and spiders to bowling underarm to the Kiwi's. One chap who was just resting from his stall outside had a sister living in Geelong, and all of a sudden the world seemed much smaller.

We visited a number of op shops and picked up some clothes. They are much classier than Aussie op shops and everything is so organised it was very easy to find things to suit. We arrived home and played with the children and then cooked a roast to have with our English cousins and a final chat over the events of the past few weeks. Bed was waiting with the room downstairs at John's feeling very much 'ours' and next day it was off to Heathrow for the Qatar plane so we could retrace our steps of a month ago.

We headed off early Thursday morning from John's for a 3 or 4 day trip to discover Devon and Cornwall via Bath and Stonehenge.

Our plans were quickly delayed when a vital double roundabout (two roundabouts making a figure 8) had our exit shut off for road works and it took about an hour to find another way as the GPS kept leading us back. As we were working off a 2007 data map this possibly added to the confusion.

We finally arrived at beautiful Lacock Village and the main feature here are the historic houses and the Abbey, which was originally a nun's convent until Henry VIII closed it down during the dissolution when he formed the Church of England. More recently a Harry Potter movie scene had been shot there.
In the village we had soup & bread surrounded by spring flowers in the garden of the oldest house; King John's Garden.

Heading of from Lacock, our B&B search took us through the Cotswolds, which were simply beautiful but the GPS was homing in on expensive places. We eventually found a B&B in Warminster and the hostess Linda was very keen to discuss politics. She liked Nick Clegg because he was young and good looking!! We dined at a local pub on pork chops and faggots (pork mince and liver). We returned to our room early to watch the 2nd political debate. Ian judged Gordon Brown the winner, but did not dare say that to the Brits who seem to hate him!

After an English breakfast on Friday we headed of to the beautiful City of Bath. Alison located long term parking and sourced a walking tour of Bath. First stop on the walk was the Royal Crescent, an estate of 30 old apartments from 1800's built with a large curved frontage and an astonishing view over a large lawn area. We visited a Museum in the Royal Crescent which was fitted out just like when the London aristocrats went there to holiday & play. We the walked onto the Fashion Museum which was in the Assembly Rooms which had been built as a meeting room for the fashionable elite. Alison enjoyed this rather more that Ian, especially the dresses from previous centuries. One item was an original dress worn by Queen Victoria which showed how short she was.

The Roman Baths had been uncovered in 1800's although they were first built by the Romans in 1st century. They sit on a natural spring which provided the warm, bubbling water.

Poulteney Bridge was stunning and with the sun shining the people were out basking in it and the atmosphere in the Parade Gardens which included public displays of George and the Dragon made this a very attractive place to be.

We found the car with some trouble, funny John had said to us when over here it takes a while to be able to sense direction and headed for Stonehedge which did not have a magnetic draw to it like we thought , but on studying the resource material it did present a facinating study on how it came to be. The amazing thing was it was so long ago, hundreds of years before Christ and the large rocks are said to come from Wales!! And that was miles away.

A B&B in Marsh, led us to an upmarket dinner of Steak & Veg and Rainbow Trout & Rhubarb Apple & Ginger crumble in a beautifully fitted English Pub just up the road, where a Partridge Shooters party was happening around us and so another opportunity to sit back and observe the lives of an interesting group.

When we woke up Saturday and stepped outside we realised this was a Pig farm area. The English breakfast was great, Fried bread Ian? Oh just a little thanks. It certainly filled us up for the day. Alison selected a country walk which started from nearby Yarcomb, at one home owned by Sir Francsis Drake in an area which was also owned by him and the walk was great.Climbing over the styles between paddocks and through farmyards and collecting daisies. Alison remembering her childhood made a chain.
Then we drove thru Exeter, Devon's capital and then to Torquay because of the name. The highlight here was Kents Cavern and the guided tour was short on people (only us and another couple) but very very good. The Cavern is very well lit and essentuated by lights. The guide takes you through the interplay between man and wild animals back many years ago (how many??)

We journeyed to Berry Pomeroy Castle, owned by the Seymore family but in a state of ruin and said to be haunted due to some dreadful happenings in years gone by. The roads in were the narrowest we had encountered and at one stage a cheeky Brit backed us up for a klm and then as he got past gave the thumbs up. We moved on as we were planning to already be in Penzance. But we got to Plympton and a B&B was not appearing, we were tired so we stopped at a city hotel, twin beds and 50 pounds and lovely Dinner at Thai restuarant around the corner (made us a little homesick for Darwin cuisine).

Next day set off for Penzance, and as no breakfast at the hotel we were at the door of a little pub in Marazion for the advertised Sunday roast, which turned out to be unbelievably good and could not possibly be eaten by one man. Then off to visit Saint Michaels Mount which turned out to be the worst event of our trip as we were waiting on an Island of rocks near the beach that the man had pointed to for a launch and in the meantime the tide had come in and we were stranded some 100 yeard from the shore, amazing!So off came the shoes and socks and we had to wade back to shore. We were a bit tired travelling each day and after this happened we decided to find a nearby pub, get a room. We did so we lay in bed watching a Hugh Grant movie,this was much easier and relaxing for a while and still seeing England!

Later in day we went driving to Lands End, Englands most Westerly point.

At this point we had been away longer than planned, texts to let John know were not being answered so we hoped he was not worried, so Monday we headed off for Tintagel, site of the ruins of Tintagel Castle where it said it is the birthplace of the legendary King Arthur. At the visitors Centre we watched a movie explaining the stories that were based in this area, of Merlin and the King's sword Excalibur.
The Post Office Museum was good to visit and see the typical house of this fishing village.

Drove through Bos Castle on way to Clovelly. This old fishing village has been preserved and now under private ownership is a tourist attraction. Apart from staff who live there the village is as it was and open for inspection. The paths are so steep and made of rounded rocks tightly packed in the ground, so watch your step. Carts were dragged behind and no wheels as they just slid over the rocks in the paths. This village has a cafateria and shopping and essential services, we looked at staying here but the B&B rate was twice that of our nightly budget.

So we drove on to Appledore to see the North Devon Maritime Museum, but it had closed so we found a cosy Pub near a river mouth (Torridge Estuary) and our room was on top and looked out to sea. We immediately opened the window and the sea breeze came in and the frequent call of a sea gull that we remembered only from British films. We walked along the narrow cobbled lanes for a while and then settled down for dinner at pub. That night after dinner we just listened to the various people talking around us and this was highly entertaining. The man with his hip replacement that could not be done in England and so his friend was advising him how to get the National Health Fund to get it done in Germany. And the ex mayor of the local Council spueking like only Mayor's can. And the number of people that were out walking the dog and just dropped in dog and all for a quick pint.

Tuesday after being the only people at breakfast and again having the full English breakfast we headed off through Exmoore National Park via the coast to Waters Meet a quant lodge in the countryside that had waterfalls and walking tracks. Then on to Lynton & Lynmouth, to what was probably the most beautiful place we saw in England. A cable car connected the twin towns as ? was up the cliff and ? was down. As one cable went up the other came down and so steep. Alison headed us off on a walk to Valley of the Rocks, and as we walked along a narrow track, mountain goats grazed on the side of an almost sheer drop to the ocean and the Southern Coast of Wales could be clearly seen directly across the water.

Reaching ? we could not resist a lunch of cod & chips by the waters edge, too much food but so nice. Ian started looking in real Estate Agent windows as he really liked this place so Alison guided him to the car and set the GPS for John's.

With John and Alison back from their honeymoon we set off on a day trip to Windsor Castle. It was another beautiful sunny day. We managed to get the GPS functioning and on the drive down we noticed different trees flowering - magnolia and blossum trees everywhere. In addition, the tulips are really in full swing. Alison had fun feeding the swans in the Thames. it started with a small group and ended up with a whole flock!
Windsor Castle stands high up above the town and our visit coincided with the real birthday of the Queen who was in residence. Built originally by William the Conquerer over 1000 years ago, it is a magnificant building and the state apartments and St George Chapel are incredible. After seeing this we can understand the Queen's dismay when 150 rooms caught on fire in 1992. Many of the royals are buried in the chapel including Henry VIII, Jane Seymour, Charles I, George VI, Queen Mother and Princess Margaret.
To top it off we were very pleased to see planes in the sky - the first since they had stopped due to the volcano in Iceland.
On the way back we dropped into see Henley on Thames (of interest due to the Henley on Todd in Alice Springs). We took a stroll down the Thames and saw a very large lock. We were thankful that we did not have any of this size to contend with when on the narrow boat the week previous.
We stopped in at a pub on the way home and had another English meal - bangers and mash and shepherd's pie.

John and Alison took us up on our offer to babysit for a few days so that they could have a honeymoon. Alison's parents also stayed and we shared the responsibility. We all got on very well. We have been reminded about how time consuming it is to care for babies but the busy days were OK as the children both slept for 12 hours at night. After the children were safely tucked up in bed, the adults enjoyed some home cooked English meals such as roast chicken, lamb shanks and bread and butter pudding with Australian wines.

After getting the narrowboat back to base by 9am Friday morning we had the day to pick up our hire car in Coventry, drop our German friends to their train and then drive to Chesham (Alison's cousin John was getting married the next day). The only problem was the uncertainty about Hartmut and Doreena's flight back to Germany due to the Volcanic Ash that had caused cancellation of all flights from England.

Radio reports were saying that the airports were closed so we headed to Coventry to seek details. Options were limited and Hartmut & Doreena decided to book into a room for a few nights and hope to get back to Germany Monday. So we had to leave them and headed off to Chesham.

After two hours of driving through Central England with a very basic map we found Chesham (GPS not functioning at this stage). We knocked on the door and here was a family in full wedding swing - to do lists were being circulated and we were scooped up as we had a role in Child Care (John and Alison already have two children aged 2 and 7 months) and some other things to assist with. The Wedding was to held at Stowe Gardens (developed in 1600's) in Buckinghamshire with the reception to follow in the Town Hall.

Next morning we joined a car convoy to Buckingham, which carefully paused at roundabouts to make sure the Aussies were following. After lunch in the bar at the hotel where we were staying, we caught the double decker wedding bus to Stowe Gardens. Well, the location was stunning - in the beautiful English countryside and in a building that was like a mini version of the Acropolis in Greece. A jazz band welcomed us and the ceremony was relaxed. The celebrate who knew the bride and groom both very well, personalised the whole thing. As we were the only relatives of John's to attend, we got to sit in the front row. A quartet of female singers performed and then we spilled outside. The day was beautiful and sunny and all the locals were saying that this was the best weather they had had in England this year. Champagne was served with cake and on the surrounding grass lawn, games were set up as people mingled, drank and socialised. To get the baby asleep, we took him for walk in the pram around the gardens which Alison found very difficult as she was wearing high heels.

We all got back onto the bus and were dropped at the reception hall. The proceedings started and drinks and food were brought to the tables. Each table was given a set of Celebrity Heads cards and then the hall resembled a games hall as every table played away and got to know each other. The usual speeches took place and then the room was cleared for the evenings entertainment including a clown ventriloquist and Punch and Judy, Morris Dancing, bush dancing and a choir of around 20 women. The groom performed with the Morris Dancers and the bride with the chorale group.

It was one of the best weddings we have ever attended and well worth the effort to come across to England - even if we weren't sure at that stage if we were going to get back to Australia anytime soon due to the closure of the airflights due to volcano in Iceland.

Leaving Hanover airport we flew to Birmingham and then by London Cab to our apartment. We arrived late due to delays with Flybe(again) but at this time of night it was too cold and dark for any of us to venture outside and find food - so it was straight to bed. We were all especially hungry in the morning and Hartmut was already missing his German food, so we settled for an English Breakfast at the Mailbox Shopping Centre. The meal came out and Hartmut was unsure about the things on his plate he referred to as 'bare bones'. Bare Bones we said !, where? Oh no Hartmut they are Baked Beans. He loved them so much we had them everyday on the boat.
We visited Lady Godiver and did a little shopping in Coventry as Ian's bag had fallen apart and then travelled via a cab to the Rose Narrowboats where we were shown to our home for the next four nights. Half an hour to pack our clothes and chattles from our cases and then Ian had to undertake a half hour instruction on handling the boat, where everything was and what to do if there was no gas, no water, no fuel etc. Ian started the motor and John the boatman went with us under the first bridge and then unexpectantly jumped off onto the nearby bank and yelled good luck! You're on your own! So off we went, first stop was 2 hours up the canal where we could see Tesco(supermarket) located on the map. We bought up for the next 4 days which was an interesting exercise, knowing that we needed to buy food that would appeal to both Aussies and Germans, but that was eventually negotiated and what a lot of food! Hartmut took advantage of all of the specials and bought two of everything. We lugged it all back to the boat in shopping bags. As it was dark now we had no option but to spend the night where we had moored. Rose Narrowboats forbid travel in their boats at night. The boat was gas heated and had a good kitchen. It was like a floating caravan, but elongated with a lounge room, kitchen, double bedroom, toilet/shower and finally a bedroom with two single beds. As you walk down the boat you pass through each room. So we sat up that night and cooked our first meal on board. The boat was cosy on the inside and well fitted out. Moorings were available to tie up to, or if not you just drive in a few pegs on the bank.

The canals were constructed in England in the 19th century for transport of goods but when other modes of transport took over they were neglected. Over recent years they have been undergoing a revival by narrowboat enthusiasts. The canals meander throughout England and go up or down in elevation by a system of locks that allow the boat to move to a higher or lower canal levels.

Next day we hit our first lock and our first real 'team' test. Luckily the people on other boats are helpful and taught our lock team (Hartmut, Alison and Doreena) while Ian drove the boat through. There was a series of half a dozen locks this time, and after one or two we were ok.

Later on in the trip we hit double locks and found that going up or down alongside another boat was the easiest way to go. The sight of two narrowboats steaming into the locks and out of them together is really a great sight.
You must be sure to position the boat in the lock when going up so that the bow does not get water poured on top and when going down that the stern does not get caught on the cement crib of the lock and sink.
Every so often along the canals or the locks there is a nice English pub with people sitting outside. At one lock some people were sitting drinking outside the Admiral Nelson pub and as Ian was standing at the tiller (rear of the boat)waiting for the lock to fill they engaged on the Ashes series. We had two Aussie flags fixed on the front of our boat which of course was a dead giveaway, only this time the Poms had the upper hand and gave Ian heaps over the result of the last Ashes. Anyway they seem to love Aussies over here and all ended in laughter.

The next day we went through the Braunston tunnel which is 2 km long and we were in there for half an hour and luckily didn't meet a boat coming the other way. It is pitch black and the lights on the boat don't really seem to help a lot. However there was enough sense of the shape of the tunnel, which only cleared the boat by a few feet above, to enable us to keep the boat moving without scrapping the sides. In earlier days when the boats were horse drawn, men would on reaching a tunnel unhook the horses and lay on the roof of the boat and walk them through by pushing their feet on the top of the tunnel, when they reached the other end they would rehook the horses. We actually had no strategy in case of a breakdown apart from a horn!

The narrowboat is a great holiday option as you can pull up virtually anywhere along the canal, lock the boat and go walking or just keep warm inside and read. There are many pubs along the way and even a narrow boat cafe. With four adults in our boat it seemed a bit cramped at times but with a couple we think it would be good for a longer period and very relaxing. The boats only chugg at 3 to 4 mph so it is life in the slow lane, although as we found going through one blind tunnel and unexpectantly meeting another boat coming the other way that bumping into others is sometimes hard to avoid. The boats have only reverse gear as a brake and don't respond to turning quickly. In fact they don't respond quickly to anything.

The number of boats moored in Marina's along the way suggests in summer the canals would be pretty crowded. It is not very well accepted to pass moored boats going too fast as waves rock their boats too much and if someone is pouring hot coffee, whoops! A couple of people stuck their heads out at us and said 'too fast' and so we waved and Hartmut replied 'I don't understand'.

When we were getting off the boat Friday morning, John the boatman had taken a likening to Hartmut and gave him a brass tiller to take back to Germany which really impressed Hartmut.

Heading off from NottingHill, leaving Old London town we took the underground to Heathrow to board a bus for Birmingham to catch flight to Hannover in Germany. The airline was Flybe and all went to plan until 10 minutes into the flight the plane returned to ground due to an undercarrage problem. We sent a text to Hartmut who was picking us up at Hannover 'Plane broken will be late'. This unfortunately did not translate to him the correct message and so some frantic calls took place to get this straight. On arrival at Hannover, 2 hours late but safe we spotted Hartmut , Doreena and their dog Sissy waving from behind a glass wall. Hartmut was wearing the cats scarf we left him in 2007, so Ian reached into his bag and found his and smiles were all round. We were soon on the autobahn doing 200klm per hour down the wrong side of the road to their house in Goslar. Despite the time, we sat up until the early hours catching up and German/English translation did not seem a problem as we were happy to see each other again.( We found as the trip went on that we got very tired of conversing by night time and after a while expressed to each other at times to slow down. Their English improved quite a bit as the days went on, our German unfortunaely is pretty well non existent. We think that as we plan to meet again that we should now make the effort to learn some German). The next morning Doreena was knocking at our door at 8am (sharp) for our German breakfast. This we discovered was not a usual breakfast for them, obvously a bit more fancy for us but breakfast is an important meal in Germany and the table was covered with eggs, bacon, cold meat, rolls, butter and marmalade. The plan for the day was to visit the village of Wernigerode, take a little train up the mountain to an historic Castle and then that night take a meal with their adult children at a local chinese restaurant. We also had a beautiful afternoon tea in a cafe. Too much eating!

The next day breakfast was again at 8am sharp and Alison went with Doreena to a local Flea Market while Hartmut finished some work and Ian drafted some blogs. Hartmut has a bag printing business and 20% of the proceeds are given to Disadvantaged Children. The business employs Doreena and three other women and is based at their house, which is a typical old residence for that village with four levels and access via a very steep internal staircase that winds its way up through the building. Hartmut also provides IT support to a couple of local small businesses. Goslar was in former East Germany and this area was not bombed during the WWII and still has much of the very old German architecture, cobblestone roads etc. It is very picturesque and almost like being in a fairy story.

That afternoon we visited friends of Hartmuts for more afternoon tea, this time apple cake. The friend then drove the four of us to Hannover airport for a flight to Birmingham on Flybee to pick up the Narrow boat for the next four nights. Our trip to Germany was over too quickly.

Tuesday, we boarded a tour boat leaving from Westminster and took an hour to cruise down the Thames to Greenwich. There were some interesting sights along the way, the house where Charles Dickens lived and steps where Queen Elizabeth I walked down to knight Sir Walter Raleigh. We also saw the changing profile of London where warehouses along the Thames are being transformed into apartments. The boat captain provided the commentry and he did not hold back on expressing his views particularly about the encumbant PM.

Greenwich was a great place to visit and with some history to tell, particularly as Henry VIII, Charles I and Elizabeth I spent much of their reign in this area. We also visited the Queens House, Maritime Museum and the Royal Observatory where we stood on the mark where time zones are benchmarked from. A local church had ceiling painting by Reubens.

We returned again tired, to Notting Hill and took the easy option and dined at the Churchill Arms which offers Thai food. It is so popular there you can only book a table for 1 hour.

Wednesday we visited Harrods and took a stroll into the food hall. Alison thought this was a good strategy to keep Ian interested! The standard of the displays was better than any shop we had ever seen and priced to match, and yet lots of ordinary people seemed to be shopping there. We saw some steak priced at £198 per kilo! After morning tea in Harrods we headed off again into the city and visited the House of Commons and were surprised how easy it was to get into initially. But further in, security tightened up with scanning and a body search. Question time had just ended and Gordon Brown had just left the house and so it was easy to get in. It was good to see the House of Westminster Government. Entry to the house was through a cathedral where many notable Royals had been standing in history as was marked by metal plates. It is also the place where deceased royals and other notable people lay in state prior to burial.

Wow, the history of inner London was getting to us and next we visited Banquetting House where Charles 1 was executed by way of beheading after being sentenced for treason. This was a turbulent time and we increased our understanding of the role of Oliver Cromwell.

We then went on to the visit the Queens Calvery Museum and Benjamin Franklins House where a role play tour outlined the diversity of his talents and areas of involvement but did not explain his personal motivations.

It was a cold in London and we had booked for a Medieval Dinner that night in a dungeon just near the Tower of London, so with some time to kill we boarded a London Double-Decker Bus and just kept warm and enjoyed the ride and the sights. Until that is it came to the end of the route and we had to get off, but luckily we stumbled on the Imperial War Museum. It was closing for the day but a great find as we are both very interested in researching the World Wars whilst over here so we knew where to come the next day.

We walked to the venue for the dinner and once in were asked to dress in period costumes. It was a small audience of around 50 (capacity 450) and Henry VIII was the star attraction. There were also two of his queens, wenches, musicians, jugglers and swordsmen. They joused right in front of us and particularly as there were not many there we were part of the act, being harrassed all night to yell out, drink, bang the table etc. The people who ran this have been doing so for 40 years and came up and asked us if we liked it after the end, nice people and a very entertaining show.

Thursday we spent the whole day at the Imperial War Museum and in particular the Holocoust Display which was an emotional experience but one that had much background on the attitudes of Europe to the Jewish people in the period leading up to the WWII. The documentation in this display was unbelievable and there was also a display on food related issues to the war which Alison found most interesting, as it explained how the government encouraged people to grow vegetables, reduce food wastage etc to help meet the nutrient requirements of people during these hard times. People were encouraged to eat potatoes rather than bread due to most wheat being imported at that time.

Quess what - back to Churchill Arms for dinner again. It was just so nice and cheap we couldn't resist! The day had been warm and sunny - all of about 15. People were enjoying the sun standing outside the pub in their summer clothes!

The plane trip via Qatar Airlines was very good, service was of a high standard and individual movie screens certainly made the trip go faster with a choice of many movies.

We got through Heathrow and onto the underground train system, which in London is a very complex web of stations and tunnels with trains arriving and leaving continuously. Elevators connect you through to various tunnels where your platform is and as you go down them you can't help wonder what would happen if there was a fire? NottingHill was found and as we surfaced from the underground station we found our street almost opposite, it was Linden Gardens.

Our room was in an old English style building with 22 apartments, small but comfortable. It contained one room with kitchen, table and bed and another small room for bathroom. It had everything we needed since we only planned to sleep and wash there. The heater was good in the room, as it is still quite cold in England, lucky if top reaches 14.

The first night we looked around the area and found an old Pommy Pub, the Swan Inn for some typically English fish & chips and a pint of Fosters. We were both very tired so once eaten it was off to bed for a good nights sleep. Although the flight was very good, it is difficult to sleep.

Next day we took off from NottingHill to launch our London Pass and travel pass. We located Lords and so went along there for a tour. They joined us onto a tour which had already commenced and you could see the tour guide's relief when we announced we were Australian. This was a group of mostly Indian people and locals. Now he had someone to dump his Aussie vitrial on, as let's face it, the only real interesting cricket is between the poms and the aussies! The ground was beautiful and maintained in a traditional way, although it only holds 30,000 people. We went into the dressing rooms and heard all of the stories about who sits where. They seemed small to us but strangely familiar, especially the verandah where the Captain goes out to call the players in as seen on TV.

Next was the Cartoon Museum to see this relatively new display aimed at preserving English humour creations through the years.

From here we set about walking what seemed the streets of London, including Convent Gardens and right up and down Fleet Street. But no longer is Fleet Street of its former glory, the banks have now relocated to a new location along the Thames half way to Grenwich.

It was cold and so we used our travel pass to jump on a few double decker buses and travelled around London sitting up top and enjoying the sights, like a life size monopoly board really. At tea time we found a city pub and ordered bangers & Mash and a pint , then onto the underground and home to bed.

Third day and so much to see. We started by walking around the corner to Portobello Road to see the markets but unfortunately they were not being held due to Easter holiday, Starbucks provided us with a nice cup of coffee while we decided next direction. Took bus to Kensington and visited the Brompton Oratory and then a tour of the Royal Albert Hall. This was led by a lady who found us the only english speaking participants with the rest of the group Spanish and she handled this well by acting out things especially for the Spanish Children. We were shown into a box which turned out to be next to the Queen's box and so the stories started. Queen Elizabeth obviously has set strict rules on conduct in the Royal box such as no eating or drinking and the best story involved Nelson Mandella who it is thought had not been advised of the protocols. When he stood to dance to some African music, the Queen looked around, looked at Philip, looked at Charles and then stood up. As the Queen was standing the whole hall stood for the two hour performance just so Nelson would not be seen as breaking protocol!

Next we went to Kensington Gardens to see memorials to both Prince Albert and Princess Diana. It was beautiful walking in the park with many Brits who were taking advantage of the Bank holiday. The daffodills were glorious.

We then joined a display at Kensington Palace (7 Princesses) which was a noval way to see the East Wing of the palace and to brush up on history. This display was an enterprise that enabled staff to be employed whilst renovations were being done to the wing over many stages to be completed 2012. Some of the Royals and cousins currently live in the West Wing.

Walking back to NottingHill, Ian called into a barber for a trim. Interesting concept as they were charging the locals 14 pound and first timers or only timers such as Ian 10 pound.

At NottingHill we found what we think must be the busiest pub in England. The Churchill Arms was beautiful, full of spring flowers both inside and outside including the ladies toilet. It also had brass shelves on the outside. We managed to get a table for a drink and immediately felt so welcome, must be every nationality here and all friendly and willing to have a chat.

Darwin exit went without problem and so here we were on Jetstar, a little cramped but on our way. Singapore appeared out of the side window in around 3 1/2 hours, we cleared customs and found our way onto the rail network to find our room at the Futura Riverside Hotel near Chinatown. We wheeled our cases the last kilometre from the station to the room and surprised the service staff by being the only ones to arrive on foot.

The rail system is so modern and efficient and carriages have reserved seating for the elderly, disabled and the likes. Ian was very impressed that young passengers respected those seats, that was until two young women saw us standing with our cases and insisted that Ian sit in one of the reserve seats! Must be your grey hair exclaims Alison.

Cases to the room and then back down around the corner for some local food and a large stubby of Tiger beer. (as you would appreciate the food on Jetstar leaves you a little underdone.) The feel of the place was good as we sat there alfresco dining so to speak, not unlike Darwin just a bit more Asian and a lot more tall buildings.

Next day we sprung to it and headed off for the rail network. Just as we rounded the first corner from the hotel a Tour bus came the other way, so we doubled back and jumped on it. It had three distinct routes to follow so we spent the next few hours touring around Singapore on the top level. This place is really great, development on reclaimed land is just going ahead in leaps and bounds and the buildings going up higher and higher. Locals of course, do not agree that development is good and housing is even more expensive than Darwin. We travelled through the old residential areas where no private residence would be valued lower than one million, but of course these are only owned by 5 to 10 % of the population, around 90% live in public housing which is essentially high rise units. Rents are through the roof.

We headed back to the Hotel at 2pm for massages. Alison had 45 min full body massage whilst Ian went overboard and had a foot fetish, and managed to fall asleep and snore. Both of us felt so much better after that!

Then we boarded the rail back to Changi Airport and got rid of the cases so we could enjoy the airport facilities for a few hours wait watching people and drinking coffee. The flight we were boarding was on Qatar Airlines and was over two legs, around 7 1/2 hours to Doha capital of Qatar, 2 hours stopover and then another 7 1/2 hours on to Heathrow in London.

• 1 April - leave early evening for Singapore where we have a 24 hour stop over - arrive London 3 April
• 3 - 9 April - London - we have an apartment booked in Nottinghill and purchased London Pass which gives free travel and entrance and shorter queues(apparently) in most places of interest
• 9 - 11 April, fly for weekend to Germany to stay with old friends in Goslar.
• 11 April, fly back to England with our German friends and spend the night in Birmingham.
• 12 - 16 April, make our way with our friends to Rugby to pick up a narrow boat and spend the rest of the week relaxing on the North Oxford Canal.
• 16 April, our German friends return home and we pick up hire car and drive to our cousin's house where we will base ourselves for the next 2 weeks. We are looking forward to attending my cousins's wedding on 17 April in Stowe Gardens and we are then planning to explore the South West of England and Wales. We have bought a heritage pass which means we can visit any historical building and gardens free.
• 29 April, fly home sadly - arriving 1 May.

We left Madrid and flew to Bangkok on our last stop before going back to Australia.

We felt very tired on arrival and people hassles at airport made us wish we were home right now. We found the required taxi driver and were taken to our hotel, tired and ready for Australia. Meals and drinks that night seemed difficult to get after Europe so we headed off to bed not really looking forward to waking up in another strange country.

Next day we set off to visit local shops, and after an hour finding our way started to get over our homesickness and thought this place was interesting so here we go again, another Country to explore, so we booked a day tour of Bridge on River Kwai and floating markets. Alison had a hour long massage and Ian hunted for computer games for kids, the shops were great and the people very polite and friendly. Whilst Alison was busy Ian made the most of buying some local foods to eat.

We were picked up for tour next day early and guide was excellent, bit of humour and local knowledge to keep us interested. At this stage Ian was over buses and didn't want to engage with others on the bus, but it was only 1 day and the family sitting in front of us came from Geelong! The bus stopped often at places along the way, carvings and temples to be inspected.

Floating markets were great, we climbed into long boats with powerful V8 motors that looked a bit dangerous to us but propelled the boats down narrow canals at great speeds and we just went with it and it was excilerating. People at markets were really polite and after Morocco where they became quite aggressive 'hagglers' these people were fun to bargain with and mostly we ended up laughing as we negotiated a better price.

The Bridge on the River Kwai was also very good and the Australian history of Australian POW's was good to read about. The bridge was fun to climb on, but you needed to be alert as at anytime a train could come over and you had to scramble to the side. The War Cemetery was a moving place.

Back to the hotel and we tried traditional Thai food that night and it wasn't what we get in Australia. In the resuarant they had every concievable piece of an animal you can imagine and you had to select your bits in the plate and with your number send it to the kitchen for cooking. We had no idea and they couldn't communicate with us, Ian was frustrated trying to ask for a wine and had to resort to drawing it on paper. perhaps we were in non tourist area.

Anyway, Thailand showed us enough to get interested, and we declared we would come back, but just as a stopover it was too rushed and we were really getting too homesick to care - after all we had been away for 14 weeks.

John had dropped us at the Luton airport to catch our connecting flight to Madrid. Arriving at Madrid we were met and transferred by cab to our room in the Orense Hotel.The hotel was good and we used the rest of the day to discover a local glimpse of Madrid by day. That night we met the tour Director (named bozo-pronounced boshee) and other passengers for a meal. We had bombe alaska for dessert and were sure that the curtains were going to go up in flames.

Next morning we were under strict orders to have packed cases out in the foyer early and then breakfast with the tour group. Into the bus, and left Madrid and its well maintained buildings and streets and onto Toledo for a walking tour, highlight a Jewish Synagogue, then onto hilltop Granada. Almost half the tour were Australians, with some Canadians,South Africans,Americans and Singaporians too. We stayed at the Alhamar Hotel and Dinner that night saw all the Australians on one table with a lot of state rivalry and football team comparisons being made(this is how Australians sum each other up).

Day 3 in Granada was sightseeing Alhambra Palace, Spain's most beautiful Moorish building and former residence of the Moorish Kings. Then onto Costa del Sol and stayed at the Marbella Hotel. We visited the beach resorts in the area and were literally amazed at the quality yachts we saw moored, certainly better than any we had seen in Australian marina's. Next day a coastal drive to Algeciras for the crossing to North Africa, we had planned to stop by the Rock of Gibraltar, but a road accident prevented us doing so. As a result we only saw a glimpse of 'the rock'. We crossed on a Tasmanian made boat that went up onto skiis and we literally entered another world when we disembarked in Morocco. Getting through customs was a culture shock where disorder was in fact order. We went for a drive around the imperial city of Fez to the Crown Palace Hotel, a 2 night stop.

The highlight of the whole trip was the visit to the Medina in Fez, the old old part of town. The best description we heard was someone saying 'I feel like i am back in Biblical times'. Donkeys were the only mode of transport and people in traditional arabic clothing, with turned up shoes and carpets and wares for sale. A person only earnt a living from their own enterprise and a young man followed us and provided warning of steps and uneven ground and then demanded payment! We haggled a 'good price' for our own Moroccan carpet which converted to around A$1,700. Some of the more seasoned travellers on the tour stayed in the medina and found their own way back to the hotel later, but we were not going to let the guide out of our sight, this place was right out of history!

That night we dined on Moroccan cuisine and watched belly dancers and other entertainers, one guy who somehow managed to balance a spoon on his belly as he layed down on the carpet, not very skillful we thought but authentic.We joined the belly dancers for a jiggle or two but ian's camera case wiggled the most and made the belly dancers laugh. It was certainly contrasting to see a belly dancer with little clothing dancing with a lady in moslem dress covered from head to toe.

Day 6 we drove to Marrakesh for 2 nights, the once favorite holiday resort of Winston Churchill. The whole way Ian could not get the tune out of his head, "we are riding on the Marrekesh Express, all aboard that train......." the foothills of the Atlas Mountains reminded us of Australia and there were Gum trees everywhere, obviously they were thriving here and reminded us of home. A local guide had joined us in Morocco and he told us much about the local Berbers, we visited one of their houses and were given traditional tea - contains mint and lots of sugar. The middle eastern influences here were so great.

We went to a fantastic show at night, despite the rain they still performed, the effects were good and the show started with a magic carpet and then men riding horseback with gun shots, the show was called the Fantasia. We had dinner in a magnificant tent.

Next day we went to Casablanca, and in the bus the Tour Director put on the tape of the famous war time movie, Casablanca ( with Humphrey Bogart). That night a canadian on the tour, Jim and ian went out after dinner from the hotel (Sheraton)to find the replica of the Hollywood set of 'Rick's Cafe' which featured in the film and eventually found it near the Medina, a place you would be normally put off going to at night. They had a beer at the bar and my canadian friend played a few bars of the famous song. On exit Ian raised his hand and clicked his fingers just like Humphrey did in the movie, and guess what, a cab came rolling over, and they laughed all the way back to the hotel.

Casablanca was not what we thought it would be, nor most people on the tour in fact other than the experience Ian had finding the Hollywood set, it could easily be dropped from the itinery. We all had free time for lunch and getting sick of local food we snuck quietly into McDonald's hoping for something familiar. Guess what, we saw most of the bus passengers lined up - obviously everyone was hanging out for some western style food by this time. The Mosque on leaving was unbelievable but unfortunately it could not be entered for a look inside.(The great Hassan II Mosque was commissioned by its namesake, King Hassan II, in part to provide Casablanca with a single landmark monument. )

Day 9 we returned along the coast and visited Rabat, the capital city and then back to Tangier to return to Europe. Hotel RIF that night was good, but typical of those in Morocco, not well maintained and had that unfinished feel. It was a bit shady in Tangier and the bus was broken into and bus drivers wallet was stolen. The passengers all put in to cover his loss. Paullo was such a great guy - always standing at the door to help everyone down from the bus. There were lots of young men hanging around aimlessly looking for a way out of Morrocco.

Day 10 started with a return ferry ride across the Straits of Gibraltar with magnificent views of the rock. We were held up in customs as one of the cars that came across was found packed full of drugs. we then travelled by bus through the vineyards of Jerez and onto Seville. That night we experienced a Flamenco Show. This show was not at a usual theatre or such but in the district high up on the hills and held in a gypsy cavern. We sat lining the walls of the narrow building and the dancers flung themselves down between. They were very polished and good to watch.

Day 11 was Xmas day. We all had a shared lunch on the top floor of the hotel and after a rest headed out to a lavish dinner.

Day 12 Travel to Lisbon in Portugal. We both liked Lisbon very much and it seemed to mark the coastal taste of the Portugese.

Day 13 Sightseeing Lisbon, The Padrão dos Descobrimentos was a memorable monument to the Discoveries that celebrates the Portuguese who took part in the Age of Discovery, or the Age of Exploration, in the 15th and 16th centuries. It is located on the estuary of the Tagus river in the Belém parish of Lisbon, Portugal, where ships departed to their often unknown destinations. That night we travelled across the bay and sat down to a shell-fish meal, this really showed our cultural differences as the bus group displayed their differences in breaking open the crustaceans.

Day 14 Drive to Fatima which even for people not of the faith is an absolute amazing sight, the grounds are huge and one could only imagine the place with crowds of people and a path from the back right up to the main building, people were seen crawling down the whole way while praying, an unbelievable sight.
That night we crossed back into Spain to Salamanca. Ian wondered if this name had inspired Salamanca Markets in Hobart, and thought about the nice Salamanca hat he lost on top of Ayres Rock,compliments of the wind.

Day 15 drive back to Madrid, stopping Avila and saw some mighty fortifications.Arriving back to same hotel Orense, same room even. That night a bus trip into Madrid at night, a final meal together and with the Christmas lights it was a beautiful city, reminded us of Paris.

Day 16 Spent day in Madrid and went on bus tour of city sights , large numbers of people and couldn't get near the Prado (art museam). That night, enjoying freedom from bus tour after two weeks of regimentation went out to irish pub, and met lots of Australians to talk footy with, later that night met up with Shane and Jill from bus tour, and had a few more drinks with them. We had a great time and enjoyed the Australians we met. We wobbled back to room.

Last day, somewhat seedy we departed for the airport and caught flight to Bangkok.

Arriving at Berkhamsted station we were met by Alison's cousin John who had moved to London almost 30 years ago. We had last seen John in Melbourne when we were all packed up to shift to Alice Springs in 1985 when he was home for a visit. John and his partner Alison have a new baby Robert who is very cute.
The first day we took it easy and in the afternoon we went into the nearby town of Chesham for a look around the local area. We walked to the old church and along the historic church street.
As there was still plenty to see in London we headed of the following day with our sights set on Tower Bridge, the Tower of London and the Crown Jewels. The gods were smiling and it was the sunny day we had hoped for, cold but the cold is ok, just throw another jacket on. When we reached the station we decided to catch a bus rather than the underground so we could see more of the sights. After being nabbed for 80p to save the children (or more like save the Gypsy) we boarded the bus for the Towers. There were all of the attractions we had only heard about. "Oh look Alison cried! Trafalgar Square" Snap snap. Tower bridge grew closer and before we knew it we were walking on it and enjoying the history of its construction amid controversy in the community at that time. It must have been spectacular in those days with the steam driven equipment to raise the bridge. Of course now it has all been modernised to electricity.
The Tower of London was next and quickly we joined a tour. A Beefeater guide was telling yarns 'Any Australians around here?' Surprisingly quite a few put their hands up and then he pointed to the gaol section and said 'Welcome home'. He took us around the site and explained a lot of the history and tried to scare some of the young kids with gruesome stories of beheadings. We visited the Tower where Royals and others were held until either they were freed or beheaded and saw the Crown Jewels. We also visited the chapel. He informed us that servicemen who have worked for at least 22 years in the armed forces can apply to be Beefeaters and that they have recently employed the first female. They live on site with their families and are allowed to use the chapel for things such as christenings or weddings. The jewels were spectacular and in one section you stand on a conveyer belt as it takes you past cabinets full of crowns etc.
We had an arranged meeting with a collegue friend of Alison and so took off to Liverpool station to meet in front of Starbucks. Walking around this place made Ian feel like he was on a monopoly board. However by 10 past 6 we wondered if we had it right. As it turns out Sally & Andrew were standing at another Starbucks which are everywhere. We contacted by mobile and soon met. We followed them to Brick Row, the place of Indian restaurants and Sally negotiated with a representative of one for free half pint of beer each and pappadoms. So in we went and sat down to chat over supper.
Alison and Sally had worked together in the Territory and so had much to catch up on and Ian was happy to meet someone finally who could say more than 5 words about the AFL. Sally and Andrew have been living in London for around 6 months. In fact Andrew was a sport fanatic and both he and Ian got on well. Andrew followed the Tigers but had much to say about the greatest team of all - Geelong!.
Getting back to John & Alison's place was a cold journey by train and then cab but they were up when we got there rocking their beautiful little baby son and so we sat and chatted for a while before retiring to bed.
Next day was another sleep in (well we are on holidays!) and then we went to Berkhampton for the afternoon. We visited the ruins of a castle of William the Conqueror and walked along the canels dropping in at some pubs for a meal and a drink. It was sunny but very cold with the frost staying on the grass all day in parts where the sun did not reach.
Next day we walked into Chesham and shopped for some meat and vegies so that we could cook a roast for supper. John was out tonight at Morris Dance practice - a form of traditional folk dance of England. Tomorrow we head off from England and catch plane to Madrid where we will pick up our Trafalgar Tour through Spain, Portugal and Morocco.