Euro Disney and the Disney Studios

Wow!  I’m exhausted, but it’s been a pretty awesome day over all.

The day started just before 9am this morning as we wanted to get to Euro Disney before the crowds, fortunately for us, it was also a weekday.  So while the park had plenty, and I mean PLENTY of visitors, it wasn’t too unmanageable.

Anyway… it’s after midnight now as I type this, although it’ll publish earlier as my blogging client is still set for Seattle time. 

I’ll update this posting soon too, it’ll even come complete with a YouTube video, possibly even two.

Hooroo for now I need to get me some sleep!

*** Update 3rd April 2008, 1.38pm (GMT +10)
Well, here I am again, still trying to be industrious, despite my eye lids getting heavier by the second.  It’s a little turbulent at the moment as I type this, so the backspace button is getting a real workout.

After we arrived at Euro Disney and exchanged our online vouchers for tickets we finally entered the park, and I have to say, it’s pretty bizarre to be in the middle of France at a theme park that looks so blatantly American, despite the majority of the signage being in French.

***Update 11th April 2008, 7.59am
Speaking of signage, we took great delight in amusing ourselves translating Disney advertising for Winnie the Pooh, to what we thought was more appropriate, especially given we were in France to “Winnie le Merde”.
Puerile humour at it’s finest.  *grin*

Back to it…

Euro Disney, or the Disneyland Resort Paris, was a lot of fun.  Of course I had my preconceived ideas of what to expect, based solely on what I’d seen on television as a child growing up, with just a little spice from stories told to me by people I’ve met who’ve been to one of the Disney sites around the world.

All I knew, was that when I got there, I wanted to ride on Space Mountain, the Mad Had Hatter’s Tea Cups, and the It’s a Small World rides.  I can now tick all boxes.  Mission accomplished!  *insert happy dance here*

To be quite honest, I can’t remember much about Space Mountain, other than I queued, it was fun, and it was dark, so no bad memories is an acceptable state of affairs for me.

As for It’s a Small World, well how could I not love that one.  I grew up listening to the soundtrack.  Back in the day, yesteryear, when I was a boy…  also known as a VERY long time ago, my sister and I had my grandfather’s old record (old archaic vinyl music disks) player, on which we used to play the soundtrack “It’s a Small World” incessantly while we read the accompanying children’s book.  How my mother never resorted to alcohol is anyone’s guess.  *laugh*
As a ride it’s very tame, you sit in a boat, on tracks and follow a pre-destined route while animated dolls and other assorted characters dance and sing in various costumes and accents representing all the countries of the world.

It’s pretty much a big LSD trip child-fest of fun and happiness.  Of course I videoed it using the small digital camera and showed my sister as soon as I got back to Melbourne.  Then we both spent the next couple of hours trying to rid the song from our heads.  *laugh*

As for the Mad Hatter’s Tea Cup ride…  That was just hilarious.  Incidentally, it’s also the ride that I’ve been trying to upload the video footage to YouTube for, so you can see for yourself.

For those of you who don’t know what it is, it’s essentially a ride where the carriages are shaped like tea cups.  The cups move around on a turntable, which in itself is quite fun.  But, you can spin your own cup.
There’s a metal disk in the middle that if you turn it, your cup spins, and of course if you turn it really fast, your cup turns equally fast.

Being the competitive type I am, you can imagine I spun our cup pretty fast…

While we were waiting for our turn on the ride we saw another group of people spin their cup pretty fast, I rose to the challenge and span ours faster.  In the video footage you can see the crowd behind us pass faster and faster until they’re nothing more than a blur.  Hilarious fun, although I have to confess that watching the footage is much more nauseating than experiencing it first hand at the time.

There were many other rides, but those three were the most memorable ones.

Of course while we were there the skies opened up and we were virtually drowned, so had to shell out over 16 Euros for 2 yellow plastic poncho’s.  Tres sexy!  *laugh*

We also managed to get across to the Disney Studios where we rode on what became two of the best rides of the day.  Both were rollercoaster rides, and both of their names and experiences elude me.  Dammit!  I apparently waited to long to finish this blog posting.  But I do recall they were fun.

So that’s it.   Euro Disney all caught up…

Lovin’ the Lourve

The rest of Paris is pretty damn fabulous too!

I’m running out of time to flesh this post out for the moment, but will do it very shortly.  I’m finally catching up on our travels.

Stay tuned!

*** Update 3rd April 2008.   1.25pm (GMT +10)
Ok, here I am, making the most of my captive time mid-flight to catch up on my postings.  You’re going to have to bear with me somewhat.  I’m actually starting to get a little tired.  This is my third flight for the day already, and I’ve still a good 7 hours or more to go before I’m back on terra-firma, and what will be my fourth continent in under three weeks.

If you’ve ever seen National Lampoon’s European Vacation, you’ll have a clue of just how frantic my touring of Europe has been.  The scene in the Lourve where the Griswald’s are walking sideways at high speed to see every piece of art in the building is slightly reminiscent of how we got through.
Unfortunately we just didn’t have the time to to see everything, and you really do need several days, if not weeks to do the collections justice.

To make our lives easier we hired video tour guides which allow you to select pre-programmed tours that guide you around the Museum using built in maps, and narrated explanations and histories behind items.
We chose to do the Castle to Museum tour, which starts in the basement where you can see the original foundations of the Lourve from back when it was a castle, before it was built out to be the magnificent and HUGE palace come museum that it is now.

The tour includes plenty of art along the way, and you’re able to detour off any direction that you like.  So despite the selected tour, we still managed to see the Mona Lisa, which I have to say, here and now, is a marvelous piece of work, and despite being told literally dozens of times by people that it’s tiny, that it’s not.  For it’s time it’s a relatively large piece, but in comparison to others it can appear to be small.  I loved it, it, and many other pieces in the gallery really sweep you up in awe at just how old they are, and just how much work and talent went into them.  A far cry from the Jackson Pollacks at the Tate Modern Museum…   Paint splats to me are not art.  But each to their own.

I’ve literally dozens of photos, that will be uploaded in the near future, so check out my Flickr link.

You simply have to see the Napoleon Apartments.  They’re lavish beyond description, and interestingly enough Napoleon never used them.  Napoleon is simply the name of the style of decor.
I’ve never seen so much velvet, crystal, plush textiles.

This is definitely a place I want to come back to and spend more time at.

But, for now, this is yet another posting coming to a close.
This poor “sleep suit” clad Aussie is rapidly giving in to the needs for sleep.

Cheers for now!

Goodbye London, Bonjour Paris

I’m here and as I write this it’s almost midnight.  Finally, my first night in Paris, and fittingly, I’ve had a couple of glasses of Champagne, and am currently typing this in an open window looking out over the Paris skyline.  Poor me, I don’t know how I’ll ever manage.

The trip here on the Eurostar train was pretty fantastic.  Getting to the train was relatively hellish, anyone who’s ever traveled through London on the Underground knows exactly how difficult it is to get through the crowds as it is, without adding suitcases to the mix.  And we’ve 4 of them, plus a carry-on bag and camera backpack each.
It may sound a little excessive, but keep in mind we’re travelling for quite some time, and haven’t been home in over a year, so there’s quite a few items that are being transported back for family.

The actual trip from London to Paris was comfortable and uneventful.  We loaded our luggage, took our seats, settled in, and within minutes were served a glass of champagne each, then shortly after received our meals along with accompanying wines.  Oh, I have located the Hotel Gym, and will be using it tomorrow to compensate!

The food and wines were fantastic.

The trip through the Chunnel was fast, and pretty boring, it’s a tunnel, you can’t see anything, if you didn’t know you were under the English Channel you’d never know, coming out in France in the French countryside was definitely worth the trip though.  It’s quaint, picturesque and exactly how I imagined it.

On arriving in Paris, it quickly became apparent just how insufficient my Year 7, six months of introductory French really was, although I did start to remember phrases that I’d thought I’d forgotten, and even managed to string some together into sentences.  Now I may not be able to ask for directions, but if I do stumble into a restaurant I can ask what the fish of the day is! *laugh*

The Hotel is brilliant, it’s the K&K Cayre, and situated right by the train station which is underground so we can’t hear it, and is centrally located to everything.  If we step out of our room door and look out the window opposite it, we can see the Eiffel Tower, and if we look out of the window of our room we can see the Paris skyline complete with buildings that resemble Palaces and Cathedrals, and quite possibly are, but I have no idea yet.

Anyway, on arrival we checked in, settled into our room, had a hot shower each, then headed out to find dinner in a traditional French Restaurant.  The one we dined at was A La Petite Chaise, a restaurant that claims to be the oldest one in Paris.  The building itself is fantastic, the staircase is quaint and slightly lopsided, but added to the charm of the building.  The staff all totally French gave the impression they were completely devoid of any English speaking skills, fortunately we know just enough to fake our way through, it wasn’t long afterwards though that they started using some English which made the whole experience a little easier.  Although we did both manage to work out what the items on the menu were, and made selections accordingly, even reading them out in French and saying “Merci”.  Mrs Horvath my old French Teacher would be so proud!

Dinner was absolutely frickin’ divine!  If I died now, well I’d not be happy at all, but I’d have certainly died after a bloody brilliant meal.  The waiter was pretty damn attractive too.  All tall, dark, and French, say no more!  *laugh*

But, it all came to an end pretty quickly, and now we’re back at the Hotel, and I’m busily trying to catch up on my blogging, while suffering mightily with a glass of French Champagne while looking out over the skyline of Paris…  I know that’s repetitive, but I just had to share it again with you.

Why the champagne?  Well why not?  Firstly, it’s a gift from the lovely Luke and Richard for being a part of their Wedding over the weekend.  Thanks guys!   Secondly, it’s a toast towards my sister and my brand new nephew Jack who entered the world recently, and thirdly and lastly it’s towards my first night in Paris, and towards a future that’s bright, happy, and just downright enjoyable.

So to you all out there.  Cheers, enjoy and Bonsoir, I bid you adieu for the evening.

Bon jour and Bon Voyage

Today’s our last day in London, so there’s a very good chance that the next time I blog I’ll be doing it from Paris, France.
I know, you’re feeling desperately sorry for me.

So this morning so far has consisted of re-packing the suitcases and getting ready to check out of the hotel and head off to the station where we’ll store our luggage before heading off for a bit of shopping in London, then this afternoon we’ll board the Eurostar train which will take us, via the Chunnel to Paris.

I’m excited, but I’m also exhausted, the trip so far has been VERY busy.

Until next time.

Hooroo!

Welcome aboard Jack!

The whole blogging in different time zones is really starting to mess with my mind.  I’m getting a little confused.

But I’ll live.

Anyway, today was the day that I officially became an Uncle to my sisters new baby boy Jack.  Mother and baby are doing well, which is always the most important part.

So it’s understandable that I’m a little tired today.  I’d left my family under strict instructions to phone me regardless of what time to let me know when my sister had given birth, and they did, about 3.30am this morning.  Of course I was so excited I didn’t get to sleep again until almost 7am this morning.  Oops.

So when we finally did wake up and hit the road it was quite late.

Today saw us heading off to the Tate Modern to check out all the International modern and contemporary art.  It was all kind of interesting, but I have to admit I’m not a huge fan of modern art.  I enjoy the more classical pieces, but it was interesting all the same.

It does strike me as being a little ridiculous that someone can paint a canvas square black, frame it, and then have it hung in a gallery.  But what do I know.  One of the cooler, comedic items was a large metal cable which had been threaded from floor to sealing with used pieces of soap.  I can’t remember what it’s real name was, but we, and another lady quickly dubbed it “Soap on a Rope”.

Keeping that in mind, it was kind of amusing to go into another room of the gallery, and see a wall with l-shaped brackets on it in a row, and some hanging cables.  Mark instantly commented on how bizarre this installation was.  I just laughed and pointed to the sign that said “Art has been temporarily removed”.  He was looking at the mounting brackets.  Duh!  But, given what we’d seen already, it was entirely possible that those brackets were the art.
Especially as one other piece was a single green fluorescent bulb hung diagonally on the wall by itself…
Each to their own.  It wasn’t all bad though, the actual building itself, was fantastic.

We left Tate to walk to our next destination in the rain, until today the weather has been pretty great.  A quick stop for lunch and then a train ride and we were at the Marble Arch near Hyde Park where we took a stack of photos, then across the road to Wellington Arch, where we climbed to the top for some scenic photos of the area, then back down to check out the Australian War Memorial.

From there it was off to the British Museum for a very quick circuit of the displays, snapping photographs off madly to allow us time to get back to the Hotel.

The only real issue for us right now is a concern in relation to the new Heathrow Terminal 5, which opened yesterday.  Over 70 flights have been canceled, lifts failed, luggage lost or not passed through to connections.  Why are we concerned?  Well, 6 days from now we’ll be flying back from France into Heathrow Terminal 5 to get a connecting flight home to Australia.  We can’t afford to lose our luggage or miss our flights.  Keep your fingers crossed for us.

Well that’s it for now, it’s late, I’m tired, and I think I’m going to get some shuteye.

I’ve still not had that Snickers yet either, but I live in hope.  LOL!

Nighters!

I’m an Uncle!

It’s obscenely early in the morning over here in London, but as of 2:08pm on Friday 28th March 2008 in Melbourne, my sister gave birth to a little baby boy.  The new mother and baby are doing well.

It’s so early right now that he’s not even been weighed.

Congratulations Kate and Trevor on your first child, and Congratulations Mum and Dad on your first grandchild.

To say I’m excited would be this years understatement! 

Out and about in London town… the update and ongoing adventure

Well, it’s Thursday morning around 9.12am and as I type this I’m sitting on a train heading South to Devon to visit my Great Auntie Olive who I haven’t seen for almost 15 – 20 years.  I’m fairly sure I was still in my late teens the last time she saw me.  So it’s certainly been a while.

It is kind of nice to be able to sit on a train with a table and be able to type away to your hearts content, although it’d be nice if the power points worked, and it’d be even better again if there was Internet access, oh well.  There was on the last train, the one that we caught from Edinburgh to London earlier in the week.

I have no idea where we are currently but there are lots of open green spaces to the left of the train, and some industrial ones to the right.

In other news, my sister still hasn’t had her baby, despite being almost marinated in drugs to induce the birth, so I believe that later on today she’ll undergo a c-section.  Hang in there Kato, I’m cheering for you over here in the UK, keep safe, and see you and the new “stubborn lil-monkey” soon.

Moving on…  literally and in prose.

The purpose of this entry is to further flesh out the original one: Out and about in London town…

So here goes, I’ll cast my mind back a few days, and hope I can retrieve it when I’m done.

Tuesday marked the beginning of my first day in London.  We arrived late the evening before from Edinburgh so despite being a little tired from the activities I was excited to get out and about and see what there was to be seen.

Now, I’ve always been aware that London is a European country and that there’d obviously be many thousands of tourists from all over the world, but I really wasn’t prepared for the high number of non-English speaking people I was to encounter.  Nor was I even remotely prepared for the complete lack of manners that most of them had.

You always expect when visiting tourist attractions that there’ll be “hustle and bustle” as people jostle to ensure they see the sights and experience whatever there is to be experienced, but this, in true, Marjory from Little Britain style was “SOMETHING ELSE“.  The best way to explain the feeling is to imagine you’re the ball in a pinball machine being pushed back and forward.  A very trying test for one’s patience I can assure you, and certainly a time that I wished I was able to curse in multiple languages.  *laugh*

Moving on…

To get to our destinations for the day we had to navigate the London Underground, which in reality is pretty simple, especially as it’s relatively similar to the City Loop in Melbourne where I’m from.  The only real difference is that the system here is more complex, and from my experience so far, the trains actually run on time more often than not.  The only real downside is that these stations are not really non-able bodied person friendly.  There are stairs everywhere, which as far as I’m concerned is a bonus given the extra eating we’ve been doing.

Having found the right train for our destination, the first stop for the day was:

Madam Tussauds the World famous wax museum.  Having purchased our tickets online we were excited at being able to escape having to queue for this popular attraction.  We couldn’t have been more incorrect in our assumptions had we actually just arrived unannounced and expected to get them on the day.
It seems that hundreds of other people had also had the same idea, and the queue for the entrance was a good 100m long.  Fortunately it only took about 20 minutes to get to the ticket booth, where we had to exchange our online voucher for actual tickets.

Once inside we were “herded” (remember, I said there were hundreds of people), towards the elevators, which delivered us to the first floor and a wall of flashing lights and images of Paparazzi with recorded  Paparazzi’esque quotes being played raucously to imitate the experience of “Celebrity meets Tabloid Press”.  If my short experience of how bloody tedious and annoying it was is anything to go by, I’m happy for someone else to deal with fame.  It’s brash, noisy, and outright annoying.  Which I guess was the point.

Before I go on though, my random interjection statement for the day is, I’m exceedingly happy right now, my cup it could be said, runneth over with “joi de vivre”, and I’d kill for a Snickers right now.

Back to the story…

Once you make it past the Paparazzi you make your way into the first room where there are dozens of celebrity replicas.  Some of whom I knew, other’s…  well, not so much.  No matter, they were pretty cool, the ones I saw.

We took many photos, either posing with the figures or placing our “travelling companions” with them.  Of course we weren’t the only ones doing this, and while we did our best to be polite and wait our turn, not everyone worked with the same ethics.  People were literally pushing us out of the way, or pushing in to be photographed first, if you’re a polite person or less than assertive person, give this place a miss, you’ll not enjoy it.
I kept my cool throughout, although could be heard to snarl on more than one occasion under my breath, “if one more f’ing person pushes me I’ll tear their f’ing face off!”.  The whole experience became very old, very fast.

There was one woman in particular, who seemed to be moving in the same direction as us, and who had pushed past me several times, either standing directly in front of my camera lens, or pushing and shoving to get the shot she was after.  This happened several times until I finally allowed myself to slide to the Dark Side slightly.
This time we were standing near the Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie replica’s getting ready to take a photo, when she shoved past me again, standing to my right to take a photo.  Now, keep in mind, I’m travelling and have a backpack on my shoulder, incidentally, also on my right side.
I took a deep breath, bit my tongue, and then she shoved me again.  This time I saw red, and asked Mark (on my left) to move out of the way, and said, with none to subtle glee and evil intent in my voice “Watch this”, waited for her to frame her shot, focus her camera, then lined her up with my backpack, waited a moment for her to be about to press the shutter button on her camera, then forcefully span to my left, smacking her quite thoroughly in the back, from the centre of her shoulder blades to the top of her head smack into the back of her own camera, sending her stumbling two steps forward into the display.  I even managed to smile and say “Sorry”.   Muwahahahaha!
Sometimes the world is a better place for a dose of “assisted karma”, I’m sure my account is clear for having kept the peace until then.  It must be pointed out at this time, that, that was the last time she shoved past me.  *laugh*

Unfortunately though, there were hundreds of other people waiting to push in where she’d been pushed out.  The exhibition itself is definitely worth seeing if you get a chance, the crowds are pretty heinous though, but at least now I can say I’ve seen it.

Next stop…

Piccadilly Circus, I’m not sure what I was expecting here, it certainly wasn’t a Circus, but it most definitely wasn’t a heavily lit up and bedazzled with glowing advertising major intersection.  But I saw it, photographed it, and moved on, it was kind of interesting though, from there we walked to the next destination…

Trafalgar Square, again, this wasn’t exactly what I expected either, however there was certainly more to look at than at the last destination.  Statues, plaques, and two fountains.  It was at these fountains that I stopped, reached into my pocket and pulled out a handful of coins.  Coins which I made wishes on before throwing them into the water.  A wish each for my family members.  Mum and Dad, my Nan, my sister Kate, and nephew/niece to be, her husband etc.  Oh, and a big old wish for a Snickers.  This craving just can’t be quelled.  *laugh*

Then it was back onto the streets to walk around to the London Eye.

On the way though we passed Parliament House, Downing Street where the English Prime Minister resides to our next well known stop;

Big Ben and Westminster Abby.  Let me start by saying WOW!  Although Big Ben isn’t quite as large as I’d somehow imagined, the experience of seeing it in person along with Westminster Abby was somewhat surreal.  After all, this is the country where my Mum and her side of the family were born, and since she emigrated to Australia as a child, I’m the first one back (aside from my Nan) ever for a visit.  The architecture, the emotion the overall atmosphere is just something I can’t describe, except to say that I really wish I could be experiencing alongside my Mum, as I know how much she yearns to come back and visit the place of her birth.  Hopefully that’s something her and Dad can do in the near future.

The London Eye, is quite possibly one of the largest Ferris Wheel’s in the world, and if I’m correct, and please don’t quote me as I’m typing this entry without an Internet connection so can’t verify my facts, it was erected for the turn of the Millenium.
The London Eye is situated near Westminster Abby and Big Ben, and takes approximately 30 minutes to complete a rotation.  Each capsule holds roughly 20 people, and gives you an almost 360 degree birds eye view of London and it’s surrounding areas.  We’ve plenty of photos of the experience as well.

At the end of the ride it was time to head back to the Hotel, but not before stopping to take some more photos of Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, and Parliament House.

A short train trip via the Underground to Earls Court and we were back at the hotel for a quick rest, before heading out again to the theatre to see Wicked the musical.

Wicked the musical, is an adaptation of the book; Wicked.  It’s essentially an alternative perspective to the fabled Wizard of Oz movie, from the perspective of the Wicked Witch of the West, who really isn’t a Witch, nor is she Wicked, she simply suffers from what is essentially bad PR.  I read the book a few months back and loved it.  The musical itself follows the book loosely, but it’s brilliant.  I’d definitely recommend it.  There were a few eye moistening songs in the score.

Well that’s it, another day up to date, and a couple more for me to catch up on.

Cheerio!

A reunion of sorts

Not just a reunion, it was also an introduction.

Thursday was the day we’d been planning for weeks.  A train journey from Earls Court, London to Exeter, Devon to see my Great Aunt Olive for the first time in almost two decades, and to meet her daughter, my second cousin, Sue and her husband John.

The train ride was pretty fun, another jaunt in First Class for us, this time it wasn’t quite as lavish as our previous First Class adventures, but we certainly enjoyed it.  Not to mention seeing the rolling green hills of Southern England, which have to be seen to be believed.  As we were leaving London there was a little snow to be seen on the fields, the further South we got the more the weather improved.  It improved enough that I’m sure I got a slight sunburn from spending so much time out in it during the day.

Anyway, the trip itself took roughly two hours, time which was spent enjoying the view, and catching up on blog entries.  Which at the time of writing this are still a little behind…   I’m doing my best, but I’m also travelling like a mad man on amphetamines (which I’m not!).

When we finally arrived at Exeter Station I located my Aunt and her daughter very quickly.  She was concerned that I wouldn’t recognise her, but to me, she hasn’t changed a bit.  As far as I’m concerned though, I’ve changed heaps.  The last time she saw me I was much thinner, so despite having lost a lot of weight, I’m still bigger than she remembers.  Which she apparently whispered to Mark pretty much as soon as he was introduced.  “I didn’t recognise him, he’s put on weight.”  She’s a lovely lady, despite her honesty.  *laugh*

The plan for the day according to my relatives was to take us to The Swan’s Nest; a traditional English pub for lunch, then down to the seaside village of Sidmouth.  Lunch was great, although it took forever for me to order anything or to finish my meal, as I was too caught up in conversation with everyone trying to catch up on what’s been happening either since I saw them last, or since “forever” as, as far as my cousin (2nd) is involved, we’d never met before.  There were certainly many, many laughs, especially when we identified just how alike my Aunt and my Grandmother (they’re sisters) really are.  In fact it’s quite eery, if not hilarious.

Sidmouth itself is a picturesque little village, that is growing in popularity based from what I could see on it’s picture postcard quality and sense of timelessness.  Despite the obviously modern additions of restaurants and traffic, it still has a sense of a somewhat Tudor styling.  The views at the beach were astounding and the public gardens we walked through were sensational.  The experience was also added to when my Aunt shared how her, and my Uncle Don, who has since passed away used to go there every Sunday.   He’s been gone almost 4 years now, and you can see how much she misses him, he was a great man.  The best part of the day for me though, was being told by my Aunt how alike I am in personality to my Pop (grandfather) a man much loved in our family, who unfortunately died while my sister and I were quite young, so unfortunately we don’t have any memories of him.  Well that’s not entire true, I do, one, of his round, cheery smiling face.  Telling me I was like him certainly had me forgiving her for the weight comment earlier.   *laugh*

As the afternoon drew to a close, we retired to my Aunt’s house in Sidford.  A small house called a “bungalow”, which while small, has the most fantastic backyard, and view across the meadows and to a wooded hill.  Not only is there the view, but if you walk down a terraced area at the back, there’s actually a river as well.  It’s absolutely beautiful.
Tea, cake (for Mark, I didn’t have any, there’s already been too much food on this trip), and a lot more conversation saw the day draw to a close far too early for all of us.

Overall the day was fantastic.  I wish my Mum had been there as well, as she’s not been to England since she left as a child.  I really hope I can return again sometime in the near future.

The saddest part of the trip though, as always was saying goodbye, as unfortunately it’s a sad fact of life that elderly relatives really aren’t going to live forever.  It was also when I realised that my Nan may never see her sister again, as they’re both of the mind that they’re too old to travel anymore, that I got a big lump in my throat.  Fortunately I have plenty of photos to share with my family when I’m back in Australia in just a few days!

There you have it, Thursday, up to date.

Hooroo!

Wandering Wednesday…

Well wandering is certainly apt given it’s Friday morning and I’m only just starting to document the activities of Wednesday.

But give me some credit, at least I’m maintaining my promise to blog this trip, unlike my last trip home to Australia where I promised several times I’d document my visit, and then failed dismally.

So here is my formal apology to you all, as I’m fairly sure it’ll never happen.  Sorry!

Now, before I jump into the activities of Wednesday, I’m going to cheat ever so slightly and point you all in the direction of Mark’s Blog, he, being the personification of Rainman, has detailed our activities a lot more thoroughly than I have, so while I’m sharing my own unique view or our travels, he’s offering another perspective.  Additionally, he’s included photos as he still has space available on his WordPress membership.  Unfortunately, I don’t, and haven’t had a chance to upload any photos just yet.
See for yourself:

Waiting in the BA First Class lounge at Sea-Tac
A first class experience
Wait at Heathrow and flight to Edinburgh
Edinburgh, Day 1
Edinburgh, Day 2
Edinburgh, Day 3 and train to London
London Underground map
London Day 1
London Day 2
A trip to the country (aka London Day 3)

Assorted holiday and wedding photos

Now that’s done, I guess it’s my turn to blog about Wednesday.  You’re going to have to forgive me for being a little distracted though.  I’ve just gotten off the phone to my sister Kate, who’s lying in hospital right this minute, preparing to have a Caesarian section and meet her first child for the first time.  I have a new little niece or nephew about to enter the world in the next few hours, and I just couldn’t let the opportunity go to call her before it all starts, tell her I love her and wish her all the best.  I just wish I could be there in person, but at least I’ll be there in 8 days!  *happy dance*

Of course, just to ensure that such exciting news is published in a timely manner, I’m going to hit “PUBLISH” now, which means this entry will be partial, but will be updated shortly.  Keep your knickers on, here it comes…

***Update, finally… 

Well, a full day (and possibly a bit) has gone by since I said I was going to complete my blog posting, so apologies for the delay, I’ve been a little busy.  The heard part now is going to be remembering what I did.

Ok…  Tuesday was yet another busy day, and you can see Mark’s account of it by clicking on the link above for:  London Day 2.

My version of it is as follows:

Post breakfast, and all loaded up with our backpacks full of camera equipment, we braved the London Underground train system again.  I can honestly say I’m very happy I don’t have to use the train daily for work, sardines are packed in with more space than commuters are on these trains.  You really have to see it to believe it.  When the train reaches your station, you have to push like there’s no tomorrow to make it to the doors in time to escape the throng.  That is unless the station you’re disembarking at is the one that everyone else is going to.  Then you’re nothing more than a piece of human flotsam being borne forward by a wave of people.

The first stop for the day was Buckingham Palace to see the changing of the guard.  A great idea in theory, that was until we arrived and discovered that every other tourist in the vicinity had had the same idea and arrived a lot earlier than us.  My answer?  Take photos of the palace, that’s why I was there, and wander over to the fountain.
Once at the fountain I threw in some more coins for my family with an appropriate wish, and started taking some more photos.  That was when we noticed the new Guard riding down the road (horses not bikes ), so while we didn’t see the change, we did get to see them approaching and going past, and I’m pretty sure I got some really good photos, although I’ve not looked at them just yet.

That done, we hoofed it back to the Underground and off to Tower Hill and the Tower of London for a guided tour.  A tour that was brilliant.  Our guide; Andy a Yeoman Warder was humorous and informative all in one, and fortunately for us, since it was also the day that the French President had been in town, Andy was in his official royal uniform.  A uniform that was worth 10,000 pounds as all the gold you could see on it was real.
The history of the place is fantastic, and I’d love to go back again in the future with more time to wander through soaking the place up.  That’s been the biggest problem with such a short trip.  We’re trying to cram in so much in such a short time that we’re probably not enjoying things as much as we should.  Guess I’m going to have to go back!   Awww, that’ll be sad.

Ok back to it.  Next stop was the Tower Bridge, which we took a walking tour of, going to the top and across the walkways to take photos of the London skyline.  It’s yet another magnificent building, and the view is spectacular.

Now you’d think that’d have been enough for the day, well, you’d be wrong.  It was back on the train and off to Greenwich to the Royal Observatory to see the Prime Meridian which it is built on (longitude O°).  Unfortunately for us though, the actual marker is behind the fence of the Observatory, which, by the time we arrived had closed for the day.  But I did stick my camera through the fence bars and snapped off a couple of shots. 

It has to be mentioned though, the Royal Observatory is at the top of quite a steep hill, which I treated as a workout to climb while carrying my backpack.  However it was while I was looking down over London that I noticed the treacherously black rain clouds on the horizon.  Now, you don’t have to be Einstein to know what happened next.
As we left to return to the train station to go back to the Hotel, the heavens opened up.  We didn’t get wet, we were drowned.  But, it’s only water.  Eventually we dried out, and the skies cleared up as well.

Finally, it was time for the day to draw to a close, we made it back to the Hotel, which isn’t such an accomplishment anymore as I’m pretty much a champion of the Underground now, had a hot shower and dinner, and then it was off to bed.

There you have it…  Wednesday in a time delayed blog entry.

It certainly explains why I’m so tired.

Not quite Uncle Craig yet…

But, I’m getting closer!  Woohoo!

My sister is currently in hospital to have her first baby, so far the child isn’t in any hurry to come into the world, but the professionals are doing what they can to encourage it.
I had a quick chat to her on the phone last night before I went to bed and all is fine, other than her sounding a mite frustrated that it’s still not over.

Hopefully soon.   Good luck Kato, can’t wait to see you in a couple of weeks.

Now, I’m off, there’s breakfast to be had and sights to be seen around London.

Tootle pip!