Hello Holland

Our trip to Den Haag was one adventure we could have lived without. Just the getting there part. The rest we loved. We set off from Brentwood complete with all our luggage and caught our train to London. Once there we had to change twice on the underground to get to St Pancras International. Every station has so many stairs to go up & down before arriving at the platform you need. A challenge but one we could cope with.

Catching the Eurostar is just like catching a plane and you have to take all your luggage through the scanners. Done this before, not a problem. That is until one security officer decided that Bill must have looked like a seedy character with his backpack and literally took every single item out piece by piece. Once satisfied that Bill, his laptop & Camera posed no threat he made Bill pack it all back in. Challenge no. 2. Still we smiled.

The trip to Brussels was just what we hoped for, fast and trouble free. Once there we changed trains and it was about then that someone up there must have thought we needed another challenge for the day. Our train was deemed to have technical problems and we had to change to another one which took us to Antwerp Central. Once there we found out what we had to catch next (after going up 3 levels & back down again to the same platform). Happily standing on that train (no seats in Peak hour) and speeding along to our final destination we are told again that the train has technical problems and we were all to get off at the next station and catch the next train. We were losing our sense of adventure by now. Our final train survived the journey and we finally arrived at Faye & Rems house 2 hours late. Tired but still laughing. By this time it was either laugh or cry and that wasn't an option. Challenge no 3 & 4 had taken the gloss off our journey but we had made it.

You think our challenges were over. So did Bill until he saw the stairs to our 3rd story bedroom. For all those people who thought our stairs in Northbridge were steep think again. And he had 2 suitcases to get to the top. Rem took one up, Bill is forever grateful. Still we had a wonderful time with Faye, Rem & Ethan and only wish we could have been there longer. And while I don't think I lost any weight climbing stairs, I'm sure all the Red wine I drank did no damage at all.

A good night's sleep saw us forget the drama's of the previous day and we were looking forward to getting our first sight of Holland in daytime. Rem & Ethan had taken the day off and after breakfast, together with Faye, we set off to Zaanse Schaan, a great little tourist village past Amsterdam. Here we had a glimpse of how things have been done in this part of the world for many years. There are working windmills, canals, cheese making & a cheese museum, clog making and clog museum where we had a demonstration of how clogs are made. Two amazing machines and about 10 mins and hey presto, it's a clog. A visit to the clock museum where we saw lots of very old clocks, some from the 16th century, completed the visit and then what else could we have for lunch but the Dutch Pancakes. Yum.

And of course dinner that night consisted of a range of cheese we had been unable to pass by. All in all, a great day was had and now all that was left was that climb up the stairs to bed and dream of what we might see tomorrow.

Until next time.........

Reunions in London

A rest day on Saturday was soon off the agenda with an early morning call from Bill. He had arrived in London a couple of days earlier and had a free day so being the wonderful man he is, we topped his list of who to spend it with. Well, that's what he told us anyway. Auntie Muriel & I were soon on our way to meet him at Piccadilly Circus. It was great to see him again and hear of all his adventures in Dubai & London. Faye, Rem & Ethan were also in London for the weekend so after a quick pit stop for coffee we jumped on the iconic red double-Decker bus to Hyde Park where we had arranged to meet them.

After a wonderful welcome from Ethan we wandered through Hyde Park passing the famous Peter Pan statue along the way. We spent a couple hours in the sunshine having lunch beside Serpentine Lake and then Faye, Ethan & I took a pedal boat out onto the lake for the next half hour. Ethan loved it, our legs are still recovering! From there we had a walk through Green Park and back on the bus to Trafalgar Square where we headed into the National Gallery to find a cup of tea. After our last cup of tea we all headed off in different directions once again. Bill for a fancy dinner at the Banquet Hall. Faye, Rem & Ethan to continue their little holiday before we invaded their home on Tuesday, and Auntie Muriel & I went back to Brentwood were we had dinner (very light) in a nice French Restaurant before heading home to bed. A great day was had by all.

Just a little trivia from the day - beside Trafalgar Square is the Church of St Martins-in-the Fields. For those of you in Perth, it is from here that your bell tower bells (Swan Bells) come from. To commemorate Australia's bicentenary in 1988, the twelve bells of St Martin-in-the-Fields as well as five specially cast bells were presented to the University of Western Australia, the City of Perth and to the people of Western Australia and you all know the rest.

Sunday was another lovely sunny day and it was today that Bill was joining me for 'our' holiday. A family gathering at Pippin's Orchard completed the weekend and plans were being made for our next day in London and the following week in Den Haag.

A train trip into London and a couple changes on the Underground and we were at our first place of interest. The Temple Church. Yes, of Da-Vinci Code fame. This medieval church built by the Knights Templar is notable for its circular nave. It has been burnt, bombed and suffered many other fetes but still stands today in the middle of an amazing network of offices & residences between the Thames & Fleet St. All built hundreds of years ago. Just down the road was Twinings Tea Shoppe where the Queen's tea is brought. And on the next corner is the Church of St Clementine. Of Oranges & Lemons fame. We also found the oldest shop in London, made famous by William Shakespeare. Convent Garden, Leicester Square & The West End were our next places of interest. Just wandering around among the many locals and tourists was very entertaining.

While in a bookshop earlier we had heard about Platform 9 3/4 of Harry Potter fame so set off for Kings Cross Station to find it. Feeling a bit silly as we approached, yes, we found it, I was very happy to find 3 other groups of silly tourists taking photo's of themselves with a trolley through the wall. Did I join in. Of course, need you ask. Once this close to St Pancras we popped in to check out that longest Champagne Bar in Europe once more, and yes, of course a glass of Champagne was had by this weary traveller. Bill had the Raspberry Fizz which looked great too.

So with another exciting day in London coming to a close it was time to head back to Brentwood for our last night in Rose Valley.

Holland here we come..................

Boarding at Gate 4...

was the cue for the start of another big adventure. Really, just me, as Bill still had to wait 4 more hours before he boarded his flight. Yep, that's right, separate flights and different destinations. We both left on Saturday the 5th Oct but I was on my way to London where I would stay with Auntie Muriel in Brentwood Essex. Bill was on his way to Dubai for the first part of his adventure for work. We both arrived safe and sound the following day.

We had a great time at our different destinations. Bill living it up in 6 star luxury and seeing and experiencing all Dubai has to offer. Yes, he did get to the indoor Ski field but did not venture on to the snow as there was no time. They did manage to 'Ski' the sand dunes in the 4 wheel drives and by the look of the photo's it was a real highlight. The camel rides looked like fun too.

My first days without Bill were all about catching up with family. Since our last trip, 10 years ago, another generation has appeared on the family tree. Jasper, Paige, Ewan & Cerys are all growing up so fast. It was lovely to meet them all. It was great to see their Mums & Dads again as well and a wonderful time was had with Auntie Muriel, Beryl, Raymond, Paul, Jane & Brian, Nick & Gwenda. Thanks everyone for making my visit a special memory.

I also got out and about between visits. Auntie Muriel & I had a wonderful day in London on Wednesday. We started with a Champagne Flight on the London Eye - Awesome. With a beautiful day, blue sky & sunshine, we could see for miles. Seeing all the wonderful landmarks visible from the glass bubble made for lots of 'wow' moments. It certainly is a great way to look at London. From there we took a river cruise up the Thames from Big Ben to Grenwich, which we all know, is where local time on the zero line of longitude (the Greenwich meridian), passes through the Old Royal Observatory at Greenwich, London. We also walked through Grenwich Park and saw the Maritime Museum & Queens Anne's House. Across the road at The Old Royal Naval college we saw Christopher Wrens Painted Hall & the Chapel. Then entire precinct is Heritage listed and dates back as far as the 17th century, very historical. From there we caught the driverless rail (DLR) back to London and changed to our train home.

After spending Thursday night with Beryl & Raymond in Camberly, we went to London on Friday and spent another great day looking at it from the ground. We went to the Tate Modern Galley - formerly a power station - (a great view of the city and the river from the 7th floor cafe). A walk along the boardwalk and we saw the replica of William Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, Blackfriars Bridge & The Queens Walk. We crossed the Thames on the wibbly wobbly bridge - The Millenium Bridge - costing 18 million pounds, opened in June 2000 and then promptly shut as it was declared unsafe with a huge sway. What was supposed to take a few weeks to fix took a lot longer. It was not reopened to the public until 22 February 2002. And the extra cost was 5 million pounds. The name has stuck ever since. We saw St Paul's Cathederal, and had lunch in the crypt of Bow Bells. The little church, St Mary Le Bow, is where the true Londoner is meant to have hailed from. Born within the sound of the Bow Bells.

Our last stop before heading home was to St Pancras Station. St Pancras is a wonderful old station famous for it's Gothic facade that was completed in 1865. During both world wars the station performed an important role acting as a meeting place for troops, a departure point for soldiers off to war, and to help transport children out of London to the safety of the countryside. The greatest threat came in 1966 when they wanted to amalgamate it with King's Cross station but the poet Sir John Betjeman stepped in and saved the old station. He is immortalised by a bronze statue in the upper concourse. It has since undergone a complete refurbishment and now with hotels, restaurants, shops and Europe's longest Champagne Bar it is the place to be seen whether you are catching a train or not. Another feature of the station is The Meeting Place, a 9m high bronze sculptor of a couple locked in an intimate pose by Paul Day. The couple stand underneath the famous St Pancras clock at the apex of the Barlow Shed.

A final farewell to Beryl at the station and I was on my way back to Brentwood well & truly walked out and ready for a rest. Too weary to even wonder what tomorrow will bring.

Goodnight................