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..................