Tour day 6 - Fragonard factory, tunnels to Italy, Pisa, and arrival in Florence

Woke 6.40am.

Bags had to be ready by 7.15 and breakfast was immediately after. As a 'preshus pea' I was to be responsible for serving out the croissants, but buggered if I was going to stand there and do that when it was just as easy for everyone to help themselves. Besides, by the time I was finished eating, everyone had sat down.

We were on the road by 8am and headed straight for the Fragonard perfume factory. We were taken on a tour to see how it was made, and then let loose in the shop to sample and to buy. I couldn't bring myself to go through all of them to find one I liked, so I bought a pack with tiny bottles of all of them (just about).

Reuben had told me about a good walk to do up a hill to a village to get some photos, so I bailed and did that too. I wasn't able to capture anything like the dramatic landscapes that we'd been travelling through. I'll just have to remember how breathtaking they are and make a note to come back someday.

We headed off again, sticking pretty much to the coast the whole way, but steering off the road before Monaco. After a while, we crossed the Italian border (in the middle of a tunnel) and then proceeded through 158 more tunnels before Pisa. I counted them and managed to win the prize for the competition (bottla Rose baby, yeah!!).

We stopped at a servo not far into Italy and got food and got watered. It was hectic with shitloads of ppl and we were trying to get used to the new currency, the Italian way of buying food (pick food, pay at register, collect food with receipt), and also paying to use the toilets. anyway, we lived, and the pizza was GREAT!!

We headed off again, and got to Pisa at about 4 or 5. The tower was good, but the rain and the hordes of ppl were a bit painful.

We went after about an hour, heading for Florence. Arriving at the campsite (a long way out of town) at 7pm, we unpacked and went to dinner - lasagne. A few ppl dived for the laundry, and Alicia even missed dinner because it took so long. As it was, Matteo and she didn't go out later.

About 15 or 20 of us got together after dinner and headed into town to the 'Space Electronic Disco'. As we got there, poor Reuben backed into another bus, so I was a bit worried about that. There was karaoke downstairs until 10.30 or 11 (I wish I'd had a go) and then the full-on disco started upstairs with the lights and the fog.

It was fun - I got up on this platform in the middle of the floor and danced away. The local guys were starting to encroach on our circle and dance up to some of the girls, but I managed to avoid them. I'd finished the beaujolais with Sue before we left, and I had two bourbon and cokes there - it was good. We got back really late.

Tour day 5 - Nice, Monaco, and Monte Carlo

Woke at 6.30am.

Got bags ready by 7.15, and had breakfast at 7.30. IT WAS RAINING! We were on the road @ 8am, stopped @ Montelimar for morning tea, somewhere else for lunch (I had spag bol) and then we got to Cannes @ 3.50pm. We did the quickest whiz around a couple of sights - I took some boat pics for Dave and sent him a postcard. It looks like an OK place, only it's a bit noisy and crowded. Reuben did some clever manoeuvring to get us in and out. A storm ended up developing, and it was completely miserable. Sue and I got drenched on thne way back to the bus.

We drove for another hour or something, and got to the campsite @ 6.30ish. It was PISSING down and we had to get the bags onto concrete from mud. So much for the south of France and the Riviera. . . We had a welcome drink and got a hilarious speech from Pet. I was on cooks' duty as a 'Preshus Pea' with Matt, so we served dinner and then sat down to eat it: turkey, beans, potatoes, corn, and gravy ( I was gravy girl).

After dinner I made a beeline for the shower and got ready, although I was still a bit late for the bus. We drove up through Nice to Monaco and Monte Carlo - the lights and the sheer cliffs are AMAZING - if only the weather was better. We were dropped off by Reuben @ the casino, and passing the furious sea (never seen anything quite so loud and dramatic) and after a bit of a walk through the Jags, BMWs, Mercs, and Rollers, got to the playing room.

I got a Kahlua and milk and wandered. I watched Laura win some money, and watched ppl playing the horse race game. I put 20 Francs into a poker machine, and won 10, but then lost the lot.

I found everyone up the corridor in the piano bar, and then we had to meet the bus. We got back to the campsite @ midnight, and the party adjourned to the bar, where it is happening right now, quite noisly. Gotta sleep, g'night.

Tour day 4 - picnic in the French countryside

Woke at about 8.30 for a 9am breakfast. I had Coco Pops, ham, egg, toast, and coffee - yum.

We collected our wine and picnic hampers and headed off on a walk to 'the top of the world' at about 10.15. It was hard work and our group went the wrong way at the end for a couple of minutes and missed out on the glory of being the first ppl there. Everyone got up there, sat down and kinda crashed.

We ate long baguette sticks with camembert, ham, and tomato with some beaujolais, and it was very nice - a lovely lunch with a lovely view.

Sue and I headed off just before 1pm and came back to have a shower (but there was still no hot water [BOO!! HISS!!]). Then we got our diaries and are currently sitting under huge shady trees on soft green grass relaxing. It's so nice to stop for a while. As Sue said, it feels like a holiday now.

After that, we sort of felt at a loose end for a few hours. She went to kick a football and we organised online time - 30FF for half an hour. The keyboard was totally fucked for typing coz the 'a' and 'z' were backwards, the 'w' and 'x' were backwards, and the 'm' was where the apostrophe usually is. Also you needed shift to use the numbers. Anyway, I got an email written and sent, and read almost all of the ones I received.

We had dinner after that - it was a pork casserole with veges. We had sorbet for dessert, which was fruity and too rich.

Afterwards, a multitude of card games started, and we all played spoons, plus some silly games. After that, a kind of party developed in our room with me, Sue, Laura, Sarah, San Franciso Matt, and Alicia's Matt. We all had a fairly early night - I was asleep by 11pm I think.

Tour day 3 - the Louvre, Fontainebleau, and arrival at Chateau de Croix

We got up at some time before 8am for an 8.15 breakfast - coffee and croissants (yum) and headed off after 9 for Paris and the Louvre. The traffic was a nightmare and we didn't get there until 10.30 or something.

Sue and I had a look at the shops in the Louvre, she bought some gear. We went outside for some photos and then back inside to exchange some travellers cheques. It wasn't worth paying the entry charge to go into the museum itself for such a short time. The bus left at 12 and we started the serious driving.

We stopped at Fontainebleau for lunch @ 1pm (we had cheesy toast and hot chocolate - yum), and had a look @ King Louis's hunting lodge and grounds. We headed off again at about 2pm. We had a refuelling stop and a services stop on the way after that, and got to Chateau de Croix at about 7.30.

We dumped gear in our rooms and went straight to a wine tasting with Keith. The Beaujolais is yummy - we had a history lesson on the region, how to make wine, and how to taste it.

We went in for dinner, having pate, quiche, potatoes, and salad. We had cheesecake for dessert.

There was a pyjama party in 'the cave' after that, but it was a tad silly, so I had one glass of champagne and went up to bed @ midnight. I slept very well.

Tour day 2 - day in Paris

Slept well, woke up 8am-ish. Breakfast 8.30, we were on the bus @ 9am.

The traffic into the city was bad, and we didn't get there until 10.15ish. We started at Notre Dame - looked around the cathedral, which is magnificent in a big way - the glass work is amazing. After that, we went down the street next to it, bought souvenirs, and came out on the other end to take photos (external) and to get back on the bus.

We drove back up to the Arc d'Triomphe, and Reuben once again barrelled full-pelt @ 90 degrees into the roundabout. We got dropped off there. It cost 40ff to go up, so we did - the view was great, and we got some good daytime pics, even though it was a very smoggy/hazy day. Sue and I then marched off down the Champs Elysee, looking at shops, and buying an awesome pain au chocolat - chocolate croissant.

After a while, we peeled off and headed to the Paris Opera House. That was totally amazing in terms of scale (the foyers - mon dieu!!), detail (chandeliers and bronze work and murals on walls/ceiling) and significance (it's the Phantom of the Opera venue and such a musical place). We saw the orchestra pit doors, the foyers, and luckily, there was no rehearsal on @ the time, so we got to go in the auditorium - it's awesome. We then went outside and got photos of the facade, and the composers' busts and all the gold. Just amazing.

We walked back in the direction of the Place de la Concorde, hoping to find a place to get food, but we didn't. (All the while we were walking, we were seeing cool stuff.) We got a bit hot and tired, and so sat in a park across the road from the ferris wheel, and ate our chocolate croissants, until being ordered off the grass by some surly looking officials. We considered walking back to the Champs Elysee for food, but after five steps, saw a crepe/sandwich/drink{boisson] stand that looked perfect. And it was. I had a baguette fromage, and it was AWESOME - better than Goldberg's and a Schweppes lemon drink.

We met @ 4pm and got back on the bus - headed back to the campsite to get ready and go back out for dinner @ 6.15. We drove to the Latin Quarter of the city and pulled up for the Pub St Germain. We all filed up to the third floor and filled up the whole room.

For entree I had chicken vol-au-vents, for main I had beef burgundy, and we had dessert and cheese and coffee. There was a resident accordian player who came in every now and again, who was brilliant! He was so funny, and so clever and so talented. He could reply to any heckle and prepare a line for anybody at a second's notice. And he could even sing and play too. We all tipped him coz he was great. I sat with San Francisco Matt, Sarah, Conrad, Emma, and Nicki.

Afterwards, half of us went off to the cabaret show (naked women, erch!!) and the rest of us went to the Irish pub in the red light district. The pub was empty before we got there, and by the time we left, it was rockin'!! I had two Coronas and danced with the girls - it was very cool. When we left, we walked past all the sex shops back to the bus, and somehow Matt ended up with an arm around me and an arm around Alicia. He called it the menage a trois, but the funniest thing was the local guys outside the peep shows were calling him a lucky guy, etc. What a classic!!

We got back on the bus and kept the dance party going in the aisle while we were waiting for the cabareters to come back. It was cool. I was chatting to Matt and found out he's a mad keen skiier/boarder. He asked if I wanted to come to New Zealand for a week-long ski expedition next year. I said 'I'm in.' That's highly cool.

It took absolutely ages to get back to the campsite because the tunnels were closed for maintenance - we got there eventually, and everyone headed for the bar - I only stayed half an hour before going to bed @ 2am.

Tour day 1 - London to Dover to Paris

Got my gear together and got to the departure lounge @ 6.30am. I met up with Sue. We had our luggage weighed (mine was 18 something kilos thank god) and we had our names marked off and got on the bus. I sat next to Sue somewhere up the back-ish. I was fine there. Might try to get the front more though.

We left the National @ about 7.15, picked up currency packs in London, Reuben gave us the bus talk, and we reached Dover @ about 9.15 (??). The ferry was an enormous P&O liner thingo, and so after having our passports checked, we drove on, then got off to explore.

Sue got breakfast and we went out onto the rear deck to watch the view - I took some photos of the 'white cliffs'. I ate the rolls and juice I got the night before. We got some currency changed, and then it was just about time to get off again. It was very interesting to find that you could see both England and France nearly the whole time. We lost an hour in time zone.

From Calais we drove through countryside with a lot of trucks to a roadside servo - I got a drink and survived my first interaction with the locals. We drove on to our campsite in Joinville - arriving at about 5.45? We were greeted by Chris (a local Contiki dude) with champagne and escargo. I ate some, even though I was feeling dizzy and a bit sick, and it was OK, though there was a helluva lot of garlic there disguising something or other. But I had to say I'd done it.

We had dinner right after that - chicken and salad that was nice. We had about 45 mins then we took off on the bus again @ 7pm for the city proper.

It was just starting to get dark and we did a drive around seeing Notre Dame, and some other trendy buildings. A gap through the trees - and suddenly there was the Eiffel Tower (la tour Eiffel). We left the bus, and I didn't really appreciate it until I got closer and saw its sheet size - 321m!! For the millennium, hundreds of lights were put on it to flash as a chaser every half hour. I tried to get a photo, but still photography could never capture the amazing effect.

Shell gave us our tickets, and we (after much queueing) took the huge lift to level one. It stopped, but continued to level 2. I took a picture here, and was surprised that the shutter didn't stay open for that long.

We got in the small lift to go right to the top (after more queueing) and saw the view the whole way up. We got out, and it was so nice. I took one photo, but the shutter was open for about two whole seconds. I took one of Sue on her camera and she took one of me on mine. We had to make haste, as the bus was leaving @ 9.45, and had to queue again to get down. We saw the lights go on again on the hour as we waited for stragglers.

We drove on and continued with our tour. We saw various other buildings, flash hotels, before Shell announced that Reuben had taken a wrong turn and that we had to hang on because we were entering the businest roundabout in Europe. Here's where Reuben barrels straight into the middle of the roundabout around the Arc d'Triomphe. We almost hit one car, and made countless others change course. Shell had put on the Mission Impossible music, and it was such a cack, because there were cars going absolutely EVERYWHERE and it was INSANE!!! He obviously knew exactly what he was doing, and we'd been told that the only way to get anywhere in Europe was to push and shove. So after pushing and shoving for a while, he ended up on the inside of the roundabout on the kerb (going the WRONG way of course) while Shell gave us the Arc d'Triomphe spiel. We must have gone around about five times before we were ready to move on.

We then saw the Opera House, the Champs Elysee, the Louvre, plus other cool things we can see tomorrow. We came up one street and Shell told us to breathe in. Reuben was heading for this tiny arch in a wall. We didn't think he was serious but he didn't chicken out. There must have been a grand total of three inches on either side of the bus, but he got through beautifully - what an AWESOME driver!!

We headed back to the campsite. I had a shower, wrote this, and crashed at about 12.30. [What?! How did it get that late??? Shit!!] G'night!

The Tower of London, meeting Jacqui in Covent Garden, and tour eve

I heard noises, but tried to ignore them - must have gone back to sleep. I was still tired - I had a very weird dream about arriving in France and having Stephane Le Queux as a guide (??). The next time I knew for sure it was someone knocking and opening the door. I finally roused myself and had the shock of my life to discover it was 11.30!!! I haven't slept that long in months.

I got up, got dressed, had a cup of coffee - finally met Ben - and got organised. The Reynolds had friends coming, so I tried to catch Sarah's attention. I ended up being offered a lift to the station - YAY - as it was RAINING! I thanked Eliza and Sarah and left. I was feeling a bit teary - don't ask me why.

I got the train from Bounds Green to Russell Square and left my luggage, as there was still half an hour before I could check in at the National. I went to the toilet, and then went to check in with Contiki. I got my bedroom voucher things, got my key, got my luggage and went to my room. I dumped my stuff, and headed back to the station.

I went to South Kensington, changed to the District line to Tower Hill. I went to the tower, having an hour and a half to do it in before meeting Jacqui at Covent Garden. I saw everything I wanted to (I think) but still had to hurry. The artillery and the Crown Jewels were very cool.

I almost ran to Covent Garden to meet J, but was still about 20 mins late. I was terrified she'd been and gone, and was just about to ring her when I saw her - she'd been late too, thank god!! It was so good to see her, and she was happy to see me - her 'little cousin'.

We went to a cafe in Covent Garden - Ponti's - which was very nice. I had tomato tagliatelle and we both had lattes. [Before this, we stopped at the Italian cafe where she works, so she could go to the toilet - it's very cool. It's run by a professional chef who does a show on TV, I can't remember the name.]

It was so great to talk to Jacqui. I'd never felt particularly comfortable with her ever before; maybe it was the fact that we were so far from home, but I really enjoyed the time we had. She told me all about her travels and we caught up with home stuff. She's really homesick and goes home in four weeks, after travelling through Prague, Budapest, Romania, Transylvania, Ukraine, Turkey and India. Sounds cool!!

We decided we'd have to catch up in Sydney more often. We said goodbye and I hotfooted it back to the National for the briefing session. I met a girl called Sue who'd on my tour and is really nice. I filled in a stack of forms, bought a currency pack, bought film, and bought breakfast for the next morning.

There's a really nice girl called Rebecca in my triple room, but she's doing a UK tour. Right now, I'm waiting for the other girl to get back so I can let her in, and have a shower and crash. It's 9.30.

I did everything and got to bed eventually after reading and waiting for the other girl to finish up and put the light off (she never did - I had to) and so it was probably about 11.30. I slept very badly and woke at about 5.15am.

Oxford

Woke at some time before 8 to the sound of children eating breakfast. A.K.A. children hurling their breakfast around the room at each other.

I got dressed and waited for the bathroom. I went downstairs, meeting both Eliza and Angus (in a placid mood) on the way. I made a very much needed cup of coffee and straightened out some of the kitchen disaster area. The kids disappeared on their regular Saturday morning walk-in-th-park-treat-at-the-lolly-shop session with Ben and Granny Pat (his mother), so I asked Sarah's advice before leaving.

I had to get the underground to Paddington, which was slightly inconvenient - I had to get the Victoria line from Finsbury Park to Oxford Circus, then the Bakerloo line to Paddington. Wonder of wonders - there was a train to Oxford about 10 mins after I got there. I bought my ticket and got a seat easily. The trip took about an hour (?) and got more and more pastoral.

I called Dad from Oxford station and bought an open-topped tour bus ticket, and got a bacon roll (yum). The guide and commentary were very good indeed, and the ride itself was lovely, as it was quite a hot day!! I learnt a fair bit about the University, and the history, particularly the layers of hisotry in this case, was particularly interesting. I stayed on one whole circuit with the audio tour, and taking photos, and then went around a bit further to get off near the things I wanted to see.

The instrument exhibit at the Faculty of Music was unfortunately closed :-( but next door I saw the Thames Valley Police Station, of Inspector Morse fame.

I went past Alice's shop, of Lewis Carroll fame, and then turned into High Street, buying a postcard for the GSB. I went past the Colleges, wanting to go in, but they were all closed to visitors. I would love ot have gone to Oxford to do my degree, it would have been so much fun to live in a University town, and the degree would be terribly highly regarded.

I went through the Botanical Gardens (nice) and back to the post office (yes, open Saturdays) to post the card.

While I remember, the guide pointed out a pub that C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien used to get together to drink at. That's cool, seeing they both taught at Oxford.

I walked back up to the high street, bought a thank you card for Sarah, looked at some shops and headed for the Sheldonian Theatre, which is where the graduation ceremonies are held (they used to have them in a cathedral/church only there was a bit too much excitement for a sacred place). I couldn't go inside unfortunately.

I found Blackwells Music Shop (I think the one Marie told me about?) and looked through that quickly.

I went in search of an ice cream, as it was hot, found one, and headed back to the station, via a place with a big music banner that I was hoping was the instrument display in a different place (but wasn't - it was a dodgy guitar shop) and also the local Domino's - I took a picture for Josh.

I got a train back to Paddington pretty much straight away, although it was a slow train stopping just about everywhere. I tried to call Jacqui again (no luck) and so stopped at a Covent Garden M&S to buy Sarah a bottle of wine. I got a nice looking Hunter Valley verdelho for £4.99.

Because the trains between Highbury and Islington and Alli Palli were few and far between on the weekend, I got the underground to Bounds Green and got a bus to Alexandra Park Rd. I had to wait for a while for the bus, and I was a bit worried about the neighbourhood to start with, but it turned out OK, and I got back at around 8.30.

I had dinner - Sarah had cooked spaghetti, so I put tomato pasta sauce and ham with it. I went online for over an hour, then wrote/read. I called Jacqui to arrange to meet @ 5pm the next day. The light went off at midnight because I was so tired in the end.

More sightseeing in London - St James Park, Buckingham Palace, Thames, Millennium Dome

I woke reasonably early - 8.15am? And was stirring, when all of a sudden there was a loud knock on the door, the light was turned on, I heard the sound of small feet running, I was rudely shoved, and the small feet beat a hasty retreat. I pretended to be asleep, but got up around 8.45. I showered and dressed, and left around 9.45.

I headed straight to Waterloo, as the weather was again very nice, but found out that the Eye was booked out for the whole day, and the same for Sunday. There were only late night tickets for Saturday left, so I ummed and ahhed for a while, but ended up giving up - I wasn't going to get on the thing.

I walked across the bridge and found Westminster Abbey. I went in to behold the sights, and to see memorials/burial sites of Jane Austen, the Brontes, Chaucer, Handel, Keats, Gerard Manley Hopkins, Laurence Olivier, and others. (Shakespeare too.)

I wandered down to Whitehall and saw 10 Downing Street (behind large fences), kept walking and I was at Trafalgar Square. I found a sandwich shop and had a smoked salmon and tomato sandwich - it was heavenly - must remember to go back to that Whitehall sandwich shop. I had to hotfoot it to the Palace now for my 2pm appointment.

I marched through St James Park (very nice) and got to the Ambassador Gate in plenty of time. The palace is amazing. I thought I wanted to live in Lyme Park - this is something different. I took my time in each room - imagining genteel life there, balls and dancing and so forth. I also imagined Prince William being there, which he no doubt has been, as we were told that the State Rooms are in constant use by the Queen.

The room that I particularly love - my favourite - is the Music Room. It's used for official receptions, but I think it's just perfect for me to practice in - beautiful wooden floor, high domed ceiling, chandelier, nice and light and airy, with a round bay window configuration out onto the lawn with beautiful afternoon sun. Perfect. Made for me. I don't ask much. . .

Anyway - I bought a guidebook and a really nice pen, and departed. I walked back through St James Park, got a cappuccino, and sat down to think. The park is beautiful - and there are real grey squirrels there - I saw about four of them, they're so gorgeous. I made my plan.

I went back to Waterloo from St James Park tube and got a ticket for a boat ride. I'd really wanted to go to the Dome on the boat, but it takes 2 1/4 hours, making it late and dark by the time I had to go. I settled for a ride to the Tower pier, getting chatted up by a guy at the henna tattoo stall nearby in the process.

The ride was good, I saw a couple of new things. The guy doing the commentary was a scream - he said that one of the rail bridges we went under had the sole purpose of stopping the trains falling into the river. He made some cracks about Queen Victoria, the 'wibbly-wobbly bridge' and the Tate Modern - saying that it's lucky it's free, otherwise no one would go.

I got off at the Tower, deciding to boycott the return journey. I had a look at the Tower from the outside, as it was closed. From Tower tube station, I made the arduous trek out to North Greenwich, to have a look at the Dome after all. I walked a fair way away from it, but still couldn't get a photo I was happy with. Anyway, I can say I've seen it now.

I tubed back to Covent Garden to get some dinner and have a look. I got a crispy bacon and egg (boiled) roll, which was pretty nice. I walked through the Friday night party crowds, through the closed markets, and decided to call it a night.

On the way back, at Finsbury Park station, I assumed my connecting train would be on the platform opposite to the one I got off, as it had always been up until then. It soon became apparent that this wasn't the case, and I started from scratch, looking for the right platform. They all seemed to say Moorgate or King's Cross, which was the opposite direction to the one I wanted. I went to the ticket/waiting room area to ask for help, but I found no one except unsavoury locals. I got back on the tube (it felt safer anyway) and went back to Highbury and Islington, where after first going wrong, was set straight  by a staff member, and was pretty bloody lucky to fluke the last train for the night (it was by now 8.30).

I got back to Sarah's and everyone was in bed. I had a shower, crashed and wrote/read. Went to sleep 11.30.

Sightseeing in London - Piccadilly Circus, Green Park, Harrod's

I woke a bit after 8 and realised I hadn't read any of the brochures on London, as I'd intended to do. I spread them on the bed and began sorting through.

A loud knock sounded on the door. I said 'yes' and Eliza came in, closely followed by Angus. Eliza helped me throw away rubbish and Angus jumped on the bed. They both started looking through my things and asking questions, and then locked my luggage and took the keys. Angus threatened to flush them down the toilet, but Eliza managed to stop him. He'd also threatened to throw them out the window, but I said I'd throw him out the window if he did. They finally went to school amid shouting and tantrums, and all was quiet. I finished sorting the brochures, and had a shower. Sarah and Jill came back from the school and we had a cup of coffee.

We caught the train together at about 11.30. I got off at Finsbury Park and said goodbye to Jill, as she was going on to meet Lynda. I got the tube to Leicester Square with the intention of doing an open-topped bus tour. I started walking to find a bus stop and soon found myself in Piccadilly Circus. It was amazing - I stopped and stared. I stood for ages just watching the world go by and absorbing the feel.

I bought a twister from KFC and just kept on walking. I walked up Pall Mall and just followed signs to places I wanted to see. I think I was following signs to Mayfair when I found Green Park. It's beautiful - and it has those cool fences.

I found some new signs for Buckingham Palace and so walked through the park to that - it's awesome of course. I bought a ticket for the next day to go inside. I walked back through the park to Piccadilly. I sat in the park for a while, trying to work out what to do. It started to rain, so the bus thing was out. I was near the intersection for Knightsbridge so I decided to walk down to Harrods. I was quite a long way. On the way, I saw a large grand building bearing the name of 'Coutts' ha ha. Knightsbridge is a fairly funky area, and Harrods, well!! Harrods is something else!!

It's like walking into the land of perfect. It's all shiny, and cool, and yummy, and classy all at the same time. I bought some butterscotch in a cool tin, sprayed myself with Estee Lauder 'Knowing' (nice), and found the most beautiful rectangular diamond ring for £67,000!! And get this - they have a musical instrument section to die for. Keilwerth and Yamaha saxes, Buffet and Yamaha clarinets and flutes - no crap!! I asked about a wooden Yamaha picc - £3,000 - and I got to hold it - yay!

I got outside again and it was raining in earnest - I managed to not get too wet. I walked back to Piccadilly and went underground at Green Park Station. I went back to Piccadilly Circus, remembering the signs I'd seen to Soho. Before I ventured out in the rain again, I called Jacqui, but left a msg on her voicemail, as she didn't answer.

I walked down to Soho and the theatre district and found myself going into Maccas (yuck). I had a 'McAussie' - a chicken and tomato sauce creation, and it was HORRIBLE! I hate to think what Brits think of us. I sat for a while, resting my aching feet, before calling Jacqui again. No answer. By this time it was 5.30 and I didn't quite know what to do. I started to walk again, and found myself in Tottenham Court Road. I went into the Virgin megastore, but was uninspired (tired into the bargain). Went into Boots - no joy. I bought the Evening Standard to read about the MI6 missile saga and went underground at Tottenham Court Road station and headed back to Ali Pali.

I took my time walking up, stopping at a supermarket to get chocolate milk, soap, and batteries. I got back and the kids were in bed (thank god). Sarah was going out, but I sat and ate dinner with her sister-in-law Sarah, who's a great girl. We talked about my day, admin work in schools and unis, and the cost of living in England.

I had a headache, and so read some of my book, and crashed at about 11.30.

To London!

Woke at 8am when Pauline came in, had breakfast and packed.

Derek drove Jill and I to Crewe station, leaving at 9.25. Crewe station fairly big and busy. We got on the train and got a seat OK. The mobile phones in the train carriage were mad - they were going off every 10 seconds!! We got a bit held up outside London, and came to our destination about half an hour late.

The first thing that we did in Euston was deposit my big bag - that cost £4. We decided to try to find the Royal National so I knew where it was, and so I could get some London info. We made it to Bedford Square OK, but the assumption that Bedford Way branched off it wasn't quite right. We finally rang the hotel on Jill's mobile and found that it was actually off Russell Square. On the way there we stopped at Eve's and had some very salty spaghetti bolognaise in a very small, very smoky eating area. There was a downpour while we were inside thank god!!

We walked past Jill's UCL (University College London) campus and finally found the hotel. Then, we even found the Contiki office in there, and after waiting for some time, got a handful of info and brochures to read.

After this, we headed to the underground at Russell Square and bought a four zone travelcard (wonderful inventions these things) with which you can travel in these zones as many times as you want all day.

We headed to Oxford Circus to look at the shops. Jill and I split up - she went to M&S and Next, and I went to HMV. I'd been hoping to find Paul McCartney's Red Rose Speedway and FIND IT I DID!! YAY! It was only £10.99. There was an excellent Beatles section, and I also found some James Morrison - YAY!! Jill and I met up again and she showed me some things in Next - there were some cool tops I wanted, but they only came in 3s. POO.

Now we got the underground to Waterloo to have a look at the London Eye. IT'S SO COOL. It was a glorious afternoon and the South Bank looked beautiful. We would have gone on the Eye only the next session boarding was 6-6.30 and we'd be too late.

We went to Camden Market on the tube and I bought some M&S ready-made meals. Got the tube back to Euston and I collected my bag. Got the tube (plus connection) to Highbury and Islington where we changed to an overground train to Alexandra Palace.

We walked to Sarah's - it only took about 7 mins but it felt like FOREVER (bloody heavy bag). Angus presented Jill and me with a glass of red wine. Eliza gave us the tour of the house. Angus then gave me a welcome card and put plastic spiders in my bed. The wine went to my head coz I was so tired. Jill read Angus and Eliza a story and Sarah put me on her computer to play online while she and Jill went out. I was there for about two hours and managed to get completely up to date with emails and website and crashed pretty hard at a bit after 10pm.

Bunbury locks

Woke at 9.15. Had breakfast and watched Australia win gold in the men's 4x200 freestyle relay. YAY!! THORPEY'S MY HERO!! There had better be a good video produced of all his achievements that I could buy when I get home - the opening ceremony had better be on it too.

Jill and I went for a walk around Oscroft/Tarvin and I took some photos. We had lunch - Pauling made us 'burgers in a barmcake' which were yummy.

Then Pauline, Jill and I went to the Bunbury locks to see the narrow-boats negotiate their way up and down different water levels - they were highly cool, and I'd love to go on a canal holiday one day. We then went into Nantwich, and I got put in the stocks for a photo.

After that, Jill and I went to see Jill and Colin Oldham, who are both lovely people.

Derek went to a NT meeting, so the rest of us had fish for dinner. I got Betty's address and phone number from Dad, and rang Stella Aze. She didn't seem particularly pleased to hear me, but we'll try to organise something in the near future. I did an hour's practice, then watched old Turner 'cinefilms' where Jill and Philip were cavorting on beaches and riding donkeys in Portugal - very cool.

Went to bed 11.30.

North Wales

Got up 8.30. Ate toast and potato cake and drank coffee.

Watched Ian Thorpe win a silver medal in the 200m freestyle (awww!). WE STILL LOVE YA THORPEY!!!

Left at about 10, heading straight to North Wales on a big motorway sort of road. Before long, the scenery became quite dramatic and hilly country started.

We stopped at Conwy and went into the castle. Jill and I went all through the castle and got some great photos. There was a group of horrible children there on an excursion, but we managed to escape them - usually by escaping to higher ground. I wondered it castles had torture chambers for children. . . I really wanted a fitting souvenir of Conwy, and there were some very cool mediaeval goblets, only they were pottery, and wouldn't have travelled well.

We walked through some of the town, saw the oldest house in Conwy (1340s?) [BTW, the castle is 1280s] and the smallest house in Conwy (dodgy!). At the water, I discovered the most ENORMOUS feral seagulls, and they seem normal in this country!!

We travelled on to the Groes Inn (pronounced 'groice') and had a really nice lunch - I had avocade, smoked chicken, crispy bacon salad and we had a bottle of semillon chardonnay - yummy! Jill stole some chocolates from another table so we had extra with our coffee. We drove out further, with the scenery getting more and more beautiful as we went, to Caenarfon. We had a look at the castle, took photos, heard a bit of native Welsh spoken, saw a bit of the town, saw some swans, and saw the local real estate agent - Dafydd Hardy, haha.

We drove on through the Snowdonia region, with sheer rocky mountains, and sheep perched in precarious places. It's beautiful there, with waterfalls and angular lines - so different to the rest of the UK I've seen so far. We saw Mt Snowdon in the distance, and I have a photo of it.

We travelled back through Betws-y-Coed and reached Chester at about 6pm. I had my first experience of Sainsbury's and found that I like it a lot. There is an awful lot of fresh pre-prepared food - we bought some Indian dishes and had them with rice for dinner. Afterwards we watched University Challenge and went to bed.

Lyme Park

I woke and roused myself, thinking that it would be ridiculously early again, except when I looked at the clock, it was after 10! Everyone had apparently let me sleep, deciding I needed it.

We had breakfast - Jill cooked me an egg and I had toast and potato cakes. We headed off at probably about 11 in the direction of the Peak District. The country got hilly and it was lovely driving between the drystone walls and sheep.

The pub we wanted to have lunch at was closed down, so we went to the Highwayman at Rainow. It was very nice - on a hill with a good view. I had steak and kidney pie and salad. After this, we went the long way to Lyme Park, cutting through a section of Derbyshire on the way. Nice country!

There were a lot of people at Lyme Park - I was a bit disappointed to see that it was so commercial and touristy. The house itself is very impressive: the size of the rooms, and the height of the ceilings, the doors and the atmosphere. I walked across the courtyard and up the steps that Colin Firth (as Mr Darcy) walked as he was saying goodbye to Elizabeth Bennet the first time she went to Pemberley.

As I bought my ticket for entry, the man there told me that he was in contact with Colin Firth, having painted his portrait as Darcy. He's waiting for permission from the BBC to reproduce it, and it might be available from the house shop in a while. Pauline said she would send me one if she can get one. In the ticket office they also said how popular Pride and Prejudice had made Lyme Park, and various stories of seeing cast and production crew in the making of it.

The inside of the house wasn't actually used in the filming, so there was nothing of P&P interest in there. Jill and I did the walk on 'the Pemberley Trail' though. We saw the lake that Darcy dived into (now known as 'Darcy's lake') and walked the path that he took back to the house. Incidentally, the man in the ticket office had said he'd re-enact it for us, only he'd catch his death.

I was also a bit disappointed not to have got a really nice photo of the house from a good vantage point, but the gardens were closed, and so it just wasn't possible to walk around it outside.

After this, we got an ice cream and headed off. We didn't quite take the planned route back to Brook House, and went through Buxton. I was glad because this town has the Elizabeth George connection, but apart from that, it's actually a very nice place. After Buxton, we came home through what I call real moors, with heather, and walking tracks branching off from the road - I could imagine Nicola Maiden parking her car beside the road and taking off on a hike.

We got home fairly late, and Jill cooked a chicken maryland dinner with vegetables, and I drank wine. I tried to do a bit of work on Bach beforehand, but I was too tired. We watched Who Wants to be a Millionaire, and discovered it was absolutely identical to the Australian version. I was wacked, and went to bed at about 11.15.

Gathering at Brook House

Woke at a decent time today - about 8, but laid in until just before 9. I stayed in my pyjamas for breakfast, and then had a leisurely shower. I have to say, it was quite nice to just stay still for a while.

I went online and found seven emails waiting for me. I copied them to a WP and replied to them offline. I had messages from Mum, Dave, Kyllie, Casey, Nat, and Myles - it was cool. Sue, Philip and Rosie arrived just before 12, and I went and finished getting ready. I wrote some more, then I had to go and be social.

I met Allan and Jean - their three children Simon, Richard and Beverly, and Beverly's husband Simon and daughter Katie, and Simon's son Edward. Simon, Richard and Beverly are Jill's second cousins. They are all very nice people. For a while after lunch, Richard, Philip and I escaped and listened to some jazz CDs - in particular Diana Krall, whose gig Janet had filled in for at the Basement when I went to see Ben that time. She's pretty cool.

The visitors had all left by about 8pm, although I was a bit sorry to see Philip, Sue and Rosie go. I still have to practise, send the emails I wrote, and read some more guidebooks before I go to bed. OK - I read the guidebooks and sent the emails, but didn't practise (NAUGHTY NAUGHTY!). I watched the video footage from Jill's camera instead and had a bit more wine and cheese. I then rang Mum and rang Heidi for her birthday. I think Heid was a bit chuffed that I thought of her - she was at the Olympics.

Liverpool and Beatles

Woke up ridiculously early (AGAIN!) but managed to get back to sleep for an hour.

Jill and I were driven to the station by Derek and we travelled to Liverpool - it took about half an hour. The trains here aren't terribly much different to the ones at home, except for the fact that at James St station, because the rail line is underground, after having gone under the Mersey, there are huge lifts that everyone just piles into to get to street level - it seemed a strange thing to do. . .

Anyway, Jill and I walked down to Albert Dock (via the yellow submarine) and found the tourist info office. We found out that due to the petrol problem, our 12.30 tour was cancelled, and we had to go on the 3pm one. We had a quick look at the shops - I bought the most brilliant Scottish kilt - and then decided we'd come back after 'the Beatles story' museum. We spent two hours in there - it traced the whole history through fairly well. There were some great pictures I hadn't seen, and some cool video, and I guess I learnt some things, but otherwise it was fairly normal. We came out with empty stomachs and sore legs.

We found a pillar to stand against to eat our (somewhat squashed) lunch, and then looked at more shops. Having discovered a nice coffee and crepe shop, we sat down there for a while, ate and drank, and then went back to the shop we'd seen before and I bought a shirt and postcards.

We went to the meeting place then to embark on the 'Magical Mystery Tour'. We saw the birthplaces, houses, churches, bus stops and haunts of all four Beatles, along with Strawberry Field and Penny Lane. It was great to see all of it, but the tour guide had a few too many bad jokes, and the stereo in the bus was highly inadequate. Still, I did enjoy it, and got to see Liverpool at the same time.

We ended up at the Cavern in Mathew St, and I posted a postcard to Andrew and Kristy. Jill and I made our way circuitously back to the station and headed back to Chester, encountering the COMPUTER NERDS sitting next to us - one describing this website exercise involving numbers, letters, countries, animals and colours. Needless to say, it was pretty funny, especially when Jill later told the story to Derek and Pauline.

That night we watched the Olympic opening ceremony on video - having taped it that morning. I got to bed late at about 12am, having watched the James Morrison/Ben section a second time, without Pauline's commentary and questions!

Biddulph and the Cloud

I woke up early again - bout 6.30. I got up at 8ish, I think having been back to sleep for a while. Jill cooked us a really nice breakfast of eggs, bacon, potato cakes and toast. We left at about 10am for Biddulph, meeting up with Sue and Philip and Rosie. We had a cuppa and then were informed that we were going for a walk. We all got decked out in wet weather gear, gumboots, and 'cagules' and drove ten minutes up the hill from Biddulph to the start of the walk up the Cloud. Biddulph has two roads - 'under the hill' and 'over the hill'.

We walked for about an hour and half through the most diverse terrain I've seen within such a small area. We started off on very steep rocky stairs with trees around, to a slightly flatter heath area - the heather had beautiful pink flowers. We got to the top of the Cloud and there was an obelisk thingo there, and with the rocks and the mist/cloud, it reminded me a lot of Mt Kosciuszko. We could barely see anything through the rain and cloud. We climbed back down on the other side and ended up going through thick forest with wide, leaf-covered paths. We took a short cut after this and climbed back up through more rocks and heath to the obelisk and then back to the car.

Sue had Rosie on her back, and Sally was running around like a mad thing between all of us. Philip led the whole expedition. It was great, not just because I got to experience such different aspects of England at once, and that these aspects were things I'd wanted to see, but the whole thing was such an English thing to do - tramping around in the rain in pursuit of fun. I'm beginning to think that just about all the kinds of things I want to see are very close to Brook House. I want to go to the Peak District now too, as a friend of Sue's mentioned it today.

When we got back to the house, Philip had to leave for a work function, and so Sue, Jill, Rosie and I went to the local pub, the Talbot, for lunch, which was extremely pleasant. Above our table there was a long herald trumpet, and I wished that Tony had been there to look at it if not to pick it up and play it.

From the pub, we headed straight to Little Moreton Hall via some lovely villages in Staffordshire. The Hall is an amazing historical and architectural wonder which was built over a period of 150 years started in 1440. It's currently in black and white Tudor style, but apparently wasn't always. It's very skewiff due to the fact it's built on marshy soil and the roof tiles are so goddamn heavy that a structural engineer commented that there was no valid reason why it was still standing. It's since been fortified. Even the floors inside are nowhere near flat/square - it's quite off-putting to lose your equilibrium walking from one end of a room to the other.

After the very informative tour, we went outside to the knot garden, which consists of the most perfectly manicured hedges in a maze style. I've got a couple of photos of that.

From Little Moreton Hall, we went back to Biddulph, and had a cup of tea with Sue's friend Denise, and heard that the petrol situation had eased, before heading back to Brook House, getting stuck in a fairly serious petrol-queue traffic jam at Congleton.

At Brook House, we partook of drinks and a very nice beef stroganoff dinner. Afterwards, I made myself do 50-mins-odd flute practice, working on Paganini. This was the first night that I haven't been really tired, and I went to bed at about 11pm, after calling Mum.

Exploring Chester

I woke up early - just before it got fully light, and I couldn't get back to sleep. I got out of bed just after eight - had tea (kindly brought to me by Pauline), toast, and coffee.

We set off for Chester, after having deposited the morning's post in a red post box in the side of a barn, and parked in the Tescos car park. We split up - Derek and Jill went off to do some errands, and Pauline and I hopped on the famous open-topped Chester tourist bus and learnt an awful lot about the history of Chester. We had all the different periods of architecture pointed out to us - from medieval to Tudor, to Roman, to Georgian, to Victorian, and even mock-Tudor! There was one building (Tudor) which was originally 1600s, then rebuilt in the 1800s, and refitted in 1980. A lot of the buildings are particularly beautiful - esp the Royal Bank of Scotland.

Pauline and I left the bus tour where we had started and shortly after met up with Derek. We walked a section of the city wall before walking back up a shopping street (with 'rows') to meet Jill at the Falcon pub (very nice building) for lunch. I had 'crispy battered cod' with chips and peas - Jill and Derek had ploughman's lunches and Pauline had scampi. I had a half-pint of lager and lime which I didn't enjoy very much, as it was quite strong and quite flat.

After lunch, we split up again, and I went with Jill to find some shoes. We went into at least six shoe shops, not finding anything I wanted (but seeing some very 'interesting' fashion statements), until we got to Marks and Spencer, and I found a pair I'm quite happy with, at £35. We met up with Pauline and Derek, and headed back to the car.

We stopped at Sainsbury's on the way back to get some groceries, and the shelves were fairly empty due to panic buying because of the petrol supply problem. We got back to Brook House having taken the 'country way' back and then Jill and I went for a walk around the circuit from Brook Houe around the millennium monument, then into Tarvin and back through the fields - crossing one 'kissing gate' and two or three stiles.

On my return, I picked up my book again and am now sitting in the garden listening to a cow munching away just on the other side of the hedge. It's pleasant enough to sit outside in shorts and short sleeves. There's a bit of wind, and a fair bit of cloud cover. I can hear farm machinery over to the right, and I think it might be distant thunder - hang on, no, I think it's a plane. There's a little bit of traffic noise, and a few different bird calls - including that nice twittering sound that seems so English. The insects are fairly bad as befits the end of summer. I can now hear some bells in the distance chiming the hour of five.

I did a bit of reading, and then we had drinks. We had a lovely ham dinner (with too much wine!). After dinner I went online and replied to Mum and Steve and sent a bulk email to a lot of other people. Went to bed at 10.30.

Overground to Brook House

I visited the toilet in the new terminal and went with Pauline to buy a postcard and stamps for Tim. Jill arrived about 9.50am and we all went to the car.

The drive out to Chester was interesting. It was rainy (typical of course) but the scenery was lovely. It was also interesting to see the cars here - there are lots of Commodores, Barinas, and Vectras, but they're all Vauxhalls instead of Holdens. Saw a lovely old pub. Arrived at Brook House about 11.15am. The garden looks so lovely and there are cows in the paddock next door.

I had the grand tour and put my gear in my room - had a cup of tea and a shower. I packed some things away, then Pauline made us lunch - smoked salmon sandwiches, tomato, and brie/crackers. Derek opened a bottle of champagne and we had some + some red wine. By 2pm I was very ready for a sleep!

Woke up at 5pm with a cup of tea and sat down with this book. Watched the news about the fuel shortage (bummer!). Pauline cooked and served a lovely dinner of chicken in tomato sauce with fresh home-grown beans and potatoes, and berries and ice cream for dessert. Jill and I went to bed at about 9.30.

Up, up, and away

Left Belmont Aeropelican at 12.55pm. The wind was NW and so changeable - the ride to Sydney was quite bouncy. Nevertheless, the view of the lake and the harbour were great and the landing was as smooth as you could hope for in the circumstances. I remember hoping that the international flight was not like that, because I don't think I could handle 20 hours of it.

Jill and I caught a shuttle bus to the international terminal from Ansett domestic and got something to eat in the horrendously priced food hall section. I'd checked in for my flight and got my boarding pass already, and now Jill went to get hers. I did some shopping - got a book to read and a bottle of Bombay Sapphire for Pauline and Derek - and went to meet her. She had just finished, and then I had to board. There were an awful lot of Olympic official-type people all through the airport. Jill and I met very briefly on the other side of security and we said goodbye until Manchester.

I boarded my flight - thinking I had walked down the service ramp because of the chaos of the staff - and found my seat. It was the aisle of the right-hand window block (two seats only - 737). The 4.10pm take-off was fine (almost a disappointment) and views of the harbour were good. Dinner came, and I chose a beef stew with rice and veges. It was OK. The flight started off a tad bumpy, but once outside the cloud line, it was very smooth - nothing like the Belmont plane. I watched Gone in 60 Seconds. In the audio channels, 18 and 20 were cool coz they were the old/jazzy channels.

We came into Hong Kong at 1am Aus time (very bumpy landing) and everyone got off to change planes. It was 30 degrees C! I had to catch a train to another gate, which would have been scary had I thought about it, but as it was, I just followed everyone else. I had to wait to board the ongoing flight to Paris/Manchester, and by the time we were organised, we took off half an hour late. They brought another dinner (having had a second one on the first flight - pizza, yuck!) which was actually 'supper' (chicken stroganoff) and it was all I could do to stay awake long enough to eat it. I slept for six hours now (the first half of the flight) and then another three or so after getting up once.

About two hours before Paris, I started feeling sick, and when they brought breakfast out, the smell of that - especially the Chinese breakfasts - made it much worse. I only managed to force down half an interesting-looking croissant and a cup of juice. I felt a fair bit better after that. The Paris landing was good - the lights were very nice. Most passengers got off here, and they refuelled the plane and people came on (some smelly French men included) to clean and they changed flight crews. I got my camera out, put film in, and tried to take some shots of the sunrise. It was 7am Paris time, but 4pm Aus EST.

We finally took off again - this time piloted by Captain Roger Osbourne - after waiting for about four incoming Air France flights, and got underway to Manchester. The views of France's fields were nice. I felt a bit queasy here, but ate their snack - a devon (?), tomato, and lettuce roll, juice, and a Madeleine de Commercy (a yummy Madeira cake thingo) and felt immediately a bit better. Felt bad again just coming into Manchester - views of city good. They said it was 14 degrees.

We touched down at 8.45am UK time (6.45pm Aus EST) so therefore, I had spent a total of 29 hours and 45 minutes on planes. I was quite pleased to see solid ground again.

I navigated through Manchester airport with no problems - flashed my UK passport - and went to collect baggage. My bag showed up, thank god, having been checked in through from Belmont. I went out to the arrivals hall, and met up with Pauline and Derek after about 15 minutes. We loaded my gear into the car and went to another terminal to collect Jill.