Goodbye family and fair England

Our flight was not due to depart until 9.30pm so brother Richard generously delivered us to Heathrow to drop our bags and then drove us into central London to spend the day. Dropped off outside the Tate British Art Museum and spent an enthralling afternoon tripping through the Turner, Constable and Moore galleries,  as well as the decades of British art. Thought provoking and enjoyable.

Our next goal was to walk several miles across town to Paddington Station to catch the Heathrow Express back to the airport. On the way we took in the Thames, Big Ben, St James Park, Buckingham Palace, the New Zealand War Memorial and Hyde Park.  Stunning summers day - a fabulous touristy thing to do and the best way to fill in the afternoon before our 25 hours of flying back to Aotearoa.

Having time with my brothers and their families has been a real highlight of our 6 weeks away. Looking forward to the next visit already.  

Three brothers on a seat

This picture is so good it deserves its own blog post. I'm the older smaller one lovingly squeezed in the middle. The flower basket is a nice touch. It would make a great painting don't you think?

High tea at the Luton Hoo

In the morning I had the pleasure of visiting Brandon's and Cameron's school, Harlington Upper. Had two hours being kindly toured around by the Headteacher and chatting to several staff. Lots of good ideas on ICT and BYOD.  During this time Julie was entertained with aplomb by Brandon at the local garden centre.

In the afternoon we were treated by Jack to a 'high tea' at the Luton Hoo, a stately old English manor house complete with county garden. (Hoo means a ridge or hill) Parked the Mini near the Lamborghini and then walked the luxurious hallways of the house. Enjoyed a magnificent tiered arrangement of fresh scones, torte, cheese cakes, macaroons and fancy sandwiches accompanied by pots of Darjeeling tea. Very tasty, posh and memorable. The perfect place to show off Julie's new 'English rose' dress.

That evening it was a BBQ cooked with consummate culinary skill by Richard and served in his lovely garden. A beautiful English summer evening spent with Richard, Jack, Cameron and Brandon.

Being shared around

Spent Monday morning visiting the local secondary at Cambourne thanks to Gill.  Had a lovely run around the town in the afternoon. Plodded into the English countryside and came across the oldest windmill in England. This was the Borne Mill and could have been operating in 1300. Very cool.

Family time with Josh, Olivia and their mini hamster Aubrey.

On Tuesday we made the most of Richard's mighty Vauxhall and travelled to Cambridge for the morning. Some dress shopping and a visit to Kettles Yard. This was the home of a curator of the Tate and it had many stunning works from British artists of the forties and fifties.

Headed off to Richard's and Jack's and a celebration dinner for Brandon's new job. Lovely evening.

Family time near Cambridge

Lovely stay in Cambourne with Dave and Gill. Traveled to Cambridge about 20 minutes away to check out the shops and go for a punt on the river Cam. Cruised past the historic residential halls to stories of student pranks and achievements.

Checked out the good dress shops for later in the week.

On the Sunday we traveled through more of the lovely English countryside and small villages to Milton Keynes for a look see and to pick up Dave and Gill's fancy light shade. Bought some goodies for a BBQ while the rain clouds gathered.

All the family gathered at Dave and Gill's for some extreme bbqing in the torrential rain. Good fun. Lovely to meet up again with the 'kids' Josh, Olivia, Cameron and Brandon. Great feed and company and I learnt the correct way to cook salmon on the bbq in the rain.

Three bros and a show

Very kindly picked up by Dave and Gill and had the day near Chinatown and the West End. Caught our first London cab to St Pauls Cathedral for a tour.  Interesting to compare this to the basilica in Italy and to see where Lady Di and Prince Charles walked the aisle. Awesome views of London from the top of the dome.

Caught up with Richard and Jack and we all headed for dinner at a Vietnamese restaurant before going to Miss Saigon.

Julie and I had admired all the famous shows and theatres the day before, a cool part of London. We loved the show which was very professional and visually dramatic. A great way to begin catching up with my UK brothers and families.

Good olé England

We were up about 10am after getting to bed at 3am and keen for our English breakfast and a day exploring London.

The hotel staff were very helpful explaining which bus and train to catch. A 10 minute walk to the 222 bus stop and then just about headed in the opposite direction but a kind women pointed this out just in time. Took the Picadilly line to Picadilly Circus and after an hour we popped out in the centre of London.

Some lunch at an Italian restaurant, old habits die hard, then on to the Original London Bus Tour for our 3 hour open top tour of London. Absolutely fabulous! All the sites that are so familiar, Trafalgar Square,  Ben, St Pauls Cathedral, Tower Bridge, House of Commons etc great commentary. Hopped off near the Strand for a coffee and a visit to the Queens Guard.

Headed back to our hotel about 6 pm on the tube. Caught the right bus home but it went a different route so we guessed our stop. Walking back we passed a cute old English pub so decided to have their fish and chips and mushy peas for dinner, a cultural must do. The Plough had been open since the 16 hundreds.

Started walking in the rain at 9 ish and figured we were not in the right place. Called into the Holiday Inn and the kind staff organized a taxi for us to our hotel which was 15 minutes away.

Home at 10 after a top hat day in London.

Saving the best till last - Vatican and Sistine Chapel

Booked our tickets online for the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel and walked the short distance across the Ponte Sisto to the bus stop. Interestingly our train, boat and bus tickets have rarely been checked on any public transport we have used on our trip. We suspect there are lots of free riders in Italy.

Caught the 23 bus to St Peters Basilica and joined the long queue. An amazing setting with the imposing dome and enveloping Roman columns. The huge basilica swallows up people and is absolutely magnificent. Pictures cannot capture the enormity of the place or its pure beauty. Almost 2 hours of neck craning flew past. The church service with choral singing added to the reverent aura. Supremo.

Walked a short distance to a side walk cafe for lunch and then shot past the huge queue with our online ticket into the Vatican Museo. It would take years to view all the exhibits in the museum so we concentrated on the Egyptian, Roman, tapestry and of course the Sistine Chapel itself.

Crowds of people within the Chapel jam packed looking in awe at Michaelangelo's works painted over 11 years. So much to absorb and making the most of our audio guides. The Chapel is smaller and darker than we thought it would be but the light shines as you begin to look. Although he regarded himself more as a sculptor he was not too bad with the paint brush. Achieving the exactness in proportion and interrelationships with each figure is quite mind blowing.

Through the beautiful map room on the way out and back on the bus home to Trastevere. Dinner in a nearby piazza of sea bass in potato crust. Lovely waiters, free lemoncello and humming atmosphere.

Next day it was a bit of shopping before flying to London. The end of a fantastic 5 weeks in Italy - a must do travel experience. Mille grazie Kay and Justin -our amazing travel companions. 

Safe in Mother England

Arrived from Roma at 10 pm and spent 3 hours waiting for our bags. In our hotel at 2.30 am.

Sleep in, big English breakfast and now off to explore London.  Will update the blog later today. Tally ho!

Roma by bike in 7 hours

Our bike tour of Roma started at 9 am near the Colloseum, a 40 minute walk from our convent hotel in Trastevere.

We had a whole day cycling planned taking in the city sites and then the catacombs and Appian Way after lunch. You cover a lot of country by bike and we took in the Colloseum, Forum, Capitoli Hill, Pantheon, Vatican City and a number of the fountain filled piazzas. History everywhere and informative commentary from our guide Glen.

A nice lunch and relax from 12.30pm until we started again at 2pm with Victor for stage 2. We rode through the old city wall to the catacombs where we had a tour into a very small part of these underground Christian tombs. Up to 500 thousand were buried in 30 km of tunnels including many popes.

Bouncing along the Queen of Roads, The Appian Way, the oldest paved road in the world was the next objective. 2500 years of wear and tear leaves a few bumps. Passed a few milestones, the markers showing each mile Roma.  Our tour then took us through the Appian Park with its ancient aquaducts. Some spring mineral water and wine and then back to base. A long and enjoyable day that gave us a great oversight of Roma.