Two County Day

Much cooler morning but very snug in the Hilton. 

Beautiful garden colours from later in the day.

Another late breakfast before setting off to the delightful village of Ampthill. Took time here to explore and continue to stock up on supplies.

Ampthill central!

Ampthill pub and terrace. 

A short distance away was the ruins of Houghton House, a mansion built for Mary Countess of Pembroke. The most impressive thing here was the outstanding position of the house.

Ruins of Houghton House 

Crossing county we past through the picturesque village of Woburn before arriving at Claydon House, the ancestral home of the Verny family. 

"In the 1750s at his family seat in Buckinghamshire, Ralph Verney set out to create a country house of extraordinary grandeur that would dazzle his wealthy neighbours and outdo his political rivals. Thirty years on he was facing financial ruin.

Today the interiors that remain are among the most ambitious and lavish ever created in the 18th century.

Claydon has been occupied by the Verney family for more than 550 years; the place is a testament to their fascinating fluctuating fortunes, from their close involvement in the English Civil War to the family connection with Florence Nightingale."

Looks like plaster mouldings but in fact it is all wood carved! This was similar all through the house.

White door architraves and columns are all wood carved and painted.

... still picturesque!

Later drove to our overnight at Waddesdon. 

Woburn

Ampthill

Lush, green everywhere to be seen!

Stockwood Discovery Centre

Slept very late this morning! Still enjoying breakfast at 10.00 am. A sunny morning so a good walk was in order. 

Beautiful flowering horse chestnut and flower in Redbourn.

Redbourn Common is an extensive parcel of land with walking tracks surrounding the whole area. Part of this Common is the Redbourn Cricket Club with grounds fit to play test cricket except for the public road passing though one of the wings. Part of the boundary line was actually painted on the road. 

We were interested to listen to local county radio. The EU referendum is the hottest topic in town. Referred to as "Brexit". The passion it seems to be generating indicates what an important decision it is for the Brits, and how divisive the issue has become. The polls reported seems to be favouring the Remain argument - 55% to 42%. But there is only one poll that counts!!

Later we drove towards Luton to visit the Stockwood Discovery Centre. The centre displays collections of: Local Social History, Archaeology, Geology and Rural Crafts. It also houses the biggest horse-drawn carriages collection in Europe. 

The external part of the Discovery Centre features extensive gardens. The Period Gardens, ranging from the Elizabethan Knot Garden to the Dig for Victory Garden. Other features included the Sensory Garden, World Garden and Medicinal Garden. A great place to visit. 

A Little Movement

We are being spoilt with some very pleasant weather at this stage - not too hot and not too cold. Lovely morning with the sun streaming into the Hilton!

Caught James before he left for work, then had a walk before breakfast, with our departure from Hayes after 10 o'clock. Posted a parcel to Italy before setting out to St Albans.

We keep forgetting the amount of traffic there is on the motorway during the day. Luckily we were traveling in the "right" direction because on the other side of the M25 there was a tragic jam about 10 miles long. 

St Alban's is named after the Roman citizen Alban, who was beheaded by the Romans for  not denouncing Christianity, becoming the first Christian martyr in England. And it was here, where he was killed that the great cathedral of St Alban's now stands.

The front facade of the Cathedral at St Alban.

Modern statues to replace those destroyed by the Puritan soldiers of the Civil War.

The Cathedral, originally founded as the Abbey Church of the monastery on the site, is built partially of stones taken from the old Roman town. 

A tour of the cathedral highlighted its place in the history of the British people. 

If you look closely there can be seen three distinction styles in the one nave!

We later shopped - as if we wouldn't - before driving a few miles north to the delightful village of Redbourn for our overnight stop.

Redbourn - great stopping place.

The Fleur de Lys pub where the French King was held for ransom after the Battle of Potiers in 1356.

The Clock Tower (1402-1412) to house the curfew bell!

Slow Sunday

Helene off shopping for supplies while I tested all the "vitals" inside the van. Fridge causing some issues on the gas but even that bowed to gentle persuasion! 

Changed the remaining halogen lights with the LEDs I bought from home. 

Updated the GPS - so slow with my old netbook - this prompted the installation of Windows 10.

Fridge and cupboards filled with goodies! Reacquainted with Coscos and Lidl! 

The look of a happy shopper!

An earlier night tonight.

Van Day

Last morning in our high tech hotel. James called around to ferry us to the van storage area. The van was in good shape considering it has been outside for the past few months.

 Drive to Gerda's house where we all got stuck into clean the van on the outside. Vetali's pressure hose was the ideal way to get it clean from top to bottom. 

Vitali and BJ.

Looking better .... 

... a few steps back before it scrubs up "proper".

Later we enjoyed great hospitality from Gerd'a parents. In bed after midnight again!

The Tower

Woke this morning to British TV running a story on schools teaching children about food from the earliest years. Jamie Oliver was running a bread making activity with children around the ages of 6 or 7. He was explaining to a small group the workings of yeast - "it eats sugar and then farts!" It amused us as it did to the very serious children. What does that say about us!!!! No don't answer!

Strolled across to Tower Hill for breakfast, past All Hallows' Church - the oldest in London, checked out the 600AD Saxon arch built from the ruins of Roman Londonium.  Every where you step there are reminders of how many folk have passed this way over the past millenniums. 

All Hallows' Church on Tower Hill - not far from the famous gallows of bygone years. 

The old and the new!

Later we strolled down around the Tower of London, Tower Bridge and the embankment. Sat and watched the world go by for a time before exploring further around the Tower Hamlets.

Tower of London moat with the "Walkie Talkie" rising from The City.

Beautiful landscaping.

Along the Thames embankment.

"Traitors Gates"

Met Maddie and James late afternoon and we all went to see 'Beautiful' the Carol King Story at the Aldwych Theatre. We all enjoyed the show and were amazed at the number of songs she was involved in. 

Retired for a beer and a bite before heading back to techno-central! In bed after midnight.

Blighty

The Dubai 30-minute stopover was just enough time to walk a "hundred miles"  before rejoining the next flight. It took longer to taxi from touchdown to the skyport than we had in Dubai. But still, enough time to purchase some duty free.

Dubai with all that glitters. Plenty of duty free on offer!

Not sure if you can judge the number of travellers on one particular flight, but for the past few years the flight to London has been nearly full on two of the three legs. This trip has been very "luxurious" with many vacant seats - in fact we have each had three seats to ourselves on each of the legs.  So, we have been able to lay down and sleep on each of the  sections, arriving in London feeling on top of our game!

Arriving at Heathrow was a breeze - no queues or delays getting through border security and customs!

Dutiful son, James, picked us up as we emerged from the terminal. An hour and a half later, fighting the early morning traffic, we arrived at our hotel. Rooms not ready so we adjourned to James' flat for the morning.

Rush hour in The City!

Not that we needed anything to eat, nevertheless, we wandered across to the 

The Whitecross Street food market, purchased a Turkish wrap and sat in the park and enjoyed some sunshine as well. 

Helene and James

Turkish wraps - yum!

After this Jim dropped us off at the hotel near Tower Bridge - a new experience - big on technology but small on space. Overall, very cosy and comfortable.

All functions operated by the app on the phone; points to plug in all devices; wall operating touch pad at bed head; and a check-in console in the entrance space.

Caught up with a few hours sleep this afternoon before meeting  up with Maddie, Laura and James for a drink and a meal in the West End. A great night with great company.

Drinks at Carnaby Street.

Home to play with the high tech room.

Flight to Blight(y)

Overcast morning in Melbourne - not looking forward to the long flight to London! 

We seem to be much better organised this year - don't know what has changed!

A pleasant breakfast in the hotel before booking a fare to the airport. The young driver was a very interesting chap. 

With all the bile being dished up by sections of the government and the press - they need to speak with this young man!  A Somalian, who fled his war torn country when 15, is now, ten years on, holding down two jobs, at uni doing a business degree and with a young family. What a success story! 

Part of a larger in- ground mosaic at the Melbourne International Terminal. Have walked over this many times without stopping to appreciate the vibrancy.

Larger shot!

The technology at the border security points change each year. So much more sophisticated and streamlined this year. A very easy process if you are travelling "light"! 

The Dreamliner was only half full on the first leg of the journey to Bandar Seri Begawan, with the hostess suggesting to get some sleep this leg because the next two legs could be full loads.

Preparing for the flight!

A very pleasant flight with some beautiful views of tropical storms on our approach to Brunei. 

Not quite as impressive as in the real time!

The wealth of Brunei is obvious with the huge numbers of new housing surround the capital. 

Arrived on time - a 2 hr stop and next onto Dubai.

Away!

It has again been a marathon getting ready for the annual pilgrimage to the UK and Europe. But with courage and persistence we were actually ready to leave an hour earlier than we had planned for. Well done all!

Waiting at the starting gates!

The lovely Jan and Kevin gave us a lift to the airport, arriving early allowing some time to catch our breath.

Had an interesting discussion with a women at the security-check at the airport. She was outlining the difficulties of her Australian daughter and Polish husband returning to live in Australia. It seems that every country is making it really difficult for non-citizens to reside in their domain.

Melbourne's Southern Cross Station and Edihad Stadium.

Arrived in Melbourne, did an inspection on Maddie's unit in Abbotsford - Emma and Daniel keeping it in great shape, enjoyed a very tasty meal in Vic Street before returning to the hotel for our last night in Oz for a few months.