A perfect Autumn day

Video chat with Stevie and Rosco

Using apple watch to catch train
 instead of Oyster card

The obligatory packing
tsunami photo

Walk in Ladywell Fields

Final meal at Ladywell Lodge

Breaking my hand's free rule to
carry on precious Christmas decorations 

Heathrow, sad to part but happy to have
 had two wonderful weeks together

Yummy freshly prepared noodles
in my pod at Cathay Pacific lounge
(glad Qantas changed to this lounge at Heathrow) 

The day has arrived to pack my bags and head for home. Alas, suspended reality will be over soon.  Early morning video chat with Stephen and then its time to start packing, with all the trophies I had to bring for work at least I know I have a bit of room. The bulk of packing done and its time for a walk in Ladywell Fields. The sun is shining, everyone is out playing with kids or riding bikes it is a glorious day.

Back home and we need to get techo. Last night we missed the most important TV show in the universe. Jane has an Amazon fire stick to install on TV, with the help of the phone for light and photos of all the connections we finally get the device plugged in. Then we cant get the TV to select to HDMI no matter what we try, a quick call to Jeff and he says to press the AV button and all is fixed. Doh. BBC iplayer here we come.

There is time for one last amazing all organic Ladywell Lodge meal critiquing all the dancers on Strictly Come Dancing and cheering on the ones we like the best. This show is so positive and encouraging to all the dancers, their routines are fun, makes me want to dance.

Time goes to quickly when you are having fun, final packing and its time for the Mary and Jeff taxi service to arrive. The traffic is pretty heavy so we see lots of sights whilst Jeff takes all kinds of shortcuts to get us to Heathrow. Mary tells stories about squirrels running up her legs to get some apple pie and which pubs she went to as a lass. I love these car trips.

Heathrow security done and now its time to find the lounge, this year it is Cathay Pacific. This is nice, subtle decor, quite, soft music playing, noodle bar, the popping of champagne corks, this is a bit of lux to chill out before the flight. See you on the other side.

A taste of the Cotswolds

Photoshoot at Paddington Station

The green countryside

Part of the group, tour guide Richard in red hat

Chipping Camden 

Market Hall, Chipping Camden

Chipping Camden

3 hungry schnauzers

Chipping Camden

St James', Chipping Camden
a wedding had just finished,
note the gum leaves in the floral decorations

Upper Slaughter Manor

Lower Slaughter

Lower Slaughter

The Mill, Lower Slaughter

One of the many quaint houses, Lower Slaughter

The line behind us at Oxford Train Station

We are off on a tour of the Cotswolds so that means no navigating, no timing, no nothing, just go along for the ride and enjoy. Our rendezvous point is Paddington station and oh, oh, a lot of people have decided today is the day to visit the Cotswolds. Usually, this tour has between 10-20 people but today it is 50 people of all ages and from all over the world.

On the train we go, there are problems with the trains so we have to scoot up to Marylebone station and then head to an alternative start point, Oxford. Our guide Richard III is an expert at navigating the platforms, train and bus to our starting point at the top of the hill above Chipping Camden.

Now the walking begins, down the hill past the tractor, past the funny looking sheep, around the horse droppings, this really is country walking. We enter the edges of the village the houses are so quaint, we past Grahame Green’s house. A church, walkers with dogs everywhere and we are into the main part of the village. 

Chipping Camden started as a wool trading centre in the middle ages and some of the buildings in the middle of the town date back to the 14th century. Th most impressive part is the covered market place. We stand on stones that date back 100’s of years and can see up into the roof and how the slate tiles are attached. Every building has lots of different features to discover and Richard deftly explains them all with stories and style. The only thing I don't like is all the cars parked in the street, could someone just remove them so my photos would look better. 

Along the way, we meet three schnauzers having lunch with their owners on a park bench, but the dog of choice is a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. Lunch and then we visit St James church high on the hill, again Richard explains it is a Norman church from the 11th century and regales us with excellent tales about the families entombed here.

Back on the coach and we head over to a new area. Off to the side of the road, the coach pulls up and we all hop out to walk out down a country lane. Cows, nice, downhill nice, then it is revealed at the very end of the track is Upper Slaughter Manor House, what a beauty. We marvel, we take photos, its a big group but everyone is very civilised, take your photo, move back, let someone else in.

Now we make a right turn down a secret lane and end in the middle of the village. Richard really has this walking tour worked out well. Churches, cute houses, a telephone box converted into an emergency defibrillator and then a river to cross, a mill to explore and best of all an ice-cream shop. Salted caramel, please Jane. More walking, all in all we cover 5 miles through the picturesque country a great way to get a taste of the Cotswolds. 

Its a relief after walking all these county lanes to finally be back on the coach and heading to train station. But the adventure is not over yet, the train platforms are chockers. Richard works out where the next train to London is and sweet talks the staff and gets us into a line. The station staff are handling everything well but the police have to turn up to do crowd control it really is a madhouse. 

 

Three trains later we are finally back home for pizza and prosecco and our final night celebration. A long but wonderful day.

Fans and mirrors

News from home

Tourists enjoying the national gallery

Pie and Mash

Goddards at Greenwich

Fan by Pure Evil (based on Audrey Hepburn)

Afternoon tea at the Orangery

Award-winning loos 

The London papers always have a story about Australia. Today’s article is a kangaroo that looks like Putin. Every day there is something new from home, maybe it amuses all the Aussies living in London.

This is our last city day, so we head into Charing Cross and straight up to the National Gallery. Scouting via the gift shop we are here to see Reflections an exhibition based on the reactions of the pre-Raphaelite painters who were influenced by the arrival of the Arnolfini Portrait at the National Gallery in 1842. The theme of the paintings is reflections in mirrors and it makes me look quite differently at all these paintings. A really lovely experience.

Now a quick walk through some favourite National Gallery rooms and then its time to move on. So down the Thames we go on a ferry trip to Greenwich.

Off the ferry and Jane leads me straight to Goddards at Greenwich to introduce me to pie and mash, another traditional British meal. Eek, the sign outside says, ‘we use real eels’. Do we have to eat eels? No, apparently that is not part of the experience. Phew. We are in and Jane has quickly ordered two meals before I can say no. The meals are served piping hot, all covered in parsley sauce.

Sitting in front of my pie and mash with equal measures of excitement and trepidation. I take the first bite, flakey pastry, tasty sauce and yummy potato. I declare it a success!

An explore of the markets and we are off to the Fan Museum. Its quaint and interesting and has the most amazing loos. Am surprised by the street art exhibition, did not expect to see any work by Pure Evil today. Topped off with afternoon tea in the orangery, a delightful way to end the day.

Hold on to your hat

The colder weather is helping the leaves
 change and fall 

Would you like to buy some
flowers, guv?

Simpsons,  very nice,
they don't have a menu (french word)
has to be called a bill of fare

Petersham Nursery, bit fancier than
 the nurseries back home

Traditional fish and chips

Neal's Yard

The Lego shop was amazing,
this is a full sized tube carriage
made of lego

Love those red buses

Liberty Christmas, elegant

Crossrail place rooftop garden, installed above the water

Walking to the station and we are having an important discussion on what we will do on Friday after we win the euro millions. Its all planned. Stay tuned. Today kicks off with a Covent Garden interiors walk, the area started out as a garden for the nearby nuns, for years this is was where all the fruit, flowers and vegetables were sold in London and today it is a tourist mecca that is always buzzing. One of the highlights of the tour is Simpsons, an old traditional English restaurant, that started as a smoking room for men, with divans and chess boards. Recently it was used in Downton Abbey, we all swoon at that. For having spent so much time in Covent Garden the tour turns up a lot of interesting bits, even a dedication to Vivian Leigh in the actor's church.

On our journey to lunch we pass the statue of Edith Cavell, the World War I British nurse who is celebrated for saving the lives of soldiers in Brussels. Today is 102 years since her death. She was killed by a German firing squad after being found guilty of ‘assisting men to the enemy’. There are many wreaths and a news crew as well. Nice to learn about who she was and see her remembered well.

We have been debating where to have lunch, the final decision is made and we are at a traditional fish and chip shop. The meals are huge and the batter on the fish is divine. Now onwards we go covering all our favourite shops and a few new ones on the way to the mecca of shoppers, Liberty. 

We are here to explore Liberty’s Christmas shop, everything is nicely themed by colour. The sales assistants are trying to give me a shopping basket but I am not falling for that trick. Its a bit confusing with the different options but decisions are made and paid for. How am I going to pack these fragile decorations? Moving on I find the most perfect Schnauzer salt and pepper shakers but resist as we never use pepper or salt. 

Final stop for today is Crossrail Place roof garden, from here it's an easy trip home on the DLR to Ladywell Lodge. 

Witches on a Wednesday

Some funny headlines in UK

Fancy

Chelsea Physic Garden

Chelsea Physic Garden

Joseph Banks at Chelsea Physic Garden

A little bit of autumn colour

Chelsea Physic Garden

Cupcake shop on the tourist trail

Wicked

Wicked

The day starts with a man from Bavaria wanting to know how to get to the V & A. Now that's a question I can answer. I find out that he is English, however, has lived in Germany for the last 30 years, so now with Brexit he has to get a new passport. Not a happy chappy. Everyone still has a different opinion on Brexit.

I am back in Chelsea, home of fancy shops and pensioners. Quick pit stop at Satchii Gallery, boring but score one for a very nice inside-outside postcard. Now a ramble through the streets and I arrive at my chosen destination.

This is Chelsea Physic Garden, started 350 years ago to train apothecaries in the identification and use of medicinal plants. It's amazing that the garden is still here, a 4-acre oasis set amongst some of the most expensive real estate in London. The bit I am most interested in is the plants Joseph Banks brought back from Australia. But I find there are lots of other interesting bits like including:

• lots of poisonous plants including mandrake that has long been used in witchcraft and for hallucinogenic purposes (even used in Harry Potter stories)
• volcanic rocks that form the edge of the pond that where ballast in Joseph Banks’s expedition to Iceland
• Hans Sloane who trained as an apothecary here then went on to make his fortune by discovering the chocolate plant (once rich he became a collector and after his death, his collection formed the basis of the British Museum) 

Lunch and for the afternoon I am back in Victoria to see the show Wicked, a musical that has been running for 14 years. The first 5 minutes are a blur of colour, dancing and music, not sure what is happening. Then the plot starts, good witch v’s bad witch. My verdict, brilliant.