1 - London: We've Arrived!

Well we've arrived in London - uneventful flight - surprisingly less tedius, cramped & exhausting than anticipated!  Got the Tube to Russell Square where we're staying - with a somewhat tense start to the day when not all members of the party could agree on the way to go once we got out of the station, but all resolved quickly!

Not looking too bad after a long time on a plane!

Our apartment is in Burton Street, Camden - a great find by Mandy!  Kitchen, loo, lounge/dining room, and small single bedroom upstairs, and two bedrooms downstairs (below ground level).  Everywhere was really quiet and the streets deserted - then we found out it was bank holiday. 


We decided to head down to Camden Markets and Camden Lock - down Euston Road through lots of funky shops.  The markets were great - mainly food but anything and from anywhere you could think of, from good old fish and chips, asian, african, south american, or pig on a spit to kangaroo or ostrich burgers.  Pete, Mandy & I had Turkish flatbread stuffed with cheese and spinach (made by the guy below) and Joe & Narelle had Roti. 

Pete & Joe may have washed theirs down with the first pint of the trip!

From there we went on a canal boat ride down Regents Canal, past the London Zoo.  The canal is lined with all kinds of barges - really interesting.

Walked home via a Marks and Spencer to stock up on a few groceries, a quick stop off at a pub for a couple of pints, then home for dinner (joe made spag bol) & early bed - it was only about 8.30!


Tuesday 30 August 2011:


London sightseeing today: we set off from Burton Street on foot, past the British Museum, though parts of the West End, then Trafalgar Square, and down The Mall to Buckingham Palace. 

We left via the Australia Gates, heading off past the Royal Mews.  Lots of people around and it looked like there was some sort of function on in the Queen Mum's old house - no sign of Kate jogging around the park.  There was someone having a personal training session in the park alongside The Mall - just a bit more scenic than along the Cooks River at Marrickville!


Had a quick lunch, then off to Westminster Cathedral which had some amazing side chapels and mozaic tiling.  Lots of photos of beautiful planter boxes filled with geraniums, fushias, begonias etc.  We got to Westminster Abbey via the rear door to the through the school and office area.  Entry to the cathedral was over 18 quid, so we decided against looking inside, but had a look through St Margarets to the side of the main abbey.  There were lots of others also discouraged by the entry fee - way to much!

Joe and I then headed off to check out Big Ben while the others went off to the Churchill war rooms. 

We walked over Westminster Bridge, then headed back along the Southbank past The Eye - lots of great buskers, second handbook stalls, food carts etc.

We got to Waterloo Bridge to cross as Joe knew this was a pretty direct route back to Russell Square and we got to the agreed meeting place 'The Local'a bit after 5.  A few ales for Joe and a cider for me (I have discovered Briska - a pear cider - DELICIOUS!) the crew arrived.  Unfortunately Mandy was a bit sore and sorry (read tired feet) and was demanding to be carried back to the apartment, but a Briska ("picked from the garden of Sweden") worked wonders!

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I've been flicking through one of the guidebooks I bought, and am a little disturbed to read that 'callapse of morale' is one of the biggest risks we will face, and that it can't be treated quickly with medication!  But I saw some very good advice elsewhere "Never miss a chance to avail yourself of the treats on offer in the tearooms and farmhouses of Cumbria and Yorkshire.  Nothing relaxes & revives like a decent pot of tea, & the opportunity to accompany it with a scone served with jam & cream, or a cake or two, is one that should not be passed up". 

Joe may disagree about the best beverage to 'relax and revive' so maybe some testing of all on offer is needed!

Stay tuned for the next installment...

Testing: Tune in here for the Noble Holiday Blog

Well, only a week and a half to departure on our European Adventure. There will be much coming and going of family members: Phoebe leaves this Friday for a solo sojourn in Ireland.
Then Pete & Mandy, Narelle, Joe & I leave on the 28th for a week in London then 17 days walking across England.  Some crazy person thought this might be a good way to celebrate her 50th birthday!! 

The walk was the brainchild of Alfred Wainwright, hill walker and writer, and crosses three National Parks through the Lake District, the Yorkshire Dales and the North York Moors. Wainwright recommended walkers dip their booted feet in the Irish Sea at St Bees and then at the other end of the walk, dip their naked feet in the North Sea at Robin Hood's Bay.  People also often pick up a pebble from the Irish Sea and carry it  the entire walk before throwing it into the North Sea.  You can check it out here: 
http://www.contours.co.uk/walking-holidays/coast-to-coast-walk.php! 

From there the group splits: Joe and I go to Scotland so Joe can embrace his Scottish ancestry, then we fly to Paris for a few days, then home.
Pete, Mandy, Phoebe & Narelle go south down to Devon and Cornwall for about a week, then drop Pheebs at Heathrow to come home. They're 'Eurostarring' it across to Paris where they'll meet up with Mandy's Mum and Dad (& us) for post walk R&R. The 'Clegg Component' will then take in the history of the Western Front, then move down through the alps into Italy, checking out the Cinque Terra and finish up in Rome.

I have packing list, a 'to do' list, a pile of stuff on the spare bed, a basket of hand washing (our winter woolies) and a pile of stuff I want to take that needs mending, but haven't quite found the time or energy for more than that.

Walk preparations have been severely hampered by me getting a cellulitis infection in my knee - have been hobbling around since Saturday - off to the Dr's again tonight to see what my next option is as the first round of antibiotics don't seem to have worked that well.

Stay tuned for the next installment....