Day 16 - 11th May. Carcassonne->Lourdes->Biarritz

Day 16 – 11 th May

A day of many firsts today!!
Woke at 6am to the alarm, an early day again today as much to see. We got into bed at 11.30pm last night by the time we had got everything done and I took a frusemide pill as my ankles have been cankles and really swollen! Consequently, I got up 6 times between midnight and 6am to pee!! But now I have such lovely ankles again!!!

For someone who is a very light sleeper at home, I have learned very quickly to get into a strange bed and go to sleep straight away!!! Its great.

We travelled to Lourdes today which took about 3 ½ hours. We all bought lunch at a truck stop on the way and took it to eat on the grass at Lourdes. We had an absolutely great sunny day again today and driving into the town was great- it is very quaint and so, so crowded with every nationality you could imagine there. I was also surprised that there were hundreds and hundreds of young soliders of every military discipline and uniform, apparently it is because of the pilmgrimage on at present. Even thoughh it was crowded, it just added to the special atmosphere you can feel even when you arent a catholic.

We ate lunch then filled our bottles with the healing waters and wandered through the 2 basilica’s. The lower one was amazing and filled with large frescoes depiciting all the religious stories. In the upper bascilica were all the stained glass windows depicting Christ and his life.

Then we wandered around until time to get back on the bus.
Funny (not so funny for Cathy one of our tour group) for the day, was when she suddenly called out that she had left her bag in a restaurant, this being just after we left in the warren of one way streets. She had all her jewellery and money in it, so Carine very reluctantly turned the bus around to go all the way back – 1 problem… when we got back to the top of the town on the way in there was a big march starting!! She wasn’t happy and ignored the policeman and told the driver to keep going. It was hilarious as we ended up with all the soldiers, pipers etc marching round us all the way down the narrow street!!!.

The TD jumped quickly off the bus and the Miracle of the day- the bag hadn’t been stolen!!! Amongst much hilarity and clapping, we were back on the road. No toilet stop now though as we were half an hour behind to get to the Pyrennes for our train ride. Have included a pic of a gypsy beggar on the street- thought it was very poignant, but they have a very bad name for thieving all over europe and at Lourdes, even from the sick and dying who are visiting - hoping for a miracle. But the lady in the photo was old and frail herself. I broke my rule and gave a very pregnant young woman some money yesterday, who was begging. She was a gypsy also- very pretty and so sad for her and the baby.

MM's fopar for the day- at Lourdes, she walks up all the many steps and yells loudly, in front of the public and Nuns "oh my GOD...........that was hot" we all shrunk into our boots as she blasphemed in one of the holiest places on earth !?!@!

Along the way out of Lourdes we went through the region where the Basque people live. They wanted a completely separate region, not French and not Spanish – hence where Basque Seperatists came from. They have lots of old money and are strong in the fight to not be called French even though they officially live in France.

On to an electric train and 35 minutes up the Pyrennes – very very steep with great views and wild horses. Up to the top and we were in Spain.
There is a line we all stood on where you can have 1 foot in France and 1 foot in Spain!! Hence the photo included today.

Gray had a beer and we wandered around in the perfect clear weather. We are very lucky as 1 woman on the tour said she has been before and couldnt see anything at all and it was freezing.

Since it rains a lot here, everything is very green like home, so we struck it on a great day for views and weather. Gray bought a traditional basque beret (where they come from in France) we had fun all wearing it in photos, then Gray found it had been made in China - What the??

Another 45 mins on the bus and into the city of Biarritz for the night. Another hotel meal at 8pm then straight to bed for Danni! She has been great though, especially as everyone- all adults are finding the pace too fast with basically 6 ½ -8 hours a day on the bus. Not sure why that is, as others who have done TT's (differnt ones) before, say the pace has always been much more comfortable and not so much travel. Maybe it is the distance we are trying to cover each day?? The bus is pretty disappointing too for a brand new, 1st class bus - the seats are hard and very little legroom unfotunately.

Just have to enjoy the moment I think and sleep later!

Dinner was great in the hotel with lots of laughs with Claire and Grace from Melbourne. Cya

Day 15 - 10th May. Nice->Nimes->Carcassonne

Day 15 – 10th May

Up early today at 5.55am, bags out in the hallway at 6.30am and up to the 8th floor for brekky. Werent enough tables spare, so Danni and I sat with an aussie couple and Gray sat elsewhere, which was ok as you get to talk to others on the tour. Those that did the optional yesterday said it was good, even though it cost $155 each for a drive/tour and lunch. There were a few very merry people we saw in the afternoon!!! So it was a good call for us with Danni to stay back, shop, relax and swim – we felt we got to see a lot more of the real Nice.

Onto the bus and drove for 3 hours before stopping- naughty TT’s! not meant to go more than 2 hours without stopping for the loo and a drink. However our bladders must be getting trained and we fared well!

Drove to Arles and a group of us were dropped off as we weren’t doing the Vincent Van Gogh tour. We had 2 ½ hrs to wander around and have lunch. It was good this time as Carine got off with us and showed us where to go for the best bakery in France and took us to the town square.

What a town it was- looked so old and Italian!! There were the ruins of an amphi theatre and a forum, they were pretty impressive. Walked around the narrow alleyways and looked in the shops. The prices are a little more than at home. Bought lunch from the patisserie Carine had suggested now that the massive queues were gone and walked up to the park, met Grace and Claire the 2 aussie women, and enjoyed a lovely lunch under the tree’s. It is 33 C here today!! Hot.

We spent some time trying to dodge moaning Minnie who was also there – she truly gives Australians a bad name, she just never stops complaining. Later she tortured us all by getting the Tour Director to put on a CD in the bus of pan flutes- it was akin to having your teeth pulled and you couldn’t hear your own ipods. Thankfully, Carine also hated it and came down to talk to us all as there was a group who were going to commit mutiny!!!! I said I would politely tell Minnie we weren’t having anymore if need be! So she happily turned it off and returned it to MM. It really has to be a group decision to play music as it affects everyone on the bus.

Went through Nimes on the 3 hours trip to Carcassone to drive past the roman arena built one century BC!! It also had a building called the ‘square house’ which as Carine said, isn’t square and isn’t a house!!

We drove to Carcassones medieval castle- it was amazing as it has been restored - there are about 50 people who still live there, descendants. They have been offered houses in town but they are chose to stay, so it is a living castle too!

Wandered around there for an hour or so and Graeme bought a great white linen dress shirt to replace the one that the London hotel lost!
Wandered around in the blistering heat- at least it is dry heat.

Went back to the hotel and freshened up for dinner- the restaurant is overlooking the river and the castle - many have rooms on that side with balconies, but these Irish luck descendants have a back room with a view of someone elses house?!@#! Never mind, we leave early again tomorrow.

Had a great dinner altogether then we walked down the riverbank with Grace and Claire- they give Aussies a good name and also have our sense of humour !! Grace was so funny telling us to 'watch out for the poop' everywhere! as french dogs shat anywhere and everywhere!@#@!

Off to bed as 6am wake up again tomorrow

Day 14 - 9th May. Nice

Day 14 – 9th May

It was great to not have to get up today, although I woke at 6.45am it was just nice to lay there and look out the window. We have been given a deluxe room on the 5th floor and the walls are all glass, so you can look up the streets – its great!

We got up and went walking along the Cote d’ Azur fantastic city of Nice. It is postcard perfect blue sky, sunshine and a light breeze. We shopped today- mainly Sam will be benefiting!!! Not cheap but since we have come from tripling everything with pounds, it seems cheap to only double it! !!

Wandered around for hours, then stopped at a French café for lunch, where they didn’t speak English, but we just went with the flow. They brought us a bowl of olives and fish ball things and bread without us asking. Surprisingly, you aren’t charged for it.

Wandered back after that, but stopped on the edge of the Mediterranean ocean along the boulevard- it is amazing!!!

Went back to the hotel and took Danni up to the rooftop pool as she was hanging out for a swim- waterbaby that she is! We sat in the sun and watched her while sipping our $12 each heinekens (how do you spell that beer?)! They were good!

Not sure what we will do tonight but heaps of restaurants around to choose from and everything is within walking distance. A great day today and a great hotel placement.

Later, walked along the boulevard and enjoyed the beautiful balmy weather and just had a good look around. You feel very safe here, but we were told the crime is quite high here surprisingly, although we are tight in the centre of town so it is fine.

Found a restaurant on the beachfront and were enticed inside by an Italian maitre'd who spoke very good english!

He was lots of fun and we had a great meal sitting outside at the pavement tables. Enjoyed a seafood meal,complete with many battered sprat like fish - whole!! Didnt manage to eat many to be honest as the eyes put me off!!!

Day 13 - 8th May. Lyon->Avignon-> Monte Carlo->Nice

Day 13 – 8th May

Woke after a surprisingly good sleep considering Graeme’s bed went downhill on one side and Danni’s camp stretcher was so up and down we had to pad it up with a blanket underneath! On the road again by 8am – not sorry to say goodbye to Lyon.

We passed though pretty countryside along the way, even saw a basilica which was apparently built in honour of Mary Magdalene. She is said to have gone to live there for some years until her death, in France where she lived in a cave dwelling and it is said when she died, that 2 angels came and took her this particular place.

We drove for 2 hours, a stop in an auto grill for toilets and a cuppa, where the TD gave Danni a tin can filled with nougat that the staff gave her for us all going there I think! Danni went and said ‘merci beaucoup Carine”. She is keen to try the language and I think she appreciated us all trying?! We have had 4 people of various nationalities come up to us already and say how great Danni is on the bus, so that’s nice. PSP certainly helps alleviate long bus hours!


Arrived in Avignon after another 1 ½ hours where there were celebrations taking place. Today is a public holiday today in France to celebrate the end of WWII, and there was a ceremony with Veterans going on. Wandered around there for 1 ½ hours and we all picked up our baguettes that Carine had pre-ordered for us – freshly made with olive oil, tuna, egg and salad. We really enjoyed this town after Lyon, and everyone was feeling better. Saw an amazing papal palace and statue of the Virgin Mary and walked the grounds of it in the warm barmy sunshine – Yes the weather had fined up beautifully as we moved south. That is the plus of such a large land mass – when you move on a few hours to the south you have a completely different micro-climate.

On the road for another 3 ½ hours!! And we passed through the famous Cannes, then Nice and onto the principality of Monte Carlo- such opulence! OMG everything there is top end and there is apparently no crime at all. This was the one place we could leave our bags on the bus – yay, cos it was now 30C plus!

Wandered around this decadent town that spans only 2 kms. Gray was buzzing as this is where the Monaco Grand Prix is held in a few weeks, the barriers were up ready for the race and he knows it well from playing his computer racing game.

The road cars you see there are another thing, Lamborghini’s, Ferrari’s, Bentleys and many Smart cars! The lifestyle these people lead are so foreign to us – I just cannot imagine living like this and holding my head up in snobby pride! Saw 1 young ‘Paris’ look alike being chauffeur driven in the Bentley, while talking on her cellphone! The yachts there are also out of this world. Walked around for an hour or so as we couldn’t go into the casino with Danni, but that was fine. Gray bought a limited edition 2007 Michael Schumacher racing cap there, so he was happy!

Back to the bus and we were all pretty hot and tired with the long day, but happy with it. Drove back to Nice and were dropped at a restaurant on the edge of the Mediterranean, it was great. This included meal was the best one yet, salad for starter, chicken, beautiful potatoes and green beans for main and a strawberry layered sponge cake for dessert. We are getting to meet lots of people on the bus due to the seat rotation and the restaurant meals which is good.

I am impressed with Nice for sure and we have all day free tomorrow as we aren’t doing the morning optional sightseeing- will be great to have a sleep in.
Our hotel, Hotel Splendid was a ‘splendid surprise’ with 2 rooms again – Danni has the fold out double and we have 2 singles!!! However it also is on the corner of the building and we have these unusual windows that open on the 5th floor, and overlook several streets - looks great and only 3 blocks from the waterfront.

The french riveria is tres magnifique!

Impressions of France so far – Weather varies a lot from region to region.
*Countryside is expansive/picturesque and not crowded like the cities.
*There is a lot of unrest politically that see’s youth rioting in the streets.
*Graffiti absolutely everywhere except Monaco, but at least it uses real words and looks like the tagging from the 80’s – artistic!
*People have good manners on a whole.
*Moving around this country, you feel like you are entering new countries as they are all quite different.
*They have 19 nuclear power stations. Drove past 3 today.
*Road costs- petrol is $3 per litre and to drive the circumference of France as we are would cost you € 450 in a car and € 650 for a bus – shocking!! Toll bridges everywhere charging.

Day 12 - 7th May. Paris->Beaune->Lyon

Day 12 - 7th May


Flew out of bed with the phone ringing in my ear at 6.30am!! Grabbed it and kept trying to answer the woman, only to finally realize that it was a recorded French woman! Duh, well I had been awake late as couldn’t quite drop off as I kept thinking the TD was waiting for me!

I managed to shower, do make-up and hair in 15 or so mins!! I was so impressed with me! Down to breakfast then everyone was on time to the bus at 8am. We headed out of Paris, while Karen explained that 30,000 people celebrated with the new male French president (Nicolas Sarkozy) outside here somewhere, while there was some rioting by the other sides hooligans and cars burnt! Glad she got us in early last night.

The general plan for the next few days is travel 2 hours, have a pitstop, then -another 1 ½ - 2 ours then stop for lunch. Back on the bus after 1 ½ hours then travel for another 2 X 2 hours- phew!!

Today we got to Beaune for lunch, a wander around the town and then met Carine again for a church visit which was very impressive in its size and stained glass windows and then down into a wine cellar for tasting – from which Gray really benefited with me not able to drink it!


Got to Lyon about 5pm, weather grey and overcast. The hotel is a long way out of town which means if you don’t do the dinner optional at $124 each! then you are stuck. Would have appreciated being pointed in the right direction by the TD for a supermarket or restaurant, but she just pretty much ignored Graeme when he asked her, so unfortunately you are on your own to find things I guess?
We went out for a long walk and found there are lots of rather seedy tenament blocks with lots of Moroccans living here. Carine said later that they are the ones the police have trouble with in Europe. However they left us alone and we got back to the hotel fine.

Had dinner in the restaurant next door- my French is surprisingly good and I’ve been amazed at how I can read the signs/menu’s and speak the basics when the French don’t speak English!

Day 11 , 6th May Leaving England for France

Hurray I am back!! Opened the blogpage for the first time in France and guess what?? Its all in fripping french!!!! Just as well I know a wee wee bit!! Have posted retrospectively....

Day 11 – 6th May

Leaving day today – Outward bound England, inward bound France.
Off to Birmingham airport – arrived early at 10.30am, bought a few books to read at the bookshop, then a sad goodbye to Matt & Michelle. They have been such generous hosts.

On our flight we had been changed to the economy airline of British Airways, a subsidiary called Flybe’s. The plane was 1 seat on one side of the aisle and 2 on the other!! Small. We also had to pay for lunch $16.50 each for a hot drink, sandwich and mars bar?!@! Filled the gap anyway I guess, but Graeme wasn’t very pleased as we paid for a BA flight that would have had food included on it – hmm….

Landed after only 50 mins – we are in France!!!!!! Immigration was virtually non existent- no stamp in the passport, no forms to fill in, no anything really. Got our bags, waved the passports at a woman and out!!! The transfer pick up man was right there with my name on a sign – yay and we were at the hotel quickly. We have been allocated 2 rooms with inter-connecting doors in the hotel- is fantastic and more than we had hoped for! There are luxury feather mattresses on top of the beds and it all looks pretty magnifique! We got there just in time to freshen up and get down to the lobby for a 5.15pm pick up for an included dinner in Paris!

On to our bus – is brand new and met our tour director Carine and Franc the bus driver! They are both native French and I think Karen will be straight up but fun, she was kind to Danni which is nice. Dan is the only child on the tour, she said “Mum I think that’s its better I am, cos if another child was on the tour they would wind me up and I would go crazy!!!!!

Went to a French restaurant for dinner, was very quaint. Was a bit of a rushed dinner as we arrived at 6pm and had to be back on the bus at 7.15pm. Carine said this is because of the presidential elections tonight- the winner will be announced at 8pm and as it is roughly half in half – there will we half the people unhappy with the result. She said there will probably be rioting and the national pastime is setting cars on fire, so we had to be back in the hotel and safe early!

We have found that the majority of the group are Australians, a few couples younger than us actually and some are a real riot- we were all laughing our heads off at dinner! Met one woman on the tour, who moaned her t*ts off from the moment we met her and she is traveling alone. Had the fleeting horrible thought that we might get stuck with her on the bus as we have 1 free seat with 3 of us, but we have a couple of spares or single travelers so looks ok – yay! She is now infamous in the group and we have named her Minnie (as in moaning!)


Back to the hotel, had large lovely baths and packed up for tomorrow, wake up at 6.30am, bags out the door at 7am and on the road to Lyon at 8am sharp!! Earlier than I get up for work! Knew it would be like this though, to get around the whole of France.

Days 9 & 10 - 4th - 5th May

Oh how time flies when you are having fun!!

It is whizzing by so fast the last few days that it feels like a daze now! We cant believe we have actually had 10 days together without one of us leaving for work!! Havent divorced yet either!

We leave tomorrow for France and are straight onto our tour from the plane for 13 days, so wont be able to post daily as I think our time is pretty well structured with lots of travel as we are doing the whole circumference of France - whew!

Yesterday we went to see Warwick castle- very different from the derelict ruins of Rochester castle we saw earlier. Warwick also housed one family for many generations and they have opened up all the rooms to the public to manage the cost of such a huge castle. It was great to see how they all lived and Graeme and Matt we roped in to being human mice on the trebuchet - which was a medieval seige engine.

They actually climbed inside it aand ran on the wheel to shoot out the concrete ball - the equivalent of a family car driving through a house at 60 m/p/h !!

We ladies of course sat and watched and drank hot chocolate as the wind was freezing!

Spent 4 hours there exploring then we returned home and played a giant version of Jenga in the back yard.

Another fantastic gourmet meal made by Matt our resident chef and into bed for us all.


Day 11 - 5th May

Saturday- our last full day here- bugger!
We all had great sleeps with feather pillows and duvets - such hardship!

Wandered up to Stratford upon Avon today, to Shakespeares birthplace and did a open bus tour to make us much more clever about its history! Old, old buildings in this town. Had another lovely day that cleared to warm sunshine - the forecast is for rain from tomorrow on, so we have timed it beautifully.

Had lunch in a lovely restaurant then wandered around the streets experiencing the atmosphere.

Here we are back at M & M's for "the last supper" and some drinks!! We have had such a wonderful time and have been well looked after- hope we get to return the favour one day.

Will write again from France when able. Can a Kiwi please tell me who got voted off Dancing with the stars this past week please?? I would be interested each week to know who gets the chop and who ultimately wins -ta very much!

Day 8 - 3rd May- A day at Bath

Thanks everyone for all the comments you are posting- keep it up, we are blown away by how many are reading it and following us around!

Woke after a night in the huge 4 poster bed that Danni had to climb to get on! Had an english cooked brekky and sat and chatted then headed out for Bath.

The day again cleared to be the most beautifully blue day that was rather nippy in the am, but warmed to the point where Matt and Graeme are now supporting sunburnt faces ( yay for foundation and SPF)!

Did a walking tour for a couple of hours with a very sprightly 78 yr old guide- she said it keeps her brain active. Turns out this is where plastercine was invented and we saw the building where Charlie Chaplin began his career.

After that we went to a Marks and Spencers supermarket that I have raved about previously- they are great and far more user friendly food wise than in NZ. We bought pastas, muffins and drinks and found a postcard english public garden where you had to pay a £1 each to enter - how rude?!!! However, it was worth it and we lay in amongst all these gardens in the sun and enjoyed our lunch together. Danni found a striped deckchair that are around the place and sat in that looking very brown to be english!!!

I keep having to pinch myself to believe we are here and having the best time - it is as great.

Next we headed back on the M5 to Worcester where Matt and Michelle live (where the sauce comes from!)- they have a lovely house - 2 storey as with most houses here. Matt whipped us up an amazing gourmet meal, could get used to this lifestyle! Went to the post office to see about posting a bottle of 60 proof whiskey and a set of whiskey glasses given to us by the rellies at Rochester only to find that it would cost about $150 to do so and that is done on a weight basis- not because it is glass!! Guess we will be carrying them around europe!

Have been able to catch up on the internet tonight which is good and our emails.
Think thats about it for now, weather continues to be glorious - we have been tinny with our luck, long may it last! The trip though is what you make it and we want to soak up every minute, but are having a good mix of busy and quiet time.

Day 7 - 2nd May

Hi NZ,

We are successfully out of london!! We got a taxi to Waterloo station and people watched for an hour or so, then caught the train to Salisbury for the princely fee of £15 in total! Matt and Michelle who we met in Fiji and are picking us up, had found a website that offered cheap train tickets, so was fantastic and no crowds at all. Arrived there in an hour and a half, met them at the station and drove to Stonehenge - really eerie to come up over a hill and there it is in the middle of nowhere!

It was poignant for me also, as we have a photo of Mum's Dad standing at the stones when he was shipped off to war, then one of Mum there and now here I was in the same place with my daughter. There were large black ravens there also which added to the feeling of the place.

Next we drove on to Avebury which, for some reason is not famous but smaller stones completely encircle the entire village. There is no entrance fee here, actually it is just a sleepy village where you can roam the fields, touching the stones, it was pretty exciting as this place had a different feel to Stonehenge. There was also a large hill called Silbury hill which is 5000 years old and the largest man made hill in the world. Query why they built it though?? . We had our first english pub lunch in Avebury too- was lovely, then we walked the village grounds old church and cemetry.

After this we went to the Cotswolds and Matt and Michelle had researched a hotel called Hinton Grange Hotel for us all. They had even previously visited it and the rooms to decide which we would have. It was absolutely magical- a choclate box cottage built in the 1400's, with a four poster bed and a rolltop bath in the room. Wisteria growing on the verandah and a pond outside finished the fairytale for us.

We went out for dinner at an upmarket pub on the river in Bath where we sat in the evening sun having a drink and a meal - couldnt have got better actually. It has been great to have met up with friends and been chauffered around the countryside like this!

Day 6 - 1st May, May day

Ooohhhh our sore tootsies!

The pedometer says we walked 14000 steps today, we will have great calf muscles by the end of it!

Today we ventured onto the tube early to go to the Tower of London & OMG ! we thought it was busy yesterday but today we learned what it is like to be human sardines on the train! I even had a woman breathing in my ear as we were standing so close- there is no personal space!! You see the locals "zone out"as soon as they get on to probably cope with the rise in blood pressure and body heat! Was interesting to be sure but has decided us not to try the tube on 2 lines with our suitcases early tomorrow morning to get to Salisbury as I think the Brits would shoot us dead if we tried. We will get a cab instead.

Having said about the extreme crush in the trains, the English are so polite, they dont push (mostly) and are so patient. This goes for business people through to students. Could teach us a thing or 2 about patience - just in our cars at home rather than public transport.

The Tower of London was definitely the highlight for us since arriving, we had a Yeoman tour around so got lots of the bloody history! I tried to make a guardsman laugh while he was on duty, but he just closed his eyes straight away and ignored me-clever boy!

After the tower we went and sat in the sun and ate an icecream, the sky was so blue and it was lovely and warm (sorry guys). Payback was that those 3 single icecreams cost us $21 ~!~Shocking prices here, it is the only drawback for us Kiwi's.

We then went to the Natural History Museum as Danni was very keen to see some dinosaurs. The museums here are incredible, more than we could dream of at home. The architecture of its buildings were for us adults, also a highlight. Walked around with our mouths open I think for a couple of hours, them walked very slowly with our sore feet, back to the tube and Earls Court.

Came back to the hotel and went for dinner in their restaurant, which included lovely english peas with the fish n chips! (not mushy - yay). Enjoyed our last meal in London, and the funny of the night was Danni and I could hear a rat squeaking in what seemed to be the wall behind our chairs. It was freaking us out a wee bit as it went on throughout our meal. Was about to tell the staff member when I suddenly realised that the squeaking was actually coming from the back of my chair when I moved !!! Duh, would have been embarrassed if I had spoken up!

We are off early tomorrow up to meet friends from Fiji in Salisbury to see Stonehenge hopefully. London has been great to visit but onwards..........

Day 5 Monday 30th April

Hi All
We are all doing great here, despite waking at 4 am EVERY morning since we arrived, dont know why we cant get back to sleep after that as it would be 3pm in NZ- not a time we would be asleep??!

We went into town after a great buffet breakfast here at the hotel. It is a pretty standard price of 7.50 pounds for cooked and 5.25 pounds for continental. Have decided to stop converting as it is horrid!! but Danni is free and it really sets you up for all the walking.

We did 15,644 steps today according to the pedometer- good for the waistline!
Went to Madam Tussards this morning- it was absolutly manic... so, so crowded with toursits that unfortunately it was hard to get near the wax figures.After awhile tho you seem to get used to having people in your personal space as that is how it is here.. Was sad to see there was no Patrick Swayze mannequin- boohoo!!!!

Then we decided to go to the British museum as I was very keen to see the Egyptian exhibit there. Was funny, Graeme suggested we walk as it wasnt far- OMG ! yes it was!!! However, it did take us down the long road of Oxford Steet where all the shopping is - pretty amazing shops!

The museum was great, there was so much on display from the times BC, couldnt help but notice just how phallic (how do you spell that?!) it was and alot of nudity!!! Graeme was encouraged though that Man has remained unchanged and keen thoughout the ages?!@#!!!

We seem to have mastered how to get around on the tube- Graeme says "Maybe its this way" and I go straight to a someone and ask as its always in the opposite direction to what you think!!

Went to Marks & Spencers supermarket to buy tea, they have an amazing array of pre - made meals, they are yum!! just expensive, but when in London.....

We are enjoying another beautiful fine sunny day, sorry all in NZ!! We have been so lucky with the english weather.

Day 4 - over to Rochester

Howdy,

Had a great day today as we went and met my english cousin and her daughter for the first time in Rochester.

We were met at Victoria station by the daughter of family friends, Lisa is absolutely madcap !! She is a livewire and had worked until 2am this morning then went out drinking until the wee hours, before coming to meet us. She was right once she had a hair of the dog!!

Saw our first soccer hooligans in the station- all chanting something or other I couldnt understand at supporters of another team. Got the train to Rochester no worries - the tube/rail system here can take you just about anywhere, especially in the wrong direction as we found out first time we used it!!

We were met at the station by everyone, was great to finally meet Sherlie, Dads neice and Lucie her daughter who is so like Danni and the same age. We went to a pub for a drink, then off to Rochester castle - our first castle !! Was pretty awesome for me as I have always been fascinated with history and life back in the saus- ages! This castle was built around 1215 AD and also boasts the oldest tree in Britain.

After this we went to a BBQ, were we also met other friends of Mum & Dad, it was a wonderful afternoon in the english sun. All the english were inspired to come to NZ!

Left there and back to the train station - hard to say goodbye, but really enjoyed the day. We were pretty knackered tho by the time we got back to Victoria then to Earls court- this time in the right direction!

There are SO many people in London- hardly any of them seem to speak english... great to visit, but dont want to live here for sure??!!