After we arrived back in the UK on Monday, we quickly realised that we only had a couple of days left to enjoy being in England. And... we hadn't even spent any time in London...
So, with David and Carol, we took the train to London and made our way to Victoria station to try to find a Whittard Shop for our David. Thanks to a very helpful information man, we did this and got what we wanted.
Then it was off to Lambeth Palace to visit the library there. This is the first time that the Palace Library has been open to the public and it contains some very valuable items.
Lambeth Palace is the home of the Archbishop of Canterbury, leader of the Anglican Church. Some of the books and items of interest from the library had been put on display in glass cases and they had small audioguides for everyone to go round the displays and these were very helpful. David found one mistake in the audio!
Some of the books were very old - dating back to 12th and 13th centuries, before the printing press was invented. They were had written in beautiful script and with lovely illuminations - coloured pictures and highlighted letters. We even saw a Gutenberg Bible.
There were also documents relating to events in history such as the death of Sir Francis Drake and letters from the various Kings and Queens over time. The library also has artifacts like the gloves of Charles 1, who wore these gloves when he was beheaded. The fanciful could find drops of blood even!! There was also a tortoise shell reputed to belong to a former Archbishop which went into hibernation after the original owner died and was unfortunately dug up by the gardener, after which it died of the cold! It was supposed to have been 102 years old.
After the Palace, had coffee at the Garden Museum next door then walked over to Southbank and found a nice cafe for lunch. Walked into Trafalgar Square, then decided it was time to make for home. After a short stop at M&S for more food, we caught the train back to Elmers End.
Wednesday was a beautiful, sunny day so made the most of it by going into Croydon to get our pin numbers for our new cards - only 5 weeks after we arrived and requested them!! Banking is not as good as it is in NZ. Did a bit of shopping then went for a drive to Squerryes Court, a stately home where Emma was filmed for the BBC last year. Beautiful gardens and a lovely little tea place. Unfortunately, it did take rather a long time for our lunch to come.
From there, via a circuitous route, to Westerham - a little village in the countryside with a village green, very old church and some lovely shops, albeit very expensive.
Thursday was our final day, so we spent most of the day getting organised to leave. Managed to get some time to take a short walk in the Shirley Hills where we went to a lookout where you could see in to Canary Wharf, the Millenium Dome (now called the O2 Arena), the radio masts at Crystal Palace and the new stadium at Wembley.
David and Carol took us to Heathrow - a trip of about 75 minutes and we were very early so were able to check in quickly and make our way to the lounge, where we were able to relax for the time before we boarded for our evening flight.
The flight to Hong Kong only took 11 1/2 hours, much shorter than going over. On the way, we flew over the Baltic, but it was dark and you couldn't see anything anyway!
Now waiting in Hong Kong for the almost final leg home. It will be good to get back, but the trip was a good one and we had a great time visiting David and Carol.
Pictures to come when I get back!!
Friday, June 4, 2010
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Tallinn and other places
Next stop was Tallinn in Estonia.
This was one of the best places we visited. We took a tour that showed us through the Old Town and some of the newer parts of the city. Estonia is a small country with a population of just over 1 million people. Tallinn has about half of the country's population.
We went by bus from the dock to the outskirts of the Old Town. The only way to see the Old Town is on foot and we walked through various streets, looking at the upper town and the lower town, the old merchant's houses and business premises, beautiful knitwear and linen shops, the market square and a whole lot of other places. (Photos to come!)
After a short shopping time, we then boarded the bus which took us through the newer parts of the city to an open air museum which has been built to show how the Estonians lived in earlier times. It was a bitterly cold wind as is was right beside the ocean. We also got to have a coffee and cake at a cute cafe nearby.
Estonia has free wifi all over so we were able to download some emails and podcasts as well, but not able to update the blog, hence I am doing it now - at Heathrow Airport from the Star Alliance lounge, which also has free internet.
We really enjoyed Tallinn and would probably like to go back there for another longer visit. On the way to our next stop, we had to go under a very high suspension bridge called the Great Belt Bridge. It is in Denmark and joins the mainland with the island where Copenhagen is situated. We passed under the bridge at 10.00 pm and were able to take pictures because it was so light. (pics to come!) The bottom of the bridge was only 5 metres higher than the top of the ship!
Gothenberg
After a day at sea, we arrived in Gothenberg. Another port with lots of islands around the harbour entrance.
We had decided to do an afternoon tour from the ship, so we were able to have a quiet morning on board before leaving on the tour. It was a city sights tour taking in a ride around the city, a stop at a Lutheran Church to take photos, a stop at the Botanic Gardens where I found a lovely quilt exhibition, another highlights of the city and back to the ship. Gothenberg is a more modern city than Stockholm and there were not so many old buildings to see.
Back to Harwich
Back on the ship for another two nights and a full day at sea. Days at sea were generally spent reading, walking around the ship, occasional coffees and snoozing.
By evening, the wind in the North Sea had got quite strong and the waves were a lot bigger than we had experienced before. It got quite rocky and rolly and even the juggler at the evening show had a job to keep all his balls in the air!
After a very rocky sleep, we arrived in Harwich about 4.15 am. By 6.30 we were up and showered and ready for breakfast. Disembarked at 7.45 am then waited till 8.30 to board a bus to take us back to London. We were able to get a train quite quickly from London Bridge and were back at David and Carol's for lunch.
This was one of the best places we visited. We took a tour that showed us through the Old Town and some of the newer parts of the city. Estonia is a small country with a population of just over 1 million people. Tallinn has about half of the country's population.
We went by bus from the dock to the outskirts of the Old Town. The only way to see the Old Town is on foot and we walked through various streets, looking at the upper town and the lower town, the old merchant's houses and business premises, beautiful knitwear and linen shops, the market square and a whole lot of other places. (Photos to come!)
After a short shopping time, we then boarded the bus which took us through the newer parts of the city to an open air museum which has been built to show how the Estonians lived in earlier times. It was a bitterly cold wind as is was right beside the ocean. We also got to have a coffee and cake at a cute cafe nearby.
Estonia has free wifi all over so we were able to download some emails and podcasts as well, but not able to update the blog, hence I am doing it now - at Heathrow Airport from the Star Alliance lounge, which also has free internet.
We really enjoyed Tallinn and would probably like to go back there for another longer visit. On the way to our next stop, we had to go under a very high suspension bridge called the Great Belt Bridge. It is in Denmark and joins the mainland with the island where Copenhagen is situated. We passed under the bridge at 10.00 pm and were able to take pictures because it was so light. (pics to come!) The bottom of the bridge was only 5 metres higher than the top of the ship!
Gothenberg
After a day at sea, we arrived in Gothenberg. Another port with lots of islands around the harbour entrance.
We had decided to do an afternoon tour from the ship, so we were able to have a quiet morning on board before leaving on the tour. It was a city sights tour taking in a ride around the city, a stop at a Lutheran Church to take photos, a stop at the Botanic Gardens where I found a lovely quilt exhibition, another highlights of the city and back to the ship. Gothenberg is a more modern city than Stockholm and there were not so many old buildings to see.
Back to Harwich
Back on the ship for another two nights and a full day at sea. Days at sea were generally spent reading, walking around the ship, occasional coffees and snoozing.
By evening, the wind in the North Sea had got quite strong and the waves were a lot bigger than we had experienced before. It got quite rocky and rolly and even the juggler at the evening show had a job to keep all his balls in the air!
After a very rocky sleep, we arrived in Harwich about 4.15 am. By 6.30 we were up and showered and ready for breakfast. Disembarked at 7.45 am then waited till 8.30 to board a bus to take us back to London. We were able to get a train quite quickly from London Bridge and were back at David and Carol's for lunch.
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