Round the world in 28 Days

1pm Sunday 2nd Sept.

Uploaded a couple of test pics, just because I could.  Also trying out the journal, even though tomorrow marks the real start of the trip.  Haven't started packing yet, but reckon it will all be over and done in about 20mins tonight... famous last words? Plan is to take the absolute minimum possible.. then take a little bit less!..

hmm.. lets try the pics.. better get this working before we're on the road.

This was taken by Sports-Pix.com during my recent running of the 2007 Pub 2 Pub. Was a beautiful day starting at Dee Why beach and ending at the Newport Arms Hotel(Pub). Completed the 13k in just over 69 mins which was 5 mins faster than last year. Will be looking to shave off another 5 next year.. with luck.

hey this works quite well..  with the pics I mean, too easy..

The other pic was taken last christmas(2006), and its of the Earl home in Auckland.  Mum won't be seeing it for the next four weeks as we trek around the world. 

We arrived in Hawaii(you say it "Havwhyhe" apparently)  before we left Sydney! Got the stamps in my passport to prove it.. Oh the joys of international datelines.  By the time we caught a taxi to the hotel it was Monday all over again. Was weird seeing the traffic going the wrong way on the expressway, and it was really really quiet at midnight on a Sunday night in Hawaii. Taxi ride took 25 mins, cost USD$35. Thought it was weird that the driver gave all the change in $1 bills... then gave me a dirty look when I thanked him for the ride.. turns out the problem was I didn't give a tip... doh!

We checked into the room and the staff were friendly and efficient. Ended up on the 23rd floor with a partial view of Waikiki beach, and the sunset we saw was stunning! The beds were doubles, but they seemed small.. much comotion ensued about the beds as mum and sis were sharing one. Mine seemed fine.. :)

Up at 6:30am the next morning to go for a run along Waikiki beach and back in time to catch breakfast which consisted of cereals, bread(bagles), muffins fruit salad and yoghurt. Not bad at all, "much as you could eat", long as you had a room key.  They even provided a "doggie bag" you could fill and take away, which we did and this provided for lunch as well. Only slight issue with it was the amount of packaging that was involved everything was individually wrapped, everything!.. so you ended up with mountains of packaging... very American I decided.

We missed the intro tour I'd planned, so mum and I went walk-a-bout by ourselves. Caught the free bus(because it was free) to Hilo Hatties, which turned out to be a Hawaiian souvenir shop on steriods. The trip was fun, mum got a sunhat and we weren't pressured into buying anything. On the way back we got off at Ala Moana shopping centre, something like 400 shops over 5 or 6 city blocks. We wandered around for about 1hr, and probably saw about 20% of it. Spotted some sandals in Sears(kinda like Kmart or Target) on clearance and mum picked up a pair for USD$7.84 which included 4.7% tax. That became annoying cause they added it at the register not before. Like the 99c apple that bacame $1.05 grrrr!

We were pretty pooped by the time we got back. Decided to have dinner in the restaurant downstairs in the hotel, Tiki's bar&grill. Turned out to be a great place to eat.. Service was excellent, food was superb and it wasn't too expensive. After some amazingly yummy taro buns, we got through a Hawaiian steak and the House special Salmon in record time before disposing of desert too.  Smiles all around, its just what we needed at the end of a long flight/day.

Plan for the morning was to do the Stars and Stripes tour of Pearl Harbour. That kicked off a 6:40am, so we were up at 6am, got ready in a hurry(we had to pack too, cause we were checking out), and raced down for a quick breakfast, before heading out the front to wait for the tour bus. We waited 40mins, and it never came... grrrr! So after much cursing a teeth gnawing, we booked another one which left at 8:40am.

This time we were there well before time and when they did finally arrive it was 8:55am. Still it turned out for the best. The driver was a big Samoan guy called Kemo. Apparently he was *early* by Hawaiian time, go figure..  He turned out to be very entertaining and proclaimed at one point, "I'm the best at what I do". I'd have to agree. Not only did he drive safely and smoothly to the memorial, the commentary on the way was really decent. He didn't just drop us off either he came in and gave exact instructions on how to do everything.. including get the best seats, being on the "right side" to get the best photos and letting us know the audio tour was well worth the USD$5.  Damn good.

The memorial itself was very professional, and solemn. The tour group, about 16 of us, waited by one of the anchors of the USS Arizona for Kemo to pick us up.. he was early again(Hawaiian time)... but no one seemed to mind much and we all got to hassle him some more. On the way back we went for a quick tour of downtown Waikiki and the Punchbowl cemetery. Both were good, and it was nearly 2pm by the time we got back.

Alison had checked us out the room by 12 noon as required and we crashed on some seats down in the lobby of the hotel. We were both tired but I went for a walk around diamond head road on what was a beautiful hot Hawaii day. Stopped to buy some icecreams on the way back, but found the selection to be horrible and skipped. Got back to find mum unmoved, and we played cards and Sudoku for a while before going for a walk and some dinner in the evening.

We went for dinner at the only revolving restaurant in Hawaii, "Top of Waikiki", which was reasonably good. The view was nice and it made for a relaxing evening which we needed. On the way back to the hotel we walked the main strip and saw several street performers and even a guy with some really tame tropical birds.. which happily climbed all over mum.

Crashed back at the hotel lobby for a while then it was time to head for the airport and our 1:20am flight. Yeah it was a long long day.. The ride was good and the Vietnamese cab driver was a character. Gave him a good tip(was finally coming around to the idea..) and he seemed genuinely happy.

Bumped into some aussies while waiting for the plane to arrive.. including one slightly drunk looking guy who was apparently looking for a good bed at the airport. Everything went smoothly and we waved goodbye to Hawaii and boarded the plane for Vancouver desperate for some sleep, but excited about the journey ahead.

Had a good flight from Hawaii, and mum especially enjoyed the breakfast, pancakes of all things.  We got in slightly ahead of time at 9:50am and jumped into a shuttle bus(CAD$27 family ticket) to the city. Guess who was on it?... none other than our friendly aussie guy... turns out they were headed for an Alaskan cruise, and some polar bear wrestling. One thing that immediately hit me on the bus trip into the city was how green everything was, beautiful tree lined streets and greenery everywhere. Much nicer than the concrete jungle of Sydney. Liked it immediately.

We checked into the Sheraton and were able to go straight to the room on level 20. It was far more spacious than the room in Hawaii, and nodding with satisfaction mum jumped straight into the shower. We both needed one to regenerate a little before heading off to explore Vancouver about 12:30pm. We walked a few blocks but it was pretty clear we weren't going to last long so we booked a tour bus. That had a few dramas(just like almost everything we've booked), but in the end turned out ok.

Caught the bus outside the Vancouver art gallery and guess who was on it.. yeah our aussie friends again!.. surely they're following us?!.. We stayed on the half openair bus for nearly one complete 90min circuit.  It was great, and Stanley park stood out as especially beautiful. Vancouver is a cross between Sydney and Melbourne.. think its the Trams that remind me of Melbourne and its kind of messy like Sydney. Felt clean and safe and and the traffic seemed to flow orderly.

We got off at the Hyatt as mum needed to visit the little girls room. From there we walked back to the hotel... were already starting to get to know our way around and the streets run in grids(like Melbourne) and its pretty compact. We crashed out for a while then headed out for dinner at the "Top of Vancouver" revolving restaurant.

The view was awesome!.. So clear, I mean there was no smog, and you could see right off to the horizon. We timed it well and caught the twilight and then lights of the city as darkness engulfed it. Must admit having my mind wander away from the conversation and soak in the sights of the harbour and hills surrounding the city.  Now I understood why people rate Vancouver as a beautiful place to live... it is.  The food was of a very high standard and my BC Salmon didn't last long.. admittedly mum helped. 

Wonderful first day.. Though we were tired we got a feel for the city, its people, and the natural beauty of Vancouver. Was nearly 10pm by time we got back to the hotel.

Woke up 7:30am and went for a run around Stanley park. It was beautiful, and the air was so fresh it was amazing!.. there were a few people out and about but most looked like tourists. Suppose the Vancouverans(??) take their wonderful park a little for granted.. maybe. Turned out part of the seawall path was closed for repairs from Lions Gate bridge around to Third Beach(yes, I think they ran out of names after English Bay beach) and this innocent looking bypass turned out to be a horror climb to a lookout. Took a breather up there sucking in the fresh air and admiring the harbour and north shore. Then I was off again and Third beach was just down(literally) the road.

The run was a little longer than I expected taking an hour to complete the loop starting from the middle of Burrard road. Was back to the hotel to find mum still in bed but awake. Alison was soon up and we decided we'd go to the north shore to explore Grouse Mountain and the Capilano suspension bridge. Took an hour and a half to find and eat some breakfast. Ended up being coffee and a bagel, not my first choice, but in the end not too bad. Mum asked the lady in the cafe for a flat white.. "a whaaat??" came the reply.. so it got changed quickly to a latte. Coffee ain't my thing, but something to do with the amount of cream/milk in the coffee.

Popped into the information centre downtown. It was very efficient, pick a number, wait to be called. Got our directions, seabus followed by bus #236 to Grouse Mountian. Its obviously a well worn trail. The entire trip cost $3.25 and took about 45 mins. For public transport that was amazing.. nothing in Sydney can compare. The seabus, was very accurately named and would have been a quicker trip except for the cargo ship at anchor right in the direct path between docks. Seemed odd they let it park there.

Gross mountain was at first not much, a cable car. Gee.. so we bought some tickets and waited for the next one to arrive. In piled over 50 people, and we were reliably told it could take 100.. though I couldn't help thinking they'd have to be small. The view was pretty damn decent.. looking out over all of Vancouver and surrounds. No smog! clear to the horizon in all directions, stunning.

At the top were a few buildings including a small movie theatre and some shops and cafes. We watched two movies there, Born to Fly and Animal Tracks, both were good. They had some outstanding wood statues just sitting by the side of the road. But, the highlight of the day was the lumberjack competition. Really entertaining show that cheered everyone up. That was followed by some grizzly bear viewing and a birds of prey show. We even came back and bought some $10 t-shirts thats how impressed we were.

Coming back down late in the afternoon, we stopped quickly to look at the wolves, before catching the #236 bus back to Capilano bridge. It was getting late already and was 6:15pm when we arrived. It would be dark in about an hour and we were getting tired, but plodded onwards. The tickets were 10% off, which was very logical.. and appreciated. The place was also pretty empty so we had it mostly to ourselves. Mum ran out of steam at the far side of the bridge, as it was a bit of a slog, so Alison and I wandered around the rest of it together. Not too bad, we saw our first squirrel and mum got in some serious window shopping and a pitstop.

Jumped back on the bus back to Lonsdale Quay for the seabus home, but our tickets had expired and we had to buy more, and again they are cheaper after 6:30pm, this was great. Our thoughts were already turning to dinner.. and it was decided we'd try and eat on the north shore. This was fine but we had now discovered that our tickets home were only valid for about 90mins so there was some pressure to find a place, eat and get back to the seabus.

Luckily for us we found a gem of a restaurant not more than 100m from the Quay. Its a little Greek joint called Anatoli's Souvalaki. Mum had mousaka, Alison had lamb souvalaki and I had a beef souvalaki, all three were delicious. The service was great and they had it ready in a flash. They even gave us some extra desert to take away. Already we agreed it was so far the best meal we've had. Feeling very contented and happy with ourselves we jumped on the seabus for the trip back.

Didn't take long to reach the hotel. Arriving back we reflected on a a wonderful full day of adventure whilst eating our doggy-bagged desert, which was expectedly yummy. We were all tired but in good spirits as we headed for bed. I was slightly wishing we had another few days in Vancouver, as tomorrow was to be our last.

Woke up about 7:40am and went for my run. Yesterdays was soo good I decided to do it again, the ultimate stamp of approval in my book. It seemed shorter and easier for the second time but I also noticed a few more things of interest and spent some more time saying "hi" to people, or nodding to acknowledge them as fellow runners or explorers. Was back in almost exactly the same time despite stopping at third beach to do some stretches and situps/pushups. Though I did feel tired later, it was worth it.

Got back to find mum packed a raring to go. Took this as a good sign, and although we didn't rush at all, we were soon down to the reception to checkout. Dropped our bags at the hotel and hit the road to checkout Stanley Park(Mum and sis hadn't really seen it yet). We got breakfast at the IGA market place store around the corner, after the lady at the hotel recommended it. She was right, it was a great store.

After a leisurely breakfast we wandered over to the bustop by the Art Gallery, that we knew from our first day and hoped on the BigBus again, this time as oldhands. Didn't take long to arrive at Stanley park and we jumped off at second beach. The park was fairly quiet as we walked along the seawall before heading inland to look for the Aquarium. Everyone commented on the fresh air and peacefulness as we wandered through the forest. The tracks were clear and clean and it was only very rarely that we saw a cyclist or jogger. Soon we arrived at Lost Lagoon for a quick break before heading over to the Aquarium.

The Aquarium was kind of expectedly very decent. It was modern, well laid out, and the selection of fish and displays was better than most. We deposited a Toonie($2) for a locker hire and dropped off mums bag as she was looking and sounding a little tired. The highlight was the Baluga(arctic whales) show, they were so well trained jumping, spinning, even talking on command. Well worth the visit even if you're not much of an aquarium fan.

We jumped back on the Bigbus, which arrived amazingly and greatfully quickly. Unfortunately the bus stopped in Gastown as the driver had finished for the day. This left us with a fairly long walk back towards the hotel. It didn't take long, but mum spat the dummy half way there and made it clear she had had enough walking for a while. Dinner was at a Thai restaurant we had walked past a few times, just down the road from the hotel. Turned out to be a good feed, and very reasonable($$) too. The tappioca desert was enjoyed, despite no one knowing what it was made from, and we all cheered up a little.

Wandered back to the hotel and picked up our bags, then jumped on the Airporter bus for the 30 min ride to the airport. Vancouver just has one big impressive airport for both international and domestic flights. Checkin was slow, partly because I decided to follow with instructions to the letter, when really sometimes they are best ignored. The check-in lady gave me a hard time about being an Aussie(passport), but was obviously relieved that we spoke reasonably good English and knew where we were going(unlike the people infront of us). Wasn't long before we were on a very full overnight flight to Toronto.

We arrived at 6am in the morning(Saturday) and although it was only a 4 hour flight we were all very tired. We were out the gates a little slowly as my bag was delayed for some reason. Marel(mum's cousin) and Kirsten(her daughter) were there to greet us which was really nice. Breakfast was at a nearby Holiday Inn and hit the spot as we needed some food after only getting a drink on the flight. After dropping Kirsten back home we headed into downtown Toronto. It was a more like Sydney than Vancouver, a concrete jungle, that had that big city feel about it. We stopped to look at the CN tower, but decided not to go up and instead wandered around the Roger's Stadium and looked at the "Gargoyles". The Gargoyles were partial statues of fans with french fries and cameras and icecreams all enjoying the game. Apparently home of the Toronto Blue Jays baseball team.

The drive out to London(Ontario) took a couple of hours and started with a scenic drive along past Lake Ontario. Damn its big!.. and Ontario ain't the largest. The rest of the drive is a little hazy as we all struggled to stay awake in the car.  

Well thats as far as I got.. internet access proved to be more troublesome than I expected and there were lots of long days after which writing it all up just seemed too difficult.. even most of this was written in a semi-concious state... I had planned to do more.

Instead, hopefully below you will find some pictures, from each day from the trip with some brief comments... just trying to choose the pics now...

10 of the best bits..(in no particular order)

1 Meeting our family in Blyth England, who made us feel so welcome. Wish we'd stayed longer.

2 Catching up again with Marel(and her "terrific trio"), who showed us a whole big bunch of Ontario, and the wonderful life in Canada.

3 Gatecrashing Sylvia in Edinburgh. Loved her "mid-sized" car, and Scottish fish(Haddock), yumm!

4 Stanley Park Vancouver, wow!... hard to find words to do this natural beauty justice, a jewel in Vancouver's already impressive crown.

5 Seeing Oaklahoma at the Globe Theatre, Stratford on Avon, Ontario, Canada. Yup thats right, normally this ain't my scene, but this was good, damn good.

6 Niagara Falls, the pictures don't do it justice, made for some great showers.

7 Tuk Tuk ride in Bangkok. How they don't hit something is amazingly impressive. Special hello to "Egg" the Tuk Tuk driver.

8 Bamburgh castle, Bamburgh, northern England. A massive, impressive castle built on desolate rocks, with incredible  ocean views, the real McCoy.

9 Louvre Museum and surrounds in Paris, especially at night.. majestic. Now we really do know, why Paris is the number one destination in the world.

10 The people of Madrid, Spain. Made us feel so welcome, often happily chatting away in Spanish to us, and always smiling and happy... Gracias por el regalo(Thank you for the gift) 

Finally some pics with comments...

Starting together from Sydney we stopped for a quick snack before boarding the Air Canada flight to Hawaii.. don't think we were that hungry but eating is a great way to pass the time...

The genius's out there will deduct that mum took this shot, which bode well for lots of good photos during the trip...

Alison's take on things..

and finally mine..

We only had two nights in Hawaii before heading off to Vancouver...

They had all these lovely bicycles around the place... actually they served a purpose, but it took me a lilttle while to find out. Can you guess?

This was mum enjoying the sights in Hawaii!.. what a lovely ceiling?

To be honest we had some long days and nights after a long flight, and some down time was needed, else we weren't going to last the distance.

These birds were a hit, they were so tame.. this was walking back along the main strip on Waikiki beach after having diner at the revolving restaurant "Top of Waikiki", there were several really good street performers, and it was so warm, made for a nice stroll back to the hotel.

Sunset from the hotel balcony..

This was on the final day, waiting for the taxi to the airport.. the hotel name, that almost managed to get completely into the shot was "ResortQuest Waikiki Beach", and it was pretty decent.

Yup!.. they're bike stands, not bad.

Vancouver was a blast, loved every minute of it.

So we were tired after the flight, and that bed looked so comfortable.. trust me we weren't on it for long. We never did get a shot of Alison in bed.. though there were some missed opportunities.

This was taken as Grouse mountain which is about 1hr north of the city. Turned out to be really good and we spent nearly a whole day there.

This was one(there were atleast 20) of the amazing carvings they had just sitting beside the path... yes, its big.

I reckon the background looks like a painting.. but its real..

Capliano Suspension bridge was kinda woobly.. but the engineer inside me appreciated the achievement of it. We didn't have much time here as we stayed so long at Grouse.. still Grouse is waay better to be honest, so all was good.

Thats mum, and I'm somewhere in the background.. just look for a few pixels of purple!.. This is Stanley park.. just after 3rd beach I think.. the sea wall and path that made for the perfect running course surrounded by stunning scenery.. as you can see it was an awesome day...

Could've stayed another 3 days in Vancouver, no problems... but Ontario was beckoning.

London, Ontario to be a little more accurate, was home base for the next almost week.  We got around the place a fair bit, thanks to mum's cousin Marel who drove far and wide.

This was in the main city park where we stretched our legs and marvelled at the squirrels running around. Its amazing theres none in the photo, they were everywhere.

The next day we were off to see the great lakes.. London is nestled nicely between two of them(Huron and Erie)..  This was on the beach at Lake Erie.. and was the first time I realised how big these things(lakes) are.. its like the ocean.. complete with waves. No one was brave enuff to go for a dip.. tad chilly(spot the cold looking purple guy?).

Everyone(Marel, Susan, Monty, and the dogs(Daisy & Chad)..) looking contented after a yummy pasta dinner, with pie and icecream for desert. 

Mum sporting her Hawaii sunhat, on a lovely day at Niagara falls.

Just one more photo of the falls..

Soggy, but still smiling after our trip on the maid of the mist.. now that was one heck of a shower!

Dinner at New York Mario's.. beer, pasta, noisy kids, hyperactive waitresses, this place had it all.. Cheese!

Scottish highland dancing any'aye one? This was the annual Westin Fair in London... bigger and better than you might imagine.

Picnic at Stratford, before going to see Oaklahoma at the theatre, and yes, that is the Avon river behind us..

Stratford City Hall, the magnificent "christmas cake" building..

Relaxing on the sun deck... now thats the goodlife..

On the balcony of what had been home for the past 6 days.. alas it was time for one last ride in the Marel mobile.. back to Toronto, and onwards to London, England.

Canada was awesome... happy, friendly people enjoying a great country.. hopefully we'll be back, cause there's a whole lot more to see.

Due to the fact that the clown who organised this(who me?) had left us with a 6 hour wait for our connecting flight to Edinburgh, we decided to dump our bags(yes, you still can) at Heathrow and hit the town. Was a really good flight from Toronto so we were actually still in pretty good shape.

Found a nice little coffee shop while wandering around Carnaby St.

Mum and Whoopie, together at last, thanks to Madame Tussaud.

Nice hat Tiger.

Riding the "Tube" was fun too, cheap and easy to use.. we raced back to Heathrow, ready for our flight, and by now the long day and flying was starting to catch up with us.. Luckily it was only a short trip to Edinburgh.

Finally made it to Scotland.. We didn't do much on arrival, cause we were kinda pooped. But the next couple of days were fun, as we toured Edinburgh in style, in Sylvia's medium sized car.

On board the Britannia, waiting for Alison who was bringing up the rear. Apparently we look like we're on guard duty?.. The audio tour was good and given it was typical Scotland weather(grey, wet, wild).. just the right thing to do.

Mum, listening to the audio tour, not using the telephone..

Grabbing a bite to eat(veggie soup & bread) afterwards in the big shopping mall by the docks.
 

Alison and I headed up to see the castle .. wasn't cheap, but very interesting, and the views over Edinburgh are magnificent.

Going for dinner at Ye Olde Peacock Inn.. yummy, Scottish style, battered fish(haddock) and chips.. hit the spot. Alison almost had a run in with highland chicken... which turns out to be Chicken stuffed with haggis.. eek! .. but the waitress saved her.

Just to prove we were really there.. looking very happy after a good feed.

That was our last night in Edinburgh, it would have been good to stay longer.. but the next morning we hit the road for Glasgow and Blyth.

There really wasn't much time to see Glasgow, but we did have lunch in St. George square, saw the old bombshell at the train station, and mum and sis got some shopping done at Sauchiehall street. Still it was only a few hours, as it was, by the time we got to Blyth it was late and dark.. but we received the warmest of welcomes!.. it was like arriving home, and made us feel so comfortable.

This was outside Alnwick("annick") castle where they filmed some of Harry Potter.  We spent a whole morning here after a lovely drive on some English country roads.

The next castle was impressive. Bamburgh castle north of Blyth and right on the coast.

The tour of this impressive castle was facinating. What a wild place to build a castle.. the ocean views were awesome. Came highly recommended, and was well worth the trip along a treacherous road.

It was uncle Don's birthday and look who showed up for the party?.. it was young Jack eager to blow out them there candles.

From left to right.. Michael, Margaret, Janice, Gordon, Margaret, Don, Jack, Fiona.

Jack and his impressive collection of trucks and cars, of which, he could tell you the make of each and every one.

Don and Keegan seeing us off safely..

Our stay in Blyth seemed sooo short.. we really would have loved to stay longer. We had some lovely meals and I enjoyed a couple of "fresh" morning runs along the beach. But it was the warmth and welcomeness we were treated too that made it hard to leave. Fingers crossed, we'll be back... 

From Blyth it was a long drive down the M1 to London, where we stayed overnight before flying to Madrid the next morning. We caught the Madrid tube to the hotel, which we found after navigating the maze of streets and laneways of Madrid.

Guess what the first thing we did was? .. yeah we had a snooze..  mum was certainly ready for one.

After that we headed for the museo Del Prado. Luckily(but not by accident) the hotel was just across the road so we saved our walking for the Prado. It was big! and impressive.. lots of wonderful paintings and statues.

Then we were ready for some food.. see mum tucking in!..

Some of the sights of the large park in the centre of Madrid.. was all good, long as you ignored the drug dealers.. which I did :)

Alison looking relaxed, as we ate tappas.. the food didn't light my fire, but the atmosphere was relaxed..

Madrid was neat, the people were friendly and the atmosphere was bubbly.. so this is Europe.. next stop Parie!

Bonjour Parie!.. Arriving in Paris in the afternoon, we made good time through the efficient airport to the train station. Finding the hotel proved to be far more difficult.. eek!.. Luckily Alison(she had more luck than me, heavens knows why?) managed to get some rough directions out of the cafe guy..

Alison getting into the swing of Paris.. looks like a local already!..

Mum striking a pose next to the Seine river. Was a lovely day and we grabbed the chance to catch the bus boat along the Seine, a wonderful way to see the sights.

Where could this be?

We stopped for an icecream whilst admiring the Eiffel tower.. its kinda hard to miss..

Dinner at the restaurant beside the hotel.. we were ready for a good feed after a big day out and about in Paris.

Au Chien Qui Fume, "The Smoking Dog"... decent food, good service, real French atmosphere (like, they speak French here..).

We met a very friendly Swiss couple too, who helped a little with our menu selection.. oh, the English menu helped too, but the French one was more fun.

Paris is beautiful, majestic, breathtaking.. everywhere you look are amazing buildings that make you go wow.. Notre Dame, L'Arc de Triomphe, the Louvre, the list goes on.. but its not perfect.. you get the feeling the people living here aren't exactly pleased too see you.. Guess being the most popular tourist destination on earth, comes at a price.. C'est la vie.

London again... this time we arrived via the chunnel, which made a nice change compared to flying. We stayed in Earl's Court, which somehow seemed very appropriate... and handy.

Alison on Westminster bridge, with the London Eye in the background.

Mum leaving county hall, as we headed back to Westminster bridge to wait for the Big Bus.

Smile... oh, we are.. something fascinating, oh yes, the Tower of London, its to the left a little...

London bridge isn't falling down.. infact the sun is even shining! Was a lovely day for our cruise along the Thames..

Really enjoyed London.. theres plenty to see and do..  a big thumbs up in my book!

Our final stop before home.. was a long but pleasant flight with Thai Airways. The moment we walked out the arrival gate, we knew this was somewhere different. There were people everywhere, offering "cheap" rides to the city.. it would have been quite intimidating if they weren't all smiling, but thats Bangkok, constant hustle and bustle, but open and friendly...

Outside one of the grand palaces.

Mum and Egg, the trusty Tuk Tuk driver.

The terrbile Tuk Tuk twins..

They had a wonderful day seeing the sights and shopping.

Outside the Royal palace.

It was really too hot for long pants, but those were the rules.. no pants, no entry..

Bangkok was brilliant. Friendly people, yummy food, cheap shopping.. what more could you want? Alas it was the final stop before heading home.. 28 days had passed in a blink.. but of course the memories will last a lot longer.