Day 5 - London

Woke up around 06:30, watched tv for a while and then checked out. Breakfast wasn't included and I'd passed a Paul's bakery in my meanderings last night so headed there. Paul's is a French chain we discovered in Paris a few years ago and it's become our go-to place for breakfast or a snack if we find one. Similar to Laurent in Australia.
Got to the station to find there was a strike on the Piccadilly line and no trains were running - ah, this is the England I remember. It wasn't a big deal because I could get another line that was close. As I walked along the road I noticed it was very quiet - it was 8 o'clock but there were remarkably few people around, and the buses were practically empty. I don't know why.
Sat down with my coffee and croque Monsieur which is basically a toasted cheese and ham sandwich but with the cheese on the outside - oh, those cheeky French.
Left the cafe at about 09:00 and discovered that the English are just lazy and don't start work till late because now there were lots of people around and the tube was packed. I'd decided to go to the science museum because I haven't been since a school trip about 40 years ago and I think there have been some advances since then so they should have some new stuff. It's also next to the natural history museum so I can pop in there as well. Free admission!
The first thing I see is the James Watt engine - which was still in the same place it was 40 years ago and will probably still be there 40 years from now. I was surprised how many of the exhibits were the same - a mock up of the lunar lander, the Apollo 10 capsule and various aircraft, but I suppose it's hard to replace this stuff.
There were some new things, including a history of communication including the internet. They had the computer that Sir Tim Berners-Lee wrote html on and developed the web. The actual computer, an Apple Next.
I spent a couple of hours walking around till the hordes of kids made me decide to leave. Popped to a cafe - decided to skip lunch because I had breakfast and was meeting up with some ex work colleagues for dinner so just had a coffee.
Got on the tube back to Tottenham Court Road and walked around marvelling at how much had changed - mind you, it has been 20 years. It started to rain so I did what any sensible person would and went into a pub for a beer. I had a pint of bitter, and you can't get more English than that. Headed out again and it was still raining, but had a look around Covent Garden - into Neal's Yard, along Neal's Road and Long Acre where all the trendy shops are. I had a few hours to kill so decided to go to the movies and saw High Rise. It was weird and strange and the worst film I have ever seen. I read a review that said it was good but I think the critic was on drugs because it was appallingly bad. I was glad to step outside into the cold and rain, it was much more cheery than the film.
I headed over to the pizza place where I was meeting my friends.
I used to work with them about 20 years ago; there was drinking and talk of the good old days and we all politely didn’t mention how we were all much older and fatter.
Got the train back to Ipswich.

Day 4 - London calling

Up early to get the train to London. I had an off peak ticket which meant I could only get certain trains and hopped on the first one I was allowed on and then hopped off again because it was a rural one that stopped at every station between Ipswich and London. The proper train was 15 minutes later so got that and it only stopped twice. The train was comfortable and took about an hour and 10 minutes. It brought back memories because I used to commute from Ipswich to London every week day for about 3 years. 2 hours door to door each way, so 4 hours of every day spent travelling. What a waste of time.
Bought a daily tube ticket (the tube is the name of the underground) because a ticket to the stop I wanted was £4.30, but a daily was £12.25 and gave me more flexibility. The current exchange rate is about double - so the ticket cost about $24 aud.
Entered the station to announcements that the Central and Piccadilly lines were experiencing delays, but the tube is amazing - trains run every minute. As soon as one leaves the station it isn't long before another appears. I'd decided to get off at Tottenham Court Road, an old stamping ground, but there was another announcement that the station was closed. What a lot of people don't realise is how compact the centre of London is. I got off at Oxford Circus instead and walked down Regent Street, into Piccadilly Circus and from there to Leicester Square and Covent Garden. Trafalgar Square is just around the corner. The weather was overcast and a bit cold, about 10c.
Stopped off for a beer at a pub called The Punch and Judy, one of the many London pubs where I spent more time (and money) than I should have when I worked here.
Feeling a bit hungry I headed for a burger place called Byron (I told you there would be more burgers), a small chain that was getting rave reviews. I have to say they were decent enough but not spectacular.
Just about managed to fit through the door on the way out and went for a walk around.
Down a lane past the Savoy Hotel to the Thames, along the embankment towards the Houses of Parliament, took some photos of Big Ben (did you know Big Ben is the name of the bell, not the clock?). Carried on walking past Downing Street where the Prime minister lives. There were a bunch of protesters exercising their inalienable right to chant, wave banners and shout about an issue that, frankly, nobody else really cares about. These were farmers protesting about the smell of cows or something.
Carried along the road and found myself in Trafalgar Square, just down the road from Covent Garden where I'd started. Feeling a bit weary, decided to get to the hotel - The Union Jack Club, a place set up for British servicemen. My Dad was in the Royal Navy and family can stay there. The prices are cheap for London and it's probably about the equivalent of a 3 or 4 star hotel. Decided to chill out, recharge the literal and metaphorical batteries and head out later to experience London by night.
Left around 18:00, took the tube to Tottenham Court Road which was open now and emerged into a sea of people. I didn't recognise it - they've levelled a huge amount of land and are rebuilding.
Walked along Oxford Street for a bit and then down through Soho and into Piccadilly Circus, then past Fortnum and Masons to The Ritz. Stared at the rich people for a while then took another tube back to Leicester Square.
I forgot to mention - there are quite a few people in London. Every restaurant was packed, the pubs had people standing outside drinking, some places had people queuing to get in. And this was a Wednesday night.
I decided I didn't need dinner so just went into a cafe for a hot chocolate. I was thinking of a beer but wanted somewhere quiet and I doubted I could find a quiet pub so headed back to the hotel.
Spoke to Song again and we've decided we will go to Belgium. We won't let the terrorists win! Actually we just can't be bothered to change the plans, plus we're travelling in France and staying in Paris - the chances of getting caught up in something is slim and the alternative is to stay home and lock the doors and never go anywhere.
Not sure what to do tomorrow - I fancy a museum but can't decide between the British Museum, the Natural History, the Science or the Victoria and Albert.

Day 3 - Kesgrave

Woke up to the news of the bombings in Brussels which is a worry because we're going there in 3 weeks. I spoke to Song who said we should be ok but we'll see what happens. Now thinking about skipping Belgium and going directly to Luxembourg.
Anyway - sun is shining, a bit chilly, picked up my brother from his hotel and went for coffee. Sat for a while, had lunch (chicken and bacon sandwich - note that this is not the gourmet part of the trip), then went back home to chat.
Went to dinner at a place called The Unruly Pig - recently rebuilt after a fire - that had got good reviews.
It was very good - nice atmosphere, good staff. I had the unruly burger (I like burgers, there will be more).
Spoke to Song and we're probably going to skip staying overnight in Belgium and head straight to Luxembourg.
I'm off to London tomorrow to catch up with some people I used to work with and have a look around, I've not been back for a long time.

Day 2 - Kesgrave and Ipswich

Woke up after 11 hours of sleep - but still felt a bit tired. Didn't do much - went for a walk to the local shops, went into Ipswich to have a look around and then to a cafe for lunch (toasted cheese and ham sandwich). On the way into Ipswich we drove past some of the pubs where I spent a lot of my misspent youth, I was surprised at how many I remembered visiting in the past.
Picked up my older brother from the station who had come up from London where he was working, he lives in Edinburgh. This is the first time the family has been together sine about 2007 so lots to catch up on.
Went for a meal at a local hotel (http://www.milsomhotels.com/kesgrave-hall/) which was very nice, I had sausages and mash - tasted better than it sounds. Also had a nice bottle of Italian wine (we shared it, I didn't drink it all).
Got home, spoke to Song on Skype (she's coming over next Monday), jealous of the weather in Melbourne where it's 25 and sunny, it's been 12C and overcast all day.

Not sure what's on the cards for tomorrow.

Day 1 - Bit of a nightmare flight

Got onto the plane at Melbourne on time at 15:25, flight to Hong Kong was uneventful although I think the seats in economy get smaller each year.
Arrived at Hong Kong at 21:45 local time and the flight to London was leaving at 01:40 so had 4 hours to kill. I'd deliberately not slept on the way because I wanted to be tired for the long leg to London, and was also well fed on the plane so didn't need to eat. 4 hours is just too long - I watched some stuff on the tablet, wandered around the airport and poked around in a few shops but didn't buy anything and generally got bored. At least there were plenty of charging places for the gadgets, and free wifi.
Eventually boarded the plane, it was full up and no opportunity to grab some empty seats.
Settled in and started to snooze. Woke up and wondered why we still hadn't moved, and it was 30 minutes after the scheduled time, and lots of people were standing up. This didn't look good. No announcement until about an hour had passed. The captain said a mother and child had boarded and the child was sick and vomiting. The pilot contacted the duty manager who contacted the company medical officer who said he shouldn't fly with the sick kid. The problem was that the mother refused to get off. She was surrounded by cabin crew trying to persuade her that the flight couldn't leave with her and the kid on board, but she refused. Eventually the Hong Kong police were called and persuaded her to leave.
We took off an hour late, and I put in some ear plugs, put on an eye mask, reclined the seat and settled in again. By the way, the airline definition of the word 'recline' does not mean the same as my definition.The plane taxied so long I thought we might be driving to London.
Anyway, with all the preparation done I closed my eyes and spent the next 12 hours wide awake. I never sleep well on flights but this was particularly bad - there was a 10 year old girl next to me who insisted on elbowing and kicking me every half hour, plus the regular turbulence which was like someone shaking me awake just as I was about to drift off.
I watched movies and TV shows instead so arrived pretty tired and an hour and a bit late.
Just as I thought it couldn't get much worse, the pilot said the temperature was 5 degrees. Oh, and we were not at an air bridge so we had to walk outside and get on a bus. But wait, it gets better - the steps that the ground crew delivered with typical British efficiency were the wrong ones, so we had to wait another 15  minutes while they got the right ones delivered. And there was only 1 set so deplaning would take longer than normal. Welcome to England! 

Trudged through the airport in a daze and met a huge queue at immigration, signs proclaiming that e-passport readers were 'coming soon!'. Thankfully the queue kept moving and it wasn't too long before I was through, then onto customs. I always go through the 'nothing to declare' channel because I always have nothing to declare - but I always feel as if I have half a kilo of heroin on me and will get stopped. This time I had nothing to worry about because the customs staff were doing a stand-up job of defending the realm by all being on a tea break or something because it was empty. 

Went outside to be greeted by my brother who had very generously got up at 05:00 and driven for 90 minutes to pick me up, waited around while I was delayed and then drove me back to my parents' house. The weather was dull, overcast, rainy and about 8C.

Finally arrived at my parents' house about 30 hours after leaving Melbourne and was greeted with the traditional cup of tea. Decided to go out for a coffee to get a bit of fresh air and also had lunch (chicken sandwich)
.I managed to stay awake until around 20:00 through dinner with my mum, dad, brother, sister-in-law and niece but then finally had to admit defeat and went to bed.
Not sure what's happening tomorrow.

And so it begins...

Finished up at work, so I'm officially on holiday.

My flight leaves at 15:25 on the 19th for Hong Kong, then onto London, arriving on the 20th.

You can track it here : https://flightaware.com/live/flight/CPA104

Then Hong Kong to London : https://flightaware.com/live/flight/CPA237

I'm being picked up at Heathrow by my brother whom I haven't seen for a while so hopefully he recognises me and doesn't pick up someone else.

I'm travelling on my own, Song will be joining me next week. Done the online check-in, all I have to do is turn up at the airport, drop off my bag and relax for the next 2 and a half months.

Planning the 2016 trip

2016 is the year my long service leave kicks in (9 weeks of paid leave, yippee for Australian workplace laws), so we're planning a couple of trips. Rather than go on one long trip we're breaking it up.
The first leg is Europe - England, Ireland, Iceland and France for 4 weeks. Then back to Melbourne for 2 weeks. Pack up again and go to Alaska and Canada. We're doing a cruise of Alaska, driving a bit in Canada along the Rockies to Calgary and Lake Louise, then flying to Toronto for Niagara Falls.

As usual, I'll try and post every day and upload photos.

Day 11 - Paihia to Auckland

Up early to try and avoid the traffic, stopped for a coffee and then on the road around 0830. Drove back the same way as yesterday but this time the traffic was coming from Auckland and our side was pretty light. We drove through fog which looked nice in the valleys and on the hills but made the going slow.
We made good time but it still took about 3 hours. Dropped the bags off at the same motel as before then took the car back. Wandered around the city for a bit then stopped for lunch at the oldest pub in Auckland (apparently) where we both had fish and chips and I had a beer. The weather was sunny and warm. There wasn't much to do in the city so we took a ferry to Devonport, a small suburb with some quaint shops and cafes. Spent about an hour there, stopped for a strawberry smoothie then back on the ferry to Auckland. We went to get a bus back to the motel but the public transport was rubbish - the bus stops didn't have the bus numbers on them but a list of destinations with the number of the stop. We walked to the bus stop but there was no timetable. So we walked the 30 minutes up the hill.
Checked into the room and watched tv, and booked a pick up to the airport for the morning.
So that's our New Zealand trup. South Island was spectacular, the mountains and lakes incredible. The North Island wasn't as rugged but the rolling hills and valleys were nice.
Next year is back to Europe.

Day 10 - Auckland to Paihia

Up at 0800, stop for a coffee and a walk, the weather was Sunny and about 25 c, then on the road for the 2.5 hour drive to Paihia. 4 hours later we pulled into the motel. It seemed every one in New Zealand was on the same road as us. We'd drive for a while doing 100 then suddenly hit a queue of traffic crawling along or completely stopped. One 2km stretch took 30 minutes. The scenery was hills and valleys with some lake and sea views. We stopped for a coffee and sandwich on the way in a town that was basically closed because it was Good Friday.
Paihia was busy, all the motels (virtually every place on the beach was a motel) had 'No vacancy' signs. The beach was nice and the bay had some small islands in it. The place is called 'Bay of Islands', apparently there are about 140 in all.
It was too early to check in so we went for a walk along the beach. The place was really busy but quite small.
We had an early dinner at a place called Only Seafood. I had King Prawns in a garlic and chilli creamy sauce and a glass of Chardonnay. Song had a seafood platter. We also had dessert for the first time ; I had sticky date pudding with toffee and caramel sauce, Song had pavlova with berries. The meal was very good.
Walked back to the motel and watched tv. Drive back to Auckland tomorrow.

Day 9 - Rotorua to Auckland

Woke up around 08:00 to a miserable day,  grey and cloudy, but since we were leaving it wasn't a big deal. Had breakfast of toast and cereal then hit the road. 2 minutes later did a u turn to go the correct way. The drive was wet for most of the trip but varied between rain and sun. We stopped for a coffee and Song bought some fruit, then back on the road. Saw a sign for a beach and despite the weather trying to decide whether to rain or be sunny went to have a look. The weather made it look quite spectacular so I took some photos.
Carried on, then hit traffic outside of Auckland despite finding the first dual carriage way of our trip. Got off at the right exit but managed to miss the turning so had to drive around a bit before we found the motel. I think they should call Auckland the city of traffic lights.
The receptionist said a load of people had checked out so we were upgraded to a suite which had a big tv, a lounge and a spa.
Settled in and then went into town to visit the Air New Zealand office to try and get a refund again, which we did. Yay for us.
We decided to walk to a restaurant from Tripadvisor, number 2 in Auckland, about 40 minutes away. Walked around the park, then across a road, then along another road into the main part of the city. It was a bit muggy and sticky, and we carried on walking, up a steep hill. Then across more roads, up some hills, 50 minutes later and still going. Across some roads and finally saw the restaurant after an hour. I asked for a table for 2 - "Do you have a booking?" "No". "Sorry, we're full." "Ok, thanks."
Luckily there were lots of restaurants around, and Song chose a Japanese place. I had a beef teriyaki bento and Song had a Sashimi bento. It was really good, so the evening wasn't completely ruined.
Decided we'd done enough walking so got a cab back to the motel.
Driving to Pahia and the Bay of Islands tomorrow.

Day 8 - Taupo to Rotorua

Another lie in, up at 0830, then pack up. Over the road for a coffee and a stop at the airport to claim the refund for the cancelled flight. The airport was the smallest I've ever seen, the cafe was bigger than the check in area, and the staff were nowhere to be seen, just a sign saying that the desk was unattended. Duh.
Left Taupo and drove to Rotorua, the weather was perfect and the drive pleasant - rolling hills and valleys. The roads here are very empty - only one or two cafes and no petrol stations at all for the entire journey - I saw a place that had a sign for emergency petrol. The drive took a couple of hours and we're building up a decent insect collection on the front of the car. We found the motel easily enough but were a bit early to check in so drove into the town centre to look around. 5 minutes later we'd seen it all so drove out to a couple of lakes - the Green Lake and the Blue Lake. These are next to each other but different colours (see if you can guess) due to the different beds. We stood on a hill between them and I took a panoramic photo that I've uploaded. We were the only people there for a while - the same thing happened at the Huka Falls - and had it all to ourselves.
Jumped back into the car and headed back to the town, stopping at the Redwood Forest on the way. If you've seen trees before you get the basic idea.
Drove to the spa to book a soak, found out we didn't need to, then walked around the Government Gardens. The whole town smells of sulphur and this area was the worst because it's next to the lake. There are plumes of steam and bubbling pools dotted around. Checked into the motel and relaxed for a while before going out for dinner. There were lots of the usual places - pizza, Chinese, Indian, but we picked a tapas place from Tripadvisor. It was in a precinct called Eat Street which sounds naff but was actually really well done, and busy. We noticed on the way back the 'traditional'  places were all empty.
We shared some plates - potato croquettes with chorizo, salmon sliders (mini burgers), slow cooked lamb, and a beetroot and fennel salad with goats cheese. I thought it was very good, Song thought it was nice. I also had a beer, a porter, which is a dark ale.
Drove down to the spa and got a private deluxe pool which overlooked the lake. It sounds expensive but was $27 less a 10% voucher from the motel. The water was about 39C, not too hot, and very relaxing. We sat there up to our necks in the hot water looking out over Lake, it was uncovered and the moon was out. We had to stand up every so often because it got a bit much, but it was very enjoyable. We had 30 minutes which was plenty. Had a shower and sat in the cafe to wind down while Song put a dent in the credit card in the gift shop to buy mud. Yes, mud. Apparently it's good for the skin or something. Mud. That wet dirt stuff.
Back to the motel, watched tv then sleep.
Off to Auckland tomorrow.