London Pass - Day 1 of 2

Before leaving New Zealand I purchased a 2 day London Pass from the Visit London site.  Well worth it and this month they have a special on for NZ and OZ customers.  


Due to the queues I had seen a week ago I decided to start my day off at The Tower of London.  Being a Sunday morning it didn't open until 10am.  Once I got in the gate I headed straight for the Jewel Tower.  What an amazing experience this was, I don't actually every remember seeing the crown jewels before but I am guessing at some stage Mum and or Dad would have taken me here when I was younger.  After spending at least 30 mins in the Jewel Tower I headed out to look at the rest of the site.  I am lucky it is a beautiful day again.

The whole Tower was bigger than I expected.  I spent about 2 hours at The Tower of London before moving on to do and cruise up the Thames to Greenwich


Opposite The Tower of London is the new City Hall building, to me it looks more like a bike helmet pretty funny looking building to have on the Thames 

I don't know what it is about Tower Bridge but I can never take enough photos of this, the shape is just so pretty and looks great next to the Tower of London

The views of The Tower of London are best seen from the Thames for sure.

We also passed a couple of other major sites on my way down the Thames.

We even passed the HMS Wellington an old New Zealand Royal Navy shipped.

It was a wonderful day out and the weather really was wonderful.

A Beautiful Morning in London

After arriving in London very early I dropped my bags off at my B&B and headed for Westminster.  I had a tour booked at 9.30 at the Houses of Parliament.  Although it is only 7.30 in the morning I decided to head to Big Ben and take a look around.  What a wonderful time of the morning to see London.  I now believe this is my most favourite time of the day here.  It is quiet and the mornings are nice and clear of any tourists.  I was able to take some photos the houses of parliament with almost no one else around.

From here I headed across the road to Westminster Abbey while it was quiet. Although I will be coming back to so the Abbey in a day or so I wanted to see what it was like from the outside, to be able to just stand there and take it in.

The work in these two building are amazing, and it seems funny to be standing here at the front door of a church that Kate and Wills walk through only three months before all most to the day.


I even managed to take one photo of myself outside the Victoria Tower, not the best, but hay.

Time for my tour around.  Although you can't take photos on the tour I was able to take photos in Westminster Hall, the oldest part of the Palace of Westminster.

This tour has got to be the best thing I have been on.  Very interesting place and I am glade I was able to get tickets as it is only open to the International public for 6 weeks of the year.

Today is the last for me in Edinburgh.  It is with mixed thoughts really.  I could see us living back here in a snap, but there were reasons we left and they haven't changed so with that I will enjoy the time I have left.


I head out to The Gyle to meet Mr T at 12.15 as we are both going to SASA for a BBQ lunch, it is a beautiful day the sun is out and very little cloud around.  It is 25 degrees and no wind oh how I have missed this weather.  It was great to meet up with old friends, it has been two years in September since I left and it seems like I worked there yesterday.


We had a lovely lunch and left SASA around 2pm, Mr T dropped me off at The Gyle and then hopped on a bus for town.  I arranged with Andrew to meet up for dinner later.


On the way back into town I spotted this cafe on the way, it wasn't something I had seen before so I am guessing it wasn't there when I lived there.  If it had I think Mike would have made us go at least once :o)

I decided to take the 35 bus into town as it goes down the Royal Mile, now I have walked this a few times but figured today with the tourist was not a good day to walk so taking the bus would be the best option, just as well as the rehearsal for Zara Philips wedding was going on and part of the Royal Mile had been blocked off.

I spent most of the afternoon wondering around Princes Street and New Town looking at shops.  By 5.30 I managed to meet up with Andrew on one of the buses heading for Ocean Terminal.  We decided to have dinner at Frankie and Benny's, this wasn't here when we lived here and that is probably a good thing or Mike and I would have been down here at least twice a week for dinner as it was one of our favourite places.  While we were having dinner we found out that a lot of the royal family were having a dinner on the Royal Yacht Britannia, as it is Zara Philip's wedding tomorrow on the Royal Mile.  So after dinner we decided to head down to a location where we could do a bit of Royal spotting

We didn't get to see anything, but it was exciting to be there with everyone including the press.


Well it was time for me to head to the B&B to get my bags before going down to the train station. 



My train was sitting there when I arrived but it was another hour or so before I could board.

I had a great time back in Edinburgh but now it is time to head for London.

Edinburgh

I have had a wonderful time here in Edinburgh so far.  I am staying in a lovely B&B called the Garlands Guest House, it is in the same street we use to live in.  When I was trying to decide where to stay here in Edinburgh I figured this area was as good as any and I knew all the bus routes so why not.  


My B&B is the second building in the 3 story building.  Very nice in side.

Day One - After arriving in Edinburgh rather early on the train I was able to check in straight away at my B&B before I headed out to see my work mates, as we had planned to have lunch together.  We went out to Norton House for  lunch which was just lovely.  The best way to spend my birthday being around good friends I hadn't seen in awhile.  We then headed back to SASA where I spent the afternoon sitting out in the sun talking to my old boss as he is planning a trip to New Zealand with his wife, always good to be able to advertise your own country.


In the evening I decided to take in a movie as it was cheap night at Vue.  I went to see Horrible Bosses which was pretty funny, but not as good as I had hoped.  It was just like the old days when I use to go and see a movie on a Wednesday night and then Mike would meet me down at Ocean terminal for dinner afterwards but this time there was no Mike :o(


Day Two - Today has been really rainy, pretty good though unlike Wellington you can just put your umbrella up and go out in it.  I decided to do something girlie this morning and have my nails done.  They are pretty fancy and I love them, this photo doesn't do them justice.

I then went down to Ocean Terminal for lunch and a look around the shops as at least this area is all under cover in a Mall as the rain was being rather persistent. After a good look around I headed back to the B&B to get ready to go out for the night.  I was meeting up with friends (my old boss and his wife) for dinner.  We went to Gusto in George Street, it was lovely.  We had a wonderful meal, I had never meet his wife before so it was great to meet her finally.  From there we headed to Ghillie Dhu for a drink, the only problem was they had a live band on and it got rather loud and we only lasted one song/drink before we headed out.  It was pretty funny really.  We ended up at a table right in front and below the band but it was a rounded booth, so we were looking out at the audience as well, so we felt like we were in a fish bowl.  From there we went to Whigham's, this was a little quieter and we were able to sit down and talk a bit more.  I was introduced to a "Long Vodka" drink, I think now one of my favourite drink but apparently only found here in Edinburgh by this name.  We were able to discuss more about their trip to New Zealand, and have a good laugh at how to prounce NZ names.

I have had a great time here so far, and very much miss living in Edinburgh.  The city really has got better since we left, that could be a sign of course.  All the tram works around Leith, and Princess Street have finished for now and a lot of the shops that had closed down during the recession and road works are all open again, no empty shop-fronts now, pretty good really.

I have one more day left in Edinburgh before I take the sleeper train back to London tomorrow night.  At this stage weather dependent I am going out to SASA again for lunch tomorrow as they are having a BBQ,so this will be a good chance to catch up with others again.

A afternoon in London with the School's History trip.

I started the morning with Mum going to Watford for a look around.  The mall there was large and the town was very different to here in Hemel.  A lot more modern and newer, I am guessing the mall there was built in the 90's and was very busy, but then again it is the first day of the school holidays here.  After a few hours looking around, Mum and I purchasing shoes, she headed back to Hemel, while I walked down the High Street to Watford High Street station and took the Overground into London.  I have never been on the Overground before, very nice and reminded me of the trains in Melbourne, I am guessing these trains has been done up or renewed for the games next year.


Once I arrived in Euston I took the Northern line to London Bridge and walked across the Thames and got some nice shots of HMS Belfast and Tower Bridge.

Once I got a few shots of Tower Bridge I had about an hour before I needed to meet up with the group from work.  So I decided to walk along the Thames for a wonder and a bit to eat.  While trying to find a spot for some food I came across "The Monument" this is here to commemorate the great fire of London in 1666

After taking a few photos and generally getting a feel for the area I found a lovely pub and had a bit of a late lunch.


Once I had finished lunch I headed towards The Tower of London as I was lucky enough to be meeting up with the School's history trip.  They were finishing off their day with a cruise along the Thames from The Tower of London to the London Eye, and then a trip on the London Eye.  I was very lucky to be invited along for the afternoon.


It was great to catch up with everyone, they where looking pretty tired after 3 weeks away and I thinking they are looking forward to heading home tomorrow, with a spot of shopping in London before heading to their flight tomorrow night.
The boat takes some 500 people so fitting some 80+ of us on wasn't an issue at all.  Before we even got on the boat we were lucky enough to witness them opening the bridge on Tower Bridge, I had never seen this before.

The trip along the Thames was great, always a good way to see London, and I love the views you get to see.  It took around 40 mins I think and well worth the trip.


We arrived on the Houses of Parliament side of the Thames so had a wee walk across the Thames towards the London Eye.  We all got together in a group went over what was going to happen and then we were off to see the 4D movie on the Eye, by the way if you have to pay for this, don't bother.  Once this was over we headed for the real thing.  The queue was pretty quick taking less than 20 mines before we were in a pod and on our way.  The views from the top were just great and I could have taken 100's of shots, I enjoyed the views of the Houses of Parliament the most

I enjoyed the fact that they don't over fill the pods and you have enough room to all sit if you wish and move about the pod without getting in everyone way.  Just a really nice experience.


From here I had to head back to Hemel, so it was a quick walk back to Waterloo, then on the Northern line to Euston, when I arrived I found that I only had a 10 min wait before an express train to Hemel Hampstead left, just enough time to get a ticket, and a drink before hopping on the train.  The trip from Euston to Hemel only took 25 mins at most with only one stop on the way.


A fun day out, doing things I haven't done before and meeting up with friends is always great.  And ending off the day with Bertie and Sue is always great, what fun they are!

A day with the family.

We had a great day today at Bertie and Suzies.  It was Paris' 13th birthday and most of the family was around for a Sunday roast lunch.  It was great to meet up with everyone, some I hadn't even meet before and others I hadn't see for 11+ years since our trip to Rode Island in 2000.

A day in and around Hemel Hampstead with family

To day we are spending time with the family.  I start the day at the shops getting some shorts as I am finding my jeans is bought with me are a little to warm.  So a quick trip to Evans for some shorts on sale before coming back to our room to get mum, so handy being attached to a couple of malls and a High Street!


Bertie and Suzi came to pick ups up around 11am we headed off to there house for a cup of tea and chat.  They have a couple of handbag dogs that are just beautiful, Henry and Pixie, the are pomeranian dogs, and pixie is crossed with a chihuahua just beautiful, Mike beware you could be in trouble!


In the afternoon we headed out in the car to this nursery, Little Heath Farm Nursery, it is hidden in a National Trust area called Little Heath Lane.  This place was just amazing, they have three antique stores on site also so always fun to rummage about looking around.  One of the stores had loads of chandeliers, I really did have to keep Mum under control in this one.

The nursery had a lovely tea shop in it so we also decided it was time for a cuppa tea, yes I am back into drinking tea again, nothing like being around the English to get back into the habit. 


Once afternoon tea was done we went into a fireplace store onsite and in the rafters was a Robin he had a beautiful song, apparently he came in regularly to sing because he could see himself in the mirror and thinks he is looking at another bird 

From the nursery we headed down the land to the Wink Well, at the end on the canal was a pub called "The Three Horseshoes" where we stopped in the sun to have a drink on the canal edge.  While we were there a could of canal boats came through the lock.  This lock is an automated lock where the boat operators put some coins in a unit on the side of the canal that then closes off the road and turns the bridge so the boat can go through, didn't take too long.

Once I was finished being entertained by this process we were on our way again, this time heading towards "Old Hemel". 


Old Hemel is all very much Henry the 8th area, and the builds are all very Tudor, the old street was just beautiful and had a good few antique stores amongst others

From Old Hemel we were on our way back home to get dinner ready for the night. My family have a wonderful vege garden in the back so Bertie and I picked the peas and broad beans for dinner, it was nice to be sitting there breaking the pea pods not something I had done before.

Suzie also showed us the different outfits for the dogs she has that they dress them up in for Halloween, Henry just loves the attention of the outfits and loves to sit there while you take photos

We had a wonderful day today, Hemel Hampstead is a beautiful part of England and I would love to be staying here longer.  The history of this area is my favourite period of time.  Tomorrow is going to be a big day and I am looking forward to it.  The family is all getting together for a party and it will be great.

A shopping day in London

Mum and I have decided to spend today in London.  We hoped a bus from Hemel Hampstead to Marble Arch, the trip is only 50 mins, before we even left Hemel Hampstead the bus was full and we ended up leaving 9 people behind for the next bus.  


One of the first stops was Lords, there was a England vs. India game on and loads of people walking towards Lords from the tube as we were coming down the street.

We even passed "The Wellington Hospital", didn't know the hospital was right next door to Lords!

Once we arrived at Marble Arch, Mum and I started in Primark for a look around, we found a few things we wanted to try on, so around the back of the store we headed for the dressing rooms, only to find about 50+ people queueing to try things on.  I stood in the queue for around 10 mins went through what I had in the bag and decided there wasn't anything worth losing half a day in London over so dropped the bag off and headed off out the door.


From there we made out way up Oxford street going in and out of shops trying things on here and there.  Finally I found the 02 store.  I walked in and headed for the back of the shop to get my top up, while I was in the queue I looked up to  see Chris O'Dowd (the guy who plays Roy out of the IT Crowd), I could hardly believe it, I was getting my camera out to prove it was him and was thinking to myself what can I get for him to sign, I have to make the most of this!!...so what happens next, the shop attendant approaches starts to ask me all these questions and the next thing Chris gets up and walks out before I can even open my mouth to stop him :o(...what an opportunity lost to say "I'm a Kiwi and we love the IT Crowd, because I can so relate" probably just as well he walked before I totally embarrassed myself.


Next we headed off to Canary Wharf as I had booked us in at the Marriott for Afternoon Tea.  We took the Jubilee Line, this has really been done up for the games next year, they look like the Hong Kong metro now with double doors and the stations are all air conditioned.  The Canary Wharf stop is below Canada Square, so we walked the length of the mall out to a beautiful open area, being a financial area it was full of people having lunch.  A short walk across the road we found the Thames and then the Hotel.  This area is just amazing

Mum and I had a few mins before our booking so had a sit down in the sun to take in the views around us.  We were lucky to have such a great weather day

Once we had our afternoon tea we headed to Kensington High Street as Mum needed to look for something in M&S she had seen there the week before.  Well for the first time I can remember I got my transfers wrong and ended up taking us on the wrong line, pretty funny but didn't take look to get back on track.


After a trip to Kensington M&S it was time to start heading back into the City to meet out bus to take us back to Hemel Hampstead.  We were back in our hotel by 7pm.


We had a great day out but man time flow, tripping around London does take time and believe me although buses are more fun to take the sights in it is still a lot quicker to take a tube!

I have made it to LAX

The flight from Wellington to Auckland was good, pretty full but nice and short.  Because I was confirmed through to London this time I didn't even have to pick my bags up from the domestic terminal...very nice for a change.

I had about an hour and a half in Auckland where I managed to get dinner in the Koru lounge and most importantly use their wireless.

The flight out of Auckland to LAX left on time not completely full which was nice.  It was a first for me to be on a Boeing 777, for a long time Air New Zealand has always had their 747-400's doing the trips to LAX and London.  It was one of their older 777-200 aircraft's not with the new seating.  They are a very different feel a lot more head room, and more baggage room in the cabin.  But I have to say the 747's are still my favourite, at least for now, the next leg is on a new 777-300 so you never know that could change.

On arriving at LAX I think I got the most grumpy customs guy they have.  It took me over an hour to get to the guy as it was but I was still perky, not sure he likes happy, cheerful kiwis, but finally after a dozen questions on why I was only here for 4 hours and didn't take another flight etc. I was let in.  My priority baggage was sitting there waiting for me, the guys had taken it off the belt and put all the priority bag together for us, so wasn't hard to find.  Walked out dropped my bag off and headed out side for some "Fresh Air".

When we were flying in over LA I noticed that you could hardly see the city today for the brown air, it must be the worst I've seen I think.  So I took a quick photo and decided while the queues at security were short I would go through.

Once I got into the terminal I saw the funniest advert, for those of you who have a BlackBerry or know someone who has will also find this funny.  Can't believe Blackberry are even trying to compete with the iPad but here it is, the Blackberry PlayBook

Once I finished having a good snigger at that I checked into Koru, first in the door today as they only open at 1.30pm, just as well it took an age to clear customs.


The lounge has this great view across Terminal 2/3 and out to Tom Bradley where they are doing some construction work, looks pretty major, something I will have to take a good look at on my way home.

So for now I have another 2 hours here in LAX before I get on the next and final leg.  I even managed to get a bit of sleep on the flight and without using the sleeping pills, but if this aircraft has a few empty seats on it I might just see if I can spread myself out and have a good sleep :o)