"These are a few of our favourite things..." - Part One

Loch Spelve (this is one of those photos, that to me means Scotland)

Beachcombing finds

Inside the loch at Loch na Keal, early morning

Roof detail, The Abbey, Iona

Fingal's Cave ( as taken by Lee)

Puffins on Lunga

The view from Lunga, on a sparkly day.

Caerlaverock Castle

Sunset at Blackwaterfoot Bay, Arran.

Summing up...

Parcels and excess baggage...

Although glad to be back home, the memories come flooding back. If they didn't, there would be no use going!!

We are still getting back the many parcels of stuff we sent to ourselves, to lighten the load. It was mainly receipts, note books, pamphlets, guides, etc., and would have just taken up space in our luggage, and added weight. We still think that if you are prepared to spend a little on Surface Post, and not have it come back to you for possibly 6-8 weeks, then it is a good way to do it, and it is much cheaper than paying excess baggage rates.

Either that or just don't accumulate things!

That isn't easy, when some of the guide books or pamphlets, or postcards are often the best way of keeping information of where you've been. A case in point are the postcards you can buy quite cheaply, but are often much better than some shots you can get yourself, i.e. aerial shots of cities or areas.
So, the only thing to come now is another tube in which there are a couple of posters. It is the best way to get these back without them being folded or crumpled.

Photos...

We took over 4,000 photos between us and Lee has now got them all sorted together in folders relevant to the areas we went to or the things we did. It is just great to go back over them all and recall the wonderful things we saw and did together, and it makes the memories of long flights fade away, and you realise that it was all sooooo worth it!

It will make a good "slide show", if only for our own family.

Driving in the UK...

By the end of the time we had the car, I was so glad to be rid of it. Not for any other reason than that I was sick of driving. It can be very stressful, as there are so many more cars and trucks and vehicles in the UK.
Of course the locals all know what they want to do and where they want to go, and you just have to adjust and go with that flow. It isn't easy, but the signage, and the indicators, and the lane markings are all very well done. It takes a while to get used to "Miles per hour", and the fact that your hired car is manufactured in Europe, so the indicator is on the "wrong" side for you, and conversely so is the windscreen wiper!!!

Depending on what you want to do, and how many of you there are traveling, YOU DON'T NEED A BIG CAR in the UK!!!! The roads other than the big freeways are quite small, and there is never enough parking in the UK, so a big car is more trouble.
Of course you must have enough room for all you luggage, and what we did when we knew which bags we were taking, was to suss out the type of car we were aiming at, and finding the same model here in Australia. That way you can gauge for yourselves if the car will suit your purposes, and local car dealers are only too happy to let you have a look at their vehicles.

Sometimes you want everyone to know that you are a tourist,and make allowances for the things you do wrong. But other times you don't want that, because then they know the car might be hired and there might be valuables inside!

We chose not to have GPS as Lee is an excellent navigator. Once I got to England (on both trips), I had no idea which way was which, and so I relied heavily on Lee knowing what she was doing, and we didn't go wrong too many times.

If you want to drive a lot in the UK, make sure you check out all the things that are covered, like being able to take a hired car on ferries. Other companies may have changed their terms, but to my knowledge only Hertz covers you for ferry travel. Petrol is always going to be a problem and we were paying about $2AUS per litre, but you just have to accept the conditions at the time you go, and enjoy it all.


You will enjoy it because there is so much to see that you can't get to easily without a car. Also,  to compare what we did for 11 weeks, with having to do it all by other means, like trains and buses, it simply wouldn't have been possible, and much more expensive.

Food...

Food in general is excellent, and the quality of some foods available was good, but over the entire 3 months, there were no really memorable meals!

We did have a lovely lunch with our dear friend in Wales, but that was home cooking. Other than that there was an excellent Chinese meal in Ardrossan, Scotland, in a small restaurant which belied the quality of the food served. It was some of the best chinese food we'd ever had.

Another of the better meals was on the island of Aaran, in the B & B we stayed at, and that was more like home cooking as well, and so beautifully cooked and served.

For all the rest, there were far too many Pub meals, and like many other countries, the servings have become too large, and in many cases we could happily have shared one meal between us. 

Ham in England is great, and the meat is good too. In all the places we stayed where we had self-catering, we were nearly always able to avail ourselves of local produce, and these meals were a really welcome change from pub and hotel meals.

Coffee is still way behind some other countries and like a lot of places in Australia, they have no idea of how to make a good cup of coffee!   In the few instances we asked for double shots in the hope of getting some strength and flavour, it was either just the equivalent of a normal shot of coffee, or they took us literally, and the coffee was almost too strong. 

(My conspiracy theory on coffee, worldwide, is that many of them are cheapening down on the quality of the beans, and perhaps not even delivering a full shot per cup. There were so many instances of coffee tasting so bland and weak, as to be not worth having. I think in many places we are being ripped off!!!)

There are enough restaurants to be found, but like elsewhere, they range from greasy spoons to very up-market establishments with high prices to match! And you really can't afford to eat out in style every night anyway, or you'd never have any money left for other things. The other thing we didn't do was make an effort to go and find "better" restaurants. This was mainly because places we stayed were away from the city centres. Then of course when you find a better class of restaurant, you then pay exorbitant prices for "twee" meals, usually of stacked food and a dribble of sauce on the plate! 
Not my idea of a good meal. 

Vegetables are universally badly done. I know the industry thinks people like "al dente", (and that is of course preferable to mushy veg), but "al dente" at least indicates that the veg has at least been partly cooked!  In some cases it was more like just warmed-over fresh veg!

Lunches on the go are easy, as all you need then is a good sized roll or rolls and some ham and cheese or whatever, and some fruit juice. Simple and filling. Local baking is also good too, like pasties and pies. Bread isn't a strong thing with the Brits, and the best we had was usually that bread from a local bakery like the one in St Mawes, Cornwall, where they make just so much and when it all sells, and it does, that's it till the next day.

Wine - when you know you can get a bottle for your daily tipple in Canberra for about $14, then think 14 Pounds in the UK, which comes out at about $21. But like everything else, if you are going to be living in another country (or countries) for that amount of time, you just have to do it, or you won't enjoy your time away as much as you could.

Fish and chips...

So disappointing. We don't like Cod, and the choices for other fish, (depending on where you are), are not extensive.  Chips vary a lot too, and they say the best are cooked in beef dripping, but generally the ones you get in pubs, etc., are OK when they get to you, but they can be very iffy, and range from excellent to very poorly done. Oh well... 

Supermarkets are generally excellent. The checkout people are very friendly, and they all sit down! The layouts are almost all the same withing each chain, and so you know what to expect when you go in.
The range is excellent in almost all foods, but the majority of it is all pre-packaged. Some of this is good as they are generally fresh, with long use-by periods. It is strange tho to see beans from West Africa, carrots from Holland, and onions etc, from Spain or wherever. 
The things we would have loved to avail ourselves of were the artisan cheese shops, or other places selling local produce, but because you don't have access to a fridge on a daily basis, it becomes difficult to keep anything beyond a couple of days.

Next, all the favourites... 

Narita to Sydney...and the end of the holiday

Tuesday, 5th July, (into Wednesday, 6th)

The long, long flight from London is exciting at the beginning as you know you are flying back over the top of the world, (plus heading home), and flying over some of the countries you have just recently visited. It goes up and over Sweden and Norway, and then across Siberia and Russia, and comes down from the north-west into Tokyo.

But, it becomes soooooo boring!!!! And you think the 12 hours or so will never be over. We had good flights and thankfully no sudden bumps and drops, which pleased me so much.

There were not many vacant seats between London and Tokyo, and the majority of course were Japanese. You wonder where they had been since the earthquake, and what they might be going back to. As a culture, they seem so serene and placid, and who knows what is going on in their minds. All the staff and flight personnel were always so friendly, and we wouldn't hesitate to fly with them again if the chance arose.

On this return trip we weren't staying overnight, but just laying over at the airport, and this isn't as bad as it might be, as we have access to the Sakura Lounge, where you can have a very peaceful time, eat something, and even shower and change if you wish. We had brought with us a change of shirt each, and so after a wash, we felt much better. However, it wasn't easy to work out when to eat, and what, but since our flight wasn't leaving until 8.00pm, we needed something by mid-late afternoon, and so had some really nice and tasty chicken wings and some yummo bread.

The meals on the JAL flights are quite pleasant and you get a good variety of food, although breakfast isn't one of their better meals. We ate again only a couple of hours before we landed at 2.00pm in the afternoon, Japan time.

It was actually still Tuesday when we boarded our flight to Sydney, (and to fly eastwards, you go into the other time zone). We also we had a plane with a slightly different configuration of seats, but we still had the seats at the front with the better space.
Whereas the flight from London was full, this one was quite empty, and in our section of about 32 seats, only 16 or so were taken. 

There was a group of young Aussie guys who boarded, and they were shown the way down at the rear to Economy. One of them appeared in our section and proceeded to make himself comfortable in the seat across from us. His mates tried it too, but it didn't last, and the flight attendant quietly asked him/them for their boarding passes, and it was obviously not his allocated seat, and she very politely asked him to go with her, and she directed him back to Economy.
I guess if they'd gotten away with it, then OK, but the rest of us paid a lot more to sit where we were.

Lee and I were both very tired when we boarded and so were able to get some sleep, albeit in fits and starts, and so by the time we got to Sydney we were exhausted, and snapping at each other a little.

There had been a little turbulence on route, but nothing drastic, and then all of a sudden you could see that we were over land again, coming down over Cape York and Queensland.

We later found out there were very strong winds in Sydney, and that many flights had to be cancelled, and our plane had to circle around a few times, and came in over the sea onto the runway out into Botany Bay. There was a lot of rocking and bumping as we landed and, and also whilst braking. I think good pilots deserve all the money they get.

The airport curfew lifts in Sydney at 6.00am, and they must know they have many flights coming in and I guess they cope the best way they can. We had declared some wooden items, and my medication, and I had bought some tomato seeds at Wisley. 

All the staff there (at Wisley), tell you that it should be OK as they are sealed in foil. NOT SO. 

The lady who finally checked us through actually showed me her computer screen, on which there are huge lists of those plants/seeds which are allowed. And those I had bought were not there, so we couldn't bring them through. Silly thing is, that with all the confusion, and the clamour in the customs hall, I almost forgot to mention them, and might have walked straight through!!! 
She confiscated the packets and gave me the website address where I might check for myself. The other thing was, when I did see her list, all the entries were for Lycopersicum esculentum, which is the Latin name for tomato, but then they list varieties, many of which are passed, and if mine were not listed then they couldn't be allowed. 
Fair enough too, but I might send a note to Wisley to ask them to inform their staff.

Stupid thing was, I didn't write down the names of those I wanted to bring in, in case they become available at a later time.

We got through customs, and then our bags went through to Qantas for the flight to Canberra, and we joined the throng waiting for the shuttle to the Domestic Terminal, passing on the way, the Murrays Bus loading passengers for Canberra. 
Now I wish we had booked for the bus, even tho it would have meant another three hours traveling.


The flight to Canberra was going to be on a turbo-prop aircraft, (Dash-400). I already had a bad feeling about this, and it would be confirmed when we heard from the pilot that there was severe turbulence over Sydney, which had resulted in the cancellation of some flights, but ours was going ahead!!!
Even before we moved away from the terminal the starboard engine was making some terrible noises, and I was already panicking. Lee, as usual, tried to calm me down.
Then, after some horizontal movement pushing the plane sideways, and the pilot announced that once we had made some height in the middle of the flight, things would be calmer, but we expected to have very strong winds and cloud cover on our approach to Canberra!!!

That's all you need at the end of 30 hours of traveling!!!

Some turbulence was an understatement, and we bumped and rocked down on to the runway, and most of the passengers were now very quiet, and Lee noticed a lady in front holding her Crossword in a vice-like grip, and two ladies across the aisle, who had been chatting away, had gone very quiet indeed! Lee said she just hoped that, even tho it had been one of the worst flights from Sydney, that we wouldn't have to be diverted to another airport.


As I left the plane the flight attendant thanked me for flying with them, and I replied that never would I get on one of these planes again!!


Melanie was waiting for us in the arrivals hall, and after big hugs all round, and a quick search  for a jacket against the cold, we got our four bags and came home to Gowrie.


We loved 97% of what we had done over the past 3 months, but it was so good to be home.

On a bridge over a raging river in Olden, Norway.

To the three or so readers who might have been keeping up with us on this blog, thanks, and we hope at least some of our "adventures" were of interest.

Next - The BIG Summary...

Buses and Airports - (Southampton to London)...

Monday, 4th July

With the hotel not having air-conditioning, we slept poorly on the night before we went up to London for the flight home. I did inform them at Reception, and was told no, there wasn't cooling in the rooms. Thankfully we were able to open the windows, and I thought if we get mosquitoes or anything, we'll just have to put up with it.The only problem was that we knew we wouldn't have proper sleep for the next couple of nights on the way home.

Breakfast was fine, and afterwards we walked into town to post off our parcels, (which to date haven't arrived here in Canberra). Everything else we sent home along the way has arrived, in good order, and we had sent it all Surface Mail knowing we wouldn't be back home for a while. However, these last two things still haven't come, and we've been home since the 6th July!

I suppose they will still come, as we were told originally that it would take 6-8 weeks.

So, a taxi took us the short trip around to the bus station and we were there in plenty of time and as it was a cool morning, we were quite comfortable waiting the 30 minutes. The bus seats were actually quite comfortable, and we were able to sit back and enjoy the trip, without having to concentrate on the traffic.

There were two stops, one at Winchester, which looked to be a very attractive town, with an important cathedral, and then Basingstoke, which is quite the opposite, and looks very much more modern and industrial.

The trip was mostly on the M3, and apart from a short section on another road after Basingstoke, we got back onto the M3, and saw a sign which said, "queues likely for the next 16 miles". Not long after seeing the sign, we did slow down to a crawl, but it was because of an accident of some sort up ahead. Still, we were glad we didn't opt to taking the car back to the Hertz depot at Heathrow ourselves, as we were not sure we'd have coped with negotiating all the correct turn-off lanes etc. The bus driver obviously does it every day, and apart from a few passengers at one of the other terminals, most of us were going on to Terminal 3.

We got  a trolley and had to manage our own bags for only a short distance, but we were too early at 2.00pm, and found out that the Japan Airlines checking office wouldn't be manned until 4.30pm! There were huge numbers of people around and so we found a spot in a Pret a Manger cafe and had some very nice sandwiches, but then had to find another spot to sit and wait for check-in.

Gordon went down again about 3.00pm or so and found they were open, and they were not sure why we had been told such a late time. We were finally rid of the bags for a while, as they were checked right through to Canberra, but we would have to collect them in Sydney to personally take them through customs, and then re-check them for the flight to Canberra.

It was ( and is), well worth the extra money we paid for Premium Economy, as we then were able to escape the noise of the other departure lounges and head into the sanctuary that is the Flight Lounge. It was so quiet, (except for the drawl of an elderly lady from the southern states of America), and you are able to just sit back and relax and eat if you want to. 
Drinks are laid on, of any description, and everyone there is either in our seat class, or Business or even First. If you are going to go this far on any trip, save some more money and get the better tickets!

Steeling ourselves for the long flight to Narita, we bought some extra water in case they ran out again and we didn't want to be dehydrated. We had seats in the front of our section and this allows plenty of legroom, as this is where they put young babies in bassinettes when couple fly with young kids. You can't always get these seats if there are those requirements for babies.

Still, over 12 hours of flying, the seats get more and more uncomfortable, and it doesn't matter how much you shift around, the bum gets numb. If I ever do something like this again, I am going to save up even more, and get a Business Class seat!!!

We did both get some sleep, as we had been deprived during the one night in the hot room at Southampton. I guess weariness just takes over and you have to nod off.

Next - time zone change, and the trip home...

Southampton and then back to Oz...

Sunday, 3rd July

I wasn't really looking forward to the end of this cruise. Not because it meant the end of 15 fairly relaxing days, but for the thought of the next few days, and getting home to Australia.

The cruise was only taken because of where it went, and that allowed us to see Iceland, and Norway, and Brugges, but I will never go on another large cruise ship again, (unless of course I don't have to pay for it!!). We were comfortable, well "watered" and fed, although we both thought the buffet food on this ship was not as good as we had had on the Sapphire Princess when we did the cruise from New Zealand to Sydney.

So, having arrived at Southampton by 7.00am, we had been asked to vacate the rooms by 8.00am to give the cabin staff and others, time to get everything done for the next cruise which would leave tonight. Sunny morning and because we'd all vacated our rooms, the buffet was very crowded, and so we had ours at a table on the deck, near the pool.

Not much to do but wait until called according to the colour-coded cards we'd been allocated. Ours was Orange, and we were told we'd be called about 9.30. However, the first groups were called about 8.45am, and so we were then off the ship by 9.30.

The bags are arranged in alphabetical order by deck letter, in a huge shed on the wharf. They are not necessarily together, and so everyone goes looking. I later found out that there are hundreds of trolleys for passengers' use, but they are at the other end of the hall, and you are not advised of that. Having retrieved a trolley, we found our bags, and then proceeded out to get a taxi.
We had always decided to stay the night here before we headed up to Heathrow for the flight home. The taxi took us to the Novotel, and although when I phoned them, we were told we couldn't have the room until 2.00pm, there was in fact one ready, which was a great relief, and it was just after 10.00am.

Novotel Southampton does not have air conditioning in the rooms!!! 
It was warm and we changed into cooler clothes and had a rest before going down to the city for lunch. We had booked on a bus for the trip tomorrow to the airport, and wanted to find out where it was, and although it wasn't far, it was too far to try and drag four bags, etc. We got our bus tickets, and then to lunch.
Went to the Post Office and found a tube to send some posters home, along with yet another parcel to lighten the load in the luggage. What with the things we'd purchased along the way, we now had the four bags and two carry-ons for the flight. Thankfully Japan Airlines had changed their luggage allocation since we've been away, and so we would not be worried about excess baggage.


Walked over to a restaurant called Franky and Benny's, with whom we'd had a pleasant experience back in Chichester, but this time it wasn't as good.

THE CRUISE - "Home" to Southampton...

Day Sixteen - Sunday, 3rd July

The departure from Zeebrugge is fairly bland, as there isn't much to see. Just a few local yachts and boats came out to see us off. Once outside the sea walls we went along the coast for a small way and then because the sea lanes are so crowded in the Channel, we had to merge in with other vessels, coming and going from Zeebrugge and other places. There were a couple of cargo ships going the same way as us, but with the liner's speed, we soon overtook them.

As this was our last night aboard, we decided to at least go to the main dining room and say goodbye to the other couples. Nice meal, and we all talked about what we'd done, but Lee and I still can't remember the names of the two ladies at our table. We'd spent the afternoon organising our bags and had them in the hall before dinner, and then went down for last drinks at the Glass House, and say goodbye to Mukesh. We had spent quite a lot of time in there over the course of the trip, (mainly because it wasn't on the list of restricted places on Formal nights), so we wanted to wish him well with the rest of his time on the cruises. He apparently is contracted until September, and then goes home to Mumbai for a break.

The sea was amazingly calm again, and getting near to sunset, I went on the balcony and tried some photos of the sunset itself, and discovered a vast "forest" of wind turbines out in the water. There were rows and rows of them, and if we have guessed correctly, we had gone to the north-east, and these were the turbines off the south-east coast of the UK, out from Foreness Point, at the top of Kent, near the Thames estuary.

Tomorrow - disembarkation chaos...

THE CRUISE - Zeebrugge, Belgium...

Day Fifteen - Saturday, 2nd July

Today is our last sailing day to the last port we will visit, Zeebrugge. We were awake in time to see the entry to the port, which we think is purpose built for cargo, as there is a huge dock area, with cranes and movers and such.

There are also large sea walls, and one side of these has been used for several wind turbines. Just a great use of space. Although we didn't go to the talk about this port, there still isn't very much information about what to do and where to go. There were shuttle buses, and we discovered you could go into Blankenberge, which is a town right on the channel. From here you can get the train to Brugge (Bruges), or just stay in Blankenburge and ride on a tramway which goes up and down the coastline. 

Along with many others, we opted for the train ride to Brugge, having heard so much about it from other sources, and our own research.

 The town is very pretty and has modern apartments in the centre, along with some older buildings, and something we hadn't seen before, a double-decked Carousel! There are wide avenues and some wonderful shops, including the most magnificent bakery I have ever seen!! (should have taken a photo). The range of beautiful breads and cakes was astonishing, and so well presented. The avenue goes down to the sea, and you can look out onto the Channel, and along the beachfront in either direction are row upon row of apartments.

We had missed the last train, (every hour on Saturday), and so got in line and bought tickets for the next one, and then wandered through the town to the sea. However all the announcements at the train station are in Flemish/German(?), and you have to be aware and ask lots of questions. When we got back to catch the train, we had a nice coffee at the station cafe. We ordered cappuccinos, but when they came they were good coffee, but with a dollop of cream on top and some chocolate sprinkled, a bit like a vienna coffee but very nice.


Out on the platform the train was already there, and we had to ask if that was the next one to Brugge, and it was and we were able to board straight away and get a seat, even tho it wasn't going for another 10-15 minutes. The couple we sat opposite, were English and we moved along, past fields of crops and and farmland and Friesian cows, and wind turbines. 

 (Two views along the seafront at Blankenberge, left and below. Seems to be a regulation regarding heights of buildings, and so looks like a very long wall, especially when you view it from out at sea)

This couple were very anti the turbines, and also anti the current government over the number of refugees coming into Britain. This last sentiment is very wide spread and we got it from many of the people on board. (Those same people who were very happy to be served by Indian and Pakistani waiters and cabin staff!)

We were told it was a fair walk to the centre of Brugge, and thought we might catch the local bus, but there was already a long queue, and so along with many others, walked into town. It is actually quite flat, and very pleasant walking through the parks. We emerged from the pathway, into a street set up for a market day, with many stalls selling all and sundry, and finally found the main square.

The surrounding streets are narrow, but the overall look of the square is just stunning, and despite the crowds, it still is a very beautiful town to look at. Lots of shops selling lace, and chocolates, and we got a small tin of those, and some really nice Belgian tapestry cushion covers, and they will go in the lounge room at home, along with the others we got in England.


Lee said it reminds her of the Grand Place at Brussels, although smaller, and the buildings are beautiful, and so much to see around you. Hundreds of tourists, this being a Saturday, and many tours going on, along with some wonderful horse drawn carriages with tourists aboard.
Also many cafes outside the buildings.


We wandered around and found where they do the canal rides around the city, but already there were long queues, and many already enjoying the spectacle. Belgians seem to be very fond of flowers and there were many boxes of geraniums, etc., everywhere.

They also seem to be very proud of their towns as we saw no evidence of litter, or no shabby areas. Lunch was in a cafe looking out to the canals, and we had Croque Monsieur, (toasted cheese and ham sandwiches), and some frittes (fries), but these weren't as good as we thought they'd be. Washed down with a really tasty local beer.


After much wandering, we made our way back to the station, but got a little lost and after asking some locals, found the canal and the park through which we'd come. The next train was not for 30 minutes, and so we waited on the platform with many other Azura passengers.


Trains in Belgium, (or at least those we were involved with), are run very efficiently, and those we saw depart from the platform whilst we waited, left exactly on time. Many of the English people with us all said they wished British Rail could be so efficient!


Another pleasant ride back, and this time we sat opposite a Scottish couple who wanted more wind farms!! The shuttle buses were due to go back from near the park, but there were quite a few of us, and it was a bit chaotic, but we all managed. 
Quiet afternoon aboard ship, and we were supposed to leave port by 5.00pm, and many of those on tour had gone to far destinations like Brussels itself, which was 60 miles away. They all managed to get back on time.

Tonight we also had to organise our luggage so that it could be left in the hallway to be unloaded onto the dock in Southampton tomorrow morning. So all we had to take ashore were our carry-on bags.
Tonight is also the night we organise the tips for our cabin steward. Those who have spent every night in the set restaurant usually give a tip to the waiters, but as we had hardly been there, we didn't feel the need. Besides, we didn't really think they were that good.

We did go down for a last drink at the Glass House and have some photos done with Mukesh, our favourite drink waiter. We did give him a tip for himself, as he had been such a delight and attended to our needs in such a friendly manner
.

Still, we did also give an envelope to the cabin steward, as he had maintained our living areas really well for the whole two weeks. OK it's his job, and depending on how many cabins he is responsible for, he would do very well. It is suggested you give so much per person per day, although it isn't compulsory, but everyone seems to do it. However, perhaps the company should "build-in" the tips into the salary structure, and then people wouldn't have to agonise over it, especially when most English people are not accustomed to tipping. 


Hard to believe it will all be over tomorrow, as we've had some wonderful memories.