London continued, and our last Blog.

On a walk through Green park we were lucky to see some squirrel's playing, they are pretty little things but can create problems in the gardens.

The photograph of Jo's feet was taken at Greenwich when we went to see the Prime Meridian. My left foot is western hemisphere and the right foot is eastern hemisphere! It was a very interesting day and completed with a cruise on the river Thames.

One could stay here in London for months and not see everything, but even so, we have had a super time and accomplished everything on the 'list' plus a bit more, even enjoyed an occassional London taxi ride as well.

Sadly only a day or so remains of our holiday, but oh, what a holiday it has been.

We are looking forward to seeing our family and friends again and showing them every single one of the 2000 photos that Jo has taken and the 68 gig of film that Michael has taken!

So here we are, 9 weeks later and 22 different beds later, about to board our plane and head for home. Thankyou for sharing our Blog with us, love Jo and Michael.

London

London is so busy, but exciting, and it has such a great atmosphere. There is so much to do and to see, believe me, our sore feet are proof of that!

We thought the 'flight' on the London Eye was fantastic with such great views, and not nearly as scary as I thought it would be, even standing against the glass didn't phase me, well, not much anyway.

A trip out to see the Lord's cricket ground was super, especially for Michael as it was something he had always wanted to see. The tour was very comprehensive and of course to actually see the Urn with the Ashes, well, what more can I say!

My cousins, Janie, Mick and Judi came to London for an overnight stay, and we met up with them at Covent Gardens for drinks - what a great atmosphere. Afterwards we went on a 'Janie' walking tour who is a seasoned traveller to London. Dinner together completed a great evening, made even more special as I hadn't seen Judi for over 20 years. The following day Janie continued the 'tour' and part of it was to see the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, Big Ben and surrounding gardens. We had a really lovely time with them all, indeed, a lot of fun!

Leicestershire,Family Reunions

We had a lovely week with John and Sue, having time to relax and to catch up with all the family who live nearby. They kindly gave us the key to their home so that we could get about a bit on our own for a couple of days, so on our first day we met up with Mel and Coral. After lunch at the pub (where else when you are in England) and where we were joined by another cousin June, we went back to Mel and Coral's and had a really lovely time chatting, relaxing and catching up on old times.

Whilst at John and Sue's we went for a 'spin' in the Caterham that John built. It was great fun and I was surprised at how comfortable it was. The only problem was getting out of it when we got home, being very low to the ground it was a bit difficult for Jo. A block and tackle or even a hoist was mentioned....

We were able to see all of the family on several occassions which was really special for us as it gave us lots of opportunities to have nice long chats together.Lunch with Pat, a party at Geoff and Janice's, a BBQ at John and Sue's are just some of the lovely things we had together.

My aunt Lil of 96 years was also able to come to a couple of gatherings which made our week extra special. Happy memories.

Edinburgh

Choosing not to go along the motorway we took the A7 instead, from the Lakes District to Edinburgh which was a more scenic drive. We passed through Hawick,the area where the Pringle knitting mills were once the main source of employment in that town. We both liked Edinburgh and found the day at the Castle very interesting. Michael can be seen standing in the doorway to St Margaret's Chapel, the oldest building in the Castle grounds dating back to the 12th century. They must have been very short people in those days.

En-route to the castle we went into the Edinburgh Knitting mills and saw some of the old machinery working, for display purposes only. I found this very interesting and it is a shame it has all closed down now and moved to other shores.

Our visit to see the Royal Yacht Britannia was fantastic. it wasn't as grand as I thought it would be, at least, not by today's standards. We enjoyed tea on board and yes, I remembered to lift the little finger and show a bit of style!

Afterwards we met up with my cousin Ron and his wife Eleanor. I have only met Ron once in my life and that was when I was about 8 years old. It was a wonderful reunion and so good to see them and talk about old family times.

Lakes District

The Lakes District has a natural rugged beauty which we found very appealing. We stayed in Keswick which is a lovely little village with just a short walk through the park to the Derwent Waters. The area attracts many hikers which is not surprising but one needs to be fit! We went on several drives which took us to Windemere, Ullswater, Glenridding and surrounds, it was all delightful and Michael's camera worked overtime!

Cotswolds

We took the advice of Janie and Mick and stayed at Chipping Campden in the Cotswolds, a beautiful village with thatched roof houses and lovely old stone buildings. We were very central and enjoyed driving along the narrow roads and visiting many of the villages nearby. Everywhere was lovely,with pretty gardens, stone walls, green fields, wild flowers and old buildings with heaps of character.

Stratford upon Avon was also a nice place to visit and very interesting, especially to go and see Anne Hathaway's cottage and William Shakespeares birthplace. Bourton on the Water another pretty spot, and very popular with the tourists. Yes, we loved the Cotswolds!

Oxford

During our weekend with Janie and Mick we had a day in Oxford. Janie printed out the 'Inspector Morse walking Tour' from the internet for us to follow which proved to be a great idea, we not only saw many of the places that Morse was featured in on the programs, but also a lot of other places in Oxford. Afternoon tea which included sandwiches, scones, and a variety of tea cakes was just what we needed after our walk and was very much enjoyed by all.