Walking Lots

Up early for drive into Heathrow...Jane was brilliant traffic was heavy but the drop off point for car hire was "questionable " oops ended up in airport centre ...mmmm not good Bill had to wait in pick up area while I tried to find Europcar drop point . Finally "sorted it" ( oh my I'm such a Pom now ) then because Heathrow is so gigantic we had to take a little bus to the correct terminal . Another exercise in logistics. Accomplished !!
Had a couple of hours wait but great shops & more English pounds left in UK ...oh dear ! Bill found the perfect gift Mr Beck £12,000 bottle of 70 year old Scotch .You guys could do a lot of damage to that one ! BUT don't get excited Pete he settle for £15.00 of Mc Leod samples that seem to be already evaporated by half. His excuse being we aren't allowed to bring alcohol on the plane into Aus . Isn't that just so Bill !
Ok flight as always was long & as Bill says "a bitch" Didn't sleep but I had the most interesting old English gentleman on my left & he & I chatted through the entire flight . Bill played his ever faithful iPod sudoku ...
Arrived K.L. no problems fast through immigration then one of those really fast taxi rides from airport to city ...it's some 60 odd k's ...to city centre.
Must admit I was " buggered " the wind down has started to happen couldn't wait to get into our room & sleep.....had about 4 hrs now fine ..

Hi, Bill's bit of blog!! !My dearest Madam was becoming quite tired the other day and in relating our escapades,stated of the future that we were having a little stay in 'Koala Lumpa!'. Much Billy mirth! And here we are.Luv yuz all.

Saturday...very slow day after a very large Indian meal Friday night..well so much food we couldn't get through it all. Had a great night with our English friends Simon & Eleanor...none of us came up for air non stop talk ..oh with Bill & Simon disappearing every now & again. Funny that !
Getting back to Saturday we finally had a late breakfast & took a stroll down the High Street actually looking for a jacket for Bill but everything is summer weight now. No luck ...may actually take some pounds home with us...
We found the Guildford Castle ( bloody old) I sat in the sun & Bill did the climb to the top. Great views but the bit I really liked was the pretty pretty gardens...more spring flowers...oh !
Then off to the river very quaint of course with what are called "narrow" boats ...we didn't take a ride I wouldn't trust " my love" in one of those...
Returned to the hotel for a rest ( watched an old western) then some of Camelot I must have been tired to watch that one.
Eleanor picked us up round four thirty in her red old style London Cab. It was cool to drive around Guildford in the back seat "waving " to my subjects...he he ! Think English pomp & ceremony may be getting to me.
We had a fantastic English style dinner including a fab souffle with a rhubarb base. Very impressed Eleanor don't know if I would be game to try that one with out a stand by just I case. It was a wonderful meal with great company.
Sunday morning Eleanor & Simon picked us up about 11am for a sight seeing tour that I am sure the average tourist never sees. Think probably will be easier to see our photos than for me to carry on at length. One of the most stunning places was Holloway which is part of the University of London....used in some of the filming of Harry Potter movies....oh wow ! the Victorians knew how to make an over the top imposing structure...it was just amazing . We did go to a most charming village Shere for morning tea ...wait for it by the village duck pond. It was so delightful. Surrey is one of the most expensive & beautiful places in England. Of course having sunshine the whole time we have been here has enhanced our pleasure in "olde blighty" or as Bill puts it so eloquently " pommy land"
We got back to Eleanor & Simons delightful home which backs onto one of the commons &met their three daughters for yet another yummy dinner ( English leg of ham cooked in cider & with an amazing crust consisting of curry &&& ....I've forgotten think honey ? May have to emulate that one friends! Whose lining up as a guinea pig ?
The three girls are quite delightful in fact Lucy could move to our place any time. We have plenty of room & she could have all Zkye's extra clothes....he he Zkye !
Lucky lucky me Rachel the middle one is a physio & she actually worked on my back so it may be a little less painful for the trip home. She says it is fixable with just a couple of physio trips...I am so grateful ...Chloe is an IT guru but I didn't need to use her skills so she just drove us back to our hotel ...wonderful three days ...thank you guys so much.
Oops forgot to mention the party trick ...they have Chinese lanterns quite large that you light a combustible thingy & they fly away into the night sky. Guess you could say like mini hot air balloons ...guess we couldnt get any home? Would look cool from our dining room window into the mmmmm dry paddocks . Think that may be a gaol offence .Shame would look pretty cool..
Today Monday we are planning a quiet day just a trip to the High Street to Ted Bakers to buy a gorgeous bag I just have to have. Take another look at a great dress I saw for Z but think I will just copy with a few changes....it's some £400.00 & you just pay for the name in some cases....P.S. friends don't tell anyone ...
Tomorrow morning we board the plane for the damned long leg home to K.L. and a couple of days recovery ...we actually fly out of Heathrow about the time Zkye & Damo land in L.A...Zkye told us to wave at all the planes we see on our way. Mmmmmmm if we saw her plane I think we would be going the wrong way!!

Sorry to those who have been waiting but the very fancy Georgian Country Manor House we stayed in had unreliable , unworking wifi.
Hope I remember the important details of the last couple of days....
Drove out of Portsmouth hanging on GPS Janes directions...oh boy she is wonderful ..narrow country roads with 40 mph limits then onto the "big fast" roads & 70 plus mph...ooooo scary cars passing constantly doing 80 /90 mph BUT Bill was fantastic no panic no drama & he loved the speed of course !!
We were heading to Castle Coombe on our way to Bath. Castle Coombe is the quaintest olde village in the Cotswold Hills. Some of the filming of movie War Horse was done in this village . We actually sat at the same table as Steven Speilburg for lunch ...another ooooo required here!
Very horsey area & gorgeous signs at the doors saying "leave muddy boots at the door but dogs allowed" guess we spent 3 hours having lunch & wandering around. Off to Bath then....once again Jane earned her money found her way round all the roundabouts England has a myriad of.
We stayed at Bailbrook Lodge fully restored Georgian Manor ...four poster bed & all the trimmings, spring flowers in the garden & squirrels running up & down the trees.Champagne for breakfast if we wanted. Not sure why champagne for breakfast but it was on offer.
Yesterday we drove into the city only about 1 mile from our hotel ...took one look at the parking situation drove straight back to Manor House & booked a taxi. Much better idea . We spent 9 hours in the city of Bath ...taking in The Abbey including a stone rememberance to Authur Phillip with an Aussie flag . He is apparently buried at Bath Hampton just a couple of miles down the road. From the abbey to The Roman Baths ..OMG at this stage they are quite an amazing site & to be still working is fantastic...lots to see there. From there lunch in "The High Street"..then horror of horrors I wanted to see an exhibition of fashion through the ages...could have done with one of my female friends at this stage. Casual stoll to the river Avon over the Bath equivalent of The Pont avechio ( can't remember how it's spelt right now ) cool shops but not gold & silver merchants like in Florence. We decided that boat ride would be fun so ended up having a delightful hour on the river. Think it's the most peaceful time we have had in awhile. We were lucky enough to see 2 kingfishers. These are now protected in England & becoming quite rare.
Dinner another cute pub for dinner then taxi back to our 4 poster bed...early night ..another big day.
Next stop Guildford in Surrey... More scary driving down the M4 but all well .. Lovely hotel Radisson Edwardian right in the heart of the city.We have taken a short look around yet another High Street & also the Guildford Museum ...semi historic very interesting. Lunch was at The Three Pigeons ...sensible salad sandwiches for once. Off to dinner with friends tonight. ...

I guess you are all fed up with me saying wow "what an amazing time we have had" but it is true even when Bill was sick the days were amazing. It has just gone on & on . We have made a decision that we need to probably hire a motor home & tour UK for about 3 months. It is the only way we could see it all. Motor home would be a bit easier than going from hotel to hotel...it gets boring frankly! May even enjoy cooking for a while when we get home...he he !! Lucky Bill.
Okay after that little speech we left on the car ferry from Portsmouth bound for the Isle of Wight . Takes about 30 mins across the Solent. Very easy ...landed at Fishbourne & headed into Ryde ...very holiday like in an English kind of way with lots of kitsch crap ( probably made in China ) & amusement parlours... We walked along the esplanade for a few minutes then back to the car & off round the island. Lots of tiny quaint old villages all with High Streets that look like they stepped out of the Victorian or Edwardian days .... Such narrow streets many one way & some that you had to allow on coming traffic to pass . OH MY !
Visited a couple of churches started in the Norman times one in fact established in 600 's AD. We did also find St Mildred's which we feel may have been where Bill's grandma came from. Have to check it out when we get home. This particular church was the one Queen Victoria attended. We even saw the chair she sat on.
Osbourne House the summer house of Queen Victoria was sadly closed. Apparently after Prince Albert died she spent a lot of her time mourning him at this house ( Palace ) she died there in 1901... Damned shame it was closed ..guess that means another trip.
Lunch was fish & chips at a real Pommy caf ..( sorry Eleanor) they were very "yummy"
We didn't manage to see all the island just got too interested in things & time just flew. Ferry left at 5pm so didn't want to miss it.
We had dinner at The Jolly Sailor again...bad bad !!! Bill had pork belly again & I had lamb liver & bacon...all bad but so yum . They cover everything with this thick black gravy...gotta find out what it is....Ann , Eleanor I'm sure you know what I mean. I need the recipe please.
Weather was overcast to start with but did see the sun in the afternoon . Today sun is already shining & we are off to Bath with a little detour to Castle Coombe on the way....so excited ....

Well the trip from Portugal to England went without a problem..Bill as usual sorted out the metro only one tiny mistake but only went onto the wrong platform. No probs flight was fine only a couple of hours. Picked up the car at Gatwick. Bill had pre thought & set the GPS with adrdress of hotel in Portsmouth. So glad we had our GPS I think we went round 40 roundabouts but Jane was so clever & we got Portsmouth in less than one & half hours.
The boutique hotel is gorgeous & apparently was originally built for the Wrigley Family . It's Edwardian..... Very tasteful but of course more bloody stairs. Not as bad as 80 stairs in Barcelona. Think maybe 20 so that's fine. Nah ! Bill says 30... Oh well guess I don't notice these days.
We did go out to dinner last night actually Mothers Day here ...Goodness enormous meals ridiculous even though we didn't have lunch we were struggling to finish. Perhaps we were just too tired though.
Oh on the weather you would not believe it the sun has been shining just lovely...not warm but bright blue skies & sun so who cares...
Today which is Monday & our first full day in England ...what to do ? Yep you guessed it more " God damned " boy stuff. Portsmouth is of course a huge historical port ...enormous I can tell you we started at 10 am going through the HMS Warrior first steel hulled battleship. If you care check it out. Was I do admit quite interesting except the gangways ( stairways) which were very steep & had rope handrails OMG ...not happy me ! Next a harbour cruise showing us both old & current ships of the Royal Navy.
Then on to the biggest prize of all a guided tour of HMS Victory the ship on which Nelson served & actually died on . More climbing up & down & often had to watch & bend heads ...so low the further we went down the ship . Oh we did see a lot on the Mary Rose but she is currently in dry dock till 2016 ....
It was once again a long long day ....very tired.
Tomorrow we have booked the car on ferry over to Isle of Wight should be a great day ...no guns & knives I hope.