Au revoir

I don't think I've ever felt this sad to catch a plane. Usually, by the end of a holiday I'm ready to come home. To return to the comfort and familiarity of home, the routine of work, the company of family and friends. This time I'm not ready. Not at all.

My flight leaves Heathrow at 11:25am. I decided to get to the airport as early as possible and then relax there. I'll be able to use the Singapore Airlines lounge. I woke at my usual 5:00 and had my coffee while reading the social media feeds. Because the hotel is so close to the Picadilly line it made sense just to catch the underground. I was on the train by 7:00. The last carriage was only half full.

Getting out at Terminal 2. 

The check in and security processes were quite quick. Walking to the gates and lounges however, seemed to take forever. But I'm here now. I had a good breakfast and now it's just a matter of waiting. 

Looking back, I made a list (of course): 

• 36 days (38 by the time I get home) 
• 7000+ photos
• 7 flight legs
• 7 intercity train journeys
• 11 hotels/apartments
• 0 delays
• 0 cancellations
• 0 booking stuff ups
• +10 kilos of books and other purchases
• +2-3 kilos of me (too many full English breakfasts, morning teas and pints)
• Countless memories

Au revoir England. See you again very soon, I hope. ❤️

Last day

Today was my last full day in England (insert sad face, mournful violins and distant sobbing sounds). The weather was overcast. I had originally planned to visit the Imperial War Museum as Duxford but my friend Jerome suggested I might enjoy Hampstead Heath so I headed there instead. I took the tube (2 lines) to Hampstead. From there it was just a short walk through some lovely streets. 

When I reached Hampstead Heath my first task was to find Parliament Hill. Jerome said you get great views of the city. He was right.  Epic!

From there I wandered around the Heath. It's essentially a large park but with a really natural feel and right on London's doorstep. 

After about an hour of walking I was feeling tired and decided to head back. By the tube station I noticed this telephone box cafe.  

And there was a really cute walk off the Main Street. 

Though, this was a little out of place. 

Shortly I'll start the task of packing my bags. I've bought quite a lot so there will be much reorganisation. Lucky I have a generous allowance on my flights.  

Its been an amazing holiday! I feel like I've been away for ages - months - and I've seen so much. I'm not ready to come home but I know I have to. If I could, I would move here without hesitation. But I know that's not possible. So I plan to keep coming back and exploring until I can get it out of my system. I've already started working on next year's trip! 

Trying not to think about it

Last night I caught up with friends Emma and Sibs for dinner at a Peruvian restaurant in Shoreditch. It was great to see them and the food was fantastic. On my way to the restaurant I spotted this building and had to take a snap. I think the way they've played with perspective is brilliant! 

Last night wasn't late, but after Sunday night's effort it was still difficult getting myself activated this morning. I only had some very vague plans for the day so I headed towards the Thames. The walk took me through Chelsea and then along the Thames until the Houses of Parliament. I don't remember walking along that part of the Thames before.  

It was a perfectly clear morning and the browns and reds of bricks and tiles against the vivid blue sky looked stunning.

I passed this bike slowly being digested by the undergrowth.

The tide was exceptionally low on the Thames with many boats beached along the shores. 

The walk along the embankment took me a couple of hours but it was nice to stroll and take photos of things as they caught my eye.

I spent a little bit of time sitting in one of the parks along side the Thames. Luckily, I don't think I broke any of these rules. 

At one stage there were two very large and very loud black army helicopters hovering over part of the city. I haven't seen anything that beefy over the city before and it was a little unnerving

Eventually I made it to Covent Garden. I wanted to get a print I'd seen at the start of my trip and to visit the London Transport Museum. When I first arrived I went to the open day at the London Transport Museum depot not realising that there was actually a museum in the city. So today I checked it out. Understandably, it was teeming with school kids so navigating around was a little tricky. But worth it all the same. 

This is the inside of one of the older tube trains. Very different to these days. 

There's currently a design exhibition on and this model of Picadilly Circus station was fascinating. I really got a sense of how complex the network of tunnels is below the surface.  Quite mind blowing that it all works, actually.

By this time my energy was waning. I checked my map and discovered that a tube station nearby would take me directly to Earl's Court where the hotel is. It was a sign. Now I'm resting up before heading out to catch up with another friend. 

Tomorrow is my last day in England and I'm trying my hardest not to think about it.

Oops

The plan was to go to Horse Meat Disco last night and check out the new look and sound system, stay for a couple of hours, then head home. Things didn't go according to plan (details not required) and today has been a very slow day as a result. Not that I'm complaining. Wouldn't have changed any of it! 

When I did eventually get out and about I visited the Victoria & Albert Museum. When I went there at the start of my trip there were some books I was interested in but didn't want to weigh down my luggage too early. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to find the exact books but did buy another one.

There was also a new installation there as part of engineering month. Thanks for the tip off Andy, I wouldn't have looked for it otherwise. There's a robot/machine that is spinning this structure out of carbon fibre over the course of the month.

I took a few photos on the way to the museum and back but nothing worth posting here. Tonight I catch up with friends Emma and Sibs. We're going to a Peruvian restaurant. 

On the home stretch

The weather settled down last night so I was up early to see what the lake would offer me this morning. She didn't disappoint. I could have spent hours taking photos as the light changed. 

But I had an appointment with a train to London. Before leaving, I took some photos of the light from the skylights in the hotel. 

The trip was a little convoluted due to maintenance work. I had a bus trip from Windermere to Oxenholme. Another from Oxenholme to Lancaster. Then finally the train to London. It was express for more than half the journey and very comfortable. The scenery was a mix of what I've seen so far. I took this photo on the bus.

The train was operated by Virgin. Nice to see Virgin still have a sense of humour over here. I think Virgin Australia have lost that, which is a shame because I feel it gave them a point of difference to the competition.

My final hotel is in Earls Court. Very handy location. The room is tiny, but very funky and cosy. Will do nicely for the end of my trip. 

London to Plymouth

In some ways, flying from Bergen to London was the easy part of today. My final destination was Plymouth which will be my Cornwall base for the next 4 days. All I had to do was catch the Gatwick Express to London Victoria station, the Victoria line underground to Kings Cross, the Hammersmith line underground to Paddington then the train to Plymouth. Easy. The underground part of the trip was particularly convoluted because of maintenance - ordinarily I should have been able to catch the Circle line straight from Victoria station to Paddington. 

Anyway, I'm pleased to say it all went without a hitch. There were a few steps I had to navigate with cases, but overall it wasn't too bad. And once I finally made it to the train I pampered myself with a first class ticket to relax and take in the view. 

The train trip took 3.5 hours and I even managed to get to Plymouth a couple of hours earlier than I'd expected.

And the view was stunning. Third day in a row of incredible vistas. I feel so fortunate.  

Around Reading I saw lots of canals with barges. 

Then endless fields and towns. 

For a little while we tracked the south Devon coast. 

Before returning to green fields. 

When I arrived in Plymouth I just needed to walk 15 min to my accommodation.  Plymouth isn't a particularly picturesque town/city, but it will be a good base. As soon as I arrived I headed out to explore. I made my way to the shore and discovered you could walk up the old lighthouse. That was a good way to get a sense of the place. But then my camera battery died (and I hadn't swapped over my spare from the other bag) and it started to spot with rain. I decided to call it a day.​

This time I'm staying in more guest house-like accommodation. Small, cosy but very well presented. I wasn't quite sure when I first arrived but I've warmed to it already. I'm sitting in the little bar sipping a beer while writing this blog. Nice.

Bergen to London

Today is the end of my Scandinavian adventure. All of it has been great, but the train trip to Bergen and the fjord cruise are the highlights. My flight to London departed at 7:10am so I had to be up early ... and miss the buffet breakfast which was really good yesterday! Oh well, the perils of travel. 

The flight took 2 hours and I managed to snap a few pictures along the way. These are of the fjords as we left. 

This is a HUGE wind farm off the English coast. I think it was near the Thames estuary. 

And then here are some pictures of the landscape as we approached Gatwick. 

I sat next to a young American couple on the plane. Although we didn't say anything on the flight we had a good chat as we trekked our way to border control. They had an 8 hour stopover in London before heading on to Ireland. They were excited about seeing what they could fit in. 

On the train to Bergen I also chatted with an older Australian couple from Victoria. They are part way through a mammoth European adventure. They got off the train before me at Flam. I wasn't sure of their plans after that. Well today as I approached the queue to border control they were in the line immediately ahead of me! They are a lovely couple and it was nice to see them again. 

Leaving London (for now)

Today I leave London for my little Scandinavian adventure. The sky in London is beautiful and blue this morning. Would have been great for photos. Oh well.  I'll be back. I got myself organised fairly quickly. My plan was to get a taxi to St Pancras station then the train to Luton Airport for my flight.

Once again, the taxi driver was very amiable and talkative. Such a nice experience. My primary reason for catching he train was for the scenery. If I took a taxi all the way I figured I'd probably only see motorway. Once at the station it took a bit of figuring out but I got to the platform and boarded my train. At first the view was just the usual inner city landscape, but then it opened up to wide fields and small towns. 

At Luton Airport Parkway we needed to change to a shuttle bus to get to the airport. Trying to get my back onto the luggage rack in the bus was a challenge but I got there with a little help. At the bag drop counter I discovered my bag was just on 20kg which is my limit for these short flights. The books I've bought already have really added to the weight.  

I was at the airport early so had just about an hour to wait. I'd rather be at the airport early than have to worry about missing a flight. But it did remind me that flying in the middle of the day wastes so much of the day. If I had flown later I would have been able to do something in London in the morning.  While waiting for my flight I reflected on how I was about to immerse myself in non-English speaking lands again. I haven't done that for an extended period since my trip in 2013.

The flight up was a bit bumpy. The plane was an A319 and its noises were unfamiliar to me. I have to confess it was a bit unnerving. But eventually it settled down and I got a good view of some rain in the distance then some English countryside.

Somewhere around the North Sea or Denmark we crossed these islands. 

Before crossing the island where Copenhagen is. 

The airport is huge and I took ages just to walk to the exit and through passport check. As with leaving Australia and entering the UK I seemed to draw some extra attention that warranted a little "interrogation". Just specific questions about what I was planning to do and why I was there. Not everyone appeared to get these questions. I guess a middle aged man travelling all that way on his own on holiday might not be common?

Eventually I was reunited with my bag and any lingering concerns about flying with easyJet were dispelled. Despite some bad ratings I've had a great experience with them both times.

As with London, I decided to catch the train into central Copenhagen and then a taxi to the apartment hotel. Of course this time was trickier due to language but I made it without hitch. The trains seem much roomier than the English trains and very new. It only took about 15 minutes and before long I was in a taxi. I managed to communicate the address to the driver successfully only to discover his English was as good as mine.  Another very amiable and talkative driver too. I had been told that most people here speak English well and that certainly seems to be the case so far.

I'm staying in an apartment hotel which means I've got a bit more space and facilities to make my own breakfast and meals if I want. But there's also a restaurant and bar too. 

The weather in Copenhagen was grey, about 6 degrees and damp. By this time it was around 4:30 so after checking in I rushed to get some warmer clothes on and head out to explore.

Right next to the hotel is Kastallet which appears to have been an old fortification but is now mainly a public space with barracks in the centre. 

As in London, I came across trees in blossom. 

After exploring the grounds I walked towards some docks and came across this incredibly intricate sculpture.  

Nearby I noticed dragons at the top of the light poles. Later, at dinner, I would notice dragons in a different design on other light poles. Must have some significance. I will investigate.

By now it was nearly 6:30pm and I was starting to get hungry. So I headed back. On the way, I came across this family. 

There's a supermarket on the corner of the hotel's block so I popped in for breakfast supplies. With a little guesswork I (hopefully) managed to work out the fat and sugar content labels in order to make some healthy choices (and I successfully resisted the muesli with chocolate pieces)

Dinner in the hotel restaurant was in order before a relatively early night. 

Weather update

My last morning in London (until the end of the trip) and there's a glorious blue sky at last. Never mind, the grey didn't stop me doing anything.

As usual there's the steady stream of planes flying over London. 

I just checked the forecast for my next stop Copenhagen. 5 degrees and chance of snow! I hope so. 

Castle time

As expected, I was in bed early last night, before 9:00pm. But I desperately needed the sleep and I think the rest has helped me to shake off the last of the jet lag. I still woke up early, but that's just me. 

The initial plan for today was to meet a friend for coffee in Camden and then maybe wander around the markets. The forecast wasn't too bright so I thought this was a wise move. However, as the sun came up it was looking better than I expected so I changed plans. I was also feeling a little anxious that I hadn't done any of my day trips yet and didn't want to leave them all until my return. So I decided to make my apologies to my friend and head to Windsor Castle. At first I was thinking a grey day might be bad for photographing castles but then I figured it might be more dramatic.

I took the tube to Paddington. The trusses in the station ceiling have this ornate pattern.

From Paddington I caught the train to Windsor. On the way we went through Southall which curiously had the station name in an Indian looking script as well as English. I assume it was to embrace the cultural identity of the area. Nice one.

I had to change trains at Slough. Speaking of Slough, all my guesses at pronunciation were wrong. It's pronounced sl-ow as in "cow" - go figure. 

While waiting at Slough for the Windsor train I noticed this building. Seemed a little out of place actually.

Also while at Slough an express train belted past. It was incredibly fast!

Once at Windsor I made my way to the castle. It must be odd for the town to be in the shadow of this massive structure. I wandered around taking some shots. It's an impressive place. 

And what's a castle without a gargoyle or dragon or two?

It started to spot with rain so it was time to move inside and do the tour of the state apartments. As you'd expect they are very grand, if a bit dark and gloomy. But only the Queen's reception room had some serious Royal bling to it. As you'd expect, you're not allowed to take photos inside, so nothing to show you.  

I saw this odd style of clock on the side of the chapel. I've seen some others like it in London. 

And the chapel was equally as impressive. 

One really obvious thing you notice as soon as you get to the castle is the air traffic. The castle must be close to right on a main flight path. Lucky those castle walls are thick. I checked my flight path app and this was the traffic going on. 

When I left the castle it was raining to I dashed to find somewhere for lunch before heading back into the city. At the end of the day I had a booking to visit Dennis Severs' house.  

It's hard to describe what you encounter when you enter this unassuming door.  If you're interested I suggest you read for yourself on the website.  http://www.dennissevershouse.co.uk/ It was a great experience, though I didn't figure out all of the story. It would be worth going back a second time - I'm sure I'd discover more.

Near the house I came across this sculpture.  I had to look a couple of times to decide whether it was a sculpture or some maintenance work.

The tube back to the hotel was packed, I guess it was still rush hour. But I made it back intact. I ended the evening sitting in the hotel bar writing this blog and sipping on a martini (or two). 

Museum day

I woke up at 7:00am this morning (Sunday) feeling fresh, though I started feeling a bit tired as the early morning progressed. It rained overnight but it was clearing by 9:00am. I had another delicious breakfast in the hotel and worked on my blog for a while. My first stop for the day didn't open until 11:00am so there was no rush. Having said that, it took me a while to muster the energy to get going, so it was good to not be in a hurry.

Before leaving Australia I saw an advertisement for an open weekend at the London Transport Museum depot so I organised a ticket. Today was the day. It's also the day of the London marathon and I noticed increased police presence as soon as I left the hotel as a policeman brandishing a machine gun was patrolling ahead of me.

I headed to the Kensington High Street tube station to top up my Oyster card and take my first tube ride of this trip (took the circle line to Earls Court then the district line to Acton Town). On my way down the escalator I reacquainted myself with standing on the right side instead of the left as we tend to do. 

The museum depot was a few minutes walk from the station. I noticed these serious pieces of hardware on the way in.

The depot has a huge collection of old maps and signage. It was fascinating to see how they have evolved. 

The depot also has a good collection of trains and buses.

I enjoyed walking around. Dotted around the depot were stalls selling all sorts of second hand transport related items. Of particular interest to me were some maps. I bought a couple. I also bought my first 2 books of the trip - starting early - I must pace myself. One was London Transport Photographs 1880-1965 and the other was 150 of the most iconic posters from the underground. I could easily have bought a few more too.

After a couple of hours of wandering around I made my way back to the hotel to drop off my purchases and decide what to do next. I decided to check out some exhibitions at the Natural History Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum (next door to each other). 

The exhibition at the Natural History Museum was Otherworlds, a collection of large photographs from the solar system to a soundtrack created by Brian Eno. The photographs were spectacular and made me wonder about all that beauty that is never experienced up close ... or is it?

The museum was super busy. I wandered around a bit but nothing really grabbed my attention other than the architecture of the building. 

The ceiling in the main hall.  

It was still only 3:30pm so I ventured on to the V&A. Unlike the Natural History Museum, I have been to the V&A before. This time I was interested in an exhibition of photos by Paul Strand, a pioneer of modern photography. Some of his work dates back to 1910 and it was enlightening to see photography in that age being used as an artistic medium rather than just a documentary medium or gimmick. The book shop had a couple more books I'd really like but I decided to wait until I come back to London at the end of May. Then I can load my luggage up for the final flight home if need be. 

I was going to leave but I noticed the medieval/Renaissance section and some amazing carved altar pieces in particular.  The gilded, 3D works were gruesome but stunning. 

By this time my feet had had enough. I decided to save them a little by catching the tube part way back to the hotel. After a little confusion over which line to catch I made it back to High Street, grabbed some dinner and stumbled back to the hotel. 

I had planned to go out tonight for a bit of a dance at a place I know of, but my feet/legs have given up on me. I'm feeling very tired again and I think an early night is in order. 

New Order/Roisin Murphy at Royal Albert Hall

The concert I wanted to see was New Order playing at the Royal Albert Hall. I was hoping to see some music while overseas. Some of my favourite artists are touring Europe right now but I just miss them each place I go. Also, I'd seen Royal Albert Hall in TV show just recently and wanted to go there. 

Although I know of New Order I never quite got into their music for some reason, but knew I'd like them enough to make this the show to go to. It was part of a series of concerts in aid of the Teenage Cancer Trust. Until the show began, I didn't know Roisin Murphy was the support. 

The guy sitting next to me had only got his ticket this morning too. He flew over from Germany just to attend. He's a huge New Order fan and had seen them in Cologne just recently. 

The hall is spectacular. So many levels. People were standing between the arches in the top tier.

And an equally spectacular ceiling. 

Roisin came on shortly after 7:30. She has a great voice live. Some of her music I really like, but I'm really only familiar with one album. She's mad though - the whole performance was about how many costume changes and masks she could fit on, most while she was still on the stage. Kind of looked like she was just doing it to keep herself amused but I guess there must have been more to it than that.  

New Order came on at 9:00. You could tell the audience was filled with enthusiastic fans. That always helps create a great vibe. They were brilliant. I still don't think I'd listen to their albums that much, but live was a whole other experience.  By the end of the show the entire audience was standing.

And the lighting and visuals were spectacular. 

The show ended around 11:00 and I walked the 10 min walk back to the hotel very pleased I had made the effort. Then fell into bed! 

First day in London

After a big breakfast I headed out. First task was to visit Royal Albert Hall. It's only 10 min walk away and I wanted to see if I could get a ticket for a concert that night. I'd tried getting the ticket while still in Adelaide but I wouldn't work. On the way I walked past the Albert memorial. I've seen it before, but at that moment the sun was perfect and the gold glistened. I stopped to take some pictures but had to play cat and mouse with the sun hiding behind the clouds before I was able to get the shot I wanted.  

I turned around and there was the Royal Albert Hall. 

After finding the box office I managed to secure a ticket. More details on that later. After that I headed off through Hyde Park. The trees are just beginning to blossom. 

The temperature was around 8 degrees but I felt comfortable apart from the occasional bursts of bracing wind. There were plenty of joggers out in the park. Some people riding horses too. Although I wasn't really heading anywhere in particular at first I got off track. My journey took me past some new buildings allowing me to indulge my love of photographing geometrical architecture.

This one is known as the Zig Zag building. 

Before long I was at the Thames and I had to duck for cover from a few spots of rain. I headed back north and finished up at Covent Garden looking through the markets. There was one stall with some lovely photos of London. I'll go back to get some when I return to London at the end of the trip.​

Saturday was St George's Day which is England's national day. There was a festival in Trafalgar Square so I headed there next. It wasn't quite what I expected but it was fun all the same.​

While sitting by one of the fountains in the square I noticed the statues in a pool. Can't say I've taken much notice before but this expression caught my eye. 

After some food and watching the entertainment I decided to slowly head back to the hotel. My feet were killing me and I was planning to have a nap before the concert. Feeling some slight effects of jet lag. I took the route past Buckingham Palace. All through London I've seen preparations for the London Marathon which is on Sunday. Around the palace was the most activity. I think it finishes there. ​

As well as blossom I noticed there are tulips everywhere. I saw a couple of beds in Hyde Park as well as the grounds of Kensington Palace.​

Back in the hotel I crawled into bed for a little doze. When the alarm went off I was feeling heavy but managed to wake myself up with some strong coffee and get ready to head out. The concert was starting at 7:30 which was nice and civilised.  I grabbed some sushi for dinner. After pigging out all day it was nice to have something light. Then off to the hall. I'll write about that in my next post.

Good morning London

After quite a good sleep I woke just before 5:00. I could just start to see blue on the horizon so I decided to sit in bed and sip coffee while the sun came up. I'm still tired but I want to get up and out. I might try and sleep in tomorrow.  

The grey wet from last night has passed.  

I popped down to the restaurant for breakfast this morning. Lovely food again. Sitting there I realised that the hotel is right next to Kensington Gardens. It's located at the purple circle on this map. 

14 hours on the A380

Last night, after some dinner in the lounge, I went to the transit hotel to sleep. You can book rooms for 6 hour slots. When I arrived the receptionist advised that they are doing maintenance work hotel and that the power might go off between 2:00 and 5:00. And that, if it did, the emergency light would come on in my room - but not to panic! He gave me an extra hour for free for the inconvenience.

Well, at 2:00 the power did go off and the emergency light did come on. Not bright enough to keep me awake but bright enough to be annoying. I managed to avoid the light and get back to sleep before the power eventually came back on and the light went off (back to front, I know). The room was fine though, perfect for my needs with a nice bathroom. 

I checked out at 5:00 and made it to the lounge which was quiet but not empty. I got myself some breakfast.  

Hardly a soul around. 

On the way to the buffet I saw the headlines about Prince's untimely death. Couldn't believe it. What's going on this year?​

After some downloading my photos it was time to head to the gate to board my chariot. I've been on an A380 a few times already but always economy.​

Business class is upstairs. I spent a bit of time getting to know my home for the next 14 hours. So many little compartments. The seats are HUGE - more like a 2 seater.  

By the time we departed it was 9:00, so once we were up in the air it was time for breakfast number 2. 

The French toast was delicious.  

Nicely full, I settled in to some movies. First was Bridge of Spies followed by Star Wars VII - finally got around to seeing it. 

Most of the people in the cabin appeared to want to sleep all the way to London so I felt obliged to keep my shade down for a lot of the trip. But I still managed to get glimpses of the journey from time to time and a long stretch at meals.  The terrain began with islands and meandering rivers.

When I looked down after watching Star Wars in noticed a vast expanse of wilderness. It reminded me very much of the terrain in the movie except someone had changed the colour palette from sandy brown to dusty grey.  

Slowly I noticed the natural curves of erosion make way to the angular lines of civilisation.  Then, when we reached Afghanistan it changed again and I began to see snow capped mountains that got more populous as we reached Georgia. They looked as if they had been dusted with icing sugar.

I gazed for ages as we crossed into the Black Sea and tracked along the northern coast of Turkey. 

Somewhere in that time was lunch. I had the chicken. The dessert was particularly delicious.  

Rum Baba.  

There was thick cloud as we reached Europe, so nothing to see for the last couple of hours. Hoping to see some English countryside I watched eagerly when we crossed the English Channel but it was just thick white cloud until just before the airport.  After being in a holding pattern for a couple of loops we landed only a little after schedule. 

The weather in London was cold, grey and wet. But I didn't mind at all. It was just great to be back here.

It would have been rush hour and my original plan was to catch the tube to the hotel. I was anxious that would be difficult/stressful so I decided to catch the Heathrow Express to Paddington then a taxi to the hotel. A much better option. The taxi driver was SO talkative. 

The hotel room is lovely with a view of Kensington High Street.

In an effort to reset my body clock I resisted the temptation to fall straight into bed. Instead, I was brave (for me) and ventured down to the restaurant alone. The food and service were excellent. I had Asparagus Gnocchi and Seared Tuna followed by a small Lemon Soufflé.