I thought that last night might be our last Blog entry…but for all those waiting with bated breath (anyone out there?) here is the last entry.
Our trust in our Navigation system failed this morning. We trustingly set our lady for the Novotel at Heathrow airport and sailed off, without bothering to check her route. As Tim always says, ‘she has never failed us yet’. This morning was an exception. We were taken right into the city of Chelsea via Battersea – I am sure that we passed near Fairlie and Stu’s old house! Somehow our lady thought this was the best route to Heathrow. We had to avoid making eye contact with people staring at our van (as if to say ‘what an earth are you doing?!) as we passed by inner London. Suddenly the stories we had heard about fellow campers circumnavigating London three times before finally arriving at the campsite seemed plausible. It took us two hours to drive 6 kms. It was telling to our experience in driving the truck that we weren’t at all nervous, just annoyed at the traffic! Why would anyone own a car to get around here? I guess you need it to go other places….anyway, eventually we got to Heathrow Novotel.
Thankfully, one of our rooms was available to check into. Tim and Josh set off to drop off the campervan, while I relaxed with the younger boys. Tim has just left a message to say that everything has gone through well, and that they are on their way here now. So that’s really it now folks! Thanks for reading until the end, and thanks for all the comments we have got – they have been appreciated. We will see everyone soon!
In our hotel room. What a lot of space!
Tim packed the boys and I off to the city early this morning. Making the van spotless in the drizzling rain with 3 boys in tow was too hard. I took the boys back to that famous toy store, Hamley’s. They all agree that it is the biggest toy store they have ever seen – and the most expensive! We then went to see Henry IV. I had read the kids a bit of the storyline last night, so we had an idea of the plot. The kids were allowed to stand on a row of stairs at the side so that they could see the performance (we had groundling passes which mean standing room only). It was a great experience for them, and they even got to see some sword fighting! However, it was also very hard to understand due to our position and of course the language. Josh was not as interested in it as Caleb and Daniel. We lasted an hour and a half (it goes for 3 hours) which I thought was pretty good. We wandered back to the underground and then took the bus to return to the caravan park. I felt quite proud of being able to navigate everyone around London, as I am not known for my navigational skills (although I was cheating a bit with Josh’s help!).
Meanwhile back at the ranch….Tim had spent a productive day making the van shine like new again. With the carpet back down (which we had needed to roll up) and every surface sparkling, it looked so cozy and inviting. Poor Tim worked very hard all day, and finished just as we arrived back. We ended the day going out to dinner as we did not want to make any mess! We enjoyed the best value and nicest meal we have had in the UK – 3 courses for adults for less than 10 pounds. Tim gave them some extra money as it didn’t seem like enough for so much food. Tim will drop Caleb, Daniel and I off at the airport hotel tomorrow morning while he drives back to Herne Bay with Josh to return the van. Hopefully it will all go according to plan. We fly back to Australia on Thursday. Our last night in the campervan! We began talking about our best and worst things for the holiday at dinner tonight. Caleb and Daniel reported that their favourite thing was Legoland. Worst thing for Caleb was touring art galleries; worst for Daniel was breaking his arm. Josh’s best thing was the Vernazza beach in Cinque Terra. My favourite thing was hiking in Switzerland. Unfortunately, I can’t ask Tim his favourite as he has already fallen asleep after his huge cleaning day (it is after all 8:30pm)!
What an amazing time we have had together. We have so many wonderful memories of our journey. Hopefully at least Caleb and Josh will remember it for a long time. It has been a perfect amount of time to be away in the end. We have loved the experience, but now we are all looking forward to returning home.
Tim took the boys to the Imperial War Museum today. Apparently it was most comprehensive. Tim described it as containing everything we have already seen in the concentration camp, D-Day beaches, and Ieper all rolled into one. Josh and Caleb loved it, with Caleb on a high for the rest of the day. Daniel is somewhat over war museums it seems. I had the morning to myself, shopping in Oxford st. and revisiting the National Gallery which I thoroughly enjoyed.
After lunch together, we did a tour of the Globe Theatre. Tim came along somewhat reluctantly, and was surprised to find how much he enjoyed it. The Globe Theatre was reproduced in 1997 as accurately as possible, as the original building was burnt down. Although there had been 30 years of research leading to the building we saw today, Caleb was adamant that they had got it wrong. The tour guide was most knowledgeable and very interesting to listen to, even for the kids. Caleb especially was transfixed, and spent the whole tour looking around with rapt attention. I am not sure what captured his imagination so much! They had read a book about Shakespeare and the Globe, so perhaps could relate to it a little. All three of them are so quiet and well behaved while we are taking tours that it is a pleasure to take them along.
We were amazed to discover that in Shakespeare’s time they used to fit 1000 people in front of the stage, standing up as ‘groundlings’. All three of the kids begged to get tickets for the current show that is running, especially when the tour guide mentioned that there was sword fighting in it. Tim was not as enthusiastic – the words ‘I would rather have my toenails plucked out’ were uttered. I therefore bought the kids and I standing tickets for Henry IV. I know nothing about Henry IV, and I do not expect the kids to be able to understand much of it, if anything. However, I imagine that the experience will be good for us to see. I guess we can leave after an hour if everyone is tired of it. It will actually work out well, as it will give Tim a chance to clean the van without everyone around. Tim and I have been packing the cases tonight. It is a bit sad to be putting away what has been our life for the last 4 months, but we are looking forward to home as well.
On our list for today was the National Gallery. I loved this art gallery when I toured there 8 years ago, and loved it just as much today. There are some great masterpieces in there, and all completely free! One might think I am obsessing a bit about the money, but after paying a small fortune for the Uffizi in Florence (which Tim and I regarded as a bit of a fizzer) and a fair amount in the Paris galleries,it seemed amazing that we paid nothing for the privilege. My favourite painting is also in this gallery, one by Stubbs called Whistlejacket. The huge painting is magnificent to see face to face. We toured around the gallery with another children’s art book in hand which contained some of the paintings held there. Caleb and Daniel enjoyed spotting them in the gallery, sometimes in Daniel’s case from a few rooms away! I find that it makes such a difference when you recognize the painting in front of you. Josh was very tired today, and not really in the mood for art galleries. Even Tim enjoyed some of the paintings there. After a quick tour (Sue will laugh because she finds our tours of museums and such very quick!), the kids sketched their favourite paintings. The paintings that they chose were quite revealing. Daniel sketched one of a tiger by Rousseau, Caleb sketched one of an execution by Manet, and Josh chose one by Monet which had buildings in Venice on it. Josh worked hard on his sketch until the buildings were all in perspective. I wish we could have taken a photo of Daniel, but there were no cameras allowed in the gallery. He looked so adorable, sitting on the floor earnestly making his sketch in front of his huge painting that towered over him. Caleb’s painting had a fascinating history as it was cut up into pieces for some reason when Manet died. The gallery showed the pieces left joined together as best they could.
After our tour, we took the kids to a free hands-on session that the gallery was running. They enjoyed a discussion about a painting by Titian (Tim and I were slightly embarrassed as Caleb and Daniel answered almost all the questions and kept edging steadily closer to the teacher until there were almost on top of her). The kids then made a paper movable figure. Caleb was not satisfied with the generic arms and legs he was given to construct it, so typical to form he made up his own one. Josh wasn’t so interested, so we slipped away to have ‘just a quick look’ at the gift shop where I could easily have spent a lot of money on all their fantastic books. I have to keep reminding myself that somehow it has to all fit in our bags to get home now! The National Gallery is really so well done. Their website is excellent, they have great things for kids to do with education sessions, booklets and audio guides, and everything is so well laid out and displayed. I could spend hours in there. I so wish that we had so many wonderful paintings in the galleries at home, and that they had half so many interesting activities for the kids.
After drinks looking over Trafalgar Square – it is a sign that the family are growing up when we have to order hot chocolates for all the boys too! – we made our way to Hillsong Church. We had visited this church the last time we were in London, and it is certainly a vibrant experience. Tim especially likes the music there as it is like a rock concert. Caleb and Daniel both really enjoyed the kids’ sessions. Caleb even found out that one of the teachers was from Melbourne and knew Donvale! Suddenly he wants to stay in London so he can keep going to that church. Unfortunately, Daniel fell over in his session and got a blood nose which soon resolved itself.
We finished our day with a meal in a pub, then rode home on the bus and tube. There is a tube strike tonight and tomorrow, so we may need to look at other ways of getting around. London is such a fun place, both Tim and I love it. We only have one full day left of sightseeing, as we will need probably a day to clean up the van and get ourselves organized. I had thought that we might even run out of things to do in London as we have had such a long stay here, but now I see we are not even going to make it through my list! Sorry that there are no pictures again. Tim and I are getting tired of lugging all the raincoats, umbrellas etc. around and couldn’t be bothered with the camera too.
Tim went to see a soccer game today (West Ham vs Fulham), so the boys and I needed to find something to amuse ourselves. We decided on Kensington Park, which has a big playground dedicated to Princess Diana. The boys had a ball. There were lots of fun things to do, including an almost life-sized pirate ship and a huge sandpit. Josh barely took himself out of the sandpit. The whole holiday for him seems to have been moving from one sandpit highlight to another! Caleb and Daniel loved the pirate ship which even had a big crow’s nest you could climb up. Even the light rain did not deter them. I finally dragged them away after about 3 hours. Unfortunately, the trip there and back took longer than the actual playground time. Maybe it is just my inexperience with London’s transport system, but the trip home took us two and a half hours. At one point while waiting for a seemingly non-existent bus, I wondered how on earth I was going to get us home. I did not have enough money for a taxi, I had no phone, and I knew the train service that would get us closer was not operating today. Finally the number 3 bus came however, and it was three very weary boys that I eventually got home at 7:15pm, with Tim anxiously waiting at the door for us. He had really enjoyed his day at the soccer (a draw). In hindsight it was probably a good thing he could not get any tickets for the boys as apparently the language was not the best. It is pouring down with rain now, so I am glad we are home and not still out in it!
Wet weather again today. We are trying to do as the locals do, and just get on with it. We were needing a break from the museum circuit, so took a trip to Harrods (a famous and expensive department store in London for those who don’t know it). I think there were more tourists there than shoppers. The boys marveled at the Egyptian themed escalator, drooled over the goodies in the astronomically priced food hall (complete with Beef Wellington by the slice would you believe), and pined over the toys. Tim found a very nice table setting for us, for only 120,000 pounds. Shame we couldn’t get it home.
We moved on to the more affordable Mark’s and Spencer’s which is one of my favourites. Tim and I felt quite at home, as we were in Fairlie’s old stomping ground of Chelsea. Actually, I should have felt at home, but really I had no idea where I was. Tim took the boys for a hot chocolate while I had a nice, uninterrupted time shopping. By the time I had finished, everyone had had enough, and we made our way home. We have found some nice goodies to eat while we have been in London. Caleb and Daniel love buying the sushi in the supermarkets, full of ingredients that they would never eat on their own. Tim is enjoying Bakewell tarts and the cheap Chocolate Oranges, and Josh is demolishing every crumpet we buy at a great rate. Of course, we can buy all these things at home but they seem luxurious after being faced with unfamiliar things for so long. No photos to add today, sorry. Tim is going to watch a soccer game on his own tomorrow, as he couldn’t get seats for everyone. I am planning to take the boys to Kensington Park which is reported to have a great playground. I hope it doesn’t rain too much!
We’re in serious pack-up mode with only 1 week to go! We arranged for 35kg of acquired stuff to be shipped back to Melbourne this morning. Karen saved us 200 pounds on the Royal Mail cost by doing a bit of research on the web. We’re using a company that specializes in excess baggage shipments. It will take 8 weeks for our stuff to arrive home.
As we had a late start we set off for the bus not 100% sure whether it was going to be Greenwich or the Globe theatre. We settled on Greenwich as the boys were so keen on going. Greenwich turned out to be a very interesting place. It took an epic amount of time to get there however – about 2 hours I think! – via many changes of tube and bus. Tim got us there eventually as he always does.
The National Maritime Museum was our first port of call (forgive the pun). It had some really nifty things for the kids to do such as making a boat sail in front of a hairdryer device, lifting up cargo onto a boat, and a simulation of driving a big ship. Nelson’s naval uniform (complete with the bullet hole that killed him), and many displays of boats and explorers added to the interest. Caleb amazed me today, remembering that the little replica ship we spent 5 mins on that lay next to the SS Great Britain in Bristol, was the same ship that there was a movie piece on at Greenwich (the ship was called Matthew, but I can’t remember why it was significant. Caleb probably can!).
Some of us then galloped up the hill to the observatory. I walked. The observatory housed a planetarium, dubbed ‘the worst one in London’ by Josh instead of ‘the only one in London’ by its advertisers, as it did not have anything interesting on for children. We then did the touristy thing at the Prime Meridian at 0 degrees longitude. We stood with one foot in the east hemisphere, and one foot in the west.
The displays in the museum of the four timepieces that Harrison used to calculate longitude were fascinating. I would have been less interested I’m sure had I not seen the movie ‘Longitude’ and therefore appreciated their significance. I tried to explain them to the kids, but I think it was just a bit tricky for them to grasp. Caleb and Daniel were instead captivated by the idea of the shipwrecks that occurred before the longitude was calculated.
On the way out, we passed by a movie set where they were shooting ‘Pirates of the Carribean 4’. Johnny Depp was standing on a platform way above our heads.
We took a Thames cruise to get back to our bus. This was great, as Josh had been wanting to see London Bridge all trip after reading about how it was pulled down by the Saxons. The bridge itself was a let-down, Tower Bridge being much more impressive. Home to pasta yet again tonight as we try to consume all the past we have in our van! Josh and Caleb are very pleased.
We caught the bus from near our site this morning, and made our way into London. The bus route that we are on is a great one, and takes us past many of the famous sights into Piccadilly Circus. As we drove past Big Ben, Daniel commented “Oh, I remember this town Mummy!” Little snippets about famous London people kept coming out of Josh and Caleb all day. I will have to remove that London book that they have read so many times…it is becoming embarrassing having no idea who they are talking about!
We tackled the Science Museum first, then moved on to the Natural History Museum as it is right next door. Both museums were gigantic, very interesting and completely free. They had all sorts of special things on for kids – in the Natural History Museum, Caleb and Daniel got ‘Explorer Backpacks’ with binoculars, magnifying glasses, animal specimens to identify and activity books in them. They enjoyed striding around with the binoculars and doing the activities. There was really too much in both places to do them justice, however we had a good try! Daniel enjoyed the Natural History Museum best, with its volcano exhibits, moving T. Rex, masses of enormous dinosaur skeletons and stuffed animals (Tim helpfully remarked that it was really just a big dead zoo). Caleb and Josh enjoyed the Science Museum more, with hands-on activities, science shows, and exhibits of planes and steam engines. Josh and Tim were able to go in a flight simulator ride which gave you an idea of being part of the Red Arrows (famous British acrobatic planes) which Josh loved. I am very impressed by all the activities that both museums offered. All the exhibits were well done, and there were often staff on hand to explain things.
Stephenson's Rocket - the first fast steam engine
All aboad for the flight simulator
Concentrating on a science display
A well deserved pitstop before tackling the next museum!
After picking up Tim from the coffee shop which he had retreated to on route, we journeyed home in the rain. We are trying to eat our way through our leftover stores of food in the van – it makes for some interesting food combinations! Tonight was spent trying to pack our extra books into special boxes from the freight company we are using, as they will pick them up tomorrow. Very exciting stuff. I managed to fall down the stairs of the campervan, and for a moment we thought I had broken my arm too, but I think it will be OK. Not sure yet what we will do tomorrow, but possibly Shakespeare’s Globe. We have told the kids it is one day for them, then one day for us…I wonder how that is going to work out!
Another unexciting day I’m afraid, and not even any photos to spice it up sorry! We had quite a long drive today to London, so we left the campsite early. We have become experts at packing up and getting away early, and 7:45am felt quite late for us! The London campsite we are at is located quite near the city, in a suburb called Crystal Palace. I am very glad that we booked as it is full tonight. Like all the Caravan Club sites, it is nicely manicured and has very clean facilities, and it does not have the slightly ‘dodgy’ feel that all other capital city sites have had. After setting up, we walked next door to where the Crystal Palace used to stand. Crystal Palace was built over 100 years ago for an exhibition, however it has since burnt down. We went for a wander around the huge park. There was a great playground, and many large replicas of dinosaurs set up around the place. I can see already that our boys have lost their fitness for big city walking, and we trudged home with three tired boys this evening.
I am missing my creature comforts of home tonight. After spending several hours doing 3 loads of washing, I am very much looking forward to my washing machine at home! Lots of little things are beginning to annoy me…like the caravan park shutting the laundry room after 5pm at night and before 9am. How is one supposed to sightsee here if you are confined to these hours? I have to say that I find the English who run these campsite decidedly inflexible. I guess it might be me who is becoming inflexible after camping for so long! The kids are begging to go to the Science Museum tomorrow, so I think we will start our London adventure there. It will be nice to be able to enjoy London slowly instead of rushing around all the sights. We have seen all the big ticket type items already, so we will be enjoying the many free museums that the city has to offer.
Safety goggles on and hammers in hand, we took to the beach to look for fossils this morning. There have been thousands of fossils found near the town of Charmouth from the Jurassic period. The eroding cliffs often have landslides, and these can contain fossilized remains. The information centre displayed whole dinosaur skeletons and many other fossils of plants and animals, so we set off optimistically. We did indeed find some things that, as Caleb said ‘almost probably’ were fossils, however they were not quite as spectacular as the ones you could buy in the shop. We had a lot of fun looking however! Daniel was especially cute as he earnestly whacked the ground with the special paleontologist’s hammer. It is amazing to discover something so ancient as a Jurassic fossil, just lying around on the beach
Our 'almost probably a fossil' collection
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Following lunch in our conveniently parked motorhome (so good for having lunch without needing to go out), the boys hit the beach for an afternoon of sand construction. I am constantly amazed at how much they have learned, and how they play it all out. Josh built a wonderous railway system that connected Daniel’s Hadrian’s Wall to Caleb’s Carcasonne. We made a brief trip to the post office and returned with our boxes in a state of shock. I have since contacted a local shipping company that will freight our parcels for a fraction of the price that the post office wanted to charge. The boys also had a great swim this afternoon in the indoor pool at the caravan park. We were going to travel to the New Forest tomorrow, but have now decided that we will head for London instead. There is so much that the boys want to do there, and we want to also spend some time packing and cleaning the van. Our last campsite! In one way I am sad to be at the end of our trip, but in another very glad to be going home.
Feeding a family of ducks who wanted to share our lunch
