More of London

Wednesday
This morning Ella and I went to the Victoria and Albert Museum to see the Mary Quant exhibition.  It was so interesting seeing the changes and development of the fashion industry, as a result of the influence of MQ.  Ella had studied her and the area of the Mods, as part of her degree and seeing it 'n the flesh' was really special.  After that, we cam back to Bolingbrook Road, met David and we went to try and sort out our UK bank account - easier said than done!  Can't believe how difficult they make things, but we are determined to work through it before we leave.  We went to school to meet Eliza and it is just wonderful to see the relationship that she and Ella have.  I think she enjoyed meeting us, just to make sure that we weren't going to take her away with us!
After doing the daily supermarket visit, we had another delicious dinner and then went around to meet Lara and Jez.  Again, it was so nice to see Ella as part of her 'English' family.  They were still pretty exhausted after their travels, so Ella came home with us for a while, before we all headed to bed.

Thursday
We had the pleasure of walking Eliza to school - schools are very different to what we are used to in NZ.  250 students in a three story building - and it was one of two considered to Prince George to attend.
Ella had booked tickets for us to go to the Sky Garden, on the roof of the building at 20 Fenchurch Street.  As with most things British, we had to queue, and it was freezing.  The garden itself was quite small, but the views across the city were stunning.  Unfortunately it did start to rain and we couldn't go out on the observation deck, bit it was still fantastic.  A great way to see the city spread out before you.  Ella headed back home and we then went to Monument, built to commemorate the Great Fire of London. There were 311 steps and, if if fell over, it would just touch the Tower of London - great tip Anne!
We then caught the train to Canary Wharf, really interesting area of new development.  There was an above ground garden walk that included a New Zealand tree fern, which made it even better.  Then we attempted to get back to Hammersmith, only to find that, due to a broken down train, the Central Line was partially closed and had major delays on the rest of the line.  We did find a way back, but it was a bit of challenge.
Another visit to the bank and we are getting closer, but will still need to go back on Monday, hopefully to get everything finally sorted.
We went to one of Ella's locals, The Bird in Hand, with her nanny family, for dinner.  A very pleasant evening, getting to know Lara and Jez and just reinforcing that Ella is absolutely in the right place.  We are so proud of the wonderful person she is.

Canary Wharf Towers

The bendy building houses the Sky Garden which we visited

Canary Wharf Towers

The Monument - 311 Stairs to the top

Roof Garden at Canary Wharf

London

Monday
Sadly we had to say goodbye to our lovely Stables and the glorious weather.  We were on the road just after 8.00 as the girls wanted to get back to London for a birthday brunch.  It was a good decision as the return trip way much less busy than when we drove on Friday.  Unfortunately the brunch was cancelled enroute, but an unplanned visit to Ikea was a great alternative.  Ella bought a duvet, cushion and some plants for her room to make it more like 'her' place.  We managed to return the rental car unscathed and made our way back to Bolingbrook Road.
We moved into our next Airbnb, which is about 10 minutes walk from Ella.  It is below ground, on Holland Road, and comes with all the sound effects that you would expect in the middle of the city.  Last night we were woken up by two helicopters hovering overhead.  Not sure whether they found what they were looking for, but they certainly took their time.
We went to the local Waitrose Supermarket and cooked a delicious dinner to finish off a lovely weekend.


Tuesday
Ella went to the gym first thing and then we went to her place to help tidy up before the family returns tonight.  They have been in Sri Lanka and the Maldives so will be pretty weary when they return.  With the latest terrorist attackss, they will, no doubt, be very relieved to get home safely.
We met Ella's friend Brit and her boyfriend Danny, in the city and visited Abbey Road - along with lots of other tourists.  It was still great to see though.  From there we went into the city and wandered.  Went into the Liberty store, which is in a spectacular old tudor building on Regent Street.  We did think about going to Hamleys, but it was so crowded that decided against it.  Explored China Town and Soho.  Had lunch sitting in the sunshine in Golden Square then listed to some blues in the small bar near Temple City.  As always, a trip to the centre of London is always interesting.
Ella enjoyed seeing her friends but it is always hard to say goodbye again.  She s having dinner with Bertie, another NZ nanny, tonight and we had delicious pizza made by a Persian man in a takeaway pizza store nearby.  Sounds like the end of the golden weather tomorrow with rain and cooler temperature forecast.

Christina going underground to our AirBnB

Just down the road from the AirBnB

Some fine Blues music

Spring showing everywhere

Outside Abbey Road Studios

Ella and Brit signing the Abby Studio wall

They draw over everything....

Liberty Store - expensive stuff! 

Just wandering the streets 

Inside Liberty - expensive shoes but no Crocs?

More ABC Tours

It's hard to believe that we woke to another big blue sky day and, once the mist had burnt off, it was another warm one.  We sat in the sunshine to eat our hot cross buns, not a bad way to start Easter Sunday.
While the girls had a sleep in, we went for an explore of some of the local villages:  Queen Camel, and Corton Denham which was quite high and had lovely views.  Once again, we were taken with the quaint and picturesque cottages along the way.
We came back and picked the girls up and went to Montacute House, about 15 minutes drive away.  This grand house is in the very pretty village of Montacute and is over 400 years old.  Many of the original furnishings, paintings and tapestries are still there and were amazing.  The gardens were beautiful to explore in the sunshine and it was clearly a popular place to visit.  From there we went to Tintinhull Garden.  It is a small formal garden that was established around a 17th Century manor house.  It was relatively small, but the new spring growth was lovely.  Again, it was peaceful place to wander on such a beautiful day.  There was a garden shop on site and I would have loved to have purchased some plants - not sure MAF would have been particularly happy with me though!
Back to the stables for a leisurely lunch and some relaxation.  The girls decided to stay behind and we went to Old Wardour Castle, built in the 1300s and partially destroyed in the 1600s during the Civil War.  It was inspired by the hexagonal castles in fashion, in France, at the time.  Some of the steep staircases where still intact and the view from the towers were stunning.  There was a large pond with waterlilies, which would be glorious when in flower.  All of the properties are managed by the National Trust or English Heritage and, thanks to our membership of the NZ Historic Places Trust, we were able to visit for free - bargain.
Sadly or last evening in the Stables, but it has been a wonderful weekend.  We have enjoyed sharing this part of our adventure with Ella and Anya.  Not sure any of us are really keen to leave behind the sunshine and head back to London in the morning.

ABC Tours.... Somerset and Dorset

Nunney Castle reflection

Friday - After our late return to Bolingbrooke Road (Ella's home) on Thursday night, we were on the road again by 9.00.  This time we were heading back to Heathrow to collect our rental car.  Unfortunately that process didn't go as well has we had hoped, with big delays, and we didn't get on the road until 12.30.  The traffic was pretty awful, probably not surprising for the beginning of the Easter weekend.  Weather stunning - got up to 24 degrees during our journey.  We passed by Stonehenge and couldn't believe the changes since we were last in the part of the world.  Everything is being set up for the huge growth in tourism which seems quite sad really.
We finally managed to get to our Airbnb in Bridgehampton, in Somerset.  The property is a converted stable and is absolutely delightful and the host is absolutely lovely.  We have Ella's friend Anya with us and the girls wanted somewhere out of the city - this definitely ticks all of the boxes.
We explored a nearby village called Sherbourne, a delightful mixture of thatched cottages, stone and brick buildings along with some more modern homes.  The centre of the town has a beautiful ornate church which we very much enjoyed visiting.  As it was Anya's birthday, we went to a local pub for dinner, which was a very pleasant way to end the day.

Today:  Somerset - Devon - Dorset

Woke to a stunning morning, with low mist, but the promise of another glorious day.  David and I were up early and drove about 30 minutes to Nunney Castle, a medieval castle built in the late 14th century.  We then went back to the Airbnb for breakfast in the morning sunshine.  By that stage the girls were up and ready to go to Sherborne Old Castle, a ruined 12th century castle that was once owned by Sir Walter Raleigh.  We explored the village again and had a picnic lunch in the grands of the church.
The girls were keen to visit the coast to we headed to Lyme Regis, about an hour drive from Sherbourne.  The drive through the countryside was really pretty, especially as the early spring growth is increasingly evident.  The village of Lyme Regis is delightful, but, as it was a long weekend, it was incredibly busy.  I think half of the UK had gone to the beach to enjoy the sunshine.  Am thinking there will be a lot of sunburned people around tonight!
On the return trip we stocked up at the supermarket in anticipation of Easter Sunday tomorrow.  David attempted a bbq but it did cause a challenge as we are so used to gas.  It was fun and such a glorious evening to be cooking outside.  We enjoyed a relaxing evening in our lovely converted stable in a wonderful part of the country.

The converted stable

View out the bedroom window

Local cottages

Ella and Anya discussing the finer points of the castle gate

Old broken stuff...

Porto and Goodbye to Portugal

We have all fallen in love with Porto and Ella is already talking about returning.  This morning we walked down through the windy paved streets to the river, observing the locals going about their daily business.  Builders in New Zealand would be horrified by the lack of health and safety precautions on building sites.
The old town looks stunning as you view it from the river, with homes built on the steep hillside, and the terracotta roofs merging together.  We walked across the tram and foot bridge to view the town from the opposite side and it was suitably stunning.  We were even entertained by a 'cowder' of black and white cats sunning themselves above the river.  I am sure that they were full on unsavoury diseases, but they were seriously cute.
We lunched with the locals at the Christina Cafe, where nobody spoke English, thankfully we were rescued by a lovely lady who was able to understand our request.  The rest of our time was spent wandering the streets and musing about how great it would be to visit again.
I am writing this o the Stanstead Express rapidly making our way back to London.  Thankfully the fuel crisis did not delay our flights and the English authorities let us back in.  The customs officer who processed Ella's entry travelled through NZ six years ago and is a Crusaders fan  She did try to put him right, but considering how badly the Highlanders are doing this year, I'm not sure how successful that was.
Some thoughts on Portugal:

• The countryside is lush and the coastline was stunning.
• The drivers are aggressive and ignore speed limits - the country has the highest road toll, per head of population, in Europe.
• The people were polite and helpful but not particularly friendly.
• There was a laid back feel, even when waiting in the queue for petrol, in the midst of a crisis.
• Genuine Portuguese custard tarts are delicious.
• The roading infrastructure is amazing, we could learn so much about moving people around efficiently.
• The buildings were stunning, from the castles to the houses, with there colourful paint work or  beautiful ceramic tiles.
• Listening to Google maps try to pronounce the road names will provided hours of fun and relieve the pressure of a stressed driver.
• David swears a lot when driving in Europe.  (Not true....)
• Beware, Google will try and kill you - don't listen to it when it tells you to drive down one way streets the wrong way, or to the top of mountains!

Santarem to Porto (and rain.....)

The Hotel Santarem had fantastic views but, due to the low cloud and rain this morning, we really couldn't see much.  The restaurant where we ate our 'continental breakfast included in room rate' looked out over the pool, which was rapidly filling to overflowing due to the rain.  Before leaving, we did a quick tour of the old town and discovered the Mosteiro De S Francisco , with a beautiful white marble statue of St Francis of Assissi.
We had picked a couple of places to visit as we journey north to Porto and first stop was Tomar.  A very pretty town with the Nabao River flowing through it.  The historic centre is surrounded by the Castle and Convent of the Knights Templar, but sadly the rain and cold limited our sightseeing.
Next stop was Leiria where we picnicked in the car -it was still raining - and then walked up to the medieval castle on the hill.  the rest of the town looked pretty uninspiring, but the ruins of the castle were spectacular.  Clearly not on the typical tourist route as nobody spoke English, but well worth the visit.
Amazingly we managed to get fuel along the way, as most places had sold out and the places that did have fuel had queues for miles.  Near Averio, we went to a Decathlon store (Kathmandu on steroids). Best buy were silk sleeping bag liners for 32 euros!  Then the supermarket for amazing caramel popcorn, as you do in Portugal.
The weather from then on was absolutely dreadful.  Rain so heavy that it was a challenge to see the lights of the cars around you.  It felt like being on a 120km conveyor belt, with cars ducking and diving around us.  Thankfully we made it back to the airport to return our rental, which has served us well, over our 1000km drive.
We caught the metro into the city and walked to our Airbnb apartment.  It is amazing, right in the centre of Porto and exceptionally well done.  Originally a single dwelling, now made into nine very trendy apartments.  Best thing was the gelato shop just down the road.  Who doesn't eat gelato at 11.30 pm when in Portugal!

Lisbon

Planned an early departure from our Water Lines Sintra apartment, with a blue sky for our drive to Lisbon.  We took an alternative route but the main road between Sintra and Lisbon is supposedly the busiest road in the world!
We had read about the traffic in the city, so decided to park and catch public transport, a good move.  Found a parking building near the Benfica Stadium that has 6000 parks!  When arrived there were very few cars but when we returned, there were very few empty spaces!
We caught the metro to Central Lisbon and walked up the hill to the centre of the Alfama district.  We had thought about catching the number 28 tram which takes a circuit through the city.  As with most things touristy, it was crowded and there were long queues waiting.  In true Kiwi fashion, we decided walking was a much better idea.  We wandered through the narrow streets, enjoying the sights, sounds and smells.  Saw some wonderful graffiti, along with the colourful streamers that Alfama is known for.
Managed to navigate our way to The Mill Cafe that had been recommended to Ella as a place to get a mochaccino -  something not well known in this part of the world.  It is an Australian cafe and vegemite and cheese toasties are on the menu!  Along the way we did try Portuguese custard tarts - Pastel de Nada.  We watched the bakers making each one individually and the ones we ate were still warm, the flakey pastry melted in your mouth and the custard was warm and gooey - delicious!
After our walking tour, we managed to find our way back to the car and headed north to Santarem.  The drive was interesting with views of the coast, and the outskirts of Lisbon.  The land is more undulating in this part of the country, without the hills and mountains toward the west coast.  We have been upgraded to a suite at the hotel and have an enormous deck with spectacular views.  The town seems to have a slower pace than other places we have visited, probably as it isn't really a tourist destination.
We were very sad to see the Notre Dame Cathedral fire, especially as we will be visiting Paris before returning home.  In an unexpected twist, we now find ourselves in the midst of a fuel crisis.  The Portuguese Government has bought in the armed forces to try and manage a truck drivers strike which has resulted in most fuel stations running out  We did mange to fill up, once we realised what is going on, but now hear that the airports are running out of aviation fuel.  We are due to fly back to London on Thursday, so promises to be an interesting few days.  We will just have to watch this space!

The People Mover...

Massive food hall...

Our large deck...