Big of a time lag happening. We are now sitting at Heathrow Airport waiting for our flight to Hong Kong. Got a bit distracted over the past few days and didn't get around to writing any updates. This will test the memory!
Friday
Ella did an early morning session while we packed up our London Airbnb and took our bags around to Bolingbroke Road. We set off for Gatwick Airport mid morning for our EasyJet flight to Paris. Apart from a fearsome crosswind during take off and some fairly beefy storm clouds on landing, the flight was pretty uneventful.
Managed to navigate our way to our Paris Airbnb which was in a great location, about 30 minutes on the tube from the Eiffel Tower. The apartment was very quaint but not very clean, which was disappointing. Thankfully the bedding was clean!
We explored our local neighbourhood that night and had dinner in a cafe at the square, just down the road. it was really lovely to be able to share Paris with Ella again - including delicious pastries!
Saturday
Thankfully the forecast rain held off for most of the day, but it was pretty chilly. We travelled to the Eiffel Tower and watching Ella's excitement at seeing it again, was just wonderful. We pretty dismayed to find that you are now unable to wander around the base and everything is cordoned off with fences and perspex panels. In fact, the area around the tower was really dusty and quite dirty - the price of tourism.
Anya met us around midday and we walked along the Seine toward Museo De Orsay. As with most places, there were massive queues to go inside, so we decided to just keep walking. Past the Louvre and then toward Notre Dame. There was a strong Police presence everywhere and all the nearby streets were cordoned off but, even from a distance, it was so sad to see the fire damage.
Back to the apartment for bit of a rest and some dinner - including our second citrine tarts of the day! Hey, we were in France and who's was counting? When we came out of the Metro, we found ourselves in the middle of hundreds of riot police in full Robo Cop mode. We think there was a yellow shirts protest, but didn't stick around to find our! Early eventing - we then bundled up and headed back to the tower to wait for the lights. Unfortunately it was really cold and we decided to head back about 9.50. Once we were back on the Metro, we could see the light show had started. Have to save that for next time.
Sunday
The girls decided to head back into the city centre and David and I went exploring in the La Petite Centre. There is a disused railway line that has now been made into a park area. It was clearly not often visited by tourists as there was nothing in English and the only people we saw were runners, walkers and dog walkers. It was so nice being able to walk in the city without the hassle and bustle of more popular areas. Lots of interesting building too.
Back to the Airbnb to meet the girls and pack our bags again. We only took carry-on and it was great being able to travel with minimal luggage. Return trip was uneventful except of the mandatory holding pattern waiting to land at Gatwick. Ella was well and truly interrogated at UK security about here ancestry Visa and David and I had the friendliest, chattiest Security Officer who just wanted to chat. By that stage we were beyond chatting!
Caught the tube back to Shepperd's Bush and had delicious burgers for dinner, before heading back to Bolingbroke Road. Lara was already in bed but we had a lovely chat to Jez who gave us a few suggestions as to what we could do with our last day in London.
Monday
Walked Eliza to school and then went to meet Janey (Granny), Lara's mum. She was absolutely delightful and it is easy to see why Ella loves her so much. They live in a beautiful home with a private walled garden and 80 steps top to bottom floor. The house is furnished in the most amazing antiques which, according to Janet, nobody wants any more because no-one likes brown furniture! She and Christopher are both in their 80s and we can see a headache for the family when it comes to sorting everything out. The family own a property in North Wales with a very large house that is apparently also full of amazing furniture. The original 100 acre garden (apparently Winnie the Pooh doesn't live there) has been donated to English Heritage, but they still have a home and 20 acres. We have been invited to visit next time.
Then went to meet Bertie and Anya for coffee before David and I went to Paddington Basin to hire a GoBoat, as suggested by Jez. We had a fantastic two hours travelling on the Regent Canal to Camden Town. Motored past narrow boats, Lords Cricket Ground, the London Zoo and a very angry swan. Thoroughly enjoyable and would absolutely recommend the trip.
Eliza had athletics after school so I went with Ella to collect her. It was the first time Ella had been there and the trip ended up being a bit of a nightmare. The bus was diverted and then there was heavy traffic. Her map direction ended up taking us to Wormwood Scrubs Prison before we finally found the sports ground, after an hour. We were a few minutes late, but thankfully Eliza was fine. The return trip was much less stressful.
Ella had a doctor's appointment to get a very strange lump on her hand checked. Dr thinks it is a cyst but has requested an ultrasound, just to make sure. Consultation and ultrasound all covered by National Health, and expected to have an appointment within two weeks - unbelievable!
Jez offered to cook dinner for us last night and we ended up having a very peasant getting to know Ella's 'Nanny family'. It was the perfect way to confirm that she really is in the best place. They are such lovely genuine and caring people. A very late night and way too much red wine consumed - not by me!!
Tuesday
Walked Eliza to school for the last time and then went to Gail's Cafe for the best hot chocolate in the world. I was tempted to ask how they make it and then decided that it was probably better not to know. Annette - it reminded me of the one we had in San Francisco.
Anya joined Ella and I and we went to Goldhawk Road, a street full of fabric stores. Thankfully I had already tried to pack my bag and knew that I definitely did not have room for any more purchases. Off to Westfield to get Ella some new running shoes as she and Bertie have put their names in the ballot for the 2020 London marathon. I have offered to act as support crew if they get accepted!
Back to Bolingbroke Road for lunch and our final pack up. I knew saying goodbye was going to be hard, can't image it would ever get easier, but Ella has so many adventures ahead of her, including a trip to Ibiza this weekend.
Caught the tube to Heathrow with plenty of time to spare, only to have a major hassle checking in. Currently David has boarding passes through to Dunedin and I have one to Hong Kong. Our bags are checked through, but I will have to checkin before transiting though HK. Something to do with my lament matching the booking, which is pretty confusing as I managed to travel here! Once we managed to get that sorted I then set the scanner into overdrive and ended up having a full body scan, complete frisking, drug and explosive test. Not sure what was going on as I am wearing the same clothes as I travelled here in (they have been washed).
Feels like forever ago since we left and we leave with some many happy memories of time spent with our wonderful girl.
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