Day 29 + Malaysia

All weekend we have been hearing television warnings of an impending hurricane force gale approaching the south of England. So we are not surprised to learn that our flight to Dubai is one of many that is delayed. We feel rather blessed in fact to get away from Heathrow just a few hours late. The ripple effect is a six hour stopover at Dubai in the middle of the night before we are able to catch a connecting flight to Kuala Lumpar.

The idea of a couple of nights in KL Is to help combat jet lag, having discovered that a similar stopover in Hong Kong last year worked so well. We manage to check-in at the Concorde Hotel which is very comfortable and well located in central KL. The weather is hot, so a plunge in the hotel pool and a beer, followed by a Malaysian barbecue at a nearby outdoor cafe rounds off a long day or was it days!

We have one full day in KL and decide to simply wander, shop and take in the sights. All of this is enjoyable, most especially viewing the capital from the Observation Deck of the KL Tower, the BB Plaza and dinner at 'Madam Kwan' at the Twin Towers. Having tried to walk early in the morning in the Malaysian heat, the rest of the day we move around by taxi. There are two benefits that this brings, firstly air-conditioning in the cab and secondly very informative tourist advice from extremely friendly cab drivers, all this at very cheap rates.

 

So now we prepare to return to Melbourne, hoping to walk the bridge between the Twin Towers and take the tour before our hourlong taxi trip back to the airport ready for our mid afternoon flight which is scheduled to arrive in Melbourne at 2.05 am on Friday.

Thank you to you all for following us on the blog, we enjoyed your feedback via email, comments and Facebook. Sorry about the photos on this blog apparently the IPad is out of storage capacity or it has jet lag! We will endeavour to rectify this and upload some photos of KL when we return to Melbourne.

 

 

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Day 28 Wells & Avoncliff

We leave our comfortable B & B at Shepton Mallet for the 9.45 am Eucharist at nearby Wells Cathedral. We arrive with plenty of time to sit and admire what is considered England's prettiest Cathedral (at least according to their own website). It is certainly neat and beautifully maintained and the liturgy is well done with a visiting choir providing powerful musical support.

After the Service we stroll through the Cathedral and its many cloisters, we support the Cathedral gift shop and cafe for a refreshing coffee. The weather is changing for the worse and this almost has us deciding on a tour of the Bishop's Palace however we take our chances on a walk right around the whole Cathedral precinct including the moat discovering some great views. Most importantly the treasure of the'priest's street' (housing for the Wells Cathedral clergy - what a gig - it is so unique.)

Heading across country we enjoy a Sunday drive in the beautiful English countryside, so lush and green, autumnal in places, with a bit of water on the narrow roads and lanes from last night's storm. Our GPS is set for Bradford on Avon, we are in pursuit of the Cross Guns Pub which had been recommended to us for Sunday roast. It's a bit tough getting there because of a closed lane way in flood but eventually we manage and are rewarded for our efforts with a superb meal in great ambience. The English country pubs really have something going for them, we would love to take back to Melbourne. It might be a bit difficult to arrange canals and canal boats and medieval buildings in the Australian bush.

News reports all day are saying that London and the south of England is in for a battering from high winds tonight, with a flight scheduled for early tomorrow we hope that we are not delayed.

So time to make our way to our hotel near Heathrow. Steve and Eryn deliver us safely for the inevitable sad farewell and they will be back at their home in Hammersmith early evening.

What a great time we have shared with them again this weekend and how fortunate to be with them as they celebrate their engagement these last couple of weeks.

 

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Day 26 & 27 Somerset

Friday in London is a working day for Ray, a meeting with the Archdeacon of Hamstead and then writing up his report for the Archbishop and Senior Staff. We meet Steve at Shepherd's Bush to get the hire car. The big challenge is managing the flight of steps at the station with all our luggage. Thank goodness for a lovely young English gentleman. We make our way in heavy traffic to our B & B at Shepton Mallet in Somerset, a relatively tough assignment for Steve, who less than 24 hours ago was celebrating the engagement at the pub in Hammersmith.

Anyway, a good night's sleep and a hearty breakfast and the four of us are on our way, visiting some of the highlights of Somerset. The village of Cheddar, home of the cheese and then an hour or so in the Gorge. On to Brean and the west coast, the young ones climb to the top of the promontory, we drive on the "sandy" beach and then head for Glastonbury stopping at a lovely pub for a bite of lunch.

Glastonbury is full of surprises, not least there is a Zombie procession later in the day. A Zombie wedding party are being photographed outside the Parish Church, the holy thorn tree also in the background! The ruins of the old Benedictine Abbey are amazing, stretching over 37 acres. Eryn & Ray tackle some art with a cold wind blowing. We walk back through the village amid the strange sights and smells.

We drive a short distance to the Tor and in failing light we quickly decide to climb to the top, this is great exercise and will justify dinner. The Tor is like a folly on top of a very high round hill, it is so windy up there just time to snap a photo and head back to the car.

We complete our driving loop and continue on to The George Inn at Crosscombe for a relaxing meal in great surroundings.

 

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Day 24 & 25 London

Wednesday and Thursday Ray has a series of meetings around London with clergy who have first hand experience of planting or grafting new congregations. They are all very pleased to spend time talking about their stories and offering advice for future development of the church. Without exception they are loyal and positive about the Anglican Church, the Bishop of London and the support they are receiving from the Diocese.

Meanwhile Glenys spends most of Wednesday exploring the delights of Bond and Oxford Streets and especially the Liberty Shop. Thursday she explores Paddington and visits 'Hair of London' in preparation for the engagement party that evening.

We celebrate our 42nd wedding anniversary on Table 23 (on the 23rd!) at Bel Canto Opera Dinner which is located just around the corner from our hotel.

Before Thursdays meetings we spend a couple of hours at the Tate Modern where we enjoy finding Picasso, Stanley Spencer, Kadinsky, Rothko and many others.

The engagement party at Dartmouth Castle Pub in Hammersmith is a fun night shared with about 20-30 of Steve and Eryn's friends, a good number of whom are Aussies.

 

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Day 22 & 23 London

Monday morning and it's time to pack up and return the hire car to Avis and get ourselves off to our Hotel at Lancaster Gate. It turns out the toughest part of all that was finding the Avis place at Westfield Shepherds Bush, it is huge!
The London Elizabeth Hotel is brilliantly located across the road from Hyde Park/ Kensington Gardens and we have a comfy room. Time permits us to visit Wippell's in Westminster where we fine tune our designs, fabrics and other details for the green set of vestments for Albert Park. Ray also purchases for himself a couple of items. We leave Wippell's the staff are all smiles and our best friends!

Next stop Shakespeare, unfortunately we are a week out of season for a command performance so we settle for the tour of the Globe Theatre and the audio tour of the theatre museum. We find them both very worthwhile but we are in need for a good sit down and a drink as soon as possible. Behold The Swan pub ( yes yet another 'Swan Pub') next door a haven for sore feet. We enjoy their refreshments overlooking The Thames and the dome of St Pauls not far away.

Tuesday is Ray's first official appointment with a senior staff member of the Diocese of London. We also are designated to purchase Half Price Tix for one of the shows tonight at Leicester Square. We decide on The 39 Steps and hope the publicity around the word 'hilarious' is accurate.

Glen has a lunch appointment at Hyde Park with an old friend, Brian, from young teenage days in Thornbury. Brian travels to London from Brighton and they enjoy catching up on the past 40 years. Brian has been an Anglican priest serving in the UK in various capacities all those years. He is now semi retired. Ray joins us for coffee at the Lido overlooking The Serpentine in Hyde Park later in the afternoon.

We meet Steve and Eryn for a Spanish tapas meal before the show at the Criterion in the evening. The 39 Steps IS hilarious! Lots of fun. We exit the theatre to pouring rain but it's only a matter of minutes and we are whisked home via a couple of tube stops.

By popular request above are some samples of Ray's artwork this holiday.

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Day 21 Canterbury

We enjoy Canterbury, especially the magnificent 11am Eucharist, hope you enjoy our pictures.

The Cathedral is home to the tombs of most Archbishops of Canterbury including Thomas A'Becket and Anselm.

Chaucer's Canterbury Tales are cleverly told (briefly). We enjoy our walk through the town and a game of jenga as we await the traditional Sunday Roast.

Our trip back to London is in heavy rain almost all the way, thanks Erin Sievright for the Yummy Risotto and home made cookies on our arrival home.

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Day 20 Kent

We begin the day with a hearty breakfast at Weald Cottage, and decide to spend the day at Leeds Castle near Maidstone. This is one of the gems of England and although run today by Trustees it is still a working Castle.

During our visit the staff were setting up for a wedding later in the day, and guest are also able to stay in rooms on the upper level. There is a long and quite lovely walk from the car park to the entry. The gardens and lake have an abundance of bird life including Australian black and swans and Canadian geese a fact not missed by Steve and Eryn.

We just beat the rain and are able to spend a couple of hours indoors marvelling at the various stages in the history of this castle including a very interesting period in the more recent 1930's even. After a warming lunch we further explore the Dog Collar Museum and the beautifully kept maze which is lots of fun in the rain.

We again enjoy the long walk back to the car park stopping off at the gift shop, naturally!

The team decides to visit Maidstone and the local Gallery and Museum before returning to Staplehurst where we are later to play cards at the pub and enjoy another generous English meal.

 

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Day 18 &19 Pilley & Chichester

Getting our hire car out of London and heading for the South is a big challenge - thank goodness for our/ Steve's GPS. We make a couple of stops on our way to the vicarage at Pilley, the new now of our friends Andrew and Diana. Andrew is the Associate Priest in the Parish of Boldre and has 'house for duty' arrangements in his retirement. However the latest reality check is that he currently is preparing for five funerals next week!

We enjoy superb hospitality and a lovely long walk along country lanes with Andrew to visit the parish church. After dinner we finish the evening with a chat by the open fire.

 

In the morning we take a drive with Andrew through the country lanes to Lymington and are able to view the Isle of Wight across the water. This area is a yachting mecca.

With Diana's local knowledge we head east with various suggested stopovers in mind. Chichester is our first destination and we are blown away with the beauty of this ancient Cathedral with its tasteful contemporary furnishings and the friendliness of the guides.

Chichester is renowned for its 12th Century Bishop Richard who wrote the famous prayer

Thanks be to thee, my Lord Jesus Christ, for all the benefits thou hast given me, for all the pains and insults thou has borne for me. O most merciful redeemer, friend and brother, may I know thee more clearly, love thee more dearly, and follow we more nearly, day by day. Amen

We also loved the Chagall window and the John Piper Tapestry.

Making our way to Maidstone in Kent we stop along the way at Bosham for lunch, a beautiful seaside village with picture postcard church by the sea. The remainder of our afternoon is spent in Friday afternoon traffic including a major traffic jam near Brighton. However we arrive at our delightful B&B - Weald Cottage - in good time to settle in then pick Steve and Eryn up at the train station nearby at Staplehurst.

The four of us thoroughly enjoy a meal at the Stilebridge Pub.

 

 

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Day 16 & 17 London

 

Our journey from Paris to London begins with lots of farewells along the way to members of the tour group. Some don't even need to rush for the early breakfast as their planes are leaving later in the day, others are dropped at the Charles de Gaulle Airport Terminals. Our driver, Frankie, leaves us at Calais to return the coach to Belgium where he lives.

The Channel crossing is smooth we can see the white cliffs of Dover from France. Our ferry is The Spirit of France - very comfortable with plenty of food and entertainment options, including free wifi.ii

On arrival in the UK, the remainder, about half the tour group, continue on to London to be at various locations. We are in the last group offloaded at Earls Court.

After a short taxi ride we meet Steve at the apartment in Hammersmith. It is great to catch up with the newly engaged couple who then prepare a sumptuous meal for us to share. We discuss lots of things over dinner including our tour, their trip to Seville and of course wedding plans. Steve and Eryn graciously look at our photos on the IPad for some reason the guru can't get his Apple TV working.

After a great night's sleep we have a leisurely breakfast and occupy the rest of the morning with domestic chores most especially at the local Laundromat. Then we head off in the rain in search of John Lewis Department Store at Sloane Square, it's still raining when we emerge from the tube station and discover John Lewis is really 'Peter Jones'. Not to worry it is still a fantastic store with great customer service. We have fun choosing a hamper of gifts for the engaged couple.

During the course of the day we pick up bits and pieces for the evening meal for which we have volunteered our culinary services. It was pretty good, following a menu we were recently served in Rome. So we go all out Italian - bruschetta, salade, pasta, roast chicken and vegetables all washed down with Chianti then followed by tiramisu. However before having dessert we head off to check out a couple of local pubs that have function rooms where we hope to celebrate the engagement with S&E's London friends next Thursday evening. We settle for the Dartmouth Castle.

A great day with lots of leisure time draws to an end. Tomorrow we travel south to our friends Andrew and Diana in Lymington and the weekend in Kent with S & E to follow.

 

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Day 15 Paris

Our last day in Paris begins with a city tour with a local guide on our Trafalgar coach. It is nice and quiet in Paris early morning, relatively speaking for a day that was to have for us a number of triumphs.

First triumph is a couple of rotations around the Arc de Triomphe and then down the Champs Élysées to Concorde Square, the place of the Bastille, the upmarket shopping strips, the embassies, the grand buildings, the River Seine etc.

We leave the majority of the group and, via Metro, try to first find Montparnasse stop and then the challenge to buy tickets for a day on our own to Chartres, mainly to visit the historic Cathedral. This turns out to be our second triumph because it is a great day out and despite the stress of language difficulties, track upgrades resulting in - transfer to French bus, we make it there and back with ample time for sightseeing and time at Chartres for Ray to paint a watercolour. A bit of luck however at the end of the return journey in that, unlike yesterday we accidentally walk the right way to our hotel at La Defence - another triumph.

A quick change into our best travelling clothes for our our gala night out at Moulin Rouge. With about 20 other members of the group who took this optional excursion. It was also a triumph. What a night! We expected the dancing girls, the can can but we got a lot more than this, including a very talented acrobatic couple, an amazing ventriloquist whose co-star was a fluffy white real dog that talked or so it seemed, very funny. A transparent swimming pool arises from the stage with a number of massive pythons swimming in the water and soon a scantily clad performer dives in and swims with them.

It's a good long evening's entertainment which we enjoy, including dinner, which we enjoy with new friends Richard and Megan from Tasmania, and Bill and Judith from USA. The costumes, the presentation, the colour, the spectacle of it all is fantastic. What a triumph! So glad we selected this option.

We retire at the Mercure Hotel around midnight and know that we have only a few hours sleep before an early departure time back to the UK.

 

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Day 14 Paris

We leave Beaume in thick fog and are soon dozing again as the coach rumbles along the motorway. After a while ourTour Director, Debra starts the gifts for previous Trafalgar travellers and we receive a lovely Japanese plate.

It's time to begin thank you' s and preparing for our last day together, so good old Ray jumps up and makes a speech thanking our driver and Debra for their truly excellent care, generosity and professionalism.

Our first stop is at the Versailles Palace, where 15 minute drop off goes pear shaped with one errant passenger disappearing, this little wander could cost a lot, we'll find out tomorrow.

We arrive at our Mercure Hotel early afternoon and decide to visit The Louvre and let the rest of the day unfold as it will. Glenys is watched by Miss M Lisa, and seemed concerned! We've heard a good deal about Leonardo this trip, so it is good to pay homage. What an unbelievable museum this place is!

We are packed off at closing time, a bit foot sore but ready for a Parisian Dinner. A stroll along the West Bank takes us to Notre Dame Cathedral, there's something cooking...the bells are tolling and we smell incense..it's the 25th anniversary of the episcopate of the Archbishop of Paris..what a procession!

Time, however, for us to get back our focus on food. We settle for a cosy spot adjacent to the Cathedral, a great little meal that includes French Onion Soup, escargot (snails) for Ray, Glenys politely declines the garden creatures but we make short work of fries and crepes, all washed down by some Bourdeaux.

Time then to find our way back yo Hotel Mercure, only takes a couple of hours..sorry Glen Ray's sense of direction askew after the dinner..was it the snails!

 

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Day 13 Avignon & Beaume

We leave Nice at 7.30 am for a journey of over 600 kms today. One last look at Nice and the boardwalk by the sea before we enter the motorway which runs along the coast of the Riviera and so we can see the city of Cannes as we pass by.

Tour Guide Debra has more entertaining and informative stories to tell as we travel. We think she should write a book as she weaves history and culture and art and quirky insights and the odd joke all together.

We spend a couple of hours in the historic city of Avignon home in the 14th century to the papacy. At one time there was a Pope here and another one in Rome. We have lunch in the square where Popes would have celebrated mass and given their public blessings. Ray tackles a complex little sketch. One of the other well known features of Avignon is the now half bridge (pictured) famous in the song 'Sur le pont Avignon'. It is a walled city with an ancient wall that seems to be still in excellent condition.

Next stop many hours later is Beaune in the Burgundy region. Despite the rain and cold weather this turns out to be a real surprise. A gorgeous old village exuding charm around every corner. We love the way the French spend so much time and energy on their shop windows and store displays.

Dinner is at our hotel and the cuisine is very French .... lovely.

 

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Day12 Nice - St Paul de Vence

We are blessed with a late start to our leisure day around the beautiful city of Nice. About 20 of us elect to take the optional tour to St Paul de Vence and Eze. We are delighted to have made this decision as we enjoy the stunning Mediterranean sun and vistas.

The little hilltop village of St Paul de Vence is an artist's colony with shops displaying their creative talents dotted all through the narrow, winding cobblestone streets. This area and village have been home to many great artists including Renoir, Degas and Marc Chagall. On the way we pass by a strip of land known as 'the horn', the most expensive real estate on the Riviera. We are blown away by the galleries here and could have stayed all day but alas we have other destinations on the day's schedule.

Our next stop is another hilltop village on the other side of Nice called Eze. Here all on board the tour except Ray visit a perfumery Ray takes the opportunity to sneak off and do a little watercolour painting. Nearby we all gather in a local restaurant for a sizeable and very French lunch. Then with full tummies we haul ourselves up,the windy and steep narrow cobblestone streets past more galleries, cafés and fascinating nooks and crannies to view the upper village of Eze.

The coach enables many of us to continue our day on foot back in the centre of the old town of Nice. We team up with young Richard and Meaghan from Tasmania who have a map and Gps on their phone. We enjoy a stroll around the shops checking out windows like the lolly shop (pictured) and many other store windows beautifully presented then we continue along the boardwalk beside the magnificent and very blue Mediterranean ocean and Nice's pebble beach. On our return we call at the Anglican Church of the Holy Trinity up until recently the parish of Fr Ken Letts.

We wind up our day with a trip to Carrefour a major supermarket type department store where we attempt to pick up a quick meal of bread and cheese and wine but not that easy in a very busy shop,where language is a challenge for us. Nevertheless it makes the evening meal even more enjoyable to have worked so hard to achieve it!

 

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