Europe - 2016

London Day 1 - Wednesday 16 November
Michael drove us to Tullamarine Airport Domestic terminal, we arrived at 10.45am. No real problems booking luggage all the way through to London. Collected boarding passes for both flights - departed at 12.30pm Tuesday afternoon, arrived in London 7.00am Wednesday morning. 29 hours travelling in reality but only 18hrs 30 minutes by the clock! The wonders of the Greenwich Meridian and travelling backward in time.
We had no problems getting through customs and we were waiting for Nat. We knew we were in London, it just seems to have that smell and sense of being BIG!
The Tube was the same - you don't look or say anything, just watch the wash of humanity as it embarks and disembarks at the various stations.
Piccadilly and District lines to Aldgate East station then a five minute walk to Nat and Emily's unit in Chicksand Street. We dropped the luggage, had quick showers, changed clothes then wondered around Brick Lane and Whitechapel High Street with Nat. We had a great lunch (which was even enough not to have dinner) at a Brick Lane Bangladesh Curry house!
Stayed awake until 9.00pm - then slept well!


London Day 2 - Thursday 17 November
Today we were by ourselves, Nat and Em both had to work, didn't wake up until after they had left for work. We had made plans last night to walk over the Tower Bridge and then walk along South Bank and ride the London Eye, then after that contact Nat and see if he had finished work.
We managed to navigate down to the Tower Bridge - great to be able to walk across without all the traffic noise, the bridge is closed to road traffic for repairs.
Really good view of what the moat would have presented to anyone trying to get into the Tower of London.
Once over the bridge we walked along Tooley St until we were able to get back onto the Southbank near Borough Markets. Borough Markets are great, just something different about them. Had a good look around and Ken tried a few samples. We continued along Southbank with Paula finding a 'Real Greek' restaurant that we decided would be a good stop on the way back for lunch. Not much further on was the OXO building which was our stop for Nero coffee and for Ken to have a rest. The coffee was great, it was the same place we had coffee in when we did the bike ride around London on our previous visit. Great atmosphere and warm! Even though the sun was out the wind (blustering up to 40km/h) was cold, with autumn leaves blowing around our feet as we walked along.
We had a quick look at some Christmas stalls just being set up in front of the Arts building, strange feeling to look up at the Tower over the building with the clouds moving so fast, weird vertigo set in if you looked too long!
Getting organised for the London Eye was very easy, no long lines that we had witnessed during the school holidays but school groups everywhere, made life interesting to use the toilets. There seems to be more kids out on excursions than at school - not really but still a lot of school groups out.
The 4D movie before you do the London Eye ride was interesting, the grand children would have liked the seagull flying out over your head or the kids having a party on the Eye and sticking a sword in your nose.
The ride itself gives a good perspective of London and the little computers help you identify the different buildings. The pod moved a little in the wind at the top but wasn't too unsettling. We've done it now.
We walked back along Southbank, wind behind stopping for lunch - Greek food, Paula had grilled eggplant (aubergine) as a three tier meal and Ken had a Greek plate.
We continued along Southbank crossing back over the Tower Bridge and back to Nat's unit.
We had booked a 'Jack the Ripper' walking tour for 7.00pm and with Nat's unit being in Whitechapel why not. The walk left from Aldgate East, exit 4 with Philip as our guide. He knew his stuff and made the walk quite interesting. The night was cold but didn't rain as it had the last three nights. In the two hours of the walk we covered five of the different Jack the Ripper murder sights. Philip had photos of the different murder sites and the victims which added to his stories and the atmosphere. Philip dis-spelled some of the myths around who Jack the Ripper may have been.
We were pretty tired by the time the walk had finished and didn't need much rocking to get to sleep.

London Day 3 - Friday 18 November
We wake to a clear day. Today we had to try and find a medical facility that would look at Paula's arm. Our first attempt was a medical centre for the homeless, no luck. They directed us to a medical practice around the corner which would only see registered patients. Our only option was a 'walk in' clinic near Canary Wharf, so unless Paula thinks she has a problem she will continue as we have been and just monitor it herself.
We returned to Nat's and worked out how to get to the Jack the Ripper museum and the Monument.
The Jack the Ripper museum was set up in an old four storey Victorian home which leant to the atmosphere, with a narrow stairwell and small rooms. The information was similar to what we had heard last night, you just had a little more time to take it all in.
Again there was numerous 'theories' as to who 'the Ripper' was. It was interesting but not 'spellbinding' - I suppose they can't really leave dead bodies lying around all over the place!
From here we made our way to the monument along Tower Hill and Eastcheap Street. The monument was again a scene for school groups, they must be following us! It is rather sobering to read the numbers of people killed and the buildings destroyed in the Great London Fire of 1666 which raged for three days.
We then headed for Spitalfields Markets along Fenchurch Street, Paula was able to get a photo of the Fenchurch Street Station. Spitalfield Markets are the oldest Markets in London but have been refurbished with a great covering and tiled floors but still some great selection of craft and clothing stalls. We had the chance to try some very unusual foods but regrettably had Leon's, a supposedly organic fast food franchise - not again!
We walked through the old and new Markets then headed back to Nat's for a rest and to wait for him to let us know when had finished Friday's 'staff drinks' and was heading into Piccadilly Circus. At 6.00pm we caught the District line to Embankment.
Using the iPhone maps app we navigated to Trafalgar Square, then onto Piccadilly Circus facing the big Coke sign and the Ripley's Building. Just as we arrived Nat messaged to say he was a few minutes away - not sure which Underground exit he would use Paula stayed on one side and Ken on the other. He arrived at Paula's exit. We decided on Chinese for dinner and made our way to Chinatown to eat at the very first place Nat and Emily had had a meal at when they were first in London. It was called Dumpling Legends and is pretty famous, with Charles and Camilla having eaten here.
Dinner was great and it was a coincidence that Adam also had his meal here as well and we didn't see each other! After we had eaten we headed for Leicester Square and all the Christmas decorations. We wandered into M&M World for a look before getting the Tube back to Chicksand Street.

London Day 4 - Saturday 19 November
Late up today as our 'roomies' had a sleep in.
Nat showed us how to get to Blackfriars and catch the National Rail to Gatwick. We also purchased the return tickets and organised what to do if the District Line wasn't running when we returned late Thursday night.
Ken had coffee and Nat, hot chocolate in Blackfriars before heading towards St Paul's and Covent Garden. At St Paul's, in the Paternoster Square we found a table tennis table where Nat and Paula had a quick hit before the Square was invaded by kids.
Our walk took us up through Temple were we saw Australia House and had the opportunity to hear the 'real' bells of St Clements.
From here we walked to Covent Garden Pub and had a true English Pub lunch, bangers and mash and soup with bread!
On our way out through the Covent Garden Markets we were entertained for about 30 minutes by a gym skit - the two guys running the skit and the little boy they selected from the audience were really funny. We even put our loose change in the collection hat for them.
Our trip home was on the Central Line to Liverpool Street as Aldgate East Station and the District Line was closed for the weekend for general maintenance.
Traditional fish and chips from Poppies for tea.

London Day 5 - Sunday 20 November
We woke about 6 am but lay in bed so as not to disturb the others before getting up and going to mass at English Martyrs Catholic Church in Prescott Street. Paula needed a new dressing for her arm so we went looking for a chemist - we had no luck and received a message from Nat asking us to get some more eggs for breakfast. We collected these and some fruit then headed back to Nat's unit for eggs on toast. Nat mentioned a large Boots chemist at Liverpool Street Station so after breakfast we headed out to see if we could find Paula's medical requirements.
The chemist was huge and had everything we needed. We almost stopped for a coffee at Nero's near the station which would have been interesting as we ended up back there in the afternoon! On our way back to Nat's we wandered through Petticoat Markets looking for a beanie for Ken. Nothing was found that suited.
Once we had finished organising Brussels for our last weekend and the footy in Brighton for next weekend we headed down through the Brick Lane Markets (finally found Ken's beanie) to the Flower Markets in Columbia Road. It is a narrow street and was crowded but had some interesting flowers. We now know what pussy willow looks like.
We continued through Bethnal Green back to Liverpool Street Station for a coffee and hot chocolate break. It was good to sit inside as it was nice and cosy in Nero's. As Ken said he could have saved a half day's walk by staying here from the 'near' visit this morning!
After our rest stop we made our way to the Post Office in Whitechapel High Street to collect Emily's parcels. We had an air of excitement on our way back watching the police apprehend an 'escaped' patient from the hospital - he didn't look too dangerous with his arm in a sling, wearing nothing but a hospital gown and bouncing up and down on his bare feet to keep warm. He looked frozen but the three police cars and seven attending officers weren't taking any chances with sirens going, lights flashing and half the road blocked off!
We stopped at the Tesco Express store to collect supplies for dinner and tomorrow's breakfast. It is quite interesting to watch the sun set and the conditions going to twilight at 3.30 - 4.00pm in the afternoon. Back at the unit Emily and Adam prepared a roast dinner which was beautiful. We finished the night watching X-Factor and playing cards.
Tomorrow we pack and head to Iceland for our next adventure.

Iceland Day 1 - Monday 21 November
No need to rush out of bed, although Ken hasn't been sleeping well for a few days, not sure if it's the bed, the pillows, it's too hot in Nat's unit or his arm is playing up - time will tell.
Easy to get organised for our flight to Iceland, both of us left a fair bit behind in the larger carry-on bags and just took the smaller ones - much easier to manage once we put the large bags through.
We left Nat's unit at 11.00am, no crowds at Aldgate East or Blackfriars so straight through. It was drizzling as we left and wasn't as cold as it has been the last three days, although the platform at Blackfriars was really cold as it was over the Thames. We decided to get the next train through to Gatwick because of the cold and also because a note on the board said the 11.52am train to Brighton was delayed. We weren't sure if this would affect the 12.08pm train Nat had suggested so we boarded and took the chance it wouldn't cause us a problem.
No hassles - arrived at Gatwick in time to get through security and even have a 'sit down' lunch. Automated baggage makes life easy.
Ken had a full body scan, yet Paula, with all the 'metal' in her went straight through - no justice! Even had a personal body search after the scan, up and down arms and sides. We had lunch at Armadillo (a new franchise for us, South American food) - Paula had a salad and Ken a 3 egg omelette, both were very nice.
Beautiful orange sunset as we were travelling towards Iceland. Icelandic men are definitely of Viking original definitely a 'don't mess with me' persona - a few on the plane.
Haven't seen any Icelandic woman as yet that you would say was strikingly different.
Plane arrived no troubles and getting through customs, except for the guy in security giving Ken a good hard look, was easy.
Our 'potential' troubles started on the Flyby bus into Reykjavik - we hopped on the bus at 7.05pm - 45 minute ride to our motel, register, find our room, unpack, put warmer clothes on and be ready for the 8.30pm pick up for the Northern Lights tour - easy.
Nothing like it - we now think Iceland runs on Fiji time - and from our perspective - thankfully! The bus waited for every potential customer and didn't leave until almost 7.30pm. It then seemed to stop at every hotel from the airport to Reykjavik central and take every detour possible. We couldn't even take in the countryside or the city as we were too busy watching the time!
Finally reached our hotel, Hotel Klettur, just after 8.30pm, assuming we had missed the connecting bus for the Northern Lights. We booked in and the desk attendant said he hadn't seen the bus as yet so we rushed to the room, grabbed the camera, the warm jackets and the voucher raced back to the front entrance just as the bus arrived!
The little pick up bus took us to the main depot where we hopped on a larger bus - bus No.5 and again waited!
Once the bus was full, mainly Americans, we headed to the National Park, 50 minutes away from the city, to view the Northern Lights. They are an interesting natural phenomenon so don't always behave the way you would like. We had an 'off night', you could see the lights but they lacked the vibrant green and blue you see in the pictures but it was still a worthwhile experience. The real, 'once in a life time' experience was the cold!
Because we had rushed to catch the pick up bus we had no thermals, no warm over pants, no scarfs or fur lined boots -6C degrees is COLD without the proper gear! (Ken forgot his gloves as well.) Your jeans freeze against your skin, your toes become blocks of ice and all you want is some warmth. In the hour and a half we were there we hopped on and off the bus three times just to stay a little bit warm. We couldn't even concentrate to take any decent photos. There was a sigh of relief from a few passengers (we might have had the loudest sighs) when the guide said it was time to head back.
Our drama for the night hadn't finished there, the big bus was suppose to drop us off at our individual hotels but developed hydraulic problems on the way back. We had to head back to the depot and be placed into smaller buses to go back to our hotels, more delays and still cold! When back in our room we couldn't get the heating to work initially which made us even more frustrated, finally Paula worked it out by looking at how the bathroom clothing drawer worked. We both slept really well, Paula was asleep before the lights went out. We were warm and comfortable in the beds!

Iceland Day 2 - Tuesday 22 November
Why does everyone in the world have a different heating system for their showers?
It took a little working out but we finally both had warm showers before we headed for breakfast. We went for breakfast at 8.00am and it was still dark outside and we wouldn't see the sun rise until just before 10.00am.
Breakfast was good, we stocked up because of the cold and also so we could have a later lunch after the free city walking tour and the hop on hop off bus trip.
After being so cold last night we probably went 'over kill' today to make sure we weren't cold. With that many layers it was hard to see your feet to put the shoes on, but we stayed warm all day.
At 9.30am we left to find our way to the walking tour, Paula had written the street names down in her diary as there was no way we would remember them (Hafnarstræti - Port Street or Aðalstræti - Main Street). We arrived early in the main square - dawn was just starting to shed its light through an overcast sky. Our guide was Eric who was very knowledge about Iceland and Reykjavik- he was also friendly, had good English and a great sense of humour. He gave us these links to help us understand Iceland better - http://citywalk.is/extras/ and - http://citywalk.is/what-to-do-in-iceland/
We walked for two hours and he told us lots of interesting things, too many to remember but a couple that were interesting were the Icelandic naming system, the almost equality of women, the crime rate of only 1.2 murders a year and the heavy taxes that allow everyone the same health, education and welfare opportunities. Reykjavik has only 147 homeless people. Iceland's total population is 335,000.
Following the city walk we did the 'Hop On Hop Off' bus for a better overview of Reykjavik - the 2 hours gave us a good perspective of what is quite a modern and open designed city.
It started to snow as we were finishing the ride but we wanted to walk back and have a look at a Viking boat as modern art. Walking in falling snow was a new experience for Ken. The Icelandic people are very proud of their Viking heritage and many stories - sagas in Iceland, tell of their history from 871 plus/minus 2 (an interesting story in itself).
We wandered the old Main Street area of Reykjavik and had a traditional Icelandic fish dinner in a very old pub. We then brought a few things for tomorrow and headed back to the motel around 4.30pm. Paula posted some postcards - it was already dark, we are getting about 7 hours daylight at present, by December 22 it is going to be down to about 4 1/2 hours.
Ken was fascinated by the loud gravel noise the car tyres made on the roads as we walked the city streets - he discovered that it is mandatory in Iceland, from November until April, for all cars to be fitted with 'studded' tyres.
Once back in the hotel we relaxed, caught up with e-mails and messages and had any early night.

Iceland Day 3 - Wednesday 23 November
Today we have an eight hour bus tour of the southern and central parts of Iceland, basically the farming areas, the geo-thermal sites and the historical shrine and geological area around the Þingvellir National Park.
Paula was up first, she has been the first one up everyday since we have arrived in England for this holiday, not sure why?
We had early showers and an early breakfast as we needed to be ready for the pickup bus by 8.30am, made it no problems. We were well rugged up but it wasn't as cold today as it has been.
Our allocated bus was Golden Circle Tour - No.1, important to remember as each location we stopped at was full of tour buses. The tour travelled the Icelandic ring road (the best ride in Iceland - dual highway status) for the first hour. The countryside is unique, barren and bare, no trees anywhere. Only 1% of Iceland is covered by trees and these don't grow very high. We heard the same Iceland joke about trees three times!
You can see for miles with most everything covered in ice, the snow, when it falls, doesn't stay as snow for very long - it's too cold! The landscape would then suddenly throw up a huge mountain range or jagged basalt lava flows with its dark black rock showing through the ice. Parts of the countryside had powerlines criss crossing the land coming from the 'cloud factory' as the guide called it, the geothermal power station. All energy used in Iceland is from environmentally friendly sources. After a while the road changed to a smaller road for our first stop - a geothermally run tomato farm. Really amazing how it all works.
We also saw and heard about the Icelandic horses, they are small in statue and have a unique fifth gait for galloping over the basalt and rocky strewn ground.
From here we travelled to the geo-thermal area to look at bubbling hot water springs and the gushing geyser 'Strokkur'. It consistently spouted every 3 to 4 minutes, sometimes just a spit, other times a real torrent - we were lucky we saw a good spurt.
The area was fairly icy so Paula had to watch her footing, didn't want her to fall and break something else! We both had a couple of minor slips.
After we left Haukadalur we were to visit two of the most spectacular sights in Iceland if not the world. The Gullfoss Waterfall in winter is unbelievable. Truly magical, even the photos can't do it justice. It would have been great to have explored the lower trail, to get closer to the falls, but it is closed in winter. Again some of the tracks were very icy.
Our next stop was the historic Þingvellir National Park. This area houses the joining of two tectonic plates and is also the area where the site of the first parliament meeting for the Icelandic people - a two week affair in a place that is very awe inspiring. The area was used from 930 until 1262. The site is still used when the Icelandic people want to meet to celebrate something significant. We also went past the 'drowning pool' - a place were female criminals and witches were put to death.
It wasn't until we reached the top of the path from the site that we realised we had actually been here before! This was were we had come on the first night to see the Northern Lights.
On returning to our hotel we looked at possible locations for dinner. We decided on the Old Icelandic Restaurant, a great choice. Paula had salad and fish, Atlantic catfish, and Ken had lamb soup and fish penne, all were absolutely delicious. Once back in the room it was time to organise packing for our flight back to London but in between we will be visiting the Blue Lagoon and wondering how we would get on with Paula's broken wrist.

Iceland Day 4 - Thursday 24 November
Alarms set for 6.00am - it doesn't really matter what time you get up until after 10.00am, it is still dark outside!
We had our first of three showers for the day and headed for breakfast. Ate well, fortify ourselves for a long day/night travelling. Packing was sorted and we were at reception before 8.30am for our pickup.
No transport problems to get to the Blue Lagoon - Reykjavik Excursions have been really good with all our tours. Luggage storage at the Blue Lagoon was simple and quick. It was just a short walk through a lava rock corridor to the Blue Lagoon entrance. We received our 'wrist band' sensor, this gets you entry and access to a locker. We also asked for towels and had to pay extra. You don't really need a dressing gown unless you are going to wander around the complex or be outside for an extended period of time. Paula and Ken parted company after going through the entry gate but not before we saw a lady slip on the stairs and hurt her hand. We were to meet her again. There was no issue with Paula having her arm wrapped in a plastic bag, after all her worries the girl at the entry just smiled and said that'll be all right when she asked about it.
The change area was very well organised, shoes off and on a shelf in a designated area, into your locker area, get changed into your swimmers with everyone else or use the private cubicles. Put all your clothes/valuables in an open locker, close it then swipe your wrist sensor across the locking mechanism, it will flash blue and show you your locker number. From here you go into the showers, swimmers off and use the body gel and hair conditioner to have a thorough wash. Again you can choose an open shower or a private cubicle. Swimmers back on - leave your towel near the showers in a spot with your locker number or take it with you to an outside hanging space, again using your locker number.
From here you go to the Lagoon entry area. You can choose to go into the water in the sheltered area and through an exit door to the outside staying in the water or go straight out the doors into the cold and down the ramp into the Lagoon proper. This is were the outdoor towel area is. You are in the cold for no more than 10 seconds.
It was in the sheltered area that Ken and Paula regrouped. Because Paula had taken a while to fix her arm Ken was already waiting in the beautiful warm water.
We ventured out through the sheltered area,with Paula holding her arm in the air. The initial cold air outside was noticeable but it didn't take long for the warmth of the water to negate this. The Lagoon itself takes in a very large area and we set out to explore it all. We came across the lady who had slipped, her hand was wrapped in a bag of ice and she was carrying it out of the water! Pigeon pair with Paula. We found the bar, and not long after a life guard, yes a life guard, rugged up like an Eskimo, saw Paula's arm and offered her the use of a pool noodle tied like a pretzel to put her arm on a float around like that. It was a good idea as Paula was starting to get tired from carrying her arm. The depth of the water through the Lagoon varies but you are never not able to keep your shoulders below the surface and it is never too deep not to be able to stand. There is no swimming or diving, just a relaxing float around. There are some spots warmer than others and they seem to be where the water enters the Lagoon from the underground. We did the silica face mask, tried the waterfall (nice massage on Ken's shoulder) and Ken did the steam bath. Having the noodle for Paula's arm meant we were comfortably able to spend nearly 2 hours in the water. We took a few photos after Ken went back and retrieved his phone from the locker.
It was a very different and unusual tour activity to do and we are glad we included it with our trip.
We left the Blue Lagoon for Keflavik Airport at 1.00pm, having had our third shower!
The wait at the airport was long but as it was very windy and rainy outside it was probably the best place to be. There is much more that we would have liked to have explored in Iceland, maybe a summer visit!
The flight back to London Gatwick was ahead of schedule but getting through Border Security took ages. Having collected our luggage we caught the 2 minute shuttle train from North Gatwick airport to South Gatwick airport and the Gatwick train station. Paula spotted the train for London Blackfriars from Platform 2, it was the train to Bedford. It was also going to be the last train as the 0015 had been cancelled. We made it to London Blackfriars on the Thameslink train with 8 minutes to spare to catch the last Underground travelling east to Aldgate East. It brings an eerie feel to the area when you are walking the streets of Whitechapel after 1.00am in the morning!

London Second Visit Day 1 - Friday 25 November
We woke to the sun streaming through the windows in Nat's unit, a very different feel to the day than Reykjavik! Paula did the washing, sorted the clothes and tidied the lounge room moving our luggage and bags out of the way. Ken did the dishes and also did some repairs on two pots.
The day looked great with the sun out so we walked along Chicksand Street to Whitechapel High Street and through the street Markets. After this we walked down to Spitalfield Markets and Liverpool Station, having Nero's cake and coffee.
We looked at possible Christmas jumpers in the Markets but left only with a few ideas for a later purchase. It was back to Nat's for lunch then another out for another walk in the sun down Brick Lane to the Box Park shops. By the time we returned it was getting dark and cold.
Once Nat was home we decided to go down Brick Lane for dinner. Nat and Emily 'haggled' a good deal for an Indian meal, which was delicious and very filling.
We were sleeping in the lounge room and would get the opportunity of having the sun wake us up.

London Second Visit Day 2 - Saturday 26 November
A little sleep-in, not up until just after 9.00am, showered and breakfast. Just waiting for Nat and Emily to travel to Brighton to have a look around and watch a football (soccer) game. Championship League - Alibon v Fulham.
It was an hour journey to Brighton. When we arrived we wandered through the Markets on our way to the seafront. The Brighton 'beach' has to be seen to be believed, it's all pebbles that hurt your feet to walk on in shoes or 'flip flops' let alone bare feet!
We had lunch in an 'under the boardwalk' establishment called OHSO with a great view of the English Channel the Brighton and Hove beach and Brighton Pier.
After lunch we walked down to Queen's Park to catch the bus to the AMEX Community Stadium. There are some wonderful old historical buildings around the square. We parted company, Paula was going to explore Brighton alone, on foot, Nat, Emily and Ken to the football.
The stadium has the most amazing seats - padding to sit on and to rest against. We arrived just as the teams were being introduced, there is nothing like the atmosphere, the rival teams sing and chant against each other in unison with what is happening on the field. The first half was all Fulham with them leading 1 nil at half time.
The Albion coach must have had few words at half time as they came out a different team. They attacked which made the game a great spectacle. They scored twice in the second half finishing the game 2 - 1.
Getting a bus back into Brighton took a while and we contacted Paula to let her know to meet us the Brighton Pier, not the railway station. She beat us there easily.
We explored the pier with Paula and Emily having a ride on the carousel, this one was special as the horse rides went up and down as they went around.
Nat and Emily played a few 2p novelty games as well. From the pier we wandered through the streets until we found an Italian restaurant built within an old Victorian house. It had three levels and a basement. The food was delicious.
We caught a Thameslink train back to Blackfriars then a District Line to Aldgate East.
It had been a long but enjoyable day.

London Second Visit Day 3 - Sunday 27 November
No real hurry to get up, we just had to make church by 9.00am.
After church Nat took us into the Westfield Shopping Centre at Stratford. Nat needed some new clothes and Paula and Ken wanted Christmas jumpers for the visit to the Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park that night and for the Christmas dinner the night before we head home. Primark was packed! We eventually found what we were after but had to line up for a while to pay.
Adam and Emily had stayed home to cook a roast for their visiting relatives and us. It was a great dinner, with Paula and Ken finding out a little more about the 'Watson' clan.
Around 6.00pm Emily got us and Nat (he had been sleeping for about an hour) ready, dressed in our Christmas jumpers, to head into Marble Arch and the Winter Wonderland. It was packed and very noisy. We spent 2 hours thepre wandering around the different areas taking in the different stalls, foods and rides. Lots of colours and different smells, very much like a giant show with Christmas just tacked on.
Nat said most of the rides, food halls and stalls they had seen at the Octoberfest in Germany. It was great to see Nat interact with a family from his school.
Ken was pretty tired, so finding the quickest way home was in order. We took the Tube to Liverpool Station then walked back to the unit. Ken was dragging the chain with sore hips and back.

Rome Day 1 - Monday 28 November
The alarm was set for 6.30am to make sure we gave ourselves time to pack, have a shower and be on the Tube and DLR by 8.30am. The only hassle was the washing machine not finishing in time for us to hang the bedding out to dry. We sent a note to Nat letting him know what had happened.
The Aldgate East entrance near Nat's unit was closed so we had to go down the street a little further, very busy with a strong Police presence and very crowded on the West platform - lucky we were heading East!
All good to the London City Airport, caught the correct DLR and found the right checkin gate. Bags loaded and boarding passes done with time to spare. Just took an age to board, we were held downstairs for ages. The plane was 30 minutes late in leaving. We will need to contact the AirBnB host when we land to say we will be running late.
Not only was the plane running late but they lost Ken's bag! It took ages to get through the paperwork at Baggage Lost and Found but we were eventually told it would be delivered tomorrow.
It was a warm afternoon and the taxi ride to the unit was 'quick', the driver knew where the horn was and used it a few times to move cars over. Found out as we approached our destination that he has a Harley.
The unit is in a narrow little street Via Caprareccia, 6. Daniel welcomed us and showed us how everything worked, especially the keys.
We got settled then went for a walk to find some things for breakfast and a place to have tea. Daniel had recommended some restaurants in Barberini. We missed the area by one street and ended up near the Theatre Sistina and a restaurant there, the food was delicious.
When we arrived back at the unit we found that the air conditioner didn't work and this on top of finding out when we first arrived that the washing machine had been broken by the previous guest didn't endear Paula to the AirBnB experience.
We sorted out the route we would take to get to our Vatican tour tomorrow and set the alarms for 6.30am

Rome Day 2 - Tuesday 29 November
Up with alarms, the shower was nice and warm. Quick breakfast and ready to leave by 7.30am. It was a 3.7km walk (the GPS suggested 46 minutes) and it was pretty close to being right with the busy streets and cobbled roads.
We found our English speaking tour guide, received our audio gear and headed off.
The entrance is actually at the back of Vatican City and we had to walk along the high wall that separates the Vatican City from Rome to get in. It was easy to get into although it was heavily guarded.
We visited the Vatican Museum, the Sistine Chapel, St Peter's Basilica and St Peter's Square. Words can't describe what we saw, hopefully the photos will do it justice. Our guide was very informative and gave us some interesting stories behind the artworks.
From Vatican City we walked towards a medieval castle near the Tiber River for Paula to get a photo. We nearly had a major mishap when Paula missed the step on the side of the road and fell! She made sure she saved her left arm, instead rolling on her knee and elbow - she was a little shaken up.
We headed back to the unit and on the way back received a call to say the lost bag would be delivered around 2.30pm.
The bag didn't arrive until 4.00pm so we wasted an afternoon, although it gave Paula time to plan a few more days. Daniel arrived to fix the air conditioner but had no luck. He organised for Elisa to bring an oil heater to keep us warm, which was there when we got back from dinner. Paula has now found the Rome water to go all 'fluffy' when you boil it so she now won't have her regular cups of hot water.
We also used Paula's 'new map guidance system' to find our way to the Pompeii departure site for our Thursday tour on our way to find something for dinner.
We were back in the unit, already a lot warmer, by 7.00pm.

Rome Day 3 - Wednesday 30 November
Nice sleep in, although Paula doesn't think 7.00am is a sleep in - no hurry as we are going to be doing the Hop On Hop Off bus tour for most of the day. Just need to be at the Rail Terminus around 9.00am.
Everything went according to plan today. We used the Hop On Hop Off bus perfectly without too much time waiting in lines to see things or waiting for the bus to come around again, although in Rome you could understand traffic jams. The traffic is utter chaos- you take your life in your own hands trying to use pedestrian crossings that don't have lights!
The first two stops didn't have anything that we really wanted to see (and they are within walking distance of the unit). The third stop was the Colosseum, but we had been told to avoid the early morning rush, so we just took photos from the bus on the way past.
Stops 4, 5 and 6 didn't interest us this time round, it was at stop 7, Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps that we took our first break. Finding Trevi Fountain was easy and it was magical, we even had a kiss for the photographer - even though it cost €3 it was worth it!
From here we walked to the Spanish Steps, and walked them all to the little church at the top. We lit a candle for David here.
After finding our way back to the Hop On Hop Off bus stop we climbed back on and continued the Loop. It was interesting to listen to the onboard commentary about the Vatican City and area as we travelled through. It was comforting to see buildings and areas we had walked through yesterday. We continued through to the terminus and hopped on a new bus just leaving to get to the Colosseum. Once there we booked a guided tour of the Colosseum, Palatine Hill and the Roman Forum.
Our first guide was very interesting - he gave us a quick ancient history lesson to give us a time frame for the building and use of the Colosseum. It truely is a magnificent building and you can only imagine the euphoria of the crowd and the horror of the victims when the 'games' were on. Ken now appreciates where the term 'human torches' comes from.
After viewing the Colosseum we picked up a new guide for the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill. Again he had some interesting stories and you could spend a whole day walking around the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill. We were only able to spend an hour here to fit everything in that we had planned. It was already almost 4.00pm and getting dark and we had still to visit the Pantheon. We used stop 5. It was a 12 minute walk to the Pantheon. The piazza it was in had a great atmosphere and it would have been a good spot to have had an outdoor evening meal.
The Pantheon was originally a place to worship Roman Gods but is now a Catholic Church, which is part of the reason it hasn't been 'recycled'. After the collapse of the Roman Empire any Roman building that wasn't recognised as a church was allowed to have its building material reused in other buildings, hence the reason the third and fourth floors of the Colosseum don't go all the way around the building anymore. The Pantheon also has the body of Raphael buried in it's walls.
From the Pantheon we found our way back to bus stop, caught the bus back towards the stop that closest to our unit. We didn't take long to decide upon a place to have dinner as we were both very hungry!
We finished the night with Paula posting a few photos onto Facebook.
Tomorrow we do a bus tour to Pompeii, meaning a very early start.

Rome Day 4 - Thursday 1 December
Our Pompeii tour was from 7.30am to 8.00pm a long day, with at least 6 hours travelling in the bus.
We were up by 6.00am, quick showers and a simple breakfast, Ken peanut butter on toast and Paula a boiled egg and a banana. We collected the necessary paper work and made our way to the Carrani Tours Offices for the departure point. We arrived with about 5 minutes to spare. They combined the English and Spanish speaking groups together for our tour. It wasn't too difficult listening to the same commentary repeated in Spanish for the whole day. Our tour guide to Naples was Francesca and Daniel was our bus driver, it was his first day on the job and he had a good day!
Both are definitely of Roman origin, with great facial profiles to prove it.
The drive to Naples down the autostrade, there A1 - divided road six lanes, was interesting with the countryside presenting interesting sites as it was basically a wide valley with jagged mountain ridges either side. The farming went from mixed, to vineyards to lemon and orange orchards. Lemons seem to be something special in this part of Italy.
Our first stop after 1 hour 20 minutes was for a quick drink and toilet stop. We meet fellow Aussie travellers here who were on our bus. they were a mother and daughter from Newcastle who knew Wagga people. We spent more time with them a few other times during the day.
Back on the bus we continued to Naples. The three highway lanes allow for a good movement of the traffic as different vehicles have different speed classifications. The maximum speed on the highway is 110kph and it is well policed. Heavy trucks and semi trailers are 70-80 limited and stay on the outside lane (right lane), smaller trucks and buses are 80-100 limited and generally use the middle lane, passing on the inside lane, the 70-80 limited vehicles can pass using the middle lane. Cars can use all three but generally use the inside lane. It was interesting to watch a few cars use all three to manoeuvre quickly through the traffic.
Naples was a contrast - parts of it looked like someone has said everything is going to be the same, but you do have one choice; you can choose to live in a yellow, white, brown or light blue block of units. These unit blocks seem to be everywhere, the same height, the same shape the same windows, no balconies, hang you clothes from the windows - the sameness was so striking. Then you have the almost claustrophobia of the narrow streets of the older part of town but with magnificent views of the Bay of Naples, Capri, Sorrento and Mount Vesuvius.
Our guide for the Naples tour and Pompeii knew some interesting facts which made his commentary quite interesting. After the Naples tour (it would have been good to have been given some more opportunities to take photos of the great views) we stopped for a three course meal at an interesting restaurant down on the port. It was a good meal considering Paula had been able to get the whole tour for half price!
From here it was on to Pompeii. The view of Vesuvius, as we drove around its base towards Pompeii, was a little eerie considering what you already knew had happened and also knowing it was still an active volcano. It is quite a dominating feature of the area.
Words can't really express the privilege of being able to walk the streets, visit the houses, working areas, arenas and plazas that real Roman citizens, soldiers, Senators and slaves used thousands of years ago, it's just mind blowing that such a place has been preserved for us to visit. Pompeii, as a tourist destination has been active for 250 years with an average of over 2.5 million visitors a year.
The Romans were very sophisticated in lots of ways, the hot baths and heating systems, drainage, sewerage, roads, art and pottery, sliding doors for businesses, buildings and construction of arches, demonstrate how civilised they were. But they also lived with basic desires. Pompeii, a city of 22,000 when Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD, had almost as many houses of ill repute as they did bakeries. How the archeologists have discovered this is quite interesting. The bakeries are easy, they found ovens. To show where the bordellos were the Romans would carve in the rock on the road or on the side of the building an erect penis pointing in the direction of the establishment. From the archeological digs started in 1748 they have so far found 24 phallic symbols. Paula said she took almost 100 photos of Pompeii, hopefully they will give a better picture of the things we saw.
Travelling home was long but uneventful - one stop for a toilet break and drink. We left the bus at the train terminal and walked to our unit. Because it was late and we were tired dinner was fruit and yogurt. We promised ourselves no alarms and to sleep late tomorrow.

Rome Day 5 - Friday 2 December
Sight seeing at our leisure today, revisiting some of the spots we really liked and finding new ones we hadn't heard about or seen advertised. It was to be a great day and a good way for us to finish our visit to Rome.
With our promise not to be disturbed by alarms we weren't up until after 8.00am and didn't leave the unit until just before 10.00am. It was very pleasant in the sun with some warmth in the air as well.
Our first stop was a building we had circled a few times on the Hop On Hop Off bus. It has the highest bell tower in Rome. From here we looked to walk to Trevi Fountain but on the way we found what looked like a transport museum with a life size replication of Roman wagon with bronze horses. We also stopped to have another look at the amazing building housing the tomb of the unknown soldier. Trevi Fountain was just as packed as on our first visit but a little more overcast so we took some more photos. It was also nice to just sit close together and watch the Fountain and think of its history as we contemplate how crowded it would be in summer! Paula also explored some souvenir shops as we walked through the various narrow streets and larger open piazzas. There are people (mainly Indian and African) selling everything and anything around the main tourist attractions and they are persistent, they mightn't have flies in Europe but these guys do a pretty good imitation!
The only thing we purchased from a street vendor was roasted chestnuts. All we can say is we have tried them.
After Trevi Fountain we made our way to the Pantheon. It was nice in the sun here and a guitarist and trumpeter were playing giving it a romantic atmosphere. We decided to have a small meal, although not cheap, and just soak up the sun and ambience. We stayed for about 30 minutes.
Next was Piazza Nova, suppose to be a Christmas Market, nothing really there so we decided to try again when it was getting darker. Paula was after a Christmas Tree decoration that had written on it Merry Christmas in Italian, the obvious place was St Peter's Square and all the shops along the roadway into the square. It was also a chance to see if any more of the Christmas Tree and Nativity Scene in St Peter's Square had been finished. No luck with either both were still 'under construction', although we couldn't see anyone working on either and it was in the middle of the afternoon! Amazing the number of young priests we saw when we were walking around near the Vatican - what do you actually call a group of priests or nuns?
Paula found not one but two decorations for home.
We seem to just wander a bit around the square and through the shops. We finally decided to find a toilet, not easy in Rome, and reckoned a McDonalds would be the best option. McDonalds are not as well signposted as we have come to expect and to see them you need to be observant as they seem to have a small frontage with a larger underground presence. We finally found one.
Ken can't believe the number of scooters in Rome, you're a 'nobody' if you don't ride one! Young teenage girls, older women, tourists, old men, business people (women dressed for work, make-up and high heels) - lots with pillions, others using them as carry services (plumbing supplies, scooter parts, painting gear)... you can understand when you see how easy they are in traffic and down the narrow, usually roughly cobbled one way streets.
The other striking aspect of the traffic was the ability of the drivers to hit the horn before the brakes! You also don't hesitate when crossing a street, you need to be aggressive and assertive. In the older part of Rome service stations don't exist, it is just two or three bowsers off to one side on the street.
Ken had a coffee and cake at McDonalds before we headed off. We are getting to know this area of Rome so we wandered down to the River Tiber and followed it back towards our unit. For our last night out in Rome we walked around the Cavour area finding some really quaint little Italian restaurants. Just a pity we didn't find them earlier. We packed when we got back thinking about what Florence had to offer tomorrow.

Florence Day 1 - Saturday 3 December
No problems getting up, organised and to the train - we were very satisfied with our five days in Rome.
No problems getting to Roma Termini - the station was crowded, so really pleased we had activated the Eurail Global Pass when we did, but we found the departures board, the possible platform number, which was 4 and made our way there. The platform number was verified about ten minutes before boarding and it was 4. Once past the ticket checking gate we boarded, found our seats and settled in. The Eurail Global Pass and reservations where all good so we know the paperwork is ok.
We arrived in Florence on time and took a few minutes to actually work out where we were and the best way to the unit. The layout of Florence would all become clear once Denis showed us the old walled section of Florence as distinct from the newer parts of the city. The unit was perfect, bright and airy with lots of space. Most importantly it had a working washing machine! The host, Denis was very friendly and accommodating. He gave us a tour of the house then showed us on a map the best places to see and how to get there to make the most of our two days. We had tickets for the Accademia Gallery to view the statue of David for 2.30pm. We followed the advise given by Denis and headed to the large markets on the way there to have a look and get something to eat. The Markets are very large but arranged in a square with three layers built on each other like a tiered pyramid. On the outside layer are the clothing and leather goods type stalls, next layer is the fresh food, produce and 'street food' section then above is the food court. This was packed so deciding to eat the 'street food' was a good decision. The statue of David has to be seen to be believed, it is magnificent. As Giorgio Vasari (1550 CE) stated, 'a truth, whoever has seen this work need not trouble to see any other work executed in sculpture, either in our own or in other times, by no matter what craftsman.' We spent almost 2 hours in the gallery with at least 40 minutes being mesmerised by the statue of David. The gallery houses a number of significant painting as well. After David we followed Denis' suggestions of things to see and managed to see all the most significant churches in old Florence. We also explored the river front, walked across the enclosed bridge housing the most expensive jewellery stores you can image and both of us were kissed by a pregnant 'basketball' in a piazza (then had to pay a €1 for the privilege)! The Florence Christmas Markets were starting to show some Christmas atmosphere not like a few others were it all seemed to be to get the most of the tourist dollar, with shooting galleries, darts at balloons and knock'm down tents. We bought some chocolate (100grams dark and 100 grams milk) which ended up being our dinner. It was getting close to the supermarket closing time so we headed there for some breakfast needs then back to unit to wash and dry a 'week's worth' of dirty clothes!
It had been a full on day but we were happy with the decision to follow Denis' advice as we saw more than we would have without his instructions and map.

Florence Day 2 - Sunday 4 December
Living in 'the real world' of an old city does have a few drawbacks. There was a street restaurant across the road and it was very noisy on the street outside as it was Saturday night. We also had repair work taking place next door, looked like a sewer problem at 7.30am. Paula was sleeping closer to the window so didn't really have the best night's sleep! We had walnut bread, eggs, cheese and ham for breakfast. We had decided on a big breakfast as we had planned to walk to a major lookout site over Florence then back to catch a train to Pisa around 1.00pm. The lookout was Piazza Michaelangelo, it was outside the city wall so the overall area was much newer in design but the walk to the look out itself was on old marble steps that would be very slippery when wet. The view over Florence from the look out was spectacular and really showed where the old city was as the majority of the old city wall was still intact and gave a clear line between the old and the new. Numerous photos were taken from here.
We managed to do a 'Nat' for the train to Pisa, made it with about 2 minutes to spare! It was good going time wise, as it was another half hour wait for the next train. Paula had been hopeful of getting photos of the Leaning Tower in daylight and at twilight, she managed both and even timed her entry to walk to the top as the sun was setting. Ken wasn't overly keen on walking 235 steps, on a lean! Paula even commented when she got down that it felt really weird as you felt like you were going to fall over all the time.
The Leaning Tower does lean as much as it shows and it's phenomenal that it doesn't fall over.
We walked back to the central area of Pisa, near the station, walked through a piazza with some Christmas Markets just setting up and made a dumb, novice tourist mistake. We bought an external battery power pack for the phone as using them for photos and the GPS was draining them quickly. It worked once - we now have a useless brick!
From here we wandered down a very busy Corso Italia and Paula found her 'heart of heart' shops, it sells chocolate shaped and designed nic-nacs, like chocolate design clocks, chocolate designed door stops... anything you can think of, and they even sell real chocolates. Getting the train back to Florence wasn't difficult, we arrived at 9.00pm and walked back to the area near the unit for a meal at Tampero. This had been recommended by Denis. It had great atmosphere and the food was delicious. After this it was back to the unit to pack and ready ourselves for Venice.

Venice Day 1 - Monday 5 December
Alarm set for 7.00am as we need to leave by 9.00am - 20 minute walk to the station. No issues getting the correct train even though it had a late platform change.
Getting pretty good at understanding and using the rail system. The countryside is changing as we are heading north, more mountainous with the train going through more tunnels. As we approached Venice the terrain flatten and more and more water became visible until there was only water on both sides. From the station at Venice we followed Giuliano's instructions to meet him at 1.00pm on the Ponte del Guglio. His English wasn't too bad you just had to listen a little more carefully. His unit is down along the second largest canal, which seems to be more residential than tourist orientated with a school and preschool close by. We came across school groups at different times when we were leaving or going to the unit.
The unit is very much set up in a 1950's Venetian style, reminded Ken of his grandmother's house. It was spacious with everything you would need. The floor was all marble with throw rugs set down where you walk. It was warm.
Giuliano went through the set up of the unit and gave us some ideas on what we might like to visit in Venice. He gave us a map and detailed the waterbus routes specifically as the only way around Venice is on water or by foot. It takes a little bit of getting use to, moving around without dodging traffic, but having no cars, scooters or bicycles makes the walking much less stressful. We have picked the best time to visit Venice, it is still sunny during the day and has the least number of visitors. Venice has 30 million visitors a year - you can only imagine the crowds between May and October! Early November is also not a time to visit as it has high sea water levels which inundate the streets. To keep the houses and businesses dry at this time they put a metal plate about 50 cms high across the bottom of the doors and have wooden walkways along the streets for people to move along and keep dry. When we first saw the stacked up wooden walkways in the streets we had wondered what they were for. The worst high water time was in 1966 when the wooden walkways actually floated away.
Venice is 5 square miles, 118 islands, 435 bridges and miles of interconnecting streets, alleys, narrow passages and walkways interspersed with piazzas and courtyards. We quickly discovered the main arteries and the signposting system to get to the major landmarks such as the Rialto Bridge, Piazza San Marco (the main square) and Ferrovia (the train station). Giuliano had suggested an eating place the locals use behind Campo Bortelomio, we didn't go back for a second meal.
We kept wandering looking in the shops, watching the Gondolas going up and down the different canals (€80 to get a personal Gondola ride - you pay for everything in Venice, no public toilets - you pay €1.50 or you eat in a restaurant and use theirs - our average meal cost in Venice was about €30) and generally enjoying the atmosphere of Venice. Our destination was San Marco to get a view of Canal Grande (the main canal which basically splits Venice in half and is shaped like a reverse S). We also wanted to check the location of the booking office for our walking tour and Gondola ride tomorrow afternoon. Once the sun goes down it gets very cold quickly because there is so much water around. Almost all the outside stall vendors were packing up and it was quite dark without their lights. We almost had our second major hiccup of the trip when we got back to where Ken thought the unit was. He needs to learn the difference between B and D! He almost jammed the unit key in the wrong door thankfully the old couple whose door it was though we were Americans and the old lady was going off to the old guy about the 'Americarnos' as we were walking away. Embarrassing!
We did find the right unit 3 doors down let ourselves in to a very warm unit. Ken had a look at the key then to see why it had become struck, it had a small flange at the end that can swing out which is why it had become stuck. Neither of us have seen a key like it before. From then on every time we left the unit Paula took her set as well!

Venice Day 2 - Tuesday 6 December
Up at 7.00am but didn't leave until closer to 9.00am. We had decided to buy a tourist pass, 24hr access using any service at times that suit you (€20 each) to use the vaporetto, the water bus system (very similar to most bus services in the world, stops at every single stop, crowded and noisy but it is on the water) - it was an interesting experience. Our first trip was on the Canal Grande water bus line 1 - Ferrovia to San Marco - 15 stops. Everything that has to be moved around Venice is moved on the water, not just people. The main canal is always a buzz of activity. Grocery items, shop supplies, rubbish, alcohol, heavy lifting cranes, floating dredges all are on the water. The main canal is about 5 metres deep with most of the minor canals just over a metre. The speed on the water is slow with everyone making way for each other. There doesn't seem to be a rule to travel on one side or the other of the canal as the water buses criss cross the main canal from stop to stop. The Canal Grande is also lined with Gondola services, there seemed liked thousands of them!
We wandered along the main canal at San Marco looking for the waterbus station to take us to San Giorgio Maggiore island. The stations are yellow and white floating pontoons, which means the water bus and platform are always at the same level. We couldn't find line 2. We asked and were pointed to a small charter boat that was ferrying people over to the island as the pontoon station on the island was undergoing repairs.
We had to change some of our plans as we were going to hop from this station to few others along this area. The views from the top of the Basilica were majestic looking back towards the main islands of Venice. After catching the small charter boat back to San Marco we decided to have lunch near the Rialto Bridge on the biggest inside island, Paula tried the seafood risotto (we haven't found one as good as hers yet) and Ken had a three course spaghetti, fish and coffee deal. You get bread with every meal in Italy, Ken doesn't leave any and is starting to show a 'wheat belly'! It's nice bread, especially when it's warm is his excuse.
We made our Walking Tour without a problem and really enjoyed the walk through areas that most tourists don't visit. Andrea (Andrew our guide) had very good English and told us some interesting things about Venice. Ken was interested in how they constructed the building and Paula was interested in why they settled on the islands in the lagoon in the first place and who the barbarians were that kept trying to invade.
We also learnt that Venice is a dying city, population wise. It has gone from 150,000 before 2000 to less than 55,000 now and the main reason is the cost of living for the locals. Most people who work in Venice come across by train each day from the main land. The gondola ride, even though we had to share with two other couples (Spanish and British) was excellent. It was just getting on dusk when we left. It is a very gentle way to travel and the small canals we started in where so quiet and very narrow. It was romantic, even for a 'hardened hearted' person like Ken. Initially we had seats opposite each other but asked to swap with the Spanish couple to get some pictures of us together with the gondolier in the background. We had a 35 minute ride mostly through the smaller canals but spent a few minutes on the main canal just near the Rialto Bridge. It was interesting to learn that the prowl on the front of the gondola is the same for all gondolas, it is the shape of the Canal Grande and has 6 slits in the head of the prowl to show the six regions of Venice.
Once back at the ticket office we decided on another line 1 waterbus back to Ferrovia hoping to see the lights along the Canal Grande. We lasted less than half way it was too crowded and there were very few lights. We disembarked at Rialto station and walked home from Rialto Bridge. Our last Italian meal was fish, not the best meal we had experienced. Once back at the unit we starting packing for our trip to Geneva - our time in Venice was over.

Geneva Day 1 - Wednesday 7 December
Train departs 8.50am -arrive Geneva 4.21pm, long travelling day. Need to change trains at Milan. We had fog on the way out of Venice to Milan, and pretty thick! It is obvious Autumn has finished, all the trees are bare. The trip to Milan was across reasonably undulating countryside but fairly bland. Ken said he didn't think he would like to live in Milan - didn't look appealing from the train on the way in. At each station stop you could feel it starting to get cold, luckily we didn't have a long wait on the platform at Milan as the train from Venice to Milan was 20 minutes late. From Milan to Geneva the countryside changed dramatically. We started to see more and more mountain ranges and snow appearing as we headed towards Switzerland. It was magical and different to the cold countryside of Iceland. It was 'softer' in appearance, but still had spectacular mountain ranges rising up from the sides of the train. At one stage we travelled through a tunnel and were underground for at least 15-20 minutes, we guessed this may have been a mountain 'to high to climb'.
Once in Geneva we really felt the cold after being on the warm train and couldn't wait to get to the hotel and put the thermals on and get the big jackets out. Paula put the address for Hotel Edelweiss on her phone and away we went. Little did we know it was going to take us through the 'red light' District of Geneva, working girls on every corner for at least 3 blocks. Ken reckons he was propositioned but one of the other girls pointed to Paula and said he was 'obviously in toe'.
The hotel was lovely and warm and it took us a while to get changed and go back into the cold for dinner. After we had finished eating we walked back towards the station, blowing cold air, it was -1! We wondered how long the 'working girls' stay outside on the street when it is this cold. Under the station is a large shopping complex and we visited our first Swiss chocolate shop. (One of many Paula has promised!) From here we walked towards the old part of town and then took a guess at a possible connecting road to the hotel, we were right.
Settled in for a catch up sleep - no alarms!

Geneva Day 2 - Thursday 8 December
Foggy start to today in Geneva, suppose to be a clear and sunny day 5 degrees Celsius later this afternoon - would be nice if it happens as we have a free walking tour at 11.00am for 2 1/2 hours then the afternoon and evening in the Christmas markets. Our first task, once we were up and out of the hotel, was to get some panadol and ibuprofen (neurafin). Paula has woken up with a bad headache and a strained neck, probably from sleeping on strange beds and Ken's pinched nerve in his neck has not fully released and the numbness in the little finger on the right hand is still there. Both walking 'cot cases'!
After this we spoilt ourselves with a croissant and hot chocolates for breakfast.
The sun didn't lift until about 1.00pm so most of the walking tour was in the fog. When we started our day it was 0 degrees Celsius but the chill factor had it at minus 2.5 - it was cold when we first left the hotel.
Alex, our tour guide, had lots of interesting stories about Geneva, it's history which reflects a Roman and Barbarian influence, as well as information about the famous people that have influenced Swiss history who were born in Geneva. The history surrounding the foundation of the Red Cross, Swiss development as a neutral country and Geneva as a banking and watchmaking centre of Switzerland. It's interesting to discover that most of the original bankers and watchmakers were actual immigrants.
Geneva's history in the development of rebellion leaders was also interesting. Lenin was one who studied in Geneva and developed his Communist ideals in a cafe just near the university. Switzerland, for all its liberal thinking, it was the first country to give women the same rights as men to study at university yet one of the last countries to give women the right to vote. They only achieved the right to vote in 1961, almost 90 years after being given full rights to a university degree.
Switzerland takes it neutrality seriously, they don't believe they under threat from anyone. We haven't come across any security guards carrying machine guns and even the police walk around unarmed.
We came across a statue of Jean Piaget, which brought back some of our own teacher education study memories! He was a native of Geneva.
The old part of Geneva was quite interesting - especially the opportunity to look at a model showing how the city was fortified with special wedge-shaped trenches to keep the enemy out. A lot of the walls and fortifications have been destroyed in the city's modernisation program, which is a pity.
We also saw the flower clock and the water jet fountain. This is similar to the water fountain in Canberra, although we think this one shoots the water higher.
After finishing the walking tour we went back into the Main Street of Geneva, the expensive area, and checked out a few more chocolate shops. We eventually found the Swiss chocolates we wanted to bring back for family and finished our day's activities taking photos of Lake Geneva, the water jet fountain, the mountain ranges (which are a great backdrop to Geneva) and snow covered Mont Blanc.
We were back in the hotel by about 4.30pm, time for Paula to do her wrist rehab exercises and to warm up a little before we head out again for dinner, a look at the Christmas markets and the Christmas street lights.
Left at 5.30pm to find a restaurant along Rue de Paquis - we had seen a few along there on previous walks. Found the 'Petit Swiss Chalet', very interesting Swiss decorative approach to the decor and a good meal. Large servings which was great.
We visited the Christmas markets but the markets and lights didn't really impress us.
Had one last stroll down the red light district (different street this time) just to see if we could Ken through without being propositioned - he was disappointed, no luck this time.
Decided on an early night - 6.00am alarm to catch the early train to Lucerne, hope to be there by 11.00am.
Our Geneva visit was only brief but it was still interesting to visit the French quarter of Switzerland.

Lucerne Day 1 - Friday 9 December
Lucerne is in the Germany area of Switzerland. German-Swiss is the language used in 2/3 of Switzerland. The rest is either French, as in the area around Geneva or Italian near the border to Italy. In Geneva we were listening to and reading French signs. Fog on the way out of Geneva this morning. No problems catching the train to Lucerne.
The countryside through Switzerland is magical, frost and snow everywhere, sloping roofs covered in frost, undulating dairy country, frost on the trees - story book scenes. The sun is out giving us the whole view in beautiful morning sunlight. Spending the whole time gawking out the train windows, real tourists!
Seeing the bike racks at the different train stations we passed through was interesting - a lot of people still riding even though it is winter, there were even bikes stacked on two levels in some stations.
We arrived in Lucerne at 11.00am. Everything is in German, we are hearing and reading German - the Swiss have their own money but don't have their own language - strange anomaly!
How do you describe Lucerne, beautiful, calm, quiet, serenely charming - no hawkers! The feeling in the streets is remarkably different from even Geneva, let alone the places we had visited in Italy, although they do have signs up warning about pick pockets.
It is clean, open and picturesque - the snow capped mountains are a fabulous back drop. Loved the city in just the time it took us to walk to our hotel let alone the great afternoon walk we had along the river visiting the old church, the lion monument, the Christmas markets, souvenir shops and having hot chocolate and cake. It wasn't as cold in the afternoon as it had been in the morning when we first arrived so it was quite pleasant sight seeing.
The lion monument is absolutely amazing. The best description is by Mark Twain: 'The Lion lies in his lair in the perpendicular face of a low cliff — for he is carved from the living rock of the cliff. His size is colossal, his attitude is noble. His head is bowed, the broken spear is sticking in his shoulder, his protecting paw rests upon the lilies of France. Vines hang down the cliff and wave in the wind, and a clear stream trickles from above and empties into a pond at the base, and in the smooth surface of the pond the lion is mirrored, among the water-lilies. Around about are green trees and grass. The place is a sheltered, reposeful woodland nook, remote from noise and stir and confusion — and all this is fitting, for lions do die in such places, and not on granite pedestals in public squares fenced with fancy iron railings. The Lion of Lucerne would be impressive anywhere, but nowhere so impressive as where he is.' Mark Twain, 1880
We met a lovely, friendly lady souvenir shopkeeper, who recognised that we were Australians. She has visited Canberra and Griffith and other parts of Australia so we spent about 20 minutes in her shop chatting and looking at her Swiss souvenirs. She had an amazing array of cuckoo clocks.
Lucerne really has taken on the Christmas spirit, the streets and shops are all decorated with colourful lights, Christmas tinsel and Christmas trees are every where - we even saw Santa talking to children and could hear different Christmas songs and music being played all around town. It is the Christmas atmosphere we had been hoping to see.
Our hotel, the Tourist Hotel, is different as well, it buttresses the old city wall and over looks the Reuss River. The view from our window is quite spectacular. The river is very fast flowing and has two amazing wooden bridges crossing at different points that are covered and have painted panels depicting religious and historical scenes on the arches of the roof.
Lucerne is just as spectacular at night, perhaps even more so with all the Christmas lights blazing.
We walked back along the river on the old side of town into the old streets and shops. We found and explored a few more chocolate shops and delighted in the different chocolate creations that were on display. Back over the river we stopped and watched children ice skating and revellers enjoying an obvious Christmas work party, Santa hats and all. Next we looked at the Christmas markets in the shopping centre under the train station then wandered up to the Christmas markets near the church. Unfortunately we arrived just as they were packing up but still could see that the market was more about eating and drinking than the Christmas spirit, but at least some people were enjoying the food, mull wine and beer.
From here we headed back over the smaller of the two wooden bridges to the hotel for a coffee, hot water and a piece of jam tart. We had these in the breakfast dining room as there are no tea/coffee facilities in the rooms. In the room we did some research on Lucerne and decided on our plans for tomorrow.

Lucerne Day 2 - Saturday 10 December
No alarms but still up around 7.00am, no sunlight yet. Showered and down for breakfast. Breakfast at the hotel was very filling and all part of the deal - Ken had enough to sustain the cold and to get through to dinner if need be. We met another Australian couple (from the central coast, Tuggerah Lakes) who suggested the Interlaken Express as a must do tour as well as any of the mountain trips. Unfortunately our time commitment is too short - you need at least 4 days to fit everything in (maybe next time!)
After breakfast we walked along the old city wall that runs just behind the hotel. In summer you can actually walk along some of the battlements and have a great view of the city and surrounding Alps. The path we were on was in shadow and still covered in frost. It was slippery in places so we had to watch where we were walking. We passed an old Swiss house with a barn and animal pens under the house and a sporting field for athletics. We wandered a while taking photos of the city on a frosty morning.
As the sun was now fully up and the morning getting warmer we went for a romantic walk along the lake to the Transport museum and children's park. We had walked nearly 6 kms by the time we met for the free walking tour with Simon at 1.15pm. He gave us some interesting insights into the many fires Lucerne has suffered and the laws they had enacted in the Middle Ages to protect the city, such as everyone had to have a fire bucket in their house and anything rebuilt after a fire was to be made of stone.
The Chapel Bridge, the most iconic building in Lucerne, was nearly destroyed by fire in 1993. They believe the fire may have been started by a discarded cigarette butt. He gave us the background to the building high on the hill overlooking Lucerne that looks like a castle, the same building Walt Disney has used to develop his castles for Disney World. It was built to be a hotel and restaurant and has always been a hotel and restaurant!
On our way to the lion monument, a memorial to the Swiss guards killed during the French Revolution, he told us all Swiss men, once they turn 20 and are physically able (women also nowadays may choice to do so) have to do national service. When they finish they get to keep their assault rifle but have to retrain in the weapon every year for 10 years. Basically every house in Switzerland has a weapon and the Swiss are only second behind the USA for guns per citizens. He also told us a rumour that the sculptor who did the lion monument, which is something else to behold, wasn't happy with what he was being paid, so he added something extra to the monument, the opening holding the lion has been cut into the shape of a boar! We finished the tour at the church where they were just setting up the candles on the stairs leading to the church. It will look spectacular when it's dark. Paula had found a Swiss chocolate adventure you could take at the Transport Museum (pity she didn't find it this morning) so we did our 'romantic' walk again but this time at a much faster pace. The chocolate tour wasn't as good as the New Zealand one we did in Dunedin but we still did a chocolate raid (took as many 'freebies' as we could) then Paula 'hand-picked' about 400 grams to share with Nat, Emily and Adam when we have our Christmas lunch with them.
Mass at St Leodegar was interesting, especially entering the church up the stairs past all the candles. Some of the pews were quite different (so we tried them, individual seats with just headspace above the pew in front of you). The service was in Swiss-German, only had one reading and a lay person said the homily.
We only wanted a simple dinner, to spend the last of our Swiss francs but finding something, other than a restaurant open, was very difficult. Simon had said that they close the shops at 4.00pm on a Saturday afternoon and don't open again until Monday - you could fire a cannon down the main shopping streets on a Sunday and not hit anyone! We finally found a Bäckerei-Conditorei Bachmann's (like a Sainsbury's in England or a Pret a Manger, the only thing similar in Australia would be the service centres on the highways) at the train station. We bought a meat and salad roll, a salad plate and a small cake slice, it used almost all of our Swiss francs except a few coins. We carried the meal back to the hotel and had it in the breakfast area with a coffee and a few hot waters.
Back to the room after eating, to pack and get organised for Berlin. Both asleep by 11.00pm.

Berlin Day 1 - Sunday 11 December
We had the alarms set for 6.30am, allowing time for showers and a leisurely big breakfast. At breakfast we collected extra fruit and bread rolls for the long train trip.
We had no problems getting to the train station, I don't think we passed any more than about 10 people in the 1.2 kilometre walk. Simon was right, the city of Lucerne takes it's Sabbath day seriously.
The countryside we travelled through today was varied, some very heavy frost and light snow as we headed to the Swiss border. Heading into Germany it was less mountainous with more undulating farming country, industrial cities and large factories to pine forests and deciduous bushland's with almost all Autumn leaves having fallen. We also passed by small towns each with its own high steepled church.
We also saw wind turbines dotting the countryside. The large cities have enormous train stations, especially Frankfurt, Hanover and Berlin. Berlin has trains coming in on two levels!
We experienced lots of tunnels after Frankfurt. It is also amazing the number of blackberry bushes growing on the slopes beside the tracks, considering in Australia they are a noxious weed.
Our last train trip (Hanover to Berlin), by ourselves, was on the fastest train we had experienced all day, travelling around 200kph - a pity it was so dark and we couldn't see the countryside flashing past! We had to rush a little to leave the train at Berlin main station as we had been using the wifi on the train to book a free walk for the next day. We were the last off!
Because it was dark and wet we took a taxi to the hotel from the station, only €7.30.
We registered and took a while to settle in, unpack and dress a little warmer to go and find dinner. The room has no coffee making facilities (no hot water) - we may have to buy a little kettle and mug for Paula to survive!
Dinner was at a little Italian restaurant, we both had very warm and filling risotto and prawns. To walk the rather large meal off we strolled down to the Brandenburg Gate and took a few photos before it started to drizzle, it has been raining in Berlin all day. Hopefully it clears for our free walk and Hop On Hop Off bus tours tomorrow.
In bed by 10.00pm.

Berlin Day 2 - Monday 12 December
Very slow to stir today, a few 'catch up hours' sleep and general rest after the rushing and tension of making sure we were on time with all our train schedules, AirBnBs and accommodation bookings. Nothing until 10.00am this morning, which is the free walking tour, so a big breakfast is in order. No sunlight at 8.00am, I wonder what time it rises?
Getting close to the shortest day of the year - around 8.10am was sunrise and 3.50pm sunset for our three days in Berlin.
Showered and down to breakfast by 8.30am. We dressed in all thermals, jackets, scarves and beanies, it would be our attire for the next three days.
We found the walking tour guide, Steve (an ex-Aussie school teacher) just in front of Starbucks (Starbucks are everywhere in Berlin, even more prominent than McDonalds) near the Brandenburg Gate. Our hotel in Freidrich Strasse, Meliã Berlin, is in an ideal place for all the things we wish to see. (It is also roomy, but more importantly- warm!) So it wasn't a long walk to get there.
We had anticipated a small group but it ended up so large they had to call in another guide. We had 30 in our group, including a number of other Australians. Steve was very engaging, acted out some of his stories and knew lots about the city. It's interesting to note that Berlin and Germany have only been unified as the one country for just over 30 years, the growth of their national pride and the redevelopment of Berlin is only just beginning which makes the city feel vibrant. Steve gave us a potted history of Berlin, with just quick references to WW2 and the Berlin Wall, we were to get much more of their story at the other locations we were to visit. He also warned us the Berlin 'aroma' - the smell of sewerage every so often when you walk over or near a manhole cover, apparently a lot worse in summer! We did 'catch the waft' a few times in our walks around the city and knew what it was straight away.
Our first major stop was the Holocaust monument, in memory of the estimated 5.6 - 6 million Jews exterminated by the the Nazi regime. It is a very moving experience, the monument is undulating blocks of rectangular cement of different heights across the square. Very strangle feeling standing in the middle. The museum is closed on Monday so we put it on our list of things to do Tuesday. From here we moved onto the area which once contained Hitler's bunker, it no longer exists and is just a park between two apartment buildings. As it was in the soviet side after liberation it was blown up (they had three goes at it) the Russians destroyed almost everything associated with the National Socialist regime once they were in control. The only building in Berlin that survived the allied and Soviet bombings and is a National Socialist building was the Luftwaffe offices. The Russians used the building for their headquarters when they liberated Berlin and after the Berlin Wall came down it became the German Taxation Office. From here we walked to the only remaining section of the Berlin Wall and the reason it has remained standing is that it is next to what was discovered to be the underground section of the Gestapo headquarters. The area now houses a museum, 'Topography of Terror', which we are going to explore Wednesday morning.
We traced the path of the wall down to Checkpoint Charlie. On the way we passed a tribute to the East Berlin vehicle nicknamed Trabi. It was basically the major transport vehicle in East Germany for 38 years. It never had a model upgrade and was basically a 'plastic' body car on a metal chassis with a two stroke motor. It smoked something chronic, had a maximum speed of 100kph (downhill and with a tailwind) and reached that speed in 3 days, 3 hours and 36 minutes! You had a choice of 3 colours, light blue, off white or a green too difficult to describe.
Checkpoint Charlie is definitely a tourist attraction for the Americans but Steve had an interesting story about how close the world came to WW3 when an American didn't get into East Berlin on time for a concert, he complained to the President who deployed the tanks and the Soviets responded! Both the Soviet's and America had a 10 tank each Mexican stand off across the street (Freidrich Strasse - our hotel street) at Checkpoint Charlie.
From here we went past 3 chocolate shops and a Christmas market (all of which we were to revisited over the next two days - one we went back to twice as it had such delicious hot chocolate) on our way to the plaza where the first Jewish book burning incident took place. These books, 44 thousand in total, were from the Humbold University and included many original manuscripts and irreplaceable first editions. All because they were by Jewish authors or didn't follow the ideology of the National Socialist Party. The monument was simple but significant - a white chamber, with a glass cover, dug below the spot of the bonfire with empty shelving to house 44 thousand books. Steve finished the tour here but enthused us enough for us to follow up on some of the topics that night back at the hotel.
We continued to wander for a while visiting various Christmas markets as we found them, all of which basically had the same food, drinks and stalls. The best and biggest was at Alexandraplatz (under the TV Tower, which is a prominent landmark in Berlin). After walking through here for an hour or so, luckily it wasn't late so the crowds weren't too bad. Ken tried a few market foods, bratwurst sausage and sugar coated roasted almonds. It was so filling and followed by hot chocolate and cake he didn't need dinner.
The room had a bed, bigger than a king-size, covered in cushions, each with its own special purpose. Even though Paula read the instructions for each cushion we didn't actually know which one we should use so we just organised them in the most comfortable way for both of us.
As part of the free walking tour we had purchased another tour to visit Sachenhausen Concentration Camp tomorrow. This tour was to start at 9.00am at Brandenburg Gate so we needed to set the alarms again.

Berlin Day 3 - Tuesday 13 December
Up with alarms at 6.00am, down for breakfast by 7.30am and ready to walk to the Brandenburg Gate by 8.30am. Really rugged up today -2 degrees when we left and only expected to get to 4 degrees.
We meet Georgia, or guide, who told us how to validate the ABC Travel Day pass we had purchased yesterday. It would give us public transport, anywhere around the city for a full 24 hours. We had 10 minutes to wait until it was time to leave so we went to the nearest subway station and had the tickets stamped.
The Sachenhausen Concentration Camp is about 30 minutes train travel from Brandenburg Gate with one stop at the Berlin Main Station (which is absolutely phenomenal, not just in size but in complexity - it has 4 levels to the station for shops, food outlets, information booths, automatic ticket sale machines and toilets and two levels for trains to access) a very modern design covered in Christmas lights. It really was spectacular!
The Sachenhausen Concentration Camp was the exact opposite; it was sombre, depressive, demoralising and bitterly cold. -2 degrees, Ken think's the weather 'turned it on' just so we could get a little bit more of the reality of what the camp inmates had to endure. We had all the thermal gear, scarves, jackets, beanies, thick socks and good quality shoes the inmates had blue and white striped pyjama suits - easy to see (no underwear), wooden clogs and shaved heads. You wore a number and a different coloured triangle to show your status, lowest status were Jews, yellow triangle, then homosexuals, pink triangle and so on down the pecking order. The highest status inmates wore green triangles and they were your everyday criminals; murders, rapists...
The National Socialist idea was to dehumanise the inmates, they weren't Aryan so they were sub-human. Dehumanising them made it easier for the SS guards to treat them the way they did. The Sachenhausen Concentration Camp was the design used for future concentration camp and also had next to it the training area for the SS guards. These building are still used today to train the Brandenburg Police Force.
The concentration camp site was bare of a lot of the original buildings but the area was set out to show the location of the various barracks and buildings. The buildings that were there and able to be viewed were emotive when you reflect upon what happened here. Georgia had some brutally horrific stories about what had occurred, especially in Z block but also tempered these with the reasons behind why the German nation is being so open and honest about what had happened. As a people we can't just be bystanders - we have to challenge organisations, governments and nations who try and alienate other humans because of race, religion, sex or national identity.
There was so much to take in over the 3 hours of the tour but on the whole the experience was well worth it even though it was emotionally and spiritually draining.
We travelled back to Brandenburg Gate then walked to the Holocaust Museum. Having just visited the Sachenhausen Concentration Camp this really brought home the horrific nature of the crimes committed against the Jews. The individual and family stories really personalised the experience and made it even more unimaginable that the same things had happened to 5.6 million other people!
Feeling cold, hungry and a little miserable we headed to the Christmas Markets at Potsdamer Platz to try and cheer ourselves up. Paula was able to find a few Christmas things here she had been looking for. Steve had mentioned the €1 Christmas markets as having a better quality product so we made our way there. It was packed, you could hardly move down the narrow alley ways let alone move to see what was in the stalls. We put up with this for about 40 minutes before calling it quits, the quality of the stalls we did get to see was good but the whole place is still more geared to the food and drink aspects. We ventured back to the hotel having a beautiful and very filling meal at the little German-Italian restaurant we found on the first night.

Berlin Day 4 - Wednesday 14 December
No need to rush things today, we had decided to visit Museum Island and generally look around before heading to the airport ready to fly to London at 5.10pm.
We didn't get to breakfast until just before 9.00am. We stocked up on 'lunch supplies' as we where finishing, at €12 each for breakfast we figured we had paid for everything extra we acquired.
At 10.00am we checked out and left the luggage to be collected when we came back to catch a taxi to the airport.
Museum Island was easy to reach but the types of museums there didn't really interest us and there were a large number of student groups entering as well.
We walked back to area that looked like it had been a garden. Paula read the information and found out it had been a Garden, a parade and marching area and was now being turned back into the garden it was originally designed as. She also mentioned that she had read about a museum called Topography of Terror. We did a quick Internet search and found it was close to Checkpoint Charlie and the section of the Berlin Wall still standing. We headed through the plaza with the book burning monument, past the €1 Christmas markets and the various chocolate shops to Checkpoint Charlie. We did the 'walk' across the bricks showing the path the wall took then headed towards the still standing wall remnants. Through here Ken found an area called Trabi World and took some more photos of the famous East Germany car.
We had a good look at the Gestapo underground area (they interrogated prisoners here), which is the outdoor area of the museum then made our way into the indoor area. You could spend days in here and still not get through everything. The museum shows the history of the National Socialist secret police, the development of the SD then SS and Gestapo. Not only does it go into detail on the people responsible but it shows the horrific things they perpetrated. There are sections, describing in detail, the methods used to round up, arrest, transport and persecute the various groups the National Socialist party considered sub-human or where a possible threat to their political and socialist ideals. Political prisoners, Jews, Sinti and Roma (gypsies), homosexuals, mentally ill or those suffering physical disabilities, POW and those Germans who spoke out against what was happening.
There was also information on what happened to those responsible for the atrocities when the war was over. Germany, as a nation, is putting everything in the public arena, it is not hiding anything.
It was probably appropriate this was the last thing we experienced in Berlin as it allowed us to fit everything we had witnessed and experienced into the bigger picture of what had happened during the Second World War and the Cold War but also the strength of character the German national was showing by allowing everything to be known about both.
Our walk back to the hotel didn't take as long as we thought so we arrived at the airport earlier than our book in time so we had to sit and wait for the check-in desk to open before we could relax at the departure gate. They opened exactly 2 hours before the scheduled departure time.
British Airways were good, we had a snack and a drink and a great view of the lights into London as it was a clear, cloudless night.
We were through customs no problems, on the DLR and the Tube and back to Nat's unit by 8.00pm.
Our 3 weeks through Italy, Switzerland and Germany was over!

London Third Visit Day 1 - Thursday 15 December
Pretty simple day today, sleep in and listen to Emily, Adam and Nat getting ready and going to work.
We had a leisurely breakfast then Paula washed our dirty clothes and then hung them up to dry. It seems like months ago that Paula had done a wash! Ken helped by staying out of the way and continuing the diary writing.
It was a nice way to recover and recharge.
We had tickets, as a Christmas present from the kids, to the Aladdin performance in West End at the Prince Edward Theatre. We travelled in on the Central line from Liverpool Station to Tottenham Road Court Station, collected the tickets then walked to the British Museum. We had to be selective with what we wanted see as the museum is something you could spend days wandering through and still not experience it all. We did European and Egyptian history which was fascinating looking back on what had been found and how it had been preserved for us to experience. Ken was particularly taken by the soldier that had been recovered from the peat moss pity with his skin still intact just turned to leather. He was called the Lindow Man and was from the time of Roman occupation, 2 BC - AD 119 (circa). We spent over 2 hours in these two sections; reading, looking and thinking about what life would have been like in the various time periods we walked through.
We decided to have a big lunch before the show. Lunch was traditional English, fish and chips for Ken and Steak and Kidney pie for Paula. The establishment was Munchkins, just down from the British Museum in Great Russell Street.
As we still had time before the show we did some Christmas shopping and general tourist things. We had a coffee, hot chocolate and cake after shopping to give it time to get dark so we could have a look at the lights in Oxford Street.
Aladdin was spectacular - costumes, sets, the magic carpet ride and the genie were the best parts. The Prince Edward Theatre is also something else special.
Finding the correct direction to get to Tottenham Court Road Station and getting through the crowd after the show had finished was initially a challenge but we made it through and back to Nat and Emily's unit just in time to say goodnight to both of them.
Again no reason to set alarms, tomorrow was just going to be spent walking around Aldgate.

London Third Visit - Day 2 - Friday 16 December
Ken found the blow-up mattress much easier to sleep on when it has more air in it! Slow to rise again today. Paula moved the washing around and packed away what was dry. We also started to organise our carry bags for the trip to Brussels for the weekend with Nat and Emily. Paula also organised a few things for Christmas for our 'Australian contingent' before we got ready to walk to Pound Land in the Hackney Borough. This also happens to be the area near Nat's school. We hadn't ventured this way before so it was interesting looking at different aspects of London life. Pound Land is a little like the $2 shop, everything in Pound Land is basically a £1.
After collecting the Christmas things we needed we walked back to the unit in Chicksand where Paula gift wrapped a few presents we had and we finished packing for Brussels. Whilst walking around moving clothes Paula accidentally kicked the glass table and was to find out when we got to Brussels and where getting ready for bed that she may have even broken it, it was that swollen!
For lunch we walked to Spitalfield Markets, Ken had a Smoko chicken wrap, which he had decided on straight away but Paula took a while to decide on a hot chicken and curry with salad meal. We wandered around the markets and Aldgate before collecting the bags and catching the Tube to meet Nat and Emily at King's Cross St Pancras Station to catch the fast train to Brussels.
We arrived around 4.40pm and Nat and Emily turned up at 5.15pm. Getting through security and the border forces was slow as both the train to Paris leaving at 6.04pm and the one to Brussels, leaving at 6.10 pm were full. It is the beginning of the Christmas holidays for some schools in England. The fast train is great. The walk to the AirBnB unit took about 20 minutes. The unit is near the centre of the old part of Brussels and is quaint but fairly small. A good thing we are only sleeping here. Most of the day we will be exploring Brussels and Bruge. We had a great Pizza meal with Nat and Emily and it was the first real chance we have had to talk to them about all the things we have experienced over the last three weeks.

Brussels Day 1 - Saturday 17 December
Everyone has had a sleep in. The shower head in the unit doesn't function as intended, you need to hold it to get any water on yourself, fun way to have a shower!
Nat and Emily are trying to work out the best train times and directions to get to Bruge for us to have a look around. While they are doing this Paula made a visit to the market and put together a nice breakfast consisting of boiled eggs, toast, ham, cheese and croissants.
We cleaned up and made our way through the Brussels Christmas Markets (we were to find out later they called them 'The Pleasures of Winter' rather than Christmas Markets to cater for the large ethnic mix in Brussels).
The train trip to Bruge was on a double decker train.
Bruge was a complete surprise. It is like travelling back in time. It is a beautiful city, old buildings, old cobblestone roads and paths and big squares which at this time of year are full of people visiting the Christmas Markets.
It has lovely canals, horses with carriages taking people on tours, great chocolate shops and ornate churches and buildings. We entered a courtyard that you could almost hear the foot soldiers and knights on horses entering.
We took a tour of a Chocolate Museum, sampled their wares and discovered some of the names of the more famous Belgium chocolatiers.
We had a great afternoon tea consisting of hot chocolate drinks, waffles covered with hot chocolate syrup and biscuits. On our walk back to the station we took some great photos of the lights in the streets.
It was a very unique experience and we were really pleased Nat and Emily had suggested it as a place to visit.
When we arrived back in Brussels we found a Dutch Tavern and had a hearty dinner and a few beers. Before heading back to the unit we went for another walk around the various stalls set up the squares, looking at the lights, trying to find a Christmas tree decoration with Brussels on it and tasting the mulled wine. The wine is very hot initially and is very similar in taste to altar wine and port. When you first try and drink it when it is hot the fumes take your breathe away. It wasn't too bad, even Paula had a few sips. Two things we hadn't tried before in the same day, chocolate covered waffles and mulled wine. Would definitely try the chocolate covered waffles again!
Whilst we were out we had the opportunity to watch a great light show on the buildings around all four sides of the main square. It lasted for 15 minutes and combined with the music playing was quite moving.
It had been a very rewarding day and it wasn't long before we were all in bed and fast asleep.

Brussels Day 2 - Sunday 18 December
We all were still asleep at 8.00am - when Ken finally woke up (8.15am) Paula said to go back to sleep it's night time, the curtains were open but the sun wasn't up!
The previous night Nat and Emily had booked a free walking tour of Brussels for 11.00am. Ken and Paula went to Mass at Sint Nikalus Church at 10.00am after a quick breakfast. They met Nat and Emily at 10.50am just near the front entrance of the church. The guide for the free walking tour was Magila (she said call her Maggie) she is a native of Brussels and has a passion for her country. She had some interesting insights into the history and diverse nature of her country's culture.
The walk was for 2 1/2 hours with us seeing some of the more interesting parts of Brussels including the Manneken Pis, the little boy peeing fountain and murals of scenes from Tin Tin. It was interesting to learn that Belgium is a bilingual nation, with everyone learning French and Dutch and most signs, such as street names written in both. Maggie gave us a little bit of history of the two most significant rulers for Belgium; Leopold II and Albert I, with obvious distaste for Leopold and great admiration for Albert. The St. Michael and Gudula Cathedral also has some interesting history. We had a break at Scott's bar and Paula went 'chocolate shopping'- twice!
After the walk we wandered through the markets again with Paula getting souvenir t-shirts and Emily a scarf. Ken, Nat and Emily tried the Brussels roll, sausage and onion street food whilst Paula had a banana. It took us about 20 minutes to make our way back to the Brussels Midi station to catch the fast train back to London at 5.00pm.
Back in Nat and Emily's unit we had tacos for dinner before having an early night.

London Fourth Visit Day 1 - Monday 19 December
Nat was the only one up before the supposed sunrise, which was 8.02am, he is still has to work for the next two days. Both Emily and Adam had finished work on Friday.
Ken and Paula were heading into Embankment Station to look for some bicycle shirts they had spotted on their first night and their trip into London to meet Nat and Emily for a Chinese meal and a look at the Christmas lights.
It was an interesting walk, with breakfast at Goodman Field's, a look at the Tower of London and watching the 'Santa' runners make their way along the Embankment footpath. The day was typical London winter weather, overcast with some drizzle and fog. The Shard, The London Eye, The Cheese Grater and Gherkin were all blanketed in fog at different times during the day.
We found the bike shop and managed to find a shirt each, both a good fit.
On reaching the Westminster Bridge we crossed The Thames looking for a Marks and Spencer to buy a special treat for the Christmas Dinner Adam and Emily were preparing. We explored some of the Christmas markets on the South Bank side, had a crepe with chocolate and strawberries and a Nero's coffee at the OXO building. We walked through the Borough Markets for the last time (Paula found some licorice) and walked around London Bridge Station. The Marks and Spencer shop there didn't have deserts. It took us a little while to find one that had deserts, it was in Fenchurch Street on the way back to Aldgate.
Christmas dinner with Nat, Emily and Adam was wonderful. We opened presents, had roast pork and vegetables, banana cake and chocolate slice.
We had time to play a few cards games; one that had us all in stitches called Cards Against Humanity. Ken opted out of the game of 500 and read the news report about the Berlin truck incident at the Christmas markets. It wasn't one we had visited so we didn't recognise the site. At about 11.00pm the card game finished and we packed (it was good that Ken was leaving his snow pants, snow jacket and thermals for Nat, as it gave us more room for Paula's gifts and chocolates) as much as we could ready to leave early to catch our 11.55am flight home.

London Fourth Visit Day 2 - Tuesday 20 December
We beat the sun up - it is still dark outside but you can see the Shard's lights which means it might be a clear day, it also seems a little colder this morning which means the fog may have lifted. We haven't seen the sun since our first day in Berlin which was over a week ago, so it might be nice to fly out over London able to see the countryside. We had decided to leave early, 8.00am (the same time Nat goes to work). We said our quick good byes to Nat at the corner of Chicksand Street and Brick Lane, less tears from all of us this time around as well. Helps that we know, almost definitely, they will be home sometime in 2017. We took the Tube to Heathrow and arrived just before 10.00am. It is a 22 hour flight to Melbourne with a 2 hour stop over in Dubai.
Check in was a little slow but not as bad as our last trip from Heathrow and the security check was uneventful.
We didn't have long to wait at the gate before we boarded. Just a matter of deciding what we do for 24 odd hours to fill in the flight time besides eat and eat and eat some more!