The Greyhound Inn Tring

... a whole day there - alas we had some 2 hours - but we got to see the bulk of the palace. We had lunch outside in the gardens with the topiary and lush lawns and the Palace as our backdrop. Our lunch was previously purchased from a supermarket in Bloomsbury - I had a roast chicken and bacon sandwich with a jam donut. We did the maze and got lost a few times - but made our way out. Malani said she could have stayed at the palace ...

... everyone to come to a fiery death by plane. Luckily customs had confiscated my hammer. I promptly deleted the photo before Joss could see it. Almost the whole trip was clear. We slept for a bit, but when I woke up we were flying over the Middle East. We were higher now but it was still clear and we saw another huge city with highways and big flashing buildings and a great many number of pretty lights. We may as well have been travelling first class. The food was good, and ...

... out and let karma decide. Bridget and Richard dropped me off at the start hotel in London and waved us off. Luckily I had been down the night before with Richard to register so knew we were setting off an hour later than planned at 9. I met Jen. We are sharing a room in Tring but have only emailed until now. We are both doing the Marathon Des Sables (MDS). She's been injured so doesn't know how well she will do. She's not done more than a marathon before! A few ...

... because you can make those kind of spontaneous decisions in London. After class we walked to Covent Garden where the theater is located, paid 20 pounds each for student tickets and got second row seats in the middle! We rushed home, had dinner and then after changing our minds back and forth deciding whether of not to dress up finally did. Our seats, were great, you could here the actors breathing when their microphones were off we were so close ...

... because she can. After this we checked out St George's Chapel, I'm keen for anything that honours St George. We only had about 1 1/2 hours to spend in Windsor Castle, it was a little rushed but we managed to see all the good stuff.





Stonehenge



When we first arrived, Mich sounded disappointed: "So that's it". But as the 3 of us started walking around, we became more amazed at the structure, and how it was built so many thousands of years ago ...

... the tunnel the joke I had previously made turned into reality. Was it because it was London, or was it because of our mood? We arrive at the station and proceed to drag our baggage out to the closest taxi rank. Turns out its the old style taxi's. A short ride later and we arrive at the hotel. We are offered an upgraded room "complete with all you see in the cabinet" (bath robes, slippers, complimentary water upon arrival (?!?) for 20£ a night. A polite refusal sees ...

... cause they are part of it) and we can all be at ease slagging each other off... Lots of fun!!! - - - - - I was also up in London for a course, I must look like some kind off nutter, as I am still in my tourist mode of appreciating everything, have you stopped lately and looked at the buildings for example on Trafalgar Square they are really grand and pretty :0)

... was very cool. Out onto the streets again, this time heading towards St. Paul´s Catherdral to meet Angela. Angela took us across the Millenium Bridge and we had dinner at WaggaMamas, and later, a warm drink at the Oxo Tower. We walked back towards the London Eye and Big Ben, which looked great all lit up. We caught the train home from Westminster (we were beginning to shiver with cold at this point). Back at Angela´s we crashed into bed after such a exhausting cold day.

... newly found true love.   There should be a better design.   Anyway - I get down there, barely recognisable to the customs official, due to the redness caused by the gushing torrents of water that is streaming down my face.   The security officer feels sorry for me as I walk through the scanner, and tries to make small talk it a futile attempt to make me stop crying!!  Eventually ending up with the second most obvious statement of the day - "its hard to leave your ...

... absolutely flew past. I saw a fair bit of London that I otherwise wouldn't have seen with thanks to a couple of mates at the sharehouse who I was rooming with at the time - Debs (Brissy), Kendra (Melbourne) and Cassie (Melbourne). Debs was studying to be a Conteiki tour leader so I got to play tourist with her for a few days and soak up some of her knowledge - very handy! I also spent a few days ...