Florence

Saturday 11th November
.
Moving on again. Train from, sad to leave, Monterosso to Pisa then another to Florence - all smooth. We saw quite a lot of snow on distant mountains. Only a 15min walk to the hotel but it was through the Central Market at 3.00pm on Saturday afternoon! - pretty busy, but we got through without buying a leather handbag or a leather jacket. Our booked hotel room was on the third floor and as there was no lift we were offered and accepted a room on the first floor which is much smaller but will be easier on the tiring bodies (Merilyn counted twenty stairs between each floor). Further up our narrow and busy street - mainly pedestrians, motor scooters and bikes, we found a lovely café for a very rich hot chocolate and yet another Mericano de-caff. Our first impressions of Florence are that there are plenty of people around, but not like in Rome, and it is much flatter than Rome, Siena and Monterosso.

Sunday 12th November

Off early to see the 'David ' statue by Michelangelo and many other statues and paintings. Because we had a pre-booked ticket and were there before 9.00am we went straight in and had easy movement through the galleries (when we exited 90 mins later the queue outside was about 200m long - apparently you can expect to wait for two hours in summer). The 'David' statue is massive and as good as you expect - quite amazing really. I appreciated seeing some unfinished Michelangelo statues  and understanding how the figures were being formed out of the marble blocks. All of the major art pieces were from the 15th or 16th Centuries and although obviously masterpieces, were too much of the same old same old for this Philistine. Still, I was very glad we had visited the Museum.

We had clear blue skies and warm sunshine as we then followed Rick Steve's  Renaissance walk through Central Florence and marvelled at the dominant Duomo Cathedral, the interesting building surrounding several Squares, the palaces, the statues and particularly the Ponte Vecchio bridge which concludes the walk.

 

 

The weather was still good so we decided to walk (not catch the bus) up to Michelangelo Plaza, which we had planned to do tomorrow but the forecast is for max of 7C and wet. So, 45 mins later and after many, many, stairs we were breathlessly enjoying the view over Florence, although the sunshine had gone.

At the bottom of the hill we enjoyed a lovely lunch and as we left it started to rain. A quick walk alongside the Arno river and over the Ponte Vecchio got us to the Uffizi Museum (somewhat wet) and our pre booked tickets once again got us in quickly. We enjoyed the statues and artwork but it was a bit too much and too similar - Madonna and child, saints, etc . Some wonderful masterpieces by Leonardo De Vinci, Michelangelo and many others but we were a bit overcome by the crowds and were too wet and too tired to really appreciate it all fully. So we returned to our hotel in steady rain to find they had moved our cases and bags to a new room, still on the first floor, and boy, what a room it is. Twice the size of the other room with a larger bed, a painted ceiling, and a large window overlooking the street. Merilyn immediately opted for an afternoon nap and after waking her at 7.00pm we had a very yummy dinner just around the corner. Another very full and enjoyable day



Half the ceiling from the bed

 

Monday 13th November

 

Found it hard to wake up this morning but breakfast (and coffee) got us going. Light rain and very cold outside but we rugged up, borrowed an umbrella and were off. We walked through the nearby Mercato Central Market, a huge and busy covered space with a large number of fresh food stalls, on our way to buy tickets for tomorrow's journey to Venice. We then visited the Medici Chapels and Crypt which were quite fantastic. On display down stairs in the Crypt are some of the reliquaries collected by the Medici's over many decades from all around the Catholic World. You couldn't help but marvel at the fine work using silver, gold and precious stones even if it was to house a finger or leg bone, or sometimes even a skull, of some Saint. Above the Crypt is the chapel, truly amazing and as of now, unfinished - the fantastic floor using coloured stone from many different places wasn't finished until 1966. It will probably never be finished because there is no Michelangelo to do the statues and no more Medici's to pay the bills.

 

We went to find a café/bakery I had found on the Internet where all of the food is gluten free. It was difficult to choose from the absolutely amazing range of delectable items on offer - the French vanilla slice was delicious (as was the strawberry doughnut I took home for afternoon tea). Nearby we spent over an hour in the Galileo Museum where there is an amazing collection of very old pieces of scientific equipment. It include terrestrial and celestial globes, telescopes and microscopes, clocks, all sorts of brass and timber measuring devices, equipment for making electricity - the list goes on and on, it was really quite fascinating and many videos in the rooms explained how the devices worked and the contributions they made to scientific understanding. The collection had been gathered by members of the Medici family in the 15th and 16th centuries - this elite family certainly used their wealth to benefit the Arts and Sciences.

 

On the way home we paid a quick visit to the Duomo Cathedral and then called in to the Medici Palace which is only just down the street from us - thought they might like to come up for afternoon tea. Dinner tonight was in a restaurant where they can do every meal gluten free and the restaurant was in a house with remains of a 14th Century frescoe on the walls and which used to be lived in by Pope someone or other. The dessert was home made cheese cake on a chocolate base, topped with slices of banana covered with a caramel sauce with cream on the side. If I stay in Florence much longer I will become one big boy!

Courtyard inside Medici Palace

Wonderful Cinque Terre

Yesterday' s departure from Siena was smooth as were the train changes at Empoli and Pisa. We passed through a variety of landscapes - Tuscany hilly country with vineyards all turning yellow, past the very high Apuan Alps with snow capped mountains and through the Carrara Region where it seems whole mountains are being removed for the valuable marble. We also went through many large towns, several with large industrial areas - not so attractive. Closer to our destination, Monterosso in the Cinque Terre Region, much of the trip was through tunnels with only very brief glimpses of the coastline until we eventually reached the much anticipated Monterosso Station, disembarked, and it was raining! - we had left Siena in sunshine! It was so wet and cold we took a taxi instead of doing the 15 min walk from the station to the old part of town. The driver called the B&B owner to say he had us on board, dropped us off at the end of a very narrow lane and told us to wait (what else could we do?). After about 5 mins a beaming young man appeared out of another lane, introduced himself, and took us via two lanes and up some stairs, to our accommodation which is a very modern room with beautiful fittings in a home that was built in the 1500's. Parts of the outer wall were built with stones brought up from the sea, hence the name of the home Petre di Mer. The rain did not look like ending so we dressed ourselves appropriately - long johns, normal clothes, extra jacket, waterproof trousers, coats, hats, scarves and gloves, and we were off (not very quickly). We walked along the breakwater, then around a point beneath a small castle to the New Town, along the Esplanade and back and eventually returned to the old town with its colourful buildings, narrow winding lanes, bars and cafes everywhere - most closed because here the tourist season is officially over, a church and two Oratories - one Black and the other White. These are now churches but originally were fraternities formed by people who were part of a movemeny that was against the growth of Protestantism. The Whites looked after the sick, homeless people, abandoned women and the like, whilst the Blacks looked after the dying and conducted funerals. The churchs sculptures actually include skeletons and skulls - seems very weird.


Our laneway

 

 

Today we planned to explore three or four of the other towns which make up  the Cinque Terre and are linked by the railway, but a train Strike put a spanner in the works. So, dressed appropriately, with all of the afore mentioned gear on except for the waterproof pants, it was not raining when we went out for breakfast, we set off to explore further the town of Monterosso, the coastline, and at least do some of trail between this town and the next - Vanezza. We had been advised not to attempt the whole walk because it could be quite hazardous after yesterdays rain. So, we had not gone far when we realised a)  the sun was shining and it was hot! and b) that was a train that just went past! So, we headed for the station and "Yes, there is a Strike, but they keep essential lines running and the 11.20 train 'might' come. They will know 10 mins before it is due". So, we went for a 15 min walk, found a toilet (one Euro to go in) so I could take off the long johns, back to the station with 10 mins to spare, the nice lady was on the phone but gave a 'thumbs up' whilst she printed out the tickets and we caught the train for the 4 mins trip to Vanezza. Another lovely old town, more compact than Monterosso but still with high buildings of various colours, lots of steps and winding laneways. We enjoyed a picnic lunch on a stone bench next to the church alongside the harbour and returned to Monterosso on the 2.45 pm train which thankfully was 'not on strike'.

 

After coffee (de-caff Americano) for M and hot chocolate (with cream) for B on the Esplanade in the New Town we headed for home but went up and up steep stairs to a lookout and church, and then down to home via back lanes and steps, for a rest before dinner. We have loved the sea views, terraced hill sides and quaint towns of the Cinque Terre, off to Florence tomorrow.

Monterosso Old Town

Monterosso New Town

Monterosso bay with Vanezza in far distance

Some sun in Siena

Wednesday 8th November

We have slept in two days in a row until 9 o'clock!! and not been on the streets until after 10.30 - we're showing our age, and loving it! Yesterday was cloudy most of the day with a shower later in the afternoon but today started with fog which had cleared to some lovely sunshine by lunchtime - a good chance to take some photos. The Duomo Pass we bought yesterday enabled us to see the Duomo (cathedral) and the Duomo Museum, which contains much of the original artworks, statues, and a large circular glass window - they are in the museum for preservation reasons and there are copies in the Duomo. We were also able to enter the Crypt, the Baptistry, and today the Santa Maria Della Scala Museum which is a huge maze of buildings which operated as a hospital for centuries. Everything has been most interesting but we are feeling a bit Romanesque'd out. Amazing to experience, fascinating to see such skill, talent and gifts being used, but at times difficult to comprehend the costs involved and the emphasis on relics and Mary the Immaculate.

The Duomo was supposed to be twice as big as it is so that it would be larger than Florence's cathedral but construction was stopped because it was very difficult building on the top of a hill and also because the Black Plague decreased the population by so much. I was able to climb to the top of the unfinished Duomo's wall for some good views over Siena.

 

Over the two days we have walked several miles marvelling at the buildings - sometimes a tower next to a palace next to a villa, the high fashion shops, the squares, and the people - we have been told that it is very quiet because the tourist season has finished but to us the place is buzzing. We have also visited the Sanctuary of Saint Catherine - right next door to us (more Romanesque), and today we strolled through the weekly street market - full of locals and only a

few obvious tourists. Overall it has been a very lovely couple of days - we haven't tried to do too much and we are ready to move on tomorrow.

  

Siena

Monday 6th November

Arevadelci (?) Roma: An early rise and smooth trip to Siena - final hour by bus which was most interesting as we climbed into the Tuscan hill country. Very surprised to see that the sides of steep hills are used for cropping with large areas recently ploughed. A taxi took us to the door of our hotel which, although it doesn't look much from the street, is in a building built as a large family home in the 1500's and converted to a hotel with only 10 rooms, in the 1800's, and has fantastic views across Siena. Our room is large with a colourful, patterned, tiled floor and shuttered windows with a lovely view.

 

 

It is only a short walk to the main street which, in medieval times' was the main road linking Rome with the rest of Europe and which is now lined with very fashionable shops and some amazing buildings.

 Just off this road is Il Campo - the main square, reputed to be the best square in Italy where an exciting horse race between the town's 8 or 10 districts is run twice a year. Despite constant rain we walked a lot, dined fairly late, and generally tired ourselves out. Hopefully a sleep in tomorrow!

Slower but fun catch up days

Saturday 4th November

Energy level quite low (both mine and the computer's) so entries will be brief. In the morning Merilyn slept and Bruce wandered, marvelling at the number of illegal ways cars can be parked and also the skill needed to get cars into and out of tight spaces.

Ended back at the Spanish Steps where they must have learned I was coming because they put on a brass band who played well known Italian songs such as Volare. It was great sitting in the warm sunshine, the happy crowd sang along for some songs and vigorously clapped along with others

 

Back to the hotel to pick up the now bright eyed and bushy tailed Merilyn and off to the National Museum for the afternoon. This Museum, one of hundreds, features the history of Rome in the centuries when it changed from a Republic, with a Senate elected by the people, to a dictatorship ruled by an Emperor. Statues and frescos recovered from homes of the different ages were the main features of the exhibition. It was all quite interesting. After dinner we had a short stroll to a square to listen to some of the music, dodge the vendors, and have another gelato ! - 8 flavours down and about 10 to go -can I keep up the pace?

 

Sunday 5th November

 

Merilyn has needed to replace her nearly full container of sharps for a new one - very easy to do at the Chemists in Australia, and also in Ireland and Britain, but not so easy in Italy. The 3 or 4 Farmacies (Italian spelling), we visited had no idea and had never seen a sharps container. Finally one Pharmacist ( English spelling) suggested we try a hospital - probably because they would be dealing with drug addicts. So, this morning we found a hospital, entered by the Maternity Ward and followed signs through a maze of corridors and stairs to get to the Farmacia, which is not open on Sundays. We got thoroughly lost trying to get out, no one was around, but finally down in the bowels of the building, a nice young man took us to a lift which got us to Reception (un-manned) and we escaped through the front door. A bus trip took us to the San Callisto Catacombs where we had a very interesting visit which included going quite deep underground and walking past many graves, including family ones which were actually a room with  graves of various sizes (not one size fits all) dug into the walls which often also had frescos telling Christian stories. Our guide was very informative and we learned that the early Christians did not actually hide in the catacombs, as many people have thought, the were just used for burials. We saw the tombs of the first 5 bishops of the church - they were not called Popes then. Apparently there are about 20 km of tunnels and thousands of graves in this part of Rome - outside the walls to keep diseases away from the residents. .

 

We came out from underground into a mighty storm - very dark, much lightning and thunder and torrential rain - we thought we were back in Singapore! It lasted for over an hour but finally we were able to bus and train it back to our favourite restaurant and then home to prepare for our train journey to Siena tomorrow.

 

St Peter's and the Pantheon

Friday 4th November

Cloudy but 19C forecast and only 10% chance of rain, so we left the coats in the hotel. As we came out of the station and headed for the Vatican the rain started. "Won't be much" says Bruce, but it was. We put on our ponchos but our legs and shoes  were quite wet by the time we reached St Peters Square. Thankfully, because we were very early, the queue was small and we were through security in about 15mins. The Basilica is awesome, there is no other word for it. The largest church in the world full of art, statues, gold and many treasures but the best there thing by far, for us, was the Pieta by Michelangelo. It is absolutely beautiful and seeing it was very moving. To see it was the reason we had gone to St Peter's and we were able to view the statue without crowds and for as much time as we wanted. How a man 24 years old could create such sensitive, emotional sculpture out of a block of marble is a true wonder, what a gift! When we left the Basilica after about an hour and a half the queue to get in was more than half way around the Square and the rain was starting to come down in earnest - I reckon the poor folk would be under their umbrellas for at least an hour. ( It was amazing that the vendors who continually confront you as you walk down the street were now clutching handfuls of colourful umbrellas whereas yesterday it had been selfie sticks). As it was also quite cold we decided to miss the 2 hour wait to get into the Vatican Museums and head back to the hotel to dry out and change clothes. We might try for the museums tomorrow.

Refreshed and changed, and the rain had also stopped, we headed out for yet another late lunch and then completed the Heart of Rome walk from Rick Steve's book - we had done the Spanish Steps to the Trevi fountain section previously. Highlights were the Pantheon, several squares with fountains and statues, and the amazing 'Italianate' colourful buildings. The Pantheon surprised us because from the front, with its columns and triangular roof, it is very much like a Greek or Roman Temple, which it had been, but inside, it is now very much a Roman Catholic Basilica. The massive ancient dome forms a circle (ocular) at the top which is open and when it rains the floor in the middle of the building gets wet. It was designed so that the water would then flow to a central drain. As we were returning to our favourite 'That's Amore' restaurant for dinner, we passed through the square in front of the Pantheon, a busker was singing and had drawn quite a large crowd, so we stopped to listen. His operatic baritone voice was magnificent - I am suspect some ladies leaning out of the windows of a nearby hotel were sure he was singing to them. After one song I reckon about 30 Euro were put in his tin - he could be quite well off after a nights work - I wish I had brought the ukulele. Our favourite hostess greeted us warmly "Hello Bruce, how was your day", and after another lovely meal we staggered up the hill - cobblestones are quite difficult to walk on, especially when wet, and had a quiet evening in. Merilyn is feeling very tired. She has had hypos three or four nights in a row, which takes a lot out of her, and has decided to have tomorrow morning in bed.

Trevi Fountain

Inside the Pantheon

Outside the Pantheon

Off to the Forum

Thursday 2nd November

Up to bright sunshine, ready to face a new day, lift to 6th floor and a breakfast table waiting in the corner and boy, what a view.

 

West towards the Vatican

               North towards Villa Borghese

 Palace Babernini - just over the road.

 

It was important (essential) that we get some washing done and we didn't want to waste valuable adventure time in a Laundromat so Mr Google found us a laundry only 3 stations away that would wash, dry and fold the whole lot for €14 (the hotel's prices started at €4 for a pair of socks!) and, it was only one stop from the Colosseum. So down to the tobacconist to buy our 72hr Roma Passes, on to a very crowded train within minutes, off at the Termini and a 5 min walk down the main road, crossed the road at a crossing holding a bag of washing each and clutching each other with the other hands tightly, in and out of the laundry within 5 minutes, short walk to another station for a one station trip, out into the sunshine and there was the Colosseum. Amazing! Our new Roma passes got us in quickly and then we just wandered, taking it all in, dodging the 'selfie fanatics' - where are the lions when you need them? and generally just enjoying the experience without needing to understand all the details of how things worked and what went on where. I found it hard to understand how they engineered and built a structure that seems as big as the MCG thousands of years ago. It was certainly good to see such an iconic building. A short walk and half hour wait because of security checks saw us in the valley which contains the ruins of the Roman Forum. Using Rick Steves self guided walk we very much enjoyed exploring and learning about this fascinating site, the centre of the Roman Empire. We finally left about 2pm, found a café for lunch and then decided to visit the Basilica of St Clemente which was quite nearby. I had cut an item out of the Age over 12 months ago and filed it under 'Rome' in case we ever visited, and I was glad I had. It was fascinating. Off the street you enter into a large, ornate Basilica which was built in the 12th century and is still very much in use. An archaeologist in the early 1900's discovered that the Basilica was actually built on top of an earlier church which had been built in the fourth century. It was fascinating to go down and walk around inside this very large building. It's columns had been used as foundations for the Bascilica above when it was built. There are still remains of friezes on some of the walls and other evidence of its use as a church.  But that's not all, there's more! Beneath this large church they found two more buildings dating back to the 1st century. One, a pagan Temple with a school room attached, and these were separated by a very narrow alley from a suite of rooms they think were probably part of the Roman Mint. Outside the wall of one room was a channel with clear spring water still running through it. We enjoyed our exploring and were quite surprised when we came out that it was almost dark. A quick walk, train ride, picked up the washing, another train ride, walk to the hotel to deposit washing, walk down street to Restaurant for Pizza, walk back to Spanish Step area to buy a new shoulder bag for Bruce, walk (limp) to hotel to finally lay down the head after another very full and satisfying day. I hope we can get up in the morning!

 

 

 

 

Roma, Roma, Roma!

Tuesday 31st October

Last day in London. Packed cases and left them at hotel. Two trains to Westminster to hopefully beat the crowds - it was closed for the day! There was going to be a special Service celebrating Luther's 500th so we missed out on experiencing Westminster (bother those Protestants). So we jumped on a 'Hop on Hop off' bus and did a full London highlights tour. It was quite good fun and took us back to places we had already been but also to others we had not had time to visit, like Piccadilly Circus. Lunch in a little café off Bond Street, back to hotel to pick up cases and then two trains (still using our Oyster Card) to Heathrow Terminal 4.The hotel was an easy 10mins walk away via an elevated and covered walkway. Dinner in hotel and early night because we have to be up at 5.00am in the morning.

Wednesday 1st November

On our way to Rome! Up early, at terminal by 5.30am for 7.25am flight, cases checked in and about to go through Security when Merilyn says "I haven't got any jewellery on", of course it's back on the desk in the hotel room. Off goes Bruce for a pre-breakfast brisk walk, back within 20mins and all is well - just as well Merilyn realised things weren't right before we had gone through Customs. No where to get g/f food and did not realise there would be no food served on the plane except coffee and a biscuit, ("sorry, no Gluten free"). It was only a 2 hour flight with some great views over the Alps. We landed smoothly and were still travelling quickly down the runway when the pilot hit the brakes and we came to a very abrupt stop. At the same time an announcement came over instructing the crew to man the escape doors, which sent the hostesses running down the aisles, and smoke (not much) started to appear in the cabin. I was trying to decide how do you gracefully go down one of those tube things but thankfully it did not come to that. I had already concluded the 'smoke' was probably from the brakes and tyres because of the abrupt stop - I reckon we might have been close to running into something. All was well and after just a few minutes we were back on our way, then off the plane and walking into a lovely Rome Terminal in Italy!! not really knowing how we were going to get to the hotel. We decided (got talked into) taking a shuttle bus with four others which turned out to be quite a good deal. The driver took a liking to Merilyn, pulling her case for her through the terminal and into the carpark, making her sit next to him in the front, with me on the other side, and giving a commentary on everything we passed. The trip was quite an experience. We had not known that Halloween (really All Saints Day) is a holiday in Italy and there were people and traffic everywhere  - it was now 12.00 noon and we still hadn't had breakfast. Whilst heading from the car-park to the freeway the driver drove with one hand whilst at the same time putting into his phone the passengers hotel addresses - he was impressed with ours - best part of town, close to everything. On the freeway, still driving with one hand and gestulating with the other, we travelled at 140kph, overtaking many and not being passed, until the 80km signs when we slowed down to about 110kph. When the traffic really became congested the were several "Momma Mia's" or "Sunday Driver" and all the time he was pointing out the places of interest we passed and offering advice about avoiding pick-pockets. We soon realised that at pedestrian crosses the drivers try to get across the crossing before the pedestrians are directly in front of them and will be killed if they don't stop. We  did reach the hotel safely and it is indeed a lovely hotel (4 star, a bit of a step up from some of the Youth Hostels) and is in a great position - 5 mins from the Trevi Fountain one way and 6 mins from the Spanish Steps the other way. So we checked in, left our bags and went, on advice from the receptionist, for lunch (very late breakfast) at the 'It's Amore' restaurant. It was great, a bright hostess who understood gluten free requirements, gave us a seat right next to the window where we could watch the passing humanity heading down to view the Trevi fountain - many bus groups, some following leaders with a country flag  - I saw Brazil, Spain and one other (I needed Jack to help me identify the flag), others with Cruise Ship names and some with an umbrella or soft toy on a stick - it was very interesting to see so many different nationalities in such a short time. After a lovely meal, so good we booked in for Dinner, we of course went to view the Trevi fountain, which indeed is lovely but there were thousands there. You had to wait some time for people to move so you could get a position for a decent look. I am so tired of people taking endless 'selfies' and also of groups of young females who take it in turns to have 3 or 4 'cute', posed pictures of themselves in front of an attraction or view. I can be such a grump! One girl actually got up on a balustrade adjoining the fountain and was doing ballet poses when there was a very loud "Hoy, get down now"! and a policeman appeared. I thought it must have been part of an act because the policeman was in a uniform with lots of gold braid, a funny white hat - a bit like a sailors, and he was smoking a cigar!! - it brightened me up no end. Apparently he was a policeman but belonging to a different group from those carrying automatic weapons we saw in many places during the day. I think a 'tourist policeman' rather than a 'terrorist' policeman. After settling into our room later in the afternoon, Merilyn managed to get some shut - eye. We had a late, for us, dinner (7.30pm) - "hello Mr Bruce, how was your afternoon" said the hostess with a lovely smile as we walked in - she was very good, greeted everyone brightly, could speak Italian, English, Spanish and French, had started work at noon and would finish at 11.00pm, we  were  most impressed. We then walked to the Spanish steps, weather still mild - there had been bright sunshine all day and we did not even take our coats out with us - probably the first time in 2 months. People everywhere having fun, shops open, many dining and watching the passing parade - a great atmosphere. Finally got home about 10.30 after a very long and enjoyable day - we think Italy is going to be fun.

View from our window.

Three busy days in London

Monday 30th


Three full days has meant not much time for diary entries so this is just a summary before collapsing into bed (again).
Saturday am: Merilyn spent morning in bed because tummy troubles had kept her up most of the night. Bruce - train to Trafalgar Square, walk down Whitehall then two hours at Churchill's War rooms. Back at 12.30 to wake up Merilyn.
Saturday pm: Bond St for lunch at g/f bakery, St Martins in the Fields, Admiralty Arch, nearby chanced upon changing of the Royal Household Cavalry Guards - 5 riders in full dress on black horses watched by a crowd of several hundred people who were watched by 5 policemen with machine guns. Continued walking to Westminster Abbey, Houses of Parliament, Westminster Clock Tower - covered in scaffold for 5 year refurbish and Big Ben (the bell inside) not ringing, Westminster Bridge, St James Park, Buckingham Palace, Green Park, then trains back to St Pauls for another Vietnamese Dinner. A good day, feet a bit sore, people everywhere because still mid-term break.

St Martins in the Fields



Buckingham Palace
 

Sunday am: Tower of London - Crown Jewels, White Tower, Torture chamber, The Queens house - only remaining Tudor house after the Fire of London ( Queens House because Anne Bolyn stayed there the night before her marriage to Henry VIII in the  Chapel and four years later she stayed there again the night before she lost her head in front of the chapel).
Sunday pm: Tower Bridge (Merilyn actually stood on the glass floor on the upper level - eyes open but did not look down), Westminster walk - with all the walking poor Merilyn had a 'hypo' just near the Globe Theatre, so we had to sit on the edge of the Thames, in the cold, whilst she scoffed jelly beans. Fortunately we noticed an interesting small house just along from the Globe, so Bruce explored whilst Merilyn scoffed and discovered that former residents had been Catherine of Arragon in the 1500's, and Christopher Wren whilst he was supervising the building of St Pauls - well done Merilyn! A quick walk over the Thames, and a one station train ride got us to the Methodist Central Hall - Westminster, for a special service focussing on Martin Luther. It was excellent. A combination of Dialogues, Choir pieces, Hymn Singing  (four of Luther's and two others), Narrations, Readings, Addresses from Martin Luther by an actor, and an excellent message. Unfortunately Merilyn had two 'hypos' during the Service - too much exercise and not enough food - I was about to go up to the microphone and ask if anyone had any spare jelly beans in their pockets - our supply was almost exhausted. She came good however and after the Service we took two trains to Leister Square (no more walking) for an excellent Pasta meal and got home about 10.00pm - hence no diary writing.

Christopher Wren's House

Monday: Lovely crisp morning. Walk through Kensington Park, past the Palace - I waved to Kate whom I reckoned  saw at a window in her PJ's, into Hyde Park and happened upon an arena where six horse guards in full regalia were undergoing training drills - about 10 people watching and no armed guards - it was great. Trains to the river and then a one and half hour trip to Greenwich - a bit too long and we got quite cold on the top deck. Explored the Cutty Sark ship, the Royal Observatory, Greenwich Gardens and the National Naval Museum. Vietnamese for dinner again and home by 8 for an early night. Only one more day in London and then Rome - feeling a bit nervous.

 

 

One foot each side of the Greenwich '0' Meridian Line

 

To London

Thursday 26th October

A lovely drive from New Forest to Salisbury, mainly through forests of autumn coloured trees with some  dark green conifers mixed in - had to keep my eyes open for  'wild animals' on the open grassland areas. Reached Salisbury in 40mins, found the station easily, dropped Merilyn and the cases off, and it was only another 3 mins to the Herz yard to return the car, which took less than 5 min. The need to change trains 3 times to reach the station nearest to our hotel had seemed daunting in the morning before left, but it all went very smoothly with relatively short waits between trains and we were at the hotel before 2pm. The hotel is somewhat disappointing - it is in a very good position in a street of lovely Georgian buildings but the room is very small and the whole hotel shows many signs of wear and tear, it is a bit more like a youth hostel. Still, it is clean and we will hardly be in the room during the day and I am sure we will cope well. After settling in we caught the Tube into the city to pick up our London Passes and Oyster cards (like MYKI's) which I had bought on-line. Then, with gloomy skies above and some light rain, we just wandered for a while. Found Leister square, then Trafalgar Square with dozens of tourists trying to photograph Nelson's column using flash because it was almost nightfall. We walked alongside the river for a while and then up to St Pauls Cathedral where, feeling a bit foot sore we found nearby a Vietnamese  Restaurant that had lovely food, most of which was gluten free. London certainly is an assault on the senses and we are really looking forward to exploring it.

Friday 27th October

A very good weather forecast in the morning helped us decide to go to Windsor today. We caught the tube to Paddington, then with only minutes to spare found that the next train we had to catch was at platform 14, the furthest one away - Merilyn actually got up to a grandma shuffle (could not be called running) and we made it, puffing and crying/laughing at the same time. Changed trains again at Slough for the very short run to Windsor? Arrived just in time for the changing of the guard - they close off the street between the army garrison and the castle and the guard is escorted by an army band in full dress uniform. It was a bit disconcerting to see heavily armed policeman come through before the soldiers, checking out the crowd - a sign of the times. Windsor Castle is what you would expect of a working castle, very, very impressive. We particularly liked the State Apartments and the St George Chapel where many Kings and Queens have been buried. The grandeur, the artworks, and other displays of wealth are almost overwhelming for us simple folk from the Colonies, but it was good to see and perhaps to understand a little, what Royalty means to the British people.

Four train rides returning to London (we are getting good at this train travel) got us to St Pauls in time for Evensong - we had to go through bag checks on the way in, and then we found a French restaurant for a vey lovely meal - we could get used to this good life.

New Forest National Park

Tuesday 24th October

A fine day with times of brightness was the forecast so we headed of for Lyndhurst in the New Forest National Park and for most of the day the weather was low cloud dullness with some wetness. The locals seemed happy however, out walking in their hundreds because of the unseasonal warmness.
First stop was at Corf Castle - another ruined castle with quite a history - lots of intrigue and mistrust between the ruling classes. Highlights were seeing the firing of a catapult at the castle wall - the projectile being a soccer ball filled with water, and a passing steam train.

 

 

Mid afternoon we arrived a the lovely Royal Hotel in New Forest, where , not only are we on the 1st floor and not the 4th floor, there  is also a lift! - reputedly the oldest in Europe. You open a cage door to get in, it holds two, and at your floor you exit via a side caged door - open the door to soon and your stuck! If you exit and forget to close the door behind you it won't move when the button is pushed on another floor and someone has to come up from reception to close the door - they must love it.

 

Wednesday 25th October

 

Two  months to Christmas AND Leisel's eleventh birthday - we sure are missing all the grandchildren. The plan for today had been to have a day at Portsmouth - an hours drive away, lots of museums to visit and things to see but we decided we were just too tired and needed a rest day before London, Rome, Sienna... etc. etc. So what do we do? Given the choice, Merilyn decided on a bike ride in the forest which ended up taking about 4 hours! We travelled on some bitumen roads, rocky side roads, gravel tracks and very muddy tracks. It was good fun but we came home feeling very tired - so much for a restful day. Still, we saw lovely forested areas with autumn trees and tall conifers. clear streams, and open grassland with wild ponies grazing. I am still amazed that the National Parks seem to be for people to let their dogs run loose, and for herds/flocks of domestic animals to have freedom to roam at will, in this case ponies (which we saw plenty of), donkeys, deer and pigs. The weather was superb today, 17C, no wind and plenty of sunshine - consequently there were heaps of people enjoying the outdoors. A lovely Indian meal finished the day. Tomorrow we give up the car after 57 trouble free days and hopefully find the right train to take us to London. A new chapter in the adventure!