Have enjoyed a few quiet days in London. We did go and explore the Natural History Museum.  

It's Royal Ascot Day. We had a one hour train trip from London to Ascot. In the UK food and drink are allowed on overland trains. So imagine a jam packed train full of people all sipping champagne and off to the races, a great way to start the day.

We joined the 80,000 people who had come to see the the Queen of England and Black Caviar, the Queen of the Track. The hype surrounding Black Caviar was electric, it was a fabulous day out.

The Queen arrives at 2pm to get the day officially under way, with no shortage of British pomp.

Black Caviar does the business. There was a huge gasp from the crowd when the jockey stopped riding her in the last 50 metres and almost got her beaten, with massive confusion and despair until Black Caviar was announced the winner.

      

 June 11 - 19

Caught the Eurostar to Paris at 300K/Hr. The lift in our hotel was a little squeezier than we are accustomed to in Aus, it measured 600x900 centimetres. Walked 15k on our first day taking in Notre Dame, Eiffel Tower, Arc DeTriumph, the Champs De Lyesee and much more.Also wined and dined our way through the day in the French's wonderful Cafe culture.

Arrived at the Lourve early on day 2 to join a hoard of people lining up for tickets to enjoy the best the art world has to offer. We were lucky that we had purchased our tickets the day before and were able to go straight in and begin a wonderful experience.

After slaying Goliath, David returns home triumphantly with Goliath's head in hand.

 We spent over 4 hours in the Lourve. It got to the stage when we could not look another statue in the eye without beginning to hallucinate.

On June 14 we caught a fast train to Munich via Stuttgart passing through beautiful German countryside. Mother hen was thrilled to catch up with her baby chicken at the World Cup Rowing.

The Germans love to sit, drink, eat and be happy. We reluctantly embraced their culture.

One of the highlights of Munich was without doubt the English Gardens, established in 1789 and covering 370 hectares. It is one the world's largest urban public parks. Thousands of people flock there every day.

Being a rowing supporter is a tough gig.

Surfing in the English Gardens, one at a time from dawn until dusk.                                        

The other highlight in Munich was the Hofbrauhaus, the best known beer hall in the world. We frequented the establishment on four seperate occasions, enjoying traditional german food,cold beer and merriment. I now understand why my father enjoyed Munich so much in 1972. I doubt if he found time to visit the English Gardens. We flew back to London on June 19 for some R&R after a very memorable week.

5,6,7,8,9,10 June 2012

 Headed off to Southampton and Portsmouth. Both cities have amazing maritime histories. Pictured is HMS Victory, Lord Nelson's flagship.

 The Isle of Wight is a beautiful island, rich in history and just about everything else. Plenty of little villages with narrow winding streets,

 and good pubs too.

 Caught up with old friends John and Audrey Duncan who live in Waterlooville near Portsmouth. Had not seen them since 1974 when they returned home to England from Brisbane.

You try taking taking your own photograph with rain and a cold 20 knot gale in your face.
At Southampton to see the 3 Queens, Queen Elizabeth, Queen Mary and Queen Victoria. All 3 were berthed in Southhampton as part of the Diamond Jubilee celebrations. The Queen Elizabeth is in the background.









The highlight on the Isle of Wight was Osborne House which was Queen Victoria's summer residence. It belonged to a time when the British Empire was at the peak of it's world power and dominance. Two words to describe it's contents would be "unimaginable opulence"

Headed home to London on Sat 9 for a quiet weekend before heading off to Paris on June 11.

4 June 2012

As a part of Jubilee celebrations the council sponsored local street parties
throughout London.

Plenty of wonderful ethnic food to
choose from.

A lot of the food was free, the rest very cheap.

Caught up with some of Annabel's friends.

When we could eat no more we retired
to Greg's favourite pub, the King's
Head which is situated only 100 metres
from home.





2 June 2012





  

 We have settled in at Upper Tooting after recovering from long flight. Decided to hire an inconspicuous vehicle to poke around London. We can't understand why everyone is staring at us.

 

Annabel and Greg's unit is in a great spot, handy to the tube and with countless resturants and markets within 5 minutes walk. Most of the markets are Indian or Muslim owned.Fresh food prices are really cheap.

Did our Aussie best to support the local pubs. Not surprisingly crashed early. Northern twilight takes a little getting used to, not dark till after 10PM and the birds start chirping at 3.45AM.

 

3 June 2012 

Caught the tube into the city to join the masses celebrating the Queen's Diamond Jubilee.

Weather a little showery. Had a three hour wait for the flotilla to come past.

Passed the time drinking beer. In UK it is legal to drink in public place.

The flotilla was magnificent, endless variety of boats.

 

The rain held off until the Queen finally went past. The rain then came down and we were forced to take refuge for the afternoon in the Prince of Wales pub before heading home.