An eye on London

We went on the Underground to Westminster on the Jubilee Line for The London Eye. It was great. One rotation takes about one hour. There were lots of people in each carriage. We could see ALL of London except the Tower of London or the Tower Bridge. When we got out of the carrage at the bottom, we saw a guy acting as Charlie Chaplin and a guy acting as a Royal Guard. I gave him one pound and I took photos with him. Then I had a soft serve ice-cream with a flake in it and my parents had flat whites. We then walked past Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament. We heard an American lady ask a man at a souvenir shop "What do you call that?" and he said "Big Ben" and she said "Oh that's Big Ben" (that's why Nanna does'nt like Americans!). We walked to Westminster Abbey which is where Prince William and Kate got married. Lots of famous people and Monarchs are buried here and an unknown soldier who died in France in World War I got burried in the Nave. We got another audio guide and saw where Henry III, Henry V, Henry VII, Elizabeth I and Mary Queen of Scots were buried.











Riley's Mum here again: We had another wonderful day. It may not seem we accomplish a lot in a day but every attraction takes so much time to see and then there are queues (and security checks) to get through. Think I've said before - there are too many tourists in London! We always get back to our London digs exhaused after our busy day.
I was really impressed by Westminster Abbey. I never comprehended just how big it really is. You see it on the telly for royal funerals and weddings (and take in the grandure and all the bad hats of the congregation) but I never realised there were so many impressive littel chapels branching off the main nave where there are so many burial sites with some beautiful marble sculptures and monuments. The ancient coronation chair is on show too.
Riley loves visiting these places where history comes alive. He clings on to his audio guide taking in all the information. We often lose him and have to back track to find him listening to all the extra commentary. He's been a real trooper and kept up with all the walking without ever complaining. Horrible Histories has given him a real love and understanding of British history that he can't get enough of. It's been a wonderful opportunity to show him things he'll never forget. Concerning though is his claims he will live in London when he's an adult!!
Wishes to all,
Jo XXX

Mum's twenty pounds lighter!!!!

You can tell who won the bet. I got to the centre of the maze five minutes before mum got to the centre. We got the underground from Victoria to Westminster on the District Line then we went on the Jubilee Line from Westminster to Waterloo then we went on the National rail to Hampton Court (that is the name of the train station) so all up it takes about one hour. We got to Hampton Court in sunny weather. It was rrreeeaaalllyyy great. We saw where King Henry XIII lived with all his wives (divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived) and his kitchens. Marty would LOVE to have a feast with Henry XIII (lots of meat, no vegetables, no water and lots of beer and wine). William III and Mary II lived there as well (not in the same time period, obviously) We spent ALL day at Hampton Court. At the end of the day, we went to one of Hampton Court's souvenir shops where I bought a Henry XIII teddy bear. We had Indian for dinner.

Hi Riley's Mum here: We are all loving London. Our unit is in such a wonderful location, handy to everything and surprisingly quiet. We do hear the occasional siren and that's about all.

Loved Hampton Court - it took us all day to see everthing. Can't decide which if my favourite - Hampton Court or Blenheim Palace. The artworks and tapestries were amazing in both.

Riley loves the Underground and wants to get down there any chance he gets. He says when he grows up and works in London he will use the Underground every day! It certainly is the way to get around London - the road traffic always gridlocked and the buses crawl along.

Was surprised yesterday when we went down to Buckingham Palace how many people were milling around outside. There are too many tourists in London!

Well the new series of Downton Abbey (ep 2)  is on tonight so will go watch it (eat your heart out, Jen!) Do you want a spoiler?

Love to all

XXX

Tower of London and the Palace

We had not been able to use the wi-fi at our unit until today so I'm behind two days.
Yesterday we went on an open-top double-decker bus on Big Bus Tours around London. We saw Big Ben, the London Eye and we got off at the Tower of London! It was great!!! We saw the Crown Jewels, the torture chamber (with the Rack!) and the White Tower and there was also a tower called the Bloody Tower. We saw all the kings' armoury and even Henry VIII's suit of armour before he got too fat.
We got on the Big Bus Tour again and went to The Thames where we got on a tour boat. There was a funny man on the microphone telling jokes (one of the jokes was "Where was the Bloody Tower? Behind some bloody trees. What a bloody nuisance.'') Then we got on the Big Bus Tour again back to Victoria station and walked home.

The Rack at the torture chamber in the Tower  of
London.

Today, Saturday we walked down to Buckingham Palace. There was SO many people outside the palace!!! We saw the big statue of Queen Victoria in front of the palace. It had lots of gold on top. We went nearby to St James Park and I fed some ducks bread Mum had brought with us. We saw where Prince Charles lives and caught an Underground train from Green Park station to Bond Street to change trains to go to Queensway station. We walked over to Kensington Park where I played in the Princess Diana Memorial Childrens Garden. It was great! A climbed on a pirate's ship and was having lots of fun until I fell down and hurt my right knee. We also saw Princess Diana's old palace where Prince William and baby George are going to live. We did lots of walking today in London parks.
The weather was good but looked like it was going to rain but didn't.

LONDON ROCKS!!!!!

Left Edinburgh for London's Kings Cross Station (Why were kings cross? Maybe their trains were late!). The train trip took 4 hours and 45 minutes. We went on the Underground train to Victoria Station on the Victoria Line. Unfortunately, it was rush hour AND IT WAS PACKED! We walked our way to our unit at 16 Warwick Square Mews without getting lost (my parents are better on foot compared with driving). Our unit has two bedrooms, one bathroom, two toilets, two TVs, one fireplace, one kitchen, one dining room and one lounge room. We are surprised how quiet it is since its in the middle of London. We had dinner at at a Mexican restaurant called Loco Mexecano.

Hi Riley's Mum here: We are on the train heading to London. Lovely weather today. Thanks Scotland for providing clear blue skies as we depart! Sadly our time in Scotland is at an end - it
was all too short.

We are now looking forward to London.  Riley has lots on his list of must-dos for our last week. We are heading for King's Cross station and then we have to find our way to our accommodation at Pimlico. No more hire cars for the Cranstouns - it will be all public transport from here! Will we still manage to get lost??

Don't forget to send Riley a message. He's really keen to hear from his cousins too.

Love Jo

XXX

Taking the high road

We had a nice brekkie cooked by Laura (the owner of CastleCroft B & B in Stirling). Before we left Stirling, we went inside Mr Simm's sweet shop where I bought a small box of Angry Birds fruit gummies. We also bought some Scottish tablet (aka fudge). It's the BEST sweet shop i've ever been to. We also saw a model of the Loch Ness Monster in the shop window made entirely out of lollies. We then took the high road to Loch Lomond (STOP SINGING THAT SONG MUM! I'TS DRIVING ME CRAZY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!).
There were LOTS of different stones on the shore of the loch. Different sizes, different colours, different shapes, etc, etc, etc. We stopped at Oak Tree Inn. There were 8 clocks (6 were grandfather clocks) I had hot fudge cake & an AMAZING hot chocolate and mum and dad both had scones & coffee. We saw some highland cattle on the drive round the loch. Then we drove back to Edinburgh Park to spend our last night in Scotland at the Premier Inn (again) before we catch the train to London tomorrow.

Scottish Countryside

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NANNA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sorry I couldn"t post yesterday because we didn't have wi-fi in our cottage.

Yesterday we went to Melrose Abbey. It was really interesting. It was built in the 12th century and it was destroyed by King Richard II of England. We listened to an audio like at the Roman Baths. Robert the Bruce's heart is buried there. We had lunch at Melrose and I had a chocolate ice cream.

It was a warm, sunny day (we couldn't believe it!!) Then we went on a long drive and saw really nice green Scottish countryside and steep hills where sheep were balancing on the sides.

Went to a place called Crawford where my ancestors the Cranstoun ran the Crawford Inn. It's still there but really run down.

Today was 24/09/13 and we drove over the firth of forth bridge. There was lots of low cloud, fog and no sunshine. We had lunch at The Green Room at Dunfermline. It was a great cafe and I used wi-fi for the first time in 2 days. I had a cheese toasty & a hot chocolate with marshmallows and mum & dad both had a salmon baguette & tea. We went to Stirling castle. I sat on the kings throne an ordered dad's head be cut off. It was old and interesting and it dates back to the 15th century. Mary Queen of Scots grew up there. People were walking around in costume. We are staying at CastleCroft B & B at Stirling. We had dinner at the River House restaurant. Mum tried HAGGIS!
And she LIKED it (nanna won't BELIEVE it).

Cranstouns at Cranstoun Church

Dad went and got the Volkswagen Jetta hire car from Europcar at Edinburgh. We headed off out of Edinburgh to Pathhead to the Cranstoun Church. We got there just as the ladies were closing up after church. We took some photos. We walked to the Oxenford Castle behind the church for a look before the lord of the manor's son (Lord Dalrymple) came back to his home and told us we were on private property!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We drove to north Berwick where dad and I had cheese and ham toasties at the sea life centre. We were looking out at the Firth of Forth and saw an island with a lighthouse. It had great scenery with big windmills that generate electricity. We drove to Newstead where we are staying at Speycaster cottage. We had dinner at Burt's pub in Melrose. Dad is trying haggis (dad says it's certainly a step up from faggots).


Hi again Riley's Mum here: Riley has gone to bed - he's exhausted so I'm jumping on his blog . It's the 24th now - Happy birthday Mother. Hope you had a wonderful day.
I didn't want to add on Riley's actual Sept 24 blog as he has to come back to it as he missed a couple of days after being without Wi-Fi connection in the cottage we were staying in Newstead, 1 mile from the delightful Scottish village of Melrose. We saw some absolutely glorious countryside yesterday - just how I imagined Scotland would look. Weather was superb too as you can see by these pics - blue skies and warm. Not so today!! I'll let Riley tell you what we did today.
Well the boys managed to drag me away from The Cotswolds. We drove out of our cottage at 6.15am for the trip to Cheltenham and the train. Ross decided to take a short cut to the main road - I felt I was in a Beatrix Potter novel with foxes and rabbits bouncing across the still dark narrow roads as we travelled through some tiny villages and farmland. Somehow we managed to find our way eventually to a main road with a sign pointing to Cheltenham.
The train trip passed quickly despite being more than six hours with a delay. Riley had free wi-fi on the train and was happy. Unfortunately we didn't have time for breakfast and thought we'd get food on the train but discovered they don't provide a food service on weekend trains! The train got really crowded just before Newcastle - must have had a round-ball game there last weekend.
We passed some uninspiring scenery north to Scotland - those major cities/towns look very sad! Can't say I was all that impressed with Edinburgh either. As the train travelled through that early Scottish countryside and entered Edinburgh, I thought "Should have listened to Jen and gone to Paris.''
Every second shop in Edinburgh is a cheap tartan/souvenir trader run by Indians. But I did find a T-shirt I just had to buy for Baghwan (hope you are following Riley's blog, Baggie?)
However, the next day as we headed further away from Edinburgh we encountered some really beautiful countryside. Scotland is delightful - away from the big cities!
We are now in Sterling and tomorrow off to see the bonnie bonnie banks of the Loch Lomond.
The Scottish people are delightful and always up for a chat.
Off for a wee sleep myself. Much love to all. Jo XXX

A wee trip to Scotland

We had to get up really early to get to train at Cheltenham, but first we had to get the hire car back to Gloucester Airport and a cab to train station. Dad took us on the "shortcut'' in back lanes in the dark to main road - we thought we were lost but got there!!!!!
Mum was REALLY sad to leave the Cotswolds. On the train we got to sit in first class seats and I could use my laptop with the Wi-Fi. The train trip was nearly six hours! We got to Edinburgh Waverley station. It's really big. We are staying at the Premier Inn at Edinburgh Park (two station stops from the city). We walked the Royal Mile and saw Cranston Street (spelt wrong!!) and Milne Street. We saw the Edinburgh Castle, but it was closing when we got there.
I saw an invisable man and another funny man performing in the street. They were REALLY funny. The contortionist man said really rude (and funny) things to people walking up the street.
We had dinner at an Indian restaurant. The butter chicken was fabulous.

Mum's Birthday

The weather was nice and sunny. We got off to a slow, but relaxing, start. It was mum's birthday wish to have two hours in Burford on her own. She says she wandered around the church graveyard and visited every shop! Mum found an 18 carat gold ring that she had to have!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So her birthday money didn't last long (i still have some of my pounds from July). Dad & I picked mum up and we went to a gastro pub called The Swan hotel (pictured) in Bibury. I had a kids beef burger with chips for lunch and an ice cream with hot chocolate sauce for dessert.  Mum and dad had trout for entrée (I tried some of mum's and it was DELICIOUS). For main, mum had salmon and dad had lamb. For dessert, mum had toffee pudding and dad had cheese. To drink, I had lemonade, mum had a couple of glasses of bubbly and dad had a local beer. I thought that was the BEST restaurant I have EVER been to. We had a walk around Bibury and fed the ducks and swans with leftover chips and saw some BIG trout in the stream. After that we went back to Burford for one last look. Our next stop is Scotland.



Hi Riley's Mum here again! Big thanks to everyone for your birthday wishes for yesterday. I had a wonderful day. Loved my free two hours in beautiful Burford and had a long, relaxing look at all the cute shops. And as Riley said I started off with a stroll through the lovely old church (love nothing more than an old graveyard!)
Lunch was delightful in the amazing The Swan. It is so reasonable dining out here. The food was delicious and the French bubbles went down a treat. And Marty we are not taking any more foodie advice from you after the faggots incident!
The sun was shining and we even saw some blue skies - for the first time since we arrived.
Amazed to see huge trout in the stream outside the pub - wonder if their cousins were the trout on the menu? (Bill, you wouldn't have been able to resist that trout in the stream!)
Spent my birthday money on an old sapphire ring (1900-1920s) from an antiques shop in Burford - I am taking home a piece of the Cotswolds! I couldn't believe a dainty ring like that fitted my fingers - must have belonged to a farmer's wife with man hands!
This row of houses in this picture was a highlight of Bibury. Amazing that people live in them - looks more like a movie set. Well there is heartache ahead as we say farewell to the Cotswolds and head north to the land where people talk funny and the men wear skirts.
Love
Jo xxx

Roman baths of Bath

The weather was rainy (for anyone who wants to know). We were driving to Bath and stopped at a town named Lacock where we went to this pub called the George Inn for lunch where I had kids fish & chips, mum had a lamb burger and dad had faggots (YUCK). We saw this wheel that turns a spit over the fireplace which was powered by a turnspit dog (extinct dog breed). We also saw 4 people that looked historical. Turns out they were going to a Jane Austen festival in Bath. After lunch, we were walking around the village and went inside a church where we donated some money. After that, we went to Bath. We got lost, AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!>:(
We went to the Roman baths where we wore these things around our necks that we type numbers into so we get historical info about the baths. They were really interesting. I loved it! It was like a museum.

Cotswolds and Slaughters

We spent the day driving around the Cotswolds. The Cotswolds have some funny town names like Lower Slaughter, Upper Slaughter and Stow on the Wold. My favourite was Bourton on the Water where we fed the ducks and dad and I had a look inside a toy shop. Dad and I even found a toilet where you have to pay 20p for a pee. At Lower Slaughter, we met a dog named Harry. He's a Jack Russell Terrier. Harry was deaf, had a bad leg and was 14 (about 98 in dog years). This photo was at Lower Slaughter. Then we went to Broadway (not Broadway where all the musicals are) where we had afternoon tea and went to the shops. I bought a Horrible Histories official annual 2014 and a pack of Horrible Histories playing cards for 13.98 with the pounds Nanna and Brenton gave me for my birthday. Here's two jokes from the book: Q. What did the Pharoah say when he saw the pyramid? A.Mummy's home.
Q. Why was King Alfred called the Great? A. Because Alfred the Blooming Marvellous would have sounded silly.
Please hit the comment button, guys, and send me some messages.


Hi it's Riley's Mum here. He's gone to get dressed so I've jumped on his blog!
We are having a wonderful time. It was so exciting flying into London on Monday. As the plane broke through the clouds we suddenly saw all those famous buildings. I think the first thing I noticed was the London Eye - can't believe the size of it. Will have to ride it when we get to London. Riley was pointing out all the sites and was so excited to see Hampton Court outside London. He can't wait to get there - the home of his hero Henry VIII.
I am absolutely loving the Cotswolds. It's so much more beautiful than I ever imagined. It's my kind of place! We saw so many gorgeous villages yesterday that I can't decide which one is my favourite. Some of the picks are the ones Riley mentioned  - Upper and Lower Slaughter (Lower is best of the two), Broadway, Stow on the Wold, Burford, Bourton on the Water (which is the most popular with tourists). The size of the villages has surprised me as I didn't realise they would be all so different and so extensive. They must have really strict building codes as even the newest buildings are all built in the theme and of the Cotswold yellow-tinged stone. I feel like I'm on the set of "Escape to the Country'' or "Midsomer Murders''. I expect Insp Barnaby to come round a corner in one of the villages!
We've also decided that if you live in the Cotswolds you have to own at least one dog. Non-dog lovers must be drummed out! All the locals are out walking their dogs (often two of the same breed). The most popular seems to be West highland terriers. All the cafes and restaurants welcome dogs and they sit under the tables. They all seem to be so well behaved - not like our Rex! We haven't seen a dog snarl at another dog in the street. How do they do it?? We are missing our Rex and hope he is doing OK with the housesitters.
The Cotswolds countryside looks very similar to Oz, particularly like Tassie. But the roads are so much narrower. Can't imagine what happens when you have to share the road with a lorry (oh no, I'm starting to talk like a local!) We took some gorgeous roads yesterday that were lined by magnificent old trees. Some parts of the road were like travelling through a tunnel of greenery. We all broke into the first verse of "My Country'' in the car yesterday; "A love of field and coppice, of green and shaded lanes, of ordered woods and gardens is running in your veins (blah blah blah) . . . I know but cannot share it, my love is otherwise.'' But unlike Dorothea Mackellar I think I'll be leaving my heart in the Cotswolds.
Love to all - don't forget to send a comment to Riley on the blog - he's dying to hear from you! XXX

Blenheim Palace

We went and got the hire car from Europcar. It's a Vauxhall. We got lost trying to find our way out of Reading. We drove to Oxford (where we got even more lost. Don't blame me, it's my parents) and it was FREEZING COLD and raining. We saw the graduates from Oxford University and lots of double-decker buses. We went to Blenheim Palace which is just north of Oxford.

We liked the tour. Blenheim Palace was a gift from Queen Anne (the last Stuart Queen) to

the first duke of Marlborough for his victory at Blenheim in Bavaria (now called Germany) in 1704.

This is me giving a sermon in the Palace chapel.

We went to the Cotswolds (mum loves all the old buildings) where we are now staying at Peacocks cottage just outside Burford. I was still suffering the affects of jet lag and wanted to fall asleep during dinner at the Mermaid pub in Burford.

Come on guys! Send me some comments. We'd love to hear from you.

Here at last

Sorry I didn't Write anything yesterday. We were recovering from jet lag. We had our BIG plane trip yesterday. From Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, to Heathrow airport in London, Britain. It took nearly 14 hours. There was a friendly flight attendant. She is now my second favourite flight attendant(next to Anna, of course). When we got to the luggage reclaim, we had to wait AGES for our luggage because it was a big plane with two decks. We took a coach/bus to Reading(pronounced Red-ing), which is where we are right now at the the Premier Inn. We had a good sleep from 8:30pm to 7:00am(British time). We've had breakfast at the Premier Inn and dad is going to get the hire car from Europcar.

Parents causing problems

Landed in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, after 8 hours on Malaysia Air. After we got off the plane, my dad had to go back in the plane to get the duty free, and my mum had to go back in the plane to try and find her reading glasses but she couldn't find it.We are waiting for the cleaners to clean out the plane and find mums glasses.I'll keep a better watch on them.

Off today

Hi!
Riley here.
Our plane departs at 11:20 pm. I'm saying goodbye to my Jack Russell Terrier, Rex. The house sitters are going to look after our house and Rex.
Wish them luck!