Last day!!

Today the girls and I ventured into London by ourselves while Alastair played golf with Ross. We had a quiet day yesterday recovering from the traffic ordeal though I did take the girls ice skating again at Alexandra Palace.

We went to the London Eye today as that was something the girls had really wanted to do. It was great. They really enjoyed the experience of seeing across the top of some of the buildings - although it was a little bit misty so we couldn't see too far beyond the inner city areas. We then enjoyed a Chinese lunch together.

We leave tomorrow for home - everyone is a little sad about our holiday coming to an end. The girls have had a lovely time really getting to know Ross and Susanna. Alastair and I have also enjoyed the opportunity to catch up with them. We have also really benefitted from being able to be away from work and all our other involvements - so feel very rested.

Carlene

Warwick Castle

Today (Monday, October 1) we went to Warwick Castle. It’s a big, big castle. Outside the castle was a big ditch they use to put stinky sewerage inside We went in a room it had wax statues. A lady asked us if we wanted to get a costume on and pretend to be a statue. I said yes. Then we went to a ghost castle. It’s really scary, even a grown man would be scared. Then we went to visit a castle that was nice.
Katherine

Warwick Castle

After the disappointment of Legoland, I was a little apprehensive about our visit to Warwick Castle the next day (Monday, October 1). We found it easily with the help of the Tomtom (which took us via various back roads and through some lovely little English villages with thatched roof cottages) to get to the castle. It was fantastic. It was unashamedly tourist oriented but still provided lots of interesting history. The girls had a great time because the history was really brought to life. We saw an interesting talk and demonstration about long bows and cross bows and another demonstration of a giant trebuchet (a huge catapult used to bombard besieged castles). The ghost tour was also great. Ellen was scared the first time in and burst in to tears so we left. But she bravely wiped away the tears and decided to try it again. It was in a darkened tower of the castle and told the story of the death of one of its former owners. People were dressed up and acted as statues and leapt out at you at various points. Other parts of the castle have rooms set up showing various parts of history. One is devoted to a ‘royal weekend’ and shows parts of the castle converted into a Victorian house for a weekend in late 1890s. Wax models depict various characters at the weekend house party. It’s all really well done with the furniture and models giving a real sense of what it was like. Another part in the lower parts of the castle that weren’t converted into a house shows a story of medieval times. Again wax models and recordings are used to really bring it to life. In this section one of the staff got the girls and Alastair involved. They were dressed up and set up as ‘wax models’ in one of the scenes. They then tricked the other people who came through. It was great fun. Alastair particularly surprised a couple of Portuguese visitors, who had not noticed any of the real people in the scene, by calling out Ola after they had been watching the scene for a couple of minutes. The look on the woman’s face as she realised they were real was priceless. We also climbed up and around the ramparts and saw another section where they used two films – one projected onto a giant wall – to tell the story of preparing for battle.
After that we set off for Ross’s. The two-hour journey this time took us three-and-a-half hours as we found ourselves caught in yet another traffic jam as we came back into London. I really couldn’t cope with living in a place where traffic jams are such a part of everyday existence – what a waste of your precious time.
Carlene

Legoland

Today (Sunday, September 30) we drove to Legoland. Legoland was good. We went on a lot of rides one that was called Sky Rider. That was like a roller coaster. Then we went to Miniland. Afterwards I and Ellen went on the trampoline. Then I, Ellen and Dad went on a pirate ride. We got wet through.
When we were driving we got in a traffic jam. We drove 100 kilometres in four hours.
Katherine

Let’s get your dough land

We visited Legoland on Sunday (Sep 30). The best thing about it was the view of Windsor Castle and the Windsor plains – it was all downhill after that. The brochure promised that most rides inside the attraction were free – and after shelling out 25 pounds for each of the girls and 32.50 pounds for each of us, we expected that would be the case. But it was obvious that the accountants are now in charge of the place and have the attitude that they must take any opportunity to rip off the punters. There are shops scattered throughout the place to take even more of your money on clothes, toys, souvenirs and books. About half the rides are free and the rest charge some fee. It soon became obvious which rides were free by the length of the queues to get onto those. The attitude of the staff was appalling with most clearly just going through the motions. We even observed two of the younger staff on one stall that sold alcohol consuming the product while on duty! On the bright side, the girls really enjoyed it. Mini land where they have various models of different countries was not bad – but in parts was looking very tired and faded. The girls liked the pirate ride that they went on with Alastair. They also enjoyed the driving school. It was a series of little roads set up with mini cars (like dodgem cars). Firstly they had a little video lesson in the rules of the road and then they and about 20 other kids got to drive around the roads. It was highly amusing with kids on the wrong side of the road, others showing obvious road rage and not many having any understanding of give way signs. Katherine was very careful and a little stressed out about it at first, while Ellen really enjoyed it and decided that if going around the roundabout the wrong way was the best way to avoid the traffic jam then she’d do it.
On the way to the B&B we were staying at in a little place called Sparsholt we got to experience a real English traffic jam. The motorway was completely blocked – all three lanes. As a result what should have been a one hour journey took four hours – with at one point about one-and-a-half miles taking two hours to traverse. Fortunately Ross had lent us his Tomtom GPS navigation device. So it was able to show us an alternative route once we got off the motorway. I doubt we would have found the little village we were staying at without it as it was up a tiny country lane.
The B&B was cute – set up in a 300-year old barn at an old pub. It was also really quiet and had a little brook running through the garden.
Carlene

Covent Garden

Today (September 29, 2007) we went to a market and bought a little magnet puppy and a head band. There were a lot of people there on the weekend.
Katherine

September 29, 2007

Today we went to Covent Garden. We bought some things in little shops and I bought a little dog called Benjy and I bought a headband and it was purple with black spots with little lines. Then we had lunch. I had a falafel and hummus wrap and organic juice.
Ellen

Going to the science museum!

Today we went to a science museum that was very interesting. We went to the Launch Pad. That’s a place where you touch things. Then we had lunch and then we went to a place called Pattern Pod. We drew pictures there.
Katherine

September 28, 2007

Today we went to the science museum. We went in a room called the Launch Pad and it was full of cool things. Mum and I had a go on a satellite where someone talks on a thing and you (well whoever is at the other end) hears you because of the satellite and the other satellite. We saw bubble things where you pushed a handle and bubbles blow. I don’t know why it is there because it doesn’t mean anything. I saw and went in a thing where you make a shape (a pose) and the machine takes a photo of your shadow.
Ellen

Train back to London

Today (Wednesday, September 26) we caught the train back to London. We were in carriage one. Ross and Aunty Susanna were in carriage 2.
Katherine

September 26, 2007

We were walking down from our apartment in Paris and Dad was carrying the two suitcases and we were down the stairs and Dad was trying to hurry and he fell down the stairs and hit his badly. But he is okay. Then we went back to London on the train again for two hours.
Ellen

September 25, 2007

Today we came to Ross and Susanna's hotel and we spent the day with them. First we went to the playground. Then we went on the Ferris wheel and Susanna could spin our carriage and Ross said he would stop it but it was a coincidence. So he kept trying and he stopped it again and again. Then we went back to the playground and it started dripping and we said to S and R it is okay to go outside but then it really started to pour down and they were still sitting outside. So they had to run in the shelter. After that we had lunch and I had some dessert, which was real vanilla. Then we went on a boat and had a little look around in the boat. We saw the Eiffel Tower and we saw Notre Dame and we went past the island with Notre Dame on it. Then we had dinner and Ross and Susanna took us home.
Ellen

Covent Garden

We visited Covent Garden on Saturday (September 29). We had a wander around the stalls and the girls bought a couple of small things.
We had dinner with Ross and Susanna at an Italian restaurant near the Acupuncture College that they own and of which Susanna is principal. It was a lovely fun family restaurant with lots of people out enjoying themselves.
Carlene

The Science Museum

On Friday (September 28) we went to the Science Museum in London. It's great that so many of the museums in London are free. The Science Museum has some fantastic hands-on exhibits, which the girls (and us) enjoyed immensely. We had a lot of fun finding out all sorts of interesting things. The girls really liked the Launch Pad exhibits - a section specially designed for kids 8-14. It had a pair of small satellites set up at either side of the room and you could communicate with each other. The other section we all liked was the electricity/power section that had lots of info about alternative energy sources.
Carlene

Ross and Susanna

Today we spent the day with Ross and Susanna. First we went on a Ferris wheel. We could see the Eiffel Tower. The wheel went around four and a half times and stopped at the top!!! The chair could swing around as well as around. I wasn’t scared at all.
Afterwards we went to a playground then on a boat on the river. We went along all of the river and then we to dinner with Ross and Susanna and then back to our apartment.
Katherine

On our own

Ross and Susanna took Ellen and Katherine for the day on Tuesday September 25 – picking them up at 8.30 for breakfast.
Alastair and I had to day to ourselves so we were able to plan to see a few more things. Unfortunately we knew the Louvre was closed on a Tuesday – we had planned to visit it on the Monday but the girls had decided they had had enough of museums and art galleries and looking at paintings and things.
So first of all we visited the Musee Marmottan on the northern-western side of Paris near the Bois du Boulogne. The museum has the largest collection of Monet paintings in Paris – many of them from his son Michel. Again the artwork was beautiful.
The museum was in a very leafy, more upmarket area of Paris, which was lovely just to walk around.
Next stop was the Champs Elysees. We walked along part of it and through the very posh arcades selling designer stuff.
We went to the Arc de Triomphe which we climbed (294 steps). Boy – have we had a work out – what with the 91 steps up to the apartment and loads of walking between the various museums and sites. The view from the Arc is also great – especially of the boulevards radiating from it and the Grand Arch and back to the Louvre.
We then had a walk around the main areas outside the Louvre. We will have to visit it another time but it is so incredibly massive that you really need at least a couple of days there and to plan what you really want to see.
We then walked to the Ile de la Cite and went to the other church there – Saint Chapelle. This church is inside the Palais du Justice – the main law courts – so it’s a bit of a pain to get into. But it is well worth the effort. It has the most beautiful stained glass windows, artwork, painting and mosaics. It is very light – a real contrast to Notre Dame, which is quite dark. It is also very old – consecrated in 1248.
Carlene

September 24, 2007

This afternoon we went to Sacre Coeur and we could see all of Paris. It was a beautiful white church. We got to light a candle and remember who died before and I remembered our Grandpa and my Pop. We went on the carousel and bought a pink and white Paris and France top. The letters were made of beads. The we went out for tea.
Ellen

Sacre Coeur

Today we went to a church. Dad let us light a candle. When you light a candle you think of people who have passed away – I thought of grandpa and poppy Tom.
Afterwards we went on a merry-go-round and then home.
Katherine

Sacre Coeur

After such as busy day and night on Sunday, we took it easy on the morning of Monday, September 24 and let the girls and I rest up. We enjoyed another breakfast from the local bakery.
In the afternoon we caught the Metro to Montmartre and climbed the hill to Sacre Coeur. Again it was stunning and the view across Paris magnifique
Carlene

September 23, 2007

We went to a big museum again. Yesterday the museum was very different to the one we went to today. Today’s museum was bigger and it had a lot of better paintings and there were very interesting paintings. We had lunch in the museum then we went and looked at sculptures outside.
We went to a beautiful garden that was very big and had a large playground that was 100 metres wide and 50 metres wide.
At about 7.30pm we went to the Eiffel Tower. We had to wait in the line for about 30 minutes so we probably got up on the Eiffel Tower at 8pm.
The lights on the tower started sparkling when we were up the tower.

Ellen

The museum, playground and Eiffel Tower

Today we went to an enormous museum where there were enormous paintings and sculptures.
I bought poster of lily pads.
Then we went to a massive playground. It was about 100 metres long and 50 metres wide.
At about 8pm we went to the Eiffel Tower. We could have gone to the third level but we just went to the second level. We could still see a lot of Paris. It was beautiful at night.

Katherine

Impressions

We started off today (September 23) at the Musee d’Orsay – a wonderful museum that houses a lot of sculpture and the major works of the Impressionists. In a word – WOW. The Impressionist exhibition was wonderful – Monet, Manet, Renoir, Degas, Van Gough. It was simply amazing to see so many wonderful paintings and sculptures that you’ve only seen in books. I really liked the works of Degas and Monet. The Degas ballet paintings and sculptures were just stunning. I also really liked the Monet landscapes and paintings of women. The van Gough collection was also impressive. Seeing so many wonderful artworks is really overwhelming and quite exhausting – it’s almost like you have a real sensory overload.
In the afternoon we took the girls to the Jardin du Luxembourg as they needed some physical release It had an absolutely enormous playground (which we had to pay to get into!), which was mainly packed with Parisian children. Ellen had a great time with the children talking French to her! The park also has another playground of just swings and another area where boys were riding billy carts. People were also playing petanque – we which watched for a while. It was a lot of fun with some really expert players.
That evening we had dinner at the Indian restaurant again and then headed to the Eiffel Tower. We had hoped to avoid the queues – but there were still quite long queues. We decided to go only to the second level and not all the way to the top as it was a further 45 minutes to queue for the lift to the top floor. We were also treated to a light show with the tower covered in flashing lifts for about 10 minutes each hour. The view even from the second level (both Alastair and Susanna were very happy that we weren’t going to the top) was still fantastic. At night the city is indeed a city of lights with all the monuments like Sacre Coeur and Notre Dame lit up to stand out. The girls especially enjoyed it. Ellen said it was the most exciting thing she had seen in her life
Carlene

September 22, 2007

Today we went to a museum with two domes with big pictures of water lilies. Some of the water lilies had splodges of paint to make the lily pads. The water lilies really stood out on the white walls.
We saw other beautiful paintings then we went to Notre Dame. Notre Dame is “Our lady” in English.
Uncle Ross calls Notre Dame “nostril damus” – funny.
There were big, bright and colourful glass windows that were beautiful. The windows were three and a half metres high.
When we came out we saw a mime artist. We gave him some money. He was like a ballerina and when you put money in his hat, the artist wound up and would start again. It was like he had magnets in his shoes and on the box on which he stood. I couldn’t believe he was a human being!
Then we had dinner down stairs from our apartment.

Ellen

The big morning and museum and Notre Dame

Today we went to the market and bought some food. Then we went to a museum where there were beautiful lily pad paintings and other paintings.
Then we went to Notre Dame - a big cathedral. There were beautiful glass windows like flowers but there were candles inside to make it a bit lighter.
There was a mime artist outside the cathedral and we gave some money to him.

Katherine

First day in Paris

First thing on September 22 we went to the covered market at the end of the street. We bought lovely fresh fruit and soft cheese. We stopped at the bakery for gorgeous fresh-baked bread, croissants and petit pain au chocolat for breakfast, as well as fresh coffee and milk.
Our first visit today was to the Museum L’Orangerie. This houses two beautiful rooms with part of Monet’s water lilies series of paintings displayed in two huge oval rooms. It is breathtaking. I found the second room with the very dark blue and purple paintings that wrapped around most of the room just awe inspiring. They are so beautiful it almost makes you cry. Both Ellen and Katherine also found them to be very beautiful
A number of other works were also displayed but compared with the water lilies they paled. The most interesting thing was the model of Paul Guillaume’s rooms that showed how important people like him were in buying artworks and supporting many of the impressionists and modern artists.
We enjoyed a very French lunch. I had a platter of cheeses and a glass of red wine. Tres bien!
After lunch we visited Notre Dame. Again I found it really moving. Having been raised in the Catholic Church, I’ve always found it really difficult to understand the Protestant objection to beautiful and art-filled churches. The idea that this somehow cannot be spiritual – when the artwork speaks so much of the artists’ devotion. The devotion to God of those who created Notre Dame and the works within it is so evident and really moving. It is simply beautiful. I particularly liked the carvings around the choir. It’s hard to believe that something 900 years old could still look so beautiful.
After we left Notre Dame, a mime artist was performing outside. The girls were delighted with his performance. He interacted with them quite a bit. Part of his act was to ‘mimic’ the children watching him – he really captured the personality of the girls, revealing their bashful nature and shy smiles!
That night Ross and Susanna went to a concert, so we enjoyed dinner at the café downstairs at the end of the Passage du Marche (three doors down). The girls had a great time as one of the women at the bar had her pet beagle with her and brought it out to meet the girls and have a little pat and play a couple of times.
Carlene

September 21, 2007

Today we went to Paris on a train. It took two hours on the train. The train was packed with Rugby supporters.
Uncle Ross and Auntie Susanna came on the train with us.
They were in carriage one. We were in the family carriage – carriage five.
There was even a café and snack bar on the train.
When we were in France on the train we saw some steeples of churches in village along the way.
Katherine

Finding our accommodation

When we got to Paris we found our accommodation. We had to catch the Metro and collect the key.
We had too climb steps then we had a sleep.
Katherine

The Train to Paris

Today we caught the train to Paris. All the Rugby supporters went on the train too. They went there because it was the rugby world cup. Aunty Susanna and Uncle Ross came too
We went under the English Channel.
Katherine

Eurostar and the 91 steps

We travelled to Paris on September 21 on the Eurostar with Ross and Susanna for a five-day sojourn in Paris. The Eurostar experience was such a pleasant surprise especially in contrast to the Gatwick experience getting to Portugal. Firstly it was much faster to get to – even after Ross took the long way by taking the bus to Bounds Green tube station instead of Highgate, which meant a couple of changes of train – exacerbated by a change in the Tube at Kings Cross that meant it no longer provided direct access to Waterloo that Ross and Susanna weren’t aware of as they don’t use the Tube all that often. Even so we were there is less time than getting to Gatwick and once there it took only little while to get our tickets (because our credit cards don’t have a chip on them so I couldn’t use the automatic ticketing machines to print out our tickets). Then getting through security was fast, then a short wait and then on to the train. Too easy.
The trip was great. Even though we were facing backwards (and I was concerned that it might make me travel sick), it was very smooth. It was also great to see the countryside both in Kent and France. The French countryside was beautiful and seemed very prosperous – crops, pastures, lots of dairy calves – just lovely.
We arrived in Paris very relaxed, stepped off the train with our luggage already with us and we were in Paris! We then sorted out a five-day rail pass and got the Metro two stops to our accommodation. After a bit of mucking around with the doors to get into the place where our key was (the doors were really heavy so you needed to give them a good shove to get in – I thought I’d been putting in the wrong security code), we finally made it into our apartment building. We knew the apartment was on the last floor – just not how many floors there were! We discovered the apartment was on the sixth floor up a narrow winding staircase – 91 steps. So poor Alastair had to carry the bags to the top and arrived thoroughly exhausted. We then struggled again with the door which had a fairly heavy duty dead bolt before finally getting into the apartment. The apartment was lovely. Being on the top floor it was light filled. It was not big but not as small as I had expected either. The building is a typical six-storey Parisian building. We are in the ‘attic’ style apartment that has exterior walls with wooden roof slates on them. It is in a little passage that separates a major boulevard from a minor one that runs next to a large covered market.
We had dinner nearby in Passage Brady, which specialises in Indian food, Susanna’s favourite kind of food.
Carlene

Going back to London

Today (September 19) we flew back to London. It as a boring trip back to London. When we got back to London I had dinner and went straight to bed.
Katherine

September 17, 2007

Today we went to some shops and we bought some souvenirs and I bought an ‘E’ that I can stick in anywhere in my room. We got four beautiful pasta bowls. Katherine got a pot with a candle in it.
Then we went to the beach in Albufeira. It was very beautiful and the waves weren’t too big. We went and had an ice cream I had a double-coated caramel chocolate Magnum ice cream. Then we went home and had a swim and packed our bags and went to bed.
Ellen

The shops and beach

Today (September 18) we went to the beach. The beach was beautiful and calm. The temperature wasn’t very cold, it was warm. That was fun. It wasn’t the best beach ever.
Then we went to a lot of souvenir shops. I bought a very nice pot with a candle. This is our last day here.
Katherine

Albufeira

We had planned to go to Seville in Spain on Tuesday (September 18) but as I was still recovering from the migraine, we decided to head to Albufeira in the western Algarve and spend some time on the beach. Albufeira is one of the major tourist towns in the region – especially for the English. So we were a little apprehensive about what it would be like. There is a fair bit of modern development on the outskirts (multi-storey apartments, but most was white stucco so still somewhat in keeping with the traditional style). The old town is really pretty though many of the signs are in English and German first and then in Portuguese. There are also a number of English establishments – English and Irish pubs and a few places selling full English breakfast. It has narrow streets and steps that wind down to the water. We spent time browsing the souvenir ships and some of the lovely handcrafts – woven cloths and beautiful ceramics are the highlights.
We then went to the beach. It was pretty packed (you could only imagine how packed it must be in July and August) but lovely white sand and ochre cliffs. We sat beneath the cliffs near a small grotto that provided some shade and cool. The water was beautiful – warm, very gentle waves and again very salty. The girls had a great time, it was really easy for them to swim.
We noticed the prices here were more expensive than the eastern areas – the coffee and icecreams were about €1 more. All in all it was a great day – another gorgeous sunny day.
Carlene

September 16, 2007

Today we drove to Castro Marim. It took an hour to get there. At Castro Marim we went to a castle. The view was great. We could see another country, Spain. We thought it was strange because in Australia you need to fly in a plane to get another country. When we went inside the castle there were little school room and we went along the fort and saw what was left of the pubs they went to. There was a building there and it looks like a shearing shed but I don’t think that’s what it was.
Then we went to Alcoutim and it was a museum with all the pots and the jugs that people dug out. The jugs had been broken but the people found the pieces and put them back together again. Then we saw a film and it was in Portuguese.
Ellen

Going to castles

Today (September 17) we drove all the way to Castro Marim. At Castro Marim we went to a castle. The castle was full of house frames made of wood and big buildings. There were beautiful lookouts. You could see all of Portugal and Spain.
Then we went all the way to Alcoutim. At Alcoutim we went to another castle. This castle had a museum. In there were jugs that were in pieces. Then outside was a big lookout so you could see all over Portugal and Spain. Then we went home and went to the pool.
Katherine

Alcoutim

I was laid low for a day and a half with one of my once-a-year migraines. This meant we spent Sunday at the apartment – the girls thought this was great and spent the day in the pool and exploring the garden. They discovered that one of the ponds has a nice collection of frogs and they delight in creeping around it to spot them.
Monday (September 17) afternoon I was feeling a little better after Alastair braved the chemist and got me some asprin, so we decided to go for a drive into the mountain range that defines the Algarve.
Firstly we went to Castro Marim – right on the border with Spain. It has a fantastic ruin of a fort – one that was a major fort in Moorish times and also important at various other times. It was huge and you could walk around the parapet. There were great views across the river to Spain (what a strange feeling for an Australian to be standing in one country and be able to see another) and also of the saltpans with huge mountains of salt being produced. The castle grounds contained two churches and a number of houses, stockyards and other buildings. It gave a real sense of a community with the safe walls of the castle.
We then drove up into the hills on a fairly new freeway (my 2004 guide book had described the drive as a narrow, winding road but it was mostly a dual lane highway with a 120km/hour speed limit). The hill country was quite arid in parts – a dark red soil with low shrubs covering it. Some had orchards – almonds, oranges (closer to the coast were there’s irrigation). Large areas have also been planted to eucalypts, which have caused problems in that they have created huge bush fires.
We drove to a town called Alcoutim, right on the river (again with Spain on the other side). It was an important trading point from early times with the Phoenicians and Romans both having settled there. It also had an old Roman/Moorish fort. It was a smaller castle but beautifully maintained with a garden set up on the terraces inside. Oddly enough the garden featured a Norfolk pine. It also had a museum that contained many of the items that had been dug up by archaeologists at the site. These included some very simple but very beautiful Islamic Moorish pottery.
Carlene

Going to the pool

Today (September 16) was a normal day. We just went to the pool twice but that was better than just lying on the couch all day. We had delicious sardines for dinner. Sometimes it’s hard because people speak a different language.
Katherine

September 15, 2007

Today we went to the beach and we had to go to the market. We bought a lot of fruit, some fish and a lot of other stuff.
Then we went to beach and the waves were giant.
Then we went out for tea. I had octopus and rice soup. It was very hot and lovely. We came home at 9 o’clock and I got to sleep at 10 o’clock.

Ellen

Going to the market and beach

Today (September 15) we went to the market. I didn’t like it because there were a lot of people there. So we went outside and then Ellen and Mum came out and we went home.
After a while we went to the beach. It was the best beach ever. We had to get the ferry across though. The waves were up to one metre high. I usually dive under the waves but it had a lot of seaweed.
Then we went out for dinner. I had octopus with rice.
Katherine

Olhão

On Saturday (September 15) we went to Olhão. This is a major fishing port just up the road from Fuseta. It has a huge market – fish plus fresh fruit and veggies and butcher shops. Ellen and I had a great time in the fruit and veggie market but Katherine found it a bit too noisy and overwhelming with all the people so she stayed outside with Alastair. The food was wonderful and a great price (except for some almonds and cashews that cost me a small fortune). I also managed to get by with a small amount of Portuguese and amazingly could understand the numbers when they told me the price. The fish market was extraordinary – huge amounts of fresh fish caught that morning. I bought a kilo of fresh sardines (much bigger than the canned ones we normally eat – about 12 centimetres long and super fresh). It cost me just €1.50. The market is built along the foreshore, which is part of the Ria Formosa – a series of lagoons and lakes separated from the Atlantic Ocean by a series of sand islands. Olhão was really bouncing as a farmers’ market was operating outside the covered market. Further along are huge salt pans where they still make salt – very much like ancient times.
In the afternoon we went to the beach on the Isle de Armona – one of the sand islands that creates the lagoon. So the beach is on the Atlantic Ocean. There are a number of beach shacks built into the sand dunes with very basic facilities. No water is available as those that were occupied had huge bottles of fresh water stacked up outside.
The beach was lovely – a long strip of soft white sand like an Australian beach and very different from the Cornwall beaches we had experienced. The water was also lovely – warm and very salty – easy to float with soft gentle waves (though the girls seemed to think some of the waves were gigantic). We had to catch a ferry out to the island – it had some visitors but mainly locals heading out for a Saturday afternoon’s entertainment. All were very brown and none did anything to protect themselves from the sun. Most of the women – whatever their age or physical condition – wear bikinis. It seems to be a very European thing that stretch marks and rolls of fat hanging over the bikini bottom are considered attractive (hmmm!).
We went out for dinner in Olhão to one of the many seafood restaurants. The girls surprised us by ordering octopus and rice. This was a wonderful aromatic dish – fresh octopus cooked in a tomato broth with coriander and other spices and rice. We shared everything – I ordered grilled sardines and Alastair the grilled chicken (mainly to ensure we had something the girls would eat if they didn’t eat the octopus). The grilled food was highly salted but delicious and cooked over a huge charcoal fire at the front of the shop. We had a choice of starters – bread, olives, soft cheese and Bruschetta-like tomato salad. All up including drinks it was just €39 ($62) for a feast that we could eat only about half of.
The other interesting feature of Algarve/Portuguese culture we noticed are the beautiful ceramics. Many of the buildings are decorated with gorgeous tiles – including the restaurant.
Carlene

September 14, 2007

Today it was very busy because we went to the Roman ruins at Milreu and we saw a farm house and we went inside and saw they had dug up some drawings that the people had made. They dug up what was left of the kitchen and the chimney of their house. We saw the ruins of the hot and cold baths. We saw some irrigation pipes and when me and Mum were walking down the steps, we pretended we were from Roman Mysteries.
Then we went home and swam in the pool for 50 minutes and had a shower and went to bed
Ellen

At Loulé and Estoi

We went to Estoi and went to the Roman ruins. It’s a big place that has big buildings and these people (it was covered up) dug and found these mosaics (which are like tiles). They were so beautiful.
Then we had lunch. I tried a baby octopus tentacle. It was yummy.
Then we drove to Loulé and went to the market and had a wander around. Then we bought two bowls for Aunty Susanna and Granny. Then we home and went to the pool.
Katherine

Estoi and Loulé

Being in the eastern Algarve and outside the main resort areas has allowed us a glimpse of some aspects of the Portuguese culture.
One is the cafes. It is not unusual to see large groups of mostly older men standing outside and inside cafes – either drinking coffee or beer (which is very cheap – about €2.45 for half a dozen in the supermarket), no matter the time of day. All are involved in animated discussions. Lunch at these and the restaurants is also a big event with people spending a lot of time talking together. It’s fantastic.
Old men on step-through motor scooters or old small motorbikes are another interesting feature. Invariably they are wearing old helmets with leather straps that are always dangling, never done up – there’s no chance that the helmet would be at all helpful in an accident. Most also drive about with a fag hanging from their mouth.
The other vehicles that have fascinated us are the three-wheeled trucks – more like a motorbike with a small truck on the back.
We visited Estoi on Friday (September 14) to see the Rococo palace – which we discovered is closed until August 2008 as it is being renovated. We did, however, visit the Roman ruins in the town – called Milreu. They were great – a patrician villa with a complex system of baths and an old temple. We were able to walk around most of the ruins without restriction – entry cost just €2 for each adults, kids free. The ruins featured some beautiful mosaics with fish designs. It also had a farmhouse in one corner that had been built over the top of the ruins in the 16th century. It was amazing to walk the same paths that a Roman would have walked 1900 years ago. The girls were particularly blown away by this idea.
We also visited the town of Loulé. This is a very prosperous town – much better maintained and cleaner than some of the others we have visited. The market was great – again the fresh fish on sale was amazing – rows of stalls with lots of fish. The fresh fruit and veggies were also abundant and very cheap. We wandered around the old streets around the market and bought some really nice ceramics. We also saw many of the market stall holders packed into the many small restaurants enjoying the cheap food and wine. Alastair and I had fish soup for lunch – a simple delicious mix of seafood, legumes and herbs – all for the princely sum of €1.25 each!! We found it difficult to get used to the rhythm of the siesta in the middle of the day – everything shuts (usually earlier than it says on the signs) except for the cafes and restaurants.
Carlene

September 13, 2007

Today we went to the beach at Fuseta and walked along the beach. The beach was calm. We saw a lady searching for mussels and she had a scarf over her head
Then we went to Tavira and we went to the fort and there were a lot of flowers and trees and they were lovely colours.
Then we went home and had a swim in the pool and saw a frog in the pond but the frog was not very big. When I was patting the little dog, Pluto came over barking at me and chased me into the apartment. But now Pluto is almost my best friend.
Ellen

The walk

Today (September 13) we went to a café and walked around old houses and lots of churches. We went on a big castle. It had big, beautiful gardens. There were stairs up to a big lookout. The garden was full of flowers, grasses, trees and paths everywhere.
Then we went to the pool near the house. We just go up stairs and we are there. The water was pretty warm. The weather here is about 29 degrees
Katherine

Fuseta and Tavira

The girls insisted on a swim in the pool first thing on the Thursday (September 13). Poor Ellen went out for a play and wandered around one side of the house where the bigger dog saw her and started to chase her and bark. She was really scared. Helmut and Gudrun came and apologised – the dog hadn’t realised we were there and thought she was an intruder. So we ‘introduced’ the girls to the dog – and they immediately became best friends. Ellen, in particular, kept calling for it and patting it all day long!
After the swim we ventured into Fuseta itself (our accommodation is on the outskirts). It is a little town with some tourism accommodation and a small harbour (mainly for recreational fishing boats). A ferry was busy transferring people across to the island that lay beyond a big internal lake system that runs along most of the coast between Faro and Tavira and which is a national marine park. We walked along the beach along the channel and lagoon. It was a lovely walk with the weather being warm.
After this we headed to Tavira – an old Moorish town closer to Spain. The drive was through an extremely dry Mediterranean landscape. A lot of it has been let go quite wild – scrubby country with introduced prickly pear dominating in parts. There were also a number of abandoned orchards (almond and carob trees). Other parts have been cultivated with citrus orchards and vines.
Tavira is beautiful. The houses are packed closely around a tidal river. Many are white stucco while others are covered in beautiful ceramic tiles – mostly blue or pale pink. An old Roman bridge and a newer (but still old) iron bridge provide access to the two sides of the town. We walked along the old cobbled streets and had lunch in the town square. All the shops shut from 12 to 2 (or thereabouts) and everyone enjoys a leisurely lunch at the cafes. The food was again incredibly cheap. After lunch we wandered up the narrow streets to the old castle at the top of the city. It was apparently started in Neolithic times, the Phoenicians then erected a wall there in about 800BC. The Moors extended it during 800-1200 before the Christians took back the area in the 1200s. It was wonderful and has a lovely garden established inside it. It was also possible to see the interesting four-sided roofs of the houses of Tavira – apparently designed so the rain runs off them quickly. Nearby was a church. It had a huge clock and bell tower and a somewhat Moorish inspired design. Inside it was lovely with ceramic tiles used extensively in the small chapels.

Carlene

At the holiday house

We drove to the holiday house (on September 12) then we had dinner. I almost fell asleep so I went to bed.
Katherine

Going to Portugal

In the morning (September 12) we had to get up and go to the train station and went on the train for half an hour and got off at Gatwick Airport and go on the plane for almost three hours and got and went on a shuttle bus to a place where wet got our hire car. Then we went to fund out car and it was right next to where we checked our number plate. The number plate is 7754XR.
Then we went to the supermarket and the lady at the counter gave us a whole page of stickers and a bag.
Then we went to find out hotel and we went far and ended up at this garage. Once we found our hotel we went up some steps to the pool.
Ellen

Going to Portugal

Today (September 12) we are going to Portugal. It takes about three hours on the plane. It doesn’t have a remote screen on the plane.
Katherine

To Portugal

Hi everyone – back in London so I’ll upload all the diary entries for Portugal to the blog. Thanks for all the comments – it’s great to see you’re all reading it.

We set off on Wednesday, September 12, at 9am to go to Portugal. We caught the Tube to Kings Cross St Pancras and then a National Line train to Gatwick. I had planned all the connections the day before and it went surprisingly well getting us to Gatwick about 30 minutes earlier than planned. Gatwick is a very busy airport and security was much more intense than at home. We had to remove our shoes, which were put through a special machine. So we again had about an hour to 1 ½ hours wait before our flight left. Luckily as we were flying BA, Alastair was able to use his Qantas Club card to get us into the BA Lounge. Alastair spotted our first celeb (well perhaps celebrity) – Ronnie Corbett (who later got called for his flight after obviously failing to show!). The flight was delayed a bit because the staff were really slow at checking people in – it seems the online check-in system means they end up asking more questions at the gate! But we made up time in the air and arrived on time.
We sorted out the hire car, which proved more of a challenge for Alastair as it was a manual (I really couldn’t remember what I had booked as it was months ago!). But it was bigger than we had expected – a station wagon that easily fitted the luggage. We set off from the airport with Alastair having to really concentrate both on keeping on the right side of the road (literally the right side) and using the gear shift on his right side.
We stopped to buy some food in Faro at a shopping centre – part of which was abandoned and rather derelict looking. Impressions at the supermarket – although a lot of it was really just the same as ours or London’s there were some differences. The fish, fresh meat and bread were very different. In the fish section there were several large stands covered with huge slabs of salted, dried cod (apparently a staple in the diet). The fresh fish section was more like a fish market with a huge variety of fish displayed on ice on a huge open shelf. The meat was also being freshly prepared/cut to order by a butcher – there were some fresh chickens on offer (they looked like a whole chicken carcase with feathers removed). There was a huge amount of bread in big baskets. The other thing I noticed was an entire aisle of canned pulses – lentils, chickpeas etc – again apparently a staple.
The food was cheap (especially compared with England) – the bread for instance was only one Euro a loaf. The booze was even cheaper – the most expensive wine was about four Euros a bottle.
We chose a local red wine. We had a problem at the checkout in that the wine would not scan. We could barely manage any Portuguese and the poor lady had to use a combination of sign language to explain the problem. In the end the security guard, who could speak some English thankfully for us, got the person from the wine section. After a bit more mucking around, the guard explained that they couldn’t sell us the wine as its barcode had not been entered into the system! Alastair had to chose another bottle – the wine section bloke was busily removing from the shelves all the same bottles of the wine that we had originally chosen (the red wine we ended up with was very drinkable!!). The check out lady was also very sweet to the girls and gave them some stickers. When they said “obrigado” (thank you) in response and smiled, she also gave them a small backpack each!
We then set off to find Fuseta and our accommodation. We drove through Olhão – the outer part. It certainly struck us that this was not a very wealthy country. Although it was a main road, it narrowed to a goat track in parts and was badly potholed in other parts. There was a lot of graffiti in Olhão and a general impression of a lack of care.
We finally found our way to our accommodation – after nearly being run off the road by a local belting along the narrow track that led to it. He was in the middle of the road and we literally had to drive off the road to avoid being hit.
Our accommodation was great. It’s a white stucco old farmhouse (quinta) converted into a house and three apartments. It has lovely gardens with little ponds and a swimming pool. One of the owners Helmut speaks German and Portuguese while his wife Gudrun is also fluent in English and French. They have two dogs and a cat that like to spend time with the guests – just in case they get some scrap food.
Carlene

Going back to London

When we were coming back from Cornwall on Monday (September 10) the traffic was really bad. We got home at 6pm.
Katherine

Return from Cornwall

After four wonderful sunny days in Cornwall it was time to go home. We had a really restful time as well as getting the chance to see some of the ‘real’ Cornwall off the beaten track of the usual tourist destinations of Plymouth and Penzance. All of us enjoyed just watching the sea from the house – it’s changing moods – and the array of boats (old fashioned Cornish fishing boats to English navy vessels) that passed by.
We called in and saw Susanna’s mother who lives at Tiverton in Devon on the way home. She lives in an old farmhouse that’s been converted into units. It has a view across very green, very Devonish fields to the Wye River.
Alastair drove the last bit home and got to experience London peak hour traffic on the North Circular. Overall the drivers are surprisingly well behaved given the level of traffic and the fact that it is a slow crawl for so many miles.
Carlene

The Big Forest

On Sunday we went to the big forest. We walked along the path and saw a river and lily pads. We saw a swamp and a water fall. We also went across a bridge and walked home.
Katherine

More about Seaton

On Sunday (September 9) we took a walk along the river/stream that comes into the bay at Seaton. The project was set up in the 1990s and includes a formal sensory garden as well as the nature walk. It was gorgeous. There were several large natural ponds along the stream filled with lily pads. There were also blackberries – obviously not considered the pest they are in Australia as they grew in isolated clumps and didn’t outcompete every other plant in their vicinity. Ellen and I enjoyed eating the berries as we walked along.
Carlene

The Eden Project

Today we went to the Eden Project. The Eden Project is like big golf balls. Inside one was a big jungle that’s called a biome. It had a big waterfall. In the second biome were plants, trees and sculptures. Some trees make chewing gum and chocolate. After we went to the jungle and plants we went to the core. That was fun. There were three levels. On the first level was a big seed. It took two years to find the right rock and 10,000 hours to make. It was about four metres high. On the second level was all about recycling. On the third level was about food. Then we went on the lift and walked across a big bridge and drove home.
That night we went out for dinner.
Katherine

Day 8: When we went to the Eden Project!

When we got to the Eden Project it took an hour to get there. At first we went to the rainforest and we saw a giant waterfall and it kept wetting everybody who went past it. It was very hot in the giant soccer balls. There were water sprinklers spurting all the water onto the plants and trees so it looks more like a jungle. Then we had lunch. After lunch we went up a grass track and saw a row of gum trees and then we went into a museum and saw a great big pineapple and it was about four metres high and it was made out of a big rock. It took 10,000 hours and it was made by hand and it had big bumps the size of netballs on the pineapple. Then we went on the top floor and saw the pineapple from the top but the bumps were different on the top. They were the size of tennis balls. Then we went to the shop and bought four cacti for Mary and Tony, who lent one of their houses to us.
Ellen

The Eden Project

We went to the Eden Project at St Austwell on Saturday, September 8. It was just under an hour’s drive away. We took the back roads. We’ve done that a fair bit here as Susanna grew up in this area and knows all the different ways to go. It also helps miss the traffic on the main roads But it does mean that the roads are often very narrow (even the so-called A Roads). At times they are barely wide enough to allow one car to travel along them – let alone for cars to pass each other. We travelled via a place called Fowey and took a ferry across a tidal river.
The Eden Project is fascinating. It was started in the 1990s and consists of three giant biomes that show the diversity and usefulness of plants throughout the world. One of the biomes is the outside biome and it shows plants from temperate climates. The two enclosed biomes are in giant greenhouse-like structure. One showcases rainforest plants and the other Mediterranean plants. The project also helps preserve many endangered plants and strongly promotes sustainability and concepts such as Fair Trade food, food miles and an understanding of climate change.
We had dinner at the only restaurant in Downderry – the Rosery. It was run by and English chap and his mum. We had a lovely meal – fresh Cornish produce – Alastair and Ross had lamb and Susanna and I the locally caught sea bass. We also startled the locals by ordering a sparkling shiraz (it was a 1998 vintage – we suspect they bought a case many years before and no one ever asked for it before!). It immediately took the fancy of some of the locals dining there!
Carlene

Going to the beach and fly fishing

We went fly fishing. It was fun. We didn’t catch any fish though. When we went I fell in the beach. Then we got into our swimmers and went to the beach. It was fun.
Katherine

Fly Fishing

Ross took us fly fishing on the Friday (Sep 7) off the rocks. I hadn’t been fly fishing for 30 years and only then in fresh water, so it was a novel experience. I took me a wile to get the rhythm going by which time I’d decided there really weren’t any fish to be caught. Alastair also had a go and was really quite successful. It was another perfect, blue sky day, though at about 4pm the sea mist rolled in. The view from the house changes constantly – the mist made the sea a milky white so that it blended into the sky and you couldn’t see the horizon.
Carlene

Going to Looe

We went to Looe today. It’s 20 minutes. We went to the beach. It was really fun. Then we drove back then we went to the other beach. Then I had a shower and wrote this.
Katherine

Day 7: When we went to Looe

It is 20 minutes until we get to Looe. We drove in a seven-seater van and it doesn’t have a seat in the middle of the two seats in the middle of the car, so you can get in and out easier. It has a DVD player in the car. The car is automatic car. The boot can open when you just press a button.
We had a paddle in the rock pools.
Ellen

Cornwall – beautiful one day, perfect the next

We had another glorious day of soft sunny weather. Early we went down to the beach at Down Derry and had an explore of the rock pools below the cliff. The water is remarkably clear although the beach consists of a very soft grey sand and pebbles. The picture of Katherine with her reflection in the pools shows just how clear it was – don’t be deceived by the red beanie – Katherine was wearing it as a fashion statement not because she was cold.
We then went to Looe. Wow – a Cornish fishing village set on the side of a tidal river. The narrow streets wind heir way back from the quay, which was a bustle of fish markets and holiday makers, mostly English, catching crabs. We had a wander and then sampled some authentic Cornish pasties for lunch. These were nothing like the hard-crusted, bland-flavoured pasties sold in Australia. They had an exquisite soft pastry and were filled with a meat, potato and onion mixture that was just divine. We finished off with some Cornish ice-cream made with traditional Cornish clotted cream – yum!!
After that the girls were keen to go to the beach – such as it was – at Seaton, although Susanna had warned them the water would be very cold. There were quite a few holiday makers on the beach. Ross explained that most came from the hills just behind the sea in the district. These holiday camps are basically set up by farmers in a field or two where people stay in cabins or bring their own caravans or tents. They have activity rooms and hold entertainment at night. During the day if it is fine everyone dries down to the beaches like that at Seaton. The sea was very calm – more like a river or lake – and very cold, but the girls had a great time I noticed that not too many of the people were swimming – most just stayed sun baking on the beach. The Brits haven’t got a clue about the sun – not a sign of a hat or sunscreen anywhere but plenty of leathery, brown-skinned pensioners.
Carlene

Going to Cornwall

We drove to Cornwall. It took seven hours. When we got to Cornwall we had sausages and chips. Then we went to the beach. It was really fun. Then we had a big sleep and woke up and wrote all this.
Before we got to Cornwall we saw wild horses up on the moor.
Katherine

Day 6: The big drive

On Wednesday we had a big five-hour drive to Cornwall and the next day we had a 20-minute drive to Looe and we had a swim at the beach. Our holiday house is right behind the sea.
Then we went fly fishing, which means you make a fly and fish come up and try to get it. But it is very hard because you need to put it out in a sunny spot because fish can be really smart. Then we went to the beach and made things and then we went home.
Ellen

Dartmoor

All of us and Ross and Susanna travelled to Cornwall. We hired a seven-seater people mover with all the mod cons including in car DVD. We zipped down the M4 to Bristol in reasonably good time. It was a glorious sunny day. I love the English countryside – the patchwork fields were beautiful.
From Bristol we veered south and then turned off the motorway near Exmoor and headed up across Dartmoor. It was superb – the moor is very wild – hard to believe in this country where everything has been ‘civilised’ for such a long time. We stopped at one point on the top of the moor where the wild moor ponies were grazing. Susanna warned us about the ponies as they can become aggressive looking for food. One of the ponies seemed to take a great interest in the girls and came very close – but luckily they came to no harm.
We also went past Dartmoor prison – one of the most inhospitable places you can imagine even on a fine and sunny day like this one. The prison is a bit like Pentridge Prison made of dark blue stone but is stuck in the middle of nowhere. The small village around it – Princeton I think it was called – houses only the prison staff and the families of the prisoners and a few shopkeepers. It was easy to imagine how woeful it would be in the middle of a dark, windswept rainy night.
The heather on the moor was jus starting to bloom – parts of the moor were a soft hazy mauve.
We arrived at Susanna’s sister’s and her husband’s holiday house at about 6pm. We took a rather circuitous route to get to Seaton. The road was barely wide enough for the car with hedgerows on either side.
The holiday house is at Seaton – a small Cornish seaside village that adjoins another village called Down Derry. The two rows of houses are built along the edge of a low cliff with a narrow strip of road between. The land is very steep so the houses are all built up on terraces of rock with terraced gardens.
Tony and Mary’s house is a great beach house – it has a large living room glass along the south-facing wall, which has a 180-degree view across the ocean. To the east you can see the lighthouse at Exmouth and to the west the town of Looe and the small island off its point. Some of the houses on the cliff side of the road at Downderry are classic Cornish houses – it’s like being in part of a Famous Five novel. The houses are made of stone and have these glorious terraced gardens with soft green lawns, flower borders and paved terraces that stretch down to the edge of the cliff. Steep steps lead down to the beach.
Carlene

The big forest walk

Today we had a big walk through the forest. Then we went to the playground that was really fun. Then we walked home. My legs got really tired.
Then we went ice caking and I really got the hang of it.
Katherine

Day 5

When we were going to the museum we couldn’t because part of the Tube was closed so we went to look at what else we could so. So we went to Highgate Wood and we found a lovely park and playground and then we went ice skating at Alexandra Palace. I was ice dancing and I fell over four times and Katherine tried to go a little faster than me but she ended up falling down. She fell down 10 times. Mum tried to spin around while ice skating and she almost fell but luckily she was holding on to the railing.
Ellen

The supermarket and the big park

Today we went to the supermarket. Then we went to a big park. We threw the tennis ball everywhere. Then we went on the playground. It was really fun.
Katherine

A day at Muswell Hill

Sorry we haven’t posted much on the blog. We’ve been in Cornwall without Internet access so I’m now posting all the stuff that we have done for the past five days. Also enjoying everyone’s comments!
We had been planning to spend the Tuesday (Sep 4) in London, but a strike on the Tube caused a change of plan. Although the Piccadilly line was open, we figured it would be packed with annoyed commuters.
So we looked around for things to do in Muswell Hill and environs. Firstly we went to Highgate Wood. Ross dropped us off at the gate. It’s a wonderful beech forest, apparently the sort that would have covered much of London originally. It was just a delightful place to wander around – more squirrels to spot. It also had an extensive playground. The girls had a great time with some of the local children. We noticed lots of nannies out with the kids, as well as the mothers. We had lunch near a wide open sportsfields – a cricket pitch and soccer ground. The poor groundkeeper was trying to mark up the pitch around a group of under 5s who thought the string made an interesting plaything. It was a lovely sunny day – quite warm out in the open but cool once you were in the wood. We then walked back to Ross’s house via a parkland trail, which follows the route of a railway line that was decommissioned in 1954. The trail was opened in the 1980s. It follows the top of the ridge past the back of the Muswell Hill shopping centre and has magnificent views across London. Bonny later told us this was one of their favourite vantage spots on New Year’s Eve as they could see the fireworks across all the boroughs of London. The trail comes out at the bottom corner of Alexandra Palace gardens – basically at the top of Ross’s street.
In the afternoon we went ice-skating at Alexandra Palace. It was lots of fun as E&K hadn’t been before – E did a great impression of ice dancing, K tried a couple of times to go a bit faster and ended up on her behind.
That evening Ross and Susanna hosted the ‘family dinner’ - a tradition they started when the kids moved out. Susanna’s former husband Simon and his wife Haisheida, Bonny and her boyfriend Stefan and Jacob came along. The girls were again excited to be meeting another cousin and also had several questions about how everyone was related and how they were related to everyone! It was a great night – good food, good wine, good talk.
Carlene

Day 4

When I woke up we were short of food so we went to the supermarket to see how different it is to ours. It was different to ours and the beer and wine was not in a separate place like ours is separated. Then when we were walking home we went to the café and had a giant hot chocolate and Mum and dad had a giant latte. Then we went to the park with Dad and had a lovely time.
Ellen

Supermarkets

We had a pretty quiet day on Monday, September 3. Had a walk up to Muswell Hill to the shops. The supermarket – Sainsburys – was in many ways different from ours because it was in a much smaller space. I know the big supermarkets here are enormous but it was interesting to see how they tried to keep the same set up on a much smaller scale in this one. The things that struck me were:
*The huge amount of supermarket own label stuff being sold. The Sainsbury label seemed to be on more than 50% of the stuff being sold, except the wine and beer.
*A lot of the labels had nutritional info (like we have on some foods).
The fresh fruit and vegetables were all clearly labelled with the country of origin and in many cases the name of the grower, as well as directions for how to store it and use it.
*The alcohol wasn’t in a separate section of the supermarket – it was just in aisles like the other items.
*From a dairy point of view, I noticed that the range of milk was a lot narrower – skimmed, semi skimmed or full cream. So either the branded milk has been squeezed out of the supermarket or there hasn’t been much of an attempt to develop ‘branded’ milks.

Carlene

Hyde Park

All of us and Ross went into London by Tube on Sunday, 2nd September. First of all we caught a red double-decker bus to the station at Bounds Green. The girls immediately pushed to the top deck and enjoyed being able to watch and see everything from up top. At the Tube station, Alastair developed a problem with the smart card technology (they don’t call it smart for no reason!). The card – called an Oyster – can be topped up with credit so you don’t have to buy a ticket every time you travel. You place it on a special sensor to open the gates. For some reason, A had a problem with this and it wouldn’t read the card – so he’d be stuck at the gate with a growing line of disgruntled locals behind him. Ross reckons it was lucky it was the weekend – otherwise they’d have just walked over the top of him.
First stop was Piccadilly Circus. This famous intersection is such a typical London streetscape – the narrow streets, the terraced buildings, the heavy traffic and the big red buses everywhere.
From there we walked down to St James Park, next to Buckingham Palace. The security in this area was intense. There were many cameras so that you couldn’t have sneezed without someone noticing you.
Buckingham Palace was great. Loads of foreign visitors like us everywhere. We then walked basically around its perimeter – again the security was really noticeable through the streets that were very much like a movie set.
We walked into Hyde Park. We have a lovely walk through part of this gorgeous park. The girls spotted a squirrel and were delighted by its cute eating manner and the way it hopped away. We walked along one side of the Serpentine – the lake in the middle of the Park, where there were hundreds of people out enjoying the last days of summer. Parts of the park are kept more like a wild wood (with longer grass and clumps of trees). The trees are already starting to turn – hopefully we’ll get a chance to come back just before we leave and see it in its autumnal glory.
Our path through the park took us to the Albert Memorial – that huge symbol of Victorian wealth and excess. As rich as places like Ballarat and Bendigo were during the gold rush, the ‘mother’ country was even richer with the wealth from the colonies helping to fund monuments like this giant gold statue of Queen Victoria’s husband.
Carlene

Alexandra Palace

Alexandra Palace is at the top of Ross’s road. Ross’s street is called The Avenue – such a quintessential English name. I remember reading a series of novels years ago about the lives of a group of neighbours in a street called The Avenue.
Ally Pally, as it is called by the locals, is in parts in a sad state of disrepair. It was the place from which high definition TV was first broadcast. It has an ice rink at one end, a pub out onto a terrace at the other and burnt out, unrepaired bits in between. The views over London are amazing with rows of terraced houses laid out before you like spokes on a wheel. The park around the palace is lovely – with a big duck pond at one end near a children’s playground. It also has a huge skate park, which keeps the skaters off the path in the rest of the pack.
There was a fair at the park. E&K begged to be allowed to go, so we took them there on Saturday afternoon. The fair was rather tired and dirty but the girls didn’t notice. Ross challenged Alastair to a game of knocking over cans – it’s strange how when these two get together they’re like they’re 10 and eight again and everything is a competition. The girls had a ride on a lame roller coaster, but they thought it was fantastic, and a jump in a jumping castle.
Carlene

Making Chutney

Ellen and Katherine have really put me to shame in the way that they have been working at keeping the blog up to date.
We spent Saturday, September 1, with Ross and Susanna. Bonny and her boyfriend Stefan came over - she lives about 10 minutes away. The girls were very excited to be finally meeting one of their grown-up cousins. This, however, didn't encourage them to talk and they continued their silent communication - lots of big grins and facial expressions to show how excited they were.
The project of the day was chutney making - a tradition for Ross, Susanna and Bonny. It was also important for Susanna, who had a small car accident the night before in a car she had only just bought three days before. Luckily she hadn’t been hurt but it had shaken her a bit.
Ellen worked diligently at chopping the capsicums (called peppers here) while everyone else chopped the other veggies. I find it amazing that although we are apparently an English culture (and some who argue against further immigration claim that we are completely English) that there are so many differences in the names of food. Courgettes for zucchinis, peppers for capsicums, aubergine for eggplant, butternut squash for butternut pumpkin. You can’t buy the other kind of pumpkin here because the English don’t eat it. These differences may only be small but to me they reveal that although our origins may have been English, we are a very different culture. It’s like making chutney – when you cut up all the different veggies and put them together in the pot, the result is something quite different from the original bits. Ellen made lovely brightly coloured labels for all the jars – Susanna said she didn’t need to date them as she would remember when they’d been made just by looking at the labels.
Carlene