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Published: September 25th 2008
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June and July provided good business for the Roma B & B here in London. We were fully booked and a few times double booked! Kate's parents were the first to arrive. They had already traveled though the west coast of America, Alaska and Canada so they needed a few rest days at first. Then we were able to take some time off work to travel with them. We went to the Charlston Manor Festival where we saw Kate's cousin Richard play the violin in a Friday night concert. It was beautiful, the concert was in a barn on the grounds of the manor. It was an intimate concert but of course it was extra special because of Richard. Richard had the next morning free to spend with us so we went for a drive along the coast and were amazed by the beautiful cliffs. It was a little worrying that it's one of the top jumping sites in the country though. There were quite a few crosses and flowers along the cliff top, and the Chaplain Rescue Car was ready to go too!
We then spent some time traveling through Cornwall and Devon. We based ourselves at Watergate Bay,
just round the coast from Newquay. We were in a great apartment with ocean views. Every night we went for walks either on the beach or along the coast. The fresh air combined with the lovely sunsets was a great holiday recipe. Each day we went somewhere new. We went to Heligan's Gardens and the Eden Project, both projects orchestrated by the same man. Heligan's Gardens were just beautiful, there were forests, ponds, vegie gardens, old ruins, orchids, farm and plant sculptures of giants. They also had their own produce store too, all organic and fresh. The Eden Project was another garden type exhibition with some outside areas, but the main attractions were the biospheres in which specific environments existed inside. One was the largest rainforest artificially created, and the other was a Mediterranean setting, complete with mosaic walls, mirrors, sparrows and beautiful flower pots.
We also spent a day at Mont Saint Michael, a fortress built on an island that has a walkable causeway to the main land, that is while the tide is out. When the tide comes in, which happens very quickly, you have to rely on boats to take the short journey. The views were
beautiful, the history was interesting, especially considering that a family still live in one part.
On our way back to London we went via Burton-On-The-Water, Kate's favourite place in the Cotswalds. It was nice just to wander the chocolate box streets. We went to Birdland where England's largest group of King Penguins, including the star of the Batman movie! Kate's dad enjoyed the motoring museum while Kate and her mum enjoyed the country shopping, in particular the china shops. But it was in the Sue Ryder charity shop Kate found her bargain of the trip, a full China dinner and Tea set for £10! It took pride place on the back seat of the car on the way back to London.
So back in London the fun kept coming. We went to Royal Ascot and saw Queen Lizzie's horse win the first race of the day. Lizzie went to receive the prize as the owner of the horse and it was a highlight to see her punch a small fist with delight! It was a fun day and Greg came out up in the betting stakes. Unfortunately Mark finished down, so as a family I guess we came
out even.
We went to Windsor castle the ext day. Lizzie was home but we didn't get invited in for scones so we just did the usual tour. But we all really loved it there. There's just something about the history and the finery, and it's special to think that it all actually gets used. I think that's what makes it different to the other castles, palaces and places we visit on our travels. The town of Windsor was also really pretty. We walked the streets and had dinner and of course finished off with ice cream. I think Greg had the biggest ice cream I've ever seen!
We also made it to the first day of Wimbledon! We got up at an ungodly hour to catch the night buses so we would arrive in the queue before 6am but the bus never turned up so we made it onto the first tube of the day and made it into the queue at about 6am. We missed out on the available court 1 and 2 tickets so were just going to get general admission tickets, which we were more than happy for. But when we got to the
turn styles to buy our tickets they offered us front row court 1 tickets at no extra charge. Score! So there we were sitting in the seats opposite Bec Hewitt watching Lleyton win his first round match in 5! We also saw Serena Williams breeze through. It was such a great day. The grounds had a great atmosphere and were of courses manicured to perfection with flower boxes. There was also a special feel of tradition in the air.
Kate's parents went to visit the family in Holland for a week which coincidentally matched to the day of when Mark's brother Andrew and his new wife Catherine came to visit. As a wedding present to each other we went to Tower 42, the highest building in the London centre square mile, a champagne bar with a stunning view. It was great to be able to recognise a lot of the buildings and get more of an idea about directions in such a big city. We also watched as the lights came on and the sun set over the city. It was a wonderful night.
Mark really enjoyed spending time with Andrew and took some time out to see
a few sights. The highlight was the Arsenal Emirates Stadium tour. That's 4 racked up for Mark now, but it was special for the 2 brothers to do it together, and particularly fun for Andrew to feel on home turf! We spent a lot of time out seeing Andrew and Catherine's friends, out for dinner and drinks, of course made it to Brick Lane for curry.
So after 7 weeks straight of family visiting it was sad to say farewells, not knowing when we would se them again. So there were some tears and plenty of phone calls. Then we didn't know what to do, so to stop feeling sorry for ourselves and feeling lonely we went out every day. We also went to the Lovebox music festival with our mate Swifty from home. I was a really relaxed day. We just floated between all of the stages. We went on a flying swing ride and saw Goldfrap and the Flaming Lips, just to name a few.
And to finish off with Paul, Mark's cousin here in London turned 40 so we went to his party at the Charlton Football Club. We surprised ourselves with how much fun
we had. The music was entertaining - it was like a lottery what type of song and from what era might be played. But it was nice to be with the Roma gang again.
Well we're catching up slowly. We hope that this is giving you a little insight into what we're getting up to.
We miss you all at home and hope you're all well.
A big congratulations to our best friends Tania and Miles who were married on September 5th - full review in the next installment!
A special Birthday wish for Kate's Nanna and a Happy Anniversary blessing to her Nanna and Poppa for October!
We love you all. Take care and keep in touch.
Kate and Mark
XXX
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