Geo: 51.5201, -0.117604Georgia bewitched the sky to an amazing blue again today, so we headed off on foot through Holborn, to Covent Garden (visiting the Inigo Jones church of St Paul's where so many actors are buried), then down to Charing Cross and Trafalgar Square. We took a short detour into St Martins in the Field, the parish church of the Royal Family. We need to redesign the National Gallery. I understand that they want you to spend as long as possible in there, but there is too much for anyone to absorb. I went online and found "30 paintings not to be missed" on their website and thought this would be great. But they haven't put them in any logical walking tour of the hundreds of rooms. We bought the audio guide - but it ... read more

Geo: 51.5175, -0.123185Day 7. Another Beautiful London DayLondonThis morning we took the tube to Green Park and walked through the park to Buckingham palace. We walked around the outside and the fountain and saw the Queen's Christmas tree ready to take inside. We then walked to Mass at Westminster Cathedral.The mass was lovely, all sung and parts of it in Latin. We then went to lunch with Mum and Dad's friends. We caught a London double-decker red bus, which was also a new Routemaster which excited Dad! Lunch was nice, Mum and Dad really enjoyed catching up with their old friends. It was nice to see Jai and Natan again (they came to Brisbane last August) and Kelley and Davina's 7 month old babies, Jack and Tabitha were really sweet.We then returned to our apartment in ... read more

Geo: 51.5182, -0.122746Day 6. LondonKings Langley to LondonToday we drove into beautiful London!!!!! Despite the day starting grey, the clouds cleared for a lovely blue sky! We dropped our luggage at the reception for our apartment and then returned the car. We then walked to Kings Cross station and bought our Oyster cards.We then took the tube to Tower Hill. We had morning tea outside the Tower of London and Mum and I took lots of photos. We then walked across Tower Bridge and along the bank of the Thames to the Golden Hind - Sir Francis Drake's boat. We had lunch nearby and took the tube to the Soccer.The Game was surprisingly good, and we had really good seats nice and close to the field. It was an excellent Game and Fulham won 5-0! I ... read more

Geo: 51.5204, -0.124052Day 5. Oxford and Harry PotterWoodstock to Kings Langley (via Oxford and Harry Potter studios)We woke up to no frost this morning but unfortunately a clody sky. ☁ Luckily the cloud cover led to the weather being slightly warmer (reaching 8°).We got up and after breakfast and checking out drove 30 minutes to Oxford. We walked around the town and then went for a tour of the Bodleian library. It was very pretty, unfortunately our guide rambled for ages and the staff were very cranky about a tour going through - despite the fact that ttour was run by the university and goes 6+ times a day!!!We then drove to Harry Potter studios which was INCREDIBLE! We walked around actual sets of Hogwarts and so many of the places we've loved seeing in the ... read more

Geo: 51.5204, -0.124164Day 4. Blenheim PalaceBlenheim(Woodstock)Another Beautiful day (I am beginning to think the weather must always be like this! ��) And it was also warmer (6°C)!We started the morning early only to discover Blenheim doesn't open until 10:30! Luckily Dad saw a sign by chance for Winston Churchill's grave. So we drove to a tiny church where all Spencer-Churchills have been buried since the 10th Duke of Mulbourough. We then drove through the Estate of Blenheim palace and admired the beautiful vistas and pheasants! We then went inside.I am lost for words to describe the splendor of Blenheim, it is incredible. We first went on a tour of the State Apartments which were lavishly decorated. My favourite room by far was the library which was incredible! I particularly liked that despite the magnitude of leather ... read more