Geo: 51.5206, -0.124038Day 3. Pretty VillagesCherhill to Woodstock (via Lacock and Castle Combe)Everyone else started early with jetlag, but I seem to have adjusted to the change in time zones just fine. We packed up the joinery in the morning and then set off. We drove to see Salisbury Hill, the long Barrow, some smaller barrows and Avesbury, enjoying the beautiful, crisp day and the crunch of frost beneath our feet.We then had a delicious breakfast at a truck stop and drove to Lacock.In Lacock we walked around the beautiful little village (used in Downton Abbey, Pride and Prejudice, and Emma). Then toured the Abbey. The inside was closed but we walked through the cloisters which were used in Harry Potter! We then had lunch and drove to Castle Combe. Castle Combe has also been used ... read more

Geo: 51.5205, -0.124248Day 2. BathBathWe started the day with a short walk from our cottage to see the white horse and the monument. We then had breakfast with milk from glass bottles and set off to Bath.We realised we had a problem though upon going to our car as the temperature was still sub-zero and frost was covering the windscreen!We then drove to Bath. Here we started by touring the Baths and sampling the water (which tasted gross!) They were very beautiful and it's so interesting that their existence was completely forgotten! We also had a peek into the pump room (now a restaurant) where it was easy to imagine Jane Austen's characters promenading.We then had lunch and went to the Jane Austen museum. This was definately the highlight of my day! We learnt about her ... read more

Geo: 51.5206, -0.123864Day 1. The world's longest dayBrisbane to Cherhill We had a 34 hour day thanks to the help of time zones! On Sunday night we had dinner at Aunty Amanda's and then she and Grandad drove us to the airport. We had a 12:45 flight but it was delayed to 1:30, which meant we spent a lot of time in the airport! I got to experience some interesting angles of Brisbane, lying on the floor trying to get some rest.We then flew 8 hours to Hong Kong and then after a 1 and a half hour stop over had a 12 hour flight to London. The first flight was very turbulent, but the second was a lot more pleasant (fortunately given the flights length!!) On that flight I watched Becoming Jane which was lovely ... read more

Geo: 35.79, 140.32The unexpected side effect of having amazing rooms looking directly onto the temple was the temple bells at 6am, pealing loudly through the dark!We later woke on our tatami mat futon beds - ready for a Queen size mattress now! - and Steven and I took a last chance for a bath (again, the only people there, in our respective rooms). We got the kids up, organized suitcases for the last time and checked out at about 10am (leaning the bags at the hotel) and booking a taxi to the train station for the afternoon. The main street of Narita is extremely traditional, full of quaint shops, small restaurants and one of the largest temple complexes in Japan. However, it does NOT have anywhere selling any style of western breakfast....we convinced the kids that ... read more

Geo: 34.8, 134.756We got up and, with clear whether, headed up the mountain to the ropeway up Mt Misen. Good old Tom, who is seriously scared of heights but takes all this stuff in his stride. It was a lovely walk through the forest (10 mins) to the ropeway station, then up 371m, then change to a gondola and across to Shishiwa Station at 433m. We then hiked around the top of the mountain to the summit. First, after about 20 mins, we arrived at the Kiezu-no-hi, where the holy fire lit 1200 years ago by a holy man still burns - this fire was used to light the Peace Flame in Hiroshima. The temple there is for lovers... The brochure was funny as it described the Seven Mysterious Wonders of Mt Misen - one is ... read more