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Published: April 2nd 2012
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Well the walk is over, the cruise is over and I have 4 more days before returning to work...... Luckily I have this blog to help me relive and hold close the times and experiences had ..... so what I am going to do over the next few weeks (or however long it takes) is relook at each entry thus far, add pics and will write any ADDIT text and the date at the END of any prev text of each Entry........OK ? is that clear? Then I will begin .....
Sitting in an internet cafe on Essex Rd (Islington?) - the night before we catch a plane to France to begin walking The Camino..... It has been a wonderful whirlwind visit, staying with Diane's son Dwayne and wife Jules who are expecting their first baby in about 12 weeks.....The baby will be a stunner I'm sure !
The first morning we arrived ( Friday at 6am) we managed to stay awake all day ( after fitful sleep on the plane from HongKong- where the flight attendants insisted on feeding us very very often the tasty little meals that are hard to resist) . On that day
we saw the Borough Markets that had stunning stalls and displays of so much amazing food - apparently many 'Head Chefs' shop there -we did an on/off bus trip
and a cruise on the Thames and saw many of the regular tourist attractions - London Bridge, Tower of London , The London Eye , Houses of Parliament, Big Ben , Picadilly Square etc etc.....admittedly we were fighting Jet Lag and if the top of the open double decker bus hadnt been breezy and cool we WOULD have both fallen asleep ...
Day 2 We went to Kensington Palace... which only opened to the public about 2 weeks ago after being closed and refurbished for a number of years...... the grandeur is quite astonishing and there is a quite touching area where there are displays of letters and notes which Queen Victoria wrote to... Prince Albert ? (wasnt it ?forgive me if my history is incorrect!) - they were sweet and touching letters and far from the public persona and severe person she became in mourning.... There was Lady Di room that was sad.... gowns and pictures of her wearing them . In another area took a great pic of
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PC Plod in Power Pose Dwayne in a man's military? outfit.....After that we went to The Orangery - within the grounds - Kensington Gardens - saw a Royal Squirrel - by appt to HM - on the way . There we had tasy small portions of delicious things... mine was served on a slab of wood .....
AFTER that we went to Portobello Markets and walked the full 2-3 mile length of it....... SO MUCH SILVER SO ANY ANTIQUES, NUMBERLESS INTRIGUING QUIRKY THINGS ..... I find it hard to believe all I bought was strawberries and a hunk of Rye bread that sounded like a block of wood when it fell on the floor on the bus ride home. OH....... I almost forgot the FANTASTIC Romanescu Cauli that we were introduced to when Diane spotted a very welcome sign saying 'Coffee Downstairs' - apparently it's one mostly dealers use ( Antique - not Drug Dealers) ... anyway it was a great find for 3 reasons - The aforementioned Cauli - Brocolli Hybrid , the lovely Portugese Custard Tarts and coffee AND the chat from a women who has lived/worked in the markets all her life and is writing a book on it...... a VERY
serendipitous little visit THAT was - thanks to Diane . We caught a bus home from the markets and I ama AMAZED at the narrowness of the streets, the sheer number of buses AND the nerves of steel it must take to manouevre them through
Today was a lovely day beginning with breakfast at 'The Breakfast Club' on Islington High st...... we were there early but queues had formed by the time we left. The rest of the day was a Baby Shower for JUles and Dwaynes expected baby - wonderfully organised by Ruby - and a bevy of 15+ friends and family managed to squeeze into the one bedroom flat without anyone spilling a drink!
NOW is 'Quick - do a blog update' before we head to France tomorrow - we will book a cab to the station that couriers folk to Stansted ( is that right ) Airport where we will catch the plane to Biarritz -France, followed by another 'people mover' service (they have a minibus) and they will ferry us to St Jean Pied De Port ... from where we will begin the next day to walk over the Pyrenees . we checked the
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GIANT Macaroons in Borough Markets wweather yesterday fro Tues in that area and it said 2-8 deg and RAIN! - :-) But we are ready with all our wet weather gear - just hoping the rain is not so bad that we cant ennjoy the full scenic view of the mountains.
So - thats it for now - goodness knows when we'll next get a chance to blog... I have decided AGAINST taking my Mac Air .... I will have a notebook - but a pen and paper one :-), hopefully that will aid my memory when doing the next entry....
Tata for now
PS I had Cod and Chips and MUSHY PEAS one night ... I remember when my Nana ( and Mum?? ) used to make them when I was a kid....
ADDIT!!!!! IT is now Monday night... we had our flight to Biarritz ( and therefore to St Jean Pied de Port where we are starting the Camino ) CANCELLED !!!!! We will train it there at ++ expense on Wednesday..... ticket buying/details stil in process :-(
ADDIT -3/6/12 - Well I have added a few pics... but it doesnt seem really obvious to me
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I just thought this couple looked SO British that they are attached......... is it necessary to click 'pics' for every entry? I guess it must be because the pics arent spread out through the text....... So ........... DON'T forget to look at 'pics' if you are interested......
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Margaret
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Jealousy!
I love the city on the go feel of London - overwhelming! Glad you got to meet the squirrals. And yes, it was Albert! Looking forward to more!