Southampton

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Saturday

After close to 30 hours in the air (in three legs from Brisbane to Singapore, to Aubi Dhabi (United Arab Emirates, to London, the 1.5 hours to Southampton by taxi was a welcome change. Initially we were going to take a train but the taxi worked out cheaper (for four people) and the driver delivered us directly to the door of The Southampton Holiday Inn, close to where we’ll board the Balmoral cruise ship on Easter Sunday.

The English “natives” seem friendly – the taxi driver was very helpful and staff at the holiday inn equally so. Normal check-in time is after lunch, but we were allowed in at 10am, and over lunch we were given a run-down local football team rivalry. And the Inn’s beds are definitely comfortable - an afternoon “nap” turned into a 12-hour deep sleep.

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