On the morning of 23 July we packed up our suitcases and left our room. We left our suitcases at the hotel while we went off sightseeing. We got the tube to Knightsbridge and walked to Harrods store. It was fascinating. The store is so immaculate, beautifully set out and decorated and the goods are first class. Even in the greengrocery area, the items are artistically displayed and the quality is obvious. There were numerous staff ready to meet your every shopping desire. It is a shopping palace. I didn’t buy much, the obligatory Harrods bag and that was it. Terry hates shopping but it was interesting even for him to see a store like this.
We then got back to the tube and on to Victoria Station. From there we walked down Buckingham Palace Road to the Royal Mews at the Palace. There we looked at the Royal carriages and stables. The various ornately decorated carriages and limousines were an extravagance to behold. One of the carriages was a gift from the Australian Government. The Royal stables were an equine palace, but we saw few horses. We saw the coronation coach complete with “stuffed” horses and horsemen (waxworks??) in all its gaudy extravagance. Most impressive were the public toilets – the best I’ve seen on my holiday, decorated with beautiful rose tiles.
We walked past the palace and across the road to St James Park where we sat in the sunshine, eating our sandwiches as we watched the marine birds on the pond. It was sad to contemplate that this was our last day in London and we were sitting here in St James Park – one of those “pinch me, is this real?” moments.
We walked on through the park and on to Trafalgar Square and again visited the National Gallery. Fortunately, it was not as crowded as it had been on the weekend and we were able to view the wonderful paintings more comfortably. They have beautiful Van Gogh paintings and we saw many of the paintings of other famous artists including Constable, Turner, Gainsborough, Rembrandt, and many more. We finally had to leave the Gallery and those beautiful paintings to return to our hotel and commence the long trek home to Australia.
We picked up our luggage and got the tube to Terminal 3 at Heathrow. The tube was crowded most of the way and it was a hot day, probably about 28 deg C. We checked in our luggage and waited for hours till our plane left at 8.30 pm (Emirates Flight EK 4, London to Dubai). Writing this later, so can’t remember a lot of that flight. We were given dinner and I watched some of the in-flight entertainment to pass the time. A young man sat in front of me and had his seat back the whole time. We saw the sun rise over the Arabian desert just before we landed in Dubai. We had to get off and change planes, about a two hour process then boarded at 8.45 am 24 July (Emirates Flight EK 432, Dubai to Brisbane). Trying to sleep, we stopped at Singapore to refuel and had to leave the plane and reboard which took about 1 ½ hours. Finally we arrived in Brisbane about 6.30 am 25 July. We got through Customs etc. and were pleased to be greeted by Sharney and Mum. They had gotten up at 5.00 am to come and see us arrive. We chatted for a while and then Matthew picked us up and took us home. Mark and Eichelle were there, having taken the day off work. It was nice to see them but felt very strange to be home. We were so tired and finding it difficult to adjust but that will come with time. We had such a wonderful holiday – an unforgettable experience!
We then got back to the tube and on to Victoria Station. From there we walked down Buckingham Palace Road to the Royal Mews at the Palace. There we looked at the Royal carriages and stables. The various ornately decorated carriages and limousines were an extravagance to behold. One of the carriages was a gift from the Australian Government. The Royal stables were an equine palace, but we saw few horses. We saw the coronation coach complete with “stuffed” horses and horsemen (waxworks??) in all its gaudy extravagance. Most impressive were the public toilets – the best I’ve seen on my holiday, decorated with beautiful rose tiles.
We walked past the palace and across the road to St James Park where we sat in the sunshine, eating our sandwiches as we watched the marine birds on the pond. It was sad to contemplate that this was our last day in London and we were sitting here in St James Park – one of those “pinch me, is this real?” moments.
We walked on through the park and on to Trafalgar Square and again visited the National Gallery. Fortunately, it was not as crowded as it had been on the weekend and we were able to view the wonderful paintings more comfortably. They have beautiful Van Gogh paintings and we saw many of the paintings of other famous artists including Constable, Turner, Gainsborough, Rembrandt, and many more. We finally had to leave the Gallery and those beautiful paintings to return to our hotel and commence the long trek home to Australia.
We picked up our luggage and got the tube to Terminal 3 at Heathrow. The tube was crowded most of the way and it was a hot day, probably about 28 deg C. We checked in our luggage and waited for hours till our plane left at 8.30 pm (Emirates Flight EK 4, London to Dubai). Writing this later, so can’t remember a lot of that flight. We were given dinner and I watched some of the in-flight entertainment to pass the time. A young man sat in front of me and had his seat back the whole time. We saw the sun rise over the Arabian desert just before we landed in Dubai. We had to get off and change planes, about a two hour process then boarded at 8.45 am 24 July (Emirates Flight EK 432, Dubai to Brisbane). Trying to sleep, we stopped at Singapore to refuel and had to leave the plane and reboard which took about 1 ½ hours. Finally we arrived in Brisbane about 6.30 am 25 July. We got through Customs etc. and were pleased to be greeted by Sharney and Mum. They had gotten up at 5.00 am to come and see us arrive. We chatted for a while and then Matthew picked us up and took us home. Mark and Eichelle were there, having taken the day off work. It was nice to see them but felt very strange to be home. We were so tired and finding it difficult to adjust but that will come with time. We had such a wonderful holiday – an unforgettable experience!
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