Well this is the last night of my trip and I am in London. I arrived yesterday and I have been staying in Hammersmith. I have a double in room in a person's house. It is extremely good value and it is easy to get into the centre of London from here. I highly recommend that if any of you are travelling that you investigate the Airbnb website (www.airbnb.com) as it has provded me with excellent accommdation in both Paris and London at reasonable prices.
Today I went to the Globe Theatre and the Tate Modern Gallery. Both were really good and it was easy to spend a lot of time there. The guided tour of The Globe was worthwhile and it was interesting to watch a couple of primary school classes act out some Shakespeare on stage. Their teachers were excellent in having the students use passages from Macbeth for their acting.
There were strikes in London today which affected some of the train services but I managed to get through with only minor inconveniences. What is it about strikes? They seem to have followed me around this trip. Yesterday I got a parking fine of 40 pounds. Partly because the meter didn't take 2 pound coins as it should and partly because I misread part of the ticket. Ouch.
Last night I went out with Monique and we had a lovely time. She took me to Gordon's Wine Bar in Villiers St, just next to the Embankment Station and it is well worth a visit next time you are in London. It was a terrific place with its own special atmosphere. It is England's oldest wine bar and is largely unchanged from 1896. It's well worth a look on its webpage, especially the photo section. Then we went over the Thames to the Southern Embankment (think of it as London's Southbank and you'll get a picture of what it was like). We had a pleasant Italian meal and a terrific conversation. It seems our lives have some issues but it is largely good; she is in a happy relationship and I'm in limbo; we think travel is an excellent activity and exchanged suggestions of places to go; she is happy with her work and the recognition she is getting but needs more pay while I'm happy enough in retirement and with my voluntary work but would like more pay, but that's not going to happen. On the whole, I have a very good report card to give to Kurt and Jill the next time that I see them.
In the two days prior to that I visited Maria and Auntie Anne in Doncaster and Dara and Terry in Bicester. It was renewing old acquaintances with Vera's cousins but we treat each other as family. I am pleased we all caught up.
Prior to that I had been in Glasgow for two nights. This was a slight change of plan and I am pleased that I did this. I decided not to stay in Windemere and the Lakes District because I would not have had long enough in each place. And despite what people had been telling me about Glasgow I thought it was great. It has a lively arts and performance culture; the dining places were good and the prices were competitive; if it was a little gritty in places it also has a really positive vibe. Saturday night was Halloween and many of the locals dressed up and this added great colour and fun to the streets. I preferred it to Edinburgh. Dawn, who I met on the plane from Paris to Edinburgh, gave me good advice about where to stay and things to do and we shared a lovely meal on the last night.
So that's about it folks. I will be leaving London tomorrow just after midday to arrive back in Australia on Friday at 21:45. By the time I get through customs and immigration it will be a late night so I will stay with Nicholas and Jen before returning to Maryborough on Saturday.
Later on the weekend I will post some more photos of the last part of the trip, including London.
