Changi Airport, Singapore

Hello devoted followers.  This is my last blog of the trip. By tomorrow I'll be back in Auckland.  Can't wait to see my girl!!  We flew into Singapore on an A380.  I'm a convert.  It's a lovely plane.  The whole top deck is Business Class and has about 80 seats.  There were only 20 of us so it felt luxurious.  Cam wasted no time in getting the name and number of the hottest hostie.
We are cooling our heels in Singapore for a few hours, awaiting our connection home.  Looking forward to catching up on what you guys have been up to! xx

London, England - Day 4

 Tea and Coffee (note the tiny ice cream) at Fortnum & Mason

Our wonderful hotel, Le Meridien, in Piccadilly

The Savoy. Swoon!  Utter luxury.  It was closed for 3 years from 2007 - 2010 for major refurbishment and I'm pleased to say they've kept the old world style and glamour.  The Savoy Grill, where we dined, was a big room, cleverly made cosy with dim lighting, rich colours and grand chandaliers.  The menu was similar to The Ivy, and Dad finally got to have his Dover sole (for NZ80!) while the rest of us ate much cheaper things like snails, shrimps, oysters and lamb.  We had a terrific white wine from Stellenbosch, near Capetown, where Robin and I had gone for a wine-tasting.  It was a magnificent dining experience and I can imagine it being a popular place to eat on a cold, winter's evening.

Have spent the morning packing.  Robin had to buy a bigger suitcase.  We now have 4 large pieces between us.  Cam and Dad moved their stuff into our suite, as they had to check out, and we have our room until 6pm.  We all popped over the road to Fortnum & Mason for tea and coffee.  Such a styley place.  I drank Jubilee tea, a special tea for the Jubilee, which came in a pot that delivered about 6 cups of tea.  The others had coffee, which came with a tiny cone of coffee ice-cream clipped to the side of the saucer.  Cool, huh?

Cam is out for lunch with some mates, Robin and Dad are at the Transport Museum, and I am off to Marks & Sparks for some bits and bobs.  It's raining again today.  Getting us used to our return home!

London, England - Day 3

CHINATOWN

The Ivy last night was outstanding.  Classic British cuisine with superb service.  It's a fantastic restaurant for people-watching, and the tables are very close together so conversations can be overheard.  Next to us was a table of three foppish boys, aged 16 - 18 I would say, who ordered very adventurously.  Most of their conversation consisted of "Ya" and "Oh, ya!"

We had another slow start today but that was just as well as the crowds were out in force for the next royal appearance.  Robin and I slipped along to Pimlico to the Tate Britain for the "Picasso in London" exhibition.  It exceeded my expectations.  It was comprehensive and informative and there were some of his very famous paintings like "Child with Dove" and "Three Dancers"  Afterwards we browsed the museum shop.  Museum shops are brilliant in my opinion.  The items are unique and different and I seldom leave without a few purchases (like today).  Near the Tate Britain is a street called Ponsonby Terrace SW1, which made me a little homesick.

We visited Harrods to pick up some jubilee souvenirs, and lunch at the oyster bar in the food hall.  We had the seafood platter which came with caviar (with proper condiments), crayfish, lobster, oysters, prawns and crab, and a small bottle of champagne which complimented it nicely.  It's a wonderful store.  Robin left me to it after lunch, and by the time I re-emerged the rain had set in.

My final destination of the day was the National Portrait Gallery for the exhibition on the queen.  This was a rather disappointing display in 4 tiny rooms with too many people for the space provided.  The exhibition was mostly of iconic photographs with a few grand paintings thrown in.

Walked back to the hotel via Haymarket.  The block with NZ House in it was closed off with lots of police lined up outside the building.  I guess John was visiting.

Have managed to get through the entire holiday without a jacket but today I succumbed.  The rain and bitterly cold wind got to me, and I bought myself one from Zara.  I'll wear it on the plane so at least I don't have to worry about packing it.  Lord, if you could only see the explosion of stuff out of my suitcases.  I hate to think how much excess baggage I have.

We are going to the Savoy Grill for dinner tonight, at The Savoy in The Strand.  This is a Gordon Ramsay restaurant, although he isn't the chef there.  It's similar cuisine to The Ivy which will keep Dad happy.  Meat and mash is his mantra.

London, England - Day 2

 Regent Street

The entrance to our suite on the top floor?!  That's just my luggage at the bottom of the stairs.

Spent the day on my own which was nice for a change.  Didn't leave the hotel until 11:30 and decided to shop Regent St and Oxford Street.  Amazingly for me, I didn't buy myself anything. I got Raphe a few bits and pieces from the toy store, Hamleys, as well as some clothes.  A much wider choice for kids here than at home.  I did get to the National Portrait Gallery and had a browse, but I had really wanted to see the special exhibition showing 60 portraits of the queen.  It was sold out for the day so I've booked to see it tomorrow afternoon.  I had a wander around Covent Garden and Trafalgar Square.  There are so many people everywhere.  It's mad.  There is a concert in Buckingham Palace's grounds tonight and they're setting giant screens up in the St James Park/Mall area for people to go and listen if they aren't one of the 10,000 lucky ones to get a ticket in the ballot.

Having a rest now.  Cam, Dad and Robin did the pub lunch experience today, and visited some museums.  We are all meeting up later and having dinner at The Ivy.  I've never been, so I'm looking forward to that.  Will have my camera on hand to photograph any celebrities that might be there.  Cam says we have to dress rich casual - whatever that is.  It's freezing cold, so I'm hoping jeans and sequins will get me in!

London, England - Day 1

 Southwalk Bridge where we sat for 30 minutes until the police let us cross.  At least we were front row!

Just a few of the police that were everywhere.

Arrived in Dover to wet and wild weather.  Just like being home really.  Our drive to London was a breeze. It’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations so it seemed everyone was already where they needed to be.  Getting to our hotel, Le Meridien, was a challenge though.  It’s right on Piccadilly Circus which was closed for the first time in history.  There was only ONE bridge open to traffic crossing the Thames, due to the 1000 boats in the flotilla today, and the 1.2 million people lining the Thames to watch it.  Unfortunately, the one bridge that was meant to be open was closed for a medical emergency.  The police allowed our car to wait on the bridge until it had cleared, and then our poor driver had to find a way to get us close to the hotel.  It took us an hour to travel about 3 kms, but we were finally dropped at Regent Street and then struggled through the crowds with our mountain of luggage.  Robin and I were upgraded to a junior suite - basically a small apartment.  It is cavernous.  We all congregated in our huge living room to watch the flotilla parade on our giant tv, whilst drinking Moet and eating hot hog buns bought from the street.  This was funny as a reporter was on CNN reporting from Piccadilly, talking about the fab hot hog buns (supplied by Le Meridien right outside their front door).   Tonight we are dining at Fergus Henderson’s St John Hotel for a bit of nose to tail eating.  No doubt Dad will have tripe.  Cam and Robin are out somewhere in the rain.  Dad is having a nap.  I am enjoying all this space after our tiny, tiny cabin which I called home for the last 2 months.  

The hotel has given us free tickets to a Picasso exhibition at the Tate, which I plan to visit tomorrow.  My favourite museum is the National Portrait Gallery, just round the corner on Trafalgar Square, so I’ll visit that too.  It’s great to be here!

Le Havre, France

SOME OF OUR LUNCH ON DISPLAY.  DIET STARTS ON JUNE 8TH.

A fraction of the work by Eugene Boudin

Near the port

Don’t know much about Le Havre except it’s France’s second biggest port after Marseille, and that it was pretty much destroyed in WWII.  The city was rebuilt in the 1940s by Auguste Perret, in a somewhat austere manner, and is the first European urban complex from the 20th century to be listed as a world heritage site.

Robin and Dad went off to visit the Normandy beaches, and Cam and I went straight into town for coffee.  This was preceded by a lot of salivating in the central market before finding the busiest cafe (Le Sublim) and ordering cafe au lait avec baby croissant for dunking.

One good cafe deserves a bad one and so next stop was McDonalds.  Ok, this was so Cam could use the free internet, and I could have french fries.  Geddit? When in France, right?

By the time we’d finished there, and drooled our way round a chocolatier, it was time for lunch.  Are you sensing a common theme to our day? We decided to try Le Bistrot des Halles right outside the central market.  Snails, duck terrine, steak tartare, skate wing, and all the stuff that goes with it, together with a pale pink rose.  It was a very leisurely lunch on a warm Saturday afternoon.

Last stop for the day was the very excellent MUMA (Malraux Museum).  What a find.  Le Havre was the birthplace of Impressionism and has the largest Impressionist collection outside Paris.  And not only was entry free, but the audio guide was free too.  It was truly outstanding.  The sort of exhibition that would probably cost $30 to see at home.  I loved it.  In particular, the clever display of work by Eugene Boudin.  Over one hundred paintings in the same frames, all hung along the same wall, all in similar tones and themes.  And, not to wax lyrical, but how did Renoir achieve that glowing luminosity of skin, unique to the people in his paintings.

It’s 6pm now.  Dad and Robin not back yet.  They will be tired and emotionally drained I think.  We arrive Dover early tomorrow and drive to London.  Another big day.  

Before I go, Dad had wanted me to pass on that he won the jackpot in Bingo yesterday.  US$1200!  And Robin won $65.  And I won nothing (but I’m still up around $500 from previous games).  Of course, we celebrated with champagne.  And we were also were given champagne at dinner after Cam found a staple in his bread roll.

Happy Days!

Lisbon, Portugal

 ABOUT TO DOCK.  NICE VIEW FROM OUR CABIN, EH?

 A MARBLE STATUE IN THE CASTLE GROUNDS.

THE OLD ELEVATOR, DESIGNED BY EIFFEL, OR ONE OF HIS STUDENTS.

We arrived in Lisbon at noon.  Usually we get into port at dawn, when I’m asleep (DUH!), so it was nice to be outside, enjoying the sights as we entered the mouth of the River Tagus and headed to our dock further upstream.  We could see many of Lisbon’s famous landmarks from the ship, and we passed under the city’s copy of the Golden Gate Bridge.  Everywhere, there were wide boulevards lined with flowering jacarandas which contrasted splendidly with the terracotta roof-tiles.

It’s a huge city, so Robin and I decided to concentrate on two areas near the ship: Baixa - the shopping district with wide pedestrian walkways. And Alfama - the medieval Moorish district consisting of narrow, winding streets and houses decorated with superb tile work.

By the time we’d walked up Rua Augusta to Rossio Square in Baixa, it was lunch time.  We decided to dine at Nicola, the famous art deco cafe on the square.  The food was pretty average but we got to watch the world go by for an hour or two, listen to buskers, and observe how begging works in this part of the world.  For dessert, we grabbed a couple of pasteis de nata from a nearby bakery.  The most delicious custard tarts you’re ever likely to try.  Crisp, light pastry filled with creamy custard that’s been scorched black on top.  They’re butt-ugly to look at, but oh so good.

We needed all the sustenance we could get for our steep walk up the hill to the Castle of St George.  This is well-maintained ruins now (an oxymoron?) and the surrounding area is a shady, peaceful park with stunning views across the city in all directions.  It was easy to spend a few hours up there.

We walked back to the ship through the Alfama district, peeked through peoples’ open door and windows, listened to neighbours shout at each other from balcony to street, avoided scooters, checked out the menus of the tiny bistros and admired the colourful, decorative tiles that cover the front of the buildings.

I’m home in a week, so this might be my last blog.  Our only other port is Le Havre, before the cruise ends, and I’m not planning on doing much there except chowing down on a giant seafood platter.  However, I might surprise you.....