Day 3: London

After breakfast we went to Harrods (except Gareth who hates shopping). Having done Harrods a number of times I also thought of giving it a miss but it is so impressive and they are constantly updating and upgrading the 6 floors of exclusive shops. My favorite areas were the food and wine sections. The pastries were beautiful and the wine section had glass domes filled with objects to assist you to pick up the scent of the wines, so cool.

From there we wandered around Mayfair, a beautiful and exclusive area with roads filled with super expensive cars. Wimbledon fever is all over London and lots of the restaurants were decorated Wimbledon style. Ga joined us for for at where we had the most wonderful pizzas in a family run Italian restaurant.

In the evening the girls and Jono went out to visit friends and Ga, Gray and I went to a Peruvian Restaurant for dinner. The food was amazing and it was great to have Ga talk us through the cuisine as he had toured Peru last year. After dinner we wandered around the quaint area of Chelsea and ended off with a beer and cider pub crawl.

Day 2: London

After a comfortable night, well as comfortable as one can be on a plane, we landed at 7:30. Again customs and baggage collection went smoothly. We caught 2 cabs to our hotel in Earls Court. Gareth, Robs and I were fortunate to get the friendly cab driver, while Gray, Kirst and Jono landed up with a grumpy bugger.

Our hotel is in a pretty street of London’s, Earl Court. Unfortunately because it was so early, we were unable to check in, but they kindly kept our bags for us, so we were able to set off to explore the sight of London.

Robs says we are allowed one tourist error a day and we managed this immediately by taking the tube in the wrong direction. We got off at the next station, crossed the bridge and set off in the right direction. Our destination was Big Ben, where we were told we could find a tour guide who does walks. After a night on the plane we were all keen to stretch our legs.

Despite reading about these guides and getting info from the hotel, they were no where to be seen. Not deterred, we set off on our own walk. 10km later, we had seen many of Central London’s wonderful sites: the Big Eye, we crossed the Thames and saw Westminster and Big Ben, unfortunately under construction for cleaning. We wondered around the magisterial district, passed Scotland Yard and 10 Downing Street. Then onto South Africa House and Nelson’s Column. We were fortunate to see the the Royal Horse cavalry doing maneuvers and the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace.

Then it was time for a well earned pub lunch.

We returned to the hotel to check in. By this stage we were all desperate for a shower and clean clothes. We had a drink at one of the local pubs before heading off to dinner at a wonderful restaurant, Gojk, every dish from the wagyu beef burgers to the butternut risotto was delicious. London summer is extremely pleasant and we sat outside in the courtyard of the restaurant.

After dinner we wondered around Earls Court, stopping for coffee and cake, then exploring the beautiful little private gardens and buildings in the area. We ended the evening as the sun was setting, around 10pm with a ‘tightener’ at the local pub.

The evening wasn’t over for some, Robs went out with some of her Stellenbosch University friends and Ga went to visit a friend, now living in London.

Day 1: 10 July 2019

With great excitement we boarded our Uber Bus with tons of luggage. The reason for all the suitcases was a family holiday, not easy to arrange to get 3 adult children together, plus the added pleasure of having Kirst’s wonderful boyfriend with us. Traveling with our girls is not done lightly.

It was a short trip to the Gautrain Station and onto OR Tambo International Airport. Customs and check in was a breeze and then began our 3 hour wait in the Slow Lounge. One thing you never have to worry about is a Morrison missing a flight, despite on-line, early check ins and seat bookings we still arrive with hours to spare.

The time was however ‘well spent’, the kids in true holiday mode, got stuck into the champagne and we had shooters before boarding the over night plane for Heathrow.

Gareth picked us up at the Gautrain Station, it was awesome to see him. Kirst is in Italy and Robs in Stellenbosch, I really missed them all. Much as I love traveling, it is always nice to come home to our family, friends, animals, garden and African air.

Our Trip

Much as I love our Africa travels, it was amazing to explore other parts of the world, USA, Cuba and the UK, this time. This was truly an unforgettable trip and we visited wonderful countries and places.

A few statistics:

A rough estimate we covered 50 000 km, 1 + 10 000km round the circumference of the earth.

We went on 11 flights.

Travelled by plane, helicopter, Uber, taxi, London cab, boat, motor boat, paddle steamer, train, underground, monorail, trams, tricycle.

We walked an average of between 5 and 10km per day (Gray on a bad hip).

Unbelievably we had no delays, lost luggage, or problems with any transport (although the tricycle taxi in Cuba was a tad scary).

We also had no accommodation issues or restaurant problems.

I guess traveling in first world countries has its advantages.

We visited numerous UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Thanks goes to all the people who made this trip possible and ensured our stay was comfortable. Firstly, to all the people we never meet or saw, those who cleaned our rooms, cooked our food and kept us safe. Then those who we connected with, like Anna, our hostess in Trinidad, waiters, concierges and flight stewards.

A big thanks to our travel agent, Nicolene Grobler, you nailed it.

Thanks to cousins Meg, Gwen and Lauren for a wonderful day at Kew Gardens.

BIG thanks to awesome friends Wayne and Jean for everything.

Biggest thanks, as always, to my amazing husband, friend and travel companion. I love our adventures together. Thanks Panda🐼🐼🐼

We loved our SKI (Spending Kids Inheritance) holiday and ticked a whole lot off our fuckit list.

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We had the day in London as our flight was only at 9:30pm.

After packing up and leaving our bags at the hotel, we took the tube to the Natural History Museum, always a favourits of ours. Unfortunately, not today, the Museum was a dog show. They were doing renovations, it was the first day of school holidays and usually it is winter, not a blistering summers day and no air con in the Museum. After doing some of the Darwin section, my friend Al would have loved the botanical drawings, we went to the dinosaur hall. Big mistake, dinosaurs are every 5 year olds dream and we could hardly move. Hot and bothered we found the closest exit and took the tube back.

Not wanting to stray too far, we chilled in Green Park and watched families and corporate people enjoying their lunch time picnics.

Our last afternoon and Gray treated me to High Tea at the Park Lane. I’m sure he would have preferred a beer at the pub but we had a delightful time.

Another easy airport book in, a few hours in the lounge, boarded the plane at sunset and a pleasant overnight flight home.

We are loving Mayfair, situated in the West End of London, in the City of Westminster. The old Victorian Architecture of the homes, hotels, restaurants and pubs gives the area a feeling of sophistication.

This morning we walked up to Piccadilly Circus and down Regent Street. Regent Street is a traffic free zone in summer and it was wonderful strolling down the street, a festive hub of shops, food stalls and music.

We had Sunday roast lunch and apple pie at the Grazing Goat. So very British.

We had a relaxing afternoon listening to a harpist in the hotel lounge.

Our last night of this amazing holiday, we popped down to the hotel restaurant, shared a pizza on the sidewalk and watched the passing parade. We headed up to our room around 9:45 as it was beginning to get dark.

Got to sleep at 2am.

London is such a treat, we have visited it a couple of times so we don’t feel the need to ride around on Big Busses to hop off at all the tourist places. We woke up with no plans for the day and just headed out.

Our first visit was to The Shard, the tallest building in the UK. It has a Neo-futurist architectural style and 95% of its construction materials are recycled. The building has 11 000 glass panels, with 6 permanent abseiling window cleaners to keep it clean. We caught 2 lifts up to the 72 floor at a speed of 6m/second. The views of London, the Thames and London Bridge were spectacular.

From there we wondered through Hays Galleria down to the Thames and London Bridge.

We then caught a river taxi to St George’s Wharf, taking in sights along the Thames.

Then it was a tube back to Green Park and a walk through the park to Buckingham Palace. It was a hot summers Saturday and lots of people were out enjoying the sunshine.

We then strolled up to Wellington Arch and through Hyde Park, more people and families out having fun in the park. We headed up to Speakers Corner, expecting to hear some ramblings about Trump, Brexit and the state of the nation but to our disappointment, no one was there.

We crossed over to Marble Arch, passed the Dorchester and the little cars in the car park and walked back to Shepherds Market, for lager and cider on tap at the Pub. Well deserved after walking around for 10km. Poor Gray is getting about 3km to the voltaren, his hip is bone on bone.

We were lucky to get a last minute cancellation at Benares, Atul Kuchhar’s Michelin Star restaurant. Before we left, we had booked at Heston Blumenthal’s restaurant, Dinner, but unfortunately due to a fire a few weeks ago it is closed. Benares was an amazing substitute, the service was friendly and professional, the food was to die for, especially the desert and the gewurztraminer complimented the Indian flavours perfectly.

We strolled home, ending a perfect day.

Our body clocks are still all over the place. Lots of 2am TV.

This didn’t stop us having a wonderful day at Kew Gardens with my cousin, Megan and her daughters, Gwen and Lauren. I miss my big cousin and it was so wonderful to catch up, I really appreciated them making the 3 hour trip up to Kew.

Our trip was a ½ hour on the tube and then a 10 minute stroll from the station, through the charming streets of Kew.

Then an excited family reunion before we headed off to explore the historic landscapes, enchanting gardens, temples, statues and castles.

Kew gardens was beautiful, with extraordinary landscapes and architecture. There was an astounding and diverse collection of botanical species from forests, mountains, deserts and savannahs. We missed the giant redwood sequoias in Yosemite but saw them in Kew.

The giant glasshouses transport you to other worlds, from steamy rainforests to arid deserts.

We climbed the Xstrata Treetop Walkway, that circles at 18m above ground, giving us breathtaking views across the gardens and an insight into the rich ecosystems of the tree canopy.

We visited the great pagoda and Kew Palace, where King George, Queen Charlotte and their 15 children spent their summers.

All this culture didn’t dampen a day of lots of laughs and a wonderful catch up. Thanks to my cousins for a great day.

In the evening we wandered up to Shepherd Market, a charming square and piazza with a variety of boutique shops, restaurants and Victorian pubs. It was busy and vibey, with people enjoying Friday evening drinks. We had dinner at The Little Square Café, a family run restaurant with great food and the New Zealand Chardonnay was a great accompaniment.

Love jet lag, much as you tell yourself you will go sleep and wake up at the right time. Your body has other ideas, like waking up at 3am, eventually getting back to sleep and being woken at 9:30 and thinking it was 7am.

So after a late breakfast, we ambled up to Hyde Park and Gray suggested we go shopping – yes HE did. This area is after all the premier shopping district in London and probably the world.

After a couple of hours pottering around Harrods, I thought he deserved a treat, so it was an ale or two at the Gloucester pub.

We walked home through Mayfair , I love this part of London, the beautiful old apartments, buildings and memorial statues.

After a little rest, we walked a few blocks up to Nobu London. This is a Japanese-Peruvian restaurant and we had a dinner and I will dream about. We decided to break with with our wine/cuisine pairing tradition, saki is not our favorite, so we opted for a French Boudeaux.

Two short calendar days, in reality – one very long day!!!

The day started off with a bit of a laugh. We lazed in, it was pointless trying to do anything in town, we were 10 minutes from the airport and a good half hour from downtown LA, and with morning traffic, probably a lot longer. Around 8, there was a knock on the door, Gray got up to answer, as always in his non existent pj’s. Thinking he would just pop his head out the door. House keeping, hearing no response barged in, the poor Mexican screamed, I think she is still running. Gray embarrassingly eventually returned to bed and a hysterical wife.

Thankfully, the morning ran smoothly after that – shuttle to airport, customs, etc. Nearly got him a Panda at duty free.

The plane took off at 3:30, with a G&T. It was a 10 hour flight, just as I got to sleep, I was woken for breakfast (9am London time, 1am LA time). My body was not ready for breakfast but was still keen to sleep.

Customs cleared, long baggage wait, an hour on the tube, a short walk from Green Park Station, to our Park Lane Sheraton Hotel, situated between GreenPark and Hyde Park. An hour too early to check in but the hotel was great, made us comfortable in their lounge with snacks and drinks till our room was ready.

The joys of travel – two days of airports and an 8 hour time difference.

We wondered up the road and had dinner at a little Italian restaurant, with a delightful Italian Chardonnay.