Landed in a cloudy London at 8:00am on Tuesday 2nd September 2014, after a very long flight. We are not feeling too bad, but know we must stay awake as long as we can today! Made a few wrong turns to our apartment, but now have our bearings. We dropped our bags at the apartment and them out to walk around London. Saw most of the major landmarks, albeit in the distance. So far, gluten free options are very scarce, but fresh fruit and veg are always on the menu:) The sky has broken and the sun is out, so the jumpers stay in the backpack.
We have now covered a lot of K’s, and our legs are getting weary and heads are fuzzy, so back to the apartment for some dinner and into the sack by 7:00pm!!
Tomorrow, we head for Greenwich and a Thames river cruise.
Greenwich, Wednesday 3rd September 2014
Another foggy morning in London, but the forecast is for the sun to break in the afternoon. After breakfast we head for Euston London Tube Station for the trip to Greenwich. We soon realize that this is the wrong time to travel, 8:30am!! The trains are packed and we have to wait for 2 before we can squeeze on. After a few city stations the train thins out and we have breathing space. Hearing about terror threats and bombings, I can imagine the horror of being stuck in one of those trains or tube stations 5 stories underground with a few hundred thousand other people! We will wait for after peak hour next time.
Once in Greenwich we visit the Cutty Sark a British Sea Clipper built to ply the tea trade. The Cutty Sark does not open until 10am, so we are way too early. We decide to skip this and move on to the Royal Maritime Museum and Observatory.
The Maritime Museum was good, but the Royal Observatory was great with an exhibition chronicling the search for an accurate way to determine a ships longitude at sea. Seamen had long been able to accurately find their Latitude at sea via the stars or the sun, but finding your Longitude was much harder, usually performed via a process called “Dead Reckoning”. So in 1714 they instituted a prize of 20,000 pounds to the person who could devise a way to determine Longitude at sea. This was like several million pounds in today’s money! They eventually devised a way using accurate and synchronized clocks, one at the Greenwich Observatory, and the other on board the ship. Knowing the time difference between Greenwich (Noon) and the time at Noon at your location, you could calculate your Longitude very accurately. The more accurate the clock, the more you could accurately determine your Longitude. Hence, the drive for ever more accurate, consistent and robust clocks. No wonder the Swiss took up watch making!
The Prime Meridian
After a few hours at the Observatory, we head back to London via the ferry on the Thames. We pass under the Tower Bridge and on to the London Bridge Wharf. Passing the Hyde Park we decide to rent a couple of bikes and have a treadle around the park. I must say, Oatley Park is a lot more pleasant to ride around! On the way back to Euston we walk down Oxford Street with Harrods and Selfridge & Co the main attractions, and lots of cloth shops and not much else!
Tomorrow we are off to explore a bit more of London and visit the Camden Markets.
Camden Markets, Thursday 4th September 2014
We arrive too early, as usual, so most of the stalls are closed and the others are just setting up. There’s a lot to see, and buy, but no room in the suitcase to bring it back home!! Jenny likes the look of some scarves, which we spend far too long deciding on the right one, with several return trips to the same shop!
In the middle of the markets, next to the dock, is a small food market, where we sit and have a quiet coffee and cake.
The day is wearing on, so we head back to town via the Tower Bridge and Buckingham Palace.
Tomorrow we head for Portsmouth by bus, which will be our last day in the UK.
Portsmouth, Friday 5th September 2014
We have an early start, catching the “Tube” to Victoria Station, then a short walk to the Coach Station in time for the 10:30am coach to Portsmouth. Once at Portsmouth we check our luggage in and catch the bus to the Historic Port. Jenny opts to do some shopping and a bit of reading while I look over the dock yard, the Victory and the Warrior. She has seen enough “Viking” ships on our last holiday!
There is a well equipped “Boat Shed” staffed by volunteers. They have recently been given substantial grants and sponsorship, so will be expanding their activities and facilities and taking on apprentice shipwrights!
I walk down to the dry dock where the “HMS Victory” (1765) docked. It is really a massive ship! The size of the timbers are enormous, and would have been a formidable “Man-o-War”. Everything about this ship is impressive, from the size of the rigging and masts to its armory. It has been fully restored to its state as at “Trafalgar”. The masts and rigging are the last to be restored and so are not complete yet.
Next I move on to the “HMS Warrior”(1860), a steel hull square rigger with a coal fired steam engine. Technology had changed a lot in the 100 years between Victory and Warrior!
Outside the dockyard we have our final “English Pub” meal and a cider, and then back to the International Ferry Terminal to catch the overnight ferry to St Malo. In the morning we will be in France!
St Malo, Saturday 6th September 2014
The Walled City is prominent at the port of St Malo with great views of the coast and the expansive tidal flats. The weather is good and we spend an hour walking around the wall taking in the scenes.
Next we drive the hour north up the coast to Mont St Michael. There is a free shuttle bus to drive us the last several kilometers out to the gates of the castle.
We spend the next several hours walking around the castle visiting every nook and cranny and taking in every view.
The afternoon shadows are getting longer, so we leave Mont St Michael for our home of the next 3 days, La Ferme B&B at St Germain du Crioult.
La Ferme B&B, Saturday 6th to Monday 8th September 2014
Lyn and Geoff are our hosts at the La Ferme B&B. It is a beautifully renovated farm house and Dahlia garden with lots of interesting parts to the garden. This is more than a B&B as our apartment is fully equipped and catered. We spend the next few days eating, drinking and driving around the area and riding around the local fields and towns. Every other waking moment is spent throwing Freddies(Geoffs dog) Frisbee around the garden!
We leave Lyn, Geoff and Freddy to drive to Caen and then catch the Regional Train for our next home, Paris, where we meet up with Rick, Sheryl, Tanya and Rick.
Paris, Tuesday 9th to Thursday 11th September 2014
We settle into the apartment, and then take a stroll around the neighbourhood. The next few days will be very full, with a bike tour around Paris, then a trip to Monet’s Garden, and finally walking up the Cathédrale Notre Dame de Paris with lunch at Montmartre and the Basilique du Sacré-Coeur de Montmartre.
Tomorrow (12/09/2014) we leave our Paris apartment to start our Loire Valley Bike & Barge tour.
Keep posted.
Now on to Foix and a few days of riding the Pyrenees!!
We check into our hotel in Nice. Rick and Tanya poke out of their bedroom window. Rick and Sheryl were in the room above us. Then we wander around the center of Nice taking in the atmosphere.
The Oatley Tour de France 