Our adventure ends in London.

A short flight across the English Channel, and a long wait to get through immigration; 32 counters and only 3 were open- crazy, and we were on our way via the tube to Northfields, our airbnb accommodation for the next 8 days.  After being greeted at the door by our host, James, we were shown to our immaculate spacious room with our very own bathroom in his gorgeous converted apple juice factory apartment, “Orchard Lofts”.

On James’ recommendation, we dumped our suitcases and headed down the street to Mama’s Nepalese Restaurant to the most delicious meal of pappadums and dips followed by chicken breast stuffed with king prawns, accompanied by garlic naan and the most delicious spiced rice. I really didn’t want dessert but couldn’t resist the mango and pistachio kulfi, which we shared.

Back to our airbnb, where James made us feel completely at home with a pot of tea in his beautiful Royal Kent tea set, one of his collection. We managed to summon enough energy for a shower before crashing into a beautifully soft comfy bed. I thought it was too soft to allow me to sleep but I was out to it in seconds. It had been a long day!

We awoke to a bright sunny day and after some wonderful peanut butter and jam toast, headed off to the Laundromat, where we expected to spend the next couple of hours, but were surprised the laundry would be done for us and we could wander the High Street (actually called Northfields Avenue). We stopped at a sweets shop and bought some yoghurt-covered honeycomb, before heading back to Nell’s for a coffee. I needed a hairwash badly so headed for Oshair while Ross waited in Nell’s. On my return, we ate an all day breakfast- Ross chose the liver breakfast, while I opted for a chicken, cheese and mayo Panini.

Off to Westfield via the bus to Ealing Broadway then the tube directly to Shepherd’s Bush. After a little gift shopping, we headed to Isleworth. The bus stop was actually quite a walk away from the shopping centre, but we followed the Citymapper instructions exactly and found the right stop. After a quick visit to see Ross’s darling little grandson, we headed home stopping off at a little Italian restaurant, Rosetta’s, on the way home. I was going to order my favourite scallopini but Ross encouraged me to try something a little different, which I did. It was similar to scallopini but was done in a delicious lemon sauce with a generous serving of vegetables. Oh, how I’ve missed my vegies!

It was pretty cold when we came out of Rosetta’s, definitely way less than zero, so we caught the first bus going in our direction. When Citymapper told us this was our stop, we got off not having a clue where we were, so we just had to follow the way it was telling us; that is, apart from doing a circumnavigation of the block first! Crazy! We were so pleased to finally get to bed.

I was so pleased in fact, that I spent most of the next day in bed sleeping. This cold weather has a soporific effect on me, that’s for sure. I woke in the late afternoon, ate a scone and a vanilla slice that Ross had bought when he collected the laundry, and proceeded to get ready for our night out at the theatre; the Criterion Theatre to be exact, seeing Close to You; Burt Bacharach Reimagined. The theatre was right the heart of Piccadilly Circus; just across the road from the tube exit. We were early so picked up our tickets from the box office, and scouted round for somewhere to have a drink before the show. Savini’s right beside the Criterion fit the bill, but boy, was it posh! Tea was served with three different egg timers depending on what sort of tea it was and coffee was served with a box of different sweet biscuits and meringues. I settled on a pina colada.

                                   Welcome to London by James, our wonderful airbnb host.

                                                   A local park with an interesting history

                                                            Love London houses.

Off to the theatre next door to see the show; not what we imagined but we both enjoyed it immensely, singing along to the songs we both knew. As the theatre wasn’t full, we moved to the centre seats at interval and I couldn’t believe how much better the view was. Some people even got to sit up on stage with the performers! I hadn’t seen that before.

After the show, we searched for a place to eat-you’d expect there to be lots to choose from right in the centre of Piccadilly Circus-but ended up choosing TGIFriday’s. We ate tapas-style; sharing plates of pork belly, chicken, prawns and crumbed mozzarella with various dipping sauces, followed by a huge apple waffle, which we also shared. Thank goodness I didn’t order a dessert as well.

After our night out, we woke late, had some breakfast, and went back to bed. I fell asleep and didn’t wake until late afternoon when we headed to Joe and Angela’s for dinner, calling in to the co-op to buy some wine and dessert on our way. We were met with cuddles from Eli before he toddled off to bed, and were joined by Angela’s family for a delicious dinner of tacos, but with soft shells that didn’t fall apart, and lots of fillings to choose from. I particularly enjoyed the yoghurt; I’ve never thought to add yoghurt to tacos before.

Thankfully, Joe dropped us home, even though it’s easy to catch the two buses back, the drive is so much quicker. We’ve had beautiful sunny but very cold days since we’ve been in London, but we woke to a miserable wet but warm day; well if you can call 11C warm. It’s warm compared to minus 4C. Of course this was the day we had decided to go to the Globe Theatre, which I’ve missed each time I’ve been in London. I’ve actually walked straight past it and missed it, which is even worse!

After talking to James, we decided to go via the Borough Market, and walk back to the Globe, which we did. The Borough Market was filled with food stalls of every description, meat, fish, cheese (lots of cheeses!) as well as exotic food stalls selling venison, wild boar, crocodile and kangaroo.  I probably would have enjoyed it much more if it hadn’t been pouring rain and I hadn’t had to keep avoiding puddles. I tried a very hot apple, rhubarb and ginger drink which was really delicious and perfect for a day like today, before sharing an Italian wrap and a lamb bap with Ross. We found a tiny table in front of a heater and sat down to rest. A cup of coffee was a good excuse.

We tried to find the Globe but found the Borough Cathedral and Sir Francis Drake’s ship, the Golden Hind instead. Eventually we walked what seemed to be miles but was 3 minutes’ walk according to maps and found the Globe, but still didn’t find the entrance. It was further around the corner! Totally exhausted, we traipsed in only to find we had just missed a tour and would have to wait for half an hour to the next one. Mission aborted. I just wanted to get my feet up, preferably in bed! We walked back up to Waterloo station where we caught the tube to Northfields before hopping on a bus to find an Italian restaurant James had recommended to Ross. However, we took the E3 instead of the E2- when will we learn we must take the exact bus, not one that’s just going in the right direction, and ended up in West Ealing, I think. We couldn’t find any Italian restaurants, but we did find a Lidl and a Pound Shop so bought a couple of bags for our excess baggage, and some breakfast food for James. We decided to abort this restaurant-finding mission and head back to Northfields. We were both footsore and bone-weary, not to mention, quite hungry.

We agreed we would eat at the first restaurant we came to. The first one, Chinese, was only take away, the second one, Nepalese didn’t open for another half an hour, the third one, Nell’s café fit the bill so Nell’s it was- no wine, but a mouth-watering lamb shank with a plate piled high with vegetables; oh how I’ve been craving vegies! Ross managed to eat a huge steak and kidney pie, before we trudged up the street to be greeted by James, who, on hearing our tale of woe, opened a lovely bottle of red for us; well for me actually, Ross had a cuppa and headed for bed, while I stayed chatting to James and enjoying the wine. After I had finished the bottle, I could barely stay awake so slumped on the bed fully dressed, I was almost asleep but woke myself up to shower and get my jammies on. Bad mistake! When I came back to bed I could not get to sleep and lay awake until after 1am.

Consequently, I struggled to wake up in time to make it to South Kensington station by 10.30am where we met Joe, Angela and little Eli over coffee in Pret-a-Manger, the only place where we could find a seat. The pain aux raisins I had was as good as any I ate in France.

Off to the Natural History Museum, a beautiful building built in 1881 to hold the treasures of the natural world. Not only were there skeletons of prehistoric animals but also bodies of much more recently extinct animals such as the dodo and the auk, quite sad really as they were hunted to extinction, not just died out naturally.

The Otherworlds photographic exhibition was fascinating and I learned so much about other planets in our solar system and their moons that I had no idea about before. For example, did you know Io, one of Jupiter’s largest moons, has more than 400 active volcanoes? I didn’t even know moons had volcanoes!

We had some difficulty locating a lunch-spot; all of the nearby restaurants were full and people were lined up waiting for a table. Angela managed to find us a table upstairs at Thai Square. I ordered a supposedly mild massaman chicken curry, but it was spicy enough for me. A couple of bottles of sparkling water helped wash it down.

Around the corner was Snog for frozen yoghurt. I was actually too cold to enjoy one but I did eat the raspberries off Ross’s which gave me the energy to head back to the museum, wait in the line again, as there was lots to see and I may not have the chance again. I don’t know how I kept going but I did. I sat whenever I could to relieve the pressure off my feet, but we went through the human biology section designed for children but very interesting for adults too, and then climbed the huge central staircase to see what was upstairs- I loved the treasures room-before going on a search for the giant sequoia, which as it turns out is closed for renovation. The rocks and minerals exhibit was extensive with some very beautiful gemstones on display too; my favourite was the emerald.

We left the museum just as it was closing and were swept up in the crowd, which became tighter as we entered the tube. All of the museums must close at the same time and everyone was trying to get through just a few turnstiles. We managed to jostle our way through and hopped on the district line to Richmond; well, not quite, the train we were on was going to Wimbledon, an offshoot of the same line. We hopped off at Earl’s Court, and transferred across to the right train.

At Richmond, we hopped on the H37 and headed to Isleworth for a delicious home-cooked dinner of chicken pho accompanied by mint, coriander and lime. Mmmm. I skipped the chili though.  Thoroughly worn out, Joe drove us back to Northfields where we both collapsed into bed, showerless. I didn’t want a repeat performance of last night!

Sunday dawned fine and warm, which was fantastic as we were off to lunch at the Shaftsbury Hotel in Richmond. We managed the two buses fine, but citymapper was telling us it was halfway down Shaftsbury Road, which it was not. You certainly can’t trust it completely. We worked out it was just down the main road so walked a little further than we had planned.

I managed to choose a comfortable chair after trying out quite a few; one had a very narrow seat, one was very rickety, and one was just right- but Ross had to steal it from another table. We were the first ones there, but the place soon filled up. Starting with a cider to quench my thirst and finishing with a lovely Malbec with my meal was the way to go, even though my meal was grilled salmon served on top of loads of grilled vegetables. Oh, I love grilled vegies! I helped Ross finish off his Yorkshire puddings, which he ordered as a side but was served not just one, but three huge puds with a jug of gravy!

As enticing as the desserts were, my ever-expanding waistline reminded me how tight my clothes were becoming and I sensibly declined. However, Angela and Joe, who have no problems with such things, enjoyed the pecan pie and sticky date pudding.

Two buses back home. The day had become cooler as the breeze had freshened and I shivered a little as we waited for our second bus. I had opted not to wear my coat today, so pulled my wrap tighter around me. I was very pleased to see our bus appear around the corner.

We decided not to worry about dinner tonight as we had had such a huge lunch, but by 10 o’clock, I was starving so made some toast, banana and jam to tide me over until morning where we headed down to the local Creperie for breakfast.

Having no plans for today, we headed to Westfield again to do a bit more gift shopping. Actually, more walking than shopping, but we tried. I did manage to find a Yankee Candle for James, as I know he loves them. So do I. I’m going to hunt them down when I get home. Even unlit, they emit a delightful aroma that makes the whole house smell fresh.

At Ealing Broadway, we grabbed a bagel for lunch; salmon and cream cheese for me, and spicy chicken for Ross, before heading home for a rest. I didn’t actually get to the bed, as there was a really interesting show on TV called the Secrets of the Blitz. By the time it finished, it was time to head over to Joe and Angela’s for a final meal together. Pizza! Ross has had a hankering for one ever since we couldn’t find Santa Maria’s, supposedly the one of the best pizzas in London and better than the pizzas in Sicily.

Well, here I am fully packed, well almost, I still have to do contortions pulling on my flight pantyhose; my least favourite part of flying. The best part is all the wonderful places flying can take me. This trip, I’ve loved Ireland, England, France, Spain, Portugal and Germany, but there’s so many other places still on my bucket list I’ll have to live until I’m a hundred to see them all, so if you’re young or just young at heart, pack your bags, head to the airport and take off to adventure! The world is waiting.