Goodbye London

Today has been a funny day. it was a day we did not expect. Due to strike action, we can not get a Tube out to Heathrow and so have booked an Uber driver, Gabor, to take us out there at 3.30pm. We've got a night at the Hilton and will have to be at Terminal 3 tomorrow morning about 5ish.

So, today was a take it easy day. Not too much energy. Check out of the hotel at midday, ask them to look after our bags until 3.30 when Gabor arrives.

In the morning, it was out for a proper brekky, which frankly, surprised us both. Mostly, we've just been having coffee and a plain croissant, or Chris, a pain au chocolat. But today, we wanted eggs. We walked a bit trying to find something nice, aside from the franchises, and eventually happened upon Dolci, a small affair, run by hot baristas and a wonderfully personable female waiter, and whose internal wall is covered in blooms with some neon signs. We both had eggs how we like them, mine, I must say, was an objet d'art, the way it looked in its rasberry-coloured bearnaise sauce. The coffees, probably the best we've had in the UK. So, thank you Dolci, Earl's Court Road.

After brekky, a stroll though Holland Park. Lots of people enjoying themselves, either walking, riding, chatting, sitting or playing sport out on the field. Back to the Hotel to have a nap, which surprisingly, we both fell into immediately. I think it shows how tired we are.

Then, after checkout, a Tube to Victoria Station where we had chips and a beer and watched the people below in their hundreds navigate the train system in the middle of the strike action.

Then back to the Hotel where Gabor picked us up and drove us through a nasty traffic snarl that added on at least twenty minutes to the journey. We tipped him of course. Stupidly, I allowed my phone to slip from my leg onto the floor and Gabor drove off with it. After contacting him via the Uber app, he had to navigate the traffic and dropped it back to me out the front of the Hotel. He didn't want to take it, but I tipped him a second time.

So here we are. In the Hilton Hotel at Heathrow, sitting in their bar, having a beer, awaiting some food, and processing that this trip is now all over.

A few things for those interested. I had always put off coming to Europe in my 30s because I was then still single, not out, lonely and had always thought that when the time came, I would come here with someone special rather than doing it by myself. In this trip, that set of thoughts and the rationale behind them has come true and become real. Chris is with me, we have seen places and had experiences that we never dreamed possible for us, and we're still talking. Actually, Chris and I travel very well together. As in life, so on holiday.

Some miscellaneous thoughts:
* the arrows on the road pointing back to the other side seem to me to be pretty useless or ignored;
* crossing large intersections in the car, there are no lane markings as you go around, so it's a bit of a free for all;
* I still haven't worked out where to walk having tried the left and the right to no apparent joy;
* people queueing at an intersection waiting for the little green man always go before the green man appears (a sixth sense?);
* this sceptered isle is full of vaping shops and barbers;
* kids are vaping as a way to look cool in the way we smoked in my day to look cool;
* there is still a lot of smoking in the UK and it's pretty easy to cop a lung full just by walking down the street;
* driving in cities in a rental is not my idea of fun; * driving in Surrey and West Sussex where the roads are narrow and all the locals are cock-sure is not my idea of fun;
* I've enjoyed local lagers wherever we have gone;
* the UK is drowning in franchises, not as many indpendent businesses as in Australia;
* I've never seen so many pubs in my life as in the UK - you only have to look up and there's a pub.

It's been a big thing for me. I feel very much at home in the UK. In many ways, it feels like coming home. Having grown up on British tv and music, and having the Westminster system of responsible government, this place does not feel foreign to me. Scotland has a wonderful sensibility that I want to see and experience again. Regional cities have their own personalities that are quite apparent. And London. Well, London has an energy that is magical.

I will never forget this wonderful trip and I hope to relive many of the memories as I re-read this blog in the coming years. And to you who have come along for the ride, I thank you and hope that you enjoyed it.Read more