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Platinum Jubilee Trip

April - June 2022
A right Royal Romp! Read more
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  • TravelerPlatinum Jubilee Trip

    Memories 🥰

    June 29, 2022 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 8 °C

    One of the best parts of travelling 🧳 …
    Finally getting home & that feeling like you’ve been away for way longer than you actually have,; unpacking and rediscovery of memories through looking at the beautiful keepsakes you bought for others and, most importantly, for yourself! Treating yourself should always be the prime objective of your trip… 🚇✈️

    I’ll treasure the newspapers that were released on the special days over the Jubilee Long Weekend and the official souvenir program & picture book celebrating the Queens spectacular 4 day extravaganza 👑🇬🇧

    Not to mention the official tea 🫖 and tea towel! Had to have both! 👑😝

    The mugs and cups from the Italian Riviera as well as all the trinkets from London bring a smile to my face and a shiver up my spine!

    Remembering when and where you were on purchase…sometimes even the smells of that particular day: the markets, beach, street stall or activity going on around me when I decided on securing the prize…

    These few things will constantly remind me but nothing is as wonderful or special as those thoughts 💭 feelings and memories that only I have deep within my mind and heart ❤️ and soul forever.

    😘    Read more

  • TravelerPlatinum Jubilee Trip

    Maybe the Universe 🪐

    June 28, 2022 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C

    Here we go!

    I wasn’t going to add any more to my trip blog but I decided that the last 40 hours has been part of the trip so it deserves its’ own place.…

    I woke up to my alarm at 5 am yesterday morning in West Kensington, where I stayed the night in the very affordable and really fantastic W 14 Hotel. Highly recommended. Right between West Kensington Tube and Baron’s Court Tube. Probably the best value accommodation I have found in London in a long time. Only 15 minutes from the Leicester Square centre.

    Anyway, on arrival at London Heathrow I had heard the stories but they did not compare to actually experiencing the complete and utter pandemonium from every single department! From check-in, security, to boarding it just was relentless! It was not pleasant l, it was not fun and it was not relaxing travel 🧳
    I even saw one poor lady burst into tears because she was treated so appallingly at the security gate. The thing that makes me most sad is that it is clear that so many people have learnt nothing from the pandemic. I would’ve thought compassion and patience would have been in abundance but I am constantly disappointed that Covid has taught many people absolutely nothing. Fuck all! 😵

    So, I finally got on the plane which was a beautiful new jet. Qatar is a wonderful airline ✈️ and I can say nothing against them throughout this entire process. They even extended my departure date at no extra cost last week. That just never happens. Exceptional customer service!

    The only problem, this morning there was an hour hold-up on the Tarmac which had a knock on effect for the rest of the next 24 hours. When I arrived in Doha the plane I was scheduled to board had already taken off; leaving me and many others to be added to another flight. This was handled well by Qatar and we were on the next jet fairly quickly. One problem was that this jet went via Brisbane and not direct to Melbourne. That was disappointing but I have come to just accept this sort of stuff in travel now. Probably should not have to, but we must.

    Fast forward 32 hours and we finally land in Brisbane. The passport control and quarantine checks in Australia have been top-notch! No problem at all! So, I glided (tiredly ) through that and went straight over to domestic terminal (on a bus 🚌 connection) after collecting my bag. Guess what? The flight to Melbourne had been cancelled! 😳🤦‍♂️🙅🏻‍♂️

    The universe must have been helping me out because I was so exhausted 😴and the thought of getting back to Melbourne after midnight and navigating getting home just sent shivers down my spine. Virgin (partner airline) were fantastic! They gave us vouchers for taxis and accommodation at the Westin in central Brisbane. There were also $50 vouchers for the restaurant which was a really nice touch. Virgin get 10 points 👍🏻 for this wonderful service.

    So, I am writing this sitting on a king size bed in a room of luxury, finally having a hot shower 🚿 after 40 hours and once this small hiccup fades the memory of what was probably my most wonderful holiday ever will be the prominent and beautiful memory in my mind. 🇬🇧🙏👍🏻✈️🥰

    Thanks again for following with me and just remember to give yourself lots more time than you have in the past when travelling and you will find, hopefully, that things will be smooth sailing for you!

    Time for bed 🛏 Zzzzzzzz    Read more

  • TravelerPlatinum Jubilee Trip

    Back So Soon?! 🤷🏻‍♂️

    June 26, 2022 in England ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    Interestingly it seems like I have been away for a year! But, I have already had some people mention they are surprised how fast time has gone and I am coming back so soon… 🤦‍♂️

    Doesn’t feel like that at all for me, which is probably a really good thing. I believe it means that I have had the most wonderful holiday ever!

    A very big positive has been that I haven’t had the same mental health struggles I seem to be often plagued with in my normal day to day life. I have no idea why that is but I assume that adrenaline has a lot to do with it. There has been plenty of that running through my veins in the past month. Don’t get me wrong, there have been challenges & down times but just not as frequent or severe 🙏👍🏻

    But it is food for thought because there are many things that I’ve reflected on and I hope to be able to bring those thoughts, habits and patterns into my every day life moving forward…

    One thing I have really noticed is that my disassociation from technology (primarily phone 📱) for most of each day has been a godsend! I so hope that I can implement this in my life from now on. Time will tell. I fully intended to get a local Sim card for my phone when I arrived but I very quickly decided against it when I realised how much more I recognise, understand and enjoy my surroundings without constant notifications and and distractions. 🙅🏻‍♂️👍🏻🙏

    London/UK is so much more expensive than anytime in the past. I’m not sure 🤔 how people afford to live in London! A very simple pub meal and a pint 🍺 is equivalent to $40. Day travel on Tube is $20. I’m sorta just consoling myself and psyching myself up to return! It will be nice to enjoy my own home & surroundings too…well, that is until the push to move returns 😕

    The final 24 hours: walked to Eton and along the Thames River walk. Very picturesque but felt I’d been there, done that, so was happy 😊 to head back to London to complete the full circle…

    Spent afternoon catching up on my favourite sights! Top of the list, of course, Big Ben! Exit 3 at Westminster Tube Station. While I was taking a few last photos of the Elizabeth Tower a bird 🐦 pooped 💩on the top of my head! Supposed to be good luck, isn’t it? 😝😍🤣

    Last supper @ ‘The Blackbird’ at Earls Court! Ploughman Platter which was tasty enough. A sign in the ‘dunnies’ emphasised the need to practice hand hygiene to sustain infection control but…sharing soup bowl and spoons: totally fine! 🤷🏻‍♂️🤦‍♂️😳🤣🤣🤣

    In all honesty, food ain’t the reason for travel to the UK 🇬🇧 Many think 🤔 what they serve is top notch (particularly the Pubs) but they’d probably be given a run for their money if they compared their “Classic” fish n chips for $30 to our “Classic” Parmigiana 😊 …just sayin…

    Anyway…I’m off to get a few hours shuteye before beginning the 30+ hours back down under…

    Thanks 🙏 so much for sharing the journey with me. It has meant the world 🌍 to me, literally!

    All my love 😍
    Until next time…
    Never put off to tomorrow what you can do today! Life, desire and capability is shorter than you think 💭

    🇬🇧🙏👍🏻❤️👑🥰😊    Read more

  • TravelerPlatinum Jubilee Trip
    5

    The End is Near…👑🇬🇧🥰👜🐴

    June 25, 2022 in England ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    The Royal Standard was flying high above the Round Tower at Windsor Castle this morning so we could be sure the Queen was in the same 2km radius as us 👑👜

    Tour of Windsor Castle 🏰 was extremely busy. Lots of tourists (yes! I know I’m one too, but this was really congested & so busy!) The audio tour was not as well organised as either Kensington or Hampton Court Palace. Was indeed interesting to see through though. Strictly no photos within the State Rooms or the St George’s Chapel. Slightly disappointed 😔 Overcast 🌫 day, like my mood knowing only 36 hours left of this wonderful trip.

    Nice way to round off the month long Jubilee Tour was to be in Windsor knowing that Our Queen was indeed here also ❤️🇬🇧👑    Read more

  • TravelerPlatinum Jubilee Trip

    Wonderful Wet Windsor ☔️

    June 24, 2022 in England ⋅ 🌧 16 °C

    Sometimes you need a couple of hours, alone, to wander and reflect…

    🌈🥰🙏🇬🇧👑🕺🏼❤️

  • TravelerPlatinum Jubilee Trip
    3

    Closer to Betty Windsor 👜👑🇬🇧

    June 24, 2022 in England ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

    Today has been quite stressful & challenging and is a classic example of when things go wrong it can make an entire day seem exhausting! 😫

    This morning I had to call my travel insurance to extend my cover. Both numbers that I contacted were unable to help. One because it was the emergency number…Fair enough, I suppose, but may I just add that I (…well, my poor parents…because I couldn’t make a phone call…) was on hold for 10 minutes. Not good enough if you actually have an emergency! The second because the travel insurance company doesn’t work on weekends!? Go figure! So, nothing happens on weekends in travel!?!? Poor form RACV Travel! 🤷🏻‍♂️🤷🏻‍♂️🤷🏻‍♂️

    Next, we were about to board our train to Windsor and our accommodation cancelled two hours before we were supposed to check-in! Extremely poor form from Booking.com. This meant I had to scramble around and find alternative accommodation! At a higher price (…basically whatever I could get) unfortunately. This is been a theme of travel organisation this trip: AirBnB have been the worst but now this is very disappointing from a company I have always expected better from. The host cited an ‘emergency’ as the reason for last minute cancellation! What the fuck ‘emergency’ happened less than 2 hours before checking in? Roof fell in?

    Anyway. We finally arrived and the alternative accommodation, the Royal Adelaide Hotel, is just across from the Long Walk to Windsor Castle 🏰
    It’s amazing how levelling and calming it can be to realise you are somewhere as historic & overwhelmingly beautiful as Windsor 🏰🇬🇧👑

    I have to apologise to my parents, Mylene & Richard because I almost lost my mind with all this going on… I thank them for accepting my manic worrying mind. Richard offered me his larger room as a calming alternative which I appreciated so much! 👍🏻😍

    All is well again. Let’s hope this weekend finishes an amazing trip with both calm & excitement in equal measure. Thanks 🙏 to everyone who stands by me when I’m at my worst and know that good is coming soon. 😜

    Some sights & sounds from the first night in Windsor…
    🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧❤️❤️❤️🏰🏰🏰👜👜👜👑👑👑

    And, to think, Our Queen is, most likely, just up the road from us tonight. Like, less than a kilometre!!!

    🙏👑    Read more

  • TravelerPlatinum Jubilee Trip
    21

    ‘Cause we Can Can Can ☀️🍷🏨💃🏼

    June 23, 2022 in England ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    Slept in this morning and went across the road to Starbucks for a leisurely breakfast. We packed our bags and rolled across to Maidavale Marriot Hotel for a ‘Staycation’ treat 🍾

    We purchased the package where we get free drinks 🍹 & nibbles from 530 to 830 and complimentary coffees & non alcoholic throughout the day. We have full access to the gym, pool and saunas which I spent a couple of hours making use of this afternoon. (Not the gym 🤫).

    It has been so relaxing 😎 just to chill out and enjoy the luxurious atmosphere. I’d say we both deserve it after all the planning, activities & sightseeing.

    The only downside is that we are surrounded by foghorn American 🇺🇸 folk 🫤👎🏻

    Everything else is lovely 🥰

    6.30pm UPDATE! We are at the complimentary nibbles guess what? It’s hideous! I cannot tell a lie:

    Bags of crisps
    Green salad
    Chicken 🐔 nuggets (dry)
    Samosas (dry)
    Black Forest cake

    The yanks are loving 🥰 it and DEMANDING more! We are drinking as much wine 🍷 as is humanly possible to block it (and them) out!
    🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️
    🤨🤨🤨
    🤣🤣🤣
    🤮🤮🤮
    One of the cranky yankies demanded lemon cake because “…I can’t eat chocolate 🍫 cake 🍰…”
    Fucking wanker! 👎🏻

    So. Richard & I looked at each other and said: let’s get outta here and go see a musical 🎵 🎭

    Within 10 minutes we had purchased great seats for MOULIN ROUGE, ran for the tube 🚇 and was at the Piccadilly Theatre 🎭 in the heart ❤️ of London in 15 minutes!

    …Because we CAN, CAN, CAN!

    💃🏼💃🏼💃🏼    Read more

  • TravelerPlatinum Jubilee Trip

    Off with her head! 👑🪓

    June 22, 2022 in England ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    After a full English breakfast with all the trimmings I reluctantly headed to the Kilburn Park underground… not only was it operational but it was quiet. It seemed people heeded the warning not to travel unless it was urgent… When you are on holidays from Australia 🇦🇺 travel is always urgent because it’s made up of lifetime opportunities & experiences that you just can’t give up on! I’m certainly not going to sit on my hands for the last week of my holiday and put adventures on hold or in the too hard basket 🧺

    Excitedly I arrived at King Henry the VIII Palace! I picked up an audio guide and off I went… The kitchens were fascinating because all of the meat was boiled before it was roasted. Then spices were added so that it actually had some flavour. The kitchens would’ve been so hot because there was six fires going at once in there. Henry predominantly ate meat and there were usually two courses with 40 dishes in each course! 🐷🐬🐏🐄🐓🐀🍖🍗🥩🥩🥩🍷🍷🍷

    Tracy Borman was the audio guide historian. She is my favourite all time Royal historian with her chosen expertise in the Tudor times. 👑❤️
    I’d absolutely LOVE ❤️ her job! Her office is at Kensington Palace in Queen Victoria’s nursery.

    It was a myth that King Henry and his court only drink beer and wine. They also drink a lot of water which was piped in from the local spring.

    Very annoyingly there were school groups touring the Palace at the same time as me. How I was a teacher I will never know! They were rowdy, misbehaving and so naughty 👿 Spoiling everybody’s quiet 🤫 enjoyment. Reminded me of my teaching days in London; which were hideous. The children were the worst behaved in the world apparently. Australian and Canadian teachers were loved because of our great discipline training. I recall one teaching day I was told to just keep them busy for the day. They were beyond learning anything! 🙃🤯

    I have been constantly reminded during this trip also of the loud, obnoxious, overemphasised voice of the species known as the American tourist! 😳🫢

    William the third lived here in the 18th century and was very private. He did not allow the public to watch him eating lunch, which Henry did. This made him much less popular. Watching the monarch dine was a great exercise in public relations! Take a note Leanne LOL 😝 you need to hold court at lunchtime in Sunny ☀️ Brunny! Public dining was the social media of the day.

    It is said that on certain nights, Catherine Howard’s (4th wife) screams, pleading for her life can be heard in hallway of King 👑 Henry’s Apartments.

    The Georgian part of history was fascinating too. Much of the Tudor architecture was destroyed for the new dynasty. Lavish parties were commonplace often. Sounds like a fun period! 🎊 The most intimate members of the Prince & Princess of Wales watched King George getting dressed! 🙈

    The Georgian era ended Monarchy living at Hampton Court Palace 🛑

    I absolutely love the Medieval 🏰 Tudor times and this palace was fascinating. I spent four hours exploring and 10,000 steps… I could have easily spent all day!

    Unfortunately (…or fortunately…) The train stopped running from Hampton Court because there was a suicide on the line. This is extremely sad and the cockney station 🚉 guard was not being very empathetic; essentially bleating on about how hard it will now be for her to get home! 😳👎🏻
    Hopefully they will run again sometime later this afternoon. In the meantime I’m doing the lemon 🍋 into lemonade dance again and having drinks and lunch at a cute local pub! 🍺

    To commemorate Henry himself I’m having a pale ale pie with clotted cream mash, buttered leeks, savoy cabbage and rich ale gravy! 🥧    Read more

  • TravelerPlatinum Jubilee Trip

    High Tea @ The Rubens at the Palace

    June 21, 2022 in England ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C

    Despite the biggest rail strike (tube & overland) action in the last 30 years occurring from, and including today and Richard getting the distressing news that his adored puppy 🐶 Charlie has gone missing we both picked ourselves up and dusted ourselves off and headed off on an extremely packed and very hot 🥵 number 16 bus to Buckingham Palace Road for a much needed High Tea 🫖

    Mum, this is the type of High Tea ☕️ you were expecting last time 😘

    This was a true high tea experience with the element of class that we were hoping for. The venue was directly across from the Royal Mews and our couchette was facing this historic Royal establishment. Unfortunately none of the Queens horses left through the gilded gates during our 2 1/2 hour sitting but we felt very special being wined and dined by numerous very attentive wait staff. We knew the golden coach was sitting inside which was very reassuring. 👑

    I am going to gloss over the fact that we probably ended up paying way too much for this experience but as I said to Richard, in retrospect and on reflection we will be very glad and feel lucky to have experienced this extremely exclusive experience. We were cleverly upsold to the bottomless champagne option which both of us misunderstood (but thoroughly enjoyed). We were shocked 😳 and surprised when the final account came to us! Oh well! You only live once and will remember it forever I suppose… 🙈💰💷

    Rooms at The Rubens at the Palace start at £1500 a night! 😳💰💷

    The menu was curated especially for the Platinum Jubilee and contained sandwiches and food which would be served at a high tea across the road at Buckingham Palace. We had fresh bagels with smoked salmon, cucumber and dill sandwiches and beef with horseradish and mustard. There were also lobster rolls with caviar! There were a delicious selection of scones served with lemon curd and marmalade with clotted cream on the side. The cakes were delectable and as you will see from the photos and were also designed especially for the Platinum Jubilee. 🇬🇧👑👜🍰

    Rubens at the Palace is a very high end Hotel and Richard made sure I did not embarrass myself (…or him!) by asking how much a room would be for the night. He told me it was not appropriate 😝

    As previously stated the day was probably not 100% perfect because of the strike action but it was also lovely to be able to see Buckingham Palace fully exposed again after the fencing had been taken down from the concert and Jubilee celebrations. We also sat in Green Park and walked through St James’s Park before we had to ‘’sardine’ ourselves onto a very crowded bus 🚌 to come back to our hotel.

    Oh! For the High Tea experience there were so many teas we could choose from. I chose the special Platinum Jubilee blend from bushels that had been planted by Prince Philip. I’m sure that he would have said something quite inappropriate while he was taking part in this ceremony of tea. 😉

    In reflection, the day turned out well despite the strike. We are crossing our fingers that it doesn’t roll on all week. Unfortunately it’s not looking good! 😢

    Still. Things could be worse: I could be home freezing 🥶 my ass off! 😘    Read more

  • TravelerPlatinum Jubilee Trip

    ABBA Voyage 🌖

    June 20, 2022 in England ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    5.11pm: On MY voyage to see a ABBA on their Voyage. To say I am excited is does not even cover it! Not only did fans ever think we would get another ABBA song after 40 years but we get an entire new album 💿 last year AND we also got this concert experience! I am leaving early to absorb all the atmosphere around the stadium! 🕺🏼I was always too young to get to go to their Australian shows so this is the best anyone in my situation will ever get. Reviews are in and they all all extremely positive. My expectations are high.
    …Night is young & the music’s high..!

    6.02pm: Arrival! Wow! Someone yells out “Welcome to ABBA..!” Cheers 🥂 exploded 💥
    You could just tell how excited 😜 the crowd were! It felt like I was the only person attending alone…but, trust me, unless I was with someone who “gets” this concert 🎶 (…Ian!!!!) then on my own, to Abbasolutely absorb everything is just fine with me and my Passionfruit Spritz! 🍹
    After 50+ years waiting and travelling 🧭 half way around the world 🌍 for this I’m feeling 100% selfishly excited for this moment that will never happen again (…again, Ian…😝)
    This is my own personal Jubilee treat & I’m gonna relish every second 🎉👍🏻💋
    …Tonight I’m loose & fancy-free ah-ah..!

    7.21pm: So, I’m inside and the auditorium is huge! Everyone is so excited. This is when it comes in handy to be by yourself. You can go where ever you want to go! Best seats in the house. No compromise…
    …Now I hear them moving, muffled noises coming through the door…!

    Show starts at 7.45pm…
    …Lay all your love ❤️ on me..!

    9.55pm
    …You can dance, you can jive, having the time of your life…
    And everyone did! 🎉🕺🏼💃🏼💃🏼🕺🏼❤️
    Now, you know that Benny, Bjorn, Frida & Agnetha are not actually on stage but the ABBAtars are so realistic that you have to question your own thoughts and judgments. The four members actually speak to the audience who cheer, applaud 👏 and whistle in adoration constantly. They even introduce the live band and each other. They joke with each other and the audience and tell stories. But, it’s more than just the concert. It’s also a laser and light show which is just perfection. Sometimes the audience singing almost overshadows ABBA’s vocals. You can feel the love ❤️ in the air! The costumes are just beautiful too!

    Now…the photos definitely don’t do the show justice. There was an extremely strict NO photos or video policy which actually was a great idea because you were not constantly watching through a phone 📱 like most other events. Trust me, they were really enforcing it too! I got a tap on the shoulder at one point. Sorry. Not sorry 😣
    So, if you want to experience it you’ll have to check out the many clips on YouTube (…most not great…probably why they made this new rule!) or get to enjoy it somewhere in the future! But! I was flying the flag 🇦🇺 for all my mates that can’t make it yet, so I took some sneaky shots! 😝😱🫣
    A really lovely final touch was when all 4 current day members walked out and took a bow 🙇‍♂️

    It truly was an amazing experience which surpassed my expectations…👏👏👏💋
    They certainly do have it in them. Everyone still has faith in them! ✊🏻

    …See that girl, watch that scene, digging the Dancing Queen…
    🕺🏼💃🏼💃🏼🕺🏼

    7.42am
    The day AFTER they came 😝
    I slept with my ABBA voyage wristband on… And when I woke up I was just still buzzing from the amazing experience. I have been watching so many YouTube clips and re-living every special moment… It is extremely difficult to explain to people if they are not sure about this technology. But all you really need to know is that it is groundbreaking and ABBA have always been the first with innovation… I think the most beautiful part of the concert was when each member had their personal moment to speak through their digital avatars to tell the audience how much they love and appreciate us and all the support over the last 50 years… Truly magical… 🥰🥰🥰

    10.37pm
    Wednesday
    I just begrudgingly took my ABBA Voyage wristband off. Thinking of going again Sunday prior to going home Monday 🥰

    …Thank you for the music…for giving it to me…!    Read more

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