UK & Europe Trip 2009

So we are back in Sydney, Australia.

The trip home was better than the trip over, I think we were better prepared for the long, long journey. Our flight included a 2 hour stop over in the new larger Bangkok airport, much better than the old one.. especially cleaner & cooler.

As prediectable we didn’t get much sleep, and just watched 5 movies over the 22 hour journey. My only regret was the stopover was only 2 hours.. there are new massage shops, and a full foot or shoulder massage was 45 minutes and only 500 Bhat (or AUS$17). By the time you disemabark, walk from end to end (arrival gates & departure gates were at opposite ends), and need to be the departure gate 30 minutes beforehand, and wait in the queue for a massage, there was not 45 minutes left … [note to diary: next time allow more time in Bangkok stopover]

We arrived on time in Sydney at 8pm, and James was waiting for us. Ellie arrived 40 minutes early, so was thru customs and met James by the time we landed. Ellie’s classmates & teachers were still hanging around waiting for parents, so it was good to see them all.

We worked out that James had a few more hours sleep in the last 24 hours than us, so James chauffeured us home.

After settling in, finding the house neat & clean, and catching up with highlights of Ellie’s trips, and James’ 4 weeks of batch’ing, we headed for bed arround 11pm…. jet lag then took over as Ellie, Liz & I did not awake till 1pm next day… although I did hear James go off to woke at 8:30am.

So today, less than 24 hours after arriving home life was obviously back to normality…. opening the mail, shopping (James hadn’t restocked the pantry), washing, cooking, I ran a church property meeting, Liz started preparing for taking a Church service on Sunday et cetc … except Liz & I can’t sleep, so here we are writing the closing blog at midnight.

Overall, Liz & I found the trip really a great experience, as one does in hindsight when you get home,… as you only recall all the positive things you did & saw. And we came in only 1% over budget!!

It does make you realise how big & different the world is. Personally I found the trip a very humbling experience.

Blogging was a fantastic way to communicate our experiences with you. Being a daily journal we have been able to record the highs and lows of the trip… something often lost in hindsight.

Thankyou to all who posted comments, it was great to get messages from home. It was remarkable to have 1500 website hits in 4 weeks… James we should have put advertising links on the website, and made some money!!!

Here is the estimated number of people who looked at our website each day.

I will turn this Blog into a paper book with a few more photos, as an easy way to capture our memories .. a good coffee table book (Ellie ??).

We must thank our Trusted Advisors, without whose help, experience & knowledge this trip would not have gone so well…..

So thanks to Carolyn, Merryn, Michael, Norman, Eileen, Christine, Kirsten, Fiona, Meg, Maddee, Sam, Mia and finally Martin @ FlightCentre.

Our last full day in Greece – in sunny downtown Athens (and our last blog from overseas – for anyone who is still checking in to see what we are up to – hope we haven’t been too boring – the blog will be a wonderful record for us of our trip)

Our five star restaurant in Athens served us up a very nice buffet breakfast with lots of choice. The hotel also provided a free shuttle bus into the centre of Athens which we eagerly took. Our first sightseeing stop was to watch the changing of the guard – no we are not back in London, the Greeks do it too, outside Parliament House, – traditionally dressed Greek soldiers dressed in their white skirts and leggings and pom poms on their shoes, accompanied by a naval marching band.

We then wandered through the Flea Markets of Athens, with hundreds of others and made our way to the Acropolis hill.

We  hired a guide and discovered the treasures of the Parthenon and various other temples situated on a high hill with an amazing view over Athens – it is a big city hemmed in by stunning hills. As we listened to the guide tell us about some of the greek myths and the teachings of Socrates and Plato it was interesting to note how much of Christianity’s ideals have their roots in Greek mythology and Greek wisdom teaching. The pantheon is an impressive ruin which they are working hard to preserve.

We then joined with thousands of locals having a late Sunday lunch in the many outside cafes in central Athens. We stopped to listen some Peruvian musicians – I liked their music so much I bought their CD.

Back at the hotel I enjoyed a swim in the rooftop swimming pool while John enjoyed some internet time. Our last dinner in Greece was in the hotel restaurant, not a particularly Greek atmosphere but a delightful meal with vegetables! How I am missing eating fresh vegetables. Many Greek dishes come with little or no vegetables. I enjoyed my vegies tonight. 

Ah well, last night of our holiday, tomorrow we jump on the plane for that long trip home………