All good things must come to an end

For our last night in Europe we decided to take a London Bus to Trafalgar Square. It should have been a ten minute journey but about five minutes in the bus was detoured at a police road block. Traffic ground to a halt and there was an air of tension on the bus. An old english gentleman sitting behind us began advising another tourist not to get off the bus. The Londoners on the upper deck became increasingly agitated. And when the driver refused to open the door they operated the emergency button to exit. After another 10 minutes and 10 metres, more passengers escaped (much to the constination of the driver). We also made a break for it.

The mood on the street was also tense with everyone on mobile phones trying to find out what was going on. We overheard someone "there's something going on on Oxford Street". We turned a corner to find police barring entry. A tent had been errected and no one was allowed near.

We went down another street and found ourselves on Oxford Street which was packed with people. The street had been closed awaiting the count down for turning on the Christmas lights. The tent housed a stage and the Lord Mayor was announcing it was 47 days to Christmas! The Lord Mayor was followed by performances from finalists in the X Factor and then lights were turned on.

After all the excitement we decided to walk to Picadilly Circus but after walking for 10 minutes, Joy got directions. Right Street wrong direction! We later walked to the West End where they were promoting a comedy night. We decided to go and ended up in the basement of some hotel with about 20 others. In the process of the MC finding out where people were from we found that more than half the audience were Aussies, I think there 5 Britons there.

After the show we decided we would a nice local meal for our final dinner. We checked the prices at a few pubs and decided on an all you could eat Chinese Buffet (they had good chips).

We left London on Thursday morning and arrived in Sydney on Friday evening. The first priority was to get a good cup of coffee. It was the best we had had since Rome. Returned to Canberra on Saturday.

Today was our first day back at work. We were pleased to find the business operating well with no major issues for us to contend with. Well done guys, you have given us the confidence to start planning our next excursion! Stay tuned for the next exciting episode of the travelling Nicholls.

To be sure to be sure

Dare wus dis couple who were Australian

Dey wus tryin to find where dey wus stayin

Dey turned to da right but couldna take a trick

an ended in da market of Limerick

Yes! after a wintery night in Dublin we traveled to Limerick by train. Joy's main goal was to find ancient family history at the Brian Boru Heritage Centre in County Clare. Getting a hire car on a Sunday in Limerick prooved somewhat challenging. However after a short bus trip to Shannon Airport and too many Euro we were able to hire a car for the day. Travelled the back roads to Killaloe where the Heritage centre was located, only to find it was closed for the winter (interestingly we later heard on the Radio that winter starts on the 1st of November in Ireland).

It was a nice drive in the country. In the afternoon we went off to Bunratty Castle and Folk Park and had an enjoyable afternoon.

Caught the early train back from Limerick this morning and went on an Open top bus tour around Dublin. After seeing the sights we decided to go to Dublin's Number 1 Tourist Attraction. The Guiness factory. After climbing 7 floors of exhibits on how they make the stuff, we were rewarded with a refreshing pint in a viewing room with 360 degree views of Dublin.

Tommorrow its off to London for our final day inEurope.

lle mae Cymru yn croesawu'r Byd

Yes! Since our last update we have been to Wales. Our key criteria for a place to stay was the town needed to start with a double L. We settled on Llangollen (pronounced thangothen). Its town motto is lle mae Cymru yn croesawu'r Byd which translates to where Wales welcomes the world.

While in Llangollen we cruised down a canal in a horse drawn narrow boat and also visited an historic house of a Romantic female couple who eloped from Ireland in the late 17th century. Aparently the jury is still out on whether they were lesbians or just companions avoiding marriage but they were well known in their time and were visited by the famous and royals. Their house filled with carvings inside and out and garden as well as their lifestyle were renouned.

Prior to going to Wales we spent a day and a half in the Lakes District where we visited one the houses of Wordsworth and Beatrix Potter's Hilltop farm (unfortunately the house was closed)

After Wales we spent a couple of nights in Bath. In addition to touring the Roman Bathes and Bath Abbey we went on a couple of guided walks. One during the day with one of the Mayor's Guides and a ghost walk in the evening (sorry no paranormal sightings to report). Govenor Arhur Phillip died in Bath (there is an Australian Flag flying over his memorial in the Abbey). We also saw his last house on the walk. They fly the Australian Flag there when Australia beats England at something.

Yesterday we visted the prehistoric ruins of Avebury and Stonehenge. Arrived today in Dublin. Had a Guiness and Irish stew at the local tavern (the singing starts soon so we need to go now.