Historic Royal Palaces

As I mentioned in my previous post, we've become members of the Historic Royal Palaces, the organisation that looks after the Tower of London, Kensington Palace, the Banqueting House, Kew Palace and Hampton Court Palace. I also mentioned that we'd been able to book places on the Tower of London new members' tour.

Tower of London [source]

But that's not all - turns out that our timing is perfect to also take advantage of the Hampton Court Palace new members' tour ...

Main gate, Hampton Court Palace [source]

AND the Kensington Palace Garden History Tour (which gets us into the normally closed to the public Sunken Garden.

Kensington Palace Sunken garden [source]

We've also decided on the destination for the second of four day trips on our BritRail passes - Carlisle. It's going to be a looooonnnnngggg day - 3.25 hours min. on the train each way - it's very close to the Scottish border.

Carlisle Castle [source]

There is evidence of people living in this area since at least the Iron Age, and the Romans established a fort here in AD72 (it was on the 'civilised' side of Hadrian's Wall). Of course, once the Roman Army was in residence, a whole town grew up around it, and Carlisle has been occupied ever since.

I'm looking forward to the train trip - I haven't been to Cumbria and the Lake District (or most of the other places on the route), so it will be lovely to see it, even if it is just from a moving train on the way through!

London calling

In just over three weeks I'll be on the train heading up to Sydney, in readiness to fly out to London the following day. We're going with QANTAS via Dubai. My international trips so far have been with Cathay Pacific, so it will  be interesting to see the difference between airlines.

We've bought BritRail 4 day Flexipasses for day trips out of London. I've been discussing destinations with my parents, and it looks like one day will be to Dover and Canterbury. Dover is a little over two hours from London Victoria station on the train, and Canterbury is 16-27 minutes (depending on the train) closer to London. In Dover, we're planning on visiting Dover Castle. We can stand on the top of the white cliffs, but it's a bit hard to really see them from that angle.

Canterbury has many attractions, the most well-known being its cathedral. Also on my list is St Augustine's Abbey, the Canterbury Roman Museum, St Martin's Church (the oldest church in England still in use as a parish church), and the Canterbury Heritage Museum. I'm not sure we'll have enough time for it all, but there are many more places to see if we get through that list!

We've also become members of the Historic Royal Palaces, the organisation that looks after the Tower of London, Kensington Palace, the Banqueting House, Kew Palace and Hampton Court Palace, so we're hoping to get to all of them. By becoming members, we qualify for the HRP new members tour of the Tower of London, held after hours (and being high season, it will be great to see it without the crowds). I rang London one night last week to make sure we have places booked on the tour.

Our other purchase has been the English Heritage Overseas Visitor Passes, giving us free entry to any of hundreds of properties on the English Heritage list for 16 days. Dover Castle is one of those, and once we've decided on where our other day trips will be, I'll check what else is in the area. Eltham Palace, southeast of Greenwich, is looking good, and there are quite a few properties within London itself.

But for now, I need to concentrate on finishing off a list of jobs required by the end of the financial year. Trip planning will have to wait for a week!

Rome food tour (9 weeks & 1 day)

I've just booked the X-man & myself onto a Walks of Italy Rome Food Tour. We start off at the Campo dei Fiori market, and learn about and taste different foods, including meats and cheeses, bread, olive oil and balsamic vinegar, gelato or cannolo, and coffee - of course! And we get to make (and eat) our own pizza in a restaurant - the X-man is pretty keen on that idea :)

I'm working on more structure for this trip - some tours, guided or self-guided, some museum passes (so we can visit lots of places, without having to stay for hours in each one to get our money's worth), and a few day trips out of the city for contrast.

Today I ...

+ read with a group of wriggly 7 year olds
+ learned a little more of the complicated things librarians do
+ had a theory lesson on how to clean a trumpet
+ actually pulled apart, cleaned, oiled and put the trumpet back together (and there were no parts left over, and it still works!)
+ remembered to update the new blog
+ found gifts for a friend with a new baby
+ spotted some reproductions of old maps of London, Paris and Rome that I couldn't pass up
+ drove into blinding sunlight on the way home from Miss Tizz's drama class.

Tomorrow I might need to do some work!

cheap and free: the mint

This was supposed to be a post-a-day blog, but somehow two weeks have slipped by. Oops. Lots of reasons ... excuses. But I'm back, and am planning on using these school holidays to make up for my absence.

I'm still saving for the Grand Tour, so we've been looking for cheap and free things to do with the kids. This morning I had a client meeting over practically over the road from the Australian Mint, so the rest of the family headed there, and I joined them a little later.

I haven't been to the Mint for a few - quite a few - years, and certainly not since the shiny and spacious refurbishment was completed. We watched the short film about what the Mint does (hosted by that guy from Collectors), wandered around the displays - we especially liked the coins that came out wrong! - and watched the people and robots on the floor doing their thing. The kids were most impressed by Titan - he lifts big drums full of blanks and pours them into the hopper for sorting and processing through to the stamping machines, and stretches, dances, and bows to the audience watching from the windows above in between working :)

And then, of course, the highlight - the kids made their own souvenir coins to bring home. Just put in your $3, press the button, and the machine loads a blank, stamps it, and out it comes.

So today's excursion cost us $6 (for the two coins). Petrol doesn't count this time, as I had to go in that direction anyway.

change in the weather

We had some quite hot weather last week (high 30s), but today the temperature has dropped 18 degrees in comparison, and tonight we're heading back into single figures. It's no wonder so many people have been sick lately - I hate to think what these sudden changes do to one's immune system.

Funny day today - a little work (and more tonight to catch up with what I should have done - oops!), some shopping (mostly back to school items, plus a new monitor because my old one was dying a slow and painful death), some playing with children and encouraging them on their new bikes (we've been very lax parents, and they're still on training wheels because they've done so little riding, but we're making up for it now), and some talk about how things have changed since I was a child.

It started off with one of those lines that most new parents swear they will never utter: "When I was your age ...". When I'd finished my little story about how easy kids today have it in comparison to *ahem* 35 or so years ago, Miss Tizz asked for more stories, and promptly fell about laughing hysterically when I obliged with a description of how I learned to ride a bike, at age 12 (hey - they're only 6 and 8, I'm not doing so badly after all!), and how all was going well until I wanted to stop but had no idea how. They wanted more and more snippets of my personal history - I had no idea they'd find it so interesting.

So I dredged through the memory banks for all sorts things - the first boyfriend (a younger man, in primary school, and my first kiss in the little cotton play tent in the backyard, with my brother watching - because it was his mate!); the sachets of free flavoured milk in infants school, left in the sun until recess, which 5-7 year olds were almost universally incapable of holding so the milk didn't squirt out everywhere when the corner was snipped off (mmm ... warm cinnamon milk all over you for the rest of the day); the treehouse in the oak tree in Wyong, the same tree another of my brother's friends fell out of onto the concrete driveway below - not a good day, especially for him); the kamikaze goldfish that would leap from the tank in the middle of the night; the time when my sister convinced my brother to teach her to ride his motorbike in the back yard - she figured out the throttle, but not the brakes, missed the trees, but not the shed, and dislocated all her knuckles.

Eventually I packed them off to bed with one final story of my then 3 year old brother, stark naked and escaping from the bathroom when mum let him go to turn the taps off - out the front door and down the footpath out the front, much to the surprise of a passing businessman on his way home.

They want more tomorrow - will have to see what I can come up with!

just a small change :)

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post-christmas - in brief

The children asked me to have a computer-free day on Christmas day, so I did. And to make sure I did, I even shut the thing down completely.

And I didn't even miss it all that much :)

We've had a lovely day - lunch with family, dinner with friends - lots of laughter, plenty of food, overload of presents.

I hope you all had just as much fun!

a special visitor

We had a visit from the jolly big man in red himself this evening :)

The children weren't too sure at first, and a bit stunned, but ended up singing 'Santa wear your shorts' and 'Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer' for him, and discussing what reindeer like to eat. And they were most impressed to be given a couple of small things from the lists they wrote last week.

Santa promised he'd be back later tonight (because he was saving some presents as a surprise for tomorrow), and they waved him off down the driveway, very impressed with the personal visit. As the X-man said "It was the really real Santa! Not the one you can pull his beard off!".

We have some very special friends :)

Hoping the big man comes to visit you tonight too, and that Christmas Day finds you surrounded by love and laughter!

what day is it?

Once school holidays arrive, it doesn't take me long to lose track of the days.

I rather like having the children at home, and I certainly don't miss school mornings and the associated rush. None of us are particularly good at mornings, so it's a bit of a relief to take things a little more slowly.

It takes some adjustment, but once we get over the luxury of not having to be anywhere at a particular time, we usually manage to get things done. Bed times slide a little later, meal times are fluid, but we find a rhythm that suits us.

Miss Tizz asked me this evening if it was alright if she reads in the morning, instead of getting up and getting dressed. Absolutely! So many times this year she has been in trouble for reading in the morning and running late - it was a delightful change to say 'Go right ahead!'. I'm thinking I may declare a reading day in the week after Christmas, where if all you want to do is read all day, you can do so without being hassled or feeling guilty. It's something I used to love, and it's about time I did a bit more of it.

And I happen to know that the children and the husband will each have something new to read ;)

only blogging because i said i would

My head hurts, and I'm tired. It's been hot (with more on the way tomorrow), I haven't had any coffee today, and the CPAP is going to take some getting used to. Took forever to go to sleep last night, and I woke about 4.30am in a panic and had to take the mask off.

Ok, whinge over, and heading for bed for a relatively early night, and to try again.

Christmas shopping is all done, at least the presents - the food for Christmas day is still to be bought, but that's a bit of a last minute thing. Might suss out options like shopping online and extended trading hours, and try to avoid the madness that is Christmas eve in the supermarket.

Miss Tizz has asked if she can skip the last two days of school - there's not much happening, so we've agreed - but the X-man wants to go tomorrow as the kindergarten children are singing for their Year 6 buddies. But he'd like an early mark please :)

There are a few things to pop in the mail tomorrow, presents to wrap, and a room to rearrange to accommodate a bigger table for Christmas day, but I think we pretty much have it under control.

Oh, and Santa rang tonight and has arranged a special visit on Christmas eve for two kids who are not quite sure whether he's real ;)

more christmas preparations

Today we made lists:

We wrote out cards:

We packed little gifts for teachers:

And I remembered to take photos of the Christmas tree and this year's special angel:

christmas food

Continuing on the theme ...

The husband has organised who's bringing what for Christmas day. A few phone calls backwards and forwards between him, his brother and his mother has resulted in a list, and everyone knows what they're doing.

We're sticking with pre-cooked and cold foods this year - if the weather lately is any indication, it will be quite warm, and heating up the house with the oven holds little appeal. So in three different households the day before, there will be turkey roasting, pork crackling, a ham being prepared, and pre-ordered prawns collected.

We'll be eating green salad, rice salad, potato salad and crispy noodle salad. And there'll be pudding and brandy custard and ice cream for dessert.

I'm sure there'll be homemade pink sugared peanuts, and chocolate, and other snacks, just in case anyone has any space left. And we'll all try to get out of taking home the leftovers.

Toasted ham sandwiches for dinner anyone?

christmas shopping

There seems to be a theme developing here ...

The recent cash flow crisis has been averted, and today we made what is hopefully our last assault on the local mega shopping centre. It's two weeks until Christmas, and the idea of venturing in there again as the madness kicks into high gear fills me with terror.

Which is not to say we've finished the shopping. We're definitely toning it down this year, though. We're aiming to buy the kids' big presents early next week while they're still at school. We know what we're getting them, and where from, and it should be a quick and painless expedition. My five tween and teen nephews are getting gift cards, which has taken a lot of pressure off (and I think they'll appreciate the opportunity to choose something they'd really like, rather than something their aunty thinks is suitable!). And we want to wrap everything, and post the few things that need posting, by Wednesday.

I have given the husband full responsibility for the gifts for his side of the family, as our families do things very differently, and it has caused tension between us in the past. We agreed a few years ago that neither family would buy presents for our siblings and their spouses, and that helped a lot too (a typical exchange between the husband and his brother around this time of year would go something like: "What would you like for Christmas?" "Dunno. What would you like?" "Dunno. How about we just give each other money?" "Ok. How much?" "Dunno." "$50?" "Yep." And they would exchange $50 notes).

And I'm feeling a whole lot calmer about Christmas than I have in years :)

christmas cards

Last year, we didn't get around to sending Christmas cards. Life was busy, we weren't organised, we simply left it too late. I felt guilty about not returning cards, but got over it. Life moves on.

And now it's December again, and the cards are coming in.

My parents write about 200 cards every year, and receive a similar number back. Sometimes it's the only contact they have with people for the whole year, and I wondered why they bother. But I've realised that most of the cards come with a letter, or at least a personal note, and they're a simple way to keep in touch with people you've known over the years. When we visit around Christmas, I usually go through the cards hanging from the stair rail, and do a bit of a catch-up myself. I know most of the letters are the mass-produced 'year in review' type, but it's interesting to see what people have been up to.

So we're going to make the effort this year. This weekend is set aside for Christmas card writing. I'll probably do a year in review letter to accompany them, and the whole family is going to sit around the table and work on them together.

I've left it a bit late to make my own cards this year, so if you're on the list, don't expect anything too flash, but you'll know that you're in our thoughts. And we'd love to hear from you too!

oh christmas tree!

We put the Christmas tree up last weekend. We generally aim for the first weekend in December, although it didn't go up at all last year as we were going away before Christmas and not returning until mid-January.

It wasn't too difficult finding the tree and a box of decorations in the garage, but the main box of decorations has hidden itself well. Not surprising, really, if you saw the state of our bulging garage. But perhaps it's just as well, because for the past week or so, the X-man has been bringing home decorations they've made at school.

I've looked at gorgeous designer Christmas trees in catalogues and online - all colour coordinated with fragile baubles (apparently glitzy tinsel on the tree is OUT), and they're pretty, but there's nothing terribly personal about them. I had already decided that I was going to hand over decorating duties to the kids, but with the box missing, it's even easier! We now have a couple of strings of lights (the husband is in charge of all things electrical), some tinsel, paper decorations from the kids and a gorgeous angel hand puppet on the top (I'll take a photo and add it tomorrow if I remember - she's wearing a brightly coloured sundress, and has a blonde fringe over her eyes :) ).

I'm sure there'll be additions in the next few weeks, and every one of them will be personal and meaningful. And I kind of  hope we don't find the 'proper' decorations ;)

all enthused again!

I've been getting a bit distracted by cash flow, health, work, children, household stuff, etc etc, but today my parents arrived for a short visit.

Not only do I love seeing them (and it's not often enough as we live several hours apart), but they arrived bearing gifts to go under the Christmas tree (which went up this morning), and with a substantial contribution to the travel fund! I'll get to the bank in the next few days, and you should see the fund total start moving again :D

They were quite keen to talk about my plans and offer advice based on their own travels, but they're fabulous and don't try to organise me. We discussed flights (return, open jaw, round the world, deals with stopovers on the way, and more), accommodation options (more expensive but more central location vs cheaper but more travel time required and less convenient - and we agree on the advantages of staying somewhere central), day trips (they did London-Bath and London-York as day trips, and that might suit us better rather than moving hotels), and whether we might be better taking a guided tour in Italy because of potential language issues (I'm tending towards doing it on our own, but am open to suggestions).

And tomorrow I'm going to go through the photos of their recent trip to China - well, the 160+ photos highlights, not the full 7000+ photos!

sometimes 'art' is just crap

I love how these women say what we're thinking: just because it's tagged 'designer' and comes with an exorbitant price tag, it doesn't make it good. Reminds me of the Emperor's New Clothes ...

the mogg blog

just quickly ...

... I took Miss Tizz and friends into a city park this morning for a Guides activity day (they had a great time!), before escaping to a Discover Europe Travel Show at the Convention Centre. It was crowded and hot, so I collected lots of travel brochures, was cornered by an agent and surrendered my travel plans and contact details (she's getting back to me with a quote in the next few days - I think she would have liked a booking, but I'm not ready for that), and then I retreated upstairs to the theatrettes and a couple of presentations in air-conditioned comfort (and with iced water).

Then into the city centre for a leisurely lunch, and a wander back to the park to peruse travel possibilities under the trees (and provide a dumping spot for astronaut helmets made of cardboard and glitter, and other assorted space junk).

Not often I get a few hours to myself away from the computer. I could get used to it.

this is going to cost me

We attempted another geocache today. Unfortunately it seems to Navman won't let you enter coordinates as a destination, so it looks like if we want to do this as a regular thing we're going to have to buy a handheld GPS that will do all the right things.

We attempted to find today's cache by locating it on Google maps, and thought we had the right tree, but with no luck. You get some odd looks from passing joggers and cyclists when you and your children are peering up into apparently random trees! BUT (and this is the thing with geocaching) we discovered a lovely little trail and nature reserve I had no idea existed.

A lot of the cache listings have information about the area you're searching in, or take you to an out of the way spot with beautiful views, or are puzzles to solve, so worth checking out on that basis alone.

And this gorgeous fellow was waiting for us on the bridge on the way back: