SERBIA - no not SIBERIA, SERBIA

We had a long but not at all boring trip from Zagreb, up with the sparrows, tram number 6 (our favourite because it seemed to go everywhere we wanted & passed by our hotel) to the bus station. Strange thing here, you pay for your luggage separately from the bus ticket, it cost us two euro each bag for the driver to put a label on it then lift it into the baggage compartment....oh well guess it is his pocket money!



Central Square in Belgrade

Changing countries was no problem, the border control officer collected our passports, went back to his little compartment/office, checked that we were not on the most wanted list then returned them, that was the Croatian side. The same was repeated about 50 feet later at the Serbian Border, only this time they actually stamped them to say we had entered the country. 

Park near the fortress with tables & chairs for playing chess etc

Our hotelier, Ivan, had offered to pick us up at the bus station for a small fee which we accepted as we had been warned of 'very dodgy' taxi drivers here. Lovely little hotel, opened just a couple of months too, it has only three bedrooms with bathrooms & is owned by a delightful young couple, he is an ex-basketballer (so he makes Grant look like a midget) & she is a tiny but gorgeous blonde Macdonian with limited english skills although he speaks excellent english. He is a bit of a go-getter type, keen to make a success of his new business, he took us for a short 20 minute guided walk round the neighbourhood after we arrived pointing out ATMs, mini-marts that are open 24/7 & where to get 1) the best chinese, 2) the best pizza 3) the best sandwiches & bagettes 4) the best croissants 5) the best gyros & 6) the best choices of the local 'fire water' which makes vodka look tame.

Just a small section of the massive fortress overlooking the Danube & Sava Rivers

On our first day, with the temperature expected to peak at a whopping 9 degrees, we went to a fruit & veg market, there were a few things on sale here that I have never seen before & don't know if I would eat. It actually maxed out at only 7 degrees but we pushed on courageously to the historic fortress. Now this was a massive site & we picked up a map to show us what was what. As with all of this type of structure the walls have been built & rebuilt after every battle but there was enough left in sections to get a feel for the different stages of development from Celtic times through the Romans, then the Turks & last but not least the Austro-Hungarians, most of the final construction was done in the 1700s.

A bit of the exterior wall & the view, gorgeous!

On the way home for a rest we picked up a gyros (pork, salad, tzatziki, pita bread & a few chips on top) each, our timing was perfect because it started to rain just as we got to the front door. Nothing was so welcome as that hot coffee & absolutely delicious (best one we have ever had & we have eaten plenty let me tell you) gyros. Grant wanted another one for dinner! 

The 'will I ever be finished' orthodox church

Out for another walk in the afternoon this time to the large Orthodox Church which they have been building for 115 years, but still going. It is massive & fully lined in green marble, no wonder it is costing a fortune. It was getting dark by the time we started walking home but it was lovely to see the enormous government building & fountains all lit up & looking picture perfect. Unexpectedly Belgrade is a bustling city with large numbers of people out in the evenings, young people, families with children & prams, older people enjoying coffee, it has a really nice feel.

Next day we went for a drive/tour with the owner of the hostel. He took us to a couple of museums which are outside the city, an historic township & the 'beach'. The enormous 200 year old Plane tree outside the old royal family residence was amazing & the museum was full of fantastic uniforms & weapons. The beach was a man-made pebble area opposite what was a similar but smaller natural area on an island in the river. This is a very popular spot in the summer heat with the young 'party-people' in the new area & families & the older generation enjoying the more natural areas on the island.

Tito's statue

The visit to Tito's memorial & museum was unexpectedly moving. Most people we have met think very highly of Tito & what he was able to achieve for the entire Balkans. His death in 1980 left a void that no-one was able to fill eventually resulting in the demise of Yugoslavia & the civil wars that followed. There were two main displays, the first was of the gifts Tito had received from visiting dignitaries. What a collection that was! Some amazing, valuable works of art created by craftsmen, carved gourds from Africa, metal gongs from SE Asia etc. The second museum contained traditional costumes, weapons & household items from across the entire Yugoslavia area. I thoroughly enjoyed this museum, the workmanship in the items was amazing, I have rarely seem embroidery skills like it, I could have stayed for hours, shame Grant wasn't as enthralled.

Just an example of the marvellous national
dress on display

One spot had to be put off until the next day hoping that the weather might improve, a trip to the Memorial to the Unknown Soldier & the Avala Telecommunications Tower. Fortunately the next day was a little better, there was some fog when we went to the Memorial, but after a cup of coffee it had improved enough to give the tower a try. Bit misty in the distance but the view from the top was wonderful, mind you I had to stay close to the wall as the height was a bit much for me however Grant took the photos for me. One side of the tower was cold but not windy but when you walked round to the other side it was freezing & blowing a gale. Well worth the effort though, it was a lovely view of the entire Belgrade area, with a population of 2 million it is quite large & spreads along the banks of the rivers Danube & Sava but there is plenty of farmland & forest areas close to the city making it quite attractive.

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, massive as
you can see, that is Grant standing up there!



The Avala Tower, & yes I did go to the top!

A lunch time bus to Nis (pronounced Neesh) followed by a 300m walk to our hostel then an orientation stroll round town. Nis is a good sized city with a nice city centre but the rest has seen better days, as with all other countries we have been to in the Balkans, graffiti everywhere, virtually every clean surface/window/fence/footpath. We only had a two night & one full day stop-over here so it was full steam ahead the next morning.

Memorial of three fists - man, woman & child. 
Scene of a mass execution during WW2

First stop was the central railway station to buy our tickets for the following day's trip to Sofia in Bulgaria then off to the Bubanj Memorial Site, three large concrete 'fists' mark the site of the execution of between 10 & 15 thousand people during the Nazi occupation of Yugoslavia. This was a very moving site, not fancy but a quiet parkland area on top of a hill.

We had quite a long walk to our next destination fortunately it was either downhill (as we had done the uphill part to get to Bubanj) or skirting round slopes as we worked our way through the backstreets to Cele Kula, The Skull Tower. This was built by the Turks who used the heads of Serbian soldiers after the Battle of Cegar in 1809. It originally held 952 human skulls but today only 58 remain. This was a bit morbid but I must say fascinating at the same time.

Just one of the skulls that still remain
embedded in the tower

A cup of coffee called us so we headed to the newest church in Nis & found ourselves a lovely little outdoor cafe overlooking the park & church. Boy did we need that sit down! While we sat we noticed a very busy corner across the road which turned out to be a market with fruit & veg round the outside & mostly clothing inside. Grant had been browsing for a zipfront hoodie so we were lucky enough to find exactly the type of thing he wanted for just 1200 Serbian Dinar (that is a whopping $A12) so we were happy with that. The rest of the walk was basically leading us back home via Tinker's Lane (a small craftsmen's area still in original condition), the city pedestrian mall, the Fortress gate to take the photo I had forgotten the day before, finally the green market then back to the hostel to collapse in a heap!! Phewwwww

Got to love this street food, & only about a dollar a slice

A leisurely start to the day as our train didn't leave until 12.35pm or so we thought! Grant had tried to visit the Concentration Camp Site the afternoon before but had been too late so he decided to pop over there first thing (it was literally 100 metres from our hostel) to have a look round. It was interesting but none of the information boards had any english translations so it was really only a look as he was not able to gather any information about the place at all.

About 10.30 we headed off on the kilometre walk to the railway station, no rush, plenty of time. We enjoyed an iced coffee or as they call them here a Nes (short for Nescafe) then wandered to the platform in plenty of time for the train. Well, things in Serbia run on their own timetable & after a two hour wait we finally got on the non-smoking carriage of the train. It didn't take long before we realised that following the rules is not a Serbian thing & the carriage quickly filled with choking smoke as the other dozen people in the small carriage all chain smoked. After an hour of this Grant went to see if he could find us a spot out of the smoke, the first class carriage was our only option & I have never been so relieved as when I found I still had 20 Euro in the bottom of my bag to pay the extra on the train ticket, we had used up virtually all our Serbian Dinar. We then enjoyed the rest of our trip in relative comfort although the man did tell us it was OK to smoke if we wanted, despite the clear no smoking sign on the door, thank goodness we had the six seats in the little compartment to ourselves.

We finally arrived in Sofia, Bulgaria after lengthy stops at each of the stations & at the two border crossing, only three hours late, in the cold & the dark, in a city we have never been to before, where all the signs are in cyrillic......all was not lost, hope glimmered in the light of the Couch Surfing Hosts we were going to stay with......

CROATIA with a detour into BOSNIA & HERZAGOVINA

That was a bumpy ride! Strong winds from the north blew all day, building up as the day progressed but they were strong enough at 9am to make it a really rough landing at the airport. It was fine & quite nice if you were out of the wind.

Bit hard to see but that is Dubrovnik in the distance

After we arrived at our accommodation in Cavtat (pronounced Tsahv-tat) & settled in a bit we went for a walk into the township, mainly to get a few groceries to keep us going but it was such a gorgeous spot we decided to walk firstly round the town promenade (stopping for a coffee & toasted bagette for lunch) round the peninsular past a Fransician Church & Monastery, this pathway went all the way round & back to the centre of town where we found the Tourist Information office & picked up some bus timetables etc that we will find most useful I am sure.

The promenade/harbour edge at Cavtat, lined with cafes & souvenier shops

We managed to get a few groceries just before the shop shut at 2pm, after all it was Sunday! We still had a bit of energy left & thought we should keep going as we may not have another opportunity to get down into the township. So off we headed to the second peninsular, this was a bit more rugged, gravel & limestone rock pathway but it was an achievable walk. We passed numerous tunnels/passageways which we thought must have been 'pillboxes' or gun battlements used during WW11 & walked round the cliff edge over the limestone rocks & Adriatic Sea which with the wind was a bit wild & woolly. The views were lovely, clear blue water with plenty of white-caps & rugged islands just offshore.



Looks like it must get windy here at times!

Bus to Dubrovnik! It's great that it leaves from just across the road!

Narrow laneways & steep staircases inside
Dubrovnik Fort

We had a lovely scenic 15 km trip along the coastal strip north to the city of Dubrovnik. Unfortunately we missed the best stop & had to hoof it back up hill to the entrance gate. Not to worry we survived. After a coffee heart-starter we went into the old city itself.



The main plaza

We had a fantastic walk through the narrow alleyways, down the main plaza, to the wharf area (which is behind that amazing curved wall you can see on just about every photo of the old city), even making it to the fortress which is on an adjoining headland. We had lunch of breadrolls & tomato with our feet dangling off a stone wall at a small rocky beach then walked round the 'narrow walkway' at the bottom of a stone wall just a foot or two above the ocean, to the next bay where we were able to go up the never-ending staircase to the fortress.

Our lunchtime view, one corner tower of the city walls & the hilltop fortress

The stores in the old city were just wonderful, lots of art galleries, jewellery & of course the regular souveniers but there was also a fruit & veg market in one of the plazas. 

View over the city & its massive exterior wall taken from the separate fortress,
that is the little beach where we had lunch



The outdoor market selling locally grown & made products inside the city walls



Public drinking fountain inside the city walls



Entrance bridge & Pile Gateway

We caught a ferry home, they travel every thirty minutes in the summer season & it took just under an hour but then we had the long walk back up the hill to our apartment. We have wonderful views & an uphill struggle is the price you pay, I guess.



The city harbour where we caught our boat home to Cavtat

Our next day was devoted to a bit of exercise! Don't faint! There was a footpath along the coast to Cilipi supposedly taking two & a half hours each way, it turned out to be quite an effort & yes it took two & a half hours. When we got there, exhausted, well I was anyway, we had missed the only bus back for the day so we had to walk back too. It didn't bother Grant but it just about killed me, mainly because of the heat but it was a long uphill & down dale journey. I bearly made it home & that staircase to our apartment was the last straw! The bed was a welcome sight I can tell you! Nice walk though, well signposted, we passed & chatted with loads of people most of whom spoke english.

A view from an early section of the walk looking back over offshore
islands, the township of Cavtat & in the far distance, Dubrovnik

Now for a bit more adventure...this time into the 'wilds' of Bosnia & Herzegovina. Not that adventurous really, the tour van picked us up at 7am for our small group tour. Except that 'we' were the small group, this late in the season we were the only participants so it was great to have the tour guide, Ivo, to ourselves.

First stop was the border crossing into Bosnia, no problem, Ivo sweet-talked the lady guard - I am sure he didn't but he was a flirt. Then on to Politelj where we were able to climb to the top of the Ottoman ruins dating back to the 1400's. Grant went all the way to the top of the stone tower but I couldn't face the claustrophobic spiral staircase so I waited on the top of the hill but at the base of the tower.



See that tower on the top of the hill?



Well, this is the view!!

Second stop for the trip was at Blagaj, wonderful spot, a river flowed out of a limestone cave in the cliff. Crystal clear, icy cold water flows all year round, although a little more during the spring thaw & that is the time to see the waterfalls/rapids at their best. It would be a hive of activity in the hot centre of this country during the summer months I am sure.  

A very pretty spot with a church built into the limestone wall

Then we moved on to the highlight of the day, the city of Mostar (which means bridgekeeper). This was a particularly moving experience - to see the bridge & its surrounding supports & buildings which have been rebuilt since the Bosnian War of the early 1990s & then to walk down some of the backstreets which still bear the scars of war. Bombed out & bullet riddled buildings will never be rebuilt but are just sitting as a permanent reminder of the battles.



The famous Stari Most bridge taken from down near water level



The turkish style markets surrounding the bridge - wonderful

The Stari Most Bridge is wonderful, the well-worn limestone deck is like glass so it is a very slow & steady walk over the top. Unfortunately we weren't lucky enough to see a young man dive from the bridge, which has of late become a big money spinner for the town. The western side of the bridge is occupied predominately by catholic Croats while the eastern side population are of Turkish decent & muslim. The two religions have lived in harmony for centuries & seem to be doing so again. The markets were wonderful, it was just like being in Istanbul....well at least what I think Istanbul would be like. Lots of brightly coloured beads, rugs, shawls, scarves, cushions, belly-dancing clothes & strangley, decorative items made from reused military shells.



Last stop before our trip home was the town of Medugorje which is a place of religious pilgrammage. Some of you may recall six children seeing a vision of the Virgin Mary here in 1981, well now it is a 'big business' with up to 100,000 visitors a day on the anniversary of the vision. It was 30 years ago this year & there are now amphitheatres & large LED screens for the broadcasting of the services etc. Considering we could hardly get across the road on an ordinary mid-week day, out of season, I shudder to think what is could be like on a busy day!!

All in all we went through four border gates but not one of them gave us a stamp in our passport so we only have photos to prove we were ever there! Ivo was a wonderful guide, giving us lots of historic information as well as topical stuff too.

A quiet day round the apartment before we head off to Split tomorrow. Bus first to Dubrovnik at 7am then another local bus to get us to the bus station, that would be route 1B, then four and a half hours to Split.

That was an amazing trip, through the mountains sometimes on winding mountain roads that the bus could barely negotiate & other times on the completed sections of the new motorway. The scenery was wonderful as we travelled along the coast, with views of the more than one thousand islands along the Croatian coastline, for a good part of the trip & then through the barren, grey limestone peaks of the mountains. 

Very pretty spot that is full of tourists enjoying the sunshine

An original section of the roman palace

Split is a great spot, we got here in the early afternoon, found our hostel then went for a stroll to get our bearings. The harbour is full of cruise ships & the Riva (harbourside promenade which is wide with palm trees, plenty of seating & the obiligatory gelati shops (yummy, tried the tuttifrutti but it was a bit sweet & bubblegummy so will go back to vanilla or coconut next time). The major tourist attraction would have to be the palace built by Dioclenian, the Roman Emporer, in the 2nd Century. Needless to say there isn't a lot of it left above ground other than the bulk of the exterior protective walls but below ground level the vaulted ceilings etc are amazing. You walk through one section, which used to lead to the ocean & was a boat access, which is now used for artisans' shops & we spent most of your time gawking at the roof. The palace was built on the ocean originally but then the area was reclaimed for the promenade & harbour.



Church bell tower & original columns of
the main square inside the palace

The next day we walked to the Archeological Museum which is a little out of the city centre but it was quite achievable in the cool of the morning. They had a huge collection of funerial headstones, tombs, etc all arranged along four covered walkways. Then we went into the actual museum, to see the wonderful collection of Roman glassware (supposedly one of the best in the world), coins, military hardware & assorted metal & ceramic items. 

A roman mosaic, individual tiles about 5mm square



An example showcase with amazing surviving glassware & pottery items

Then time to tackle the Marjan Hill & Parkland.....we walked from the Museum uphill 'til we got to the cafe, stopped for a rest & a cool drink as it was quite a hot day. Rested we headed off making sure we took a few good panorama photos of Split before we left the viewpoint. We certainly had not realised that we had many kilometres to go, skirting round & up the hill as we went. Then it was downhill, passed the people rockclimbing, dodging the mountainbikers & cyclists even a couple of people rollerblading on the road, until we got to the bottom & sea level again. Turning towards town we walked back firstly along the road then down to the actual water's edge and along the walkway & through the swimming areas. It turned out to be about a 20 kilometre trip with about the first 5-6 kilometres being uphill & it was a pretty warm day too so we were very relieved to get home for a cool drink followed by a lovely cuppa. 

Split & its harbour from Marjan Hillside cafe,
first stop on our walk round the headland



Grant watching the female rock-climbers



When you don't have any sand, just fill between the rocks with concrete &
call it a bathing area...works in Croatia!

We have met plenty of Australians on our trip but never have we been at a hostel that only had Aussies & Kiwis staying there. It is a bit strange really only to hear english spoken but it was a nice chance to exchange notes on our trips & places to go. All the others were in Split either getting off or getting on ferries to the islands.

We followed a map for a walking tour round the Palace the next day, it was great to find lots of little nooks & crannies with interesting history & to get some great shots of the original structures.

We had decided to move on to the capital city, Zagreb, next & thought the train might be a good alternative (a bit of leg room is always nice on a long trip). Great trip, plenty of wonderful scenery as we moved through the mountainous areas & eventually onto the flat plains of the inland areas. We saw for the first time in Croatia - cattle, sheep & goats grazing, broadacre farming, fruit trees etc as this is the food production heartland of the country. The coastal strip is too rugged for anything but olives, figs, pomegranets & home veggie patches with the primary industry being Tourism.



The very first building you see as you leave Zagreb Railway Station
gives you an idea of what's to come

Zagreb is a beautiful old city with magnificent buildings, a fabulous cathedral, parklands & many, many huge statues. The public transport system of trams & buses is great & very efficient, it is impossible to wait more than a few minutes for a tram to arrive. The only criticism might be the amount of grafitti, some of it is more like modern art but there are tags everywhere which do spoil the beauty a bit, we have found this to be the case in all of Croatia.



Fountains, tree-lined walkways & gaslamps which are hand lit every evening

We walked the lower city following a suggested walking tour that covers all the basic 'big buildings' & went to the Dolac markets (open air fruit & vegetables).



The ever reliable blue trams at one of two main stations, this one in
Bana Jelacic Square, the other is at the railway station



Dolac markets

We visited the magnificent Kaptol Cathedral which is under renovation but fortunately only one tower at a time so we were able to see one finished project, bussed it out to Mirogij Cemetary which must be the busiest place in the city & took a couple of tram trips to the end of the line to have a look round the suburbs. The day-pass for the trams & busses only cost 25 Kuna each which is $A5 so good value for a full day & night right through until 4 am the next morning.

Just the entrance to the magnificent Kaptol
Cathedral

One section of the Arcades for which Mirogij Cemetary is famous

One half of the Arcades showing the beautiful cupolas

The weather wasn't kind on our last day, pretty damp & cold but we did get out & about for a bit of fresh air & some exercise.  We had planned to go to see a medieval fortress up in the mountains but that had to be cancelled, shame I was looking forward to that 45 minute uphill hike!!

We have an early start tomorrow with our bus leaving Zagreb for Belgrade at 8:10 am ....

UK - our farewell tour

We had a 'window of opportunity' to see a bit of the Cotswold region as we travelled from Wales to London so with just a day and a half available we drove to Stratford Upon Avon. On our way we passed through the village of Hillesley so naturally, had to stop & have a look around, the spelling was close enough for me to think possibly that I had some ancestors who had lived in this village at one time. Unfortunately that was not to be, it was Sunday morning & there was a church service just finishing up as we walked into the graveyard to have a look at some headstones. I spoke with several of the parishoners & the minister but none of them had ever heard of anyone using the village name as their surname, oh well it was worth a try!



View Grant enjoyed during his birthday lunch

It was Grant's 60th birthday so we stopped at a lovely pub high on a hill with magnificent views over Cheltenham to enjoy the Sunday Roast, always been a favourite of Grant's so that was appropriate. Three courses & a couple of ciders later we headed to Stratford Upon Avon arriving in the late afternoon. It was a glorious, balmy evening so we strolled into town (no dinner tonight still too full from lunch) just to get our bearings a little. Luckily Grant has a good sense of direction as I seemed to always be turning the wrong way in this town, is it because there are so many similar buildings?



A lovely example of the buildings in Stratfore Upon Avon

We hadn't expected it but there is a hop on-hop off tour here, the massive number of tourists (500,000 pa) plus the fact that two of the major tourist sites are some distance out of town makes the bus viable during the summer months. We did the full circuit then stayed on the bus to go back to the first out of town venue, Anne Hathaway's cottage, so called because this was her childhood home, she never lived here once she married William Shakespeare. This is a magnificent thatched farmhouse with gardens, arbours, an orchard, a maze & plenty of grasslands for picnicking etc. The structure itself was in excellent condition and although it had been extended by subsequent generations of her family it still had the feel of a family home. There wasn't a square or flat surface in the whole place, every piece of wood was rough hewn or curved & the walls were irregular but it was charming nonetheless.

Anne Hathaway's family home

Back on the bus for the trip to Mary Arden's Farm, this was in a neighbouring village & had been the childhood home of William Shakespeare's mother & the place where his parents had first met. The buildings were again thatched & misshapen, the rooms had low ceilings, the doorways were diabolical but it was wonderful. All the farm out-buildings, including a dovecote, were as they had been 500 years ago, with actors in costume giving talks & demonstrations of farming life to school groups. Pigs, horses, chickens, geese, sheep, goats, cider press driven by a horse, all you would expect to find on a farm in the 1500's.



Farmhouse with its precarious walls, that is the dovecot at the end

While travelling the miles round the countryside the commentary included a bit of filler type information such as:

Doctors in William Shakespeare's day, used to dangle a small frog down your sore throat, the frog secreted a saliva which the patient swallowed (yuk), this is where the saying "having frog in your throat" came from.

Beds in this era were supported by ropes strung across the base. The bed was much more comfortable if these ropes were pulled taut, thus the saying "sleep tight".

The four poster bed was invented because the thatched roofs were unlined and as you slept dead animals (mice & birds), their excrement, dust & general rubbish would fall from the roof, so putting a piece of cloth over the top of the bed on four posts was a logical solution to the problem.

The tradition of the 'June Bride' came about because the first weekend in June was the date, in Elizabethan times, for the 'once a year' bath so at least the bride was clean for the day of her wedding (I guess the same applied to the groom).

Once back in town we went to William Shakespeare's birthplace & family home. This cottage was not thatched, that hasn't been allowed in town since the 1600's to help prevent the spread of fires. It was not white like so many of the others, painting them white with black timbers is a comparatively new decorative addition, mud & wood, that's the correct colour! You are not permitted to take photographs inside any of these Trust properties so sorry you only get to see the outside!

A bite of lunch then a short walk to the Nash House & New Home complex. 'New Home' was the home he & Anne lived in when they moved back to Stratford Upon Avon with the children (3) after becoming rich & famous in London. Unfortunately it was demolished back in the 1700's when the then owner refused to pay taxes on it. They are now doing an archeological dig to find the foundations & any artifacts that may be buried there. The gardens are quite large especially for the times & they are kept beautifully. Nash House is the adjoining property which was there at the time New Home was the family home & it is being used as a museum. There is a very good film introduction that leads you through a bit of history, taking you from room to room with artifacts etc behind glass that light up as the film discusses them until eventually you are lead into the garden area. Outside they had costumed staff giving short recitals of Shakespearean pieces etc.

Nash House & the archeological dig to find the foundations of
Shakespeare's home

Then as we walked back towards our B & B we detoured to Dr Hall's residence. This was the home of Shakespeare's daughter Elizabeth who married Dr Hall. There were many original pieces of furniture in this home.

As we walked & rode through town we saw heaps of fantastic buildings, like the Almshouses which were built by the church to house the deserving poor or elderly. They are still used for that purpose, but I do wonder how they are still standing with those wobbly walls! These were right next door to the school that Shakespeare attended which has of course been extended but the historic section still stands on the street-side.



Another example of the buildings

The next morning we headed off to drive through a section for the Cotswolds, visiting three places that had been recommended:

Morton-in-Marsh, it was market day & the place was 'hoppin'. We had a delicious cream tea at tearooms here.

Some of the beautiful golden limestone buildings in Morton

Stow-on-the-Wold, so busy here we couldn't even get a parking place so the photos are taken from the moving car!



Luckily we were able to drive slowly to get a few snapshots

Bourton-on-the-Water, now this was a picture postcard sort of place with a small stream running through town, bridges galore, quaint pubs, loads of spring flowers, lovely park beside the stream, all the trimmings of a tourist destination including busloads of people!



Just a little snippet of the beautiful homes/pubs etc



Grant crossing one of the numerous bridges over the shallow stream

We returned our hire car to Gatwick Airport then caught the train into London for our short visit, only three nights but long enough to see the main sights. Well, arriving at peak hour wasn't a good idea, talk about sardines on the underground. It was a great relief to get into the open air & after a bit of a search to find our hotel at the new Westfield Plaza which is part of the Olympic Athletes Village area & we had a 'lovely' view of the construction zone from our tenth floor window!



St Paul's Cathedral



Crossing the Tower Bridge on our double decker bus

Off into the city today, the underground was much less busy & we found it quite easy to use, thankfully I had printed up a copy of the underground system before I left home (it was worth carrying that sheet of A4 for five months just to have it available when we needed it). A bus trip round the city was fabulous, the live commentary was really funny & interesting. Although it was a cold day we still sat on the top deck to make the most of the view (what a shame we didn't bring our coats) but a hot chocolate helped us warm up. We walked quite a bit & decided what we wanted to come back to see tomorrow.



Entrance to Westminster Abbey

Proof that I actually rode on the London Eye!

Next day we started with the London Eye, what views, magnificent & we got plenty of classic shots of London. Walking over London Bridge we went to Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey, then we continued through the city streets to Buckingham Palace & St James Park. We took the underground to near the Tower Bridge, walked through the streets & along part of the Thames Path, over the Tower Bridge, along the quay in front of the castle then short cut through the streets to the Monument where Grant still had enough leg power left to climb the 311 steps to the top for some panoramic views.



Not all of London is old !



One corner of the Tower of London, the grassed area was the moat but
is now a bowling green used by the Yeomen who protect the Tower

Can you spot me? I am that white dot wearing a black coat
Grant took this shot from the top of the Monument

A quiet day followed, moving ourselves from one hotel to another, this one was at the airport as we had a 6.15am flight to Croatia the next morning!