We're here!

Here we are in the UK!

The flight was quite good - well as good as it can be with the girls.  Cassie was perfect, Sophia was difficult but not as bad as Cassie at the same age.  Sophia screamed a fair bit and finally went to sleep just as we came in to land in Singapore! We had an hour or so there in transfer and then took off again to London. Sophia took about an hour to go to sleep and then was pretty restless.  Fortunately we had two spare seats between us so we all got some rest.   We put Cassie with Yia Yia and Bapou a few rows away from us, so they could enjoy a cry-free flight.

Desi and Tim were waiting for us when we arrived at Heathrow. We collected our hire car and were away - about an hour and a half drive into the countryside.  The village in Gloucestershire is beautiful - full of oldy worldy charm, a pub, an historic church built in the 1600s and a handful of houses built in the 1600s and 1700s. Moss covered slate roofs, charming English gardens full of blooming tulips and creeping wisteria vines - just like a scene from Midsummer Murders as Manny had hoped for - and exactly the kind of place Rhys could write his novel :). 

Desi and Tim's house is lovely - lots of warmth, antique furniture, central heating (thankfully!), a beautiful garden with secret sun filled spots to read, a vegie patch and two big friendly dogs, Ruby and Amber. Sophia has learned to say 'go way oggy' and wave her hand in the air.  Cassie is getting better around them, although she woke the entire house recently when she was sitting on the toilet and Ruby decided to check out what was happening in the bathroom!

It's cold - and we're all very thankful for the hand knitted beanies from Yia Yia which we have been putting to good use.

Manny and I went for a drive the day after we arrived to the nearest town for some supplies and treated ourselves to afternoon tea of coffea, pot of tea and scones and cakes (so much for the diet...) at a lovely pub.  Had a good rest although Cassie fell out of bed (she's fine!) but it meant Sophia was awake from 4am.  I'm sure we'll get into a routine soon. 

Manny, Cassie and I took a drive to Blenheim Palace some 30 minutes away.  It's on a similar scale of grandeur to Buckingham Palace. We took a walk through the grounds (miles and miles of manicured grasslands, decorative hedging, forests, secret gardens and more), and wandered the grand halls taking in the majestic nature of the gold lined architecture, life sized oil paintings of the ancestors and lavish displays of wealth. It was particularly interesting for me as the owners of the palace, the Duke and Duchess of Malborough used to visit the villa in Greece when we worked there, so I kind of felt like I was getting to know old friends! Seeing their life-sized oil paintings and family snaps was a little surreal I have to say.

The royal wedding is not surprisingly BIG news here - and a public holiday in the UK. Most pubs and people it seems are taking part in special events for it.  I nearly bought a Wills and Kate mug and just might do before we leave.

Will post again soon
Sue
xx