London, York and Cambridge. England

After the debacle that was meant to be our blogsite, I've created this one in an attempt to have some kind of diary of our trip even though we are getting towards the end. Hopefully it won't take a dump like the previous one!

I'll start from the start (it's usually a good place) so some of it might seem familiar to those of you that have been getting our email updates. I've taken over 800 photos already, so it was pretty tough picking out a few from our trip so far. When I say 'a few' I mean around 150 pics (so far!)

So make sure you've got some spare time, or you're at work, and check out some of our escapades over the last couple of months. It's been a blast, we're still married and Luka is still as happy and cheerful as ever.

Changi Airport in Singapore and the boy seems to have already developed a 'thirst' for travel.

A big tip if you're travelling with a child is to ask for the bassinette seats. It depends on the type whether it will be available, but it sure makes life a lot easier, especially if your six-month-old is already over 10 kilos! As you can see, Luka thought it was pretty cool too!

Checking out the view.

After landing in London at 6am, we were greeted by my old Uni mate, Martin Wall. Somehow we managed to fit all of our luggage into his car and we headed to his place. After settling in (and digging out some warm clothes so that we could survive the London 'summer') we headed straight out to explore. Here we are just over the Thames from Marty's place in Greenwich.

Of course, Greenwich is where the Prime Meridian is, so I just had to park Luka with four wheels on each side (yes, it is an eight-wheeler stroller).

We followed the signs to London Bridge (which sucked) so we walked a little further down to Tower Bridge (very cool). You'd think after all those kids had sung the song, the less than impressive London Bridge would have fallen down by now!

We got in the queue for Westminster Abbey, but when we saw the 10 pound entry fee, we figured a photo would have to do.

Our second day in London and we headed out to Buckingham Palace to see the Queen. Nope, she wasn't home. Maybe next time.

This Von Dutch bloke is like Jesus and germs... EVERYWHERE!

Our obliging hosts while we were in London, Martin and his lovely girlfriend Magda.

Our last night in London and I wanted to see the Ace Cafe. After getting a little lost, even with the help of a Sat Nav system, Martin and I finally found the place. I had arranged to meet some English hot rodders, but because we were so late all I saw was a car park full of scooters...

...and Minis. It was still pretty cool though.

The place closed down years ago, but back in the 90s a group of enthusiasts purchased the original building and got it running again. It's a great place and well worth a visit (if you can find the place!)

We been in London for three whole days, so it was time to move one. After a ridiculous wait for a hire car, I then had to negotiate the horrendous London streets, but thanks to Martin's Sat Nav, I managed to get back to his place. We then loaded up and headed North. First stop was Cambridge. Nice enough place.

The river that runs through Cambridge.

From Cambridge we headed to York. Here's Luka trying out the bed for quality and comfort.

The York Minster was our first taste of a grand cathedral. It was a pretty amazing place and I was surprised how much I enjoyed it.



Over the course of the holiday, we've seen more cathedrals and basilicas than you could poke a stick at, but they never fail to impress. The statues lined up at the York Minster are the Kings of England.

Just a detail shot of the outside. It's amazing how they could build such amazing structures all those hundreds of yeards ago. Well before the 'Bobcat' was invented.

After taking a bit of a detour on the way to Scotland, we stumbled across Hadrian's Wall. Did they really think that was going to keep the Scots out! It's actually pretty cool, almost 2000 years old, it was the most heavily guarded frontier of the Roman Empire.