Europe 2011

London, UK

On the Thursday, Beck and I caught the train into London where I met Paul Knight at St Paul's Cathedral. On Saturday, we go to Kensington to check out the museums, both Natural History and the Science Museum - not such an impressive building but it does go a long way back and is where models of ships used in ship building in the UK go to be 'stored'.

Paul, Andy Capp cap and the entrance to the Natural History Museum.

On Sunday, Paul and I walk over to a friend of his, Sam, where we hop on bikes, ride along the Thames and across Richmond Park. There is a Police 'blitz' there, and we have the bikes 'registered'. It will be the first of 5 bikes I ride, and 30km of 300 before I come home. After lunch and back at Paul's place, Paul spends 45 minutes on the phone and on the internet trying to get tickets to a 'show' - say, 39 Steps. We are told to just go to the West End, we do only to find that it is not showing Sunday night. Late in the evening, the London Eye, the Thames, the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben.

Monday and Paul has taken the day off work so we go into London to get a password for my credit card - this requirement for overseas credit cards is new and I am extremely lucky I can do this as London is the only place in Europe where Westpac has an office. Then, onto the Kew gardens.

The very new Princess of Wales Glasshouse.

Paul and coffee plant.

Orchards, lots of orchards.

Andrew and cocoa plant.

These tropical lizards run free around the glasshouse and are actually breeding.

Somewhere in one of the big, old Victorian era glasshouses. Huge pieces of wrough iron everywhere, on the second floor, probably 10m above the deck.

Paul and the Tree top walk, it was very well done.

Andrew and the tree top walk with one of the Victorian greenhouses in the background.

A view of the walk, showing the simple but artistic design, beautifully structural.

Some very old tree in Kew, there were a lot like this.

Andrew resting on a bench just in front of the Kew Palace. Later that day, Paul and I got to Sam's wife's parents' place for a bbq, it is Paul's birthday. Happy Birthday, Paul!

And on Tuesday, 10th of May, I catch the train to Gatwick and a 787 (Norwegian.com) to Oslo, Norway.