Farewell to London

Well folks, here we are at the end of Brett and Barb's Excellent Adventure! Just the one quick stop to go as we are now sitting in the Koru Club lounge at Heathrow. Of course we managed to pack another couple of day's worth of activity in today before we left, starting the day early at the Tower of London. Opening time is definitely the time to go, there were only about a dozen of us roaming around initially so we were able to get a really good look at things (such as the crown jewels) without having to queue at all. Tip for travellers - the Welcome Centre opposite the main gate sells tickets, so even if you don't make it before it opens like we did, try there first before standing in the ticket queues.

After the tower we took a trip down the Thames and then a walking tour around Greenwich. I have found the place I would love to live if we lived in London. Literally just across the river, but like a whole different world! Henry VIII had his palace there and it was where Sir Walter Ralegh took off his cloak to save Queen Elizabeth from muddying her feet. Way cool history and beautiful public buildings and parks.

Being in Greenwich also allowed us - on the very day that we will be crossing the dateline again - to stand on the Meridian Line. Me to the west and Brett to the east, it seemed a very appropriate thing to do today. Of course it is at the same place that Greenwich Mean Time is defined, so we were able to set Bretts watch to exactly 1:00pm GMT as we watched the time ball drop. Unfortunately, we will have to reset it when we land tomorrow, but at least for today we know it is in perfect time.

Of course, more sad goodbyes today. It has been terrific spending time with Simon and Narissa and Simon has been a fantastic tour guide. Wait til you see what he had prepared for us Wassa, our spreadsheets don't even come close!

The good news is that our bags were accepted with no excess baggage charge - partly due to the fact that we were relying on them not weighing my (fashionably enormous) handbag, which now feels like it contains the foundation stones of a small building! Might even mean that we will have some space for some shopping in Hong Kong after all :-)

See you all soon, even those we are sadly leaving behind - we'll be back!!