Auckland

Immigration so quick that it's a long wait for bags

LA

here we are in the transit lounge waiting to talk to their immigration officers and, eventually, get back on the plane. We were lucky and got an upgrade to premier economy for the first leg. We don't know if we are back in cattle for the next bit across the Pacific...

On the heathrow express

Homeward bound

Water meadows, Salisbury

Lovely, relaxing day... Found time for a quiet half before lunch as well as a great cafe that knows the flat white (a rare gift over here).

Got a manicure while G had a restorative 40 winks - another roller derby convert achieved as my manicurist, who is also a territorial, decided to try and start a league here.

Last supper at Co^te later this evening.

A few cycle tour pics

 

Dave and Lyn - our guides - sent us a few pictures. They give you a bit of an idea of our tour. In one of them Stonehenge is in the distance (believe me - it is!) and the one with the house behind us (Lake House) belongs to Sting (the one in the background - not the ugly brown one in front!)

 

 

cycling to Stonehenge and Old Sarum

Today we joined Heritage Cycle tours for a 22 mile loop from Salisbury to check out the sights. It was a gorgeous day - perfect weather - and the cycling (mainly on quiet roads or byways and off road) was great.

The couple who run the company - Lyn and Dave - were great hosts - and the other couple on the tour (Michael and Karen, from Townsville) were good fun too.

It was very cool to see Stonehenge in the distance as we crested a small rise on our bikes, rather than pulling into the carpark as most people have to. Same with Old Sarum, particularly the cathedral remains, and its views of the surrounding countryside.

Of course, there was a pub lunch along the way in the riverside garden of the Bridge Inn. The Avon is looking good and that, combined with the pint, the roast beef sandwich and chips, made getting back on the bike a wee bit of a challenge.

We had such a good time today that we are going to do the Winchester tour tomorrow. Dave and Lyn are picking us up from the hotel, driving us to Winchester, then off we go again. Should be great. Will post pictures later - we are having a few wifi issues.

Salisbury

What a place to finish a holiday. The train ride was good, it's lovely summery weather; we had our first hackney cab ride (ka pai that was); our hotel is exactly as promised and worth the spend.

Visited the cathedral this afternoon. Inspected the best extant copy of the magna carta and chatted with a couple of the very enthusiastic volunteers. Wandered around town, sampled some more fine local ale. Will post photos later.

Here's a couple in the meantime... the top one shows our hotel room (well, a small portion of it, anyway) and the second is the courtyard of the Red Lion where we had lunch. Our hotel, the Lazy Cow, is a relative newcomer dating from the 14th century, whereas the Red Lion has is 13th century. So there.

Every floor and every step here is crooked - place an item on a table and watch it slide gracefully across.

The other photos are elsewhere at present and will be dealt with later...