California Road Trip - Day 5, Living the High Life

Sophie had booked a Bay Cruise for one of my Christmas presents so this morning, we took the bus on Flood Street to Balboa Park BART station and then alighted at Embarcadero. I was impressed with the bus service as Flood Street is very quiet, but literally five minutes after we arrived at the bus stop, one appeared! How easy was that?!

We crossed the road and tram tracks and enjoyed a coffee in Starbucks. It was empty when we arrived but then it filled up with young San Franciscans and tourists. Pier 3 was a few minutes walk away and we had to be there by 11am, so we had plenty of time.

When we arrived there was a large marquee filled with people chatting and laughing. Everyone appeared to be looking forward to the experience, but we really didn't know what to expect. We were on the Hornblower California and there were two dining decks. We gave our name and were directed to table 202. This was the first bonus as I had imagined we'd be sharing with lots of other people. Running down the middle of the deck were buffet stations, piled high with food - salads, breakfast items such as sausages, bacon and fried potato, fish, scrambled eggs and  bread. A further buffet station held dishes of desserts.

Our server for the cruise was Erika and she asked if we wanted a Mimosa - sparkling wine and orange juice. We both thought we would get one glass and that would be it, but our glasses were continually replenished throughout the cruise!

We also had a DJ who was great and kept us entertained with his banter and piano playing. Before we had even set off we were invited to go up and get our food and we didn't hesitate!

The food was delicious and plentiful. Kitchen staff hurried back and forth bringing out more plates when they were used up so there was more than enough for everyone. We set off at about 11.30am and cruised out into the bay, giving us lovely views of the city. The atmosphere was great with people tucking into the food and knocking back the wine!

There was some sort of international yacht race going on in the bay and we saw the British yacht and cheered! Because of this the captain didn't think we could go all the way to the bridge, but we managed it! On the way we saw a whale! Sophie was ecstatic and we saw its tail flip down into the water. We also saw a sea lion surrounded by gulls who was having a great lunch of fish!

The atmosphere on board was great and the DJ called out the names of people celebrating special events. Passengers even had a dance! It was really lovely.

All too soon we were back at Pier 3 and saying goodbye to Erika and the rest of the staff. It had been a lovely experience and I was so glad Sophie had booked it for us.

Alcatraz

We decided to take the tram to Pier 39 and Fisherman's Wharf and then walked in the direction of Ghiradelli Square. It had clouded over a little bit and was cool so walking was enjoyable. The whole area was packed with people looking in the shops and eating at the many restaurants.

We somehow stumbled on the old cable car turn and decided to take it as far as it would go. The gear mechanism at Powell Street is being refurbished so we could take the cable car and then hop onto a free shuttle bus. We paid $7 each for the privilege and joined a queue of people all waiting to take the ride. The cable cars can take about 40 people on each one so we waited about half an hour to get onto one. In the meantime it was fun to see them being turned around ready for their next trip.

The ride was exhilarating! I had warned Sophie about the steep hills but nothing can prepare you for looking down and seeing the road drop away! We stopped near the top of Lombard Street which is supposed to be the "crookedest street in the world" and saw cars venture down it, very slowly and tentatively!

The cable car filled up with even more people and we were a real hotch potch of different nationalities. We carried on climbing up amazingly steep hills and then carefully inching our way down the other side. As we couldn't ride to the end, we disembarked and took a shuttle bus to near Powell Street where we took the BART back to Balboa Park before picking up the bus.

We had about an hour and a half back at the apartment before calling an Uber to take us to the Intercontinental Mark Hopkins Hotel. We made sure we were dressed smartly and we both took time over our hair and make-up.

Our Uber driver whizzed us off to the city and the last stretch up Nob Hill was hair-raising, to say the least. I'd forgotten how steep the hills can be in this area - they were almost vertical!

The entrance to the hotel was very grand but the staff smiled at us and made us feel very welcome. We took the lift up to the 19th floor and were shown to a seat by the window. At first, I was a little disappointed as the faded yellow paint on the walls made it look a bit scruffy. Running along the window was a wide sill that I remember Sophie standing on when she was 2. This looked like it needed some TLC as well!

However, the stupendous views and lovely service made up for that and we both ordered a cocktail each - an Old-Fashioned for Sophie and a British Bell-ringer for me. They were delicious, but no nuts or crisps were provided, which would have been nice! I don't know why we had bothered to dress so well as the other clientele were wearing jeans and trainers, and some of them were really loud. Apparently, there used to be a strict dress code, but no more, which seems a real shame.

It was lovely to sit and chat, sip our drinks and gaze out over the view. Unfortunately it was a bit cloudy but at one point the sun did break through the clouds and it lit up some of the tallest buildings.

We ordered two more cocktails - a Cosmopolitan for Sophie and an American Dutchman for me. Again, they were both delicious. The bill for the four drinks came to a whopping $80 including a tip for the very helpful server! Cheap, it ain't!

By now we were feeling peckish, so we ordered another Uber to take us to China Town. He picked us up and we drove the short distance, up and down more tortuous hills!

He dropped us off on Grant Street, the main thoroughfare, and we found a restaurant called the Oriental Pearl that had a dining room upstairs with tablecloths, something I wasn't expecting! Sophie was pleased and said it reminded her of The Han in Market Harborough!

The restaurant was only a quarter full and we were the last to come in so I think our speedy service was down to the fact that they wanted to close! We chose the $28 set meal and enjoyed Dim Sum, chicken and sweetcorn soup and two main dishes of chicken with cashew nuts and sweet and sour pork. These came accompanied by delicious fried rice.

We had a glass of wine with our meal and Sophie tried desperately to get a wifi signal so we could hire another Uber, but we had to give up and admit defeat. As getting public transport back was definitely not an option, we asked the restaurant to order us a taxi and went outside to wait. A Yellow Cab arrived after about ten minutes, just as we were getting a bit anxious! Having no transport home is not a feeling I particularly relish! The taxi whizzed us through the streets and out onto the freeway where he really put his foot down! It was great to see the city all lit up, though!

It was bliss to finally get home, pay the $30 (twice as much as an Uber) and relax for a short while before bed. It was still only 9.30pm!

California Road Trip - Day 4, Hippies, Tea and Mrs Doubtfire

I was up early this morning, but that was no surprise seeing as we'd been in bed at 9pm! I just hope we make up for it when we leave for Napa and Monterey!

It was great to have a chat with Keith and Mike this morning on Facetime and lovely to see the house and Monty. Everyone was fine and it puts my mind at rest that they're all OK! We had toast for breakfast, with lots of coffee and after showering we made our way back down to the City College bus stop to catch the number 43 which would take us to Haight Ashbury.

The bus was almost full this time but wound its way through some lovely residential areas and some very steep hills! We got off the bus at Cole which is where Sophie wanted to go as she has a strange interest in Charles Manson and really wanted to go to the house where he lived in the 1960s.

We'd actually passed it on the bus so we re-traced our steps and found it.

Next up was coffee so we crossed the road and queued up at a quaint little coffee house, but there was only one member of staff working so we gave up and went out onto the main Haight Street to see if we could find a place. The street is very colourful and everywhere we went we could smell marijuana and incense. A lot of the shops weren't open yet but we did find a cafe called Sparrow where we ordered a Capricorn coffee (me) and a herbal tea for Sophie, accompanied by croissants and jam.

The morning had started off cloudy but the sun had now come out and there was a brisk chilly wind blowing through the door of the cafe. It was very enjoyable, though, and Sophie said she wanted to find a thrift store or vintage shop to look for clothes.

There were several to choose from but if we thought we were going to pick up bargains like we had in Naples, we were very wrong. We went into a couple and the prices were similar to what you'd pay on the High street. In another, the designer vintage items were hundreds of dollars, so we quickly gave up on that idea!

Sophie seemed uneasy on Haight Street, saying she didn't like the atmosphere.

This really surprised me as I thought she would be in her element here! I have to agree there was a weird kind of atmosphere, though, and there were some pretty strange shops (and people) about. There were a couple of Tibetan/Himalayan shops with strong aromas of incense wafting about and lots of vintage themed places. We did find a lovely little place selling memorabilia and gifts called San Francisco Mercantile and I bought a mug to replace my Celebration one, while Sophie splashed out on some earrings.

We walked along the street in the direction of Golden Gate Park and went into a Whole Food store that Sophie felt comfortable in! Here, there were a lot of people doing their weekend shop and the prices matched the clientele - we saw a bottle of beer for $30 and there were some beautiful fresh food counters.

Opposite was the entrance to Golden Gate Park and the atmosphere changed completely. Families were out playing soccer and there were numerous groups of people who looked like they were celebrating children's birthday parties as they had food set out on picnic tables and balloons everywhere.

The road running through the park was stuffed full of Audi SUVs, Mercedes and numerous, to Sophie's delight, Teslas. She had never seen so many and loves the cars!

We walked through with throngs of people (listening to Californian conversations) and made our way to the Japanese Tea Garden which is right in the middle of the park. There was a queue to go in and we had to pay $18 on my credit card, no cash!

The money was worth it though as the Tea Garden is beautiful and around every corner was a gorgeous view.

There were lovely streams and little ponds full of Koi carp and sweet stepping stone bridges. There was also a very steep bridge that Sophie climbed over!

Before leaving we went to the teahouse and enjoyed Japanese teas and a selection of biscuits and Fortune cookies.

Our teas looked like urine samples, but they tasted nice and it was heaven to sit and relax and people watch for half an hour!

We left the Tea Garden and walked out of the park past the De Young museum which had a showing of Monet paintings. This area was beautiful and there were lots of palm trees in front of the museum. Opposite there was something going on as there was music and people milling about in the sunshine.

We had to find the 44 bus as we wanted to go to Steiner Street and see Mrs Doubtfire's house. We finally, managed to work out where we needed to catch the bus and alighted on Filmore, so we had to walk back a couple of blocks.

The house is on the corner of Broadway and Steiner and the hills were mega steep! This part of San Francisco is utterly beautiful with grand houses lining the quiet streets and the views over the bay were gorgeous! We had to go down a very steep hill to get to the house and there was a gaggle of girls outside taking photographs. It looked different to me, but then it was filmed over 20 years ago!

We stayed awhile admiring the views and then climbed back up the hill. I was glad when it levelled out and I wouldn't have fancied driving, to be honest!

We walked back to the bus stop through a neighbourhood of beautiful houses and little shops and cafes. A branch that seems popular is Peet's Coffee so we might have to give it a try before we leave.

We got back onto the bus and rode it until it stopped, right by the piers. The plan was to have an early dinner and then get the BART back to the apartment. We crossed the road and looked at a couple of restaurants but they were on the expensive side - $28 for fish and chips - so we decided to head back into the city to find somewhere.

We had strayed into the Financial district so there was very little choice, unfortunately. By now, we were a little weary and hungry and getting fed up so after wandering around for far longer than we should have, we took the BART to Powell.

The shopping district was packed with people but there were very few restaurants and one was horrendously expensive! The main courses were all around $30 so we made the decision to head back on the BART to our apartment and get dinner at the nearby Safeway. Not really what we'd had in mind!

We took the bus and it stopped just outside Safeway. Inside we bought some fried chicken tenders, mashed potato and a salad that turned out to be one of the most delicious we'd ever eaten! We also bought two bottles of white wine so the meal turned out to be lovely even though we would have preferred to have been waited on and not done any washing up!

California Road Trip - Day 3, Exploring

Sophie and I were both up at intervals during the night which was only to be expected, as our body clocks were all over the place! I finally got up at about 6am and made myself a lovely cup of coffee and spent the first couple of hours letting people know we'd arrived safely.

After showers and a very light breakfast (Belvita biscuits I packed at the last minute!) we walked the short distance to a nearby Safeway to buy milk, bread and bottled water. They had everything we needed but as we were walking we didn't want to buy too much!

Back at the apartment we packed it all away and then had a look at the BART and MUNI timetables to try and work out how we could get to Fisherman's Wharf. We found them a little confusing! We knew there was a BART stop nearby so we set off into the California sunshine and walked through a quiet residential area. Our Airbnb is on Staples Avenue and is very close to the City College so we passed lots of students on the way.

We came across a bus stop and a bus showing Fisherman's Wharf so Sophie asked the driver if it was going soon. He was very friendly and chatty and said he'd visited London last year to see Chelsea play. He was also exceptionally helpful and said that he had finished but another driver would take us to Fisherman's Wharf.

We boarded the bus and set off. The passengers, without exception, were all Asian, and the bus made many, many stops but for $2.75 each it was certainly good value! The bus wound its way through residential areas at first, some of which were very dodgy looking, I have to say! We drove onto the freeway for a short distance and the traffic was horrendous, even though it was mid-morning. We caught occasional glimpses of the sea and the city and the bus gradually filled up with more and more people, until some of them had to stand.

We came off the freeway and passed through suburbs with shops and restaurants. At one point we saw The Stinking Rose, a restaurant my parents used to eat in when they visited. It specialises in garlic dishes.

Eventually, after about an hour, we came to Fisherman's Wharf where the bus stopped. We got off and made our way to Pier 39.

Pier 39 has been created to resemble an old fishing village and has numerous shops, restaurants and cafes. We explored and admired the views over San Francisco Bay and Alcatraz.

Sea lions sunning themselves and making a right old racket!

There was a large colony of sea lions making a loud racket and people crowded along the boardwalk to see them. It was an absolutely beautiful day and the views were stunning.

By now we were feeling a bit peckish and I really fancied a beer so we went off in search of lunch. We saw a sign for Bubba Gump at the end of the pier and we felt we just had to go! It was a bit like being back in Florida!

On the way we looked at other restaurants, some of which were very pricey. Bubba Gump was quiet (it was still early for lunchtime) and we were seated at a table overlooking the bay. Ferries and other boats were constantly criss-crossing the sea and it was lovely to sit and look at the views.

We were given a menu and after some deliberation I chose a Chardonnay to drink while Sophie had a light beer. She opted for fish tacos for lunch while I decided on a Shrimp Po Boy.

The restaurant gradually filled up and the wait staff were constantly ferrying people or huge plates of food to the tables. Our food arrived and the portions were huge! Sophie said that her fish tacos were the best meal she'd ever eaten so that was good!

We had a lovely lunch and the bill came to a reasonable $40 without taxes. They added a further $6 and we added a tip so we spent about $55. The staff had been great and Sophie had spotted a waiter wearing a psychedelic tee-shirt and wanted one of her own! We made our way to the shop where she bought the exact same one as well as a pin for her denim jacket.

Back out into the sunshine we mooched about the shops and I bought some chocolate for Mike (oh, and a bar for me!).

We walked further along the piers and had clear views of Alcatraz. The further we walked the more touristy it became and we saw some pretty dodgy characters. There was a submarine docked here, the USS Pampanito, which survived several battles in the Pacific. Along this stretch was a man in a wheelchair who clearly had mental health issues as he was shouting to himself and banging his hands on his head. We gave him a wide berth. There was no way out at the end so we had to return the way we came and I noticed a couple of men openly smoking weed. It's legal here and we smelt it a lot this afternoon!

There were restaurants everywhere advertising crab and several fishing boats were moored up with their owners advertising fishing trips. We came upon a tram stop and asked the driver where he was going. The tram was headed to Castro and passed by Union Square so we boarded. When we went to pay the driver waved us on for free! It really helps to have a pretty daughter!

We took our seats and the tram made its way back along the piers. The lower the number of pier, the better they were and we looked out for pier 3 where we are going on Sunday for a bay cruise. After pier 1 the tram headed inland and we looked out for our stop. A man on the seat next to us asked if the Guardsmen in Horseguards Parade in London really did stand completely still, so we had an engaging conversation with him! He advised us to get off a little before Union Square and I'm sure he mentioned avoiding "the loin". The Tenderloin is an area near Union Square which is somewhere you should really avoid in San Francisco. It's where a lot of homeless people hang out and is notorious for drugs. We did NOT want to go there, so we took his advice!

We had alighted in a shopping district and we could see a huge Levi's store that Sophie had her eye on for later. There were men working on the tram turntable and Sophie asked one of them the way to Union Square. He seemed to find her accent hilarious and could hardly speak for laughing...we have no idea why!

He said Union Square was about four blocks away so we made our way through the teeming crowds of shoppers and tourists. In the distance we could see Macy's so we decided to go there and have a Starbucks. I'd been asked by a friend of Keith's to get him some shirts and he said they'd definitely be available in Macy's so we went to have a look. The store had about six floors, so was huge but we couldn't find the shirts he wanted, despite looking high and low.

We abandoned the plan and went to have a cold drink at Starbucks. We had a lovely view of Union Square below with people out enjoying the sun. From Macy's we walked back to the Levi's store and Sophie bought two tee-shirts, which were lovely. The prices were astronomical, though, and the jeans she wanted were almost $100!

Outside Levi's there was a BART station so we went in, added $20 to the Clipper cards provided by our hosts and took the underground train to Balboa Park. From here we took the City College bus and then walked the short distance back to the apartment.

We were both shattered and realised that eating out in the evening was proving to be a slight problem. We are quite far out in the suburbs, and there aren't that many restaurants nearby, but Sophie had downloaded Postmates onto her phone so at least we could order a takeaway. The thought of changing and getting back onto public transport to go back to the city, just didn't appeal.

We decided, in the end, to order a Chinese from a restaurant not far away and we were kept updated with the progress, which was good. The only problem was that we had to pay by card so Sophie used her debit card and I gave her the cash. I'm sure it will go towards those jeans!

Dinner was lovely and we drank the rest of our wine with the meal. Sophie ordered Pot Stickers with vegetable rice and I had Chicken Chow Mein. We were so tired that we were in bed by 9pm!

California Road Trip - Day 2, Arrival

Sophie and I had a fitful night's sleep as both of us were in new surroundings and a bit nervous about the long journey ahead of us!

We were up and showered and heading down to breakfast by about 8am. The restaurant was busy with people eating and milling about and we took a seat next to a man who sniffed loudly the whole time he was there. Not pleasant!

I had a small bowl of cereal and a coffee to start while Sophie chose bubble and squeak, hash browns, mushrooms, beans and scrambled egg. She was disappointed that there were no Quorn sausages! I had a second coffee and helped myself to a fried egg, sausage, mushroom and hash browns. The food was delicious.

After we'd eaten we headed back to our room, packed everything up and checked out. It was a gorgeous day outside and we stood and waited for our shuttle bus in the sunshine. Overhead, huge planes were coming in to land, but we hadn't heard anything in the room, so that was a bonus! It only took us about twenty minutes to get to Terminal 3 and the helpful driver told us where to go. There were only three of us on the bus, so that was good!

Bag drop was busy and we were shown to a self-serve machine, which was a bit scary. You were basically left on your own to scan your boarding card and passport and print out your luggage tag. We didn't know if we'd put ours on correctly and I imagined my suitcase ending up in Miami or Atlanta!

We went straight through to security, which was heaving with people. We shuffled along and predictably, I set the alarms off, as I always do. The member of staff was very nice though and couldn't understand how I'd done it. I was treated to a full body scan, as were lots of other people!

Once through we found a quiet row of seats and Sophie went off to explore, coming back with some water and mascara from Boots. She then disappeared and came back with a large plastic Harrods bag as she'd treated herself to two new handbags! They were very reasonable, though!

We sat and waited and watched a couple in the next row with their three children. The man spent his whole time staring at his phone while his poor wife dealt with their two little girls of about 4 and 2 and a baby boy. They both had Australian accents and when the Melbourne flight was called, they all got up...phew! They were brave!

Our departure gate came up at about 12.30pm so we trooped off and found a seat. Luckily, neither of us were searched again and we sat and stared out at our aircraft - she was Birthday Girl and was a 787. I tried not to think of the long flight ahead of us!

When we boarded we took our seats right at the very back, in the middle, near to the galley. It meant no-one was seated behind us so we could recline our seats and not annoy anyone. We had hoped no-one would be sat next to us, but a young American woman arrived who proceeded to fiddle with all her bags for the first half hour!

There were loads of empty seats near us so I suppose we could have moved, but we decided to stay put and we had a very enjoyable flight. We made friends with one of the crew who was from the North-East and he plied us with more food over the course of the journey, so we enjoyed two Gu desserts! I had an Aviator Gin and Tonic and a glass of wine with my meal and we enjoyed a Fab ice-lolly and a pasty before Mile High tea was served just before we landed.

Our route took us up to Scotland and out over Iceland, Greenland and Canada. At one point the crew called us over to look out of the window as they could see mountains covered in snow beneath us! It was a beautiful sight!

I did sleep for a while but we were very tired when we landed early, at about 4pm California time. It was beautiful weather outside and we steeled ourselves for US immigration. We'd filled our form in and we were directed to a machine that took our fingerprints and our photos.

I'm always a bit wary because of my "Colombian" experience in Florida a while back, but our official was very friendly and was a bit surprised Keith and Mike weren't with us, as he asked when was the last time we'd visited! He then waved us through so we didn't have to go through the whole rigmarole of fingerprints and photos again! Fab!

We collected our luggage and found the shuttle to take us to the car rental, which was on the other side of the airport. We had booked through Virgin and rented a Compact car through Alamo. After the paperwork was done and we'd picked up our SatNav, we made our way to the garage and found a car - a Hyundai Kona. We managed to get our large case in the boot, but had to put Sophie's smaller one on the back seat!

The journey to our Airbnb was a bit hairy as I think I missed the turn for the freeway and we ended up on the 280. However, I took it steady and the SatNav did help, but sometimes she changed her mind about the route we were taking! Of course, it was rush hour so the traffic was heavy, but we had found our address within half an hour of leaving the airport so it wasn't too bad.

Tedd met us and said we'd parked well, in between two driveways. He was very friendly and welcoming and gave us a tour. We have an open plan living/dining area with a well-equipped kitchen, two bedrooms and a large bathroom. He lives upstairs with his wife and they had very thoughtfully left us milk, orange juice, yoghurts, scones and fruit. We also had plenty of coffee and lots of different teabags to choose from, which I thought was a lovely touch.

We unpacked and decided to relax in the apartment. As Virgin had been so generous with their food, we weren't that hungry but we did enjoy a scone each and a glass of wine (I'd bought a bottle of The Ned Pinot Gris with me!). We watched Zombie House Flipping (ahhh...Florida, how I still love you!) and decided to call it a night at about 8.30pm.

We were well and truly shattered!

California Road Trip - Day 1, Departure

Sophie and I were up early this morning as we'd offered to take Mike to work to give Keith a lie-in. It was a gorgeous morning and after we'd dropped him off and bid him a fond farewell, we went down to the gym.

For some time now a man follows Sophie around the gym and never misses an opportunity to be on a treadmill near her. He's in no way a threat to her but we refer to him as "Toeman" as he wears weird water shoes that have toe spaces! She sees him every single morning so I suggested we go down and wait for him to come out so I could see what he looked like!

We sat in the car near the entrance and Sophie wore dark glasses and a baseball cap to look incognito! We waited almost an hour, but of course, he never came out so we gave up! I don't think we would make good detectives!

On the way home we saw a Virgin hot air balloon and it was a really beautiful morning with the sun peering through the misty clouds. Sophie made a veggie sausage sandwich and then we both made the final preparations for our journey to America.

I hoovered the house, did my last minute packing and had a shower. Sophie painted my toenails and at 1.30pm we were able to check in online. As soon as that was done and we'd printed our boarding passes, we left to go down to Heathrow.

Before we'd even got a couple of miles, we came upon a broken down horsebox on the A43 so we had to go through Overstone. On the M1 we came to a complete halt between junctions 14 and 13 due to a series of accidents further down the motorway. What a pain!

We crawled along but once on the M25 the traffic was better. Following our SatNav's instructions we turned off the M4 at junction 4 but I went the wrong way so it took us another twenty minutes to get to our Premier Inn on Bath Road. It was a bit of a tortuous journey!

Mike had also called to say that he wasn't able to go to Jessie's house in Abington as planned so that sent us into a bit of a spin. Sophie told him to get a taxi home, but when we called him from the hotel he had managed to contact her and all was well, thank goodness!

I was dying for a cup of tea so we treated ourselves to one in the room, and ate some biscuits I'd brought with me. We then unpacked our clothes for the evening and relaxed for a while. It had been a  busy day so far! Keith phoned to say he'd picked up Mike and they were heading home, so that was a relief.

At 6.30pm we went down to the bar and enjoyed a glass of wine. The hotel was bustling and busy and we sat at a table alongside the main thoroughfare and watched people arriving. There was a lovely, very comfortable seating area with a 24 hour Costa and a Thyme restaurant. We'd booked a table for 7.30pm and had already had a good look at the menu. We'd decided to go for the meal deal and have breakfast in the morning before we left for the airport.

Our meal was delicious and we started with cheesy garlic flatbread (Sophie) and a Prawn Cocktail for me. Sophie went veggie for her main course with a feta, spinach and sweet potato lasagne while I went Greek with a meaty skewer selection which consisted of lamb koftas, chicken and chorizo served with rice and Mediterranean vegetables.

After the meal we were stuffed so we skipped dessert, had another glass of wine and headed for bed. We were both very tired!

We're off!

We're all packed and ready to go - Keith's taking us down to Heathrow in a few minutes after we've checked in. This time tomorrow, we'll be waiting to take off (I hope!).

I'm taking Sophie's laptop so hopefully I'll be able to update this blog on a regular basis.

I'm really looking forward to sharing our adventure with everyone who very kindly takes the time to read this blog!