How soon I forget

Early breakfast was to be followed by a walk to the station and a train and a walk to Avis. Alas, it is Easter, and all around the World,  this means just 1 thing in every major city.........trackwork. Sigh. No replacement bus for us though.  Uber came through within minutes and before too long we were trying to reacquaint ourselves with a manual car and trying to figure out how to navigate with the GPS and listen to MMM Classic Rock at the same time.

London goes on forever, but we finally made it out into the open road before having to find a toilet and get a cup of tea for the passenger. On we drove with Alice Cooper for company.

First stop Dover, where our first intention was to find another toilet. Thank you Pub on the corner. 

British fish and chips (the 't' is silent) on a park bench was followed a trip to an old fortress, and then a long walk along the cliffs of Dover. 

Time seemed to be standing still and some confusion followed. From what we can figure out, we were either in a Harry Potter film, or possibly Dead Pool 2, and travelling through time. Seems as though my watch booked itself into a French satellite hovering above the English Channel and moved itself 1 hour forward in time. So when we saw that the last tour of hidden caves was at 3 pm, and that the time was 3:26 pm, we figured we had missed it. Of course it was really 2:26 pm. Confused? We were, but we only figured it out a lot later.

The Holy Trinity

With nothing planned and breakfast duly completed, it was time to hit the road the best way we know - markets (spent nothing), Hard Rock Cafe (ate lots), Decathlon Sports Store (got a few unnecessary things, and one of us had an altercation with a staff member).

Trains, buses, followed by a jog to the the gym, a 30 minutes spin, another jog and 10 fast intervals. That probably took care of the burger and chips from lunch, although after eating a bowl of deep fried chillies in batter and an extremely large chilli for lunch, the use of exercise for weight loss may not be needed.
A teppenyaki restaurant for dinner followed - dinner and a show at the same time. Chicken or the beef? I chose chicken.  It was here that we met Claire's parents for the first time, and somewhere in the translation between French and English I remember an invitation to their home. Mmmmmm, World Duathlon Championships are in the Netherlands next year. Pop over to France after perhaps? Deal.
All that was left to do was fall to asleep on the train, complete my 28th kilometre for the day, make my way up the 32 steps to our room, and crash.

Lost in Gatwick

Arrived a little late into London, somehow managed to set up my new phone number without getting yelled at and once we breezed through customs, proceeded to catch the same lift up and down, over and over again as our designated pick up gave us instructions not suitable for our tiny brains to comprehend after 24 hours of travel and the torture of a Sandra Bullock movie.  Then, in a Harry Potter moment, and as if conjured up by a Hermione (pronounced Her Me Own) spell, we were at the car. Following was the next spell that actually fitted the all important bike, a suitcase big enough to fit Mad Eyed Moody, my small bag, the hand luggage, and 4 people, into the car.

In no time at all we arrived at our first port of call to drop off luggage, drink tea, or Pepsi Max for those who had travelled half way across the planet without our addiction, and had some chips (or should I say crisps?) and cold pizza. Home away from home.

To our B and B we then travelled and were so happy that the English love affair with stairs was still alive and well. I think I counted 30.
That exercise being not enough, I took a quick jog, in the wrong direction as Google maps continues to confuse me, followed by pizza and passing out.

Say Bye Bye

So in my year or so of training for the World Championsips, I have remembered 3 key points. The first is that chocolate milk is good for recovery. The second is to keep up my salt intake through the eating of salt and vinegar chips (or maybe I just made some of that up), and last, do not watch what the baggage handlers do with your bike. I wish I had paid attention to the last one . Ouch. I hope that the bubble wrap works.

The wait in the Tax Refund Scheme line is always an adventure.  The question often asked by staff is "do you live in Australia?" The response can be yes, no and maybe, usually by the same customer.

I nailed my chicken or beef prediction for the main meal, drank lots of water, lost the battle for the arm rest on both sides, watched movies I had deliberately not seen in case they were on a plane one day, and finally figured out that the best way to sleep is with a musical playlist of songs you have never heard.

Flight was smooth. I seriously didn't even realise we had taken off or landed, apart from the 16 hours in a seat that needed 3 people to make it recline.
Of course, the movie I was watching as we landed in Doha still had 20 minutes to go.....   and it wasn't on the 2nd flight. I cannot believe that in my tired and hungry state,  I settled for a Sandra Bullock movie. The shame will live on forever.

Last Day

5.30am wake up and 6.30am bus pick up. I guess the biggest trick is getting the luggage weight down from 66 to 60kg. With some reorganisation and overloading of hand luggage, we tipped the scales at 60.7kg. That's a win.

Brunch included an ice cream. Another win.

Got a free train ride home and the Wattle Grove Taxi service picked us up.

A great holiday has come to an end, expertly designed by Annette Krause, the second best Travel Consultant in the house, and superbly budgeted by me.

I hope the 3 or 4 of you who have read this got some enjoyment.

Everything Hurts

Hips, legs, shoulders, body. It all hurts. I blame the flight. Good thing we paid extra for the better seats.

My body clock is way out so once I was awake I hit the streets and did 5km around the river. The time was slow but it is less than 2 months since my operation. I wonder when the statute of limitations runs out on that excuse. Annette hit the sauna and pool while I did the pool.

With a 50 percent discount on the hotel's buffet breakfast, it was an easy choice where to eat. After weeks of undercooked bacon it was good to see crispy bacon and with its accompanying maple syrup, 3kgs in additional weight seems quite fortunate.

Following this was a walk to, gulp, a street filled with material shops. Add the heat, jet lag, bacon X 3, and humidity, all following a run , I felt like crap. As Annette headed to more material shops, I was given leave to go to a department store. With Pepsi on hand I made it and the air conditioning saved my life. The prices were pretty expensive and my only purchase was deodorant. I headed back and once more went to sleep with a pillow as my blanket. Annette returned some time later with a brand new suitcase. She then headed out to more material shops with a 6pm meeting at China Town arranged.

Night markets aren't what they used to be, or I am not the shopper I once was. There was a time when 5 t-shirts guaranteed to shrink 5 sizes when washed, for only $10 was a bargain. I think we bought nothing. We did have a slap up Chinese meal though.

Back at the hotel we frantically tried to make 70kg into 60. Some rearranging would be needed at the airport.

Jet lag

England has no humidity because Singapore stole it all. The trouble with arriving at 5.30am and check in at 2.00pm is basically having to live with your body odour for extra time....I have 2 sprays of my Brut bottle left, and Annette's Mum bottle is almost gone too.

Where,  where, where would you be. Where would you be without Brut 33? or I can't get by without my Mum. Both classic deodorant ads, although the Uncle Sam ads will always win first prize. I may be suffering from aroma incredibelis.

Anyway, we wandered through humidity where we could actually see the water in the air. I found a muffin and a Fun Cola from 7eleven. I also saw Elvis Presley walk in before me (this was your musical knowledge test for the day).

We lobbed into the Lobby after 10am and they had a room for us. Next thing I know I'm sleeping on a bed in the freezing air conditioned room using a pillow to keep me warm. Not sure why a blanket didn't pop into my mind. At one stage I woke up and Annette had left a note saying she had gone out. I also noticed that my wallet was open and devoid of all cash.

Rested, we took the opportunity to test the hotel's device with Google Maps and it got us to the gardens on time. We purchased tickets to the skywalk only to be told at the entry that lightning had closed it down. A local satay meal was followed by a free light show (the best kind). Skywalk tickets refunded, we headed back only stopping for ice cream and m and m' s. I'm starting to realise where that extra 3kg came from.