We caught a taxi to the departure point at 7:00. Had no pounds left and he didn’t have card facilities. Luckily the hotel did.
We drove for what seemed an hour before we got out of London, then another hour or so to get to Dover, where we waited for 1 1/2 hours for the ferry.
The crossing was smooth as. We met our tour guide,  Marc and our coach driver, Giuseppe at Calais, and headed off for Brussels.
There was an accident so it took an hour longer than expected.
We arrived at the Mercure hotel, dropped our bags and went on an optional night tour of the city. Had chocolate and caramel waffles for dinner. Saw the manikin pis statue and the biennial flower carpet show which covered almost the entire town square.
No wifi anywhere so no entries until now.

No more chai latte. 667 calories in a large, compared with 259 in a caffe latte.

The outer walls of Windsor Castle. The Queen prefers to live here rather than Buckingham Castle or guide informed us.

The grassed area was to have been the moat but because of the chalkness of the soil it was never filled with water. It has made a wonderful garden.

A pint of Guinness and a Pepsi with a twist of lime for me.

The entry to the Roman Baths.

Stonehenge, it was a little windy.

Wow. Just had the best gelato I’ve had in a year. Couldn’t help myself. Had to ask for it in Italian. The fellow behind the bar couldn’t speak a word.

We were enjoying our complementary cocktail, the Cosmopolitan.

At the gates of Kensington Place.
It felt eerie to think where we were standing was the same sight where a sea of flowers was laid for the beautiful Princess Diana, in 1997, and today we heard that the wonderful Robin Williams passes away. Both humanitarians and both living a tortured life.

This is the view from our hotel window. Breakfast at 6:30 then out to see the sights and get our bearings.

10th August… Fly to London via Melbourne.
13th August… Day tour to Stonehenge and Bath.
14th August… Phantom of the Opera 5th row seats.
15th August… Day tour to Dover and cruise on the Thames.
16th August…. Leave on Cosmopolitan Europe tour.
30th August… Return to London.
1st September… Fly to Genoa.
8th September…. Fly back to London
10th September…. Leave London for home.
12th September… Arrive Cairns
midday.

One more sleep and I am already missing the grand girls.

I hope we can Skype often.