Windsor, Windsor Castle, & Eton. Given the astonishing number of people waiting to enter the castle, we walked around to the (public) grounds where we could see inside the iron gate, and then through the town. A cup of tea in a small cafe to fortify, and then we stopped at a field by the side of the road at watched planes flying in and out of Heathrow – there were many!

We got to experience a little of Dad’s history: All Nations where Grandma & Grandpa studied for a while….Christ Church Primary where Dad (and Aunties Nat & Fi) went to school (we even got to have a little tour of the lunchroom, which Dad pronounced ‘much smaller than I remember’. …and two of his homes! We also saw the hill where Dad rode down really fast on his bicycle and hit a car (thankfully no people nor vehicles were injured). He begged the car’s occupants (neighbours) not to tell his parents. They did come by to check on him later, but told Grandma and Grandpa that they just wanted to see that Jonathon was alright ‘after coming off his bike’. 🙂

And look at these girls! So helpful with van setup and pack-up! We stayed at a campsite near an airfield.

We hung out in cool(er) malls for the 18th and the 19th of July as well. Tuesday the 19th of July was London’s hottest (ever) day on record – 40.2 degrees at Heathrow. Our caravan was in full sun and even the aircon in the van chugging at full capacity was barely enough to sleep with at night, let alone exist in during the day. But the malls were the place to be. We saw a movie (or two!) and the girls ‘re-lived their childhood’ (smirk) at Kidzania London! A blast from our Manila past. We also enjoyed some Nandos and then a yummy Italian meal with the Knights. They came back to our campsite afterwards at Abbey Wood and were very nice about the heat they had to sit in!

We caught these two having a not-so-sneaky lovey moment in the supermarket, of which they have many.

We love these guys so much. Uncle Richard, Aunty Edna and Charles had us over for a delicious meal. Aunty Edna asked us ahead of time what the girls’ favourite desserts were – and then she proceeded to provide ALL THREE after the delicious main meal. Pavlova (made my Uncle Richard), donuts (Krispy Kreme!) and ice cream. Yum! The girls felt very special. Charles serenaded us beautifully on his violin. Great food, great company.

Our days to explore London fell within a life-sapping heatwave. We couldn’t bear the thought of being in London on foot, so Jonathon gave us the royal tour in our big red (single decker) bus. The air conditioning was utter bliss. We saw all the sights from our temperature-controlled cocoon. What a guy. We also got dropped to Starbucks, Harrods, Hamley’s, and Cleopatra’s Needle (for our Ems who loves all things Ancient Egypt).

Off on our next adventure! A 3 week grand tour of Great Britain (sorry Northern Ireland – perhaps next time!). We covered London, the Cotswolds, the Brecon Beacons, Aberystwyth, Snowdonia, the Yorkshire Dales, Stranraer, Glencoe, Inverness, Edinburgh, York & Cambridge. Then home to Germany again.

The excitement of a new trip, the suspense of the will-we-won’t-we-make-the-ferry-on-time, and then those familiar White Cliffs of Insanity. I mean Dover. So great to have Uncle Richard’s family history book to take with us.

Just a short but lovely one, with yummy kebab wraps for dinner

Just for the night. This is where we were introduced to the Russian Svetnaya Bolonka breed! And look – a black one and a light tan one — prophetic!

In Töffen, at the home we remember well, we were introduced to Raclette, enjoyed resting in the backyard, and the girls played many games with our games-loving Swiss family.

The hills were SO COMPLETELY ALIVE (without the sound of music), the weather was amazing, the company was great, and