WHEN THE TERKUILES CAME TO TOWN

With the arrival of June also came the first of Dulcinea's direct family to visit us in the UK. Big brother Michael and Sue got off the plane and were so excited to be here that they immediately got on another one and headed over to Ireland! A couple of days later they were back, and although their stay was only short, we managed to squeeze quite a bit in.

Located in Richmond on the banks of  the river Thames, Hampton Court Palace is a 'must see' for any visitor to London.

The home of Henry VIII is huge, set in beautiful gardens and comes with its own maze, built in 1690 the oldest surviving hedge maze on the planet. It's superbly presented, with actors strolling the corridors and acting out important moments in English (and Henry's) history. You've gotta hand it to him, inventing his own church so's he could get married whenever he had an itch that needed scratching was a stroke of genius (Jerry Lee Lewis should have done it!). Of course, there was also the more macabre side of him, and although only one of his wives was executed he did behead over 72,000 people during his reign - and he wasn't considered particularly bloodthirsty!

Stunning chimneys

The royal workbench

.....awe inspiring...

Sue and Michael's visit was perfectly timed, and that night it was great to have Dulcinea's bro' and sister with us to celebrate her 21st birthday again - the venue was, of course, Paolo's where mine host Stefano regaled our Aussie guests with his magic tricks.

Next morning found us walking past the Tower Of London and heading to Tower Bridge which, as everybody knows, is a combined bascule and suspension bridge. Construction commenced in 1886 and it took 432 men (only 10 died on the job!) eight years to build it (prior to its construction, people crossed under the river via the Thames Tunnel!).

The really cool thing now is that the 50 metre high walkway has a glass floor, fantastic for vertigo sufferers.

We were fortunate enough to be there as the bridge opened (generally only happens 2-3 times a day) and we watched a rather infamous barge - the Gladys - sail through.

SB Gladys...go girl

True Story: when Bill Clinton visited London in 1997 his motorcade was separated from his bodyguards' vehicles by the bridge opening to allow the SB Gladys to sail through (you can just picture it!). Frantic calls were made in an unsuccessful bid to lower the bridge, but British law states that ships have right of way (the Bridge authorities had earlier tried to alert the US Embassy of their timing but nobody answered the phone!). And so the following day's headlines blared "Gladys waits for nobody".

There are great views from the bridge that take in the Shard (the tallest building in Europe) and the City Hall building - known as the Armadillo.

The Armadillo and The Shard

The Walkie-Talkie, the Cheese Grater and the Gerkhin...the Cucumber is under construction

Time for a river cruise and we sail up the Thames to Parliament pier, an enlightening journey that is thoroughly recommended, passing by numerous historic landmarks.

Tate Modern - the most visited modern gallery in the world...4.7 million/year

London Bridge and the Eye

Cleopatra's Needle

From there we do a self guided tour of the magnificent Westminster Cathedral before walking up Whitehall, past Downing Street and the Royal Horseguards. On a beautifully sunny summer's day, there's not much better than walking around central London!

Very wise words

For their last day, we head west with full intentions to pop in to see Betty for a cuppa. Sadly, she wasn't in but we didn't let that stop us from touring around Windsor Castle, the oldest and largest inhabited castle in the world. And what a magnificent edifice it is, not only being the Queen's "weekender" but also the spiritual home of the Royal Order Of The Garter, the oldest order of chivalry in the world.

But  whilst its location towering over the river Thames is truly stunning, William The Conqueror showed a distinct lack of vision when he commenced building it in 1070 by placing it directly below the future flight path of Heathrow!

Not sure that kid should be out there

Its very own royal ice cream.......

 

Superior....of course...and it was delicious!

Afterwards we walk over the footbridge and stroll down the main street of Eton to have a look at the world's most famous school, and managing a snigger at the school uniform (of course, it's the students who secretly snigger at us, seeing the spoon in their collective mouths isn't of the plastic variety preferred by the greater populace).

Eton High Street

If I were a carpenter...I'd make the first floor higher than 5'6"

This is the skool's casual attire!!

They're a tourist attraction in their own right!

A novel approach to cupcakes

No Ford C-Max's in Eton

There's more than one cool skool in Eton.....

....obviously a sub-branch of Hampton Court Palace!

For our last evening, we all head down the road to Villa Toscana, another delightful local Italian bistro, for a final night of dining and celebration.

All too quickly it's over and Sue and Michael are boarding the Eurostar at King's Cross for the rest of their vacation. It's been a great few days, we really loved having you with us Brother Michael and Sister Sue, come back again.