Kenya

This is our first night out in the African wilderness. We’re in Amboseli, in Maasai land. Shad and the kids are asleep, and I’m lying here in bed replaying all that we’ve seen today in my mind. It just seems so surreal, but we really are in Africa. We went on our first game drive this evening and it was incredible. No more than several minutes after we drove through the gates of the Amboseli National Park, we came across a group of gazelles grazing among the grass. A few meters further we saw some impalas, then a few seconds later Benjamin, our guide, pointed out a lone bull elephant hidden amongst the trees. As we drove on through the park, we spotted zebras, wildebeests, warthogs, jackals, a hyena, but what took our breath away was the pride of lions, all 10 of them just lying down snoozing, well camouflaged among the grass and dusty sand. Many of the animals we saw today had babies with them as it is breeding season at the moment. It was so amazing watching these little ones trail alongside their mothers. Our human babies were just as amazed as we were. Their eyes were darting all over the place, mesmerised by what they were seeing. Mia’s camera was clicking away nonstop and Ryan kept pointing out the different animals he spotted. With those new glasses of his, he’s now got super sharp eyes 😄. This is only our first day but if this is what it is going to be like, I can’t wait for tomorrow!

Out and about in London

Before we got here, I made a mental list of the “must-do” things but in the end I don’t think we even did a quarter of them. And this was fine. Both times by the time we got to London we were all so tired from the travel we’d done that we were just happy to have some quiet time at home. Still, we did manage to tick off a number of the sights on my list.

Sunday evening stroll across the Westminster Bridge.

Chinatown for yum cha.

Riding the London Rail on our girls’ day out to Borough market.

The “real” Platform 9 and 3/4 at King’s Cross Station

Off to the school of magic!

While we girls were wizarding, the boys went and did their thing, a haircut was top of their list.

Styled and cut by a Malaysian hairdresser that they stumbled across in Lewisham.

Museums, museums, museums. London has so many wonderful museums, but we only had time to visit three of them. Top of the list was the British museum. 

The Rosetta Stone, a replica of it which is why fingers, arms, face etc are allowed on it!

Holding an old roman coin.

Next up was the Natural History Museum. The last time we were here, I was on my own with the kids and Ryan was five while Mia was still in her pram. Ryan was fascinated with dinosaurs then and loved seeing all his favourite dinos here. Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, both kids have no recollection of their visit so for them it was like seeing everything for the first time.

First time on the ice. Skating at the ice rink outside the museum. She picked it up so quickly.

Face-off 💪🏼

The last museum we visited was the Maritime Museum in Greenwich, in fact Ryan and Shad went twice. Once on their own while Mia and I stayed home as she nursed a bad cough. They enjoyed it very much and Ryan was very keen for us to go so the day before we left London we all went again for a quick visit.

Tracing our steps, from the start of our journey in July to this point in time... 3 months on. 

Seems like no matter how much time we give ourselves here in London, the days all pass much too quickly. So it was time to say bye, and this time we will not be returning. It’s been good to spend an extended period of time with Tania and Graeme. We were all very sad to leave.

Pudding treats in Greenwich at Bill’s. Our last sisters’ outing, I’m going to miss her very much when we leave 😢.

Very sad to say bye. 

From Cambridge to York

So we ditched the Iceland idea, thinking we’d stick around and do a drive up north to Wales instead. But after considering the drive time and and also the possibility of dreary cold wet weather where we’d be going, we changed our minds again. Finally we settled on Cambridge and York.

This was my first visit to Cambridge and I really loved it. It has a such a cosy medieval feel, with its old buildings and small streets. Maybe one day, one of these two monkeys will be a student here and Shad and I can come and keep house for them 🙂.

Bikes everyone, you really need to watch where you’re walking to. 

Enjoying the peace and quiet around Christ Church College.

The beautiful interior of the inner chapel of Christ Church Cathedral built over the reign of three kings. 

The outer chapel 

Pity we didn’t have time to go punting.

Xu Zhimo’s famous poem carved into stone. Ryan could remember this poem from his Grade 5 work at ISF.

We really enjoyed our three night stay in York. We took our time walking through its many streets and beautiful landmarks. Walking through the town centre, it felt like a mix of old and new, ancient historical building mixed in with new modern commercial shops. 

Going back in time. Walking down a cobbled Victorian street in the York Castle museum.

Incarcerated for evading tax.

School in the .... times.

The old mill

York Castle Keep, raised by William the Conqueror. This is almost all that remains of York Castle.

On a sugar high after our visit to the chocolate school!

Shopping in the Shambles, the street which was the inspiration behind Diagon Alley in the Harry Potter books.

Our Airbnb was right in the heart of town. From the apartment we didn’t need our car and just walked to all the local attractions and different restaurants for our meals. More importantly, Betty’s Tea Rooms was strategically located diagonally opposite us! We trooped there a couple of times for afternoon tea, dinner and to stock up on snacks. 

York Minster at sunset, seen from our balcony.

Our comfy livingroom 

Beautiful tea rooms with excellent service and delicious food.

Afternoon tea for me! And yes I did share... 

Friends

Our original plan after South America was to spend two weeks in London before flying off to Iceland. But in the end we decided to just stay put in London and visit other parts of UK instead of rushing off. This would give us more time to spend with Tania and Graeme, and also to see our other close friends. 

These two just picked up where they left off. Waiting for the bus to go into Wimbledon for our Nando lunch.

Back home for dinner, Aunty Was’ yummy spaghetti and meatballs.

Pumpkin carving session

Out in the garden to get some fresh air.

Friends who have become family.

There’s never a dull moment when we’re with these guys. 

The following week, back together for Trick or treating. Out to roam the streets of Wimbledon!

Saying goodbye is never easy, especially when one has to go to school and the other one is off to Harry Potter World 😜.

These two kiddoes were born two weeks apart. Aunty Was and Uncle Adib were so thoughtful to get Mia a cake and presents too!

We’ve missed Siu and the boys since they left Hong Kong earlier in the year. It was great to catch up with them here in London although it did feel a little strange knowing that this is now their new home. Guess it’ll be the same for them when they do come and see us in Melbourne. Glad we got to see them several times before we left.

The two sets of playmates, very happy to see each other.

These two munchkins had an early birthday celebration together.

Girls day out to Borough market where we gorged ourselves on humongous oysters.

So so creamy and smooth.

Sleep-over on a weekday doesn’t mean not having to do homework, it just means homework time is more fun when you’re doing it together with your buddy!

Outdoor playdate this time at St James Park.