@travellingwiththeateam

Sunday 17th December

After our first proper nights sleep after leaving the Uk, we were all fully rested and ready to immerse ourselves in the Manly life. This is a place we know reasonably well having been here 3 times before, the last in Dec 2019.

After Andy reconnected with his mornings run along the beach, we took a stroll into the centre to look around the Sunday markets and watch the Ironman championships on the beach.

While we rested up in a cafe on the beach front we bumped into Eva (our friend Caroline’s eldest daughter) on her ebike with Amelia riding pillion.

We then took a stroll in the sunshine and walked to one of our favourite spots Shelley beach.

On our way back to watch the Ironman event, we bumped into Caroline doing her Hells Angels impersonation!

The Nutri-Grain event is a yearly affair and attracts competitors from across Australia & the world and is televised.

In the evening we headed out with Caroline and her brethren, Eva, Milla & Charlie to a Xmas themed restaurant in South Sydney called the Grounds of Alexandria Cafe.

The gardens are a haven for Instagram lovers.

After taking in the sights we headed for dinner at the Potting Shed a garden themed restaurant.

After a great meal & night out we headed back, not before taking a few wrong turns (I blame the sat nav!) resulting in a tour around the back streets of Paddington!

Flying from San Francisco to Sydney overnight meant that we left the US at 8pm on Thursday evening and arrived in Australia on Saturday morning at 6.30am. In short we ‘lost’ the day!

Saturday 16th December

Well we’ve made it. After 27hrs of flights across halfway round the world, we’ve landed in Sydney the first stop in our overseas trip.

We headed out in the evening to view a street where all the neighbours go head to head with Xmas decorations all in aid of charity. It was a sight to behold and attracts hundreds of people each night.

Today is the day we head off on the overseas leg of our trip. We said our goodbyes to the McGuire family, who kindly put us for our last 4 nights in Oxford, and with one final generous offering Rich drove us to Heathrow for our flight to San Francisco.

After a quick food drop at Prets, followed by what seemed like a miles walk to the gate, we boarded our plane at 1.30pm and embarked on the 11hr flight to the West Coast of the US.

Amelia was in the window seat and got some great photos of the sun rising, whilst we caught up watching the latest blockbuster instalments….Barbie, Mission Impossible….

This is the first time we’ve flown the ‘other way’ to Oz and it was strange to be heading away from our destination and to be hearing US voices over the tannoy announcements.

Being 9hrs ‘behind’, we arrived at 5pm San Fran time and we were doing well holding off the sleep pains. Fortunately we passed through customs checks quickly and we were boarding out next flight to Sydney within 3hrs.

The 8pm departure meant a quick feed and then the lights were lowered and we all then blanketed up for a much needed sleep and relaxation!

Today is the day we head off on the overseas leg of our trip. We said our goodbyes to the McGuire family, who kindly put us for our last 4 nights in Oxford, and with one final generous offering Rich drove us to Heathrow for our flight to San Francisco.

After a quick food drop at Prets, followed by what seemed like a miles walk to the gate, we boarded our plane at 1.30pm and embarked on the 11hr flight to the West Coast of the US.

Amelia was in the window seat and got some great photos of the sun rising, whilst we caught up watching the latest blockbuster instalments….Barbie, Mission Impossible….

This is the first time we’ve flown the ‘other way’ to Oz and it was strange to be heading away from our destination and to be hearing US voices over the tannoy announcements.

Being 9hrs ‘behind’, we arrived at 5pm San Fran time and we were doing well holding off the sleep pains. Fortunately we passed through customs checks quickly and we were boarding out next flight to Sydney within 3hrs.

The 8pm departure meant a quick feed and then the lights were lowered and we all then blanketed up for a much needed sleep and relaxation!

Been a busy day today.

Andy woke early and completed his final run of the Uk leg of the trip. Slightly shorter a route to enable him to be back earlier and attend his driving awareness course online. Less said about that the better!

After that it was all about dropping off winter bags for storage at various houses. Big thanks to Bryan, Buz and John & Michelle for their help and kindness. We do really appreciate it.

We then returned to Oxford for a final booster jab/cocktail mix, before Andy drove Amelia to Bourne End for a dentist appointment and check up.

After a brief review of bag packing we then dropped Amelia’s car off at another friends in Summertown to be looked after whilst we are away. The Minis been a great motor and has served us well over the last 2 months and 2,000 miles.

Getting back to Rich & Fi’s we enjoyed a final night of pizza from their own external wood fired oven. Big thanks to Xavi and Fi for their expertise!

Big thanks and lots of love to the McGuires for putting up with us for the last 4 days. We have so enjoyed our stay. We owe you big time.

With only a couple of days left in Oxford before the off, Andy started the day as he has the last 43, with a run before breakfast!

With the final push to get everything washed and ironed Michelle was back in her element.

After lunch Andy made the drive back to Loughborough and picked up Amelia from Uni returning her to the bosom of her friends Xavi & Aoife.

After an enjoyable meal with Rich & Fi and the kids, we reminisced about holidays gone by before we let the younger crowd finalise the Xmas decorations.

Our last few days before we fly out to Sydney are being spent in the company of Rich and Fi who have kindly allowed us to stay for 4 nights.

This morning I was able to convince Rich to join me for a 7am run around Oxford.

The rest of the morning was spent sorting out our suitcases and the change from winter to summer clothing!

We then had an enjoyable walk into Oxford, buying a few last minute items before our travels, and the all important US dollars in the event that visa/Amex can’t get us out of trouble!

Tonight Rich and Fi kindly organised a curry evening with a group of our friends. It was a great evening, excellent food and good company. Plus the opportunity to compare stories of our kids Uni lives to date!

The excitement of our impending trip is now increasing, but it’s still hard saying goodbye to friends who we won’t know see for a year or so.

After a late finish, we had a slower start to the day with a coffee and toast in Chez J&J!

After saying goodbye to Julie & James, we headed back to Oxford, with a lunch stop in Marlow.

This will be the final leg of the Uk tour. After 42 days we have covered over 1,750 miles and made it all the way from Christchurch on the South Coast to St Andrews in Fife and the Scottish Highlands.

We pick up our daughter Amelia on Tuesday from Uni and on Thursday start the overseas leg with flights from London to San Francisco and on to Sydney. It will be goodbye to the winter of the Uk and hello to the sunshine of the Australian summer.

We finished the day at friends Rich & Fi who have very kindly agreed to have us stay until we fly on Thursday.

Fi rustled up a fab lasagna and after a couple of small glasses of vino we had a relaxing evening catching up on all the news & gossip we’ve missed over the last 6 weeks!

After an enjoyable evening out with Tim & Jules in a nearby restaurant, Andy headed out in the morning rain for his customary run.

As the rain clouds descended we took the wise decision to remain inside and had a relaxing lunch before saying our goodbyes to Tim & Jules.

Next stop was North London and our friends Julie & James who live in Alexandra Park.

Despite being 12 miles door to door, we decided against the predicted 2hr drive through London and rerouted via the Dartford Tunnel and the North Circular which proved more relaxing.

The evening was spent at the Maid of Muswell for dinner and drinks, with more drinks and chat leading to a 1.30am finish!