Christchurch

We awoke earlier than expected this morning.  This is the day we leave for Christchurch.  We got ready and headed down to the breakfast buffet.  The hotel is obviously thinning out as guests head out of town to avoid the cyclone.  We did share the breakfast buffet with the rugby team, the Gallagher Chiefs.  We will be seeing the New South Wales Waratahs play the Christchurch Crusaders later this month, if I didn’t buy the tickets from a scam website.  

We left early to head to the Rotorua airport.  We needed to return our rental car, check our bags and get through AvSec (New Zealand’s version of TSA).  Gayle and I emptied our bottles of water in the parking lot so that we could fill them again once we were through AvSec.  Checking our bags was a breeze.  There was no AvSec at this regional airport and no one cared about our water bottles.  We did not put any gas in the rental car because it is a hybrid and the gas gauge never moved off of Full.  The woman told us we should have gotten gas and we would get a bill for the gas they needed to add to the tank.  The added cost was $1.49.

We filled our water bottles and once it was time to board the plane, we were ushered onto the tarmac to climb onto our prop plane via a ramp.  It was all so chill and old school.

The flight down to Christchurch was lovely.  We tracked where we were by following the topography on Google Maps.  The sky was blue, the ocean was turquoise and the land was green.  It is hard to believe that dangerous wind and rain are headed towards New Zealand.  We arrived without any trouble and met Lucky, the woman our travel agent arranged to pick us up.

We are staying at the Muse hotel in downtown Christchurch.  We read the reviews for this hotel and laughed out loud.  People either love this hotel or it is the worst experience of their lives.  We are glad to have found a hotel in the city center area (called CBD here) at such short notice.  The Muse hotel is considered an “art hotel”.  There are large works of weird art everywhere.  The lobby is very small and to check in Gayle had to enter this red telephone booth….

…and talk to a screen with a man from India who took her credit card information and generated our room keys.  I’ll let you know if her credit card gets hacked.

My room key did not work so I had to go back to the front desk where the clerk went into the booth and requested that the man from India generate new ones.  So strange.  Our room reminds us of tiny places we have stayed in Europe and NYC.  Only one person can be moving at the room at a time.  We took time to rest before heading out in search of food.

We are a half mile from Riverside Market, which has a plethora of food stalls.  We took an Assist Uber, which means the driver should be knowledgeable and helpful for people with mobility concerns.  He made sure to drop us off as close to the market as possible.  I tipped him well!  We ordered our food and then Gayle went in search of a cocktail.  While I was waiting for our food a woman sat down in the stool beside me and said, “I am so drunk.”  She proceeded to tell me she had gone to a Spice Girls brunch and had been drinking for 4 hours.  We had a delightful conversation because all her filters were gone. When Gayle returned with her cocktail she had stories to tell about all the “friends” she made in pursuit of a drink.  I think it would be impossible for me to exaggerate how incredibly friendly and kind the people of New Zealand have been to us.  We found a comfortable place on the second floor to enjoy our food and people watch.

We walked back to our hotel.  It is very windy here but all weather predictions show the cyclone/tropical storm will miss us here.  We heard that they have just upped the threat level to Rotorua.  We are glad to be here.

Treewalk and Te Puia

I got up early this morning and headed down to our hotel lobby to get the barista to make us flat whites.  While I was down there I wondered if the large breakfast buffet was actually part of our reservation.  It is.  Silly us.  The flat whites were still necessary to help us wake up.  We did enjoy the breakfast buffet.  It wasn’t overwhelmingly delicious but the variety was marvelous and I got to enjoy a golden kiwi, slightly different from the kiwi grown in California.  

We headed for the Redwood Tree Walk and Glowworm experience.  The Redwood Tree Walk is walk through the Redwood trees 20 yards up, 7 1/2 football fields long with 28 suspension bridges.  Gayle knew she wasn’t going to be able to walk that far so she headed in the wrong direction so she could go a short distance and wait for me to come around.  This is Gayle disobeying the rules.

California Redwoods were introduced to this area in 1901.  They grow faster here in Rotorua. Only eight people are allowed on a suspension bridge at a time.  Only 20 people on the platforms in between the bridges.  

A specialist climbing team from Germany was brought in to aid in the construction of the treewalk.  The walkway is suspended from the trees using a specially designed sling that wraps around the Redwood trunks without causing harm to the trees. The slings can be easily adjusted to allow for the growth of the trees.

An artist was brought in to design hanging “lanterns” that light up the walkway at night.  It is a very popular nighttime attraction.  Since our time in Rotorua has been truncated we are not sure that we will be able to swing back by there tonight to experience the walkway at night.

Under the Redwoods the ground is covered in lush ferns.

I found the experiencing a bit intimidating….not terrifyingly so…just a bit daunting.  New Zealand currently is enjoying a two week school holiday and the place was crawling with children trying desperately not to break the rule and run on the bridges but having a hard time not doing so.  I eventually met up with Gayle and we headed off the walkway to the glowworm experience.

There are many glowworm caves in this area but must of them require you to ride a boat down some rapids in a dark cave.  Another one requires that you get down on all fours and crawl through a hole to get inside the cave.  We were not interested in either of these so we chose the easy to walk through a man made cave.  Luckily the glowworms are real.  

We had a lovely guide for just the two of us.  We watched a short information film on the life cycle of a glowworm.  They are cannibals so only about 10-13% of eggs make it to adulthood.  Those that make it are wormlike in appearance.  They glow brighter when they are hungry.  As you can see in this photo I took, some of the glowworms are brighter/hungrier than the others.

This is a close up of a couple of glowworms that have put out long string like strands to catch bugs for them to eat….like a web only in string form.

Eventually, they form a cocoon.  When they hatch they look like mosquitoes.  They have no stomachs are mouths as adult glowworms.  They have one job. The job of the male is to impregnate the female….and then die.  The job of the female is to lay her eggs…and then die.   It was an interesting tour that didn’t involve me crawling through a small hole

We realized last night that we are right around the corner from Lake Rotorua.  We can’t leave here without seeing it.  So we headed down to see it.  We found this Māori war canoe memorial.

We sat by the lake and enjoyed watching the black swans.

Being next to water is my zen place.

The wind sock next to the lake showed no current wind activity.  I wonder what it will look like on Sunday when the expected cyclone blows through this part of New Zealand.

Our guide at Hobbiton yesterday told us about a church in Rotorua with a stained glass of a Māori Jesus.  I looked it up last night and it looked like a white Jesus with traditional Māori clothing.  It didn’t have visiting hours available during the Fall months.  We did see the church in its beautiful setting on the lake.

We headed back to the room.  We have a reservation for a traditional Māori experience at 4 p.m. that lasts for 41/2 hours.  Gayle needed to rest her back and I wanted to do our laundry.  With the change in our schedule we will no longer be staying at the hotel we originally reserved in Christchurch.  At our new hotel we will not have laundry facilities at our disposal.  While Gayle rested I headed over to a nearby cafe to try out a hangi pie.  Hangi is a traditional way to cook food using heated rocks buried in a pit oven.  A hangi pie is meat or vegetables wrapped inside a phyllo like crust.  It was delicious.

We were picked up in front of our hotel and driven to Te Puia.  Gayle asked for a wheelchair for the guided tour so much of her experience was at the tail end of the tour where it was hard to hear and see.  Ian was our Māori guide.  

We toured the Māori Arts and Crafts Institute where Māori students learn the craft of woodcarving, weaving and stone & bone carving.

There is a Kiwi Conservation Centre on the site.  Kiwi are an endangered species.  We got to see a kiwi, in a darkened habitat, but we were not allowed to take any photos.  They are nocturnal and nearly blind, making them easy prey for predators.

I found the mud pools fascinating.  I wish I could add a video to this blog to give you the full impact of this bubbling caldron of mud.

The last stop on our guided tour was the Pohutu geyser.  

We asked Ian if they are afraid of a volcanic eruption.  He said they are not because they have all these steam vents which relieves the pressure.  The whole area has steam rising from it.  When we arrived at the geyser we were told that it would erupt in 15 minutes or less.  So we waited.  It was hot there.  You could sit down on the stone steps if you wanted a warm butt.

It wasn’t as spectacular as Old Faithful at Yellowstone but it was fun to watch it shoot up.

We were then loaded on a trolley and returned to the restaurant for a truly amazing buffet.  I would like to share everything I ate but I don’t relish your condemnation so I will hit the highlights.  I loved the Kanga porridge which I would suggest tasted like the creamed corn dish served at Thanksgiving.  I didn’t take any of the hangi since I had enjoyed that at lunch.  I tried the fry bread but I am not a fan.  There were also many dishes I know weren’t traditionally Maori but they were excellent:  chow mein, crème brûlée, chocolate covered crème puffs, etc.  While we savored our dinner the sunset took over the sky.   I rushed outside to get a couple photos.  This is Pohutu Geyser.

The sky above the community building was beautiful.

After dinner we were ushered to the community building for a performance of Maori culture, which began with a member of the audience being named our chief and becoming part of a ritual of accepting a peace symbol from a Maori warrior.

We all filed into the building for a demonstration of Maori music and dance. 

We were back in our room by 8 p.m. and ready for bed.  We need to be up early tomorrow to fly to Christchurch to avoid a cyclone.  

 

Hobbiton and a Change of Plans

Last night before we went to bed I emailed our travel agent to ask if we should be concerned about the cyclone heading our way.  She called us this morning and suggested that even if the cyclone downgraded the heavy rain and winds might keep us from flying to Christchurch on Sunday.  She suggested we leave Rotorua a day early.  She said she would take care of all the changes and get back to us.  We are feeling very smart that we used a Kiwi travel agent for just such possible circumstances.

We headed off in search of some coffee.  The coffee we can make in our room is barely drinkable.  We found a Starbucks in the City Centre and sat outside to enjoy what was turning out to be a glorious day.  

We had a tour of Hobbiton scheduled for 11:40 a.m.  It is about an hour drive from Rotorua.  We had a golf cart tour arranged because the 90 minute tour by foot would not be possible for Gayle.  She travels with a cane equipped to turn into a seat but the path through Hobbiton is long and steep.  We arrived early and were directed to be seated on a designated bench to wait for our tour.  I slipped into the gift shop to get my picture with Gandalf and to see if there was anything worth buying for the Lord of the Ring fan in my family.  I succeeded at the first task but I was not impressed with their merch.

We were loaded onto a large bus with 39 other visitors and driven to the Shire.  A golf cart and our own personal guide awaited us as the other 39 people headed off with the other guide.  All the Shire locations in the Lord of the Rings trilogy and Hobbit trilogy were shot at this location.  Tours of the set began in 2002.  Additional buildings and experiences have been added since then.  With the kind care of our guide, Paul, we had a magnificent day.

The hillside is covered with Hobbit homes built into the hillside.  The Shire is dotted with 120 year old Monterrey pines.  The place is magical!

Each home has clues to help you identify the craft or interest of the occupant.  This one is the home of the Shire’s local baker.

We got our picture taken at the home of the painter.

At the top of the hill is the home of Bilbo Baggins.  The tree above his home is completely fake. There are only two fake trees on the set.

We got to enter into a home designed to reflect the daily lives and culture of the Hobbits.  The living room…

The bedroom…

The kid’s room….

The kitchen…

The dining room…

I spared you from the bathroom, office, pantry, etc., etc.  It was a beautiful home.  I should admit that I never had to duck inside the Hobbit home. We got back on the golf cart and headed to the Green Dragon Inn, next to the Millhouse.

We got our complimentary beverage (stout, ale or ginger beer) and sat by the fire.  The view from this side of the lake was lovely.  You can see the smoke curling up from some of the chimneys.  It is someone’s job to stoke those fireplaces with wood chips every three hours to give the effect that Hobbits are actual at home.

Once we finished our drinks we were ushered into a large tent for an elaborate buffet (fish, chicken, roast beef, curry, roasted vegetables, etc.  The people with whom we shared a table said it was the best meal they have had in New Zealand.  It was decent but I am hoping it isn’t my best meal in New Zealand.

Our guide told us that Hobbiton can see as many as 2500 visitors in a single day.  It is well organized and your guide makes sure you stick together and no one lags behind so they can spend the night there.  It is a well-oiled machine.  

Gayle drove us to Hobbiton and back today.  She is an expert at roundabouts, remembering that the turn signal is on the right side of the steering wheel and tolerating my anxiety when I am the passenger and not the driver. About 2 km from our hotel there was a police checkpoint.  All cars in both directions were stopped and every driver was required to take a breathalyzer test.  Gayle, never haven been required to take one, had to get directions on what to do.  She came back clear and we made our way back to our hotel room.  We caught up on the emails from our travel agent.  She has taken care of everything.  We lose a day in Rotorua in which we had plans to drive over to Huka Falls and Lake Taupo.  It makes me sad but after watching the local news tonight I am convinced that we need to get out of here.

For dinner tonight we went to the City Centre to attend the Night Market, which is only on Thursday nights.   It wasn’t there.  So we headed over to Eat Street and chose the first restaurant in which we could get something small, delicious and without meat.  We were seated at Ambrosia, directly in front of a large screen TV playing old rugby highlights.  We are planning to go to a rugby game later this month.  We know absolutely nothing about rugby.  So while we ate our poached pear salad and artisan bread we watched rugby with fascination.  It looks dangerous and so confusing.  I pulled up the basic rules on my phone which only made the game seem more dangerous and confusing.  We did see a highlight from a past game in which the ball carrier was pantsed.  I think going to a rugby game is going to be full of surprises for us.

Just as we were turning off the main road to drive the final two blocks back to our hotel we saw the sky light up with lasers pointed at the steam of the geysers.  I turned around and found a parking lot where we could get a better view of the light show. 

It has been a good day and I am eager to fall asleep so I can wake up to another day of new experiences.

We Made It

Our trip began with Gayle arriving in California on Easter.  We spent Easter Monday getting pedicures and trying to check in for our flights that night for Auckland.  I say “trying” because no matter what we did we couldn’t check in online.  Gayle’s message said there was a security issue and she should arrive at the airport early to resolve it.  My message said that I needed to prove my onward travel from New Zealand.  My reaction to such “glitches” is to assume that the universe is transpiring to keep us from making this trip.  I’m a bit dramatic.  

My friends drove us to Los Angeles airport in plenty of time to resolve our “glitches”.  It seemed there was no security issue and we were handed out boarding passes without any fanfare.  We whisked through TSA, even after Gayle’s TSA pre was not recognized.  We had several hours to kill as we awaited our departure.  Gayle and I practiced taking selfies as we waited.  We suck at it!

Gayle and I booked Air New Zealand’s skycouches.  A skycouch is an economy seat but you get three seats together.  The foot rests fold up to form a couch that is 5’1” long.  You get a mattress pad, two standard size pillows and three blankets.  When you sit down you are given a “cuddle belt” that fits onto a hook in front of you so that you can comfortably belt yourself in and still be able to sleep.  It was worth the money.  Gayle slept most of the night.  I got several hours and was grateful.

We arrived in Auckland at 6 am on Wednesday after a 13 hour flight.  We lost a day crossing the international date line.  We were greeted with rain and lightning.  The landing was so rough I was sure that this was the “glitch” that would keep us from having a great trip.  The pilot eventually got a hold of the landing and after a collective sigh we all applauded.  We made it through customs without trouble and met Ameen, our transport driver.  

We spent three lovely hours in a van with Ameen, despite the heavy rain and our exhaustion.  On the plane I watched a documentary about New Zealand’s former prime minister, Jacinda Aldern.  I had been deeply moved by her leadership of kindness and empathy.  Ameen was also a fan of Jacinda.  We had a great conversation about politics, kiwi culture, tips on how to drive in New Zealand and what to be sure to see and do on this trip.  He promised to text us some further recommendations.  We made one potty stop on our 3 hour journey.  My friend Jacki, who lives in Auckland, had recommended that we ask to stop at the public toilets in Tirau.  The toilets are located inside this dog.

There are shops inside the sheep.

Ameen dropped us at the Rotorua airport where we had a reservation to pick up a rental car.  Ameen brought our bags in and hugged us each good-bye.  Shortly after he drove away Gayle realized she had left her phone in his car.  I tease her unmercifully about losing things while we travel — a wallet in a taxi in Johannesburg, South Africa, a purse in an Uber in Paris, her backpack on the train platform in Chartres.  She always seems to get her things back.  I quickly texted Ameen and he turned around and delivered her iPhone back into her grateful hands….and gave her another hug.  We are experiencing the full truth of the kindness of kiwi culture.  The woman at the rental car counter even offered to go get our car (in the rain) and bring it to us.  

In New Zealand you drive on the left side with the driver’s side of the car being on the right.  There is no left on red.  I got in the driver’s side, with Gayle navigating and promising to prompt me to “stay on the left”.  I find the roundabouts tricky, trying to navigate my turnoff and remember to signal with the turn signal being on the right side of the steering wheel.  

After landing at 6 a.m., navigating customs, driving to Rotorua and picking up our car, it was still only 10:45 a.m.  We were hungry.  We headed to a Thai restaurant that opened at 11 a.m.  We shared pad Thai (Gayle’s first time to eat it).  Gayle enjoyed her mango smoothie as we struggled to stay awake and be coherent.

We are spending four nights in Rotorua at the Rydges hotel.  The first thing you notice when you get to Rotorua is the heavy smell of rotten eggs.  The nickname for Rotorua is “Sulphur City”.  It is located within the Rotorua Caldera that was formed by a major volcanic eruption, 240,000 years ago. Rotorua’s key feature is its geothermal activity.  Our hotel is located right next to Whakarewarewa Thermal Valley. (The one advantage of the smell is that you can fart in Rotorua and everyone will assume that is just the smell of the city.)

We arrived to the hotel at 1:30 p.m., desperately hoping that they would allow us to check in early. They did.  There were chocolate truffles waiting in our room, a gift from our travel agent.  Our room looks out over the geothermal valley and the geothermally heated swimming pool. 

Our room is great, except that our bathroom floor is always wet. That is no exaggeration…..always very wet.  The humidity is 91% in Rotorua today.

We collapsed onto our beds and took much needed naps.  When we awoke I had a text from my friend Jacki warning that there is a cyclone headed our way on Sunday, which is the day we fly to Christchurch…..another “glitch”?  We decided to keep watching the weather to see if we will get out of Rotorua before a cyclone arrives.  

We had no desire to get dressed and go find dinner in the dark and the rain.  We ordered room service and went to bed early.

 

We Survived Breast Cancer Treatment

My sister and I enjoy traveling together. We are both planners. Planning our trips is almost as fun as the adventure,,,almost. We often egg each other on to try new things but, truth be told, Gayle is more adventurous than me. This is us in South Africa in 2019 after we swam out to the edge of Victoria Falls in Africa.  We may look like we loved it but we realized we were too old for that adventure!  We are smiling because we survived.

At the end of each international sister trip we take we talk about what is still on our bucket list.  After a trip to England and France in 2024 we settled on the South Pacific.  We were in the preliminary stages of talking about doing it in October of 2025.  Gayle and I met in New York City in January of 2025 for an extravaganza of eight shows in 10 days.  The first night we were there Gayle told me she had found a lump in her breast and had a mammogram scheduled for when she got home.  It turned out to be breast cancer and Gayle started down the road of treatment.  We set aside our plans for the South Pacific.

When her radiation was over we talked about planning a domestic celebration trip to Santa Fe and Taos.  Then I found lump in my breast, which turned out to be cancer.  Gayle flew out to care for me after my bilateral mastectomy.  What are the odds that two sisters are diagnosed with cancer in the same year?  We did not travel to the South Pacific or to New Mexico.

Once I recovered from surgery we began planning our South Pacific adventure again.  This time we are going full out.  It is a celebration trip!  We both survived breast cancer treatment and we are going to enjoy life! We leave for New Zealand in a couple days.  We will spend three weeks enjoying the North and South Islands.  Then we will fly to French Polynesia — two nights in Tahiti and four nights in Bora Bora.  Adventure awaits…

No Bambinos….No Continuation

For our last full day in England we signed up for an 11 hour guided tour to Bath, Stonehenge and Lacock.  I have taken a bus tour out of a large city before and the quality of the experience always rests on the quality of the guide.  This could be a great day or a long day.  

We were told to meet at the casino entrance of the Millennium Gloucester Hotel. We plotted out how to take the Underground to arrive on time. When we got to the Leicester Square station we learned that the Piccadilly line was closed for maintenance.  Back out on the street Linda suggested we grab a cab. It was Sunday morning and the streets were quiet. A cab drove up right at that moment and we were on our way. We were so early we thought we would check out how a British casino is different from an American casino. It turned out it was a member’s only casino so I can’t report on it.

Our guide for the day was a man named Zozo. As we left London his commentary was so unusual that I began to jot down my favorite Zozoisms. As we passed a certain hospital he talked about a mummy (dubbed Ginger for his red hair) who was discovered in Egypt. Ginger was mummified before the science of mummification was fully developed.  Ginger was different because his internal organs had not been removed. So he was transferred to this hospital in London so CT scans could be run on him. Zozo went on to describe the later mummification process in which (he said) a hook was put up the nose of the deceased person and the brain was extracted through the nostril. Now, you might think Zozo was a terrible guide but I would fully disagree.  He was my favorite guide…ever. He was helpful, informative and I hung on his every word because I was never sure what he might say next.  I never felt like tuning him out.

Our first stop was Bath, a UNESCO World Heritage site. As we approached Bath, Zozo told us the story of a queen who was pregnant multiple times but had not produced an heir. She repeatedly miscarried.  So she traveled to Bath to see if the renowned waters of Bath could heal what was causing her to miscarry.  He said, “No bambinos….no continuation”.  She did conceive and brought the child to term, in case you were worried.  “No bambinos….not continuation” was my favorite Zozoism of the day.  

We did not sign up for the tour of the Roman baths and museum. Instead we headed into the Bath Abbey.  Anybody who travels with me knows that I am a sucker for a church tour. It is a beautiful church…

…Outside and inside…

…with over 800 people entombed in its walls and floors.  I especially loved this stone which speaks of Mrs. French as the ingenious Mr. Harvey’s “sifter”.  It took some research to learn that a sifter is someone that uses some intense scrutiny and criticism to help someone sift out the bad from the good to become a better person.

Next we headed down to the Avon river to see the Pulteney Bridge.  It is one of only four bridges in the world to have shops across the full span of the bridge on both sides.

At the end of this street (behind the fountain) is the home that was used as Lady Danbury’s home in the TV series “ The Bridgertons”.

It was Sunday and I have such good memories of having a Sunday roast while on the narrow boat trip in Wales with friends. We found a restaurant that felt they could feed us in 45 minutes so we wouldn’t miss our bus. It was delicious and served quickly enough we still had time to stop at the fudge shop and coffee shop.  As we headed out of town we drove past the home of Jane Austen, an unassuming abode for a woman who is a household name.

Our next stop was Stonehenge.  We had picked a tour that would allow us to go beyond the ropes and enter the inner circle of Stonehenge. It meant we had to arrive at the end of the viewing hours so that our group was the only group there.  Just walking up to it was incredible.

Our Stonehenge guide (good but not as exceptional as Zozo) explained what we know and what we don’t know about this incredible site.  The stones in the center were placed there 4.5 millennia ago.  They just recently learned that what they refer to as the “altar” stone was brought from Scotland.  That is miles away. The stones are so heavy.  They didn’t have domesticated horses and rail cars or any way to transport them.  How and why are they there?  They are so many different theories, the most probable being a way to track or honor the lunar and solar patterns.  

Linda and I wandered in and around and stones until we were told it was time to move outside the “inner circle”.  

Our guide showed us the 56 indentations around the outside.  At one time there may have been stone or wood pillars in these indentations. The indentations date back 5 millennia.  Underneath these 56 spots,  cremains have been discovered.  

On the far hills (in a far circle around the stones) we could just make out burial mounds.  

It was chilly and foggy when we were there, which Zozo assured us makes the experience even more captivating.  Linda had purchased a scarf at the Visitor Center before we headed up to the stones.  She needed a scissor to get the tag off but she didn’t have one of those lying around.  The scarf worked just as well with the tags as without them.

Four guards are at Stonehenge at all times.  We talked to one of them who said that they have people try to visit Stonehenge every night after hours.  Thus the guards and the fences and only a small group of people allowed to experience the inner circle.  We felt fortunate to count ourselves among the lucky few.  

We returned to our bus with wet feet, cold hands and inspired hearts.  We headed to Lacock, a medieval town.  No one in Lacock owns their own home.  The whole town is owned by the National Trust.  People wait as long as three years to be allowed to rent a place and become one of the 200 residents of Lacock.  Buses are not allowed in the town so we were dropped off at the edge of town and walked in the dark to the George Inn for dinner.  

We were seated with a couple from Singapore.  Linda got the fish & chips and I got the steak & ale pie.  Halfway through our meals we switched.  It was good food.  We both agreed that the steak and ale pie was a stellar entree.  After a quickly eaten dinner Zozo led the interested through the darkened streets of Lacock.  There are no street lamps and it was quite chilly.  We hustled past the house used as home of James and Lily Potter (Harry Potter’s parents) and the small brick building with no windows that was used as the lock-up (prison) for the town.  Zozo had warned us it wouldn’t be an amazing tour because it was dark outside but he reminded us that we really came to see Stonehenge and this was just a little bonus.

Once back in London, Zozo made suggestions for what transportation we should all use given the multiple Tube closures.  Linda and I were back in our hotel room in no time.  We packed so we would be ready to leave tomorrow for home.  Linda is flying standby so she brought only a small carry-on.  It was quite a feat to get her luggage closed!

What a fabulous, fun-packed trip we enjoyed!