Welcome back to “When Wine Calls”.
Our first flight leg of the trip allowed us to enjoy French champagne, wonderful chardonnay and our favourite dessert wine, all being on the menu as we winged our way over to Doha. The hostesses were tremendous, so friendly and helpful and the food wow!!! and so unexpected that we simply had to eat it (I never thought I’d say that about plane food).
The highlight was the seats that enabled Pauline and I to lounge around together throughout the flight, watch and laugh at the same movies at the same time and cuddle up together for a great sleep – you may as well be in your own home it was that good. It was unusual being served breakfast a few hours out of Doha when it was early evening there and then having happy hour when you arrive but we made it work given that wine was involved in both instances.
We had a long overnight layover in Doha but we were shown to the Quiet Zone in the lounge which has unusually shaped beds to get some sleep. Not sure they were designed for Pauline and I though as our body shape didn’t quite fit with the curves but it was better than our backpacking days of sleeping in chairs or on the floor of the terminal.
By the end of the Doha leg we had worked out all the controls on the seats so we were pros on the next leg to London – it is certainly different to the days when I used to do business trips in seats that were just wider economy seats.
Arriving in London was certainly surreal and somewhat strange. The long queues at security that we had encountered in previous trips no longer existed and we practically walked straight through and out the terminal in no time and onto the tube – it is such a pleasure to arrive in London now. We actually had to pinch ourselves as we couldn’t believe the difference from then to our last trip!
Prior to arriving in London we thought we knew exactly where our hotel was located having stayed at Earl’s Court numerous times previously. What we hadn’t factored in was a power outage in the area when we arrived outside the station that took out all mobile services including Google maps on our mobiles to provide directions so that what was to be a
4 minute walk turned into a 30 minute sightseeing tour of the neighbourhood complete with all our luggage – all you need after 30 hours on the go. We are so reliant these days on the internet that we are “up …….. creek” when it doesn’t work but we both had a good laugh and finally made our way to the hotel although we seriously thought about heading to the pub instead.
The days in London were magic. Each time Pauline and I arrive in London and hop on the tube it feels like a second home with a really warm feeling of belonging. In the few days we had there we walked and walked (over 16,000 steps each per day) and reacquainted ourselves with this fantastic city. On the day we arrived was the Trooping of the Colour so the days following allowed us to see all the British flags hanging throughout the streets, walk the length of the Mall to Buckingham Palace without traffic and experience the ongoing party atmosphere along the Thames with life music, markets and pubs all being enjoyed by locals and tourists alike.
One of our favourite markets is the Borough Markets that offer such fantastic wine and food of all varieties and where the locals flock to on the weekend. It is such a great market with tremendous atmosphere and we loved just sitting up at a barrel at the wine bar and absorbing it all while we enjoyed a lovely chardonnay with pate.
The night arrived that we had both been waiting for – we had secured tickets to ABBA Voyage and couldn’t wait to get there. We had read that it was an avatar of the group and didn’t quite know what to expect but it was an ABBA show so we just had to go. Whatever you have read or understand this show to be it is so different and so much more spectacular than anything you would expect. It was such a great evening and it felt that we had actually been at a live rock concert with ABBA back in their peak and didn’t want it to end. A real night to remember and a definite highlight among many already so far on our adventure.
On our final day in London we were off to the Churchill War Rooms. I had been there several times previously with the children but Pauline had always missed out.
Today was the day to correct this omission and we spent many hours wondering through the that takes you back to the horrific years in London during the Second World War and the Winston Churchill era in such focus as if you are really there – a definite must see for any of you travelling to London.
Well, our time in London has come to an end – we packed a lot into a few short days but what wonderful days they were.
While writing this blog we are now speeding along the tracks on route to our next stop, Edinburgh with a glass of you guessed it, French chardonnay to assist in the journey looking out on the picturesque English countryside. Train travel throughout the UK is certainly the way to go.
I hope “Wine is Calling You” wherever you maybe – until next time.
Bruce & Pauline
When Wine Calls 
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