Royal sighting

We took the day off for Bulli's birthday and on a whim decided to get off the tube at Victoria and walk up past Buckingham Palace and up the Mall to get to Covent Garden. It became clear as we walked something out of the ordinary was happening; the Mall was closed to general traffic and all the Queen's guards and carriages were parading through some of the back roads.

We thought it was some sort of rehearsal so just carried on up the Mall...then it the band struck up and next thing Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip cruised on passed us, heading to Horseguard's Parade for the Turkish President State Visit.

Only managed to snap a pic of the carriages near the back of Horseguard's parade. A nice surprise though given that usually people line up a few deep on a special occasion hoping for a glimpse of royalty.

Eelbrook common

Is it sad that I went searching for more leaves? Well you gotta look for the positives in November. From Parsons Green to Eelbrook Common and then on to Bon Bon, a lovely italian deli, for a drink.

Parsons Green

After pilates this morning went walking in search of some autumn leaves, first stop, Parsons Green...

Afternoon delight

Win declared afternoon teas were the new way of entertaining, and I think she's right. On a recent Sunday afternoon Win set up the most beautiful table with a mix and match collection of antique china, sourced from France to York to ebay...

Champagne, tea, guiness chocolate cake, chicken waldorf sandwiches, duck orange pate and smoked salmon bagels were all on the menu - beyond delicious.

Venezia

View from near Accademia

Win and Jane were kind enough to join me on a visit to one of the must-see destinations of Europe, Venice. We arrived well after midnight and as our very slow little boat eased past all the stops around the Grand Canal you could hear the water slopping up against the piers and spot the last sightseers of the day canalside and by candlelight, enjoying the only real peaceful time of day in this super busy city.

It's busy but it is a picture. The Doge's Palace does give you an insight into what life was like in the 'serene state' for hundreds of years. We ate delicious seafood, a yum tarta cocco, sipped on aperol spritz (the distinctive orange drink), paid too much for a coffee at historic Cafe Florian featuring an orchestra serenading St Mark's square, visited Peggy Guggenheim's for a modern art fix, and of course enjoyed a gondolier ride. We queued for St Mark's Basilica where the remains of Mark, author of the gospel of his name, were interred after their clandestine trip back from Constantinople and saw the golden jewelled altar that came with them.

Out on the lagoon on the ferry to Murano (glassmaking) and Burano (lace making) families sped around on speedboats enjoying the October sun and beautiful blue waters.

A drink in the historic Hotel Daniele with its handmade Murano glass chandeliers was a visual treat as was the taxiboat we sped across the lagoon to the airport in. With the wind in our hair we arrived in style, but as we had to inelegantly jump over a closed gate to complete our journey the glamour was over - as Win said 'We arrived like Angelina and left, well, not like Angelina'.

Cute Burano, home of lacemaking and just 2,700 people

A glass owl on Murano

St Mark's Basilica

Win and Jane at Cafe Florian

Bergen mountain hike

Setting out from Ulriskbanen - Bergen below

Bergen residents take to the mountains instead of the shops on a Saturday, as we discovered on our walk from the Ulriskbanen cable car across to Floyen and the Floibanen funicular.

Lonely Planet suggested this was a well worn trail and a relatively cruisy three hour walk. Not so much, more like a four and a half hour hike of rugged terrain, which we weren't that well kitted out for - in jeans and shorts, trainers and a sandwich and a chocolate bar between us.

The coltish Norwegians were decked out in their stylish and practical Berghaus and Craft outdoor gear, and were kindly and embarrassingly concerned about me after I took a tumble on a rock following my shock at the Wallabies loss to Ireland, and in the process exposing a fair bit of shin-skin and blood...

Small adventure aside it was a breathtaking hike and it was awesome.

I was amazed that people could mountain bike this terrain! It was also dotted with little overnight huts and it has a lit cross country ski trail for winter, and there were families and little kids doing at least a little bit of the hike. Every city should have a handy mountain up above it for a stimulating Saturday walk....

Norway in a Nutshell

Oslo to Bergen train via the historic Flam railway and a trip through the majestic fjords. Potentially one of the most beautiful one day journeys in the world...

The whole day was scenery on another level and there's no way my photos capture the purity and grand scale of some of these sights.

One of the teeny villages dotted throughout the fjords

Super cute village

Lashings of waterfall