Visit to Buckingham Palace

We went to visit the inside of Buckingham Palace with Rosemary, Nick and Sally. Wow, what opulent banquet halls - quite exquisite. The palace has 500 rooms and 78 bathrooms, so I doubt the queen and her hubby ever have rows about who takes a shower first or who is taking up the most cupboard space.

Proms at Hyde Park

Then off to the Proms. Lots of Pomp and Circumstance, flag waving and singing at the top of our lungs. The Corrs also featured, who I love, so I was rivetted. The weather threatened a few times, but ended up behaving itself. All in all, a wonderful, truly British experience.

Lisbon

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New Lisbon

Off to Lisbon for a day and a night to get our Portuguese dealer sold on a web site. The meeting went very well and then it was straight off to do some sightseeing (first time in this part of the world).

My hotel was right accross from the grounds of the Expo 98 so that was my first port of call. Lots of very modern, flashy buildings. I took the lift to the top of the tower (see middle photo) for a good view. The Lisbon bridge is very impressive. Built specially for the Expo, it reaches 17 km's accross a very wide river.

Old Lisbon

It got pretty dark very quickly once I got to downtown Lisbon which was a pity because it was beautiful and there were photo opportunities galore. I walked up to the castle on the hill that looked down onto the city (see last photo) and it provided a relaxing spot to contemplate. I found the city to be suprsingly run down in parts, but very atmospheric and packed with history. Not that I had a chance to see that much! Hopefully, I'll be able to wrangle another trip in a month's time.

Trip to Brussels

I went on a whirlwind trip to Brussels but managed to stop off at the Manneken Piss and Grande Place in the evening for some photos. The light wasn't condusive for master pieces but here and below are a couple of snaps. The drawn version of the little boy is photo'd off a window. Who would have thought that a little boy peeing could cause so much excitement! The little flash of light in the window shot (giving him a bit of modesty) was a complete flook of the light, i certainly wasn't trying to do anything clever. Amazing co-incidental positioning!

Grande Place

A walk with the dogs

Went for a walk with Amanda and a friend along the river with their two dogs, Geena (the collie) and Eliza (the pug). I stopped off for a dip in the Cam which was deceptively cold!!

Exploring Ely

We explored the town of Ely today with Mike and mum and had a lovely day. Started off with lunch at the local pub where we got to enjoy the stunning weather in the garden.

The highlight of Ely was the cathedral. Very impressive. Built in 1077, it took 292 years to build (stats provided by Mike after a bout of research!)

How is this for a skylight!

This swan was quite a friendly fellow.

Mike saw an antique shop full of old things an enthusiatically encouraged us in. I entertained myself by taking portrait photos of little figures around the shop.

Punting in Cambridge

We all went punting on the Cam on Friday evening (no trip to Cambrige is complete without a punt) and took a lovely picnic along. Here are some photos taken along the river. Good fun - The colleges in Cambridge always looks extra special from the river.

This duck was very inquisitive and came to say "hi" and ask to share some of our picnic. Mum and I had a little competition to see who could take the best photo and she won, despite the fact i took snapped five times more shots. Cute little fellow, isn't he. He swam around us for ages.

Titan Lilly

This lilly at the Cambridge botanical garden flowers only every thirty years and only then, for two days at a time. And Mum and Mike just happened to be there on the week it happened! The left photo (of the closed stem) was taken on Wednesday and the open flower (right photo) on Friday (Mike stood in a queue for over an hour to capture it on film.)

The Cape Town cuties

Matthew

Jo sent us some nice photos. Here's her hubby, Antony, and little Matthew. Matthew is a year and bit and a very chilled out little fellow. Gorgeous.

Sammy

Little Sammy - isn't she cute. Can't believe she is 4 and a bit already. She's wonderful with Matthew - the perfect big sister.fx

A stroll through Cambridge

Monday is a public holiday and since we have Kerry and Mum and Mike to stay (it's a wonderful, full flat!), we thought we'd go on a tour of Cambridge. We walked into town past the River Cam. Mike's got his handy rain proof hat on and it sure came in handy later on in thre day


A grand facade

Punting along

No tour of Cambridge would be complete without a shot of some punters!


Trinity College

We visited Trinity College. What beautiful lawns - though of course they're strictly out of bounds. Lawns in Britain are generally there to be admired, not walked on!

Trinity College

A pretty flower in Trinity College gardens

King´s College

Chapel always seems too lowly to decribe this awesome church. Catheral more like! The roof is my best part - absolutely spectacular. Ally and I loved watching the Choristers here at the Sunday service - brought back great memories of my own days in the choir.


Choir Pews

Inside King's College Chapel. This is where we came to watch the King's College Choir earlier this year. Brings back memories of my own choirs days thought the pews weren;t quite so grand. Nor were our voices if i have to be honest!

Windswept Ally and co

Ally and Mike outside the chapel

Taking a breather

fx

Love is in the air

It's been a real month for weddings. In that time, four of my colleagues have got hitched. Top left: Andreas, whose on my e-business team, got married on Friday, in Germany. He arrived back at work today, a bit of a let down i'm sure! They're postponing their honeymoon to December when they're going to Australia. Top right: Katarina married just over a month ago in Sweden, she and her hubbie have now moved permanently to UK. Bottom left: Jenny who is a consultant on an e-business project, married a chap with three kids (that sure must be love!). Bottom right: Hendrik who is part of the remarketing team who i'm also working with on a web project.