Suommenlinna Island

Here is one pic just to show you what the

'underground' bunkers where like there. It was so interesting here. You could easily imagine the vikings living here.

Tallin, Estonia

#1 Mark standing at the entrance to the Old Walled city. Tower on the left was Fat Margaret.

#2 The absolutely gorgeous orthodox church.

#3 The town square. This is just to show what some of the buildings were like.

Helsinki photos

Here are the photos from Helsinki. It would only bore you to hear what hassle it has been to get this far. They are also in a fairly random order.. but at least its something to look at for now.

#1 Copper ceiling inside the rock church. (official name escapes me for now) This shot is showing a 20m wide section of it. It was so stunning!

#2 Inside the rock church. If you look closely you can see Mark sitting in his red jacket in the end of one of the pews. Pipe organ to the right, glass skylight which surrounded and supported the copper ceiling.

#3 Me sitting at the bar of our hotel (Helka). The whole hotel was full of this fab style furniture. The ceiling of our room had a giant picture on it of rocks and lake. Very peaceful.

#4 Taken from the bar on top of Hotel Torni where we sipped champagne while watching the boat leave for Stockholm. (See white ship leaving)

#5 A fab church in Helsinki. (again forgot the name of it for now)

#5 Mark rugged up in his (now) beloved thermals against the cold. It was about -1C this early in the morning.

#6 Some signs at the train station which fascinated Mark.

#7 Me, if you look closely you will see my eyes only are showing. Again so bloody cold! In the background, barely visible, is the low building on the left which was the local food market we got the fab salmon from.

Sunday in Helsinki

Again we tried to visit the rock church but it was closed again. We noted they were open for a couple of hours in the arvo and planned to get back there. Luckily it was only 2 blocks from our hotel so not out of the way.

We took another short boat ride this time to Suommenlinna Island. This island has in the past been a Russian fortress in the early 1800's - early 1900's before being taken back by Finland when they achieved thier independance. The island has heavily fortified cannon positions, underground bunkers and very large, man made, rock walls and many many old buildings. Again this was a UNESCO site and fascinating to walk around (in the cold again!!) We stopped for lunch and Mark loved his chunky smoked salmon soup. Hot and comforting.

On the way back we visited the Sibelius Monument (another Emmeline recommendation) which was quite fascinating, though tricky to find.

We then finally got inside the rock church and it was well worth it. So fascinating and beautiful. Mark was amazed by the engineering and "how did they build it" was his question. The interior ceiling was small strips of copper sheeting in a circular pattern. It looked like a cross section of a tree with the rings but was at least 30 mts across. Surrounding this copper ceiling was then glass all around being supported by concrete spines back to the rock face. There was also an average size pipe organ inside and they had lovely music playing to help create the solemn mood. We were happy to just stop and sit and take it all in.

We ended our day with a lovely dinner in the hotels restaurant. A bottle of Chilean merlot (very fine) to accompany my guinea fowl and Marks reindeer steak. We finished up with desserts of local berries and fruits.

Though we only had 2.5 days in Helsinki it truly feels like we have had at least a week here. We have seen many great things and thoroughly enjoyed our time here. Though the cold weather was challenging it was also part of the experience to rug up and we have become experts in a very short time on how to get scarves, gloves, hats, jackets etc on and off quickly.

We are sitting in the airport now and about to board our plane to Prague.

More from there'

xD

f..f..fr.freezing in finland & how lucky are we #3

Well so much for the warm welcome we had on arrival. The next morning was around 0C when we first left the hotel and it got to a top of around 3-4C. Thank goodness we took our thermals. Mark (who was rebelling against the idea when we were packing) actually kissed his thermals when he took them off... and thanked the person who invented them.

First up on Saturday we headed towards the Temppeliaukio Church. It is a church built into a rock cavity. All the walls are rock, some which was existing space and some drilled out to form a circular shape. It had been recommended to us by Emmeline who had been there on her travels. Alas we were too early for it to be open so we just walked around and climbed up and over. From the outside it has the feel of an underground house you get in Coober Pedy but it had a domed copper roof.

So from there we did a considerable walk to the ferry terminal to catch the ferry to Tallin, Estonia. We were late for the one we had planned to catch. Our hotel failed to mention the need to be there around 45 mins early. We were there 5 mins before it was due to leave and it was already pulling away.

So off we headed to the next option. Another ferry liner (there are several who go there daily) but of course it was not at the same harbour. We were freezing and the walk back to town was looking daunting so we waited by the only taxi there. Unfortunately there was no driver. We waited a while and then I went inside in search of someone who looked like they might drive a taxi and con them to take us to town. I found a very friendly fellow looking bored playing a type of poker machine and asked if he was the taxi driver. He was so excited to be getting a trip that he nearly left without finihsing the credit he had accrued. I assured him we were not in that big a hurry and that he could win his fortune first. He won no more credit and on the walk to the taxi he apologised for not being at the taxi and that he was having a "coffee" break!

He was very friendly and helpful and fully backed up the idea of going over to Tallin. We had been having some 2nd thoughts on the idea as here we were in Helsinki and were taking off for other places. He assured me it was so popular to go there that last year there were over 6 million passengers just from Helsinki to Tallin and with only a population of 5 million in all of Finland it suggests some are going many times. He also mentioned that everything was alot cheaper in Estonia than Finland. eg; cigarettes were half price and alcohol around 30% less. Our aim was not to shop there though so we didnt really care about this great deal on offer.

We arrived in the market square where the alternate ferry was leaving from but now we were an hour early for this one so we got our tickets and wandered the market place. It was outside stalls of mostly knitwear, wood products and fur products. I must say I was VERY tempted to buy a full reindeer pelt. I could just picture myself reading a book with my toes nestled amongst its soft fur!!! The only thing that held me back was that I was unclear as to the Aussie govs strict rules re bringing in furs. btw... the minx ear muffs were mighty tempting too!!!

Then we went to the indoor market "old market hall" which was like going to Camberwell food market. The food on offer was so amazing. There was salmon in every way imaginable. Lots of other fish products as well and not one sign of the horrid rollmop I was expecting to see here. We ended up buying lunch to eat on the ferry as it was to be a 1.5 hr trip. So with a snack pack of rolled salmon (smoked and spiced), a potato pie (super fine wholemeal pastry shell filled with mashed potato) a bread roll and of course a couple of nice little desserts. Our hotel supplied b'fast so we were not that hungry.

The trip over was very comfortable and the locals got stuck into the bar before we had even left the dock. WE also noticed that many many people were taking over empty suitcases or luggage trolleys. We guessed they planned to really do some shopping.

On arrival we noticed everyone was getting money changed. On inquiry I found out they used a different currency and that while they were now part of the EU they had not actually changed there currency over yet. I guess this supported the cheap buying available. As our reason for going was to visit the old walled town we didnt bother to get any local cash.

The old town was only 250 mts from the ferry terminal so we had easy stroll there. (remember it was still bloody freezing!!!) We were excited with what we saw and as this was Marks first experience in seeing a walled city he was absolutely fascinated and awestruck to be seeing buildings that were built over 800 yrs ago. I will post some photos when I can but some highlights in particular were the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral. It is the oldest orthodox church in Estonia. It had the same "onion" top towers as the well known one in St Petersburg. (we initally wanted to get to St Petersburg but it was just a little out of our reach) This unexpected visit was really filling that gap. How lucky are we!! Also of particular interest in this UNESCO listed site was the town hall, the foreign embassies, Fat Margarets tower, and just the winding narrow streets and surrounding wall itself. It was all so beautiful and well worth the trip over. We would have loved a hot drink but... bugger... no local currency!

When we left the old town we headed towards a shopping centre. Not to shop but just to get indoors and get warm. We huddled on a seat inside just enjoying the delicious feeling of being warm again. With still an hour to kill before our return ferry we then spotted a hotel and ended up sitting in their bar having a drink we could pay for in Euro and also listening to a folk group singing in the next room at a function going on there. It was all very pleasant and warm. The ferry trip back was full of quite drunk people carrying heavily laden bags off goodies they had purchased there. It was plainly obvious that many had well over the limit of alcohol allowed by immigration rules listed but the local authorities didnt seem to care.

All in all.. Tallin... absolutely lovely and growing city which gave us a real taste of Russian society.

We were glad to get back and have a hot shower and get some sleep. We felt like we had walked a million miles.

More soon
xD

Helsinki and jet-lagged

Finally on our Finnair flight to Helsinki. For an international flight the plane was not very big. Capacity was only around 250 compared to a standard 400. The flight path took us up and over norther Japan and Russia. At times when we looked out the window all we could see was white ice and snow and white mountain tops. Its true Siberia looks cold and miserable. Once we moved alittle south again and were over the water you could see pack ice that was breaking up. AT one stage I could see where an ice breaker ship had been through. From the air the ice looked like oil on water, being little and bigger circles floating on the water. As we flew over Finland there was endless miles of pine trees and lakes.
After a 10.5 hr flight it was good to get out and stretch our legs again. We were through customs and immigration in record time. For the most, everyone on the flight was transferring to a connecting flight. We jumped into a taxi and the driver was full of information on what to see and do during our time here. We were expecting 0 - 5C but it was around 15C as we left the airport. Only a little bit of snow on the side of the road and footpaths. The drive in showed how flat the city is and the scenery was mostly silver birch forest and lots of large rocks. In the city the buildings are 5 - 6 storeys tall for the main and are old but well maintained.

We took the taxi drivers advice and headed up to the bar at the top of Torni Hotel. He said we would get 360 degree views from there and we would see the ships leaving the harbour, for Stockholm. The bar area wasn't big but was busy. We grabbed 2 glasses of champagne to toast our arrival in Helsinki and then stood on the outside deck to take in the views. By this stage the temp had dropped to 4C and the locals were keeping warm with rugs around their legs they had pulled out of their bags. We noticed in the distance an amazing white building (probably a church). We decided to head towards it and check it out as well as see waht we could along the way. Unfortunately it was closed when we got there but enjoyed the walk, scenery and people watching. Mostly the paths and roads were constructed of cobblestone and you oculd hear the cars coming because the tyres have metal studs on them and they make a clicking sounds on the road.

On our walk back we stopped off for dinner of meatballs and mash potato, this was great. We were tired by this time as for us it was 11pm from where we had started in the morning. Needless to say we were in bed early (around 8pm local time).

This also meant we are awake early (Dominique woke at 2am!!!). This hotel has internet access in the room on the TV. We are now typing this blog from our bed. Its 6am and we are wide awake.

Today we are planning to see a bit more of the city centre and then at midday we may pop over to Estonia for the afternoon and early evening. This is more advice from our taxi driver. We had planned to go to Porvoo near Helsinki but he said we would see it all in 5 min and that to take the ferry over to Estonia (I think the city is something like Talin) we would see the same as Porvoo as well as much more Russian type buildings that are beutiful. He did mention to take hats, gloves scarves etc. Guess it will be cold!!

Bye for now
Mark

The day I nearly lost my husband

We jumped into the taxi at 7am from hotel to Tokyo station, to get the train to narita airport. After a little rigmarole working out which train to get (express or not) as well as which ticket to buy (tickets for different trains are sold at different parts of the station) we made a dash for the 7:30 train. To give you an idea these trains are about 16 carriages long and you get a ticket with seat allocation. So you have to be on the platform where your carriage stops as it pulls up. This is quite easy for the most as they have the platform marked where each carriage should stop. Alas this did not happen on this occasion. We had tickets for carriage 3 and carriage 13 stopped in front of us. Knowing how absolutely prompt they are with their trains we decided to jump on to this carriage and just make our way through the train to get to our carriage.

After dashing through, and bumping several people on the way with our bags, we came to the point where we could not move from carriage 9 to carriage 8. (All of this being done with another guy so it was a bit confusing) So we bravely jumped off and onto the next carriage but it also didnt seem to go far so we thought we may have to get off again. We were also commenting that possibly we should just stay on and ride it standing up if necessary. But faster than we could think and decide Mark had stepped off the train and the guy who was with us had got between us, with his very large bag, and the train doors closed (I know the girls I was in Sorrento with can relate to this story!!!) There was no button to open the door in emergency. Once they are closed, they are closed. The last thing I saw as the train started pulling away was Mark (looking very forlorn) mouthing the words "I will see you at the airport". This was an express train taking over an hour to get to the airport.

Fortunately the guy who was dashing around the trains with us was sitting behind me so we chatted and the time passed quickly so I didn't get too anxious over where in Tokyo airport I could 'meet' Mark. (we only brought one phone as we would always be together!!!) Anyway... I figured the best was to wait on the train platfrom and eventually he would appear. Well 3 trains later there was still no sign of Mark (2 were non express and one express). So I figured I would try going up to the Finnair check in area in case he was up there. I was starting to wonder if he has loved Japan so much that he had decided to stay!!

Fortunately he was at the info counter near check in and hadn't seen me standing on the platform below.

2 & 3 April

We have spent the last 2 days seeing as much of Tokyo as we can but at the same time trying to stop and enjoy the moments as they come along.

First up yesterday we went to Ueno Park where they have literally 100's of Cherry Blossom trees in flower. As you can see by the photo they are a hit with the locals as well. There were constantly people pouring into the park. We then took a bus for a complete circuit of it's route to see the sights from that angle. On winding in and out of the streets here we came to feel like we are in some kind of toy town. Its so great how compact everything is. The bus, cars, houses, bikes etc are all compact. Tokyo completely suits Mark's preference for 'clean and neat'!!! I have lost count of the number of times he has pointed out in astonishment how clean the under carriage of a truck is, or a train, or subway station or paths etc etc. He loves that part of it.

After the bus trip around we went to Senso Ji temple. It was in Asakusa which is quite a touristy area which was a shame but the actual temple was absolutely stunning. It is a Buddhist temple and there was also several surrounding buildings equally beautiful.

After a wander and a great tempura lunch we then went on a ferry up the river. It was an interesting way to see a bit more of the city but not super exciting. We got off the boat at the Ginza area. This was a busy busy area but pretty fabulous. Mark was impressed by all the lights and billboards. He couldn't help but take a pic or 2 of them.

After lots of window shopping (see pic of me having a little rest amongst the gerbera's) we found a great place for dinner. Like the restaurant we went to the previous night it was a bit of a maze. The whole restaurant was broken up into cubicles. Each space was only 2 tables. The walls were all done in lovely timber slats and some were lined with rice paper. (alas smoking in restaurants is still a BIG thing here but you can only smoke on the street at designated smoking stations - aka large ashtray. The benefit of this rule is that there are no butts on the ground in the streets)

This is us with our dinner. Pork & veg steaming in the wooden box and sashimi on ice behind it. To go along with the 'toy town' theory we laughed at the very tiny tomatoes dressing the plate with our bbq'd yam slices and donuts Mark snacked on today.

First up this morning was coffee at the local cafe. We practically feel like locals as when we walk in the guy behind the counter smiles and says quite cheerily, 2 cafe latte's? He remembered after our first visit there. It seems it is a fairly rare order as most here drink iced or black coffee mixed with water and then gum syrup. Before we found this cafe we were so desperate that we resorted to the vending machine coffee which is coffee in a can, and comes out hot. Very weird but surprisingly not bad (when you are desperate for caffiene).

Then we were off to Meiji Jingu a fabulous bush park and gardens, and palace built in the early 1900's. The park had a feel of Central Park in NYC. 100's of acres of bush and gardens. Very large trees with birds flitting around & a big pond full of Carp. From there it was across the street to Harajuku St and surrounds. What a cool and funky area. We could have spent alot more time here but it would mostly have been shopping and there was more interesting things to see.

So off we went to find a Japanese style garden listed in the book to be of some note. We have used the train and subway system alot to get around. At first it was a bit tricky but we soon got the hang of it. The dilemma has been when we were a bit further out of the city there is no English on the signs. This resulted in us getting on the wrong train today and flying along on the express past the station we wanted to get off at. We soon sorted it out and found our way back to the station near the park we were heading for.

We had to walk a little distance from the station and it was quite a suburban area. Again the whole toy town feel with such cute houses and winding lanes. In this area lots of people were cycling which made it very pleasant to stroll around.

The park was quite small but lovely. It was not the manicured Japanese style we expected but lovely none the less.

Then it was back to the hotel to get organised for our flight tomorrow morn to Helsinki. We will leave the hotel around 7am and our flight is at 11am. This is giving us more than ample time but will allow for any unknowns.

Thats enough blabbing on for now... time to find our last dinner in Japan.

Hope all are well there. We miss you all.

xD

1st April...How lucky are we # 2

As per previous post we started the day with a big Japanese breakfast. We planned to leave Tsumago early but wanted to have another wander around town first.
Here are a few pics to set the scene, but it is hard to do it justice. The little guys with the red hats and bibs were about 50cm tall and each were a head stone at a grave in the town cemetary. The stone path led up to the cemetary.



We left Tsumago by taxi to the train station at Nagiso. The town sits next to the river, which is very wide and has very large boulders and rocks sitting in it. Some are the size of small houses. We knew which trains we needed to catch and had previously paid by Mastercard for our train tickets. Imagine our surprise when our Mastercard was not accepted!!!!! We went to pay by cash, but as our night at the inn was a cash only establishment, we were short by 3000 Yen (about $30 bucks)

We were directed to the local bank only a couple of hundred metres down the hill to use the ATM. Imagine our futher surprise to find not only the machine wouldn't give us money neither would the bank inside. After battling a small communication barrier, the ever patient bank teller directed us to the local post office 400 metres back up the hill past the train station. On arrival at the post office we found another ATM which happily accepted our card and spat out the YEN.

With our new found wealth we then ran back to the train station with only two minutes to spare!!!!!

We chose to go back to Toyko a different way so we could see different countryside. We were enjoying traveeling through the central alps area. We passed many little towns which still had a light coverage of snow.Mountain tops that had ski fields with people skiing on them.

Then unexpectedly in the distance we sighted Mt Fuji. 'How lucky are we'!!! We traveled towards it for at least half an hour before leaving the mountain area to head down to Toyko. Besides seeing Mt Fuji,(which we wanted to see but didn't think we would have the time) there was beautiful scenery all the way. Everywhere we go we see hundreds of cherry blossom trees.

We are now back in Tokyo and are staying at a hotel that offers western and Japanese rooms. We chose the Japanese room with a view to a small garden.

I have found Tokyo and Japan to be very clean and well organised and the people are very friendly...I want to come back here again and spend a lot more time seeing the whole country.

I'm definately enjoying my holidays and relaxing. I am already losing track of what day it is!!!!

Time to go and find somehere for dinner after the big blogging session.

Bye for now, Mark

31st - Tokyo - Tsumago & Magome

It was an early start back to Tokyo Station for a 7:10am train to Nagiso. (Actually it was 3 trains in total to get to the Kiso Valley) Our first train was a Shinkansen (speed train) which Mark loved.
We then took a taxi to Tsumago. Such a gorgeous little town. It is one of a handful of towns which have been preserved from the Edo period. They are on what was the main road from Osaka to Tokyo. We had booked to stay at Matsushiroya Ryoken. It is well over 100 years old and so gorgeous. We felt very fortunate to be experiencing such a traditional inn. In this pic on the lower road, where the signs are hanging on the left, is our inn.

We got there by around 11am and dropped our bags before having a wander and a bowl of noodles. We then caught the bus over the mountain to Magome. (the next preserved town) There is a walk between Magome & Tsumago, through the forest and valley, which we planned to take. This building was the beginning of the path from Magome. The view of the valley and snow capped mountains behind was also taken from Magome.

The first 3 km were up hill and arduous for a pair of unfit middle age aussies. The final 5 km were for the most, downhill and absolutely beautiful. There were some areas where it was a bit precarious and uneven. The track for the most was granite cobble stones. The path also followed a gorgeous stream which was flowing quite rapidly due to the melting snow in the surrounding alps.

We got back to our inn by 4pm and our host prepared our bath for us to have before dinner. (It was a dinner/bed & breakfast booking) While we relaxed before our baths we shared a pot of green tea while sitting at the table. Here is Mark looking exhausted, but relaxed due to the under table heating lamp warming his legs whilst also having the knee rug to contain the heat.

As instructed by the host, I was first bath (being the lady) then Mark was to go next. There was NO communal bathing to be done. Oh my goodness the bath was absolutely delicious. We had to shower completely and rinse off before getting into the tradional cedar tub. The water was very hot and took a while until I could lower my whole body in but... after our walk my muscles were certainly appreciating the heat. The tub was a perfect size for me. When I sat up straight the water completely covered my shoulders and I could stretch my legs out competely too. Initially I planned to stay there for at least 30 mins but the heat got to me and I had to get out sooner than expected. My skin was a beautiful shade of bright pink! As per tradition we both had Yukata & Nemaki robes to wear around the 'house'.

Here are a couple of pics of us at dinner. We had 11 dishes besides the rice and dessert. This amount of food combined with a bottle of hot sake meant we were sure to sleep well. And that we did... believe it or not we were in bed (being futon on the floor) and asleep by 8:15pm. The addition of a sq foot size electric blanket at our feet (on all night at a low heat) meant we stayed warm and relaxed for the night. (It was about -1C outside by this stage) We ended up sleeping for 11hrs before getting up to another big meal for breakfast served at 8am.


Loving being on holidays already! xD

BE CAREFUL!!!

It looks like there is a random comment to the 'Lucys birthday' post. BE CAREFUL not to click on anything like this as it could be a virus. If it keeps happening I will have to change the settings for comments but it cuold make it a bit trickier for you all to comment.

How annoying!

xD

30th - 'How lucky are we - #1'

Firstly we were very fortunate to have Stacy arrive at 5:30am to drive us to Brisbane. A marvellous effort for a Sunday morning and for those who don't know, it is a 2.5 hr round trip. Thanks again Stacy!! Hope you got your walk in before having to run your kids around for the day.

When we were checked in, the girl told us the plane was over booked by 10 passengers, and they were hoping some would not turn up. We were then killing time at the airport when we heard our names being paged to the departure gate counter. We were a little concerned due to the comments of the check in girl that we were going to be bumped from the flight. BUT>>> How lucky are we.... they asked for our boarding cards and then handed us new ones. They were for business class. WOOHOO!! What a hoot we had. Such luxury when you don't expect it.

We did think it was way too early (at 9:30am) to be drinking the french champagne they were offering but when everyone else around us accepted we thought... what the heck, let's indulge. The food and service were exemplary (sorry to dispute your JAL theory Emmeline). We arrived feeling refreshed and ready to find our way in Tokyo.

On arriving at Tokyo train station we had our map in hand and walked 5 mins to our hotel. Once we turned into the hotels street we both gasped when we noted the beautiful cherry blossom trees lining both sides of the street. What a thrill to see one of the reasons we stayed in Tokyo. We were always crossing our fingers we would time seeing the cherry blossoms in flower. They only last 1 - 2 weeks depending on the weather. See the picture, over my head, the blue sign is our hotel.

We quickly dumped everything in the room and headed out for a stroll and a bite to eat. It was drizzling a little but nothing our little umbrella couldn't handle. (Ashleigh I grabbed it back out of your bag at the last minute) We found a great little eatery. It was a bit like a small diner with only a U shaped counter to sit at and one person behind running things. We had to order via a vending machine but it printed out our ticket which we then handed to the guy behind the counter. The food as well as Miso soup and water were all in front of us within 1 minute. Delicious, cheap and cheerful. We were sharing the counter with office workers, steet cleaners and alike who had ducked in for a quick meal while on the run.

xD

29th - Celebrating Mum's 80th

It was unfortunate that we had such a short time on the Gold Coast but we managed to squeeze breakfast with Jan & John (Mark's parents) and Ellen & Nicholas (Mark's neice & nephew. It was a lovely relaxing way to start the day and great to see them all looking well.

Next up was a quick stop at Burleigh Headland to see the beach (an old childhood haunt). The water was so calm which is very rare there. It is still a beautiful spot which you can see from the pic attached.

Back at Mum & Dad's for Mum's birthday lunch. A 'great' afternoon was had by all. Mum wanted an Italian long table lunch. The table was looking a bit posh and the initial ambience was enhanced by an accordian player .... such fun seeing some get into it so early dancing and clapping along to the music. We ate many courses and drank many many bottles of Italian wines and liquers. The winner was the Limoncello (with Tina in particular!)

Below are photos of all the family who could make it. There were about 5 missing. I couldn't resist including the photo of the table with the garden looking so beautiful and green. Also love this photo of my 3 sisters and I having a great laugh with Mum.

29th - Lucy's birthday

BIG CONGRATULATIONS to Julian & Toni on the 3am birth of a new neice for us, Lucy Beth. What a wild head of black hair that girl has got!!!

Qld 1st day - 28 March

We arrived with no delays into the Gold Coast. Mum & Dad were there at the airport to collect us. Both wearing big smiles. They are always so welcoming and it was great to see them.

We spent the afternoon with them, chatting and catching up before heading for a late afternoon Champagne and catch up with Kathy, Ron & family. Such a lovely couple of hours were spent but then it was time to head back for dinner.

Today was Mum`s actual 80th b`day. I have attached a pic of Mum (wearing a bow from one of her gifts that the kids put on her) blowing out the candles of her cake with Henry, Samuel (great grandchildren) and Matthew (grandson). We had a lovely dinner with some others of the family there and around 9pm Mark headed off to the airport to pick up our kids and Emmeline.