Europe Report Card Final

Monday 

Hertfordshire Record Office - spent all day doing research on various Hertfordshire lines...hopefully got some good documents.

St Albans - went for a bit of a walk down the main street after 5pm then curry and a pint at 'Blacksmiths Arms' pub.

Tuesday 

St Albans - really just travelling to Heathrow, getting the hire car returned, checking in, eating all our remaining food....and then waiting,waiting waiting.....for our flight.....11 hours London to LAX, then 14 hours LAX to Sydney - appears we had some interesting fellow passengers on this leg - Jeff Fenech, one of the stars from Underbelly, and the Australian Surf Team just back from Panama with medals round their necks

Wednesday

The 'lost day' - we gained a day going over and lost this day coming back....darn, I thought there might have been a way to get younger!

Thursday

Arrived Home! It doesn't matter how fantastic a trip away is, it is always just the best feeling to get back home!

Overall Report Card

Hightlight of the trip:

Me - meeting up with all the wonderful people - lovely relations and wonderful friends from all over. 

Darryl - the mining history walk at the cliffs in Cornwall - understanding why his ancestors came to Australia

Biggest WOW moment:

Me - walking out of Cologne railway station and seeing the stupendous Gothic Cathedral. 

Darryl - the Cheesewring

Biggest disappointment:

Me - Paris...and not being able to go to the Louvre. 

Darryl - to have to spend so many days looking at Churches and Gravestones.

Scariest time:

Me - driving down the narrow one-car-width lanes, bordered both sides with ancient rock walls covered in blackberry, hoping that there is not a car, tractor or truck coming the other way. 

Darryl agrees - unfortunately these are all over the place.

Nicest Town/City:

Me - I still love Edinburgh, but Fowey is very picturesque. 

Darryl says Rockhampton!

What did we pack and didn't need:

Me - 3 sets of thermals! Didn't even need one set...even though one night it apparently got down to 2 deg.

Darryl - the same.

What should we have packed:

Me - gardening gloves, a trowel and baby powder to clean up and read gravestones.

Darryl - nothing.

Most interesting city/place:

Me - I was amazed by de Grey Mausoleum at Flitton Church (almost as big as the church itself). 

Darryl - Paris, but unfortunate that it was so dirty.

Most different culturally:

Me - Paris and London - having to pay to go to the toilet (and the lack of facilities).

Darryl - Paris. 

Most eye-opening:

Me - the cost of living - for food, fuel, accommodation and IT. 

Darryl - the same, the cost for accommodation was a minimum of $130 a night.