29th December
Our last full day in London was a very wet and cold one, rained all day so the plans we had to walk all around Covent Garden didn't happen instead we went back over to the Thames and Big Ben and spent a few hours wandering around there and the kids spent an hour or so in the enormous games building playing everything from bowling to racing cars and when i wasn't watching them i was sitting outside under an umbrella drinking coffee and watching London, i was very content. When we left we headed back to Oxford street and i bought a bigger on board bag because we were seriously running out of room then we went to a restaurant and had a lovely fancy meal then back to the hotel to pack and fall into bed at 9pm.
30th December
Up at 6.30am and out the door at 7.30am, waited 15mins for a taxi to Paddington Station, which is the only spot to catch the Heathrow Express train. Wrestled with the ticket machine but finally got it to work, ride to Heathrow in rainy weather, make our way through the maze that is Heathrow and finally find our departure gate, check in...Qantas are great, none of our bags went over weight but we had 4 instead of the allotted 3 but they didn't charge us or say anything yet British Airways had charged me 38 euros for the extra bag from Austria to London.We had 20 mins before boarding so we grabbed some breakfast and waited. At 11am we took off for Singapore, this plane was a new Qantas Airbus 380 ? it was huge and double storey and Riley was very impressed. The seats were more roomier than the old jumbo we had flown over on and so we settled back for the long flight to Singapore. None of us slept so when we arrived in Singapore at 8.30am the next day, the 31st we were a bit tired. Singapore airport is lovely and because i had through checked our bags we didn't have them to lug around so we checked our on board bags into the baggage room so we wouldn't have to carry them all day then got a taxi to Singapore Zoo which was about 20 mins away. The Zoo was gorgeous and it didn't feel like or look like a Zoo at all, the heat nearly knocked us over. For the first time in 2 months we started to sweat buckets while wearing jeans, tee shirts and boots ! we had a lovely lunch and late afternoon we caught a taxi into the city center and walked around for a few more hours. At around 5pm we headed back to the airport because i felt ill, we all did and even though we were hungry all we could do was drink gallons of water. I think the combination of no sleep for 28 hours and the heat of Singapore was making us all feel nauseous. After an hour of walking around the airport trying to find the place we had left our carry on bags we headed to the departure gate and sat and waited. We finally started to feel better and the kids had subway for dinner, i still couldn't eat, massive head ache and so tired. 
At 8pm we boarded the Jetstar flight which was an old rattler, it sounded like it was falling apart, the kids were asleep before the plane took off at 8.20pm. Riley was seated 2 rows behind Mia and i and when i turned to ask him if he wanted me to hire him a movie player the ladies next to him said " shhh he's fast asleep " then i turned to Mia and she out cold as well, i wasn't so lucky and i sat there awake the whole way. We landed in Darwin at 2.30am and after clearing customs which didn't take long because the plane was only half full and Darwin customs is efficient and friendly, we met Bruce outside, Mia screaming daddy daddy...and drove to Katherine, arriving just after sunrise. The kids went on to Mataranka with him and i spent the next few hours unpacking and finally at 3pm i couldn't keep my eyes open any longer and laid down for the longest Nana nap ever, i woke at 2am and was asleep again at 3am and woke again at 11am ! now its back to reality. The heat here in Katherine is shocking, a real slap in the face, my feet hurt now because I'm barefoot, I've been wearing boots for 2 months.
At 8pm we boarded the Jetstar flight which was an old rattler, it sounded like it was falling apart, the kids were asleep before the plane took off at 8.20pm. Riley was seated 2 rows behind Mia and i and when i turned to ask him if he wanted me to hire him a movie player the ladies next to him said " shhh he's fast asleep " then i turned to Mia and she out cold as well, i wasn't so lucky and i sat there awake the whole way. We landed in Darwin at 2.30am and after clearing customs which didn't take long because the plane was only half full and Darwin customs is efficient and friendly, we met Bruce outside, Mia screaming daddy daddy...and drove to Katherine, arriving just after sunrise. The kids went on to Mataranka with him and i spent the next few hours unpacking and finally at 3pm i couldn't keep my eyes open any longer and laid down for the longest Nana nap ever, i woke at 2am and was asleep again at 3am and woke again at 11am ! now its back to reality. The heat here in Katherine is shocking, a real slap in the face, my feet hurt now because I'm barefoot, I've been wearing boots for 2 months.
The last 2 months have been the best time I've ever had, i know the kids enjoyed it as much as i did and we now have 10 memory sticks full of photos and 800 mins of video and a suit case full of souvenirs, this blog, a bag full of maps and ticket stubs and receipts { Mia keeps everything}and our heads are full of the sights, smells,sounds and people that we've met, memories i hope we never forget. My kids have grown from the experience. 
I don't know what i would have done without Riley's support and patience, he never balked when it came to map reading and expertly guided us around Britain and Europe, put up with my ranting and raving while i drove that blue Ford Focus all over Britain, became an expert in working out bus time tables and train timetables, airports and speaking to people who didn't speak English to get information or to just buy me a cup of coffee, he looked after us and I'll never forget it. 
Mia was also great to travel with, her enthusiasm and delight in everything she saw was contagious and she's such a fun loving and yet sensible little girl, i didn't need to worry to much about her and she always sensed when id had enough and needed space, sometimes the task of finding accommodation, booking trains, working out where to go next would get to me and she would be there to lean on. 
They immersed themselves in the history surrounding us and hopefully they will retain a lot of it. I have 2 great children. Its nice to be home but i do miss the last 2 months....i have the travel bug back and I'm already planning the next one !
Thank you everyone for reading and I'm glad you've enjoyed it. At times i struggled with the blog and wished i hadn't started it because i found it hard to put in writing what we were seeing and doing but like Suzanne said, we now have a diary of our trip and i will print it off one day and make a book. Finally another thank you to Alf and Karin for sharing your part of Scotland with us and to Christine for showing us Salzburg and the beautiful Faistenau. a Christmas we wont forget.
I don't know what i would have done without Riley's support and patience, he never balked when it came to map reading and expertly guided us around Britain and Europe, put up with my ranting and raving while i drove that blue Ford Focus all over Britain, became an expert in working out bus time tables and train timetables, airports and speaking to people who didn't speak English to get information or to just buy me a cup of coffee, he looked after us and I'll never forget it. Mia was also great to travel with, her enthusiasm and delight in everything she saw was contagious and she's such a fun loving and yet sensible little girl, i didn't need to worry to much about her and she always sensed when id had enough and needed space, sometimes the task of finding accommodation, booking trains, working out where to go next would get to me and she would be there to lean on. They immersed themselves in the history surrounding us and hopefully they will retain a lot of it. I have 2 great children. Its nice to be home but i do miss the last 2 months....i have the travel bug back and I'm already planning the next one ! Thank you everyone for reading and I'm glad you've enjoyed it. At times i struggled with the blog and wished i hadn't started it because i found it hard to put in writing what we were seeing and doing but like Suzanne said, we now have a diary of our trip and i will print it off one day and make a book. Finally another thank you to Alf and Karin for sharing your part of Scotland with us and to Christine for showing us Salzburg and the beautiful Faistenau. a Christmas we wont forget.
Thank you to Bruce for looking after our little dog Micro, beneath the complaining i know he enjoyed having him. Thanks to Suzanne and Clare for sharing the care of Sammy the bird, whom i still haven't picked up yet !
I will keep the blog open and add photos of any little trips we do.
So for now its Ciao from a hot and wet Katherine.
