St Albans, England

London Luton Airport is not one we would ever recommend after our experience flying into and out of again. The lines and wait times in queues were unacceptably long with many thousands of people lining up, albeit good-naturedly, as the British do so well. However, a lot of very stressed folk probably missed or came very close to missing their flights because of the delays. The joys of travelling in the European summer holiday season!

Strangely, after more than three months surrounded by foreign languages, of which we knew nothing apart from a smattering of French, it was quite a relief to be back in an English-speaking country again and to have easy conversations with folk. That said, we have only the utmost respect for the fact that, for all those three plus months, the inhabitants of those countries could mostly all speak English to a very high level. As kiwis, we are ashamed of our mono-linguistic ability.

Bruce had some business meetings out of London so, to be close, we stayed in St Albans which is a beautiful market town with astronomical real estate prices, just over 30 minutes by Thameslink train north of London.

We had realised that Hamish, Tania and baby Misha would coincide with us in the UK for just 24-48 hours, so a visit to them in London was a

priority the day after our arrival. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to see Tania as she was in Cardiff at the time, a work research project being the reason for their overseas travel.

It was such a joy to see Hamish and wee Misha who, after his traumatic premature birth last October, was thriving. He has the biggest smile and delicious chubby cheeks, and he happily came to us despite not having seen much of us for months. It was a lovely warm day and we enjoyed a relaxed late afternoon picnic in nearby Finsbury Park.

For a few hours that day down in London, we enjoyed a stroll up and down both sides of the Thames, taking in the riverside sights.

St Albans Cathedral, officially the Cathedral and Abbey Church of St Alban but often referred to locally as "the Abbey", is now a Church of England cathedral and still very much in use today. Its known recorded history is over 1300 years old. A walking tour with a very knowledgeable guide provided a fascinating walk through its history and varied architectural features, because of its construction and additions over many centuries. For example, much of the Norman section of the cathedral was built from bricks and tiles salvaged from the ruins of the Roman town Verulamium nearby.

Alban is honoured as Britain’s first saint for his role in rescuing a Christian priest, Amphibalus, in the third century during the time of Roman occupation, when religious freedom was forbidden. Unfortunately, both were martyred in the end.

After only four nights in England, we flew back out of London Luton Airport to Dublin, Ireland.