The Albert Memorial

Just to show that skies over London can be blue...

Blue Skies in London

Amazingly, we have seen blue skies both days in London. Today began overcast and cool, but the skies cleared as the day progressed. We enjoyed the encounters with waxy figures of Madame Tussauds, being photographed with various waxy luminaries. Some of the dummies are quite stunning - and their wax figures aren't bad either. By the time we finished at Tussauds, we emerged into clearing skies. The kids had demanded a stop at Hamleys - a toy store which is 249 years old, but with contemporary prices. A little bit of fun indeed.
We have been travelling on the Big Bus around London, hopping on and off at our convenience. The next stop was Westminster Abbey, and a wonderful journey through history. One is struck with two thoughts in reflection: the first - being surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses: the wonderful stories of faithful people; the second: the temptation towards worship of ancestors. I couldn't help but pray that God would do even greater things in the future... Interestingly only two scientists are commemorated within its walls - an Australian (Howard Florey), and - gasp - Charles Darwin!
We arranged to meet up with Ben Leslie once again, outside the London Eye. Unlike the Southern Star, this one is still working. The views of London at dusk were spectacular. And then of course, no Christmas visit to London can exclude Harrods (second shudder), which was kept mercifully short. We returned to Notting Hill for Thai food with Ben and Kate - who joined us after inishing work - before walking back to our hotel. It was a lovely way to finish the day.

Snow in Helsinki

We're kind of happy to be leaving Helsinki at the moment, asthe weather forcast for later in the week is heading south of -20! It is a beautiful city, but I'm afraid I am happy to pass on temperatures like that...

Now, to London!

Today's Gift

A hearty breakfast, then ... SNOW!

It's magic...

Helsinki

It's great to start the new day with some sleep behind us. By the time we got to bed last night it had been over 40 hours since we had left our beds on Monday, fed only by short episodes of the fitful sleep which air travel offers.
We landed at our hotel in Helsinki just before 8am. With barely a handful of hours of sleep behind us, we were looking for somewhere to rest, only to be told we could not access our room until 2 pm. We left in search of food, finding a small cafe.
After a leisurely breakfast we began wandering, in search of our bearings as much as anything. The air was cold and crisp - around 1 degree, but there has been no snow. The ears and nose felt it most. One shop owner told us that it was unseasonably warm - a word I would not have used!

After a few hours of exploration, we headed back to the hotel. One room was available, which we gratefully accepted, enjoying refreshing showers and clean clothes.
A leisurely stroll after dinner was enough for the day (sun sets at 3.15). Everyone was asleep before 7 pm.

The Journey Begins Again

Tomorrow a new family journey commences as we fly out for a five-and-a-half week journey to Europe. This blog site began with our explorations of Australia. Now we turn our attention to Ev's birthplace and heritage. We will try to keep up-to-date over the coming weeks as "HeardaboutAustralia" goes to Europe.