Great Britain England - 22nd to 26th April 2008

After driving across pretty Wales, the unexpected warm weather in Britain had us admiring the quaint towns along the way to Stratford-upon-Avon. After spending our first night in at Riverside campsite outside the Bard's birthplace, we were captivated by the old tudor architecture, Shakespeare's apparent birthplace and Anne Hathaway's cottage. We also had to see the playwright's final resting place in the 15th century Holy Trinity Church. Continuing to London we popped in at picture perfect vibrant Oxford to savour its crenulated college buildings and traditional cornish pies. On the 2nd night we bushcamped on the northern outskirts of London in the Epping Forest and then a night at the Lee Valley campsite. This gave us another 2 days to absorb amazing London's architecture, atmosphere and sights. GR3 soaked in the London Dungeon and the famous London Eye while GR1 visited Madam Tussards and the picturesque parks. Of course the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace was a must, as was fitting in the SOHO District, Westminister Abbey and Parliament Square with the massive bronze statue of our beloved Madiba.

On our final night in London we were again spoilt with great company and a feast of note at Connie and Clive's home, before Erika and Raymond's 'office' facilities and hospitality in Woodchurch warmed our souls. The 27th April will see us back on the ferry from Dover to Calais for a further 3 months stay in Europe!

Belgium - 27 to 29 April 2008

'Dag' from the European continent. After a £29 ferry from Dover to Calais with no check to our newly acquired Schengen visa, we headed straight for the first of Belgium 's big three cities – Bruges . Sandwiched between major European powers, the Flemish only really came into their own in 1830. They seem to have a keen sense of the good things in life and we added a few kg's with the waffles, great beer and of course the melt in your mouth pralines and truffles! Bruges was the perfect initiation – a quaint medieval city with cobblestone streets, horse drawn carriages and beautiful bridges, evoking a world long since gone by. Driving and later walking through the historic central market with its famous Bellfort and many elaborate guildhalls reflected the 14th century booming workmanship. The 'Heilig Bloedbasiliek' unearthed another religious relic – coagulated blood of Christ in a glass container! We also caught a glimpse of the local sport, Buton (Bowls), which seemed to be played where ever there's an open area.

Then Brussels – the EU headquarters appeared to have hundreds of nationalities. It's 'Grand Place ', a magnificent 15 th century square flows into narrow alleys, each with a surprise like the 1847 shopping arcade, the Galeries St Hubert. Belgium's national symbol, the Manneken Pis fountain, was an essential photo stop before we made our way to Antwerp . Again, an impressive market square presided over by the renaissance styled town hall and lined by guildhalls. We explored the bustling streets while Zack and Troy revelled in child heaven at Pirate Island when we realised that it was the Queen's day in Holland and we were off across the none existent border in a flash.