Steve The Wandering Aussie

23/10/2023
The train is all but silent though our speed is at 160kmh or 100 mph as we hum across the verdant and autumnal Scottish countryside from Perth to Edinburgh, and then onward to Kings Cross, London.
This is the start of our next adventure, taking us from England through the Mediterranean Sea and on to the Suez Canal and beyond to Dubai.
Maybe.
It’s only 190km to Gaza from the Canal- just a little close for comfort, and anathema to Lyns anxiety.
The ice was thick on the grass and our windscreen frozen solid this morning as we prepared to leave for this part of our trip. 0.0 degrees the car dash claimed on our way to the station. I think it was just frozen on that point.
Leaving our baby boys, our new family and our youngest daughter stung that little place behind the eyes and also this old man’s stoney heart. It’s five weeks of adventure for us but it’s forever for two year old Noah, missing his Grandma.
.
13:00 and we’ve crossed the Scottish-English border, coasting along the North Sea through picturesque villages and towns, admiring castles and churches as well as the dirty sea waters, swollen rivers and multiple golf courses adjacent the humming tracks. Current speed is 200kph or 124mph. Cool!!
Through Morpoth and Hexham and Newcastle – town names so familiar at home, just north of Sydney. The cathedral at Durham is MASSIVE and we’ve resolved to return to explore England more.
15:00. Farmland underwater as far as the eye can see. Huge tracts of flooded land and the Hull power plant just slid past our window.
.
16:30. We arrived 68 minutes late. This means our full train fare is to be refunded. Woo Hoo. £140 back. $380AU. Lotta beer, kids.
We spent two nights in a comfortable hotel in Kings Cross – not quite the reputation of the one in Sydney and enjoyed walking the city. So much to see and so much history.
Second two nights we spent in South Kensington in a FLASH hotel. We spent both days exploring the Victoria and Albert art gallery then mostly tried to relax.
Tomorrow, the bus to Southampton to meet our ship, MSC Virtuoso and see our friends from a previous cruise through the Norwegian Fjords.
And life is good