2011.07.16 – Prague (CZ) – London (UK)

We woke up to the sound of rain. We took a taxi to the airport where we had booked our airfare to London, for the first time, with a major discount airline – EasyJet. Thankfully we had pre-purchased on-line our check-in luggage otherwise it would be much costlier to pay at the check-in counter. Upon our arrival at the Gatwick airport, we took once again the train into London and checked into the same hotel we had stayed at the beginning of our trip. Given it was not raining in London, Jessica, Victoria and Jenny ventured out for an afternoon of clothes shopping. They discovered one of their favourite low cost clothes store – Primemark. In the evening, we visited a neighbourhood with the hopes of finding a nice restaurant but after walking a few kms, we resigned ourselves to eat some Thai food at circumspect pub.

2011.07.17 – London (UK) [StoneHenge]

For our last full in England, we opted to visit the enigmatic site of Stonehenge. We took a train from London to Salisbury and from there we boarded a Stonehenge Tour shuttle bus. The sky was very much overcast and very windy. The Stonehenge Visitor Center was overflowing with tourists. The actual Stonehenge site was a bit disappointing as visitors were confined to a walkway which was some distance from the stone structure itself. We could have simply walked on the main road and had a similar view. Back in Salisbury, we admired the cathedral and viewed an original copy of the Magna Carta (the Great Charter). We had an enjoyable lunch at local pub before boarding a train back to London. In the evening, Jessica guided us to an Indian restaurant which abound in London.

2011.07.18 – London (UK) – Ottawa (CA)

Victoria, Jenny and I woke up early in order to catch our late morning flight from the Gatwick airport. Jessica stayed behind as she was booked on a later flight. We waited in the lobby of our hotel for a taxi to bring us to the St Pancras train station. From there we took the train to the airport. It felt like the longest train ride ever as I was in dire need of a washroom break – likely the result of last evening’s meal. After checking in our luggage and clearing custom, we had a light breakfast. We bought some chocolates at the duty free boutique before boarding our flight to Ottawa on a Thomas Cook plane. At that particular moment, we had not quite realized that we had just completed a priceless family vacation – a family adventure like we were unlikely to relive again!