Javon's Visit to UK

26^th October - 9^th November 2024

Itinerary: Milton Keynes -London - Bourton-on-the-Water - Porto- Milton Keynes

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October 27. Milton Keynes. Marlon, Karla and Cassius came up for the day. We went to the Barge for lunch. Once again Javon and Cassius got on like a house on fire!.

October 28. London. We were able to check in early and we were given both an upgrade and free breakfast! We went to the Pop Mart shop for Javon to price up Labubu (I had no idea, either!). They had sold out, but were expecting three in tomorrow! He says he's going to queue. I said 'alone'! In the afternoon we went to Stratford, for some shopping, then off to see ABBA Voyage. Very good, but the eyes on the big screens looked slightly dead. Still very enjoyable though.

October 29. London. After a late breakfast, Javon wanted to go back to the Pop Mart store. The queue snaked right round the corner and had started at 7am! Obviously they'd sold out of what he wanted. After that we went to the British Museum for a fairly quick visit. In the early evening we went on a Halloween high tea on a double decker bus. It didn't look there was much food, but we couldn't finish it all. As the bus ride started quite late, most of the sightseeing was in the dark! Our theatre show tonight was 'Wicked'. It was OK, but I don't think I'll bother watching the movie when it comes out soon!! Javon had an American friend coming up to town, so we met her for a quick drink after the theatre.

October 30. London. We went to the Van Gogh Immersive Experience in the morning with lunch in Spitalfields Market, before catching a fast train home by the skin of our teeth. Javon made stir fry.

October 31. Bourton-on-the-Water. I hadn't been to Bourton-on-the-Water this century. It was a trifle fresh there. We wandered round the village and visited the model village too. Fish and chips for lunch which wasn't as good as we'd hoped. Turned out to be Tilapia. When we got home, Javon decorated the porch for Halloween. He was too generous with the sweets for the trick or treaters and had to nip to the shops to buy more.

November 02. Porto, Portugal. After a very early start, we arrived in Porto. We were too early to check in to the hotel, so we dumped the bags and explored. We saw the tiles in São Bento station, lunch at Hard Rock Cafe, then we meandered round the cultural quarter. We finished the afternoon with a flight of 5 ports. Javon got somewhat tipsy.

November 03. Porto, Portugal. A late start. We went to Gaia in Vila Nova where we were going to spend an hour and stayed for over four! We went to the courtyard by Mosteiro Santa Agostinho da Serra do Pilar for stupendous views of both Porto and Ponte Luís l. Then we wandered along the river front, had lunch and a trip on the Douro. Gaia is the home to the port wine houses, unfortunately we were unable to visit one. We walked back over bridge to Porto and had a beer before heading off to the hotel and pondering on dinner, which was Portuguese food in the Time Out Market.

November 04. Porto, Portugal. Today was supposed to be wet, but we had a dry day of sightseeing. First stop was city hall, followed by Mercado do Bolhão, a market that sells fresh fruit and vegetables, meat, fish and flowers. Then we had lunch in a street of tiled buildings before going to see Pérola do Bolhão (an old grocery store) and Capella de Santa Catarina. Another church Igreja de Santo Ildefonso, followed by the cathedral and bishops palace. A decent Italian meal for dinner.

November 06. Milton Keynes. Misty and cold today. First thing (after a lie in for Javon) was a chilly walk with the Wednesday Walkers by Lodge Lake near the Grumpy Cook, followed by scones and coffee. Then a scamper round Costco before going to see Elf - The Musical at MK theatre in the evening. The musical was surprisingly good. A sort of pre-panto panto!

November 08. Milton Keynes. We met Angie for lunch!