Jule's Hikoi: A visit to London

One thing about being away on holiday is having small spaces to catch up here. There are stories untold, ones of visiting Plymouth and the call of the sea. Ones of catching up with old friends and family and seeing a place I know my brother would have loved to. Battersea Power Station, his favourite bands album cover. It's changed a bit now though, it's been a few years since Pink Floyd's flying pigs. Plymouth is next, first lets venture on another trip to London town. An orienteering journey of trains and tubes and walking for miles to see two very special people.

Taking the train from Farnborough is so very easy. It arrives without fuss at Waterloo taking between 45 mins and one hour. Then the fun begins, how do I get to Jen at Chiswick near Turnham Green? You see Jen is a lovely friend from the Cayman's. We used to sail together and have fun with sundowners after. Facebook has kept us in touch and she is one of the many friends where it's easy to pick up where we left off. She hasn't changed a bit - well we're both slightly older than in 2012-13 but who's counting! We had a coffee catch up and a wander after working out how to get to Battersea in time to see Kate during a break in her work day. We've made plans for a longer catch up next time, so looking forward to a few quiets somewhere nice.

Off I went, back on the train then the tube with Kate's instructions on where to meet. Our last catch up was a pre Christmas one and she had stories of Hogmanay adventures in Edinborough and her recent trip to Lake Como. A girl after my own heart, Kate is making the most of her work to travel lifestyle, one she's going to share with her mum and little sister when they come over in April. I'm hoping I'll be back to share at least part of that. Kate's also very clever with a degree suitable for international jobs and, being of the right age, a young adult working visa for the UK. Her dad would be so proud of her, and delighted she's living near his album cover.

We had the best coffee. New Zealand style in a gorgeous café. Last time we didn't get any photos, too much conversation going on, so this time I got the best couple of selfies especially for my mum. I'll print the best ones and leave them for her in a frame. The visit to Battersea Power Station on the way to the train was quite short. I'm not a fan of malls/shopping centres so it was a quick look at what they had done to make this such an amazing space, off to Zara's for some gifts for the girls then back to the train home.

Of course I cut it fine and missed the train I was meant to take. My day pass had also stopped working so the kind staff at the gates smiled and let me through when I flashed it. I was a bit tired and hungry when I sat down so ventured into my bag for some Scoobie snacks. Anyone who travels with me more than once knows I need constant feeding or I get hangry. Because I'm not so good at remembering, my lovely man had slipped a couple of chocolate bars in my bag so all was well. I never get tired of train travel.

I love being on the rails and reminded of other longer trips like the 2004 adventure in France and the 2008 adventure through Italy. We followed the Tour in 2004 so trains gave way to a rental car and a tent. So many stories from that time untold. Suffice to say it was a blast and I've got plenty of small places in France I'd love to go back to. Especially Carcassonne where the folks at the hospital were so kind and where I was in a sling for a while, all courtesy of an un-drunken marble staircase tumble. I also have the map of the route we followed, a big blunt map with scribbles all over it. There were no iPhones back then so it was all a big adventure for two not yet seasoned travelers from NZ! Italy was trains and I told some of that story here in my 2008 posts. Not the back story, just the fun bits.