We began with an early start, (well for Neil and Gill it was early), as we set off for Lebberston to meet Neil's parents, Tom and Gill. After a quick cuppa and introductions we all headed off in convoy for Whitby, beginning our tour at the Abbey, over looking the town. We had the traditional fish and chips for lunch before a nice ride on the only steam bus in England. It took many years of battling red-tape before they were able to get a license to carry passe...

Think we're finally un-winding and settling into a non-work routine! Lazy start to morning then off to the Minster for a close up viewing after a quick detour to a camera shop to get a data cable so we can upload the photos (since we left ours behind). York Minster had very kindly put on choir practice, so we got to appreciate the full beauty of the building accompanied by appropriate ambience rather than just gabling tourists. Tom seemed to be a bit awestruck b...

Time to start the touristy thing. First off, a visit to the Yorvik Viking Centre. (York is the anglacised name of Yorvik). They have a ride going through a re-creation of what York would've been like in 900AD). As an added bonus you also get to enjoy the wonderful odours of the time, including an especially pungent sewer street scene, complete with constipated Viking. Although Tom thought it was cool that he was of an age where he'd be going off to battle, he pre...

Made it through the long flights without any dramas. Tom was really good and managed to sleep a reasonable amount on the last flight. Singapore Airlines is definitely the best of all those we've travelled to date. The service was great. The A380 was a bit disappointing though. It may be the largest passenger plane in the world but there appears to be a lot of wasted space and we had less room than on the leg before on the Boeing-777. Arrived pretty much on time ...