With another 50km road ride scheduled into Courtney's training program, Courtney, Mitchell and I headed out early today for another assault on Richmond Park. Finding the traffic considerably less at 7am compared with later in the morning, we were through the gates about 40 minutes later, completing our two laps by about 8.30 and finding ourselves back at the apartment by around 9.15.

Proceeding then to pack up, we discovered the zip to my borrowed bike bag was broken, leaving us with a bit of a dilemma. How to get hold of a bike bag at such short notice, given our departure to Paris was due for 4pm? After several calls to various bike shops, it appeared our options were limited.

While Wendy accompanied the kids back to the Borough Market to drop off the bikes (and pick up chocolate fudge), I went in search of a solution.

I called in to a few bike shops in the Soho area to no avail however eventually stumbled on some heavy duty duct tape from an artists' supplies shop. It did the trick and at about $15, was considerably less than what I might have spent if I'd lashed out on a new bag, had one actually been available to buy.

After making our way via taxi to St Pancras station, we bid farewell to the streets of London, our home for the past four nights. It's fair to say we've really enjoyed being back - even in spite of the recent spate of terror attacks in London, the streets were vibrant, and whilst there was a noticeable police presence, it felt safe and secure.

The other thing we took away with us was the abundance of fresh and healthy food. Supermarkets here offer far more variety than what we get in Australia, and the quality of the food is amazing. The supermarket we frequented also offered a buffet with a selection of fresh fruit, vegetables, salads, boiled eggs and pre-cooked meals such as curries, soups and casseroles. This is a take away food game changer.

And while we downed several punnets of delicious berries on our stay in London, there's no doubt that first feast we shared in the arrivals terminal at London Gatwick was by far the sweetest.

After a relaxing trip on the Eurostar, we eventually arrived at the Gray's house, our Warrandyte come Parisian friends and settled in for a quiet night on the couch.