England (London, Suffolk and Somerset), Budapest, Egypt (Cairo and Luxor) and Paris
Departing prison Island for Europe in late November, with an itinerary planned to make up for 3 years confinement in the antipodes, was a big moment. What follows is a mostly pictorial journey.
First stop, and base for my travel, was London. Seeing family and meeting the newest member was the first of many highlights.
London’s Christmas decorations light up the long hours of darkness, and for those of us who grew up with Christmas in mid summer, they provide a kind of magic which is absent from our usual Christmas.
Snow, just before Christmas added to the magic.
Suffolk
A few days in Suffolk, walking in the footsteps of ancestors, staying at historic Seckford Hall, near Woodbridge and exploring places my ancestors would have been familiar with was a pleasant interlude. An update of my previously published “Search for my English ancestor’s” blog is now required.
Budapest
The Sour Cherries tour of Budapest will be the subject of its own blog. Suffice it to say travelling with a very dear friend from long ago and far away, together with 2 other wonderful sour cherries was filled with fun laughter, good food, wine, learning, and lots of cocktails. Credit for tour name goes to said dear friend – many thanks for the license to use the name.
Cairo
What an unexpected delight it was to return to Egypt, and how special to be accompanied by Matty B. We managed to see and do a lot in the 4 days we had.
Luxor
Paris
I was so looking forward to sharing my love of Paris with Nic. We were staying at what we grandly refer to as “our” hotel, near the Louvre and the Tuileries. A walk around the area and a visit to St Chapelle was all I managed to share before being struck down by some nasty European bug. Luckily Nic is very resourceful. She not only kept me alive, she managed to explore and shop on her own. I owe Nic a trip to Paris!
Beckington, Somerset
A week in a beautiful historic country house in Somerset for Christmas with the family was very special, and a Christmas never to be forgotten.
So it’s farewell to 2022. It is also farewell to Europe – I am checked in for the long flight back to the Antipodes, and have a bag full of memories to slowly unpack and savour on my return. Sadly it will also be farewell to the family in London, who have made this holiday super special.
travelwithgma 
Really enjoyed this pictorial summary of your latest trip Ryrie. Christine x
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Thank you Christine. It has been a wonderful few weeks , despite succumbing to a nasty bug.
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Safe travels back xx
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I’ve been reading your blog for awhile now, hope thats ok. Your post about Honiara brought back a lot of memories! I have loved reading about all your travels
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Lovely to hear from you. I am pleased you have enjoyed my blogs. The one about Honiara brings back so many memories for me too – a different life. I often think of the happy times with your family. Are you still in the uk.
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yes, I’ve lived in Glasgow for 21 years now, in Plymouth for 4 years before that. I sometimes think I would like to visit Honiara again but I don’t know if anything would even be recognizable now. My memories are happy childhood ones so probably a bit clouded by nostalgia!
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I envy you living in the UK. I lived in London for a couple of years – among the best years of my life. I think it would be interesting to visit Honiara – if only to see the differences. While researching for my blog, I barely recognized modern day Honiara, particularly Mendana Avenue. The political issues are interesting, with Australia and America scrambling to catch up with China’s influence. Serves us right for cutting aid in the region so severely and downgrading diplomatic representation. Definitely have to factor nostalgia in, but I would love to visit again.
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