By Daniel McDonald – ACC adult

It was only a couple of weeks after the Perth AusDoCC conference, but I was back at Melbourne Airport, destination this time – the UK. Before heading to Perth, I had been able to familiarize myself a bit with the international terminal.

I’m quite an experienced plane traveler but this was my first long-haul flight(s) and only second overseas trip (after NZ in 2012).

I don’t think I slept a wink but the inflight service (meals, entertainment system) was quite good.

We had a 4-hour stopover in Dubai and then another 7-hour flight to Stansted Airport, just outside London. From there, it was quite a short train ride to Cambridge and a chance to spend a few days with my sister and her young family.

Kings College Chapel, Cambridge University

 

 

We had a punt ride on the River Cam, had a look inside the Kings College Chapel and visited the tea garden at Grantchester.

Then I was off to London to join a coach tour. There were about 40 of us, from Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand, South Africa and USA. The tour guide was originally from Tasmania, so I still heard the Aussie accent a lot! It was during the World Cup cricket so there was a bit of friendly banter going on.

Some highlights: Cardiff Castle tour, dinner and show (singing & dancing) in Dublin & Edinburgh, Dingle Peninsula (Ireland), Beatles tour.

Following the tour, we were dropped back in London, where I stayed on a few more days. I did a bit of sightseeing including a look at the Sherlock Holmes statue and the Thames cruise to Greenwich.

I also took the opportunity to visit my pen pal not too far from London.

Finally, it was time to come home. There were a few challenges, but it was a wonderful experience.