Trip Day 5 to 6 - now to Christchurch

Monday - I didn't do very good taking photos today. No idea why. May be it didn't look like a very friendly day weatherwise. 

We had to set the alarm clock for this morning. We had to get ourselves ready and pack everything up. And we had to say good-bye to our host Linda. Her "apartment for rent" was just perfect for us. She is so nice and helpful. If you would like to know more about it, feel free to contact me.

Well, as you know Stephen had helped us buy our tickets for the train ride and he brought us this morning to the station so we didn't have to pull our suitcases all the way to it. Thank you, Stephen!

Jane had come too and we marvelled at all the fancy shop windows around there. 

The train came soon though and everything was very easy. Good-bye, Jane, thank you for a lovely time ... like always!

When you change trains you could be lucky to just go from one side of the platform to the other. Most of the time though you have to go down steps, across to another platform and up again. We looked for a lift because of the suitcases. Much easier.

This was the second train. Totally different inside.

The third train, and longest ride, had Free WiFi. I took advantage of it.

But then I neglected to look out of the window. This is Southampton. It has an airport and a harbor. Do you see the large cruise ship? I almost missed it.

When I had seen the water I was wondering and had to look on the map on my phone. Windsor is between Reading and London. 

When we arrived in Bournemouth I looked out of the window and yes, there are Kate and David to pick us up. The train was still moving. Ha-ha, can't believe I really managed to take that photo.

The drive to Christchurch wasn't far and soon they had lunch on the table. The perfect lunch with a delicious hot soup. 

The afternoon went very fast. Of course we had to do a lot of catching up. There son James (Jimmo) came by after work and we had a very nice dinner. Mmh, the selfie is not my best ever. My arm was too short.

David is the pie maker. And this pie has a rhubarb and strawberry filling. Of course the rhubarb is from their own garden. They know how much we like it.

Of course there was custard and cream too.

Tuesday - We had a very good sleep. And there was no hurry in the morning as it was so cold. But the plan had been to just walk about some in the town. There is the old City Hall of Christchurch. 

James and I were succesful making a few purchases and then we walked towards the church they are attending. It was a lovely walk.

This was once a castle and I think that is the River Avon.

We even spied a beautiful heron on the other side.

The walk was purposely to Priory Church, a beautiful building more than 900 years old. This is Kate and David's church and we were fortunate enough to be here too for their two daughter's weddings. 

First we were treated to a coffee in the cafe and I made a purchase at the gift store. Of course we had a look around and I took some photos.

The organ was being tuned while we were there.

At the Side Chapel was a new addition of a small organ which David had helped to place.

The backside looked very interesting. 

The main altar has a very impressive reredos but I could not find out how old it is.

Back at the house we had lunch and warmed up again. Of course we played cards too. 

But before dinner we had to get on the computer and buy the tickets for Thursday's bus ride to Heathrow. This time I managed a bit better. The "foreign request" to pay was a bit of an issue again but after requesting a code from our bank all was good. To be honest, I think there is good in this security. We all know what can happen.

Gosh, ha-ha, late out of bed and late in too. But when you don't see each other that often you have to make the most of it. And we certainly have a lot of memories to talk (and laugh) about.