Speeding trains, friends relatives, and sightseeing

London was one of the most jam-packed weeks we have managed on the trip!  We landed in Heathrow at a reasonable time of day (we will just ignore the 30 hours spent in airports and on planes prior) where we made our way to see some friends in London.  Revelling in the long daylight hours (9:30pm?  of course it's still light) and the fact that our jetlag made staying up late easy we chatted until past 1am.  Getting up the next morning however was excruciating!!  We made it to Cambridge where after nearly a year we finally managed to meet Claudine.  The one activity we were eager to do in Cambridge was punting.  So we made a plan - bad idea.  At the appointed hour to meet beside the punts the heavens opened, in a way that shouldn't happen in England, being more reminiscent of a tropical storm.  Within seconds we were soaked through and the streets were flooded.  So Andrew, Jason and I ducked into the pub where Claudine was sensibly waiting and all took off our shoes and poured out the water to  create our own paddling pool under the table.  Of course the weather wasn't finished yet and within an hour the rain was replaced with hail!  After a lovely couple of days catching up we jumped on the train to Exeter to see some of the Northcott side of the family and to show Jason where I lived for the first few years before we very sensibly moved to Australia.  We toured the sights, strangely my cousin who lives there hadn't been to many of the places we saw either, before heading back to Louise's house for a nice dinner and more chat.  The next morning we were off to Salisbury to be proper tourists!  We jumped on a tour bus to Stonehenge and Old Sarum quite enjoying the spiel about the area.  The next morning we were off to Banbury to see my brother and after a night sharing  a couch.. slightly smaller than a single bed... we were back on the train to London.  In London we headed out to the Body Worlds exhibition, which was fascinating, before catching an evening performance of Les Mis!! "Do you hear the people sing?"  The next day we met up with my great Aunt for lunch, spent a couple of hours in the Tower of London where we were thoroughly entertained by our Yeoman guide, before heading out to Gatwick.  Phew!  I'm tired just writing it.  So to summarise, we spent one night in London, two in Cambridge, one in Exeter, one in Salisbury, one in Banbury, one in London before heading to the airport!!  Now it's time for some rest and relaxation -to Croatia we go!