travelling right, travelling light

Six months on the road seemed like a blessed eternity. With so many new experiences each and every day, I have to say that the six months actually felt like a really long time. We extracted as many hours as we could out of every day, and seized every opportunity. In short, I think we squeezed in a lifetime of travel in a compressed period of time.

Our change of address card highlighted just a few of the many places we'd been...

Back in California, our first month has just flown by, with the whole of January feeling like about three days on the "trip" clock. And, of course, it can't be a surprise that it's felt a whole lot less fulfilling than any of our last six months when we averaged 10,000 miles and four countries a month, each with innumerable unforgettable experiences. Half of me is left thinking that six months wasn't long enough. But the other half warns that the adjustment would be correspondingly more difficult if we had stayed out longer.

Who's this guy? Lloyd tells me that shoes are kind of hard to get used to again...

It might be marginally easier for Lloyd who has thrown himself back into work 110%. For me (and Lloyd kindly labels me an 'uber'-type-A), I'm doing my best to feel fulfilled by a combination of home-building, job search and CFA study, but world travel is a pretty compelling option when it's up against the best job in the world, never mind unemployment. I'm chomping at the bit to get back into the corporate world, and the 'adjustment' phase will likely endure until I'm settled in my new role. Watch this space....

Talking of home-building, we spend the first few weeks back looking at furnished homes for short-term let in the Bay Area. Ironically, we came closest to renting from a couple heading out for their own six month adventure (!), but our final walk through exposed the couple as massively uptight, with an almost obsessive compulsive disorder with regards to their home, despite the pet bird that was allowed to fly freely around the place. I guess there are cat people, and bird people. We don't understand the latter.

New apartment: moving in.

Since the bird people put us off renting furnished entirely, we quickly found an unfurnished apartment to rent in San Jose. Bearing in mind that we sold every stick of furniture with our house last May, we moved into a very sparse apartment on the 19th of January, and headed to the nearest IKEA to furnish the place. And so it is that we find ourselves living in what could easily pass as an IKEA showroom. I guess we could blame my new sister-in-law for the Swedish influence!

Anyway, look for some Trip Statistics, and Top Ten Lists in the coming days. It's a great excuse for us to relive our very happy memories.

After more than six months on the road, we left London on the 3rd of January headed "home" to San Francisco. We were excited to be headed back, but it could hardly be called "home" given that we were returning to no more than a five foot by eight foot storage unit with all our worldy belongings and a PO Box crammed full of unsolicited credit card offers.

We were convinced, however, that forces were conspiring to keep us in London. First, our taxi didn't show up to take us to Heathrow, resulting in a frantic dash across - or should I say under - London. On the bright side, we were too stressed to be sad about the end of our trip, but arriving at Heathrow with forty minutes ahead of an international flight isn't to be recommended. Suffice to say I almost concluded the trip by getting arrested for being a little too enthusiastic with my 'encouragement' for progress in the security line. But the real tragedy was that I didn't have any time for a final English Breakfast or to stock up on the British chocolates and biccies that will prove all too elusive back in the US.

Having made it to the gate in time (just), the conspiracy to keep us on the road just seemed to deepen when our 747 was grounded for almost two hours pending technical faults. Frankly, this plane seemed to have so many faults, we thought twice about staying on it - but in the event our 11 hour flight passed without incident.

Final Destination: San Francisco

I couldn't help but smile when we stepped back onto American soil. Excited about what lay ahead? Of course. Pleased that we'd soon find ourselves in the same bed for more than two nights? Definitely. Content about having to worry less about tap water, ice and ice cream? Yup. Delirious about the prospect of being reunited with my cat? Absolutely!

Lloyd's good friend, Dave, who has supported us in innumerable ways during our exodus was generous with his time - once again - and met us at the airport. If you have to return to the real world after an adventure like ours, then it's definitely better if you have a friendly face to console you in the arrival lounge.

For too many kindnesses to mention: thanks, Dave!

The weather wasn't quite as friendly and it quickly became clear that we were lucky to have landed in San Francisco at all - indeed, later flights were diverted as a ferocious storm moved through the entire Bay Area. Not quite the California sunshine we had been looking forward to! Smarter souls would stay indoors on a day like today, but Dave braved the storm to drive us the hour or so down to our until-last-June-home-town of Los Gatos.

Before I could be reunited with my cat, Lloyd had to be reunited with his baby. Would she reject him after being abandoned for six months? Would she hold it against him that he hadn't so much as let her stretch her legs during all that time? Nope! She purred right into action, with only one low tyre to show for six months in solitary confinement.

Lloyd reunited with his baby, on the left. On the right, checking to see if our worldly belongings survived...

And reunited with my baby.

So - what's next for us? Well, Lloyd goes immediately back to work, and I start looking for my next opportunity. In the meantime, we need to find somewhere to live and - most importantly - settle back into real life. It'll be interesting to see how smooth - or otherwise - this adjustment is. We'll keep posting from time to time to let you know! And now the work begins of reviewing all the photos and videos of the trip, so you can expect some lists of favourite and least favourite things too.

Having lived and worked here for quite a while in the 90s, London will always have a special place in my heart. Here are some tips and tricks based on what I learned then as well as what we came across on our most recent trip.

1) Buy an Oyster card as soon as you arrive. It's basically a smartcard that you use to pay-as-you-go for the underground, DLR, buses etc. You can buy them at most main stations and you'll need to add some credit to it as soon as you get it. It's super convenient, but the best thing is that it can offer savings of up to 50% on single fares. Additionally, having an Oyster card entitles you to discounts at a range of museums. Offers change from time to time, but we were able to get into the Museum at Docklands for half price, as an example. Visit www.tfl.gov.uk for more information.

2) Research what museums etc you want to visit before you arrive. Although we had seen the complete Tutankamen collection in Egypt and the Terracotta Warriors in Xi'an, we wanted to compare notes by seeing both the related exhibitions (at the O2 and the British Museum respectively) while we were in London. Unfortunately, tickets were sold out for both.

Not something we saw in London... but you could if you plan ahead! The British Museum has a number of them, until April 2008.

3) Unless you want to see the latest and greatest musical or play in the West End, don't even think about paying full price. Try www.londontheatredirect.com for tickets where we paid significantly less for great seats.

4) Don't miss a cruise up the Thames! I lived in London for five years, and have visited dozens of times since I left, but had never done this. It offered a completely different perspective of the City and simply shouldn't be missed. If you're short of cash and don't care so much about the commentary, take a commuter boat rather than a tourist boat. You'll also save if you mention your Oyster card.

5) We still love the London Eye (the big ferris wheel at Westminster) which offers great views over the City. Try it at twilight for a different view!

The London Eye. Still impressive after all these years....

6) We're BIG fans of the Imperial War Museum in Lambeth which has an impressive collection of military hardware in addition to very high quality rotating exhibitions and a fabulous collection of war themed art. Even if you don't think you're interested in the military, it's a guaranteed thought-provoking and entertaining experience. We wouldn't miss it and used to pay good money to visit it several times a year. It's now - happily - free to enter!

7) For the third time during this trip, we walked along the Thames from Westminster to London Bridge. It's a fabulous walk that takes in many key sights: from Big Ben and the Eye, past the Tate Modern, the Globe, with great views of St Paul's and Tower Bridge. There are plenty of restaurants and bars along the way, in addition to free entertainment including skateboarders and buskers. If you're interested, this itinerary could easily include a flight on the Eye and visits to the horribly overpriced London Dungeon. And it's an easy walk over the pedestrian Millennium Bridge to St Paul's and the City.

8) Don't miss the Docklands. It's an easy trip on the DLR (Docklands Light Railway), and there's SO much happening out there. The recent opening of the massive entertainement complex, the O2, has made it even more hip. We loved the Museum at Docklands which gave us the historical context of an area that struggled to find tenants back in the 80s an early 90s! Now, the area is booming and still growing. Get a ticket to a concert and give yourself an excuse to get out there. And while at the O2, check out Tapa Tapa where we enjoyed a fabulous pre-show dinner and after-show drink.

9) In terms of budget accommodation, check out chains like the Travel Inn and IBIS which offer basic but immaculately clean rooms. Public transport is SO incredibly good in London that you don't need to pay too much for a tiny, dirty room in the centre.

10) Finally, take out a second mortgage before you go. With the exchange rate hovering around US$2 for every british pound, you will find the city very expensive. The good news is that so much of London is free: it's fabulous parks (don't miss Speaker's Corner at Hyde Park every Sunday!), markets, the walk along the Thames, Greenwich, just about all the Museums and so on.