The final leg - taking the ferry to Scotland

And so at last we were on our final leg of the trip. We had booked this ferry before we left South Africa and it had always been a date for the future. Now it was reality.

We sailed from Zeebrugge in Belgium on an overnight ferry to Rosyth. Rosyth is near Edinburgh on the River Forth in Scotland and is 20 miles from our home. Leaving Zeebrugge you pass several windfarms, where quite sensibly the Belgian government seems to have invested heavily in wind energy.

After a smooth sailing we sailed slowly up the Forth, past Edinburgh and under the Forth bridges, before docking in Rosyth.

It was poignant for me to see the pilot boat approach the ferry to deliver the pilot who would take the ship on its last few miles of its journey. My father was a river pilot on the Forth and would have taken this small boat many times.

In Rosyth we were met by my mum and my sister.

Our journey was over.

Last stop - Den Haag

It may seem strange to say, but there was something right about finishing our grand tour in Den Haag (The Hague). One of the attractions of doing this trip was to go home at nature's pace. Of course we could have flown straight from South Africa to Scotland, but then you simply jump from one culture to another different culture, with no sense of what lies in between. Air travel moves you at an unnatural pace and causes culture shock because of the contrasts caused by sudden upheaval and transplantation. Our trip did not need a grand climax. The trip was the experience. Hence it seemed right that our last port of call was a small quiet city on the north sea, with few tourists and few obvious attractions.

There was however a reason for us to come here. One of my great friends from school, Charlie Main, now lives in Den Haag. As with all school friends we remember each other when we were young and naive, and all our frailties, fears and shortcomings were obvious. It is always therefore somewhat surprising to meet years later and to find ourselves in responsible jobs despite everything nature put in our way! I speak mainly for myself, of course, as Charlie is an extraordinary person.

While we went off to university he went to Australia and various corners of the world on his motorbike, at a time when this was not in vogue. He smashed himself up several times in motorbike accidents, including breaking his back in the Central African Republic on a trip from the UK to Cape Town. He spent 10 years with the UN in Central Africa seeing playing his part in helping to manage the aftermath of the Rwandan genocide, and the spillover into the Democratic Republic of Congo. Then he went to college to get a degree and after a stint in Nigeria he is now regional head security for Shell.

We went to Scheveningen beach (try pronouncing that correctly after a couple of cranberry juices) for a paddle and to try the seafood at the local cafes. We paddled in the Atlantic Ocean in Cape Town on the day we flew from South Africa. This was only marginally warmer.

One of the great joys of travelling in this part of the world is taking the train. The whole public transport system is superb with buses, trams and bikes all fully integrated. Just have a look at the bike park at Den Haag Central Station.

Paris - the whistle stop tour.

After the unbearable excitement of EuroDisney, we spent three days talking it easy in Paris. The children quickly took to cafe culture, especially the morning croissant and hot chocolate.

The children enjoyed very much seeing first hand many of the famous sites which are featured so heavily in books and on TV. It was also an opportunity to shatter a few myths e.g. the Walt Disney did not write the Hunchback of Notre Dame, and that the cathedral of Notre Dame does exist. We stayed in a small hotel near the Tour Montparnasse from where we were able to walk to most places. Also from the top of the Tour Montparnasse you get much better views than from the top of the Eiffel Tower, and there is a much shorter wait to climb it too.

Having started our trip in Egypt almost 4 months ago, there was a pleasing symmetry to be almost at the end and to see many Egyptian artifacts, the likes of which we had previously seen in Cairo, Aswan and Luxor.

Paris was a very pleasant and relaxing time. It is a great city for walking (something which children hate to hear) and at the end of the day, there is always a small cafe where you can relax with a cranberry juice.

The high point of the trip - EuroDisney????

Ask the children their favourite part of the trip, and they will tell you it was Disneyland Paris. We took the TGV from Brittany to EuroDisney. French trains have been wonderful (when not on strike) and yet again we travelled in comfort at high speed straight to our destination.

Our passes started at 0800 hrs so we stayed in a hotel near the park in order that we could make an early check in at the resort hotel then get to the park early. When we got to the station and the children saw the Disney characters the excitement was off the scale - and we weren't even in the park yet.

After checking in at the hotel, we headed to the park and bought the obligatory Mouse Ears, Tigger Ears and Mickey Mouse Gloves.

Then for the next three days it was rides, queues, rides, queues, food, rides, queues, and the occasional parade, all interspersed with a little sleep.

Oh and there was a Wild West Show too.

The children loved every minute of it.

Family reunion in Brittany

After our wonderful time with friends in Geneva, we headed to Brittany to catch up with family. James and Valerie and their 4 great children Gregory, Arnaud, Eloise and Stella were back for their summer holiday in Crac'h, where Valerie's parents have a holiday house. This year was special as it was Stella's christening and Elspeth and I were asked to be godparents.

Valerie's parents very bravely invited us all to stay with them, and we were joined by James and Eta Elder and their two girls Abby and Sophie. 6 adults and 10 children as guests! It was chaos at times, but things went well and the children played really well together - most of the time. We had a double celebration as the day before Stella's baptism was also her birthday.

Brittany is reminiscent of the west coast of Scotland, with variable weather, bracing winds and sea shores which are grassy and rocky. The weather did not deter the Brits from swimming and playing on the beach. It was back to childhood as we paddled, built aeroplanes and sandcastles in the sand, and played football. Fortunately there were a couple of engineers on hand to to help with the boat design and construction.

Of course there are compensations for the weather. The Breton food is wonderful and we didn't need much encouragement to tuck into plates of mussels and frites, washed down with local cider.

Back at the house, there were plenty young children to keep everyone occupied, and the table tennis was fiercely contested, with sibling rivalry to the fore.

We also watched the World Cup final where Holland tried most forms of both martial and dark arts but still couldn't beat Spain. We had a number of sweepstakes going, and fortunately for me, I drew the winning score, and also, because I had enough Dutchmen in my team, I also had the first yellow card.

It was a really super time for all of us. It was great for the cousins to get to know each other again and for us to see the two Jameses, Valerie, Eta and Manuel and Genevieve.

Why is public access to the internet poorer in the west than in the east?

Several people have asked why we have been irregular in publishing our posts in the last month. One reason may be that we have been staying with friends and that there have been fewer opportunities to sit down and write. However another factor has been that Western Europe is simply less well connected to the internet in public places than many of the countries in Eastern Europe and the Middle East. Turkey is the best connected country we have been in by a mile. Almost every public place in Turkey has wifi. When you arrive you just ask for the password and log-on. The idea of a bar NOT having wifi would be strange in Turkey yet when you ask in Paris or Geneva if they have wifi, you would think you had just asked for a rare exotic dish.

We love the South African Diplomatic Service

Our experience of diplomatic missions abroad has been mixed. We have great friends who are diplomats but sometimes it seems they are the exception rather than the rule. For many consulates, the concept of actually serving or helping their fellow citizens is utterly alien. The Finnish Consulate in Addis Ababa opened for something like 2 hours a day, four days a week. How do I know this? It's a long story . . .

So far, however, our experience with the South African embassies and consulates has been great. In Kazakhstan, the SA embassy had just opened and I think I was their first customer. When I told them that I needed a work permit they were very excited as it was the first such permit they had ever done. I got gold-plated service.

In Geneva we needed to have some documents witnessed and attested for the sale of our house in South Africa. We had tried to do this at the British Embassy in Belgrade, but they wanted £65 per signature, and we had 10 pages to sign with several signatures per page. Much as I would love to help HM Treasury and reduce the national debt, the idea of paying over £1000 for notary services was too much. By contrast in Geneva, the SA consulate stamped, witnessed and initialled every document at no charge, and all within 5 minutes. The staff were extremely friendly even when I had to come back to get extra signatures. We love young democracies.

We all came down to Prangins, on the Lake Geneva shore . . .

After our time in the mountains, we enjoyed one of Geneva's other great attractions, the lake. We left Geneva for the small town of Prangins to stay with our great friends from Almaty, the Reeves family. The last time we had seen Ken, Gretchen, Isabel, Olivia and Oscar was when they stayed with us in South Africa for Christmas 2006.

If the Geyrs live in the second biggest house in Geneva, the Reeves live in the second biggest house in Switzerland. The house originally belonged to the couturier of Queen Victoria. It is now owned by 4 siblings, three of whom live with their families in the house. Ken and Gretchen have the middle floor. The house is wonderful with huge rooms, high ceilings, wooden panelling, and its own private dock. It looks like something from a Hitchcock movie, and would be the perfect "pied a terre" for any axe wielding psycho killer.

The village of Prangins is about 30 km from Geneva. and is next to Nyon, the home of the headquarters of FIFA. Thanks to the wonderful Swiss public transport, it is only a 12 minute train ride to the centre of Geneva. In fact the train is quite annoying as you don't even have time for a coffee and a read of your newspaper before you have reached your destination. How Johannesburg could learn from this.

We spent three lazy days swimming in the lake, playing in the grounds of the house (they are too big to be called gardens) and watching the World Cup in the evening. We also had a fun time picking raspberries, and an even better time eating them with cream.

Switzerland is a fascinating country. It is the most devolved democracy I have seen, and therefore important for any Scots who want to talk about devolution or independence. If devolution or independence is about bringing decision making and accountability as close as possible to the people governed, then Switzerland is a great case study. The local communes have large budgets and significant powers, as do the cantons which is the next level of government after that. More importantly it seems they exercise that power in a positive way to bring services and facilities to their area. The federal government is not exactly powerless, but is very much the least important of the three levels of government. Mind, there is a distinctive Swiss mentality which does include a devotion to both following and enforcing rules which would make a German accountant look like a Californian liberal. Tales abound of expats being reported to the police by their neighbours for excess noise, incorrect recycling, flushing toilets too late at night etc. The local commune in Prangins even shuts down electricity for washing machines at certain times of the day. Mind, if that is the cost of living among beautiful mountains in a country with a wonderful public transport system, fabulous sports facilities and a great health service, then maybe it is worth it.