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.