Dear Tom,

   Thanks for your letter which finally caught up with me in London. I suppose you're keen to hear how the trip has been so far. So here's a short description of what's happened.

   Well, you remember we left Sydney on Monday and arrived in London 24 hours later. After such a long and exhausting flight the first thing we did was to have a good, long sleep. And after that?a good meal to make up for all that horrible airline stuff!

   The first real day of our holiday was spent just walking around London to get a feel of the place. After that, however, we were more particular and planned each day carefully.

   First, we looked at all the historical sights, such as the Tower of London, the Houses of Parliament, the British Museum and the National Gallery. Then we visited some other famous places, such as Kew Gardens and Hampstead Heath. Finally, we took a one-day trip to Oxford, which is really the most marvelous town. You should make sure to go there when you visit England.

   After we had seen a lot of London, we flew to Paris. A t first, we didn't like the place-I suppose because it was so different from London. Later, though, we began to really love it and started to appreciate its differentness.

   The final stage of our trip is a visit to Rome, after which we will be staying in Singapore for two days before returning to Australia.

   Hope everyone is well. See you soon.