Last legs ....

This is our last driving leg …. to our Beune destination. An early start again hoping to follow some of the country roads that we think the race will follow. Found our way into Autun successfully ... parked, found a tourist info centre and a map showing where the race would pass through the town. We were set!! Have checked it out ... and Lex has decided on a vantage point ... if we can get from Beune to Autun on that day!!! On the road again...

Ooops, missed the turn again … and we are headed directly for Beune. But look what’s around this corner … the top of a magnificent chateau!!! We headed towards it, as you do … to discover a beautiful, narrow winding road crowded with beautiful old buildings … many of them wine cellars. Too early for that … and not a good plan when we’re driving … so we continue up to the chateau .. which just happens to be open .

It was stunning …. from the outside as well as on the inside. We were able to wander around some parts on our own but needed to join a guided tour (in French) to see the main buildings. Amazing to hear that something so grand was built in one year (somewhere in the 1200s I think) was substantially demolished after the revolution … and reinstated to its former glory in the 1800. Dates may be incorrect, but you get the idea.
Driving on from there … there’s just miles and miles of vineyards. What a sight. Couldn’t believe our eyes. Vineyards and ‘caves’ (cellars) with degustation (tasting) everywhere!!!! But we were driving so didn’t stop.
Into Beaune … another medieval city with narrow winding streets and a ring road going around the old city walls. Our hotel is just outside the old city part. Wireless access … only from the foyer, but better than nothing.

We arrived at our hotel in time to see live coverage of stage one of the race on TV … with English commentary!!! Lex sat riveted to the TV at the final stages as Aussie, Robbie McEwen fell in a crash, but got up to eventually rejoin the breakaway (supported by his team) and come from nowhere to win the stage!!! How awesome. True Robbie McEwen fashion. Lex sat glued to the TV, watching for Robbie who is a known sprinter and also known to be invisible until right at the end. The commentators missed him until he rocketed to the front, but Lex didn’t. What a finish.

We had also watched some of the prologue from London on TV at Chissey en Morvan the day before, recognising all the buildings, monuments etc along the route because we had walked most of it. Great to recognise so much from personal experience.
Photos uploaded to Flickr...

On the road again …. Best laid plans foiled!!!!

Planned for another early start …7am… down to the underground carpark to work out how to pay and get out before the traffic. Managed the paying part …. only to find out the doors were locked and not due to open until 8am …. another hour!!!! Settled in for a wait …time to catch up on the diary. Suddenly the doors opened (early) and we shot out of there…. unfortunately, not by the exit we had planned so once again we were doing loops through the narrow streets of another medieval city!! Another 15 minutes later annd we were finally on the road again.

Target for the day was to get close to Beaune (where we will be staying from Sunday for 6 days) ... or better still Atun, which will be another race finish, preferably if we can ... by driving along some sections of the road to be used for the race .... and all this means ... getting off the highways onto the back roads. Villers Gettorets was to be a race start ... so we headed off the highway in that direction. Several 'road deviations' later and we were still no closer to Villers .... in fact every sign we saw said it was 17km away. Seemed like we were attached to a 17km rope ... circling Villers Gotterets ... unable to break free....

We did hawever finally make it to somewhere else ... lots of beautiful, gentle sloping farm land with wildflowers growing all along the roadsides.

One of our 'alternative' turns took us to a beautiful small village called Longpont, where we came across some amazing ruins and beautiful old buildings.

Mid afternoon, we started looking for a bed for the night (knowing that if all else failed we had sleeping bags and a car to sleep in). Sailieu is a beautiful old town.... missed the markets though ... but no room at the inn(s)... so we moved on. We did manage to find a room at a hotel in a very small village called Chissey on Morvan. Very old place, and I think we were the only people in the place. More of an inn than a hotel ... good rooms, great country view, good food. Another great spot.

Feecamp onwards ... revealing the mystery!!!

Left Fecamp early to avoid major traffic problems. First BIG achievement for today was working out how the ‘toll roads’ work. (TIP for future travellers … you take a ticket on your way through the toll gates … indication the location you entered the toll road… when you leave the toll road … you give your ticket to a cashier who works out the cost. Costs vary depending on the distance travelled on the toll roads. Seems fair.) All sounds so simple … but when you can’t read the signs .. it is somewhat more stressful. Some queues are for card holders or those who want to use credit cards … tried to avoid those. Much preferred to try to talk to a person … who couldn’t understand us anyway!!! We successfully negotiated 2 toll gates!!! and avoided any others for the next 2 days … Woohoo!!!

Our goal for the day (which I had avoided identifying) was to get to Villers Bretonneux. We managed that very early … after all it isn’t very far from Fecamp. We took some time to visit the Adelaide cemetery and the memorial for the 11000 Australians missing in France during the First World War . Another emotional experience…. so may graves … so many very young men … and a memorial which was erected just before the second World War … and damaged during that war … still shows the signs of damage.
Visited the Franco-Australian Museum above the Victoria School which was reconstructed with contributions from the children of Victoria. Looking at the photos of the devastation which occurred in those villages … how did they ever recover!!! We could see a large sign on the wall in the school grounds, ‘Never forget Australia’ … and they have pictures of Australian animals on the walls and windows. What a sight!
Too early to stop so we pushed on… next goal … CLERMONT … not Clermont Ferrand. But we found Clermont on the map … somewhere south of Villers Bretonneux. We drove in … but took a wrong turn … and we were suddenly out of Clermont heading for the next town … Compeigne. Haf thought we might stop in Clermont, but not to be. Compeigne turned out to be another gem. A finishing stage for the our de France … preparations in full swing .. a great atmosphere.
Achievements in Compiegne … found our way into the town (you have to count these as achievements … especially these medieval towns with really narrow streets, and all signs in a foreign language!!) … got into a parking station (not sure at this stage how to get out of it) … got some accommodation for the night … and found a cache with a geocoin!!!

The fun of ordering a meal ....

when you can read very little of the menu .... even the English edition. Just wish I could remember the phrases to tell you . Have often thought of asking if someone will give me a menu to bring home ... but that presents a whole new dimension of understanding/misunderstanding. They just wouldn't understand me ... remember the KISS principle!



We know a few things ... like how to get a beer ... and now how to get a cider. Also know meat (viande), mussels (moules), poulet (chicken), poisson (fish)... but after that we don't know what they do with it or how it is being served. And just to confuse us further ... they often use other words ... saummon (salmon ... I guessed that one) but also other varieties of fish, meat etc. Then we are lost.



Tonight Lex opted for moules again, 'cos we mighn't get them as we head further inland. HUGE bowl of moules in cream and wine sauce ... lots of work in eating them ... and he had to give up before the bowl was empty ... about 2 dozen left in the bottom. Such a lot of moules for 11 euros. I ordered salmon ... and was pleasantly surprised with salmon with pasta and a cream and herb sauce. Very tasty!!



Last night was another adventure. Lex had a 'gallete' or maybe it is 'galette' ... but it's a savoury crepe ... ham, cheese and egg. I had a salad with 'chevre' in it ... neither waitress was able to tell us what it was (one was French with limited English ... the other is English with very limited French)... chevre is goat. It did have diced meat of some kind in it ... thought it was bacon at the time ... but not sure. Often see goat cheese on menus ... but don't think there was any cheese in it so it's a mystery!!!



Part of the adventure ... getting through each day. Don't seem to have lost any weight, so must be doing OK!! Keep looking for buffet-style ... like we experienced in Hamburg ... but haven't seen any around here. I'm also hanging out for some veges!!! Haven't seen many veges on menus ... well not words that I recognise anyway.



Trying for an early night tonight ...10pm now ... and an early start tomorrow.

Last day in Fecamp

Time for a look around here... maritime museum, the harbour and a bit of the town. Lots of history about boats and the local fishing industry in the museum. We got an English copy of the information to read ... the part about the fishing industry was very interesting ... and really helped when we watched the video, which was all in French. What a hard life fishing must have been years ago!!! Lex really liked all the info about old wooden boats, naturally, and boat building tools and techniques.



We watched a ship go out through the harbour and stood for ages watching the power of the ocean. Cloudy and very windy again today. There are 5 big wind generators (for power) on a hill near the town ... so I'm guessing wind is a fact of life here. Tried to capture wave forms on camera ... not as successful as we had hoped.



Back home early to plan the route for tomorrow ... as we DRIVE away from here. Who knows where we will end up ... there is a plan ... but just in case we go via the 'alternative route' I'm not saying what the plan is!!!



BTW Soph, you'll be pleased to know that the interpretor you gave dad for Xmas is our constant companion. It's had lots of use in France and Germany ... doesn't help me speak any better, but certainly helps us understand more written text. There are lots of words it doesn't know though ... so at times we just give up.

Beauty comes in many forms.....

What a day!!! Looking back over past weeks, got to thinking about all the amazing archeticture we've seen. Paris is really a beautiful place ... and the Cathedral at Rouen was spectacular. Hamburg was striking and beautiful in a different way.

Today we have spent the day exploring a couple of areas on the northern coast of France ... Yport and Etretat ..... such awesome coastlines.... painted by many of the Impressionist painters, especiall Monet. Such a beautiful area. But we found beauty not only in the HUGE cliffs, but in the rocks, mosses, seaweeds, grass patterns, clouds as well as boats!!!

We successfully managed to drive around .... not lose the car when we parked ...negotiate many of the back (country) roads ... and get back home!!! That's a real achievement. We celebrate all achievements. I managed to buy some bread and sausage for lunch ... walk close to the edge of the cliffs (don't worry kids ... I didn't get tooooo close, except on my belly)... and visit a cider museum. [I had my first cider in Rouen... despite trying to order it in Paris ... only to be given a 'soda' ... soft drink ... or a smaller beer. Gave up trying.] I think it's pronounced like 'cedar' ... not the way we say 'cider'.

Well today we visited a cider museum on the way home. Since Lex was driving, I had to drink his samples as well as mine. Didn't realise they could make so many different products ... alcoholic beverages .... apple juice ... and apple jelly. All yummy!!!

First stop for the day was Yport ... a beautiful beach ... with HUGE cliffs, rocks, rocks and more rocks, seaweed, mosses .... and boats!!! Some of the high cliffs have what appear to be tunnels which have been bricked up. Not sure HOW... because they are very high. But there's lots of structures from the war (gun placements etc) we think they would be from that era. Interesting.

Had planned to stop at the next inlet/township .... but took a different turn and missed it. No problem. The next stop was spectacular ... and we spent ages there. Had a picnic on the beach again ... love these picnic where you don't get sand grit in the sandwiches. It was very very gusty!!! Cool wind, but the sun was warm. Climbed one of the hills ... just stunning. We took hundreds of photos,

Had thought I'd try to only upload about a dozen photos from today ... but I couldn't get it down to that few, sorry!!! Thought of you Soph, when looking at all the seaweeds, grasses, rocks and mosses. Such amazing textures... so lots of the photos are for you. Hope there's something for everyone! Cheers

We made it ... we have a new home!!!

Driving in France ... what an experience!!!! But we did it ... or rather Lex did. How good is that. It's one thing to be driving on (what feels like) the wrong side of the road ... but another to go round the round abouts the wrong way ... and to give way to traffic from the left .... They tried to give us a bigger car, but we said no, no, no. Just as well, Lex was driving very close to the right hand side ... to keep as far away from oncoming traffic as possible ... I thought we were going to slip into the drains. Have parked the car ... may stay where it is for a while...



Home is another dream!! We're only 50m from the beach ... I can see it from the window and hear the waves. Check out the view from our window!!! Added bonus is that we have wireless connection as well (don't know where it's coming from, but it works!).


'BEACH' is a bit of an exaggeration. We had a picnic on the 'beach'. At the time it was very, very windy, and cloudy. We walked along the beachfront to the harbour and watched some big boats come in. Then headed off to explore some of the town.



Came across the Benedictine Palais ... did the tour ... ornate building built in 1900, contains art exhibition and museum artifacts .... as well as a distillary!!! Benedictine, of course. That was interesting and very delicious .... smooth!



Took a 'short' walk up the beach later in the afternoon (I'm never believing Lex again!) ... about two and a half hours later we made it back home. We had walked along the beach ... up a stairway in a break in the cliffs (no idea where we were) ... cross country through a 'Circuit Six' route we think .... through residential back streets and finally back home. Some short walk.

Managed to catch a sunset this evening as well ... around 10pm. Hoping for a sunny day again tomorrow.

Brave ... or stupid???

We've made plans for the next few days and have booked accommodation in Fecamp ... and hired a car for 6 days.... maybe we should tell someone where our wills are stored!!!! Don't think we will have internet access at the next stop (sadly) so you may not hear from us for a while.

Been thinking of home a bit lately. Today when we went in to see a display in an old tower, the attendant noticed Lex's wallaby shirt and proceeded to give us the news that the Wallabies defeated the All Blacks recently ... producing the newspaper article to show us. Final state of origin game must be on the week also ... don't expect to be so lucky this time (and catch a match). Someone... please text us the scores. We're into our third last week ... thinking of those back home on holidays now too. Wondering how I will get my head around everything when we get home ... will have to catch up fast!!!!

Today we wandered in a different direction ... and stumbled across more amazing street scenes. There's a new vista around every corner. Truely amazing. We also spent some time in an awesome book shop ... children's books, games etc. Exceptional. Lots of things there that I would like to bring home ... no room!

11.30pm ... sitting here listening to the Monet light and sound show. Had planned to go up again ... it is soooo riveting... but opted out when the rain started. It runs for about 15 mins ... but they play it about half a dozen times. When it's all over ... about 12-12.30 ... the lights on the Cathedral come on again .... what a sight ... from our window. Shines all night - so spectacular.

We watched some men playing boules out the other side of our hotel this afternoon. Serious games ... there appeared to be a trophy. Players kept popping over the road to the bar for refills.

Another day in Paradise

Slow start this morning.... possibly something to do with the late nights and good living. [ Each day we start out my body screams out in pain ... legs, ankles, hips ...even arms. You'd think we weren't doing any exercise! We're averaging 10-15kms each day ... and countless steps. We're on the third floor again ... no elevator this time ... just a narrow spiral staircase.]

We wandered off to explore wider than yesterday... dressed in shorts for the first time since leaving home. Hadn't got very far when we came across another market. Woohoo... I just love the vibrance of these areas.... and all the food items. Bought another bread stick for our evening meal ... and some olives, cheese (I think) and a salami that looks really gross ... but tasted terrific. Also for lunch ... paella (awesome) and samosas (also really good).

This market also had lots of flowers, of course, and clothes, books and antiques. Some of the shops were open (and not as busy as yesterday) so I followed up with a few hours browsing clothes shops ... on my own. Sizes are labelled differently ... and not much English is spoken ... so it was a challenge. No I didn't add to my luggage ... but I had lots of fun trying things on.

It's 8.30pm .... after a really fine day, we had a shower earlier, but the 8 o'clock sun is shining through below the cloud. What a place ... sun on the cathedral.

Monet on the Cathedral

What a spectacular show.... lights and sound. We joined thousands of people on the cobblestones in front of the Cathedral. It was spectacular!!! Unfortunately the pictures didn't turn out too well. They projected Money style images onto the front of the Cathedral ... like a textured canvas,

We've stumbled into another piece of Paradise.....

(Buggar ... just lost this LONG post. Hope it will be even better second time around)

We left Paris ... true backpacker style .... using public transport. Have to say the transport system in Paris is terrific. We left home early ... giving ourselves plenty of time to manage crowds ... purchase tickets ... walk to the station and find our way from the metro to the platform for Grande Lignes. It took less than half an hour so were were there more than 2 hours early!!! No problem.

We arrived in Rouen ... in the rain.... but first .... why Rouen? Good question. We have several days to fill in before we go to Beaune .... Lex seemed to remember someone recommending Rouen ..... we are interested in the Normandy landings ... we were able to get accommodation here and manage to get tickets. Good enough reasons.

it seems we have stumbled into another piece of paradise!!!! We've come a long way since we arrived in London (where we opted for a taxi for the short distance to our hotel) ... today we headed away from the station with only the vaguest idea of the name of our hotel and less idea of the address. We made it!!!

What a stunning place. So much history. It reminds us of York ... all the old city area ... old buildings, narrow streets etc ... bu there's more of it here!!! We wandered around ... with several thousand other people.

There's an amazing old church ... severly damaged during the war and again from a tornado in 200. It rivals Notre Dame. As an added bonus, we have arrived just in time for a Monet light show that runs for several weeks on the front of the Cathedral. Have to wait until it gets dark .... 11pm!!! Gotta do it.

There seemed to be several groups of people dressed in crazy costumes ... seemed like a game or a scavenger hunt or maybe even a hen's party (they seemed to be big in Edinburgh too) ... well Lex managed to get up close and personal with one of the locals...

We decided to give ourselves an early afternoon ... so we could make it to the Monet show later. So I'm enjoying the view from our window ... did I mention that our room looks out onto the side of the Cathedral only 2 blocks away... also enjoying some crusty French bread, avocado, pastrami and blue cheese ... and a tasty red wine! Life is good!!! Oh ... and wifi access from our room ... albeit intermittent. Have also managed to upload some more pics and put labels to recent un-named ones.

Last time I saw Paris...

Well not quite ... but this is our last day here. Two eventful days ... more successes.

Firstly we managed to book train tickets to Rouen ... so we'll be heading off into more unknowns tomorrow. We spent some more time around the beautiful Mont martre area ... bought some delicious food for luch and ate our picnic in the middle of the street ... well a small triangle in the middle of a street.

Trains and boats.... (no planes at this stage)

Last day of our 3 day rail pass too so we made the most of it ... I think I like the metro. We tried to do a bus leg as well .... but that is more difficult than the trains. We were heading down to the Latin Quarter ... stopped off to have another look for the cache we'd been chasing the day before ... then decided on a boat ride on the Seine. Magical ... we now have LOADS of photos of bridges and sights through bridge arches (you will only see a small number in flickr).

Snails ... just had to try them once ... and that will be enough. They didn't taste bad, but not great either. We had dinner in a narrow, but very busy street in the Latin Quarter ... so vibrant!!!

Our goal for the day was to get some pictures of the city sights lit up. No mean feat when it doesn't get dark until 10.30pm .... and like Cinderella, our rail pass was due to expire at midnight!!! It was a rush. We walked to Notre Dame ... then along the Left Bank past some of the bridges .... took a train to the nearest station to the Eiffel Tower ... rushed up and snapped a few pics ... back to the station to catch a train before midnight. By the time we got home at 12.30 .... and walked up 3 flights of stairs ('cos the lift is too noisy and banned from use between midnight and 6am) we were stuffed and fell in to bed. End of another day!!!

Today ... Friday, I think...

STEPS, steps and more steps

Mission for the day was to get to the Louvre early to beat the rush .... another day pass on the metro so we could get there in time ... and not wear ourselves out AGAIN!!! But the Metro is FULL of steps. You go down, and down some more and along and then up and sometimes down again..... deep down in the bowels of the earth sometimes. System is very efficient and fast.

Slight detour to finally find the cache Lex had been chasing. Success at last. Not so many muggles ... only a nearby shop proprietor ... who we hope is in the know.

Then off to the Louvre ... very little line up ... but once through that, we realised that was only the entry point for scanning. Once downstairs under the pyramid, there were people everywhere and still had to line up for tickets. Only a small line. By 10.30 ... there were people everywhere ... soooo many people .... so many tour groups and soooooo many school groups ... kids as young as 6 years!!! Actually we have seen school groups everywhere ... London, Edinburgh .... and Paris.

The Louvre itself is unbelievable ... not enough superlatives.... it is HUGE and full of HUGE things. We were in overload!!! STUNNING! We spent about 4-5 hours there ... rushed through as much as we could. Couldn't read the French signs anyway... not much in English. We tried to follow a plan .... but ended up wandering. Did see Mona Lisa ... and although I'd read that it was much smaller than people expect ... it still struck me like that. Small!! BUT IT IS GIVEN A WHOLE WALL TO ITSELF!!!

The opposite wall had a painting called "The wedding feast of Caen" or something ... which is bigger than our hotel room! Massively big painting covering the entire wall.

Thought we'd follow up with a look at Bercy Village, which is out past where we are living. More Metro rides .... really fast ones this time. Raining by the time we got there. Very pretty village ... but bit trendy ... full of cafes and restaurants and wine shops. Home on the metro ... via Gare Saint Lazare to check out how we are going to get there tomorrow .... and just because we could ... we have a day pass to go anywhere and we had to change lines anyway. Just as we were thinking how good we are getting at riding trains ... and arriving at stations withing minutes .... we hopped on a train heading the wrong way!!! Hopped off at the next station ... all good.

Back home ... to our latest local ... with free wifi. Time to check the route for the Tour .... not far from where we'll be ... but maybe more than a walk!!! Something else to think about. We have our sleeping bags after all ... could camp out by the road!!!

off to Rouen tomorrow.

More achievements to count....

Today we managed to book some accommodation for the next few days. We're going to Rouen on Friday!!!! How do we get there ... who knows at this stage.... that's the adventure.

We also found a cafe with free wifi so we successfully uploaded lots of photos to flickr. Check them out ... no descriptions at this stage ... but that takes time.

Visited Notre Dame ... another impressive structure!!! WOW. Didn't join the queue to climb to the top ... did that at Sacre-Coeur... but we went inside. We obeyed the no photos sign for most of the time (with cameras flashing all around us I might add) ... cribbed just a few. They will never show it as it is. Stunning.

Then we set off on a nearby geocache trail ... a mystery one with several waypoint mysteries. Think we have the final location of the cache ... but it's in a garden bed just outside a restaurant window .... where some people were sitting!!! Will have to return at a quieter time. If there is one!!

Also met up with a NZ couple we met the previous day for dinner. Mussels again ... Lex is enjoying these. Wish I'd taken a photo of that!! The adventure continues .....

Must be market day in this area …. market stalls set out in the median strip…. fresh produce . Bought some fruit for lunch … delicious stone fruit … and very cheap .. 4 apricots, 1 peach, 1 nectarine, 1 banana for 1.50EU.

Met a NZ couple whilst buying our 3 day Metro pass …. we bumped into them twice throughout the day. Spent more time trying to hatch plans for the next few days … still no luck in that area ….hopefully tomorrow. We headed for Montmartre and Sacre-Coeur … a very beautiful church … but our tip from Fiona was to go up to the dome …280 steps … narrow, windy, spiral staircase…. but a spectacular view.

Spent the rest of the day using the metro to get from place to place …. Eiffel Tower … Jardin des Tuileries … Bastille and the canal …. and back home EXHAUSTED!!!!

Managed to find an Internet café at 8.30pm … just as they were closing. She allowed us 15mins …. unfortunately that was only enough time to discover that the French keyboard is different … yet again!!!! Even ‘a’ is in a different spot!!!

Found a place for breakfast .... with free wifi .... woohoo. so here we are. Another success... on top of being able to book some accommodation in Rouen. Look that one up Mum. Think we can get a train to there.... just a couple of nights to fill in first. If I manage to upload pics sometime ... you'll see all the tings we did yesterday ... that I forgot to tell about here ... including the amazing artist area in Montmartre ... but not the hocolat-eclaire that I devoured!!!

Paris ... day 2

An exhausting day … lots of achievements … culminating with the Eiffel Tower. The plan was to see the sights from the hop-on, hop-off bus. There are 4 different routes, covering many of the top attractions … about 6-7 hours. There’s just so much to see …. so many massive buildings. Traffic is chaotic, especially at the multi-road intersections … reminiscent of Lima, only there’s also lots of scooters weaving their way through the traffic as well. When the lights change the scooters roar off first. So pleased we don’t have a car here. So much easier seeing everything from the top deck of a bus! Noted lots of areas we would like to go back to …. but we’ll probably run out of time … or forget. Thinking of chaotic traffic … imagine the Arc de Triomphe … traffic going round … and one lone Aussie (Chris) dodging traffic to cross the road …. finding out later from his mates about the pedestrian tunnel… we had to laugh)
We hopped off the bus for lunch on the left bank, and wandered into several small lanes with many amazing eateries … another lucky find. Delicious too.
Our other mission for the day was to find a Tourist Info Centre and hatch some plans for the days between Paris and Beaune, where we’re booked in for a week. That turned out to be more difficult. (We had similar problems in Hamburg as well.) Found a small one with info about Paris only… and we were told they don’t have them here … maybe another language barrier. Today, I was having trouble with the railway ticketing machine recognising my VALID 3 day pass. After several unsuccessful attempts, I buzzed someone on a nearby intercom, explaining my predicament. A voice came back with, “I don’t speak any English.” and in my frustration, I yelled back, “and I don’t speak any French!!!” Stalemate!!!
The weather on our first day was quite warm, so I dressed accordingly … even wearing sandals for a day on the bus. Not to be … the day turned cool, windy and at times, overcast. So when the bus came close to ‘home’, we detoured for a change of clothes, then back to try to catch the last bus by 7.30pm. We made it … and were happily on the top deck of a bus when it started to rain. Great sight … Lex and I huddled up close to the large front windscreen, trying to keep dry (no ponchos as we’d discarded them to make room earlier). By the time we decided to call it quits and retreat to the lower deck … there was no room. Eventually, the bus pulled up, along the Champs-Elysees … finish for the day. Nobody moved … they weren’t getting off into the rain.
We braved it … after all Lex had wanted to walk the Champs-Elysees … where the cyclists ride on the final day of the Tour de France. Then up to the Arc de Triomphe …. another huge impressive structure. Still raining. We had heard that the best time to go up the Eiffel Tower is early evening (we had decided that anytime the queues were short enough would be a good time) so we headed off in that direction … walking … in the rain.
Couldn’t believe it … lots of people everywhere (also braving the blustery conditions) but hardly any line-up. So we were off. We got inside and still had to wait for a lift to come down … I can’t imagine how it operates when the queues are enormous. There doesn’t appear to be any limit on how long you can stay up there … but numbers going up must be limited by numbers coming down. (We went back again the next day for a look around …. HUGE queue areas near 3 of the pillars)
The experience was breath-taking …. views may not have been as spectacular as clear conditions, but the blustery conditions added to it as well. The top viewing gallery is enclosed, and above that there’s another area which is open to the elements. At 274 metres … it was amazing.
Next question…. How to get home??? Followed the crowd … found a metro station … and a very helpful attendant who told us which lines and where to change. Eleven thirty pm and we were back near home. Awesome. Also no problems finding a place to have dinner at that time of night either. What a day!!!

First time I saw Paris

Train trip from Hamburg was pretty good … although I could sense Lex’s frustration at not being able to sit up and watch the passing scenery. The ‘couchette’ was a small cabin with 2 bunks (3 stack each side) and we had the bottom ones. Lucky … as I don’t think I would have been able to heave our packs up to the top ones. No seats … so we just had to lie down … after all it was night time. The 4 others in our cabin all got off at Brussells so we put the seat up . Just finished my book as the train the train pulled in … great timing.

Being seasoned backpackers, we set off on foot to find our hotel. Lex had a map!!!! Not all streets are marked on the map … and they run at all different angles … not just north-south and east-west … like home. We walked somewhat further than needed!!! No problem … we did that again later in the day …. only even more so … several times. Have to take the GPS with us next time!!! But, taking those ‘alternative routes’ is how we just come across great experiences.

Our hotel room looks out over an intersection …. 6 roads … a park in the middle. People were playing boules in the park late yesterday afternoon. There’s lots of greenery and beautiful buildings as well so it’s very picturesque. Being Sunday morning, the traffic was light and there were LOTS of cafes open. Different look … must get a photo as the small tables are neatly arranged in rows with 2 chairs each table also neatly arranged side by side … facing the street … and that’s how people appear to sit in them … facing the street.

We headed out for a short walk after breakfast locally … ended up at the Louvre and the Oblisque. Not really a short walk … but even longer getting home (home is where the bags are..) We must have covered at least 15km!!! But the sights were amazing!!!! Having read Da Vinci code, we knew the Louvre is BIG …. But it’s still stunning!!! We wandered into a market area around Montmartre … all kinds of fish …. just on tables in the open … poultry of all kinds .. including quail we think. Also wandered into some street theatre in another area … and came across some huge building … big crowds …. have to investigate what it is.

There is sooo much to see. Have decided on a 2 day ticket on the hop on - hop off bus … has 4 tours - 4 different areas. That’s the plan for today.

So far … beer is expensive … wine tastes good …. mussels a la crème is delicious. Life is great!!!! This is an impressive city!!

Train hopping and much more

Hamburg is a wonderful city ... so much more than I expected. Luckily we had an extra day here ... due to our travel plans to Paris. Yesterday we spent the day getting the most out of our Hamburg Card ... using trains and buses ... hopping off where ever something took our fancy. First stop was the wharf area .... with LOTS of boats of all sizes. We discovered some amazing ´village atmosphere´ areas not that far out of the city.

We went to an area called Blankanese (well something like that) and walked around ... expecting to see some of the Elbe River .... and we did .... and more boats ... small wooden ones this time. And up many many stairs through windy lanes to the village, which was so beautiful. Had lunch in a Backhaus (bakehouse) and followed up with a wander through another one of the street market areas like we´d discovered the day before. Bought some cheese and sausage to have with a drink later. Drinks ... turned out different from the plan. We did buy a bottle of wine ... but not knowing much German, we ended up with a bottle of grape juice (alcohol free red wine) .... LOL!!!!! Had seen alcohol free beer on a menu earlier, so Lex was careful not to buy alcohol free beer, but we didn´t check the wine!

Hopped off again at Altona .... walked up to a mall area where we saw the most amazing street entertainment ... a Mongolian 6 stringed band ... 3 members but only 6 strings between them. Their voices were the most amazing instruments .... unbelievable. Pete ... you´ll love this!!! Took so many photos and a few video clips .... and you guessed it ... we have added another CD to the collection.

Today we spent some time on a boat ride around the lake and along some of the canals in this city. The place is sooo green. The weather is cloudy and showery, but we´ve been really lucky to avoid the showers. Had a great buffet lunch ... tried everything ... so much easier when you can see what is is ... rather than ordering from a menu.

Hamburg is a city of canals. Didn´t expect to see so many canals ... all through the city. Love the little markets. Apart from food, they have flowers everywhere ... and so cheap. Just beautiful. The Elbe River is huge .... such massive ships and so many ... and so far from the coast really. A real eye-opener.

Home is where our bags are...

Used the phrase 'when we get back home' today and it dawned on us that we were referring to the place where we are staying at the moment ... and that keeps changing!!! So .... home is where the bags are.

Today (past few days actually) have been full of achievements. Our trip isn't just about destinations. It's really about getting from one place to another. Yesterday we arrived in Hamburg and decided to try to get ourselves to our pre-booked hotel ... without using a taxi (or tacsay if you're still in Ireland). Soooo off to the Tourist Info office at the airpoort to ask for help. The lady spoke a little English, and was able to look it up on the internet. With printout of buses and trains ... backpacks and front packs in place, we headed out. As you're probably aware, I'm not used to using trains (more than a little nervous with no signage in English) But we made it ... bus from the airport to the nearest station ... 2 train rides (had to change lines) ... and lastly another bus ... for 1 STOP!!!!! We could have walked it if we'd known which direction to head out from the station.

WE found ourselves in an amazing outdoor market area about lunchtime. What an experience!!! There were all these food stalls (and flowers) ... all so cheap ... and a few standing-height tables ... no chairs. Obviously, the office workers know about it ... it was so busy. The food looked amazing, but I opted for the things I could point to or say. Maybe next time .... if there are less people waiting in the queue. Queues here are very orderly, and people are very patient ... unless someone tries to bypass the queue.

Also happened to be around this old church, Saint Nickolai ... which was bombed during the war, and is now a memorial to all who suffered in wars ... when the glockenspeil and carillion recital was on. That was spectacular. We also took the lift to the top of the spire ... 75m ... even Lex trembled a little. It was a very moving experience.

Whilst in Edinburgh, we tried looking up options for travel between Hamburg and Paris ... for which we had nothing booked. Part of our flexibility plan!! It all looked too hard and we figured that the tourist office here in Hamburg might be our best option. Let me say that Tourist Offices here are not what they were in UK ... we got great help in Dublin. The lady spoke some English, and told us that train was the best option ... go over to the railway office. WELL!!! All writing is in German ... no English ... kiosk type terminals where people were looking up info ... did have an English option ... but you need to have some idea of the region names that you#re heading for... We had this vague notion that we might have a couple of stop overs as we had 2 days to get to Paris, so we managed to print out a couple of possible scenarios ... or so we thought. Then join the queue to speak to someone and possible make some reservations. If we thought it had been tough up to now ..... it was about to get frustrating. The rep did speak some English, but appeared to be having a bad day and was less than helpful ... verging on abrupt might be more accurate.

Needed to sit down after that!!

We managed to walk out of there with 2 tickets to Paris ... leaving from somewhere in Hamburg (not sure which platform etc as yet ... but it will happen) travelling overnight ... in a couchette!!!

Also managed to book an extra night where we are in Hamburg ... so all is well. We´re doing good!!!

Another amazing experience!!!!

What a surprise to run into 3 Clermont lads in the hostel where we are staying in Dublin ... on our last night here!!!! Chris and Dan had just arrived in Dublin this afternoon and met up with Dave who has been here for a couple of days and leaving tomorrow. Some things are just meant to be I guess.

Does it get better than this?

We have wifi access while waiting for lunch. Have found a geocache this morning with 2 travel bugs to deposit somewhere else in the world. Lex was able to record the finds before lunch.

Next we're off to see an interactive exhibition showing Dublin's history.

Food ... glorious food

Forgot to mention the things we have tried lately. While in Edinburgh we had haggis, neeps and tatties. Even found out that haggis comes in a meat and vegetarian variety. I preferred the vegetarian variety.... but my favourite was neeps.

Since in Ireland, we've had delicious Irish stew, and Dublin Coddle (potato stew with mashed potato and pork sausages) and potato scones ... like the potato cakes we make.

Interesting staying here at this hostel with so many other travellers. Our last hostel experience was much quieter. All rich experiences. Have lots of pictures to add again when we can do it.

Only 2 days ... so much has happened ...

After the last blog entry, Friday night, we've been entertained in many ways and seen more of this wonderful country.

A 2 person Irish group played in the pub on Friday night. They were awesome!!! Sophie's birthday so we celebrated for her ... called so she could hear the music too. Yes Mike, we bought a CD ..... another one for the holiday collection. That turned out to be a very late night!!

Saturday, we headed out by bus to see Cork, and as we travelled, the weather cleared. There are so many beautiful villages and towns on this route... and they are so clean and neat. Would love to come back this way.

Arrived in Cork early afternoon .. city was buzzing with people. Found ourselves a pub serving Sunday roast on Saturday .... and guess what came up on the big screen ... Rugby Union ... Wallabies Vs South Africa. Great to see the Aussie team playing well. ... well they were while we were watching. We left before full time, and found out later that they lost in the dying minutes. Pity. Was great fun watching with an Irishman who had bet on the South Africans, but probably a good move to leave when we did.

Walked around some amazing back streets ... away from the city, and later found ourselves watching another big screen. Hurling ... (think this is the game Tish was telling me about). No idea of the rules. Played with a small ball (about cricket ball size, and just as hard, so I've been told since) and sticks ... bit like hockey or lacrosse. Seems like anything goes ... you can catch or throw the ball, scoop it up with the stick, hit it with the stick, kick it, bat it with your hand. Seems that you can even hit your opponent with the stick ... but don't quote me on that. The game was a semi-final. Apparently there were big hurling and football games in the area today too .... roads were chocked with traffic, trains booked out, red and blue flags and banners everywhere ... and tonight all the pubs and bars have noisy crowds outside. Anyway, watching that with some locals was interesting.

Didn't have enough time to see much of Cork district, unfortunately. Arrived back in Dublin mid-afternoon, in time to head over to a city park where a 3 day Street Performance World Championship was winding up. The city itself was teaming with people, but the park crowd was huge too. What a magical atmosphere. They seemed to have 7 areas for performances which ran continuously all afternoon ... until 7pm each day. We managed to catch on that appealed from the program ... Gamarjobat ... a Japanese mime act. They were awesome ... so funny. We managed to get a bit of cramped space on the damp grass ... but it was worth it. Laughter so good for you.

After that we caught a bit of El Gleno Grande ... and I have to admit a guy dress as a performing zebra wasn't on top of my list .... but he too was very clever and entertaining. What a way to top off a great weekend in Ireland.

Will have to upload these pics quickly and rescue Lex from the local across the road ... and then return to our backpackers lodgings. Have a new camera, and I'm able to resize on the camera, so I'm only uploading small versions.... so much quicker.

In Dublin's fair city ....

Gotta love Dublin .... just because it isn't raining!



Didn't stay long in Belfast ... 'cos it was raining! Used the travel service at Belfast to find a room for the night. Bus ride and a taxi to get there ... in the pouring rain. Driver told us that they'd had 4 months rain the day before. Lucky we missed that one. Anyway, our hotel seemed to be a long way out of the city. Not being put off by a bit of rain, we headed out to find food and drink. Little did we realise at the time that we were fair in the middle of the previously troublesome spot!!!



Had a drink in one small pub ... 'The Fort' (I think) ... small crowded bar, with small alcove seating .... with doors. Very private. Not real comfortable, so we pressed on. Turned into Falls Rd.... past a few take away food shops .... very stark, and empty of everything except a few customers and a counter. One of them was a chinese take away, and there was this huge grill ... bit like a fence ... above the counter. Quite odd. Places reminded me a bit of South America ... with large roll-a-doors over doors and windows.



Found another bar for a drink ... in Falls Road, but no food, so we headed on again. This time in to the city, cold and somewhat wet by this time. Taxi back, and the driver mentioned that this wasn't a particularly good area. No kiddin!!!



With the rain still pouring this morning, we decided to hit the road and head for Dublin. Managed to get a Black Cab tour on the way back into the city ... story and tour of the political areas. Fascinating!!! We were really staying in a new development area, purpose built to bridge the gap between the 2 factions!!! We had walked past quite a bit of high wire fencing .... mostly unaware in the rain. But, it's all safe now.... well reasonably. Our driver said he still doesn't drive during the week of the marches ... due to start soon. We did a tour of many of the murals on both sides. There's a story for everyone!!! We even signed the wall. Felt very awkward about it, but it's common practice on this mural, apparently.



Had a bit of a walk with back and front packs to our hotel in Dublin ... lucky the rain had stopped. Tomorrow we are heading out to Cork for an overnighter ... then back to Dublin for 3 nights. I have changed our booking for these 3 nights from a multi-bed dorm to a double room!!! Mmmmm thought better of it!


Happy Birthday Soph.... will celebrate for you.

What a great day ... mission accomplished ... both of them

Firstly, with S&F's help we managed to finish the Pub Crawl last night ... a drink in 8 different pubs. So we picked up our T-shirts today ... whoohoo.

Secondly we found a place to watch the State of Origin game on a big screen, live!!!! Not the one we had been told about ... and amazing Sports Bar with a huge screen and individual screens if you want to watch a different event. But a bar attached to a backpacker's hostel near there. Noticed a sign about the game on the window so in we went. Had the place to ourselves for a while, but we were joined by a family from Rocky for part of the game and a NSW supporter for the whole game. Great fun ... and nobody minded how much noise we made... Go QLD!!!! Great to get text messages from Lac throughout the game too...

It was sunny ... but we missed it.

Difficult to work out the weather here. As you guessed, we missed our picnic. Weather turned miserable. Yesterday (Monday) was cool and cloudy when we ventured out about mid-morning, but it turned out to be a beautiful, warm day ... where I carried my jacket all day. Today was cooler and cloudy ... but it didn't warm up at all!!!

But a cool day is perfect for the indoors. So we found several comfy 'indoor spots' on our mission to have a drink in each of 8 listed pubs. Great challenge for a day like today indeed. Should be able to go and collect our free 'Pub Crawl' T-shirt tomorrow. Another bonus for the day was that we discovered that the second state of origin game is on tomorrow ... so tomorrow's mission will be to find a place showing it on a big screen.

Scotland ... for the brave

You guessed it ... we're in Scotland. I know I have a lot to catch up on so I'll try to do it here ... as well as add to the previous entry .. which I gave up on through frustration. We have computer access (thanks to Fiona and Stuart) here in Scotland. So wonderful.

Today is fine(ish) so we are planning a picnic ... somewhere beautiful. Yesterday Lex and I returned the car (via the longer scenic route) and found ourselves in the middle of the city .. overcast, drizzly weather. Wandered around the city ...in and out of shops (as you do to get out of the weather). So many touristy shops selling tartan stuff. But the buildings, streets and lanes are amazing. We found ourselves in some amazing back alleys, climbing long staircases. That's how we discovered Mary King's Close tour - the guide, in period dress, takes you down through a warren of hidden streets, really narrow lanes and buildings which date back to 1600s and tells the greusome stories of peoples' lives. It was fantastic ... I thin we went down about 5 levels.

We watched a piper play near a church where wedding photos were being taken. Then on to Edinburgh Castel. More history, stories and amazing buildings ... then a long walk back home.

Great to be staying here with Fiona .... so central ... and easy walking. We walked out for tea .... then did a pub crawl home. Awesome. I even tried to drink beer ... but it's just wasted on me. Lex is making a valiant attempt to taste them all!!!!

The day before arriving here, we had driven up from York, via the coast and Whitby, a really lovely old seaside village ... where Captain Cook had come from. Weather was really cold, overcast and very windy ... especially on the hill overlooking the town. Just had to stop and look at the boats of course.
We drove through the Yorkshire Moors ... in the cloud, or mist, or fog ... which at times was very thick ... but only added to experience. We've loved it all!!! It was equally as foggy coming across the Scottish border. So pleased to be here in summer, rather than winter...

Greetings from York

We successfully managed to find our way around Heathrow airport, pick up a hire car and head away from London in the desired direction. What an achievement, I say!!!!

We headed towards Salisbury and Stonehenge ... only after we had nearly made it to Oxford ... but were turned off by the LONG traffic queues to get into Oxford. We turned around and headed the opposite direction ... preferring not to spend hours stuck in lines of traffic. Found a pub with B&B at Marlborough .. a lot more to this place than we first thought. Beautiful old buildings and thatched roofs.

TIP: Best to get in early at Stonehenge to beat the thousands of tourists who flock there on a weekend. Think we made it just in time. Amazing to imagine how these HUGE rocks were put into place. Eerie feelings.

Then on to Sarum ... wishing we had the book with us. Have to finish reading it now.

More later ... struggle with this is too much. Sorry

MUCH later (we are in Edinburgh ... but I have to catch up on this journey). We have internet access here at Fiona's ... which is awesome ... but have also noticed internet cafes/kiosks everywhere throughout Edinburgh, as well as free wifi often. How different that is from England!!! The only internet access we could find outside London, was one cafe in York and a council library in Wrexham, Wales where we could read emails but not write to this blog ... BLOCKED!!! Even kiosks in London were so tightly controlled and locked down that it was frustrating. Over that now....

Visited the Roman Baths in Bath ... like an iceberg .... most of the story is underground and you don't realise it's there until you explore. Amazing, as is the buildings in the town. Sunday is an extremely busy 'tourist' day, but they don't seem to get going until mid-day ... and we were out of there about then. We had a ride on a narrow boat in mind for the afternoon so had to make it back to Devises in time. We followed that with a walk down the towpath past a series of 29 locks (well we didn't walk the whole length). This was amazing, so we watched a few boats traversing the locks into the evening ... which goes on for ages here. Nice coffe shop right there!!!

We explored another old castle on the way north .... Stokesay Castle. Then on to Wales. You gotta love all the sign posts ... written in English and Welsh. Didn't attempt to pronounce any of the Welsh words!!

York is beautiful. We walked the wall ... as you do. Spent 2 days exploring the fabulous streets of York, wishing Linda was here as our guide.

Headed north, over the moors, via Whitby ... a really quaint coastal township ... cold and blustery!!!

Look who we found in London....

What a surprise this was. Had walked from our hotel ... to Albert Memorial (certainly over the top... huge!!! can't see it all when monuments are sooo tall). Wandering the streets, making our way back and I stopped outside a group of shops ... looking at the profile of this person ... thinking ... looks very much like .... when she turned around. WOW ... not sure who got the biggest shock, Claire or us.

Never expected to run into anyone we knew anywhere on this trip, and didn't even know Claire was in London. You just never know, eh!!!