Out of Newhaven and off to Croydon we went. The tv news reported there were road closures and problems so we thought it better to be out the door as early as possible.  We needn’t have worried because we made it to Croydon without any major issues and we had time to fill in.  Sadly we returned our Renault Scenic hire car to the depot and gained a Holden Zafira.  Whilst the...

Hi all,

Despite being the proud owner of a brand new dongle, my internet is still not entirely reliable so for the next little while you may notice that I have written some lovely posts but they will not be accompanied by amazing photographic journelling until my wifi gets its act together. I will tell you in the title if the photos are missing and let you know when they...

Up early because we had a boat to catch to Dover.  We packed, ate, jumped in the car and followed the signs to the Calais Ferry Terminal.  We were on time for boarding for our 9 am boat.  Showed the UK border security guy our passports to get in and he asked what our plans were when we got to the UK. We told him and he asked “Are you ever going home?”  Yes, but not just...

We all enjoyed a good night’s sleep after another late night out in Paris.  Ate some fresh baguettes and jam for breakfast and packed up our room after 4 nights in the one place; the longest we have stayed anywhere since leaving Sweden.  In order to leave the hostel we had to pack our car and exit the car park of the hostel but there were 5 cars parked in the tiny carpark...

On our last day of sightseeing in Paris we walked from Notre-Dame to the beautiful Jardin de Luxembourg, a massive park in the city.  As we made our way into the park, looking for somewhere to sit, the boys made a beeline for the water to watch the sailing boats.  We had to join in the fun – for 2 Euro (for 1/2 hour) you could hire a small wooden sailing boat to launch on...

No visit to Paris is complete without going to the Eiffel Tower.  I met up with Steve and the boys here in the afternoon and we walked the 700 stairs up to the 2nd level.  On the 2nd level you can then pay extra money to catch the lift but the line was still so long that we decided we really didn’t need to go to the top.  We had a wonderful time on the 2nd level and the...

Here is a photo journey of our time in Paris, France at the Arc de Triumphe, Obelisk, Avenue de Champs Elysees, the Lourve, Musee d’Orsay, Sacre Coeur, Notre-Dame, Jardin de Luxembourg (park) and Galleries Lafayette (mall).

A bridge, along the boulevard to the Musee d’Orsay, that is covered with hundreds of old and new keyed locks for couples.  How sweet!

I woke early to say goodbye to Christelle before she headed off to work early.  It was fabulous catching up with her after so many years.  Whilst it would have been amazing to meet her three boys, we were grateful that we could use their bedroom in their absence.  I received an email from an old friend in Australia a couple of weeks ago saying she would be in Paris this...

We explored the internet the night before to work out what we would like to do in Brussel on our big day out.  My friend Christelle was going to be our guide/translator for the day.  We decided to drive but when we hit some slow traffic at roadworks just out of Brussel I wondered whether the train might have been the better option.  Finally the traffic got moving and we...