Crescents and Cobblestones

Monday 30th June: Our guides also gave us an excellent tour around the crescents and cobblestones of Bath. We also wandered around the parks and precincts, and ended up overlooking the banks of the Avon river near to Poulteney Bridge. Striped deckchairs can be seen in the adjacent park, where many narrow boats were moored on the canal and river walls. This was very pleasant and personable!

Bath and University

Monday 30th June: We were fortunate to get an interesting guided tour around the University of Bath with our friends. This is like the AIS renewed and extended, plus more sports provided on perfect green grounds. A home strong in rugby, sometimes used by international teams to train. ** We did also see the amazing Roman Baths and the nearby Abbey. The excavation and displays are much more extensive than appear from above. It is a large and eye opening experience of over 1600 year old Roman technology and evidence of life - not to be missed.

Bourton-on-the-water

Sunday 29th June: Its about 45 mins drive to the Cotswolds, and Bourton- on- the- water is one of the popular places in this area. After seeing our friends' son roll down a hill in a sphere!, we had a picnic lunch on the lawns, and tea in a local tea-house, next to the River Windrush, shown here. There is a model of the actual village, as well as a well-known vintage motor museum. All the building are constructed in beautiful gold stone. Our University 'kids' also played 'pooh sticks' between the bridges.

Benson on the Thames

Sunday 29th June: Benson is a quaint little village on the Thames, right next to Wallingford and halfway between Oxford and Reading. A lot of houses are made from brick and flint, some even have thatched rooves. Once a major coach stop between London and Oxford, now its just off the Oxford road. There is also a large RAF base here, which was the home of the Queen's flight, but is now the centre of the RAF Helicopter fleet.

St Pancras to Euston

Saturday 28th June: Arrived at St Pancras, walked along Euston Road with all of our bags to pick up our hire car. Sunny again in London! Many red buses everywhere as usual, so you know where you are when emerging from the depths of the train stations. Almost a straight drive along the A40 and M40, to Benson in Oxfordshire, where we are staying with our very good friends for most of the week.

Gare Du Nord

Samedi 28eme Juin: Après un bizarre voyagé dans la voiture a traversé les rues de Paris, nous avons arrivé à le Gare du Nord pour l'Eurostar à Londres. Le voyagé de la train a pris 2.25 heures, et elle a allé à 300 km/h! Elle est très confortable, très agrèable. Nous avons arrivé en Londres, il a fait du soleil!

Moronville

Saturday 28th June: Leaving our Chambres d'Hotes at Moronville, to travel to Paris and take the Eurostar to London. The people here, Yves and Florence, were very hospitable, and we loved the rooms on the top floor, with the salon in the 17th Century tower. The views of the countryside from our windows were breathtaking, and we wanted to stay longer and just relax. The Ford Mondeo TD1.9 was a great car with 6.1 L/100km consumption during our 800km round trip to the Loire Valley and Giverny.

Chartres

Friday 27th June: This was the view from our restaurant at Chartres. Its about 9pm at night, and we've just started eating dinner. This was a traditional place, with provincial menu and no english speaking waiters. However, we managed to translate and communicate our choices to get something delicious without too many suprises! It was a warm evening, perfect for outdoor eating!

Chambord Chateau

Friday 27th June: Chambord Chateau is huge! This was once one of the most important chateaux in France. The woodland around the palace is expansive and a very beautiful setting. Today was a hot summer day, very enjoyable for strolling around the balconies and seeing the royal rooms with art and tapestries on the huge walls. Not too much vertigo was felt from the balconies! We also heard a choir from America sing inside! A nice ice cream and tea afterward under the trees at the café with the view of the chateau was also wonderful.

Giverny and Monet

Thursday 26th June: We hired a car and drove 1 hour to Monet's garden at Giverny. Well worth the visit! The garden is so tranquil, and his house is inspiring and very traditional, with french style opening windows looking across the flowers and greeny. The water garden is very relaxing to walk around or sit and take in the sound of the birds and nature. An artist would be very inspired by this environment.

Café Beaux Artes

Mercredi 25eme Juin: Nous avons bu du café et des milk-shakes dans ce café (Des Beaux Artes). La serveuse de café, elle est Française, elle a dit française, mais elle a parlé anglais parfait aussi, avec l'accent américain. Elle mére est Américain. Ce Café est sur la rue Quai Malaquais, en face de la Lourve, est côte de la quartier Saint Germain est la Seine. Nous avons mangé aussi des crêpes, elle etaient délicieux, est elle sont traditionelle à Paris et en France.

Paris St Germain

Wednesday 25th June: I think we got to most of the quarters in Paris. A stroll through any part of Paris, we found interesting things to see and experience, and different people to meet in the shops and cafés and street side like at this scene on the banks of the Seine.

Lovely Louvre

Wednesday 25th June: Spent most of today at the Louvre. You are allowed to take photos here! Apart from the wonderful Mona Lisa, the Horses of Marly and Aphrodite, we saw quite a lot of the art throughout the musée. We were are compelled to see not only the historic european paintings, but also the heritage tapestries, sculptures and china, the greek and roman sculptures, and the sheer magnitude and history of the building.

The Marais

Tuesday 24th June: We strolled through the Marais, near to where we are staying looking for a nice place to eat. A friendly face offered to take this photo on the cobbled Rue Des Barres, next to the Church Saint-Gervais, the lady in the picture is a nun from this church.

Notre Dame

Tuesday 24th June: Its about 7:30 pm and its very bright, quite warm, and plenty of people are wandering about. Our stroll across Pont St Louis discovered the Notre Dame cathedral, outside grandeur, then inside to listen to the service open for the public at the time. Magnificent place!

Tea On Ile-de-St-Louis

Tuesday 24th June: A pleasant stroll along the Ile-de-St-Louis, on the way to the Notré Dame, where we stopped for Ice Cream, and then some cool drinks at this very nice café right next to the Pont St Louis on the banks of the Seine.

Triomphe Tower

Tuesday 24th June: It was quite hot on top of the Arc De Triomphe. One of the best places to see Paris from above. We were compelled to take the usual photos such as eating the Eiffel Tower.

Arc De Triomphe

Tuesday 24th June: It was another sunny day in Paris, but not too hot to climb to the top of the 300 steps to the top of the Arc De Triomphe. This is a monument bigger than appears from the distance, with some of the best views above Paris. The scenes of traffic surprises you that there are not more accidents!

Pompidou

Monday 23rd June: The Pompidou Centre was far better than we expected. The views from the rather exposed tubular escalators were fantastic, if you didn't suffer from vertigo! The top of the building rises above the Paris skyline, so you can see all the prominent buildings of Paris from here - a suprise! The collection of modern art is memorable, rich with famous paintings and sculptures, compelling you to see it all!

Place Des Vosges

Monday 23rd June: On our first day in Paris, we walked across the Marais, taking in the atmosphere and the amazing sights, so unlike Australia. We marvelled at the famous Place Des Vosges, nearby our apartment in Rue de Richard Lenoir. Earlier in the morning, our French was challenged at the local Supermarché.

Singapore Airport

Sunday 22nd June: Singapore Airport is an enormous and modern airport. Very pleasant and comfortable to find your way around and get through in and out of the country, except that we had to have 2 small bottles of liquor ditched on the way out!

Singapore

Saturday 21st June: Singapore is a wonderful place. All the people are very friendly and helpful. The city is beautifully kept and everyone is quite proud of their home. Amazing shops and plenty to see in and around the city. Raffles is worth walking around to see the famous hotel and history.

In The Air

Friday 20th June: We spent a long time in the air. 8 hours to Singapore on the new A380 Airbus, and 13 hours on the B777. It was light all the way, so there was plenty to see, including some interesting cloud formations.

Leaving Canberra

Friday 20th June: On our way to Sydney Airport. A quick stop at Mittagong on the way.

Planning Our Trip

Family discussions as to where we should go. Google Maps came in handy.

Preplanning for the trip

Its not long before we leave, and we are making a few international phone calls to friends and family.