You call that a Palace .....

Our day kicked off at 8am in the foyer as we ventured off for our 6 Euro breakfast. Coffee, juice and freshly baked croissant - delicious. We then started our day for a trip to Chateau De Versailles.
We caught the train on the metro at the Invalides station, off change trains to the last stop. A short walk and around the corner and it's a like a smack in the face when you see all the tourist coaches, them too but the gold bling on the Chateau gates certainly catches your eye. The whole place was GRAND. No wonder there was a people's revolution.

 After a short wait in the queue we entered into a different realm. We knew we were in for large day when you could hire a golf buggy/bike or small train to get around in. The gardens were so thought out with balance, precision and pruning. There was a lot of restoration work going on.
The major fountain was been completely upgraded. It was amazing to watch the workmen polishing and cutting the marble. Great to think the grandness and history will prevail.

Almost need traffic lights

The God Apollo rising from the water in his chariot.

The Number One fountain undergoing some renovation.

Florist - beautiful fresh flowers!

In the glow of the Eiffel Tower.

etro

Day 14 A Visit to Vesrailles

Today was a trip out of Paris to the Palace of Versailles (or the Chateau de Versailles et Trianon).  You might be mistaken by the use of the word 'chateau' into thinking Versailles was a house/mansion.  Versailles was magnificent as a palace and the gardens can be measured in hectares (acres for some).  The major building was developed over the reigns of Louis XIV, Louis XV and Louis XVI (particularly original naming of monarchs for almost a century!! I thought the French were creative!).  Napoleon also chipped in with some development.

The main buidings included bedrooms, ante-rooms, waiting rooms, ballrooms and a royal opera.  one of the most famous rooms is the 'Hall of Mirrors'.  The display of wealth goes to excess!  So much gold, marble and art works.  It is still beautiful today but in its prime the palace would have been amazing.

The Hall of Mirrors - formerly the Grande Gallery: this served as a passagewy and a meeting place.

We eventually made our way back to Paris and prepared for our last night in the capitol.  This required selecting a suitable bottle of champagne.

We can vouch that this is a 'nice drop' of champers!!

After dinner, we took said champagne, baguette and cheese to the Champ de Mars (which is the park at the foot of the Eiffel Tower).  We sat there with our friends, Neil and Fiona, sipping champagne whilst waiting for the hour to strike... On the hour the Tower does a twinkle for 5 minutes!  We think that looks pretty special.

The four Aussies in front of the Tower!

Finish the champagne and back to the Hotel.

 Tomorrow, we will try driving in France.

Day 12 and 13

Well!!!  We were hoping to see  some protest because we did not do the daily blog.  Nothing, nada, nil, zero!  Not even some concern... haven't any of you seen Taken, Taken 2, Taken 3... Taken 53?  Really!

Anyway, we had another great day yesterday.  We visited the Musee D'Orsay (D'Orsay Museum) for the first few hours of the day.  Amazing art works galore.  I think we are Monet fans. He and his fellow impressionists  create works that are interesting and beautiful.  Van Gogh and Gaugin create interesting works but ... they are not as appealling to me.  (I know, "beauty is in the eye of the beholder").

After the Museum we took a walk across one of the Seine bridges.  It just happened to be the ones we put our locks on.  They were still there!!

We travelled northward to Concorde Place. (this was the site of executions during the Revolution).  Louis XVI and Marie-Antionette lost their heads here, along with a few other folks.

We continued our walk up the Champs Elysee.  Following in the steps of a few million others, including Napoleon's Grand Armee, the German Army in WW2 and the Allies (also WW2).  The , classically wide French boulevarde is shopper's paradise.  If someone makes it, sells it and the brand is recognised by a few million people across the world then it is likely to be on the Champs Elysee.

At the top of Champs Elysee is the Arc de Triumph.  Originally commenced by Napoleon  so that his triumphant Armies would have a suitable way to be welcomed back.  A couple of changes of Heads of State in the early 1800s created a bit of stop, go, stop, go with the building program.  Eventually the Arch was completed to commemorate all French soldiers who have lost the life in war.  After 1914-18, the Great War, an unknown French soldier was buried there.  An eternal flame has been burning since.

Back to the hotel to freshen up before dinner. We dined at a fairly local restaurant and kept things simple.  After dinner, we took some red wine, chocolate and went and sat on the grass in the park in front of the Eiffel Tower.  On the hour, the Tower lights up with twinkly lights!  After a couple of bottles of red the Tower wasn't the only thing twinkling.





Off to bed in prep for the next day.

Day 13 was our visit to the Louvre.  This is massive... in many ways!  The building/s are expansive and the amount of treasured artworks is bewildering.  There is probably too much to take in.  Some of the works of art that you walk by are masterpieces in their own right.  But Da Vinci  (Mona Lisa), Venus de Milo are a couple of the key works that you are drawn too.

After a mere four hours at the Louvre, we decided on a walk back across the Seine to the Palais of Justice and St Stephen's chapel.  The chapel once housed the relic of the Biblical Crown of Thorns.  Stephen (later St Stephen) had purchased the crown from Constantinople. St Stephen's Chapel had spectacular stained glass windows.

From there it was a walking trip through the Latin Quater on the South Bank.  A bit by accident, as we were initially just looking for the Metro.  The Latin Quarter had small streets with lots of shops, restaurants and bars.

We'll try and have an early night tonight.

The City of Love

 Good morning Paris, this was my view from our window this morning. It was still there!!!
We met up with Neil and Fiona at 8am and were ready for what turned out to be an exciting, memorable, fantasic day.
In Paris - like London there are numerous open top bus tours that take you around to the main sights. We buy a ticket and you can get on and off as many times as you wish. The tour comes complete with a commentary that you access with earphones and numerous language selections - I'll take English thanks.
We were lucky to have stop just down the road at Napoleon Tomb. We went on the big loop around a part of Paris passing numerous iconic places of interest and of course history.

Our main transportation for the day

O

Arc De Triomphe

Hitler marching through the ArcDe Triomphe

 While it is exciting to see it for real the true history can be seen by one of many famous marches that occurred through the Arc.    That is Hitler marching his troops through.
Some facts you might like to know:

• The construction of the  Arc de Triomphe in  Paris was ordered in 1806 by Napoleon, the French Emperor.
• Napoleon wanted to honor the Grande Armee, the name of the French army at that time.
• The Grande Armee had conquered most of Europe and was then considered invicible. After his Austerlitz victory in 1805, Napoleon said to his soldiers : "You will return home through archs of triumph".
• The construction had been stopped between 1814 (abdication of Napoleon) and 1826.
• The Arc de Triomphe costed 9.3 millions French francs, a gigantic amount of money at that time.
• The names of 128 battles of the first French Republic and Napoleon's Empire are written on the white walls under the vault together with the names of the generals who took part in them.
• The construction of Arc de Triomphe was completed in 1836, long after Napoleon's death in 1821.

  Full marks to our bus driver, in fact any driver in Paris.
Lots of horns going, "merging" of sorts.  Our journey continues and as you can see in an absolutely perfect day - top of 22 , shorts again today.

Traffic in Paris

Having completed the "green" loop around we got out at the start and spent about 3.5 hours in the Musee De L'Armee. It houses the tomb of Napolean (as above), the Miltary Museum and the hospital for only soldiers (still an operational hospital). The tomb was amazing, it contains Napolean's ashes. You can see the size in relation to the people.

Musee Du Louvre

Notre Dame

This one is for you Coralee and Martin

 We got on the bus and travelled to Notre Dame. It was so beautiful inside. There was a mass being sung in Latin - really sounded beautiful.
We of course travelled along Champes-Elysess, saw some amazing shops eg Cartier, Tiffany's, Louis Vouton and a McDonalds. You may notice the arches are white not yellow as all the lights along the Champes-Elysess are white.

So how does one finish the day in Paris - atrip to the top of the Effel Tower of course.
Some facts you might like to know:

1. Completed on March 31, 1889, the tower was the world’s tallest man-made structure for 41 years until the completion of the Chrysler Building in New York in 1930.

2. It is 324 metres tall (including antennas) and weighs 10,100 tonnes. 
3. It was the tallest structure in France until the construction of a military transmitter in the town of Saissac in 1973. The Millau Viaduct, completed in 2004, is also taller, at 343 metres.
4. It is possible to climb to the top, but there are 1,665 steps. Most people take the lift.
5. The lifts travel a combined distance of 103,000 km a year – two and a half times the circumference of the Earth.
6. Victor Lustig, a con artist, "sold" the tower for scrap metal on two separate occasions.
7. During cold weather the tower shrinks by about six inches.
8. Gustave Eiffel, the engineer and architect behind the tower, was also involved in a disastrous attempt by the French to build a canal in Panama, and his reputation was badly damaged by the failure of the venture. 
9. Eiffel also designed interior elements of the Statue of Liberty.
10. He died while listening to Beethoven's 5th symphony.
11. Since its opening almost 250 million people have visited the tower.
12. Today the tower welcomes almost 7 million people a year, making it the most visited paid-for monument in the world.
13. Its construction took two years, two months and five days - 180 years fewer than Paris's other great attraction, Notre Dame.
14. During the German occupation, the tower's lift cables were cut, and the tower closed to the public. Nazi soldiers then attempted to attach a swastika to the top, but it was so large it blew away and had to be replaced with a smaller one.
15. In 1944, as the Allies approached Paris, Hitler ordered Dietrich von Choltitz, the military governor of Paris, to demolish the tower, along with other parts of the city. The general refused.

Anyway that's enough facts !!
We finished our wonderful, exciting, fantastic day atop the Eiffel Tower with our first glass of French Champagne in hand and toasted to a beautiful history filled city.

Sunset oner Paris

No sleep in this morning!
It was: wake up: shower, shave, shampoo; breakfast; extra coffee; catch underground to Kings Cross; cath Eurostar to Paris!

The train ride was done at fair speed and within two hours we were there.  A couple of Metro (Paris version of Underground) rides and we were in the arae of our Hotel.  Our Hotel (The Splendid - their description) is across the road from the Ecole Militaire (Military Academy) and with a view to the Eiffel Tower.  Seriously!! we look out the window and there it is!

There it is!

The Splendid has nice staff and is well situated.  However, it is starting to show its age. 

Looking south we could see a golden dome. I initially assumed it would be a cathedral or abbey.  I was pleasantly wrong!  It was the Musee L.Armee (Army Museum and Napoleon's tomb).  The Musee is only about 300m.  I am looking forward to exploring it and so is Karen (I think!).

Having established a bit of orientation, we decided to venture toward the Tower.  On the way we met a nice gentlemen who offered a ride on a Segway.  Then he offered a deal where we would have an one hour, guide led... Segway tour.  We were in!!  (Even if a little dubious).

We undertook an intensive training package that thoroughly prepared us for striking out into Parisienne traffic.  The training course included how to get on and get off, lean forward to go forward/fast, lean back to slow down or fall off, lean left to go left and lean right to go... you guessed it!  After the training we all had to undertake a rigorous testing regime.  No one fell off or damaged the Segways... we passed!!

On y va!  We were off, I think I had the fastest Segway!!  Our guide was Natalie.  A nice young girl who spoke English well.  The tour lasted an hour+ and we only terrorised a few hundred pedestrians.  I showed great skill and dexterity in avoiding a major collision with a cycle-rickshaw.  He was in the wrong.  Regrdless, we all had a ball... I was surprised how much fun the Segway was!

Fortunately, Paris doesn't have anti-association laws!

Tree lined boulevarde!

After all that work (standing and occassional leaning) we needed sustenance.  We chose a street cafe: some nice sandwiches, red wine... followed by an espresso!

French... french fries!

Then it was back to our room to collect our locks.  Karen and I had brought a lock for us, and a lock for Megan and Stephen.  On our Segway tour we learnt where the bridge d'amour was.  Yes, we added our lock and Megan/Stephen's lock to the bridge over the Seine (you may have heard about it: if you place a lock on the bridge, and throw the key into the Seine your love will be unbreakable/secure).  We placed our locks and threw the keys!

That's where the locka are!

Whilst we were on the bridge, a young fellow proposed to his girlfriend.  She accepted and they went into a Guiness Book of Records smooch-fest. 

We the took a gentle walk along the left ban of the Seine, until we turned off to visit the Eiffel Tower at night.  There were still hundreds of people on the streets (most of the with a bottle of wine/bubbles).  On the hour, they lit the Tower with sparkly lights... ooohh, very pretty!

Don't panic! The Tower has not fallen over, I couldn't work out how to rotate the @#$%!!!! photo!

A big day done!

Last Full Day in London

We had a nice sleep in this morning as outside was dull aand raining. By the time we got organised it had cleared to a sunny mild day.
We had bought an Oyster rail card when we arrived, it got us seven days of unlimited travel in zone one and two. It is a fantasic idea that allows for extensive travel on the underground in the peak tourist areas. Today we just put a few extra pounds on it to get us across the finish line as tomorrow we leave via rail to Paris.
Today we went to Covent Garden station and explored the theatre area in the hope of getting some tickets to Les Miserables. It has been showing here for 30 years - a wonderful achievement in any one's language.

We were out of luck to get tickets. Oh well - we will see it (again) in Brisbane.

Queens Palace

Aussie movie ad on the side of a double decker bus

Each day you see the new leaves growing a little more.

Blossoms everywhere - Spring is here in London

Covent Gardens

What started out as a bleak day soon turned into a sunny day although the temperture a little lower.

Splashes of colour appearing

London Day 7

After a fantastic evening at the Garrick Theatre West End we had a slower start to our 7th day in London. We got the subway to a surprise location - it was for me, as Peter was not letting me know our destination. We changed subway lines and guess where we were ??? Clue it was related to our theatre show last night. Did you guess?

Abbey Road Studios!!!

Me crossing that famous crossing.

After crossing Abbey Road we set off to Trafalgar Square via the subway. That place is amazing, when we first arrived we just stood there and just looked around. The buildings, the crowds, the performers, the statues:Trafalgar Square is home to Nelson's Column, iconic bronze lions, the famous Fourth Plinth and a lot of pigeons.

Trafalgar Square

Entrance to The National Gallery

Just to give you an idea of the size of some of the art works.

 There are hundreds of the most famous and beautiful paintings in the world. We saw pictures by Monet, Van Dyck, Van Gogh and Ruebens. Some were so grand. We managed to walk through this grand building and easily fill in a couple of hours.
Next was Harrods - wow, that store just goes on and on. It ooozes money. If they can stamp the word Harrods on something it's there. So many employees with not much to do but smile at the tourists. Anyway I did find these two chaps inside the shop. I like the soft cuddly types.

Notice the shorts - today is the hottest day in London ALL year a high of 22 degress. Bare skin everywhere and on some people VERY pink/red skin.

Lunch today was a baguette with salad - very tasty.