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  • Europe with Trisha 2023
    1
    Day 15

    Day 14 Versailles, Paris

    September 13, 2023 in France ⋅ 🌙 15 °C

    We had a shock to the system this morning and had to set an alarm for 6am, heaven forbid! But were where we needed to be 30 mins ahead of time ready for our Blue Bike tour in Versailles. It was a 40 min train trip there, but nice to not have to think or organise anything for this. We just followed our guide, Vanessa. There were 11 of us with her, all from Canada or the US apart from us, and really nice people. Peter was 83 and was like a spring chicken.

    When we got to Versailles we went for a bit of a walk to find the market where we were to buy our food for the day. It was interesting being taken through and we tried some cheese at a couple of places. But the idea of buying our food for the day there went out of my mind when I saw the nectarines were 28.7 euro per kg. So that is around $50 nzd per kg. We have been loving the nectarines here but that was a stretch way too far. The raspberries were 8 euro. So we went to a bakery and then used google to find a supermarket where we got nectarines for 4 euro per kg which was much more reasonable.

    Then we went for more of a walk to find our bikes. I was pretty surprised at how far we had to walk for the bikes. But finally we were on them and biking through the streets before entering the park. Bikes were a lot more stable that in Amsterdam with thicker tyres. The park is open to everyone, and we saw lots of dogs being walked there. Vanessa gave us a few history talks along the way, and her favourite king was the sun king which was Louis the 14th. And we know a bit more now about kings at that time, the revolution, Napoleon etc. We biked along the paths until we got to the end of the canal looking 2kms back to the Palace. That was where we sat on our ponchos on the grass to eat our lunch. We had a baguette, cheese, tomatoes and nectarines.

    The park will be the venue for the 2024 Olympic Equestrian events. Work is well underway to prepare the grounds and parts are being closed off to do this. It will all be restored after the Olympics are finished.

    We stopped there for half an hour, and then went to the Grand Trianon which was the summer palace of Louis the 14th. The gardens there were pretty special. We had alone time there for a while, then back to the bikes and onto the Petite Trianon which was built for Louis the 15th and the Queen’s Hamlet which was built in 1783 at the request of Marie Antoinette. The hamlet is supposed to be a bit like Disneyland and certainly was rather cute. There were also a number of grape vines hanging above a walkway, and yes we tried some grapes from the queen's garden.

    Then we rode back to drop our bikes off and headed for the Palace and were in there around 4pm. This was a huge museum and there was no way that we could even try to see everything, so we didn’t. We did a couple of floors and then headed out to the garden. We were both feeling extremely knackered by this time and didn’t have the energy to walk down further. We did see the golf carts available for hire and considered it, but we needed to get back and pack for tomorrow.

    So after the long walk back to the train station, and 2 train rides back to our hotel it was 8pm. So a pretty big day. We popped into our supermarket next door and got some bananas and of course more nectarines for our dinner and breakfast, and then it was packing time.

    Our trip tomorrow included a train from Paris to Milan. Trains have beeen cancelled for the next few months due to rockfall. So it was slightly stressful having to try and book a flight on easyjet. But, we managed that, paid to take our bags on the plane as well as checking in blue bag which we hadn't confessed to having! We needed to check on a bag so I could put my collapsible victorinox knife in. The cost was about the same price as the train and we are hopeful of getting a refund. This has meant that we have to sort out liquids again and check what we have accumulated so far. The cabin bags can be 12 kgs so we should be ok.

    26,211 steps plus biking, no wonder we are knackered. But the temperature today was just perfect at 24 degrees.    Read more

  • Europe with Trisha 2023
    Day 14

    Day 13 Paris

    September 12, 2023 in France ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    The weather forecast was incredibly accurate for today. We got up late after our late night and after watching a crane hoist lift things to the top floor of a neighbouring apartment, we didn’t get out the door until 10am. Then we set off to catch our Toot tour bus from the stop at the Louvre, unfortunately there was a film being made in the area so we couldn’t walk through it at all and the bus couldn’t get in either. So we had to walk a bit further and a bus never came, so walked further and finally got one. We rode up top for a while but then on cue at 11.30 the rain started and it was pretty heavy. So downstairs we went and it seemed to be a good idea to stay on the bus for a while which we did until we got to the Notre Dame stop.

    We were both feeling pretty hungry by then. We had started our day with a banana and pain au chocolat quite some time before. I was also feeling pretty cold as I had crocs on with no socks and only a t shirt. We found a lovely little restaurant with a 3 course meal for 14 euros. The French Onion soup was amazing with a slightly unusual chicken with chips and then chocolate mousse to finish, yummy!

    Notre Dame is not open after the fire but they are working hard for that to happen for 2024. We were not far from our hotel so went back there for me to find some warmer clothes. The reason I have been wearing the crocs is due to blisters I got with the heat. They have gone down a bit and with the cooler weather it was lovely to wear long pants, merino sox and my normal shoes.

    Tomorrow we are doing a bike tour to Versailles, so today worked out the train route we needed to take and had a practice run. After that we visited the Petite Palace which is a free museum which had some interesting things to see. And then off to the Eiffel Tower. I have never been up there before because getting tickets seemed too tricky. But Trish was keen so we went for a look and just walked straight in and bought tickets. We bought them right to the top, but I didn’t realise that meant only 50m lower than the very top. It was very high! When we first got out of the lift we couldn’t see a thing because of the cloud cover, but then it started to lift. It was a great experience and we could see all the places that we have been. We stopped at the 2nd floor on the way down as well. I’m very pleased Trish was keen to do that as it was awesome.

    By this stage we were hungry again as it was about 7pm, so stopped for a quick bite to eat before heading to the Arc de Triomphe. It was much later than we expected, and after climbing the 50 million steps, it was dark when we got to the top. But we had incredible views of the Eiffel Tower being lit up as well as many other things. And of course there was car watching to be done. Just fascinating watching them navigate the lanes of traffic from the 12 roads that enter the roundabout. We could have stayed there for longer but were conscious of our early rising for tomorrow. So then back on the train and straight through to our station at Chatalet.

    We really do have an awesome location here, very close to train station and other things.

    20,262 steps with lots of stairs. High was 20 degrees which was just lovely.    Read more

  • Europe with Trisha 2023
    1
    Day 13

    Day 12 Paris

    September 11, 2023 in France ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C

    We both felt a bit jaded this morning after the heat of yesterday. Trish decided she would like to go to the Louvre which I was fine to miss as I have been before. But she had difficulty buying tickets online. So we both walked to the info centre where she bought a ticket and we got train tickets for the next 3 days. We also stopped at a shop and Trisha bought a nice lightweight dress. As we had the free train tickets I went with Trish on her first big excursion on her own and saw her safely to the ticket line. Then I went back to our hotel and had a nice few hours tidying up and reading a book.

    When she returned (under her own steam and using the trains) it was starting to get really hot again. So we had a bit of a chat, I disappeared to the supermarket which is the next shop to the entrance of our hotel, nice and convenient and we got pastries from there for breakfast. Everything is pretty expensive though so it would be nice to go to a large supermarket to compare the prices. Bag of chips was 4.5 euros, so about $8, yummy tho!

    Then it was time to head off to Moulin Rouge. The trains are so easy to get around, we had one change to get there and were there so early that we sat outside for a while people watching.

    So wearing a bra is really optional in Paris, and negligees with jeans is a popular option as well.

    We were one of the first to be seated for MR, which meant over an hour before the show. There were singers for entertainment and lots of people were up dancing to that. Then we had the show which was pretty spectacular. The costumes were amazing. There were 2 different strong men acts whose balance was amazing, and also a couple roller skating on a small circular platform. It was interesting in each act that some of the ladies had their boobs out while others didn’t. We both thought it would have been all out or none. The singers were really good too.

    We were out before 11, and with the 2 trains were back at hotel by 11.30. That is a pretty late night for us!

    14,753 steps and slightly cooler at 31 degrees    Read more

  • Europe with Trisha 2023
    1
    Day 13

    Day 11 Ghent and Paris

    September 11, 2023 in France ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    We felt very rested this morning in our huge air conditioned room and lovely bathroom. We rated this our number one stay so far. We had 2 plans this morning, breakfast waffles and castle. The waffles were great, and it was nice sitting down watching various people going past starting their day. Then we went for a walk around the block, and Trisha did an extra walk around another block.

    The castle was open at 10am and we were there ready and waiting. The audio guide was the funniest that I have heard, recorded by a comedian. He brought lots of hilarious asides in, like how worried do you need to be about expired yoghurt. The castle itself was not large having 2 bedrooms and a few other rooms including an execution chamber, but lots of winding stairs up and down and a great view from the top. There was 2 long drops on the 2nd floor, 2 so you could have company. Really loooooong drops which went straight into the canal. The audio cue had some funny tales about the public being able to see how healthy the Count was by checking out his number 2’s on the way down.

    Then it was back to our lovely room to have some lunch, and cool down a bit before heading off. We were 350m from a tram and had got used to walking on the tram tracks instead of the cobbles which were pretty hard going. We were at the main station rather early for our train, so asked if we could catch an earlier one to Brussels which we did. There was a chocolate store there which had a portable aircon unit which I directed under my t shirt for while. Minimum chocolate spend was 10 euro, and there was no point as they would have melted as soon as I left the shop. Train from Brussels to Paris was going 223 kph at one stage so it only took 1.5 hours to get there. Then more train tickets for the metro in Paris to the Chatelet station which seemed to take forever to get out of, and lots of stairs to walk up with bags. When we got out I was starting up google maps to find our accommodation when Trisha saw it across the road. It was 35 degrees and we were very happy to have found it so quickly.

    Our room is small with no aircon but a reasonable fan. And at least the single beds can move around. We unpacked and did some washing the old way by stomping on it in the bath. That was a nice cooling experience! Then went for walk to the Louvre though visited Uniqlo on the way. All the buildings are huge and pretty spectacular. There are boxes there for people, to stand on while taking pics of them theoretically doing things to the pyramid on top of the Louvre entrance. We also walked through to the gardens and sat down for a while. Then it was back to our room with a few sitting stops on the way. There is a supermarket right next to our hotel, but it had shut early on Sunday. So we got a salad from another place and I also had a crepe which we ate in our room.

    It is incredible hot. I didn’t have the energy to write this blog last night. Then I suggested Trish use her cooling towel, and she said why didn’t I use my whole towel. That was a life changing experience! I have never gone to bed before wearing a wet towel. I totally zonked out for about 9 hours and the towel was dry by then.

    Initially it looked like today was the last of the really hot days, but nope we have one more though not quite as hot as today.

    17,987 steps and far too hot at 35 degrees.    Read more

  • Europe with Trisha 2023
    Day 11

    Day 10 Ghent

    September 9, 2023 in Belgium ⋅ 🌙 27 °C

    We had planned our route well last night. Intended to leave at 8.30, and left at 8.29. So a walk, then a short train ride to the main station and then waited there for over an hour for our train to Antwerp. The train was a bit late so we missed our connection, but as it was an open ticket we were fine and just caught the next train to Ghent. The first train was nice and comfortable. The 2nd one was extremely hot. We were sitting over from a man from Palestine who had paid 12,000 euros to get a false passport and get into Belgium 5 years ago. Currently he can’t leave Belgium as he still isn’t legal and wouldn’t be able get back in. He wants to as he isn’t happy with the administration here. It was interesting talking to him.

    We arrived around 1pm and it was very hot. It took a while to find our tram and we weren’t convinced we were going the right way, but all was good. The 350m walk seemed a really long way towing the bags. Last time I weighed mine it was nearly 12 kgs. And that was before the crocs appeared. But when we got to our accommodation it was just amazing. We are in an underground room and it has air conditioning, very exciting! So we rested for a couple of hours just cooling down and I had a shower.

    Then off in search of a good ole Belgian waffle. We walked around for a bit, tried some individual chocolates, couldn’t buy many due to them melting. And then had an awesome waffle with cream and fresh fruit. Yummy.

    The old town of Ghent is just lovely, amazing buildings every way we turned. We took quite a few pics, and then found a spot sitting beside the canal in the shade and were there for quite a while, just watching all the different water vehicles going down the cancel. There were so many different ones, and varying levels of sobriety and noise levels.

    We have both been pretty tired today, moving around in this heat has taken it out of us. So visited a supermarket in the way back, simple ham and salad for tea which was just perfect.

    When we got back our host visited us, Franky. He seems really nice and we sort of wish we were staying here longer. The room is huge as it can sleep 9 and also has a couch and table. We are currently watching game shows in English as it is the only tv channel in English. Quite nice having something playing in the background. Watching Friends in German in Nuremberg wasn’t quite the same. So expecting to have an early night and more exploring in the morning.

    13,413 steps and a very very hot 34 degrees.    Read more

  • Europe with Trisha 2023
    Day 10

    Day 9 Amsterdam

    September 8, 2023 in the Netherlands ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    This tripping around is rather tiring. We were in bed before 10 and I slept until 6.30. We had a leisurely start to the day and were on our bikes by 8.30 and on our way to Anne Frank’s house where we had booked tickets for 9.30. We got there successfully except an encounter with a thorn bush for Trisha. As we were early I went off to try and find an ETOS chemist for some anti bacterial cream for her, but got a bit lost so returned so I wasn’t late.

    Anne Frank house was very moving, and reading all the stories again just brought it home how horrific that time was for people. There is now a video at the end saying that 30 years ago about 50 % of the world had democratic rule, in 2021 that had shrunk to 30%. So there was quite a message about protecting our democracy which was a sobering message.

    Across the road was the tulip museum so we had a look at their nick nacks which were all pretty cute and then onto a cheese shop next door where we tasted a lot of cheese. On the way to Anne Frank I had noticed fresh stroopwaffles, so then we went in search of those. Biked quite a way before we found one, but while biking down a busy street I spied a croc shop. I have been getting sore spots on my feet from all the walking in the heat. I thought about bringing my crocs from nz but changed my mind last minute. Fur lined wouldn’t have worked here though. I was very pleased to find some bright yellow ones on special and wore them for the rest of the day.

    After our stroopwaffle we realise there was a Hard Rock Cafe in town which is somewhere Trish had been keen to try. We had a really nice lunch there with a cool drink and the best thing was the air con. Then it was off to a local park for a lie down on the grass. Lots of traffic there, foot and bike. The most interesting was the guy walking about 10 large dogs while he was on his bike, just around the corner they all ran off chasing something, no one seemed to care.

    I was pleased that I managed to navigate the 5kms back to our place without the help of google. The canals help a lot with the orientation.

    After a couple of hours rest, we departed on our big night out in Amsterdam! Managed to find our way to the metro station, bought tickets for there and the way back and we were off! There were loads of people around. We did visit the Museum of Secrets which had insights about the prostitution industry which was very interesting. Then we roamed around, saw a few people who possibly had been eating the special cookies. There were some ladies in windows who were ready for business. We didn’t buy anything to eat or drink while we were out and no prizes for guessing how long we were out for! But we managed to get the metro back with no issues and had dinner in our room.

    Packing up time again as we are off to Ghent and some Belgium chocolate tomorrow.

    30 degrees, 12, 094 steps and around 20 kms on the bikes.

    I really enjoyed the biking. I should tot up the near misses…
    1. Trisha getting spiked on her lower leg by a thorny bush after riding into the bushes
    2. Me riding totally into the info centre when I forgot I only had back brakes which didn’t work well
    3. Trisha nearly arsing off coming out of the park when someone biked to close to her and she lost her balance
    4. Motorbike hooning around the corner in the bike lane nearly taking me out and yelling imbecile as he left
    5. Very fast guy on a black bike that I just didn’t see having to take evasive action
    6. Trisha following me when the sign changed to stop and getting abused

     But we lived to tell the tales!    Read more

  • Europe with Trisha 2023
    1
    12
    Day 9

    Day 8 Amsterdam

    September 7, 2023 in the Netherlands ⋅ 🌙 25 °C

    We were a bit too knackered to pack last night and thought we had it down to a fine art so were up about 7 and all ready packed and showered by 8. Trisha had a coffee in the square looking at the amazing Cologne cathedral which gave us a sitting spot. I went in search of something to eat on the train for lunch. We have really missed having a fridge. I found a Rewe to go which had a great salad bar amongst other things and even had fresh milk. So I got a salad and banana and then got lost in train station trying to get back. I was just thinking about googling the cathedral when I worked it out. Then finally remembered my middle of the night thought that Trish and I should share location on snap chat so we can find each other.

    We were at our train platform pretty early, and Trish went and got her salad. No drama on the train today. We hadn’t reserved our seats but no one moved us on so was all good. We switched trains at Utrecht so we could go directly close to our accomodation and had a 1.2 km walk when we arrived and chose not to try the metro to get closer.

    Our room is rather tiny. We are at an Airbnb which is a one bedroom flat. The owner, his wife and their 8 month old baby relocate to the lounge when they have guests. But Peter is really nice and been helpful when I contacted him before we arrived and part of the charm was having free bikes to use.

    So after putting some washing on, didn’t realise the front loader would take 3 hours so my clothes for going out were limited, we were off on our bikes whizzing around Amsterdam. It was soooooo much fun! Trisha did really well, probably didn’t expect it to be nearly as chaotic as it was and also probably surprised that she survived the experience! Bikes, people, cars and trams were everywhere.

    The sights were pretty cool. Lots of boats in the canals, pretty bridges, found the flea market, looked for optician shops, found some lens cleaner and basically just absorbed the atmosphere. Found a gelato shop and mine was limoncello and mango. They also sold hemp cookies, great combination!

    So it just got busier and busier so we decided that we had had enough and started the bike back. Found a spot where lots of people were swimming in the canal which was a bit surprising.

    We have access to a fridge here, so planned a supermarket visit. Trish stayed outside with the bikes and probably wanted to send out a search party for me. For a start it was a huge supermarket and I was feeling the responsibility of deciding what to buy. Then I used the self checkout and my Wise card wouldn’t work. There were several people waiting for assistance which took quite a while. The assistant told me that only European credit cards were accepted, really? But then said cash was ok and there was an atm at the entrance. Of course my Wise card wouldn’t give me cash - found out later that I had disabled it in the app. So it was outside to Trish who also didn’t have the 25 euros we needed. I had her Wise card and she kindly told me her pin which I have forgotten. So got cash out on her card and then had to try and find my shopping. I nearly fell over it on the floor and the lady who had it said do you still want this? At that stage not really! Then back to the cash lane and finally outside to Trish.

    So back to our room and had a lovely dinner with some yummy chocolate for dessert. We had thought about going out tonight but have piked out. Maybe tomorrow.

    30 degrees, 10,836 steps, but several hours of biking too.    Read more

  • Europe with Trisha 2023
    1
    Day 8

    Day 7 Cologne

    September 6, 2023 in Germany ⋅ 🌙 22 °C

    This morning I was busy trying to interpret the email that I received in French about our cancelled train trip. I was quite impressed with my school girl French to realise it was important and then used google translate to work out what needed to be done for our refund. Managed to find the form to complete in English and when the confirmation email arrived I realised it was in French German and English. So I looked back on the initial email and that was also in 3 languages, I just needed to scroll down, duh!

    Also found out that I can call people on our SIM card as wanted to confirm the bike tour that I booked last night. It was all on, and we walked there arriving a bit early so Trish had her coffee at a cafe and I was asked not to eat my pastry there that I had bought on the way.

    The bike tour was brilliant. There were only 4 other people on the tour plus the guide and a guy training to be a guide. We were all pretty competent (really surprised Trisha that she was placed in that camp), so we did some extra things and some slightly trickier parts like very narrow alleyways, and steep downhills. There was only one really hard hill that we both managed to get up. Haven’t ridden a non e-bike for a while, where was the extra assistance!

    So we rode all over the place, stopping to get info about the sights, walked up to a rose garden, stopped and had a snack, and were finished about 3.5 hours later.

    We walked back to the river Rhine and picked up some bread rolls, cheese tomatoes and salami for a picnic lunch and ate that by the fountain, and I soaked my feet in the nice cool water. Then off to the cathedral which was pretty spectacular inside. They took the windows out in WW2 so they weren’t damaged and there was only a small part that was bombed - a lot of the rest of the city was decimated and has been rebuilt.

    We knew we wanted to go to the chocolate factory which was a 1.4km walk. It was so very hot that we took the little city bus there instead. Inside the factory there was lots of exhibits, free chocolate and explanation of how chocolate was made including actual machines doing it. But, it was very hot in there as well. We didn’t buy any chocolate as it would have melted very quickly and we don’t have a fridge in our room.

    So back on the wee bus which took a while to get back to the cathedral which is close to our hotel. We had a rather short lie down and decided we didn’t have many more steps in us so we had dinner at the bottom of the hotel that we are in. Couldn’t be bothered walking a block to get a gelato either! Might be because Trish has a rather large beer and I had a limoncello spritzer.

    So let’s talk about the weather. I knew there had been a heat wave and was expecting it to be cooler. Sarah our bike guide said that it was really cold here last week and she had to lend warm clothes to people doing the tours. I have just received a heat wave warning from the UK government as it is going to get hotter. Paris seems to be hotter than here and is forecasted to be 35 when we arrive on Sunday. But then 23 the next day, we might feel the chill then lol. Trish and I have known each other for a long time and it’s good that we feel comfortable with just wearing a bra and undies in our rooms because it is just too hot for anything else. The bonus is that our washing dries really quickly every day.

    18,761 steps and 30 degrees    Read more

  • Europe with Trisha 2023
    1
    Day 7

    Day 6. Scenic train on the Rhine

    September 5, 2023 in Germany ⋅ 🌙 24 °C

    We had a casual start to our day. Off at 7.30 to buy provisions for our train day. Then finalised our packing and chilled out until our leaving time of 10am. Catching tram and train was easy to get back to Nuremberg Hauptbahnhof where Trisha had a coffee and we chilled out in a cafe until our train was due to leave at 11.30.

    We knew we had 2.5 hours to Mainz and then an hour wait until the scenic train, but time marched on and we had a couple of nervous moments wondering if we should have got off at Frankfurt and transferred to another train. But a helpful guy allayed our fears and just said our train was running 40 mins late. Then we wondered if we would make our connection, but he said if we didn’t we could just stay on our current train which would take us through to Koln.

    When we got off the train it turned out that the scenic train was also delayed.

    The scenic train was well worth the extra money and time. I had reserved seats in the panoramic carriage which I thought might be at the rear of the train. But Trisha saw it at the front. It was a really long train and we got on the first third, but had to make our way through a few carriages carrying bags and banging people’s shins. Trisha didn’t want to go back through those carriages to find a toilet later as she was worried about those shins she had attacked.

    Then an older man was in my seat so I had to ask him to move, and Trisha and I had seats which backed onto each other. I asked the lady facing me if she would mind swapping and it was lovely that she did and we had the perfect seats and view.

    It really was some amazing scenery we went through and I would highly recommend it.

    Got to our hotel around 6pm. It is very close to the train station and an ok room but not like our last one and no fridge. We dumped our bags and went for a walk. Gee this place is pumping. Lots of people, river is amazing, we walked over the bridge to the other side, sooo many locks on this bridge. There is also a really long area beside the river with stone benches all the way along for people to sit on and enjoy the river and the views of the other side. Our hotel is very close to the river and entertainment section.

    While on the other side we booked a bike tour for tomorrow online so hopefully that will go ahead. We also have been hearing that there are issues with trains from Paris to Milan because of rock fall, and I have now received an email canceling our train, so we are going to have to find a flight which is a bit of a pain.

    Had a shared pizza for dinner and of course a gelato.

    We are both feeling rather tired tonight which is funny as we haven’t walked a huge amount, but the last few days have been quite busy.

    Really hot today, it was 29 degrees, and was 27 at 7pm.
    14,375 steps…    Read more

  • Europe with Trisha 2023
    111
    Day 6

    Day 5 Nurnberg

    September 4, 2023 in Germany ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    Up early again for us and out the door around 8am. We then took a tram and train to the nearby town of Furth. We wanted to go the info centre but we were too early, so after Trish had had a cappuccino we caught a local bus and ended up at my old favourite Decathlon. Trish bought a small pack, my little fold away one which she had borrowed was not that comfortable while walking around. We bought a bamboo cutlery set so we can stop using the wooden forks, and both bought a top.

    Then we popped over the road and went to a really large supermarket as opposed to the small local we have been frequenting (yes, multiple visits over the last 4 days lol). I made up a salad from the salad bar and Trish had a ready made one. I got some sunblock and bagel chips. Our plan was to catch a bus back to where we had come from but got a bit confused about which way it was. Trish wanted to sit in the shade so we were behind the stop perched on a raised garden bed and so we missed a bus going past. Then when the next bus was due I looked over the road and noticed the other bus stop… with a bench seat… in the shade. So crossed the road, got on the right bus and ended up in a nice grassy area near the info centre where we ate our lunch.

    Gotta talk about the smoking here. Just ridiculous the amount of people smoking. It is hard to sit anywhere without smoke wafting over. So in this grassy area there were 4 benches occupied, and people on 3 of them were smoking when we sat down.

    The people at the info centre were really helpful and we went away with a new map. Caught a train for 1 stop and were then in the old city which was just lovely. Took lots of pics of statues which were quite whimsical. We stopped and had a gelato, and then left due to the smoker next door. Then ended up by some fountains and I got some watermelon which I ate sitting on the grass in a park. Then saw another fountain which kids were playing in. We finally ended up in the green area that we had been aiming for and that was really lovely. Fountains, walkways, kid playgrounds, large green spaces. We sat for quite a while just chatting in front of the water area. A little squirrel joined us for a while and then a couple with a border collie sat on a bench nearby. When we left I said something like “hi matey” to the bc, who then proceeded to lunge and growl at me and I was very pleased he was onlead!

    So then more of a walk back to the train station, and a train then tram back to our hotel. We have had a rather busy 3 days here and are leaving in the morning so have decided we are staying in for the evening. We got back here around 5pm so it was a pretty long day.

    Public transport has been amazing and Trisha is a superstar. We often don’t bother looking at a map to work out what we need to catch. Total has been 8 trains, 8 trams and 3 buses. So a total of 19 public transport trips!

    19,000 steps and 26 degrees today.    Read more

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