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Europe with Trisha 2023

August - October 2023
Our trip in 2020 needed to be postponed but is now going to happen! Read more
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  • 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
    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
    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
    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 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
    1
    Day 16

    Day 15 Milan

    September 14, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

    Alarm set for 6 and planned to leave the hotel by 7.30 and we were ahead of time. Then google maps said there was an accident on the train line which caused some consternation. But the hotel man suggested we check with a train person so we went down a different entrance to the metro, checked with attendant and all was fine. So it took around an hour to get to Charles de Gaulle airport, and then all was quite obvious really so we were through security an hour before we needed to board.

    I had been mildly worried about this flight. Not like me to randomly book flights on my phone while I am in the middle of a trip, but it all went off perfectly. The plane was great, flight was 1 hour and 15 minutes and it actually seemed to be a better option than the 6 hour train ride that we will still hopefully get a refund for. Total cost was about the same with trains to and from the airport.

    Train from Malpensa airport was about an hour and then we caught a local metro for several stops and then entered paradise!

    We are very lucky that Trisha has a cousin who lives in Milan and has an apartment here. He is away currently but we are staying here anyway. It is not large, but just sooo pleasant to be in the calm quiet with air conditioning. We hadn’t eaten anything since breakfast and it was then 4pm so we walked around the corner to a local supermarket for supplies, came back and decided we were done for the day.

    Lovely salad for dinner even served on crockery rather than our plastic plates (which we have used heaps).

    Total steps 13,343 (because trains and airports are massively huge and take a while to walk to where you need to be). And a very pleasant 25 degrees, not that we were out in it much.    Read more

  • Europe with Trisha 2023
    Day 17

    Day 16 Milan and Monterosso

    September 15, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    It was lovely being in separate bedrooms for a night, not that Trish snores at all though lol. We got up earlyish and were going to ride some lime scooters. But the lime e bikes were closer so we used those instead. Had a fun time biking around a park, to a castle and then the duomo while picking up some fresh focaccia on the way.

    It was supposed to rain in Milan so for a change we decided to take a taxi to the train station. We had a bag full of half dry washing in addition to our normal bags and backpacks and a bag of food so it was great to not lug that all around and then it didn't rain anyway. We were at the train station early as per normal so sat around for over an hour waiting for our train which went straight through to Monterosso. We were organised again and made a healthy lunch on the train.

    Our hotel here is really nice. Bedroom is normal size, but a large bathroom down a few steps with an awesome shower.

    We basically unpacked, found swimming attire, grabbed towels and walked down to the beach which is very close. It was still 25 degrees at 4pm and we spent about an hour just floating in the water which was quite warm and wonderfully clear. My crocs have been so very useful, as the beach was a bit stony. They also provided extra buoyancy! We were talking to some Canadian people while we were in the water which was nice.

    Then back to hotel for a shower and out for a walk to find a gelato and some dinner. The gelato was easy and yummy, the dinner took us a bit longer to decide. We walked to the old part of Monterosso, our hotel is near the train station and beach in the new part. We ended up both having spaghetti, but Trish had a lot of seafood on hers. Had sides of roasted peppers and aubergine which was all pretty nice.

    The walk back was in the twilight and we are loving the air conditioning in this hotel! Low of 18 degrees overnight.

    14,141 steps and 25 degrees.    Read more

  • Europe with Trisha 2023
    Day 18

    Day 17 Cinque de Terre

    September 16, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C

    Up early this morning before the heat and took a train to the next village which is my favourite one - Vernazza. We walked down to the sea and marvelled at it for a while, then walked up the hill a bit for breakfast focaccia and nectarines and then back down to eat breakfast by the sea. A man was washing his boat close to us with a leaky hose connection which was useful for washing hands.

    After eating we felt we had enough energy to walk up a hill to get some good pics of the lovely harbour. It was nice resting at some spots in the shade on the way and also talking to a few people on the way up. Pictures were just stunning at that time of the morning.

    Then onto the train again to the next village Corniglia. We wanted to use the paid toilet at the train station but the sign was out, closed for cleaning for 5 mins. We waited more than 5 mins, but the lady on her phone swiping a wet rag occasionally over a shelf didn’t constitute cleaning so the sign stayed out. We wimped out on walking all the steps to the top with the heat and hadn’t realised there was a bus we could have caught, so then trained to the last town which is Riomaggiore. It was lovely there. The beaches were quite small and rocky but there were lots of people in the water. We asked about the ferry tickets and were told we could buy them in the boat. Hmm, after walking down all the steps to the boat, we’re told we needed to at the ticket office. So up the steps again we went, bought tickets, and then had nearly an hour to wait. But we were in the shade in front of the prime selfie taking spot so it was a great place for people watching.

    The boat ride to Manorola only took 10 mins so was underwhelming, but was nice to have some views from out at sea. We had lunch there, gelato and fries… perfect lol. There were many many people around by that time with a cruise ship docked in La Spezia, disgorging many people so time to retreat back to Monterosso and our hotel. It was lovely there to strip off to our togs, wrap a towel around us, leave the key at reception and walk down to the beach were we spent quite a bit of time floating in the water again. It was a bit more choppy today but totally refreshing. Afterwards I even had a hot shower which I love to do, but have only wanted to have luke warm ones most of the time we have been away.

    Then we took the train in the other direction to Levanto. This is a larger town and where I stayed on my previous visit. We walked down to the beach, visited some market shops and then the supermarket for dinner supplies before catching the train back again. Train ride was interesting with a lady from Australia regaling us with her tales of falling down the steps at her hotel, and seeking medical treatment. I think she was just happy to be talking in English to someone about her experience.

    Packing time again tonight after a nice healthy dinner. We have a tiny TV and Trisha managed to get a NCIS programme to play in English which was a bit exciting.

    17,305 steps and 26 degrees though it felt a lot hotter with the stairs.    Read more

  • Europe with Trisha 2023
    Day 19

    Day 18 Pisa

    September 17, 2023 in Italy ⋅ 🌙 20 °C

    We set our alarm this morning for 5.45, yikes as we had the plan to stop in Pisa on our way to Rome. So we were packed and on our first train by just after 7, then after a second one we arrived in Pisa at 9am. We had booked a place to store our bags, and after 2 false starts for finding the place it was very easy to use - called Stow your Bags. Had a quick toilet stop at a cafe with a croissant (yes they do go together !), and then we had to try out the e-scooters that I had spied in the piazza near the cafe.

    I have been wanting to try out scooters for quite a while and were so pleased that we did that today. It was around a 2km walk to the leaning tower from the train, and while the walk there would have been ok, walking back in the heat was probably not. But we cooled off nicely hooning along less busy streets and were there pretty soon.

    There were a lot of people around the tower. We took a few pics, and watched others taking pics, and then walked around to the baptistery where we could walk on the grass and that was lovely in bare feet. We lay there in the shade for a while. Both of us were feeling rather jaded by the heat and the humidity was very high today as well. Bonus today was that we found some cheap hand held fans to help cool us down.

    So then we scootered back, went to the same cafe and had lemon gelatos, picked up our bags, went to another cafe to try and find something to eat in the train, but it was all made up focaccia. Trisha’s looked good, but I was rather disappointed to find that mine was some sort of tuna paste, yuck!

    We were at the station very early for our train and had booked 1st class this time. It was great to relax for 3 hours in good air conditioning.

    Our host in Rome had contacted me several times and is really chatty. Instead of using google maps to find our public transport, which we have been very successful in doing, we followed her directions and of course we got on the wrong bus. Realised it after a while, got off, and waited nearly an hour for the right bus. So we didn’t get to our accomodation until it was dark. Our hostess Kiara couldn’t meet us tonight but her older mum did and she was just lovely while not speaking a word of English!

    Our place is really nice with 2 large beds, one upstairs and one down. Our beds last night were very small singles, and we both felt like we were falling off them all night. Though I am sitting here wondering if the washing machine is going to break down cos it is pretty noisy. In fact it didn't break down, but didn't spin clothes at all and I suspected not rinsed either, so I did that by hand.

    We did need some food and are staying in Trastevere which is renowned for good food. We had a restaurant in mind, but then went past this awesome pizza place which had chicken legs, potatoes and a nice mixed rice salad. Just the perfect food to take back to our house where we once again have plates and crockery!

    It’s supposed to be 33 degrees tomorrow, so let’s see now far our stamina takes us.

    Steps 15,201. 31 degrees.    Read more

  • Europe with Trisha 2023
    Day 20

    Day 19 Rome

    September 18, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C

    We had a pretty leisurely start to today after feeling washed out yesterday. And then planned to be out for about 3 hours doing Ill Vittorio, Colosseum, Santa Maria Maggiore and then lunch at the Mercato Centrale before catching a bus back home. Well that plan didn’t work that well as we got back around 6pm!

    The first part went well with our walk. We had forgotten that breakfast is included in our accomodation and had walked quite a way before we realised we hadn’t eaten anything. We got a bit distracted by the pop up shops with linen clothes and bags, but then found an awesome cafe. It was tiny, but had great service, air conditioning and a toilet. What more could we want!

    So then back to our walking past a few ruins and impressive buildings until, we got to Ill Vittorio. We thought about walking to the top but that would have impinged on our 3 hour curfew lol. Thank golly we didn’t do that as well with the way our day panned out. Unfortunately the roundabout in front was not accessible, and the front of the building was having renovations, but it was still very impressive.

    Once again it had got very hot so it took us a while to get to the Collosseum with a few rest stops. We walked around the massive structure and saw that the line for tickets was rather long standing in the sun.

    So next stop was the Santa Maria Maggiore Basilica. But on the way we walked past the Museum of Illusions. After a brief chat we decided to go in and had a great time taking silly pictures.

    The Basilica was really great. I had been before and remembered how good it was, but I hadn’t remembered the individual parts so it was really good to go again. We stayed in there for a while as there was a lot to see.

    Our final walk was to get lunch at the Mercato Central that we had noticed yesterday by the train station. It was around 3pm by that time, so the breakfast croissant was a distant memory. I had a yummy lunch of chicken ciaccatore with potatoes and lettuce while Trish had a salad. We walked back through the shopping part of the train station and saw a few new types of crocs there. Then we waited for quite a while for bus H again, which never turned up. So we tried another one, changed buses mid route and got off when we were over the river and walked the rest of the way stopping at 2 supermarkets on the way and the same dinner place as last night. We should have enough supplies! Though I was quite amazed at my ability to buy yet another thing with unexpected tuna in it in 2 days, the pasta combo looked so nice but was not!

    The limone dark Lindt chocolate was very nice and is now gone.

    We are staying in Trastevere which is known for its nightlife. We haven’t seen or heard much of that so far.

    18,104 steps and 32 degrees. Was a bit less humid today though.    Read more

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