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Travels in Europe 2017

August - September 2017
A 39-day adventure by Kath's Travels Read more
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  • TravelerTravels in Europe 2017
    Day 3

    Montparnasse Tower

    August 22, 2017 in France ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    We had the choice of paying 17 Euro to go up the tower to experience the view or else spend about 24 Euro in the restaurant where we enjoyed a Cheese selection, a Vanilla and bourbon Mille Foile and a glass of wine (or a Mojito) and still got the most amazing view of the Eiffel Tower – I think you can guess what we ended up doing?Read more

  • TravelerTravels in Europe 2017
    Day 3

    Ile de la Cite

    August 22, 2017 in France ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    Ile de la Cite is the island in the middle of the Seine,using the Metro once again we traveled to the Cite station where we were close to the Sainte Chappel. This was built between 1239 and 1248 and has 1,113 stained glass scenes which are the main draw card of the Chapel, the windows tell he story of the bible. The chapel was actually built to hold the “Holy relics” purchased from the Emperors of Constantinople in 1239. The lower chapel – built for the use of the palace staff is ornate and the windows are impressive, but it is the easily missed upper chapel (reserved for the use of the King and his family)that is truly amazing
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    The next stop was Notre Dame. Unfortunately, we arrived too late to climb the tower and were subjected to extended queuing, however it was worth it to see inside the cathedral which is massive, glorious, impressive…. It’s easy to run out of superlatives. We were also privileged to be able to appreciate the acoustics when a service took place complete with music, singing and robed priests wafting smoke about.

    The day ended with a walk along the Seine and then another Metro ride back to the hostel … for a point of very nice French beer (I was offered Heineken - seriously why would I travel all the way to France to drink crap American beer - eeewww)... phew what a day!    Read more

  • TravelerTravels in Europe 2017
    Day 4

    Flowers and water lilies

    August 23, 2017 in France ⋅ 🌙 16 °C

    After the Museum we walked a little further down through the village to the Monet’s house and garden – where we were greeted by a terribly long line – we stood in the queue for a while until I realised that people where queueing to buy tickets which we actually had already – I popped up to the front of the line and asked the lady if we had to line up if we had the ticket already? She waved us away saying we could just go around the corner and go straight in as we had the double ticket – bonus!! We walked back down the road, down a little side alley and straight in! We crossed under the road via a tunnel and came to the famous waterlily filled lake which was in so many of the works (Vert et ses nympheas) complete with the green painted Japanese bridge. After a wander around there we crossed back to the glorious flower filled garden for a further stroll before looking through the house which also contained a lot of art. Sadly, we had to head back to the station on the 2.10 shuttle so we couldn’t linger. However, this did get us back to the station some 25 minutes before our train so we enjoyed a tasty French beer in the sun prior to our train.Read more

  • TravelerTravels in Europe 2017
    Day 4

    300 Steps to the dome

    August 23, 2017 in France ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    Getting back to Paris we once again utilised the metro and found our way to the Abbesses station from here it was an easy walk to the Montmartre Funicular – further bonus – the metro ticket (we have a 7,50 Euro all day zone 1 & 2) grants you free access to the funicular – we jumped aboard and about 30 seconds later we had reached the top of the hill and were ready to visit the Cathedral of Sacre Coeur. The Church is lovely but I felt it had a more Byzantium, feel to it as compared to say Notre Dame – there were more murals and mosaics and some of the stained glass had an almost Dali/Picassocesque (is that a word?) feel to them. It was free to enter the Cathedral but for an extra 6 euro you could climb the 300 steps to the dome. I did and it was well worth it. You start with about 150 steps up a really narrow and steep spiral staircase, then it is up and down over the roof and then another spiral to reach the balcony around the dome. The view over Paris is SPECTACULAR, well worth it and really the climb wasn’t that taxing. After that it was back down the 300 steps, down the hill from Sacre Coeur (passing the carousel from Amile) and, via the Montmatre tourist strip, back to the MetroRead more

  • TravelerTravels in Europe 2017
    Day 4

    Paris @ night by bike

    August 23, 2017 in France ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    Our next stop was the Dupliex metro station for our Paris by Night Bike tour. We were duly issued with bright red, retro bikes and helmets - optional (Ah yes please if I am going to be riding in Paris traffic – I do prefer my brain intact and the drivers in Paris seem a tad lax about the road rules!!). We headed off to Notre Dame, via the Latin Quarter with stops for interesting information and stories along the way as provided by our cheerful – and possibly entirely manic - Scottish Guide (Jack). One pertained to the guy who did the Gargoyles on Notre Dame – apparently, he REALLY hated his mother in law so the 4th on the left and side is carved in her likeness (an ugly old women in a hat). We stopped for ice cream and then headed back to the Seine via the Louvre (which was pretty impressive that time of night). At the river we boarded a boat an took an lovely trip up and down the river while drinking wine (included) before getting back on our bikes and heading back to the office of Fat Tire Tours with some great views of the illuminated Eiffel tower along the way. It was great fun, the total ride distance was about 13km and I would recommend it as a different way to see Paris – although it was a later night than I expected as it was after midnight when we finally got back to the hostel.Read more

  • TravelerTravels in Europe 2017
    Day 4

    And off to Normandy

    August 23, 2017 in France ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    The day started pretty slowly with a leisurely breakfast before we were off to face the challenges of the Metro once more. We walked to Magenta and spoke with many people (my stock apology for being Australian and not speaking French didn’t seem to work so well) before working out that we needed to be at Saint Lazzare – a short train trip, lots off walking through long tunnels, up 3 floors and we were there – it turns out that Saint Lazzare has Metro, RER and the Regional Normandy service running from the same centre but in 3 different parts. We found the right ticket office and after further prolonged queueing we sorted out our tickets to Vernon-Giverney, by which time the train had actually arrived and we were able to board and soon we were on our way
    We enjoyed the 50 minute trip through the country side to Vernon and then onto the shuttle bus (at the station – 10Euro return) to the Village of Giverny. This was the home of the impressionist painter Monet for almost 40 years and the gardens were apparently a great source of inspiration for him so we wanted to see them. We purchased a “couple billet” which was a double ticket granting both entry to the Impressionist Museum and the House and Gardens of Monet (16,50). The museum had a special exhibition on showing the works of Maugain a contemporary of Monets (plus there were a few other Impressionist works and one Monet). To be honest I wasn’t really keen on the works – they seemed a tad crude and rough compared to other impressionist pieces.    Read more

  • TravelerTravels in Europe 2017
    Day 5

    Off on another Adventure

    August 24, 2017 in France ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C

    A bit of an early start meant that we were into the breakfast room about 2 minutes after it opened at 7am. The breakfasts here are ample – Fruit, yoghurt, cereal, croissants, bread, spreads, juice and coffee – although I am still adjusting to the whole “drink the coffee out of a bowl (like a small noodle bowl) thing – as they say “when in Paris….” Plus the bread is not only delicious but is more than we need at breakfast and seems to somehow find its way into our bags for lunch! Sated and sorted we were out the door by 7.45 and on our way to the Fat Tire Office for our trip to Versailles. Here we met our guide a nice chap called Cam (from Glen Waverly – he’d been the head of complaints for the Smart Metre Scheme for 4 years – burnt out (what a surprise) and has spent the last 2 years travelling (32 countries) and doing seasonal work such as being a bike tour guide in Paris. Anyway he was lovely and chivvied our group of 18 on and off the Metro and the RER getting us to the Versailles office of Fat tire and onto our bikes in good time. First stop was the market were we stocked up on provisions and then it was off to the Palace.Read more

  • TravelerTravels in Europe 2017
    Day 5

    A house of 2 Ladies and other tales

    August 24, 2017 in France ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

    Cam told us lots of great “stories” about the history of Versailles which began its life as a hunting lodge for Louis 13th. The current palace came into being and prominence under the subsequent 3 Louis… it was built over a 50 year period by Louis 14th (the Sun king – who was crowned at 4 years of age), embellished by Louis 15th (the fun king – who had 300 “special” lady friends (there were young kids in the group), died of syphilis and was the great grandson of Louis the 14th) and Louis 16th (the “done” King who was beheaded in the Revolution) along with his wife Marie Antoinette. Our first stop was Petite Triannon. This was a fairly modest (by the standards of Versailles) house built between 1762 and 1768 as a private place for the use of Louis 15th and his favorite mistress Madame Pompadour. Later it became the refuge of Marie Antoinette who would spend much of her time there retreating from the pomp and ceremony of the court at Versailles. It was she who built a “mock village” and various other follies in the grounds. We visited there for some time, before heading down to the “Grand Canal” to enjoy a lovely picnic lunch.Read more

  • TravelerTravels in Europe 2017
    Day 5

    It’s a pretty impressive palace

    August 24, 2017 in France ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

    After lunch, we rode back to the Fat Tire office where we returned the bikes – it was then just a short walk back to the main palace for our visit there. It seemed packed, however Cam (and the staff at the palace) assured us it was very quiet! We strolled around several lavish rooms including the King’s bedchamber and the famous hall of mirrors (apparently they had Venetian craft masters bought our especially to fit out the room and then they were assassinated so they could not reveal any secrets about the mirrors). After the palace we had a stroll through the amazing gardens, however it was passing 530 by this time and I think we had had about enough so we walked back to the station where we took the train back to Paris and the Metro back to the hostel – tired at the end of a very full day!Read more

  • TravelerTravels in Europe 2017
    Day 6

    No walking tour of the Latin Quarter

    August 25, 2017 in France ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    We had a few things on the “maybe” list… Musee d’Orsay, Musee d’Rodin or a “free” (but it cost 16 euro) walking tour of the Latin quarter. We tossed more art vs a walk an went with the latter and so walked along the Seine, crossing Pont du Neuf, to Rue Saint Michael. First order of business was something to eat. We found a café on the street where we could people watch and enjoyed wine, crepes and coffee (plus a bit of sneaky BYO bread, Fruit and a Blood Orange Macaroon each… mmmm). Sated we crossed over the fountain – the designated meeting point – registered, paid the designate fee and waited, and waited some more… finally we were told that the guide was “sick” and would not be coming – the tour was off! Bugger we should have gone with the “more art” option. None the less we had a bit of a meander around the area which mostly seemed to involve places to eat before deciding that we would do the Art Viaduct walk from Bastille to Bel Air. Thus we jumped back on the metro and made our way to Bastille.
    It didn’t take us long to get there but by this time the wine and the coffee had had their predicable effect and I REALLY need to pee… I was delighted to see a “free” public toilet – a rare thing in Paris where you can expect to pay up to 1,50 euro to use the facilities. Well it turned out to be quite the pantomime! Absolutely busting by this point I entered the toilet and pressed the door close button – nothing happened – I pressed it again, the door closed slightly then opened… this repeated several times – I was getting desperate, Kirstin was getting hysterical with laughter and possibly also at risk of wetting her pants but for a totally different reason. Finally the door shut fully.. I started to unzip… the door opened again …. Aaarg pants back up (I must mention that this toilet was on a traffic island in the middle of a busy intersection also). The door shut again, I started to de-clothe again, the door sprung open with renewed vigour – this was getting serious – I REALLY REALLY needed to pee. In the end Kirstin – despite laughing so hard she was herself risking incontinence – held the bucking and protesting door shut while I performed the world’s fastest urination! Phew, what a pantomime!!!!
    Having got all of that out of the way we headed to the viaduct which is now an art project and walking path following the route and at times including the remnants of the old viaduct. As in Zurich (Im Viaduct) there are stores, galleries and boutiques built under the arches, however the difference is that along the top is a lovely garden. We strolled along for a couple of kilometers enjoying the greenery and fresh air after the rain.. sometimes we were on top of the old viaduct, others just following its route through gardens, under bridges and through tunnels. Eventually we came to the Bel Air Metro where it was a simple thing to take it back to La Chappel and then the short walk to the Hostel    Read more

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