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Europe 2023

September - October 2023
A 25-day adventure by k Read more
  • 24footprints
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  • 25days
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  • TravelerEurope 2023
    Day 25

    Day 24: Home

    October 6, 2023 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

    With 32 hours ahead of us before we were home, none of us were looking forward to the last part of our trip. However we were very glad we had decided to book a taxi to Charles de Gaulle airport rather than taking the metro - best 80 Euro we had ever spent! Sydney Harbour was a very welcome sight as we flew in at 6pm. After dropping the Cambeys off, we drove through our gates to 4 very excited pets and our own bed...and while we were so happy to be home, a tiny part of my mind is asking " Where to next?".Read more

  • TravelerEurope 2023
    Day 23

    Day 23: Monet's Garden

    October 4, 2023 in France ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

    We got up early today to make sure we had enough time to catch connecting trains to Vernon/ Giverney....we missed the 2nd train and had to wait 1hr and 20mins for the next one.....we are blaming poorly signed stations and confusing ticket machines. When we arrived at Vernon we were looking for a shuttle bus to take us to Giverney, but found a tiny train instead. It was driven by a very enthusiastic driver who had no problem navigating narrow streets, roundabouts and traffic lights as he assumed he had right of way while towing 5 carriages behind him. He took us to Giverney and we then spent 1/2 an hour looking for the gardens...again due to poor signage. The gardens were beautiful; salvias, daisys and dahlias in a riot of colours. We took the "bridge" shots then explored the rest of the gardens and house before setting off to find Monet's grave. We stopped at The Hotel Baudy for lunch - where Matt almost became vegetarian when he cut in to his steak. We all celebrated when we hopped off our last crowded, smelly, disease infested train ride home ( well at least for a little while). Dinner was an assortment of left-overs; bagette, cheese, chips, pasta, peanut butter and icecream before the not so nice job of packing was done for an early morning ride to Charles de Gaul.Read more

  • TravelerEurope 2023
    11
    Day 22

    Day 22: A day of rambling

    October 3, 2023 in France ⋅ 🌙 15 °C

    We headed out to see the Crypte Archéologique de l'İle de la Cité, which is under Notre Dame but just as we got there police and army men with machine guns forced the cowd back and put up police tape around the entrance. We waited for 20mins, hoping they'd let us in, but more police arrived and the crowd were forced back further so we thought we'd better go. So we headed off on foot to find the site of the Bastille. We found it on the middle of a roundabout. I decided it was time to try a crepe (yum) and Matt had a beer, served with a straw! We then walked to the start of the Promanade Plantee which is a parkand walk along an old abandoned viaduct and wandered along for a few kilometres before catching a train to the Eiffel Tower to see it up close. From there we went to a micro brewery near the Tropadero before walking home - with a bagette - for tea.Read more

  • TravelerEurope 2023
    1
    Day 21

    DAY 21: Culture Vultures

    October 2, 2023 in France ⋅ ☁️ 27 °C

    We started the day with early entry tickets to the Louvre and after racing the queue to take a photo in front of the Mona Lisa, we then just free-wheeled around for a few hours; partly because that's how I like it, but mostly because Matt said the maps were rubbish! We found some hidden treasures; like the oldest known statue ever found, a friendly looking musician and a little nymph who would look lovely in our garden. Lunch was bagettes eaten in the Louvre garden; fun fact - this garden was designed by the same man who designed the gardens at Versailles. We then walked to Napoleon's Tomb and war museums, passing by the Egyptian Needle which was unfortunately roped off due to the rugby world cup. While Matt and the Cambeys went in, I found a shady tree in the garden and just sat. Matt found the war museum very interesting but found it hard to understand why the French revere him as much as they do. We were home by 5.30pm and spent the evening with good friends, good food and good conversation.Read more

  • TravelerEurope 2023
    Day 20

    Day 20: Another 18,000 steps

    October 1, 2023 in France ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C

    Today started with a double metro ride out to the Basillica of the Sacred Heart of Paris...otherwise known as "another church". Once again Matt climbed to the top while I sat and looked at the floor and windows. We then caught another train to Sainte Chapells Cathederal - a church with over 1200 individual leadlight panels, but no dome to climb. We then walked to Notre Dame to see how the restoration was going - slowly, and on to the Pantheon Paris. This was a huge surprise, as we didn't know what to expect. The ground floor level was amazing but the crypts below were spectacular. Marie Curie, Voltaire and Victor Hugo are just a few of the big names interred there. On the way back to the metro we found an English pub and had a couple of pints to keep hydrated on a very hot day.Read more

  • TravelerEurope 2023
    111
    Day 19

    Day 19: Palace of Versailles

    September 30, 2023 in France ⋅ 🌙 19 °C

    We were off to visit the French version of Windsor castle today. Having watched Marie Antoinette on netflix before we came, I was ready to have a poke around and learn a bit more. I was not prepared for the absolute over the top grandeur and oppulance that was Versailles...no wonder the peasants stormed the Bastille! The history seeping out of the walls kept Matt engrossed, so I snuck out to walk around the gardens...I didn't know there were 2000 acres of them. I took lots of photos and have lots of ideas for when we return to Mt Rankin. While I admired the plants, Matt took himself off to investigate how the support structure of the giant terrace worked. When we returned home, the Cambeys went out to a nice little French restaurant around the corner for dinner, Matt had toast and I had a glass of wine. A tiring, but pretty nice day for us all!Read more

  • TravelerEurope 2023
    1
    Day 18

    Day 18: Bye Bye Fifi; Hello Cambeys

    September 29, 2023 in France ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

    After taking our last look at Mont St Michel, we loaded up Fifi and headed for Paris. Matt was excited to be on major roads for this part of the journey, especially when he realised the speed limit was 130 - he was not so delighted when he was told that doing 130km/h, in the rain, on the wrong side of the road, in a fiat 500 was not a good idea! We dropped Fifi at Rouen train station and took at 1 and a half hour train ride into Paris where we had to learn yet another ticketing and timetabling system...fun and games - NOT. However we managed to find our next accommodation without killing each other, and rang the Cambeys who were only 10 mins away. After a quick catch up, we all walked down to see the Eiffel tower, then decided to climb the Arc de Triomphe to see the tower light up - magical. A short 2.5km walk home, where we ordered pizza for tea...at 10pm. Off to see a palace full of mirrors tomorrow.Read more

  • TravelerEurope 2023
    31
    Day 17

    Day 17: Alencon to Mont St Michel

    September 28, 2023 in France ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    We had a somewhat shakey start today - Fifi had a coolant light show on her dash and after much googling and youtubing we decided to find a Fiat dealership and ask them for help. We drove into the lot and parked... right in amongst all the cars for sale. Matt took a photo of the dash and I used google translate to have a message ready in case they didn't speak English - which they didn't. A lovely man read my message, looked at the photo, shook his head and put his hand out for the key. He jumped in, turned a knob and all was well - Matt had bumped a menu log button and that was all it was. We were on our way to Mont St Michel...a place we have both wanted to visit for over 30 years! With just 1 minor detour - to look at a huge cathedral at Harcourt - we arrived at 12 and spent the next 5 hours walking around the Abbey, which dates back to the 8th century, and the town at the base. The Abbey and surrounding walls were amazing, but the town was like Disney on steroids. We went back to the mainland to find our accommodation, which was 1 of 4 tiny rooms built above the hosts own home, overlooking cow paddocks and barns and Mont St Michel. We went back at 6.30pm to watch the high tide come racing in and surround the island - it was amazing how quickly this took place. The sun setting over the western walls and reflecting on the ocean was magical. After 30 years, we can now say we've been!Read more

  • TravelerEurope 2023
    11
    Day 16

    Day 16: Troyes to Alencon

    September 27, 2023 in France ⋅ 🌙 19 °C

    We headed off to our next stop, Alencon, with a small detour to the town of Chatres to see Our Lady of Chartres Cathedral...a magnifent building dating back to 1194; we could see it rising from the surrounding fields from miles away. Matt did an awesome job navigating the medieval alleyways that they call streets - he deserves a medal. We left the Champagne vineyards behind yesterday and today we drove past mile after mile of potato crops as well as huge piles of spuds drying in the paddocks. Matt tested out his overtaking skills, passing many tractors and harvesters. Once again Google maps had us driving through tiny villages, cobbled alleyways and one way lanes before we arrived in Alencon. 50m from our room was an enormous Cathedral which was shut (sorry Matt) so we took a walk to the Château des Ducs d'Alençon. Built in the 9th century this castle was taken by William the Conquer, Henry I and Louis VI. More recently, it was used by the Gestapo between 1940 and 1945. It is now an open freespace with a playground - a very tasteful repurposing for the public. A quick pint and dinner at a brewpub - with a great view - and it was home to plan tomorrow's trip to Mont St Michel...a place we have both wanted to visit for a very long time.Read more

  • TravelerEurope 2023
    12
    Day 15

    Day 15: Lucerne to Troyes

    September 26, 2023 in France ⋅ ☁️ 26 °C

    Today Matt and I said uf Widerluege to the Cambeys as we set off to drive across France - West to East. We trained it to Mulhouse, just inside the French border, then picked up Fifi; our pearly lavender Fiat rental car for the next four days - Matt was delighted when he saw her! We almost didn't get her as French law says you need an international licence (which Matt had) and a physical licence from your own country (which Matt didn't have; he had his licence on his phone. but this wasn't acceptable). The French Avis lady was amazing - she must have seen the look of panic on Matt's face and disappointment on mine - and allowed us to take Fifi. We set google maps for Troyes, avoiding tolls and highways...and you should have seen the back lanes, alleyways and one way streets we went on. Matt did an amazing job of driving a manual on the wrong side of the road and after driving through the Champagne region of France, we arrived at Troyes mid-afternoon. Troyes is a medieval town with no less than 12 gothic churches - so you can guess what we did when we got there! Our accommodation was in a building dating back to the 16 hundreds with sloping ceilings and wonky floors - perfect!Read more

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