After a hearty breakfast we head out for our day in Ely. Being Saturday there is a market in the town square, lots of food producers have brought in there produce and wares. Lots of wonderful things but not really suitcase friendly. Next it is off to the cathedral and I have set my sites set on the tower climb, I buy my ticket and at 11:30 the tour starts, the only thing between me and the top is 283 steps. The tour starts off easy climbing the first 2 levels in small staircases, the last 2/3 off the distance are straight up a spiral staircase, the climb is worth…

Up early and off to the tube station, today we start our driving holiday and we are off to pickup the car up from Marble Arch. It is 8:30 and the central line is very busy, trains arrive every minute, all packed with commuters, not a place for tourists with suit cases, after about 15 minutes we can finally jump in a carriage, the peak is finally lighter and we head off. We pickup the car and we are on our way, I decide to upgrade from a Hyundai I20 to a VW Golf TDI, my first diesel car, the boot is a little bigger and seems to handle well.…

Blue sky, sun and a cool breeze greets us as we step out into the morning, can this be London? We head to the underground to catch the train to Trafalgar Square, the national gallery is our first stop, we arrive before the doors open so we get to wander around without any crowds. I wanted to see Renoirs parasols, but I cannot find it, I decide to ask one of the security officers and he tells me the most wonderful story. It turns out the owner of the painting had a will leaving the painting to the Dublin national gallery, and he was killed in the sinking of the…

Alas all good things come to an end and our time in Paris is over. We pack the bags and catch a taxi to Garde de Norde, the morning traffic is heavy and the going is a bit slow, I have a theory that all French drivers think that all other French drivers have obtained there drivers licences from a cereal packet, hence the obsessive use of the horn, hand gestures and cursing. Thus making the journey to catch the train most entertaining. The train departs on time and we cruise out into the countryside at 275 klm/h, we get a coffee and a piece of cake and sit back…

Another sunny day greets us as we head for the RER to catch the train to Versailles, we have metro tickets to get us there but we need to buy a ticket back to Paris to get back, this is slightly cheaper than a day ticket costing 6.70 euro. The Vick train arrives and we are off, heading through the Paris suburbs on our way to Versailles, we arrive and walk down to the chateau, even though it is early, 9.30 am there is a line snaking around the courtyard, It takes quite awhile to get in but finally we are in and enjoying the lavishly appointed rooms. Dozens of…

Monday, only 2 days left in Paris and being Monday the Chateau of Versailles is closed so that makes it tomorrows outing. So today we are first off to see Monets Lillie’s. We catch the RER around to the D’Orsey and the walk over the river to the Musee L’Orangerie which houses Monets Water Lillie’s, there is a small line up but it doesn’t take long to get inside. We sit a while and enjoy the paintings before going down to see the other pictures in the gallery, there is a good collection of Renoir paintings. Next it is back on the metro and off to the Basilica Sacre Cour.…

Cloudy skies great us today as we step out into the street on our way to the tomb of Napoleon, we make our way across the champ de mars where they have set up for a disabled games. The streets are full of health conscious Parisian running about as we make our way to invalides. The monument has few visitors apart from one guided tour, and it is nice to wander about looking at the crypts in relative piece. Next we are off to the Pont Alexander 3 bridge, this has to be my favourite bridge, we walk over and back before dropping down to walk along the river side.…

Another sunny day in Paris and today we are off to Saint Chappell we catch the RER to the Norte dame station and head over the river to the hall of justice and the chapel. We arrive at a good time as the line is not very long and within a few,minutes we are at the main door of the chapel. The lower chapel is ver ornately decorated with painted walls and roof, there is a stone spiral staircase that takes you to the upper chapel, the moment you step off the last step you are blown away buy the overwhelming amount of stain glass windows it really takes the…

First full day in Paris and the sun is out, promises to be a warm day making a nice change from the mist and rain. After a yummy breakfast our first stop is the Eiffel Tower, the tower is undergoing a refit of the first level and a large section of the ground under the tower has been blocked off, no climbing the tower today as we have lift passes for later in the week. We head of to the Trocadero to get a view of the whole tower, the crowds are light making for an easy viewing. Next we walk to the Arch de Triumph again the crowds are…

The sun is poking through the clouds as we checkout and head for the train, 2 first class seats await on the 11:48 TGV to Paris. We make it to the station with plenty of time to spare and soon are seated on board and heading out into the French countryside. The train first heads into the mountains outside Strasbourg, cuttings, tunnels and canals, the trees are starting to change color another month and the mountains will be very colourful. From the mountains we head across the fields, corn and sunflowers fill the fields along with lots of cows. Scattered amongst the fields are small towns. Very picturesque. Paris arrives…