Another big day, today is museum day but first a visit to the Notre Dame cathedral, the RER takes us straight to the front door and we manage to get inside just as mass was finishing and the organ was playing, very loudly and filling the whole cathedral. After doing a lap of the cathedral we head off to the Musee D’orsay to take in the art, once again there is a long line of people waiting for tickets but we waltz through the pass entrance, we wander around and I am disappointed to see that there are paintings and sculpture not on show as there is renovations going on.…

Today is another full day of walking and we head of the see the tomb of Napoleon, on our way we encounter a street parade, many cultures with tall figures are heading along the street to the sound of music.We enter Napoleons chapel and visit his tomb, then it is off down to the Grand Palais before turning and heading for the Place de la Concorde.Lunch is taken in the Tulleries garden before heading to see Monet’s lilies, many people are lined up but our museum pass works wonders again. After taking in the paintings it is off to the metro to catch a train to the Arc de triumph.…

First full day in Paris and it is sun sun sun, today we are catching the RER to Versailles to see the Chateau of King Louis the XIV. I have bought the tickets yesterday so it is just a matter of catching a train, unfortunately that is not that easy as there are track maintenance and we are sharing an hour for a train.Finally we are underway and soon arrive at the end of the VICK line, it is a short stroll to the chateau and the sight that greets me is over whelming, the marble and gold leaf detailing is amazing.We join the line and head inside, once again…

Well the morning is a better one as we look out over the Reims cathedral while having breakfast. There is a light mist but also breaks of sunshine as well.It is a short stroll to the cathedral and it is a very impressive sight that greets us, the statues on the front of the cathedral are the largest I have seen so far, and the inside is also very impressive, there is a difference in the amount of light from one end to the other as a result of some of the stained glass windows being destroyed during the war.After our visit it is checkout and we have to drag…

Well the alarm is ringing for 7 am but it is pitch black outside, to dark even to see the clouds. Today we are on the rails to Reims, the 11:07 train to Tergnier with a connection to Reims. We arrive at the station early so as I can make reservations for the fast train to Paris For tomorrow.The train leaves on time a small single carriage sprinter, the surrounding country side is flat and the fields are full of busy farmers getting in the harvest. We pass through Villers-Bretonneux and can see the war memorial on the hill in the distance. Lots of windmills are dotted around the landscape…

Well today will be an interesting day, a lot of train connections to catch and not a hugh amount of wiggle room.The day starts out well with our first train being cancelled, one minute it was on the board then it had disappeared. After searching for another train we finally find one that turns up, so it is off to Moescron, where we can catch a train to Lille, the trip goes smoothly and we catch our connection to Lille, thankfully we arrive ahead of our connection to Amiens, so it is a 3/4 hour wait for our train, we board the train and head out across the french fields,…

The sun is showing signs of making an appearance today and we are heading on another day trip, this time to Amsterdam.The train leaves the station on time and this time we are heading north through the field, crops of all sorts are being grow, some in hugh glass houses. The fields are all surrounded by drainage ditches all leading back to main canals.The journey will take 2 1/2 hours but there is a lot to see along the way.There is a definite change in the soil as we cross the border into the Netherlands, light loamy soils of Belgium are replaced with the rich black soils of the Netherlands.We…

Rain rain go away, not perturbed we are heading off on our first long train trip to Ypres.The trains today are on time and it is not long before we are cruising through the country side on our way.As we arrive in Ypres the rain eases and as we make our way to the market place the rain has stopped. As I look at the guild hall I can just see the golden dragon on top of the main spire through the low hanging cloud.We make our way to the remembrance gate, so many names, we find out that the last post is played at the gate every night. Climbing…

Drizzle is the best way to describe the weather today, and it looks like it will be with us for awhile. We start the morning with a wonder around the streets of the inner city, as we approach the grand market place we see that there are several weddings going on, and the square is full of cars and people.After a look around we attempt to head out to the EU center but the trains are being cancelled and so we decide it is better to go for a beer instead, so off to my favorite pub we go.A warm welcome is received and after several beers we return to…

Well the last day of driving around Britain is upon us, only a 1 hour drive back to the airport to drop off the hire car is left. The day is quite good as we head down the motorway, the traffic is playing ball and no delays are experienced as we arrive at the airport. With the hire car safely back it is a small bus ride to terminal 3 to get the underground to St Pancreas station.The train trip up the piccadilly line is a bit slow in parts but the train is not crowded and we arrive with 1 1/2 hours up our sleeve. The tickets that I…