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…

Today is a trip to Colmar to checkout the medieval town, a 1/2 hour train trip tracking the route of the rine river sees us at Colmar. I expected a quite little town but Colmar has found tourism and the town centre is full of restaurants and gift shops. But this aside the buildings area truly remarkable and have a true medieval charm. Yet again it is a day of sunshine and showers with the rain easing a opportune moments for snapping a pic. The afternoon train takes us back to Strasbourg just in time before the rain settles in for the night. Tomorrow it is off to Paris, Strasbourg…

Another day of light rain as we venture out to check out the city. The main areas to checkout today are petite France and the cathedral. Heading along the river we head to petite France, it is only a short stroll from the hotel, the buildings along the canal are all decked out with flower boxes and make for a pretty site. Covered tourist boats ply the canals taking what seems as a never ending supply of tourists for rides. Making our way around the river we find the cathedral, it is not the usual French design as it has one spire and is quite well decorated inside, it is…

5:30 am and an early start, the rain is starting to ease, the 7:37 train to Basel is the only direct train that will take us to Strassbourg. We board the train on time and settle back for the 5 hour ride, through the sleepy suburbs of Brussels, out into the forests of the Arden, stopping in Luxembourg before arriving in Strassbourg. The border police are active on both the train out of Brussels and the crossing into France, looking for illegal immigrants, the trip is a relaxing one with patches of rain as we head over the hill tops. Arriving in Strassbourg I make the reservations for the tgv…

Today was going to be a trip to Amsterdam but the direct train no longer runs and the trip now takes 4 hours one way, the only way to get there faster is by the fast train costing 36 euros one way. Luckily there has been a festival going on all week with marching bands and music and there is a rock band playing in the market square so with the sun shining and a beer in hand we settle down for the afternoon. Today is our last day in Brussels and it has been a good stay, tomorrow we head for France.   Posted with Blogsy

Another damp day as we hit the trains again this time bound for Ypres, our first surprise of the day is the train is unable to get us all the way as track work is being done, so it is train to Menen, bus to Komen and train to Ypres. After an interesting bus ride and the short train trip we arrive in Ypres and start the walk into town, when we arrive we find that there is a festival on and all the stores have stalls outside, finally on the third trip I get to see the cathedral, it is hidden behind the guild hall and they are both…

The day starts off with blue sky’s and very promising, today we are off to explore Brugge but before we can go I need to get our train pass validated. We head to the station to get the necessary stamp on the pass then off to catch a train to Brugge, by the time we get to Gent the rain has started and the day is looking less attractive. Brugge is covered in light rain when we arrive but with the umbrella out it Is not to bad as we stroll along the canals on our way into town. Lots of people are walking around, and taking canal rides, despite…