It is a sunny day that greats me as I head for the Metro, I am on my way the the Museum de Orsay today and to get there I am taking the metro to the Louvre station and then it is a short walk across the gardens, over the Seine and down the street to the Museum de Orsay. When I arrive as per usual there is a huge line stretching all the way up the street, but I am not fazed, I have the super powers of the museum pass, so I calmly walk pass the line and enter the museum on the other side of the forecourt.…

Well today is Monday and time to set my museum pass into action, and what better way than to hit the biggest museum in town first. So off into the metro I go and 5 stops from my hotel I am at the Louvre, I head into the side entrance and head for the museum pass line, well it is more like a polite gathering and within 5 minutes I am inside, It is 11am and I head up to the top floor to see how many people are lined up outside, since I cant see the end of the line I expect these people will have an hours wait,…

Well what a difference a day makes, the sun is out and the sky is clear, so off to the cemetery I go, it is a single metro line ride to the cemetery from the Arc de Triomphe.  After a short metro ride I depart the train and find myself emerging in front of the cemetery gate. 2.50 is the cost of the cemetery map and given the size of this cemetery it is definitely a must, it really is a city of the dead. Wondering around the avenues I am amazed at the number of people that have been buried here, 300,000 people say the records and the number…

Well today is my first wet day in Paris, I had planed to go to Pere Lachaise cemetery today but while making my way to the metro my umbrella started to disintegrate, and after finding that it would be 20 euro to buy another I decided to got back to my hotel room and repair this one. With the rain getting heavier and the day looking more dreary I decide that today will be a rest day, this turns out to be a good decision as the rain turns into a full blown thunder storm. Oh well there is always tomorrow.

So another day of wondering and organising, I started off the day by coming to grips with the Metro, I have got myself a Navigo card which is similar to the Oyster card in London as it is a recharge card and mine lasts 1 week, Monday to Sunday, I also got a 10 trip ticket to fill in any gaps if I want to use the metro outside of next week. So with ticket in hand I descend into the bowls of the Metro and ride the train to the Chateau stop, from here it is a short walk to the Notre Dame Cathedral and the islands in the…

I have taken a couple of short videos from the second floor of the Eiffel Tower, these almost give a 360 deg view and look out over the south and north of the tower. Because the day was so nice there was little pollution so the view is quite clear. Eiffel Tower View from to the North from the 2nd Floor. Eiffel Tower View from to the South from the 2nd Floor.

Chilly is the first thing that comes to mind as I step out of the door of my hotel and head out in search of breakfast, the day is sunny but I would guess at 5 deg to start, forecasted top of 10 deg today. I wonder the back streets and am rewarded with a local mini mart selling sandwiches and all sorts of grocery goods, I have a microwave in my hotel room so I will be back here for supplies but for now a sandwich, drink and a small pack of chips will do for lunch, total 5 euro much better. I head of around the corner remembering…

It’s 6am dark, cold and damp as I make my way to the station to catch the TGV to Paris, the rain has eased up for me to make my way. It isn’t long before the chisel nosed TGV train slips into the platform and I make my way onboard to find my seat. A few minutes more and we are travelling through the darkness and Luxembourg is fading away behind us. An hour later and the first rays of dawn start to colour the sky and Metz is the first town in France that I see in daylight. The train travels on through the countryside, white cows like beacons…

Well the trains are back on so out into the chilly 6 deg morning I go, when I woke it was raining heavily but now at 10.30 it has stopped. I have time for breakfast as I wait for the 11.37 train, this will get me to Luxembourg by 2.45 pm. The train trip is a pretty one climbing through low mountain passes, forests of pine, birch and elm line the route, there leaves changing colour and already a carpet of leaves covers the forest floor. Breaking through the forests I am meet with pastures filled with cows, mainly dairy, the green grass covering the rolling fields. Arriving in Luxembourg…

Well I wake to find a cold but fine day and after checking out of my hotel i head to the train station to catch my train to Luxembourg, arriving at the station I am stopped in my tracks with it closed, It has slipped my notice that there is a 24 hour train strike in Belgium, so back to my hotel I go and luckily my room is still available. Looks like I will be having another night in Brussels. Luckily I am able to contract my hotel in Luxembourg and they are happy to alter my reservations for just tomorrow night, hopefully the trains will be running tomorrow…