Eurotouro

Highs and Lows of the Eurotouro

 

Now I have been back for a few weeks and the jetlag has worn off figured it was time to provide a few summary articles.

 

The jetlag was truly epic. Arriving back home in the middle of winter on dark days, didn't help adjust our internal clocks. It was a new record from me -- six days to recover. I have diverted the early-morning wake-up in to early morning gym sessions, in the hope that I can burn off accumulated gelati. Made some progress but I guess it took me 80 days to add a couple of kilos I can expect it may take as long to burn it off.

 

Highlights

 

There were so many highlights to the trip it is difficult to choose just some, but here are some

 

Switzerland was so beautiful it hurts our eyes -- it truly is like a picture postcard brought to life. Going to sleep at night the sound of cowbells was particularly magical.

 

Angela looking after our dogs -- we couldn't have travelled so peacefully without knowing Noodle and Max were being well cared for.

 

WiFi virtually everywhere except three nights in Scotland and one night in stresa - too expensive at €25 per night!

 

Ice cream and cheeses and pizza -- I'm still wearing the consequences around my midriff, and the gelati seem particularly hard to shift, despite my efforts at the gym!

 

Kid friendly waiters everywhere we went -- we were made to feel particularly welcome in Italy and Switzerland. We had limited experience of dining out in Paris (not vegetarian friendly). Despite its reputation we found the UK to be fine, perhaps we chose child friendly places!

 

Climbing buildings -- a theme we pursued in Rome, Florence, Siena, Paris but got a bit lazy when it came to London. We worked our way up to the Eiffel Tower; we climbed as far as we were allowed (600 steps to Level 2), and then took the elevator to the top.

 

Inexpensive books in UK – we've carried forward cheap prices by buying a Sony e-book reader; now we can enjoy UK prices in Australia by buying books over the 'net.

 

IPhone for skype and movies – the movies were a pleasant night time treat – didn't expect to be enjoying movies on such a small screen but it really does work; saved myself a packet using Skype, wherever I could get WiFI coverage

 

My employer -- giving me time off and not bothering me on my break. I have settled back in now. It is as if I never went on holidays!

 

Kid fun -- Longleat and Disneyland -- kids grew in confidence and tried many new things! Even the big kids had great fun on the rollercoasters.

 

Qantas -- perhaps we just take them for granted but we had very smooth flights to and from Europe, and we were made welcome despite the constraints of economy class.

 

Citroen -- this is starting to sound like a commercial, but we really enjoyed our rental car through Italy and France. Cossette was comfortable, reliable and very family friendly. Only niggle was the GPS.

 

Low lights/frustrations

 

Kids misbehaving -- pushing our buttons and the boundaries -- but this is no different to home, and overall they were amazingly well-behaved particularly as we stayed in 16 different places during our travels.

 

Northwest trains in London -- trip from King's Cross to Bracknell took longer than King's Cross to Disneyland Paris. A trip to Bracknell was disrupted by a fatality on the line ahead. But the real challenge was that there was no communication from the railway staff to explain was going and to provide alternative travel arrangements. We were lucky that we didn't have to do this sort of travel everyday, as many people have to.

 

NAB card – While it worked at merchants, the NAB Bank could not provide us with a PIN that worked; thus no ATM access. Thank heavens I had an alternative card. Despite frustration the card saved us several hundred dollars in fees -- due to no currency conversion fees, and no ATM withdrawal fees. The last a moot point, as we had no PIN. If we had used our American Express card or Citibank Visa we would have been billed 3.5% on every single transaction!

 

Iberian Airlines didn't like me using my iPhone even when it was in flight mode

 

Short battery life of Dell laptop – should have taken slice battery, not media base

 

No data plan for iPhone -- as we had much WiFi wasn't too bad; just one time I really needed the maps

 

Should have pre-booked London theatre shows – I've usually visited London outside the peak of summer and seats are easily found. This time we struggled and should have booked at least three weeks in advance.

 

Oh dear I'm starting to sound like a whinger.

 

We were incredibly fortunate to go on this trip. We have many memories that will last a lifetime. And it is fantastic to be able to catch up with friends and relatives -- it's just a pity they live so far away. As for the rest, it will live on through slideshows, and through enjoying the hunt for gelatis in our local neighbourhood. But that will have to wait until summer, by which time my body might have room for them again.

 

 

One sleep until we head home

It's been a huge trip and it's almost at the end. Tonight we fly back from Spain to London for a brief overnight stay and then onto a Qantas plane to jet home on Wednesday, landing on Thursday night.

We had a lazy time in London, partly due to lethargy and partly due to some coughing and spluttering (now recovered). Caught up with relatives (my brothers in law) and did only a few touristy things (we have been to London many times before)

• British Museum – Rosetta Stone, Egyptian Mummies, Parthenon Marbles
• Greenwich – Royal Observatory including the kids straddling the meridian which marks 0 degrees longitude
• London Eye – nice view over London but not the thrill of a roller coaster (not cheap at GBP59 for 5 of us)
• Covent Garden – briefly visited what was once London's fruit, vegetable and flower market

(The wee three straddling the Zero Meridian at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich)

We also visited a comedy show hosted by Ray Peacock - http://www.raypeacock.com/ - aka Ian Boldsworth - http://www.ianboldsworth.com/ . Tesoro has "met" him online but it was an opportunity to meet him in person. What a nice fellow in person, but be warned the language on his podcast is quite blue.

The comedy gig was also fun with some excellent Aussie-bashing comedy. Yes we can take a joke or ten. The night was a success but it was almost a big miss as we struggled to reach the venue. The tube was stopped to Vauxhall so we had to take the long way round on the Northern Line. Then our overland train was cancelled mid-travel due to a fatality on the line ahead. We were sent back to Clapham Junction to take an alternative train but when we got there we were told there was no alternative. So we opted for a mini-cab. This also was challenged by slow moving Friday night traffic including one motorist stopped in the middle of the A4 with a shredded tyre. Just reminded us of how lucky we are in the relatively low stress traffic of our home town.

Off to Spain

The final leg of our trip has been to La Coruna in north-west Spain (just above Portugal) to visit relatives. We've had a great time catching up with Aunts, Uncles and Cousins (from Tesoro's side) and had several family feasts. Our bodies are always thrown out by the different daily cycle in Spain – people eat meals at quite different times to what we're used to and usually larger volumes of food to what we're used to. Spanish cuisine is not particularly vegetarian friendly but our relatives have been very kind and found us some good options – mainly Italian food (so the kids have maintained their regime of pizza and pasta!) It is frustrating for us at times – Tesoro is fluent in Spanish but doesn't do 'small talk'; I on the other hand am always up for a natter but only speak a handful of words in Spanish. I did use my iPhone at one point to do some translations but it was hardly a fluid experience.

In the end we engaged with Danielle via sign-language and scribbiling some words on upturned tablemats. As for Marta (11) we found some common ground speaking "Disney" – Rey Leo (Lion King), Hannah Montana and High School Musical. The restaurant we were in had WiFi so I could use YouTube to augment the discussion including showing some clips of Australian Football to a bewildered audience. It was beyond me to explain the rules in sign language.

It's been nice to just take it easy and stroll about in the mild temperatures and the kids also enjoyed a dip in the pool. I was also struck by how beautiful the city is – it takes full advantage of its seaside location to have some grand promenades and parks lining the seafront. Wonderful to see the Spanish arm of the family again – many for the first time in 10 years. In this time many of the minors had become majors and one is off at University majoring in Journalism (Hola Andrea!). It's a pity we live so far away as it would be nice to see them all more frequently.

(La Coruna harbour and some of the fishing fleet)

Heading home

Which brings me to the final leg. A brief overnight stay on the edges of London near Heathrow and then we jump on a direct flight from London to Melbourne. We need a good night sleep in London tonight and a strategy for handling the flight. It will be challenging – I can see all being awake for most of the 12 hours to Singapore, then grumpy in Singapore, then perhaps sleeping the leg to Oz. As we arrive at 8PM-ish we will then struggle to get the kids to sleep on Thursday night – I am sure there will be much excitement to see our dogs (who at this time will be tired and want to sleep). Suspect it will take us a good couple of days to settle sleep patterns. Fortunately we have a week to settle back in before school and work routines must kick in.

That will give me a chance to recap some of the highlights and do some lists of the highs and lows (of which there have been very few – fortunately)

It's been good to bring many of you along on the journey and I appreciate getting your feedback. It's helped me keep up the flow of words and photos for most of the past 70+ days.

For now it's Adios, Au Revoir, Arrivadieci, Farewell - until I land back in Oz.

Around and around the Magic Kingdom

Our original plans called for us to visit Disneyland Paris for a day when we were in Paris. However Ms 7 fell ill. Fortunately we could get to Disneyland Paris from London via Eurostar (via the chunnel – the tunnel under the English Channel). It meant the cost of an overnight stay and the train tickets but for this we got to have more time at Disneyland and the experience of travelling on Eurostar. We scored a reasonable deal via lastminute.co.uk for a Sunday morning departure from London and a Monday night return. Done.

While some of us aren't fans of tunnels, we rationalised that flying along under the sea in a tunnel is no more crazy than being flung through the air in a metal tube as we spent 23 hours doing to get to Europe in the first place.

Yet again French immigration seemed quite relaxed which you go through in St Pancras just after you check-in. Some smiles for the kids and a friendly 'Bon voyage', Boarding was easy – find the right carriage and stroll to your seat. Mind you some people find even that a challenge and I certainly experienced a good slice of the 'must grumble' set.

Seats on Eurostar are more comfortable and roomier than a standard airline seat but no seatbelts are provided. We've been spoilt by long distance flying and expected perhaps a video screen but no such luck, just a generous tray table – sufficiently large to actually use a laptop on. No food delivered to your seat but you can stroll at your leisure to the buffet car.

"Takeoff" was smooth and speed built progressively and it was only the scenery flying by that indicated that you were really "flying" along. Unlike the airlines which feel compelled to tell you about speed and altitude there is no indication made of the train's speed. While the Eurostar train can travel at up to 300 km/h I suspect that it travels well below that speed. The only other indication of speed is a change in air-pressure as you rush through tunnels.

Arrival

Our Eurostar train delivered us right into the heart of Disneyland Paris. We grabbed a shuttle bus to our hotel (which was just outside Disneyland), dumped our bags and headed back to Disneyland.

Disneyland Resort Paris consists of two parks – Disneyland and Walt Disney Studios. The first shares much in common with the original Disneyland near LA. The latter is more film oriented and is more like a Universal Studios style of park with all rides and shows oriented around Disney films and cartoons.

We spent the balance of Sunday in Disneyland. As it was the weekend the park was open until 10 pm. After some initial orientation we ripped into the rides. I will spare you the details and just touch on the highlights.

Ms 7 and Mr 6 were really taken by the Disney Parade at 4:30PM. Not great visibility as many grownups crowded the route (many without kids) but we held them up on a railing and they got to see many characters performing on the street. At ages 6 and 7 they're still entranced by these characters lip syncing to familiar Disney tunes – good to see that bit of childhood wonder hasn't been completely dimmed.

Autopia was 'interesting' – small cars which kids from 7 and up can drive. I let Ms 7 drive me – well she steered and I pressed the 'go' pedal. Not too bad but a long way to go before being unleashed on public roads. It was surprising to see many adults driving these underpowered cars slowly around the track. You get more thrills driving a real car on any real street – more so if you do it in Rome.

After 45 minutes of queuing we all rode Big Thunder Mountain, a rollercoaster themed around whizzing about inside a disused gold mine. Combines steep climbs, drops and heavily bank turns. A reasonable chunk happens in the dark which adds to the 'thrill'. I was surprised that all the kids loved it and wanted to go on it again. Not with that queue.

Later on Ms 11 and lined up for Space Mountain: Mission II – Mr 6 and Ms 7 were put out they couldn't ride as they were too short. After we receive a haranguing we suggested they take their arguments up with Disney as they rule this kingdom.

As it was getting late the queue was about 5 minutes. We were soon climbing into the 'cars', and securing our 'over the head' restraints. I'd hadn't thought too much when I read the sign on the way in which promised – "360 degree inversions, rapid acceleration and sudden stops and drops". I figured that Disney have been doing this for a long time and millions of people have been on these rides, so of course they were safe. These words came back to me not long after launch. This ride is completely enclosed inside a large dome. As such it's all blacked out except for the many artificial lights which stimulate the effects of rocketing through space.

As Ms 11 and I were thrown about in "space" I really couldn't speak and at times had trouble keeping my eyes open. Mercifully the ride didn't last long and I was soon dragging my sorry remains towards the exit. My stomach was still in a galaxy far-far away and my legs felt like I'd been at sea for a week. Ms 11 was also not her usual chatty self but did say she had fun. The photo we purchased tells the story – Ms 11 with an ear to ear grin while I have my eyes closed as if I in a deep sleep. A closer examination show just how white my knuckles were.

I am pleased to have done it but it's a helluva ride. I think the last time I was on a roller coaster was the 'Mouse' at Sydney's Lunar Park in the late 1970s. That ride was terrifying mainly because you could see how rickety its aging structure was. Space Mountain: Mission II relies on disorienteering you to simulate space flight. It works extremely well but I can't say I am fan of disorientation. Would I do it again? Yes I would – might be more enjoyable a second time.

Monday

After a buffet breakfast at which the French proved they too could serve very ordinary croissants for breakfast, we headed back to Disneyland. Our game plan was to finish off the two lands we hadn't visited and then see what else beckoned.

As we entered just as the park opened we headed off to one of the popular rides before the queues formed. We knocked off Indiana Jones Roller Coaster (one inversion and lots of tight corners but not stomach challenging). I'd resolved to ride these roller coasters wearing a fixed grin so that I wouldn't spoil any photos taken. Mr 6 and Ms 7 couldn't do this ride so we quickly headed to something they could do – Pirates of the Carribbean. It was OK and had a small queue.

We had a request to ride on Dumbo the Flying Elephant – while I went off to try to pre-book some roller coasters (using Disney's Fast Pass) the rest of the crew queued for 30 minutes to enjoy a 90 second ride on Dumbo (who merely went round and round but could be directed to fly higher or lower) – the youngest kids still enjoyed it.

After 6 hours yesterday and 3 hours this morning we'd run out of things to do in Disneyland so we exited and moved to Walt Disney Studios. The crowds were less here and the queue times considerably shorter. We started with a photo opp with Lilo and Stich, with Stich playing to character by 'eating' Ms 7's hair.

As I type this on our Eurostar home the rest is all a blur.

The kids and I all could squeeze onto the Aerosmith themed Rock'n'Roll roller coaster. Mr 6 squeaked in by 2cm over the height limit and he ended up being measured at three different stages before he boarded (good to see their focus on safety). Like Space Mountain this roller coaster is entirely indoors under artificial lights and in this case lots of neon and strobes. Not as stomach churning as Space Mountain but was still much more scare inducing than Big Thunder Mountain. While Ms 11 loved it, Ms 7 and Mr 6 had a mixed response – happy to be back on the ground but pleased to have been on this ride. They've come along way in under a week – this time last week they were still enjoying the thrills of a playground slippery dip (my children tell me it's called a slide but that's not what it's called where and when I grew up) and found the water slides at Longleat a delicious thrill. I fear they're now spoiled for cheap thrills and nothing less than near supersonic roller coasters will impress them in future.

(The Aerosmith roller coaster experience – I did pat Mr 6's legs several times to check he was OK but didn't get much response. Good to know he was still in his seat)

The other significant moment today was the Twilight Zone inspired ride at the Hollywood Tower Hotel. I admit to not paying much attention to the story line as I was keeping an eye on the kids. Ride consisted of being strapped into seats in a 'service elevator' which is accelerated up and down the elevator shaft. The free-fall effects are augmented by moving scenery. Well Ms 7 hated this one – it was all too real and she was in tears. She still wanted a souvenir photo so she could show 'mum' how scared she was. Guess we will see how she is next time we hop in a real elevator.

(No I am not laughing at Ms 7 – just trying to assure her it's not real and she doesn't need to be scared. I guess all her senses were telling her it felt very real and very scary. She seemed to recover fast)

We also took in some of the shows which shone some light on movie and cartoon production. By far the cleverest was the Stitch Live Show which had Stitch being animated in real time. Not sure how they do it but Stitch was able to interact with members of the audience and weave their names into the story line.

Pleased we did make it to Disneyland in the end. Hopefully it's an experience that the kids will treasure for many years, though it would be a shame if it overshadowed so many of their other experiences on this trip.

(Look what too much gelati, cheese and roller coasters does!)

Longleat and Ninja Squirrels

We made our way south from Yorkshire. Stopped off at a pub for lunch with Maxine, Derek and Cicely (thanks – it was good to break up the trip and a great chance to see Derek and Cicely who visited us in Oz in 2003).

On the road again and it was time for some 'Eddie Stobart' spotting. Eddie runs a considerable fleet of lorries (trucks) and has from the start named all of his lorries with a lady's name – just like ships. He also insisted on high standards for his drivers including making them wear ties and give friendly waves to any Eddie Stobart spotters. There's even a club for the serious spotter – those who take pride in jotting down the names of the trucks they spot (hint: the name is listed both below the windscreen and near the step on the driver's side). It helped pass the time but lead to some frustration when we didn't see the truck in time to get the name.

In the UK we've been relying on our TomTom for which we boughts maps for all of Europe. It's done a better job than the one we had in Cosette (our Citroen) but still has its moments. I ignored its directions and took the M6 Toll Road figuring traffic would be lighter and it was heading in the right direction. TomTom took exception and took me off the M6 a little way down the road. I was then directed 350 degrees around a roundabout and sent back to the motorway. At the last minute I was directed to take the right fork – too late. I was back on the M6 Toll Road and up for another toll. The revenge of the GPS strikes again. No matter it added about 10 minutes to our journey and we arrived in Longleat around 5PM. We were staying at Centre Parc and they could do with providing directions which include longitude and latitude as that would have saved us 20 minutes of ferreting around some back roads close to our destination.

Centre Parc Longleat

We booked here based on a recommendation from my workmate, Ian, who is from the UK. Excellent recommendation – thanks. Centre Parc has a string of family holiday villages across Europe (4 in UK). Each of them are built out around a 'sub-tropical swimming paradise' – an extensive swimming pool enclosed in a glass dome in which the temperature is maintained all year around at 28 degrees C. It's more than just a swimming pool as there are numerous water slides, heated spa pools, icy plunge pools (10 degrees C) and a 'wild water rapids' – a series of slides in the form of a fast flowing stream (strong swimmers only). The pool complex is great fun and included in the price – whereas all of the other numerous activities are additional and the costs can certainly mount up.

We had a three bedroom woodland cabin, which while rustic on the outside was quite well equipped internally and had by far the most comfortable beds on our journey so far. Only failing was that we had no WiFi in the cabin and had to walk 5 minutes to the town centre to access it (not a drama). Cabin prices are set based on configuration and also how far from the village centre you are. We paid GBP30 more to be located a short-walk from the centre. Otherwise we'd have had to hire bikes to get around (which would have been fun but a whole lot more expensive). Centre Parc is very bike and pedestrian friendly as cars are only allowed in on the date of arrival and departure. You can choose to stay for Fri-Sun (dep Mon) or Mon-Thurs (dep Fri). I was a bit concerned that the Centre Parc might be so regimented that it might get in the way of our fun but actually the opposite was the case. It proved to be very relaxing and family friendly just what we needed at this stage of our journey (we've now passed the ¾ mark in our journey)

This Centre Parc is set in a pine forest and they've done a good job of retaining the woodland feel. Even the rabbits, deer and squirrels we saw were all convinced it was the real deal. Squirrels are a novelty for us and it was a real treat to sit eat our breakfast watching the squirrels eating theirs. We'd bought some squirrel food for them from the Centre Parc supermarket. Then it was time for some entertainment as the squirrels put on their ninja show. In some sort of territorial skirmish the squirrels performed jumps, leaps and spins which rivalled the moves of a Jacky Chan movie. Pity I hadn't the video camera at the ready.

The 'sub-tropical swimming paradise' works well and the kids and I really enjoyed ourselves in the pool. I was a bit slow to embrace the water slides but was soon joining the kids in the universal game of "oh come on, one more slide, please". Clearly my training regime of gelati and more recently French and English cheese hadn't been rigorous enough. I was 'outgunned' in the size of splashdown by some of the English guests – clearly their ale centric diet, consumed over many years, provided a much larger splash at the end of the slides. I'll switch to Ale when I get to London.

The Centre Parc is located close to the Longleat estate – the first English stately house to be opened to the public shortly after the end of WWII as a means of dealing with a massive death duties bill. The estate has been turned into a 'fun family day out' with many attractions including – safari park (drive through in your own car and see lions, tigers, giraffes, rhinos etc), safari boats (see the sea lions), maze (2.3 km of paths to explore), miniature railway, simulator rides, adventure park (slides and climbing frames), Postman Pat's village, and a petting zoo.

(some of the wild animals at Longleat)

It was a great day out only 10 minutes drive from our cabin. We did it all except for the house (not so interesting for the kids) and the maze, which was last on our last but the rain beat us to it. This is the first time on our trip where rain interfered with our plans – we've been lucky, although we are now in the dryer months for Northern Europe.

There was so much we could do at Centre Parc but we only had so much time and energy. As it was mid-week we could get away without pre-booking activities. In the end we did some ten-pin bowling and horse riding. The bowling was fun but I am approaching the stage when the kids routinely beat the adults. On this occasion after a wobbly start by the adults, the final score was 1^st Tesoro, 2^nd myself, 3^rd Ms 11, 4^th Mr 6, 5^th Ms 7.

The wee three and Tesoro enjoyed some Western style horse riding. Western means a deeper saddle with pommel – always useful to have something else to hang on to. I was barred from the activity as they didn't have a horse strong enough for my weight – I wasn't too insulted (it's the delayed price to be paid for too many gelatis) and instead took to Shank's pony (I walked). It was a well organised and safe walk in the woods and everyone was happy to have finally got a real horse (Mr 6 and Ms 7 had previously only been on Shetland ponies).

(Ms 7 and Mr 6 on horseback)                 (Our little cabin in the forest at Longleat)

Our 3 days and 4 nights at Centre Parc seemed to pass very quickly. The kids have all voted this as the best place we've stayed so far. Why? The pool. Their next favourite is our agriturismo near Greve in Chianti. Why? They had a pool and they got to play with the landlord's kids who were of a similar age.

Checking out was easy. Retrieve car. Find a parking spot nearby. Load up and drop off your keys at the exit gates. As everyone has to check out by 10PM best not to leave your checkout until late as the narrow roads become easily choked with parked cars.

Next stop - Stonehenge which was only 25 minutes drive away. As we approached Stongehenge we saw all of the temporary infrastructure being setup ready for the influx of people who would visit for the Summer Soltice in 2 days time. I minded the car while Tesoro took the kids to have a look around (I didn't feel comfortable leaving our car filled with all of our gear as it would be a great spot for thieves). So what did the kids think of Stonehenge? "Good". Hmm... not sure our detailed description of the source of the stones and the mystery surrounding them completely sunk in. The included audio-guide did help somewhat. I think we've reached a point of cultural saturation for the kids.

Back on the road to drop off our rental car at Heathrow and get a ride into London. All went to plan and we were collected by Keith who spent some time living in Melbourne about 5km from our home about 20 years ago. While we crawled through traffic towards our apartment in Russell Square, he filled in on what was happening locally. Keith was very pessimistic about how London would handle the Olympics in 2012 – "there's no infrastructure in East London – expect lots of strikes on the tube before it". Guess we will see.

 

On leaving Uupp North

Yorkshire and other parts "Uupp North" are easy to access but hard to truly understand. There is a density of history and culture here that would require some time to soak up. First there are the places names – here's a simple one – "Keighley" is pronounced "Keethly". That's one of the simple ones. There's also Slaithwaite which can be pronounced three different ways and apparently Great Barugh is pronounced 'great barf'. We continued to struggle with Luddenden, usually adding too many den-den-dens and sounding like an off-key motorcycle.

To be fair I am sure many have struggled with Australian place names pronouncing Bondi like Bondy ('Bond-ee')– just as 'Broccoli' is pronounced by many as "Broccolee", whereas Australians tend to rhyme it with Bondi (pronounced Bond-eye, hence Broccoli is pronounced "Broc-col-eye" (well it was where I grew up).

The pronunciations "uupp north" do seem contrived to trip up interlopers.

I've read "Pies and Prejudice" by Tom Maconie, which is an account of the writer's three month journey around his northern homeplace of Lancashire and the rest of the north.

In reading it I was reminded of the northern English influence on Australia, or at least the bits where I grew up. Like the north we had "dinner" in the middle of the day and "tea" as the evening meal. My dad still indulges in a supper around 9PM. In the south of England it's lunch, then dinner. I won't begin to try to explain 'tea' (as a meal) in the south as it's something the uppercrust and its aspirants throw as a fancy later afternoon mini-meal.

Of course Australia is a cultural melting pot and I think in my childhood there was already some inter-change of the terms "lunch" and "dinner" for the midday meal and "tea" and "dinner" for the evening meal. We've clouded the picture further with Tesoro being born and raised in London and thus bringing some more recent cultural differences to play.

Having pedantic kids (I wonder where they got that from?) we often have conversations a bit like "Right sit down and eat your dinner" "Don't you mean tea?" "Tea, dinner, whatever, just eat". Poor kids work it out somehow. Tesoro and I also say the word 'dance' differently.– I say 'dance' to rhyme with 'pants', while Tesoro says 'daah-nce' – the long 'a' (but is otherwise not at all "posh' – a word I've heard more in the last week than in a normal decade.) I remember one of our kids when they were about four years old correcting their pronunciation of 'dance' depending on which of us they were talking to. Clearly like all kids they can be quite perceptive, but it's selective. They continue to fail to detect a rising note of frustration in our voices at times – hopefully they'll learn one day soon. (it's 10:22PM and Mr 6 I think has finally fallen asleep).

The influence of the North (or parts of it) is also seen in the adoption of football codes in parts of Australia. The North of England is the British home of Rugby League, with Wigan in Lancashire claiming to be the epicentre of this game in the UK. In Australia the states of Queensland and NSW are the traditional homelands of Rugby League. I say NSW but it's actually "New South Wales". That name is just so anachronistic. NSW is many times the size of Wales and apart from some parts of the coastal strip none of it resembles the South of Wales at all.

The traditional divide in Australia was NSW & QLD having Rugby League as their favourite football code and the rest of Australia being devoted to Aussie Rules. Over the last 20 years the NRL (National Rugby League) has invaded Melbourne with a team, while the Australian Football League (AFL) has strongly expanded from its predominantly Victorian base to have teams right across Australia, well at least the mainland. In the case of both codes their claims to be national fall short as neither field a team in Tasmania. Another case of the Tasmanians being left off the map.

Oh dear I am babbling about football codes and national identity in Australia – I must be becoming homesick, or perhaps the benefit of distance is giving me a new perspective. Suffice to say that over the past 20 or so years we've seen a convergence in Australia and a de-regionalisation. The papers north and south of the Murray River (the NSW/VIC border) share common stories. There is less regional beer or rather the regional beer is more widely available (though I can't recall seeing XXXX ([our-ex]being readily available in Melbourne's bottle shops – it's the Queensland beer). I suspect though that pasties continued to be more readily available and consumed in VIC (Victoria) than in NSW, which maintains a predilection for meat pies (none for me thanks) – a preference also shared with Wigan in Lancashire.

So really apart from football codes and fast food I struggle to sense a genuine difference between people from NSW and those from VIC (I lived all my life in NSW until I moved to VIC 4.5 years ago – I now live the furthest south of any of my forebears – ever – still we're only at 39 degrees south, unlike the mid-high 50 degrees north of Yorkshire).

Uupp north the differences from town to town are far more significant. The accents alone are a treat, with everyday providing flashbacks to The Goodies and Monty Python sketches.

Liverpool and Manchester are close enough to drive between in under an hour (rush hour traffic excepted). Yet the people sound markedly different and in their local slang have different words for common food items.

There were a few occasions where I had to pause and process what's just been said but in the main I could converse with the locals. I suspect I was shielded from the thickest accents and would have to go well off the beaten track to some remote local pubs for some truly unintelligible conversations. Of course I needn't travel far for those – all it requires is for me to ask someone to explain Australia's taxation system.

Apart from Rugby League, the cities of the north share a more significant football code – football with the round ball or as we know it soccer. Best not to get into an argument with the respective fans of whether Manchester United FC or Liverpool FC are the better team. There's even more rivalry reserved for the same city teams – Man United v Man City or Liverpool v Everton. "Bitter rivalry" inadequately describes some of the off-field clashes over the years. It's safer to remain an ignorant foreigner than to try to make sense of these intense rivalries. The importance of football to its many fans is summed up by the quote of one legendary coach. "Football is not a matter of life or death. It's far more important than that."

"Pies and Prejudice" is an enchanting book full of insights into 'uupp North' but I feel it's really only shown me how inadequate a week in the North is. Tragically it also suggests that many northerners have little appreciation or understanding of their part of the world. With package tours and cheap flights to the sunnier climes of continental Europe, there are probably far fewer people exploring the North of England than ever before. A loss for them and a loss for the communities of the North, many of which were hard hit as coal pits and factories closed in the 1980s and onwards. By the sounds of the book many of the communities have turned the corner and re-invented themselves in providing services but overall it's been a sad end to the heart of England's industrial revolution.

Many of the vestiges of that Industrial Past remain and have been adapted to modern times. Canal boats now take tourists on the many canals that criss-crossed the countryside before the introduction of trains. We were fortunate to see the Five Rises lock operating on the Leeds-Liverpool canal. This complex of 5 locks raises boats about 20 metres over a distance of 110 metres. It can take a canal boat 45-60 minutes to traverse the lock which is manually operated by a combination of the lock keeper and some of the canal boat crew. It's incredibly clever and a beautiful piece of engineering. For me the punch line is that this was all built in 1774. That's 14 years before the first Europeans settled in Australia. I am gobsmacked, yet I am sure there are people in nearby towns who have never bothered to visit. Visiting hereabouts has been an eye opener. We've had a fab time and really enioyed catching up with our friend, Maxine and our new friend "The North".

(The Five Rises lock)        (Some characters we met on our walks above Luddenfoot)

 

Exploring York and a Stately Home

There's always two sides to a story. I've described some of the crazy drivers we've met in our travels. Well now it's time for the good citizens of York to call me crazy. It all started when we tried to leave York after a pleasant visit (which I will describe below). It's an old city and most of the city streets are one-way, confined as they are by the intact city walls.

As I sought to escape the city and not getting sufficiently swift help from the GPS we had an interesting moment. I found myself sailing along a narrow street past a long string of parked cars. I was then surprised to see these cars all start moving in unison. I quickly figured out they weren't parked at all and I had just whizzed past 20 cars in an overtaking manoeuvre on a two way street – and I was on the wrong side of the road. Oh dear! Fortunately there was no traffic coming the other way and a kind man in white man let me. The Fiat in front did me no favours, barely moved forward and kept glancing back at the VW Sharan menacing his bumper. No harm done – except to my pride. We eventually escaped York for a while but for some hours after I kept seeing signs directing us back there as if it were exerting some gravitational pull on us.

Jorvik

First stop on our visit to York was to Jorvik, a recreation of a Viking village based on the excavated remains of a real viking village right in the middle of York itself. Very well designed to get you into the exhibits, bring them to life while making it fun and educational. Highly recommended. Mr 6 wanted to do it again but we had other plans. Kids did some archaeological detective work, wore some Viking helmets (heavy) and watched while some coins were minted for them (in pewter nowadays not in silver as in the distant past).

We then wandered through the old shops of "the shambles" and made our way to the York Minster cathedral. Then circled back to the car via the famous (in Yorkshire) Betty's Tearoom and collected some nibbles to go with lunch. Either York is full of tearooms or we managed to only visit the Tea Room Precinct.

National Railway Museum

In hindsight it would have been quicker to walk but we wound our way from the town centre to the National Railway Museum (the largest of its kind in the world). This was a great chance to explore the many engines and soak up the history of these great iron horses. It was of course going to be a hit for Mr 6 who has been reared on tales of Thomas the Tank Engine. It proved to be most interesting for us all. The highlights? The Mallard – the fastest steam locomotive in the world is on display. It achieved a world record speed of 125.88 mph in 1938. The Flying Scotsman was never as fast and today it's in pieces in the museum undergoing restoration.

The real hit of the day was the simulator. The kids and I piled in. The roof closed, blacking everything out, we braced ourselves and then we were off. We raced from London to Brighton in 4 minutes in a sped up recreation of the train ride from the 1940s. Taking the rails at faster than the speed of sound was awesome and as we were bounced around the kids were all hooting and hollering. At times it all looked a little too real to me as we rushed towards and through tunnels and viaducts. All good fun.

After escaping York we wound our way back through the Yorkshire Dales and briefly visited James Herriott country (the vet behind "All Creatures Great and Small"). Stopped for a cream tea in one of the many small villages which dot the landscape. Hit the spot and was much better value than in the city. It proved to be another long day but the kids handled it quite well. The days are long now – still light up on our hill until close to 10 PM.

Chatsworth House

After a number of long days we opted for a slower start to our Saturday visit to Chatsworth House – the official residence of the Duke of Devonshire (though confusingly it's a long way from Devonshire being in the Peak District of Derbyshire. This house featured in the 2005 film version of Pride and Prejudice starring Keira Knightley and some bloke the missus fancies – Matthew Macfadyen. Can't say I've seen the film but it was on constant rotation in our house for some time.

Chatsworth actually worked well for the whole crew. The ladies went off to examine the house and its ornately decorated interior – while I diverted the wee three at the nearby Animal Farm and Play Centre for a good 90 minutes. We then met up to take in the extensive gardens. Not nearly as large as Versaille (only a handful of fountains) but I found it much more appealing and accessible.

(Chatsworth House)

It was worth the drive there via Sheffield to have a relaxing day in the grounds. The weather has been kind to us and has now been sitting in the range of 19-21 degrees C and feeling a good deal warmer than that.

We've had a good time in Yorkshire and surrounds. Probably drove about a bit much but after a lazy Sunday are well rested (and caught up on our reading and blogging). This evening I discovered a bit more about our farm from its owner

The farm is mentioned in the Domesday Book – so existed in one form or another in 1086. The actual buildings are of various ages dating back to the 1600s in some parts. And the far end where the owners live is one of the sites where some of the Crag Coiners were hanged. Hard to be sure of that but it's true there's been a lot of 'nasty business' in these parts. I will refrain from reading up on the numerous serial killers that have lived in the surrounding countryside until we're settled in our next stop. Tomorrow we head off to Longleat in Wiltshire for 4 days of relaxing. The kids are excited about the all weather indoor pool. Happy kids mean happy parents. Good night.

(View from our backyard in the hills above Hebden Bridge near Peckett Well)

 

 

 

 

Yorkshire? For a holiday?

Some people think we're barking mad having chosen to spend a week in Yorkshire when we could have chosen anywhere in Northern Europe as a stopping off point. It seemed like a good idea at the time – it's on our way south from Scotland to London, our good friend Maxine lives here and I'd only ever driven through Yorkshire but never stopped.

It continued as a good idea but our doubts emerged when we saw how incredibly tight and windy the road was to our holiday stay at Allswell Farm. It sits on a windswept hill 150 metres above Hebden Bridge, our nearest major settlement. The Red Rose cottage (named for the Red Rose of Lancaster in the War of the Roses – the owner is Lancastrian) dates back to the 16^th century which is reflected in the low door frames at the front of the cottage (I am becoming a hunchback as I need to duck underneath them all). The back of the cottage is newer and the plumbing and electrics are all new and we even have good tinternet access and doorways I don't need duck under to go through.

The weather also made us think again if this was a good choice of holiday spot. Daytime temperatures have been between 12 – 18 degrees C and its often felt colder with the wind. This is summer?

But the fells have woven their magic on me. They're beautiful in a rugged manner. It's not the 'picture postcard' look of Switzerland but a really earthy, timeless and eerie environment. In the colder part of the year the mists roll in and then the snow, I expect would make this challenged landscape very bleak.

Walking on the fells has been invigorating and it's a huge change from the streets of Paris we were walking on this time last week. Here we dodge mud holes and sheep droppings – in Paris we dodged people and tip toed around what the dogs left behind. Until I arrived here I didn't really understand the great following that tramping across these hills has. But now I can see the stark beauty and peace of the place. The cold on the fells just makes the warm fire awaiting at the pub even better.

(Allswell Farm – our cottage is to the left of the sheds, which are stables)

This land has influenced the Bronte Sisters – the setting of Wuthering Heights is not far from here - and further inspired American poet, Sylvia Plath to write a poem also named Wuthering Heights. Plath is buried at Heptonstall, just across the valley from us.

Plath really captured a sense of this place. Read it for yourself.

Wuthering Heights by Sylvia Plath

The horizons ring me like faggots,
Tilted and disparate, and always unstable.
Touched by a match, they might warm me,
And their fine lines singe
The air to orange
Before the distances they pin evaporate,
Weighting the pale sky with a soldier color.
But they only dissolve and dissolve
Like a series of promises, as I step forward.

There is no life higher than the grasstops
Or the hearts of sheep, and the wind
Pours by like destiny, bending
Everything in one direction.
I can feel it trying
To funnel my heat away.
If I pay the roots of the heather
Too close attention, they will invite me
To whiten my bones among them.

The sheep know where they are,
Browsing in their dirty wool-clouds,
Gray as the weather.
The black slots of their pupils take me in.
It is like being mailed into space,
A thin, silly message.
They stand about in grandmotherly disguise,
All wig curls and yellow teeth
And hard, marbly baas.

I come to wheel ruts, and water
Limpid as the solitudes
That flee through my fingers.
Hollow doorsteps go from grass to grass;
Lintel and sill have unhinged themselves.
Of people and the air only
Remembers a few odd syllables.
It rehearses them moaningly:
Black stone, black stone.

The sky leans on me, me, the one upright
Among all horizontals.
The grass is beating its head distractedly.
It is too delicate
For a life in such company;
Darkness terrifies it.
Now, in valleys narrow
And black as purses, the house lights
Gleam like small change.

(The Bridestones and Sheep – not far from here, and close to Yorkshire's highest pub)

The kids have also enjoyed exploring the hills and talking with the sheep (the kids speak sheep better than they speak French). It's brought back memories of my own childhood visiting my grandparents and their flock of sheep. Then it was hot and dusty and the ground was flat and scrubby. The sheep of today (in Yorkshire) don't know how lucky they are – lots of green grass and no blow flies to bother them.

But wandering the hills has not been enough to amuse the kids nor provide the widest range of experiences for the wee three. So we've packed in some other activities, close by (well not too far to drive).

Wednesday - Liverpool

Liverpool isn't too far (maybe 90 minutes drive) and so we headed off with an easy going agenda. First stop – The Docks to get a Ferry across the Mersey. Parking was abundant and seemed cheap for a sizable city (7 pounds for all day). We missed the midday Ferry so sat and ate our sandwiches on the dock and waited for the 1PM. We boarded at 12:50PM and were greeted by "that song" (which Ms 11 was already sick of).

We were told a Ferry had been crossing the Mersey for 800 years and then filled in on some of Liverpool's Mercantile History – Liverpool once had 5 miles of docks. The Mersey itself was muddy but we were told that it was getting healthier and fishlife has returned to the river once more (it was very polluted in the '80s). The Ferry took us down river almost to the heads and then we hopped off at Spaceport – an interactive space museum. It was both an entertaining and educational 2 hour visit. I did however manage a nap during one movie narrated by current Doctor Who, David Tennant. This movie was projected onto a hemispherical screen on the ceiling and was really quite effective.

It was time to jump back on board the Ferry and head back to the Cityside. Next we visited The Beatles experience. I am a huge fan (and with the help of gelati becoming huger) so was keen to explore it, and also see if I could gently introduce the kids to The Beatles. I've been trying over the years but it's usually greeted with a "Will you turn that music down!" Surely that phrase should be reserved for parents to yell at their kids! It was fab, and it brought the Beatle history, particularly their Liverpool beginnings to life. The kids enjoyed it and the exhibit catered well for their interests. I still managed to learn a thing or two and got some sense of Liverpool as it was then.

The place has changed significantly. The docks have been cleaned up and the city gentrified. And compared to the '60s it's much more colourful (all those early Beatles photos are in Black and White). I could have gone on some sort of Magical Mystery Tour and found the Cavern, Penny Lane, Strawberry Fields and the childhood homes of John and Paul but really the whole place and the world have changed (and the Beatles played their part in heralding some of the changes). We've got their music and in that they're immortalised.

I remain astounded that four musically untrained lads could ultimately create such an amazing range of music. We've got a lot to thank Lonny Donnegan for. He popularised skiffle music. Anyone could form a skiffle band as the instruments were accessible and cheap. Indeed at one stage Liverpool had 700 skiffle bands. John Lennon's skiffle band, The Quarrymen, was ultimately to become The Beatles.

Pleased we visited. I can now picture the Ferry when I hear Gerry and the Pacemakers start singing ...

Life goes on day after day
Hearts torn in every way

So ferry 'cross the Mersey
'cause this land's the place I love
and here I'll stay

People they rush everywhere
Each with their own secret care

So ferry 'cross the Mersey
and always take me there
The place I love

 

I guess Gerry meant it when he said "the place I love" as he continues to live on Merseyside. In contrast the Beatles moved from Liverpool once Beatlemania took hold and rarely returned. The then heavily industrialised Liverpool wouldn't have been too attractive. Time will tell if the freshly scrubbed 21^st century Liverpool will achieve its aims of being a world-class cultural city.

("Another Place" art installation by Antony Gormley @ Crosby, North of Liverpool – 100 cast iron figures spread out over a 3.2 km stretch of the beach)

A weekend in Edinburgh

Arrived safely in Edinburgh after transiting through Terminal 5 in Heathrow. The Immigration official there suggested we were nutters for flying to Edinburgh and driving a rental car to London. After I patiently explained that we'd be doing that journey over almost 2 weeks, I was told off for putting a London address on the immigration forms. Sigh. It did ask for a UK contact address and Tesoro's brothers in London provide our best contact address. I was waived off with a "Well I'll let you off this time." Then it was time for us all to be photographed so our images can be stashed into the UK's big brother database. I have no problem with this but was concerned about how little time we'd have to finish our transit. We made it with at most 10 minutes to spare. The kids have subsequently been asking about CCTV cameras and who was spying on them. Can't imagine we make for interesting targets.

Landed safely in Edinburgh to be greeted warmly by our good friend Dave and his 3.5 year old Lass. The "See you Jimmy" tam'o'shanters with Ginger Hair were a nice touch. Alas one of our bags had gone astray but it joined us at our B&B @ 10:30 that night.

(See you Jimmy)

Time to collect our rental car – A VW Sharan people mover – we named Shazza, and follow Dave to our B&B on the outskirts of Edinburgh. The sky was overcast and the weather cool – "Not like last week – it really was hot here", Dave tells us.

We settle into our B&B which is on 3 acres of woodland just to the South of Edinburgh. The kids are delighted to see all the wild rabbits, whereas I do my best Elmer Fudd and complain about "wascally wabbits" (they are a major pest in Australia – one set of immigrants who should never have been welcomed, along with foxes)

Saturday

No great plans except to see Dave, Mrs Dave, and their little Lass and Laddy. Enjoyed a view of Edinburgh from the roof (Dave obligingly drew down the loft ladder) – a cool day but the sky seemingly split between blue sky and grey clouds – which would win?

Resolved to catch the bus downtown and explore the Royal Mile. All kids were excited to be on a bus and Ms 11 announced it a 'real bus' as it was double-decker. Mr 6 and the wee Lass (3) immediately hit it off. Perhaps it was Mr 6's chance to be a 'big brother' for once rather than be forever under the thumb of his big sisters.

(Dave carrying the wee Lad, while Mr 6 walks holding the wee Lass's hand)

It was a bit of an aimless wander (sorry Dave and Mrs Dave) as we headed up to the Edinburgh Castle (didn't go in – figured kids had been overdosing on history), had fun with the 'magic mirrors' outside the camera obscura and eventually settled down for lunch at 'The Hub'. Not only was the food fantastic but it was a really child friendly spot. I enjoyed a "Hot Chocolate with a dram" – the whisky doing wonders to ward off the cold (well that was my excuse).

(view from a little way up Arthur's Seat across Parliament, Holyrood Palace and the end of the Royal Mile)

Eventually we figured we needed to get moving again (but we're all so comfortable!) and we headed down the rest of the Royal Mile, past the Scottish Parliament building and Holyrood Palace (The Queen's official home in Scotland). Out of the wind the approx. 14 degrees C was pleasant but not so warm as to encourage swimming. However we did find some young ladies splashing about in the swimming costume in the fountains near the Scottish Parliament. I felt cold just watching them. We climbed a little way up Arthur's Peak but it's really quite exposed to the wind so we sauntered down to find a geocache nearby.

Geocaching [Wikipedia] is an international outdoor treasure hunt which involves using a handheld GPS to locate 'caches' in your vicinity. Success involves unravelling some clues and finding the small container. Inside is a slip of paper on which to write your name and sometimes there are 'prizes' such as 'travel bugs' which you can take from this cache and place in a subsequent cache you find. Ms 11 was quite taken by Geocaching and was keen to do some more the next day. Dave has discovered 111 geocaches in his travels and has been increasingly aided by a geocaching application for the iPhone.

Time to get out of the wind and head back up the Royal Mile to find a bus back. On our way we spotted a sign for 'battered Mars bars' on a 'chip shop' which wasn't open. Something to investigate another time. We'd seen them being deep-fried on our last family visit to Edinburgh around 9 years ago but we hadn't dared to try one then. Ms 11 was keen to explore this culinary delight (?).

Being considerably further from the equator than we're used to the summer days are long and it's hard to convince the kids that it really is their bed time. As we're all sharing one large room it simply requires us to all to jump into our beds and kill the lights.

Sunday

Weather's not conducive to getting out much. After a bit of chewing over of options we decided our best option was to find something the kids would love – happy kids = happy parents. So we all headed off to Time Twisters a well setup indoor play centre filled with lots of soft play surfaces. The kids lapped it up and the rest of us largely rested. The menu was appealing so we stayed for a lunch with most of us consuming baked potatoes with various fillings – Tesoro and Mrs Dave nobly gave up their "taties" as the cafe had run out. It was a big hit for all concerned.

Back home for Mrs Dave to settle the wee lad for his afternoon sleep. The rain had disappeared and the temperature was acceptably 'not too cold' (yes we're soft). As such the rest of us headed off for a "small walk" about some of the local parkland. We ended up taking in some sweeping views of Edinburgh (grey skies diminish quality of view) and seeking out some more geocaches. Success with 1 out of the 2 geocaches we got close to. We did walk for almost three hours which proved to be most enjoyable – fairly slow pace due to kids.

We eventually waved farewell to Dave and his clan – good to see them; pity we're so far away and it will be years before we meet up again.

Time to pack up and have one last trip into Edinburgh. I like this City – it seems a good size and getting about seems easy enough (although I expect it may get crazy during festival season). We grab some dinner near the Royal Mile and finish off the evening with a taste of deep-fried Mars bar (2 GBP). We divided one bar up 4 ways so that none of us got too much of a sugar & fat hit. Ms 7 wisely declined a taste. Ms 11 took her slice. Not bad – I expect it would go down a treat when you are really cold. Pleased to have tried it but I can safely say I won't need to have another one in this lifetime. Just too sweet – even for me. Time to hit the hay – we've got 4 hours driving tomorrow to our next stop near Hebden Bridge in West Yorkshire.

(The deep fried Mars bar)

Au Revoir Paris

It's Friday so that's the end of our week in Paris. We've done a lot – climbed Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triumph and Notre Dame – walked many kilometres. Eaten a lot of cheese (the French consume 24Kg each year on average so we felt we needed to do our bit). Rounded up and consumed baguettes – Ms 11 has developed enough French to do this (which is appreciated by our local bakers). We've also taken in more art in a week than we'd normally manage in a decade!

Paris was on our list as a 'must do' – it would be odd to come all this way to Europe and not see the sights of Paris – but I can't say I was looking forward to it (apart from the achievement of climbing some more buildings). However Paris has won me over. I only have a few words of French so don't feel completely at ease but I do like the 'feel' of this metropolis. OK my view is distorted through the lens of a leisurely visit but still compared to Rome, the French seem more relaxed and easier going. You can easily cross roads (every road has pedestrian crossings) and mopeds/bikes/cars always stop at the lights. Most people are polite (break the ice and be the first to say 'Bonjour' even if that's all the French you know) and there is enough space on the pavements to get around without having to compete for space. There are certainly more bicycles here than Rome including a brilliant short-term bike rental system.

On the flip side Paris is expensive and we've seen more beggars on the street here than anywhere else. We've had a couple of encounters with people who magically discover a gold ring on the ground near you and offer it up as if you've lost it. It's a common scam which you can read up on here – it's a brass ring which is 'given' to you and then you are hit up for money. Good to have pre-read this as I was well prepared for this. Also several who say "Do you speak English" and then offer you a piece of paper setting out their plea for money. I'd like to help but it's hard to tell who is really deserving – certainly not the scam artists. Also early one evening we managed to stroll through a minor drug transaction near Les Halles (metro station). The kids didn't notice but we didn't feel comfortable strolling there later at night.

It's been a good week here, with the weather also kind to us. Ms 7 was struck by a tummy bug and was throwing up on our last two days here so we cancelled our trip to Disneyland. The kids seem to cope well, particularly when we said we will visit but do so via the fast train from London in a couple of weeks. As it turns out this will mean they get even more time at Disneyland. It may prove to be less stressful for us (but more expensive). We couldn't just take 2 kids and leave Ms 7 behind – we'd never be forgiven. Now we get to try the Eurostar train through the chunnel – another thing I'd like to do one day, done. I am sure it is just like being on a plane.

Speaking of which we're about to jump on one to fly to Edinburgh, Scotland and start the next leg of our trip as we wend our way through Scotland, Yorkshire and Wiltshire and eventually to London in 2 weeks time.

Paris – Monday & Tuesday (Days 52-53)

(Thursday – Added some more photos and more commentary)

MONDAY

Louvre

Attacked like a military campaign. We had a plan. Launched at 0900 through one of the least frequented entrances and rapidly rounded up our quarry – Venus de Milo, Mona Lisa, Nike, The Oath of the Horati, Coronation of Napoleon (also by David) and then roamed the Egyptian Collection.

(The Mona Lisa is smaller than a full spread of a broadsheet newspaper. The Wedding Feast at Cana

by Veronese is right across from the Mona Lisa, is huge but doesn't get the crowds)

 

New – our plan was aided by following the Masterpieces of the Louvre – Accessible Self-Guided Tour available as a downloadable PDF from the Louvre site. The Louvre is overwhelming in scale and using the free maps only helps slightly. There are numerous signs to the Mona Lisa but really you've wasted a visit if that's all you see. The Self-Guided Tour takes 1.5 hours and for a first time visitor it was perfect.

 

(OK I cheated – this photo is from Saturday's 'stroll' back from our then failed attempt to scale the Eiffel Tower)

Arc de Triumphe

Walk to Place De La Concorde. Catch bus to Arc de Triumphe – ascend the 284 steps to the top and view the 12 avenues converging on this place.

Easy climb and there are elevators if you choose.

(Ms 11 and Mr 6 on the ascent of the Arc de Triumphe – Mr 6 feels he needs to be always be in front but has behaved on these climbing expeditions accepting Ms 11 should be in front)

(Could only capture 4.5 of the avenues that converge on the Arc de Triumphe)

Eiffel Tower

Success. Queues were shortish – only a 30 minute wait to buy tickets and start on the 687 steps to Level 2. We could only take an elevator to Level 3 and the queues there were minor. Avoided the EUR4.00 single scoop icecream at the cafe on level 2 and instead celebrated with a EUR2.50 one when back at ground level. I also avoided the EUR10 small flute of champagne available at the top.

(view of Champ de Mars from the Top of the Eiffel Tower) ("Come on Dad. We deserve an icecream after that climb.")

(View from second level of Eiffel Tower across Paris's roof tops)

Very tired tonight – so many stairs and lots of walking around Paris – used the bus a bit but still walked a good 5km around the streets.

TUESDAY

Off to Versaille – hot day, train slower than we'd expected. Mid-week but still crowded.

(Hall of Mirrors – where the Treaty of Versaille was signed ending World War I – main thought "ooh those mirrors need a good clean")

Gardens are colossal in scale but not so visitor friendly. Our plans to bring in our picnic lunch were thwarted. Food had to be left in bags at cloak room. Water was OK to bring in. Is this a protection racket for the cafe in the grounds?

(Part of the fountains show at Versaille – these are the main ones closest to the Palace but there are many others down the long avenue through the grounds)

(The Palace from the Gardens – quite modern looking and not particularly ornate – unlike the interior)

Versaille was epic in its day but by today's standards it's a modest building which is overdecorated. Can't deny it's historical links and how significant it was at the time. However today anyone above the poverty line lives a better life than Louis XIV. He only managed to get good food reasonably fast by having a massive household staff. As I slowly enjoyed my expensive but delicious icecream I noted that icecream of this quality was a luxury he would never known (he may have had some sort of flavoured ice treat on rare occasions). Also the fastest he would have ever travelled was on the fastest horse he could find.

Returned to Paris and dropped in on Impressionist Collection of Musee d'Orsay – great to see the originals of some many famous paintings in the one spot. Awe inspiring and spoiling our view on virtually any other museum we'll visit again.

(Inside Musee d'Orsay – which was formerly a railway station)

Finally made it to Saint Chapelle when it was a) open and b) the sun was shining brightly. Just stunning. All four walls completely covered in stained glass. My photo just can't do it justice.

(Just one view of Saint Chapelle)

Bonne Nuit – off to Disneyland Paris tomorrow. I'd best get some sleep – a bit hard as it's proving quite warm here.