Had a neat final day in London - bounced out of bed and zapped into the city on the tube to the London Eye. I have said it before but the tube is great once you get your head around the different lines and how to change over - also appreciate the we used it outside peak hours but it will something that i remember fondly in my dotage.
The Eye is something that I'm glad I did, but I wouldn't repeat. Obligatory photo attached. The girls did a wee bit of shopping and then went back home, where Wendy did 95% of the packing while I ......... sneaked off and had a few pints at a few colorful little English pubs in Soho which is kinda right in the middle of London(ish?). Those of you on Face book will have got a few posts while I was out (lol). I got talking to a few of the locals and they were a hoot ! As my dad always said ' always pays to say hello ' I also went to Liberty (very old English company) to get some fabric for cushions that we want to make to remember our adventures by - luckily I went before having a beer coz the prices were high and I was able to make some better decisions !
I'm sitting here on the West Bank in Paris - right in the middle of an amazing old city. Can't wait to get out and explore tomorrow.
The girls and I in the Eye
Wendy and I with iconic scenery as a backdrop :)Hi - Wendy here. Hmm Andrew and I have different thoughts on the London Underground - yes it is very quick and efficient - but going down two very steep escalators along with a set of steps seems a very long way down to me!!! I had to remember to breath and also remind myself that London is not on a fault line!! Having said all that I did feel like an old hand at it by the end, and the girls and I even ventured off a few times on our own and managed to get home :). At the beginning of the week in London I really struggled and thought it was hard - when Andrew and I talked about it he thought it wasn't hard it was just busy. That made me realize that "busy" was hard for me. By the end of the week it was much easier and I felt a lot more confident and comfortable getting around. I really loved taking the girls to Hyde Park and the Princess Diana memorial - I couldn't have imagined doing that on my own at the start of the week. In summary I am quite taken with London - and I know that there is so much more to see .... Will have to save that for another time :).
Travelled from London to Paris today on the Eurostar. Amazing in just over two hours we were in Paris. Exciting arrival at train station - group of armed Police (albeit standing outside smoking, which made me laugh), getting approached a number of times before we got to our taxi for money (which made me sad). Then taxi ride made me laugh - lots of tooting of horns, no apparent concern for pedestrians on pedestrian crossings (which I must remember), and sometimes it wasn't really clear how many lanes were on the road :). Arrived safely at our 16th century apartment. Fantastic location - cant wait to get out and see more tomorrow.
I agree Wends the underground is not a natural thing to do!!Sounds like you guys had a great time in London..and now Paris!! Lots of photo's please!!Have fun!! Love to you all Gibby xxx
ReplyDeleteThanks Gibby - pleased to hear that someone believes the underground is not quite right :). Andrew went out this morning and brought back fresh "everything" for breakfast .... The pastries were still warm. I love Paris already and I've only seen around our neighbor hood - beautiful little streets and lots of energy. W xxx
DeleteWell done Wendy on dealing with London, must have been a bit of a culture shock! Your spot in Paris looks amazing, and from what you are wearing it looks warm. Someone told me the other day about a bus tour that incl Eiffel Tower so you don't have to queue. Sounded good to me. Now my countdown is getting boring, seems like so long to wait. Rainy here and work full on - sooo ready to be on holiday. Enjoy Paris our fav was onion soup, frites and a carafe of red wine for lunch and then a siesta(don't know the French for nap!). Enjoy Paris, you will be ready for one of your "rest" stops, you have been busy. L xx
ReplyDeleteWe are in an incredible spot in Paris, absolutely in the heart of everything. We have priority entrance for the Eiffel Tower on Sunday. We went to see the Notre Dame this morning - huge queues to get in. I was happy to walk around the outside of it. We will pop back this evening to see if its any easier to get in. If not there is a lovely wee park at the back of the church where people apparently take wine etc and sit in the evening sun - doesn't sound too hard :). The kids are already counting down till they see your kids ... Think it's going to be fun :) W xx
DeleteBonjour! J'adore Paris! We loved staying in the apartment but loathed the stairs especially when we had to lug heavy bags up and down again, good luck with that job! Make sure you pop in to Minelli a shoe store,I bought several pairs of ballet flats there and they have been really good,lovely bags as well from memory, please go and kiss the front window of LV on the Champs Elysees from moi,revel in the George Cinq, take in the Le Jardin de Tuileries,bask in Galerie Lafayette, sigh.....au revoir, merci beaucoup, Jules x
ReplyDeleteBonjour! Lovely to hear from you :) Ah Paris - what a wonderful place. We are loving the neighborhood we are staying in. We hated the stairs when we arrived - but we figure it is good practice for the Cinque Terre when we have to walk up 100 steps!!! I'm not sure how well that will go :). I will certainly kiss the front window of LV - and I'm searching up your shoe store next ..... Andrew is very nervous :). W xx
DeleteHurrah for Liberty..so pleased you went,,cant quite believe you bought something..wahoo. Looking forward to that, Did you check out the cafe? and Bender foot shot please of you in the shoes.ooh lala Devlins
ReplyDeleteAndrew did really well in Liberty ... Much more restrained than I would have been. Foot shot coming soon ..... :) W xxxx
DeleteMike Devlin here:
ReplyDeleteHi Andrew, Wendy, Grace and Kate. I am just home from enjoying a lovely Spring evening in the Octagon, so I am feeling brave enough to try my first post on your blog. I have been following your blog every day, and did think of you all sweltering in Paris when I was nearing the top of Cardrona on the chairlift a couple of days ago. But wow, look at what you have all achieved in the 14 days since you flew out of NZ - most of the fun-parks in Los Angeles, a comprehensive look around London, and then through the Chunnel to France. It sounds as though you have seen quite a bit of Paris already, with a few days still to enjoy the rest of it - any snails devoured yet??. Great to hear that you have managed to get to all of the targeted shops - I loved the photo of the four girls in the shoe section of Harrods - a classic, and the photo from Claridges will be a mantlepiece dweller !!! Artistic photos above - a study of Big Ben from ground level, and from The Eye. I am loving the fact that all of the pictures have people in them - as they always should!!! I am also enjoying the pics on Facebook - multimedia !!! I texted Tony yesterday on his birthday, and I will catch up with Ray tomorrow - Kevin Pheloung's funeral in Oamaru at 11am. Best wishes for the remainder of your tour - your frequent postings are being savoured by us all back here in NZ - this is an often visited "blogsite". I will post this at 1.05pm your time (11.05pm here). Keep safe, and live the dream. Uncle Mike.
Hi Mike, great to see you've had a crack at blogging, Viber is a wonderful tool but this way we can have an enduring memory of everyone's comments. Beautiful weather here, warm with a wrongful breeze blowing through - not looking forward to Rome with it's current temperatures in the late 30's !!
ReplyDeleteHad our hop on hop off adventure today which I'll blog about later, however can't pass up the opportunit of saying what a fascinating city Paris is - brilliantly preserved old buildings in tree lined street are everywhere and history oozes at every corner. Just amazing
Better go for a walk to the Louvre :)