Days in Paris

To those of you who thought I had lost my wallet......I only meant for a few minutes......I found it again......it was on the floor of the car :-P

Yesterday we went halfway up the Eiffel Tower (would have gone the whole way but the top half was closed!!). After that we took a walk down the Chambers Elise, the famous shopping street of Paris.  Here we visited the Peugeot showroom where Jon's dad works.

Today was our last day in Paris today and we tried to fit in us much as we can.  We went to the louvre and saw the Mona Lisa and Venus De Milo, we also visited the Notre Dame and the Sacre Coeur and then popped over to see the Moulin Rouge (unfortunately it was too expensive for paupers like us so we just sat in the Starbucks opposite and had a lovely view through the window)

Had a nice relaxing stay at Jons house...Jons family has been very good to us (so a big thank you to all of them)...although we feel a bit overfed (which is why I am up typing this and Gaby is sprawled out on the bed dictating what to write across the room)....but we will miss all of this once we are out on the road again!!!

Tomorrow....Luxembourg!!!

A nice break

On Tuesday we arrived in Rouen, France, to stay with friends. It has been a nice relaxing break for us...proper bed, showers and hot food!! And Vic, the labradour to play with :) We visited Rouen city centre on Wednesday, a lovely old city with cobbled streets and old buildings, and sampled the local pancakes and flan.
Yesterday we drove along part of the northern coast of Normandy from Dieppe to Etretat. The scenery was amazing and most of the land uninhabited.
Unfortunately we are leaving today to continue our journey. We have been fortunate this week with places to stay. Gaby's sister Dom and her boyfriend Jon are visiting Paris this weekend (our next stop) where Jon's family home is and they have offered us a bed for the night :) (thanks guys!) so we won't be at a loss again just yet!

Pictures



Our new friend 'Barry' from Camp Memling in Brugge, kept coming back for more pasta!!




Chris near the canal in Brugge



Chris in Antwerp



Gaby in Stadspark in Antwerp



A nice glass of 'Kwak' in Paters Vaetje, Antwerp...



...Where they sell 100 different beers



The discovery of the 'Oliebollen in Rotterdam'

Yummy!! Best find so far!!

Gaby in Amsterdam with about 30,000 coots!!

Gaby by the canal in Brugge (right next to our old hotel!)

Rotterdam & Amsterdam

After spending hours looking for somewhere to park in Rotterdam we finally found an 'affordable' car park and head off into town.  We spent the day looking round the shops and discovered the OLIEBOLLEN....a dutch snack which is out of this world!! We will be having lots!!

When we arrived in Amsterdam we decided another night in the cold was too much to bare so we hired out a small wooden cabin at camping zeeburg.  On the first day we explored the towns night life (believe all the rumours!!), had some dinner and then headed back to the cabin.  After a great night sleep (very great for gaby!) we headed out into town with only a few hours of the day left!! We managed to squeeze in more oliebollen, a walk round the anne frank house and some chips & pizza.

And not to mention Chris dancing with a plant pot man and Gaby getting bitten by a goat....fun times!!

Antwerp

Well we're in antwerp now after a couple of days and sleepless nights in Brugge where our tent leaked, noodles wouldnt cook and lumberjacks woke us and told us to move...then showered us with wood shavings! But, after all the Agro it was good to see the place again. Antwerps been good to us so far in terms of food and scenery. The drivers on the otherhand have failed to impress! Enjoyed a walk in the park and the seeing the beautiful architecture. Photos still to follow...lack of electricity holding us back!

It begins!

Arrived safely in calias after an eventful journey which involved Chris losing his wallet (what a surprise), a very expensive gourmet dinner (sausage and mash) and gaby realising she left her coat at home. We stayed in a hotel overnight then set off for brugges this morning only to find the waffle shops were shut (pretty much the main reason we are here!) camping tonight...we're the only campers,creepy! Pictures coming soon. Tune in again.

Top places we have in mind

Just thought we'd post up some ideas we have of places we'd like to visit.

Zermatt (Switzerland)

We are really excited about visiting a town where no cars are permitted.  Home to the Matterhorn Mountain, one of the highest peaks of the Alps.

Blue Grotto (Italy)

Just an awesome looking place where you can head into the caves on
kayaks.  Has great history as this is where italian royalty used to bathe.

Plitvice Lakes (Croatia)

I believe that the picture says enough about why would like to see this place.  Apparently there are wild bears roaming round so lets hope those degrees of ours weren't a waste of time!!

Neuschwanstein Castle

And who would not want to visit the buildling that the disney castle was

modelled on