Kilometres Walked : Friday – 3.8 km, Saturday – 1.6 km, Sunday – 1.2 km 😳 not many!

Monday morning 17th July, 2023.

Setting off for Yorkshire for a weekend of catching up with friends and family we decided to call into Harrogate for lunch and a wander. Drizzly rain made the day a little cool and dark but we still had a lovely walk around the old city centre. Harrogate is well known for it’s beautiful gardens, architecture and flowers and it didn’t disappoint. Flower beds and hanging baskets bursting with colour lined the streets and sidewalks. Everything was as neat as a pin. Unfortunately we didn’t have time to go to the main gardens and Betty’s famous tea room had a very long line waiting for a table, so we just strolled around the streets and opted for a takeaway coffee from the pub next door. (Which was very good & we had some laughs with a couple of locals)

After our short sojourn at Harrogate we then headed for Leeds to visit with the family. We had a fabulous weekend catching up with Aunts, Uncles, Cousins and Friends indulging in lots of food & wine as well. Someone did mention we needed fattening up😜 Dashing off here, there and everywhere it was a very busy few days indeed but we managed to see nearly everyone before heading off again Monday morning to the seaside for more adventures.

Of course I totally forgot to take any photos with my cousins and in particular Jarod & Erica’s beautiful new house they have built.

Aunts, Uncles, cousins, friends, food & fast cars, what a fantastic way to spend the weekend 😊

Kilometres Walked : Monday – 8.2 km, Tuesday – 14.2 km, Wednesday – 7.8 km, Thursday – 10.7 km.

Friday Morning 14th July, 2023.

We are back in the United Kingdom. After a very boring three hour delay at the airport in Paris on Monday we finally boarded our plane and arrived back in Newcastle. We were so pleased with ourselves for getting to the airport early as it seemed to take for ever to get through security and passport control only to then discover delay after delay after delay on boarding our plane. Oh well it could have been worse, we could have been stuck there overnight. We did receive a free coffee and sandwich though.

Aunty and Uncle picked us up and we spent the afternoon catching up and taking a stroll around Jesmond to stretch the legs. One of our favourite cottages (Rose Cottage) was looking fabulous with the garden in full bloom. After three months away we could notice the difference in the seasons with all the roses blooming and the fuchsias cascading over little stone fences, lavender full of busy bee’s and wildflowers dotting the parks.

We had a lovely lunch out at Francesca’s on Tuesday to celebrate Holly’s University results with the family. The rest of the day was spent scouring the op shops far and wide for new jeans! ( our old Jeans have become a little baggy, we have lost some weight somewhere! ) Wednesday we headed over to Lucy’s for lunch and a catch up. Her garden is a picture of colour at the moment with pretty flowers in every colour spilling out everywhere. And we were lucky enough to get Gi Gi pats🐈 Yesterday we picked out hire car up and went for a little drive to Alnwick for a sneaky pub lunch ( have to fill the jeans out again! ) and wander around the picturesque village.

It’s been a lovely relaxing week catching up with family and giving the old legs and feet a rest. Now we are off to Leeds to catch up with more of the family.

Kilometres Walked : Friday – 14.6 km, Saturday – 20 km, Sunday – 3.8 km.

Sunday 9th July, 2023.

How time flies. Our ninety days in Europe have come to a rather quick end it feels like. Amsterdam, Florence, Lucca, The Cinque Terre, Genoa, Apricale, The French Riviera, Lake Como, Tirano, St Moritz, Zermatt, Bern, Dijon and finally the city of love & riots ~ Paris! We have had the most amazing time here and have seen so many wonderful places and met some really lovely people. And lets not forget the cheese and wine🍷🧀 . Oh and cakes 🍰 . A friend asked how many kilometres we have walked? Well I don’t know off the top of my head but I will endeavour to find out!

Friday morning was spent relaxing and resting our very weary legs, then after lunch we walked back to The Marais to participate in a perfume making course. What a intoxicating way to while away the afternoon and we even met a couple of other Aussies who were at our table. We learnt about the history of perfume and the basics of mixing fragrances. And at the end we both came away with a beautiful bottle of perfume that we had created ourselves and a new knowledge about different fragrances and the way a perfume is created.

Yesterday was our last big walking day with a trek to The Musée Marmottan Monet. Paul Marmottan’s private mansion now houses one of the largest collection of works by Claude Monet and Berthe Morisot. Monet’s youngest son Michel Monet who inherited his fathers works bequeathed them to the state and when he passed away they joined Paul Marmottan’s salons. Hence how the name Musee Marmottan Monet came about. This was very much a huge highlight for us. After visiting Monet’s garden earlier in the week, we could really see exactly what he was painting. The impressive collection was just magnificent and was a fabulous way to finish off our time in Paris.

After Van Gogh this was one of our favourite exhibitions we saw on our travels. Part of the permanent collection at the museum also is a range of work by Berthe Morisot another French Impressionist Painter whom I really loved as well.

After our lovely visit to the Monet Museum we then headed over to see ‘The Eiffel Tower’. We opted to stay on this side of the bridge and keep well away from the hoards of tourists that were surrounding the tower itself. Quite frankly I think you get a better view of it from across the pond and you don’t get crushed in the process. We then meandered along the Siene to The Lourve and it’s surrounding gardens before getting a little lost and adding another kilometre on and then eventually finding our way back to Montmartre.

Today was sleeping in, packing and finding out where we have to go tomorrow to catch an early train to the airport. Our very comfortable apartment that we have spent the last 10 days in has been fabulous and surprisingly quiet. Even the resident Ginger cat loves us! We are now ready for the next leg of our adventure. Returning to England to spend some time with the family and then we are off to Scotland. Europe you have been a blast. With several hundred kilometres of walking under our belts, a new pair of trainers, an extra suitcase, sore & tired feet, incredible experiences, delicious food and of course the wine – Au revoir, Arriverderci, Auf Weidersehen & Tot ziens!

Goodbye👋

Kilometres Walked : 18 km

Thursday 6th July, 2023.

Yes we love a beautiful garden and Monet’s was no exception. With a perfect blue sky we headed off on an early train to Vernon where we then took a lovely 5km stroll along the river to Giverny and Monet’s Garden and House in The Normandy Region. Vernon was a lovely little village. We wandered through and over the Seine to follow a path along the river and through beautiful golden wheat fields ready to be harvested and a fabulous Sunflower field. Then at the end of the path we saw something we definitely weren’t expecting. In a rather large and amazing property were none other than at least a dozen Wallabies 🦘. We are not kidding. I thought I was seeing things but they were real and on the other side of the world from where they came from, in someone’s backyard in France!

We finally made it to Giverny, a small but quaint village where Monet’s House and Garden is. Now as I mentioned we love a beautiful garden but we definitely are completely over the pushy and rude crowds. Honestly is it to much to ask for that people can just be nice and respectful? We are all there for the same thing, to admire the flowers and the very pretty house, there’s just no need to push and shove your way around, we will all get there in the end! And then there are the poser’s, the girls who have dressed a specific way and are getting multiple photographs in different poses all the while holding up the line for half an hour because we are to polite to push through. But you know that’s another first word problem. We were very grateful for the opportunity to visit this beautiful place and see so many wonderful flowers. The house itself is a work of art also with the pretty colour schemes throughout. And the kitchen, well that was my favourite room.

Claude Monet lived in his house at Giverny for 43 years from 1883-1926. Absolutely passionate about gardening he designed his own garden as real works and they were the greatest source of inspiration for him. He painted some of his most famous paintings whilst living at Giverny which of course include his Water Lily and Japanese Bridge paintings.

Such a lovely day blessed with blue skies and the most beautiful display of pretty flowers and quaint French villages.

Kilometres Walked : 10 km

Wednesday 5th July, 2023.

Both the morning and the afternoon were spent strolling around the Montmartre area in different directions. Whilst the morning started out a little on the cool side by the time the afternoon rolled around the sun had started to shine. We passed plenty of pretty shop fronts, colourful cafes, fluffy cats, weird and wonderful shops, sex shops, plenty of artists, iconic parisian architecture, aromatic patisserie’s and of course the iconic Moulin Rouge. The aroma from the various patisserie’s we passed was very very tempting indeed. How do French Women stay so slim? All those pretty coloured Macarons and pastries that look like little works of art in themselves. I may just have to try one or two more before we leave.

The crowds up around the top of Montmartre where all the artists are definitely wasn’t as hectic as it was last Friday when we arrived. We were actually able to wander around and admire the artwork and clever artists who were painting and sketching portraits of the tourists.

The Montmartre area is our favourite arrondissment. We love just wandering around and people watching and of course tasting pretty macarons!

Kilometres Walked : Monday 13.2 km, Tuesday 20 km.

Tuesday 4th July, 2023.

Yesterday was a wander day. Down to the Seine, across to see the progress on Notre Dame and through the Marais. So many pretty Parisian cafes with their colourful cafe chairs with the patrons sitting front and centre wanting to see and be seen. The last time we were in Paris the fire that occurred at Notre Dame had sadly only just happened the week prior so the whole area was cordoned off. The building is still closed to the public but you can walk around the streets beside it and see a little of the beautiful building. Unfortunately Le Marais didn’t seem as special as everyone makes it out to be. It was definitely dirtier than other areas of Paris and whilst there were some very cute cafes and shops it didn’t really appeal to us like Montmartre does. Different strokes for different folks!

Now today, today was just ridiculous amounts of opulence like you have never seen. Welcome to Chateau De Versailles! There’s not much to say other than it is so over the top and so big that no wonder they chopped Louis XVI’s head off. It was room after room after room of velvet covered walls, gold leaf, marble, chandeliers, frescoes, mirrors and sweeping staircases. I mean please, who really wants to live like that? We would have been happy in the gatehouse!

Of course we couldn’t leave without eating cake! One doesn’t get to dine in a chateau to often albeit with paper cups and plates😂 But the cake I can assure you was simply divine and yes we finally tried a macaron😋

Next were the Gardens. Now we love a great garden but the grounds were so astronomically big that we didn’t make it around the entire place. It was one kilometre from the chateau to the Grand Canal and then another half a kilometre to The Estate of Trianon. This place is so ridiculously huge it’s almost a joke. We still managed to clock up 20kms yet we didn’t even see everything. In reality you need two to three days to properly explore the estate.

Last but definitely not least, we took our weary legs up to the Estate of Trianon. Once there we just didn’t have it in us to explore the entire estate and quite frankly we were just over the amount of very rude tourists pushing and shoving their way around. We did The Petit Trianon and The Queen’s Hamlet which I have to say was much more our style. With pretty, less formal gardens, cute out buildings, meandering paths and plenty of herb and vegetable gardens.

After about 7 hours on the estate we took our tired legs back to Paris. I think a glass of wine is in order🍷.

Kilometres Walked : Saturday – 12.2km, Sunday – 13.3km.

Sunday 2nd July, 2023.

Saturday afternoon was spent wandering around trying to familiarise ourselves with the huge city that Paris is. It didn’t take long to rack up over 11 kilometres in a short space of time. The first thing we noticed was that there were plenty of police dotted all over the city trying to keep any mischief at bay. It definitely made us feel a lot more comfortable walking the streets at the moment with all the riots and violence that has been happening for the past week here in France. We made it down to the Seine, saw the Eiffel Tower from a distance and wandered all the way back to Montmartre.

This afternoon after yet another slow start to the day, gee I could get used to this🤪 we headed to the Avenue des Champs Élysées and the Arc de Triomphe. The last time we visited Paris it had been completely blocked off due to Protests so we missed out on walking along the famous avenue. Luckily this time around it is open and after reading that on the 1st Sunday of the month the avenue is blocked off to cars we were even more excited. After a quick stop off in the Petit Palais. A very beautiful free museum just at the start of the Champ Élysées. What an incredible building indeed and free! Hearing quite a lot of music and watching a few groups of people wander past in costumes we headed outside to see what was going on. Well weren’t we in for a treat. Little did we know that ‘The Carnival Tropical de Paris’ was to take place today along the Champs Élysées. This colourful parade takes over the Avenue with music, dancing and traditional outfits representing cultures from all over the world. The theme this year was ‘The Colours of the World’. Hundreds of participants wore amazing costumes in every colours you can imagine and played fabulous music that made everyone boogie on the spot.

Well we didn’t actually see much of the avenue or the buildings due to the thousands of people gathered today but we had fun as did everyone else. The music was infectious and everyone was either tapping their foot or having a little dance on the spot. The costumes were completely amazing and what a great way to spend a Sunday in Paris.

Kilometres Walked : Thursday – 10.2, Friday – 8.2.

Saturday Morning 1st July, 2023.

Hello again Paris. The city of love as it is affectionately known. But don’t forget the thousands of tourists and the nightly riots. Most of all don’t forget the absolutely amazing architecture, the history, the macarons, crazy fashion, cafes and delectable food. Yes we are back in Paris after 4 years.

Our last day in Dijon was spent discovering the beautiful Botanical Gardens where once again we discovered many ideas for our own garden. Roses are definitely on my list of plants to try and grow once we are home. Never before have I planted a Rose but have grown very fond of them after spending the last three months here in Europe. The herb, vegetable and fruit tree garden was completely amazing as well. Who knew artichoke plants were so beautiful!

After once again squeezing our belongings back into our bags, oh hang on we had to purchase another suitcase, we had a evening stroll to see the lights around the city. What a beautiful place Dijon is.

Arriving Friday morning into Paris we successfully navigated the metro to our lovely little apartment that we have for 10 days in the Montmartre area. Feeling a little weary from an early start and travelling we just had a nice meander around the surrounding area just so we could familiarise ourselves with how busy the place is once again and find our two favourite op shops which are surprisingly still here and still reasonably priced!

After a peaceful lazy Saturday morning, we will head out to explore some more and try to up the Kilometres!

Kilometres Walked : 5.9 ( not many😳)

Wednesday 28th June, 2023.

Feeling especially spoilt with our personal tour guide and friend Catherine we delighted in getting to try some of the local delicacies. Catherine who is my mother’s very good friends niece who lives here in Dijon very kindly offered to pick us up and take us out into the Burgandy country side for the day. Our destination was Beaune, a very quaint village about 40 minutes south of Dijon. Beaune is well known for the Hotel Dieu – Hospices de Beaune, a 15th century hospital with it’s famous multi coloured roof tiles and gothic architecture that’s now open to the public as a museum which is a must visit. Patriarchs Pere et Fils is also a another must visit as the owners of the biggest and largest wine cellars in Burgandy that was established in 1796 in a former ladies convent. With over five kilometres of underground cellars/tunnels it is completely mind blowing. And the wine tasted lovely as well 🍷

After a wonderful and fascinating visit to Patriarche it was time to try some of the wonderful local dishes on offer. Settling on a lovely little cafe we all ordered the three course set menu. Jason had the escargot for entree and Catherine and I both ordered the terrine. For the main we had the Beef Bourguignon and a lovely cassis mousse for dessert. Everything was delicious and yes I even tried the snails, they weren’t to bad. We also tried a Kir for an aperitif which is a mixture of crème de cassis, a dark blackcurrant liqueur and dry white wine. Again very delicious.

After a lovely chat with our neighbouring table ( a couple from the Netherlands ) and coffee we headed off to the Hospices de Beaune. Surprisingly the hospital was still active until as recently as 1955.

Beaune was such a beautiful and interesting town, with more old French buildings, flowers and cafes. It was such a treat to be taken out for the day by Catherine. On the journey back to Dijon we detoured through the thousands of acres of vineyards and little French villages that dotted the roadside throughout. It was so picturesque with flower boxes, old stone cottages, colourful shutters, little narrow winding roads, wine cellars and cafes. We’ve never seen so many vineyards before, it was quite unbelievable.

We are ever so grateful that Catherine was so generous in taking us out for the day whilst here in Dijon. It was a fabulous experience and we have also gained a new friend. What a special day indeed.

Kilometres Walked : 9

Tuesday June 27th, 2023.

Stalls and stalls of fresh fruit and vegetables as far as the eye could see. Les Halles Market located in the heart of the historic district is an absolute must visit. The beautiful ironwork framed building that houses many of the stalls is a work of art in itself, and then bordering it outside and down many alleyways are even more stalls with fresh produce, clothing, antiques, cheese, meat, seafood, fresh bread, olives and other delicacies. Our mouths were literally watering as we wandered around trying to decide who to purchase from. We picked up some delicious fresh produce to make a ratatouille for dinner (yes so French I know) and fresh bread and organic yogurt for breakfast. Mmm, looking forward to tasting all of it I might add. We also finally had a decent cappuccino at this cute little coffee/wine bar right in the middle of the markets where we also met a lovely Irish couple who we sat with and had a great chat to. Ironically one of them turned out to be a Keleher (Jason’s mum’s maiden name) but with an extra L so maybe he is a 4th or 5th cousin😁

After filling our bags with lots of goodies we headed back to the apartment for lunch, and I can tell you the bread was amazing. The afternoon was spent going for a stroll through the streets once again looking at the beautiful architecture and trying to find some op shops. Everywhere you turn there is another beautiful old building and then another really cute timber one and then another shop selling gingerbread which just smells so amazing you have to really stop yourself from buying yet another packet! What a foodie delight Dijon is and not just at the markets.

Yes we found a couple of op shops. One was a little on the expensive side and one was closed but then we found one just near our apartment and both managed to find a new shirt each. Winners!