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!

Kilometres Walked : Saturday 8.9, Sunday 6.2, Monday 10.5.

Monday June 26th, 2023.

Saturday was spent wandering around the Botanical Gardens in Bern, then a lovely walk along the Aare River, with some much needed rest in the afternoon. (Had to give the legs a rest!) We did pop out for a little late afternoon stroll to watch the famous clock with it’s dancing bears but ended up being a little disappointed at the performance. Possibly the best show is only at 12pm? We never did find out. So with that in mind we went for a last walk to see the real live bear’s across the river. Perfect timing for us as all three of them were in the bear pit lolling about in their little pool trying to cool off.

With a nice quiet early night we packed up and headed off to a new country on Sunday morning. Viva la France. Our first destination for this leg of France is Dijon. The first thing that hit us once we arrived was the heat. Wow it felt like we were back in Brisbane in the middle of Summer. With a perfect blue sky it certainly made it just that little bit warmer with all the heat just radiating off all the old stone buildings. What made it worse is that we were both wearing jeans and hiking boots with backpacks on. (First world problem I know) After a lovely lunch next door to our apartment we stripped off even more layers and headed out for a little walk. We didn’t last long at that time of the afternoon when it is definitely hottest. After finally finding a supermarket that sells alcohol on a Sunday Afternoon (yes you read that correctly, the large supermarket didn’t) we locked ourselves in the apartment with a cold beer and the aircon cranked.

Today we headed out early to explore the streets and all the beautiful old buildings. Famous for Mustard and Gingerbread, Dijon is the gateway to the country’s principal wine making area, Burgandy. The city is filled with beautiful, historic buildings, cobbled streets, half timbered houses and narrow alleyways which make it the perfect place for a flaner. (The French term for wandering and just soaking it all in) We spent the morning wandering around and then visited the The Musee Des Beaux Arts De Dijon after lunch. The Museum of fine arts is situated in the Palace of the Dukes and Estates of Burgandy and is one of the oldest and richest museums in France. Being that it is also right in the heart of the city it meant we didn’t have to walk to many kilometres today which gave our legs and feet a nice reprieve. Our bodies are definitely starting to feel all the walking and hiking. We are struggling to do even 10 kilometres at the moment, so I think this week there will be a few afternoon siestas. (We may have to lay off the cheese now🤪)

We have yet to purchase any mustard but I did cave and buy some gingerbread today which was very yummy with our afternoon coffee. Bonne nuit!

Kilometres Walked : 16

Flights Climbed : 37

Friday June 23rd 2023.

Do you remember when we all used to wear a watch? It was unheard of not to have one. I know my favourite brand was the Swatch. Yes all those bright fun colours at a very affordable price. Then there are the more exclusive brands like Omega and Rolex, which are all designed and made right here in the land of watches and clocks. I’ve never encountered so many watch boutiques in my life. They are literally on every corner tempting you to walk in and browse around a little. Every Swiss person still wears a watch. Well what was I to do but join the crowd and purchase a watch for myself. Well two actually but considering I chose Swatch they were both very reasonably priced! I grew up wearing them and absolutely loved the uniqueness and bold and colourful designs. Then of course Mobile phones took over our need to wear a watch and I stopped wearing them. Time to leave the phone in the bag and start wearing a watch again I think. Don’t worry Jason purchased two for himself as well. Anyway what a beautiful old city Bern is. The unique green sandstone that dominates most of the buildings particularly in the old town is just stunning. With it’s late Baroque architecture and original cellars in the streets that were once used to store wine and grain that are now used for shops with direct access from the street, it’s a really easy walkable city.

The route took us right through the old town with it’s six kilometres of undercover arcades and across the Aare up to the colourful and fragrant Rose Garden with expansive views over the city. Once again we were stunned at the colour of the inner city river. We then passed the Bear Pit. The city of Bern has had a close relationship with the bear since it’s foundation. The bear appears on fountains, buildings and flags and visitors can see the three resident bears in the public Bear Park. Mumma, Pappa and baby bear reside in an area of about one and a half acres alongside the Aare River with naturalistic surroundings and tunnels for winter naps, plenty of trees to climb and an open area to the river where they can swim and catch fish. Whilst I definitely don’t agree with animals being in enclosure’s, they did seem to have a reasonable amount of space.

Roses, Bears, Swatches, Sandstone, Fountains, Flags, Clocks, Bridges, and beautiful architecture. Loving Bern.

Kilometres Walked : 7.6.

Flights Climbed : 11

Thursday 22nd June 2023.

Yes it was time to squash all of our belongings into the bags again and move on to the next city. We somehow seem to have accumulated more items! Zermatt has definitely been a big highlight of our trip. The character and beauty of the place is just unbelievable. It is everything you imagine Switzerland to be and more. The old town which we spent some time wandering around in on our much needed rest day was so insanely cute and blends in to the modern town seamlessly. The residents have so much pride in their beautiful town and keep it so neat and tidy with an abundance of flower pots on display throughout the place. The high altitude certainly took some getting used to. We seemed to be quite good with it in St Moritz but we definitely felt it more in Zermatt with some fatigue and shortness of breath on our hikes. I can now understand why athletes live and train in high altitude areas. We said goodbye to Zermatt this morning and hopped on the train to the city of Bern. Bern is the capital of Switzerland and has successfully retained it’s historic features. The medieval air of this city with it’s many fountains, sandstone facades and narrow streets is quite unique and let’s not forget the pristine Aare river that flows through the city which is an amazing arctic ice blue colour.

With a balmy Summers day greeting us in Bern, we just had a little stroll around to familiarise ourselves with the main area. If it gets any warmer we may just brave a swim in the Aare!