Sunday 12 th September

Last night we had a typical pub experience in Hammersmith. Noisy, and soccer on the flat screen. We enjoyed the atmosphere and the simple Thai meal. We caught up with our washing at the local laundromat and it was entertaining watching people come and go. So many nationalities and languages!

Sunday started with a relaxed breakfast and organizing our boarding passes.
We then headed off to London via the underground. It was £5 each for unlimited public transport use, so everyone uses it.
As Sally told us, it is easy to negotiate the transport systems.
We went to Westminster station, and then caught a bus to Tower Bridge. Greg was the navigator, as i was totally disorientated , so he worked out the bus numbers and where we had to go.
The Tower of London was a royal fortress and supplied weapons and armour for the kings armies and warships from the medieval era til the mid 19 th century. The Tower was also used for torture, imprisonment and execution. The Crown Jewels has it's resting place there. The Tower Bridge is a magnificent structure, painted brightly in blue and gold, we joined the hundreds walking across it.



We then hopped on another bus, this time a double decker - we were so excited!
We hopped up to the top deck, and eventually got to the front seat where we could take pictures of streets, Picadilly Circus, Trafalgar Sq, Charing Cross and St Pauls Cathedral. We couldn't believe how many people were around, walking the streets, shopping, using public transport and in the parks.

We got off the bus at Marble Arch and walked across to Hyde Park. People everywhere! We stumbled across Speakers Corner, an area set aside for freedom of speech. A lot of wannabe preachers, I think.
Then to our surprise, who should be in Hyde Park- Elvis. He or an extremely good impersonator was doing a sound check for a concert that evening. They were also dismantling the "The Proms" which was on the previous night.
It was very relaxing having a coffee and watching the world go by, roller skaters performing, horse riders, and families enjoying a little bit sun.


We returned by rail to Hammersmith and ended where we started at The Swan, pub for a drink and nachos before heading off to the airport at 6:30pm for our 10 pm flight to Kuala Lumpur.



This is being sent from the Kuala Lumpur airport, so we have survived the 13 hr flight and leave in 4 hrs to Melb arriving 7am Tuesday.

See you then ,
Love. Leanne and Greg xxx


Traveling Tips

When all else fails , give the map to your partner, and accept defeat graciously.
Work out early , who has the window, who has the aisle seat.
Travel with Greg, he is never on time, always early. He is slow to anger and rarely gets frustrated with fellow passengers.
Travel with Leanne, she likes clean clothes and organized suitcases- everything has it's place. She likes free time and doesn't tolerate fools very well. She is always on time, just never early.
If you want professional blogs, read Gregs. If you want grammatically incorrect but informative and dry humor blogs read Leannes. Or if you are really lucky they are blended together.
If you are bored at the airport between transfers, write Traveling Tips, it fills in time.



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Location:London

Day 6 11/9/10 UK

We leave early at 7:40 am, for Bath. Breakfast is a buffet and most of us manage to get onto the bus on time.......There is unfortunately a very annoying family who are pushing my intolerance buttons. They are always late and the kids sit behind us and are very loud and whinge all the time. Even placid Greg is finding them challenging. Today they have been particularly annoying and really needed a good slap...I just managed to control myself. It makes us appreciate our gorgeous 2 Aussie families whose kids were fabulous on the last tour.
Anyhow, that's off my chest now.

The elegant city of Bath, is definitely one of my favorite places. It's origins go back to pagan worship and roman times. The Romans discovered hot mineral springs here, and basically set up the equivalent to a spa resort. They were clever for the 400's, with bath houses, steam rooms and hot mineral springs.
It was, and still is a very trendy area. The homes are all Georgian sandstone, and were all architecturally designed by John Wood snr and jnr. Some of them have been designed in rows in a crescent or circular shape, ( the royal crescent and circus ) and are five stories high. They were absolutely gorgeous and the same theme is throughout this town. Asking price is £5 million. The distance between the chimneys in the photo below indicates the width of the house.

Just when we thought that was amazing, then the wow factor kicked in as we entered the Bath Abbey, the organist was playing the pipe organ. It was a wonderful moment.
Bath is another village full of history and beauty, and we enjoyed it despite the rain. The pulteney bridge, was built over the Avon river and is another amazing engineering feat for it's time. Did you know Avon means river, so it's really river river..weird really.



Our next stop is the famous Stonehenge, possibly constructed 5,000 yrs ago, by the "ancients", or beaker people ( who were buried with their beakers). Archeaologists believe it could have taken 50 yrs or several generations to build. Some of the blue stone used is only found in Wales....200 miles away. So how did it get there, it weighs 1-3 ton each stone? The largest stones weigh 20 ton and are found 20 miles away! 1/3 rd of the stone is set into neatly cut pits of chalky soil.
Mmmmm
So it's purpose is.......
A portal to another universe?
Landing site for aliens?
Site for human sacrifice?
A means to tap into the magnetic force of the earth?
Astrology?
Hugh the guide believes, it was used for religious worship of the sun, stars and moon. And that it was used to determine the dates of religious festivals by the alignment of celestial bodies.
It has been roped off since 1979, but you can still take great photos, and believe me there are tourists everywhere.



Lunch is at Salisbury only 20 mins away. The area is for farming, pigs, cattle, sheep, wheat and barley. It is also the headquarters for army training.
Salisbury's only claim to fame is its cathedral which has the tallest spire of any English cathedral. It stands 408 ft high. The cathedral was built in 1230 and took 38 yrs to build. It's a massive cathedral, and is currently under going £30 million restoration.
After hot beef rolls we head to London and arrive at our hotel at 3 pm.

Our tour is finished , and we have really enjoyed having a 6 day sampler of the UK.

We discovered that the wealth of a city is always related to the size of the cathedral. If the town has a racing track, then it was a very prosperous town.

The stories, history lessons, wars, kings, queens, Romans, Vikings, celtics, defense walls and castles make it such an interesting country. There is a story around every corner. The English however have only taken interest in restoration of their history in the last 150 yrs, so there are many historic ruins.

Our aha moments have to be, Scotland and Edinburgh Castle, Bath Abbey and the town of Broadway in Cotswold.

Our tour group, well, they were ok, an interesting group of nationalities. They had no concept of seat rotation, counting 3 seats in front was quite a challenge, which really frustrated the tour guide (and us ). And keeping to times was another problem they had. Just as well as Greg and I were obedient and easy to deal with! The guide was extremely knowledgable, and was a true englishmen in every sense of the word. The driver Lee, lacked personality and a smile. Unfortunately for him our previous driver was so good, that Lee did not quite make the cut. He did not even help people off the bus, and some elderly people needed help .

You may have also noticed that they still use imperial measurement over here.

Tomorrow, Sunday, we fly out at 10 pm and should be back in Melbourne 7am Tuesday.
We hope to do some final sight seeing, Greenich, St Pauls Cathedral, and Tower Bridge, that's if we ever wake up.

See you soon ,

Love Leanne and Greg xxxx






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Location:Bristol - London

Day 5 UK

We leave Liverpool in misty rain at 745am, after a hot breakfast with the other bus loads of tourists.
We arrive in the historic town, yes another historic town, of Chester on the river Dee.
Chester is a mile from the welsh border and was once a thriving town in the 1080's. It has some remnants of a roman amphitheatre, and walls of defense. The medieveal cathedral has been added onto several times , recently in the 19th century. ( I used to think that the 19 th century was such a long time ago, but over here in historical times it's recent!)
To encourage trade in Chester the shops were developed into "rows", which are split level. This was very unique for medieveal times. Today the shops remain intact as black and white half timbered buildings, and two tiered arcades. The shopping area is massive, and time limits the desire to check out the shops, so we settle for a walk and coffee.
From Chester we drive over the Welsh border to the town of Llangollen for a quick lunch break.

Wales is the smallest country in the UK. It has a degree of self rule, a separate culture and language . Welsh is still spoken by 2/3 rd's of the population, but English is the predominate language .
Welsh is the oldest european language, and has a similar alphabet ( no Q V K Z ) and has double constenants and vowels ( ff Ll ie ou ae) they are pronounced as a single letter.
Llangollen, is a small town on the river Dee, famous for coal, slate, and love spoons. On the river banks is an old corn mill and railway station.



It has a castle above the town which was destroyed in the 1280's, fragmented ruins only remain and are hidden by the mist.
The symbols for Wales are the red dragon, daffodil, leek and harp.
We have soup in the Bull Pub, the only diners, and it was lovely chatting to the chef.
This afternoon we head for Stratford-upon-Avon, where William Shakespeare was born in 1564.
Along the way we pass zzzzzzzzzzzz land. Commonly refered to as, we both fell asleep land.
William shakespeare moved to London in his early 20's as an actor and progressively became involved in all aspects of theatre and finally concentrated on his writing, which he became famous for. He married Anne Hathaway, who remained in Stratford with their children, and he returned home several times a year.
He retired in 1611 to Stratford, and died on 23/4/1616 at 52 yrs. ( same day and month as his birth) His birthplace remains, but his retirement home does not. It is a lovely town, and worth seeing with or without the Shakespeare experience.



We then pass through the Cotswold hills, through many unique villages with furtile land, grazing sheep, fields of corn, veggies and fruit.
The houses in this area are made of a honey colored sandstone, the color comes from the iron component in the stone. Broadway is a beautiful town of sandstone homes, and we take a leisurely stroll down the main street until it starts to rain.



Bristol is our next visit, it is situated on the Avon river, which links up with the Irish sea. It has been a prosperous town over many hundreds of years due to it's port and trade in wine, chocolate, sugar, tobacco and rum. Bristol glass blowers were the first to make bottles for cask wine.
An engineering genius, Brunel, in the 1800's built the Clifton suspension bridge over the river, which is still in use today . He also built the lock system in the river which controls the tides in the Avon. In his spare time he engineered the Great Western Railway, a train from Bristol to London. This train took 7 hrs to get to London, rather than 7 days! He also built the worlds largest and only steam turbine boat for it's time, the SS Great Britain, which now rests in the Bristol dock.



We arrive at our hotel at 6pm, looking forward to our buffet tea at 730. It's been a long day.

Hope all is well in your world

Love Leanne and Greg xx






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Location:Liverpool - Bristol

Day 4 UK

Today we start our day early at 7:30. After a hearty breakfast, we board the bus and Greg promptly falls asleep til Gretna Green. On waking, he has no idea where we are, and is thankful for my blog.

Despite being apart of the United Kingdom, Scotland still has separate education, holidays, religion, legal system and print their own notes( still has the same value as English notes, just different pictures/ notable people on them). Scotland only recognizes degrees and diplomas attained in their own country, so if you are planning to work there professionally, forget it!
There are also technical differences in there legal system compared to England. Scotlands legal system is based on Roman law. Verdicts can either be, guilty, not guilty or " not proven". The phrase "Scot free " originates from the not proven verdict.
The animosity between Scotland and England is very obvious as you talk to the Scottish locals. They are very negative and sarcastic about England. When there are sporting events against each other a common shirt worn says AOEE - any one except england- that's who you barrack for!

The United Kingdom is made up of 100's of islands the largest is Britain and Ireland.

On our way to Gretna Green we pass the lowlands, hilly grazing land and forests.

Gretna Green is a town on the border of Scotland / England. It is famous for it's relaxed wedding laws in the 1750's to 20th century. This is where the term eloped came from, as English couples unable to wed due to age or non parental consent were ably to marry in Scotland. It was easy to be a celebrant, £10 and you had to be a trustworthy resident. So, in Gretna Green the blacksmith was the local marriage celebrant, for £1 you could get married.
It has been developed as a major tourist area now, with 10 tourist buses there while we were there. Multiply that by 40 people per bus.....a little gold mine. Unfortunately for our family we have been unable to buy scarves, kilts, boxers, skirts, socks, bags, key holders, hats, umbrellas, jumpers, vests in the Cooper tartan! We however did discover it is mainly purple with a bit of green, actually not that bad!
By the way, you can still get married in Greta Green, although the laws are not as relaxed these days. You have to live there for 3 weeks before you are eligible, but the local shop owner allows you to pitch a tent in her back yard for 3 weeks if you are that desperate.
We pass through national parks and the Lake District, (Grasmere) home of William Wordsworth and Beatrice Potter. Influential poet and writer.



Lunch is at Grasmere, a quaint village known not only for it's literary scholars of the past, but also for Ginger bread, toffee and hiking. We have a Cornish Pastie, which we have been enjoying in previous towns. Unfortunately we were disappointed.

Back onto the bus for a 2 1/2 hr trip to Liverpool , passing several lakes on the way and more villages.

Liverpool was once an important port in Englands history, and is also well known for the Beatles. Yeh Yeh Yeh. It's a very multi cultural town because of it's industrial past, with Irish, welsh and Chinese.
Liverpool is 800 yrs old, and it's name means a muddy pool.

We are staying at the Adelphi Hotel, bang in the centre of the town. It is a grand hotel. Our room is enormous, with a sitting area and cute writing desk, and reading nook. It has huge formal dining and sitting rooms , possibly old ballrooms, full of chesterfields and leather chairs.

Tonight, with a local tour guide we visit the sights of Liverpool. We visit the magnificent Anglican cathedral, that took 74 years to build and was completed in 1978. We viewed the docklands region, which is under going new construction and has many inter connecting canals. The town has obviously seen better times when the port was there major source of employment, it has very old run down areas, but the guide is hopeful that things will once again improve. The population has halved over the last century, from a thriving 800,000 to 400,000 today.
We also saw the Liverpool performing arts academy,LIPA, which is supported financially by Paul McCartney, as is the breast cancer support group.

Our tour guide- Maree taught Ringo to read and has a lot of stories about how they started. She takes us to the key Beatle landmarks- Inc. the Cavern Club- the place where it all begins for the Beatles- the original venue downstairs does not operate now for OHS reasons- 2000 people downstairs with one small stair case out (good to see OHS making an impact!! There is also a Cavern Wall of fame- see if you can recognize any other bands!


We also visit the Eleanor Rigby statue - which is on a park bench dedicated to "all the lonely people"- where do they all come from!




We end our tour with an included drink at this classic old pub- the Philharmonic hotel, where the feature is the mens toilets- even the ladies come in for a look!! Leanne could not quite come at that so I had to describe it as best I could.

The town relied on the Ports in the early days and is struggling these days as the port activity has dropped off and the area has been converted to docklands with accommodation.

All in all an interesting place to visit.

Cheers- Greg and Leanne


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Location:Scotland to England (Liverpool)

Day 3 UK

We are staying at the Novotel, in Edinburgh, for the next two nights which is rather swish. It has all the modern facilities that Greg likes, free wifi, buffet breakfast and a pool., but is out of town, which is rather normal for a Cosmos tour!
We leave at 8 am, after Buffet breakfast - we are both feeling like tweddle dum and tweddle Dee, ie fat.

Greg wore his tartan check shirt today- to look a little Scottish.

We meet our local guide ( it is a requirement in some countries, that local guides are used ) who takes us around this impressive city.

He tells us stories of Kings, Queens, Royals, villains, poets, scholars, writers doctors, body snatches, and Bobby the famous dog, all who their origins in Edinburgh. Robert Louis Stevenson was born here, as well as Alexander Graham Bell (who invented the phone, of course. But did you know he invented it to help deaf children hear ).
Edinburgh Medical School, is the one of the most prestigious medical training facilities in the world, and it was here that Chloroform was discovered to help reduce the pain of child birth. It recently has been involved with cloning of sheep.

Body snatches were men who removed dead bodies from the cemetery at night, to sell to the Medical school for research. They were rewarded handsomely with £10 a body, which was equivalent to a years wage.
Bobby the dog, is a story about a loyal dog, who's master leaves for market 25 miles away. After 3 weeks his master has not returned, so he sets off to find him.
He remains by his side until the death of his master, he is the only one at the funeral and for the next 14 years sleeps every night on his masters grave site. He is given free range of the town, and is known by everyone. A sculpture was commisioned for his loyalty to his master. How cute.

Arthurs seat is a large rock, resembling a sleeping elephant dominates the horizon.

Edinburgh Castle, is built high on volcanic rock and is an imposing sight on the sky line as you enter the city. It dates back to 3,000 years and was built as a fortress . It contains a Royal Palace, The Scottish Crown of Jewels, a prison, banqueting hall, St Margarets Chapel ( Mary Queen of Scots) and national war museums. The panoramic views from the top are rival the views from the Eiffel Tower. It is also the site for the world renowned Military Tattoo, an annual event of pipe bands.






We are given the afternoon off, so enjoy walking around the town, taking in the views, museum and magnificent gardens. Lunch is at the "Amber Rose ", a quaint and friendly pub, where Australia is discussed at length .

We arrive back to our hotel at 3:30 and sleep till 5:30. Other members of the tour have gone out on an optional tour to the Royal Yacht Britannia.

What a great day, filled with so much history . It almost makes me want to get out some books and study the history of England and Scotland. Mmmmm

Hope all is well back home,

Lots of love Leanne and Greg xxxxxxxxxx


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Location:Edinburgh - Scotland

Day 16

We leave Paris at 8am, with about half of our passengers, the rest are continuing their adventures in Europe. There are lots of kisses, hugs and a few tears as we depart.



We pass countryside on the way to Calais, which takes 3 hrs, including the obligatory 15 mins bus/ driver rest.
Today is much cooler, 18c.

The ferry trip is uneventful, and takes about 2 hrs. We enjoy the company of fellow tour members, as well as chatting to a group of english, who had just returned traveling in Europe.

A cosmos contracted rep and two buses were waiting for us in Dover for transfer to our hotel in hammersmith, west London . We had picked up a few extra people for transfer, but did not need two buses. It was interesting watching 3 men try to work out how to work out what luggage went onto what bus. It reminded me of watching visy vested council workers trying to dig a hole. After 20 mins, of nothing happening we sent our men off the bus to collect our luggage, and put it under the bus......this was great relief to our visy vested men, and we promptly left.

It took 2 hrs to get back into London.

We feel tired and relieved to be back in a country where we are understood.
We enjoy a hearty meal, a bath and early night, ready for our next adventure tomorrow.

Love Leanne and Greg



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Location:Calais

Day 15 continued

Our afternoon excursion is to Sacre Coeur, a cathedral on top of the highest hill in Paris. There are two ways to get to the top, climb the massive stairs, or take a 2 min cable car ride to the top. Not a difficult decision after walking Paris all day......the cable car.
Our next decision coffee or a tour of Sacre Coeur....again not a difficult decision...coffee.
Feeling extremely parched and dehydrated we headed into the local cafe for coffee. Robyn and Doug were with us, and Robyn was served by a short very dark waiter and asked for a short black. Well in my delicate condition, I could not contain my laughter..... It was a " had to be there moment"

We walked around the cathedral enjoying the quirky shops and a variety of artists at work. Market stalls and freelance artists were everywhere displaying their crafts and talents and offering to draw your portrait.( Tash, you would have loved it). Musicians and dancers entertained on the lawns and steps, it was a great atmosphere.( Joel and Rach, you would have loved it). The cathedral was not a highlight of the Montmatre visit, in fact in needed a good guerni water blast to remove all the muck off the stone work.


On return to our group, we heard many stories of our tour group and the kids being harassed by groups of Africans peddling their wares and bracelets. Also gypsies up to their tricks of distraction, to grab your bag or wallet. ( they tell you, you have dropped something, so you bend down to get it, and hey presto your bag disappears and so does the gypsy). Luckily, no one lost anything as we had been warned by our guide about these people.

Tonight is our Farewell dinner with our group. We head off to the Pantheon district, for dinner at 8pm. Everyone is in good spirits and as walk through the lane ways, chants of Aussie Aussie Aussie , can be heard around Paris.
The restaurant is underground, and we are offered 5 choices of entrees, mains, desserts, cheeses and unlimited drinks.
I choose, frog legs, duck and apple tart. Yum. And also tasted snails.
Greg,the conservative one, has French onion soup, beef casserole and apple tart.

It's a fun night with lots of singing and laughter. The muscians wander around the tables singing well known songs, hoping the crowd will fill in the words they don't know.
We leave at 11 pm, for a noisy drive back to our hotel. The coach and driver have to have a 9 hr break before getting back onto the road, so our nights out are never very late.


Au revouir Paris, hello England.

We have had an amazing, surreal, breathtaking, fabulous time in Europe and feel very blessed to have had a great group, guide and driver.

Cheers, from a weary, Leanne and Greg.


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Location:Paris

Day 2 7/9/10- UK

Today is a typical English day, overcast and drizzling. We are wearing jumpers and coats for the first time.

Our day starts at 8 am, after a hearty hot breakfast, so different from croissants, sliced meat and cheese.
Our tour guide is in fine English form in his suit, tie, trench coat,hat and neat little white moustache.- do you get the picture?

We pass pastures of dairy farms and cereal crops, rich fertile land. This area was also known for exporting coal for two centuries, but the coal mines are now closed down. Britain now import coal!

Our first stop is Hadrians wall, a roman defense wall separating the north from the south. Only small remnants of the wall remains. The wall was originally 15ft wide and 76 miles long. The stones on the wall were recycled into houses, this is why only remnants remain. We stopped for coffee at a quaint pub, " the swan" in the district of Heddon, Northumberland. It was having a leek show, yes a leek show.
The size of the leeks was amazing. Rhyce,you should have been there you would have been impressed.



The local school, church and homes were constructed form the stones of the hadrians wall. We checked out the St Andrews Church, circa 650AD. The Rev Audrey McCartan was very excited to see us and showed us around her church, and proudly explained the history of the church and stained glass windows.

From Heddon we pass pretty green country side, dotted with sheep and cattle towards the Scottish border. On the border of England and Scotland the mist appears amongst the now rugged terrain...it looks spectacular. We see heather for the first time along the side of the road.........the plant not the person.
Jedburgh is our next stop to view the remains of the Abbey that was built in the 1120's and destroyed in 1150.

Our lunch stop is at the gorgeous village of Melrose, where once again a large Abbey has been partially destroyed. The village is full of flower boxes, quaint streets, and classy shops. We have lunch there at a pub, called the George and Abbottsford. We are the only diners. I try their coronation chicken ciabatta, which is curried chicken and sultanas in a ciabatta roll - yum. Greg has a salmon sandwich with chips.
We have two hours free time so we amble around the village in the misty rain.


We leave Melrose for Edinburgh, only 45 mins away, passing the river Tweed famous for salmon and trout fishing and the aquaducts .

This area of course is also known for it's tweeds,kilts, cashmere, and wool products

On arrival in Edinburgh we walk to Tesco, like Kmart and Coles combined, for a clothes line- sorry Marilyn we left the clothes line at a hotel. An attendant asks Greg something, in a language we have never heard of before, with no idea what he said to us, Greg replies We are ok thanks. It was a very funny moment, another " you had to be there".

Tonight we join the "team", that's what Greg calls the tour group, for a Scottish evening with Highland dancers, bagpipers and the ceremony of the Haggis( commonly known as sheeps offal), at Jamies at the Thistle.






We are greeted at The Thistle, by an elderly man playing the bag pipes, and ushered into an upstairs room for our evening meal and entertainment.
The evening was a mixture of singing, Scottish dancing, jokes and music. The meal was a good opportunity to meet the "team".
The finale of the evening was the presentation of the haggis, which we were all able to sample. It was like a spicy sausage with a thick sticky texture.
The evening ended at 10pm and we spent time enjoying the night views of
Edinburgh from the bus.

Love Leanne and Greg XXXXXXX



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Location:Journey to Edinburgh

Day 1 UK

We leave for our 6 day England tour at 8am, from our hotel in Hammersmith.
Our driver is Lee Williams ( hard to forget that name) and the guide Hugh Davies.
The tour group of 47 is very multicultural, with 6 different nationalities represented.

We travel from west London to east London, passing Hyde Park, Harrods, Parliament sq, Westminster Abbey, Big Ben and along the Thames river. We pass construction of the 2012 Olympic game site with various stadiums in the process of being built.
As we travel the 2 hrs to Cambridge, Greg and I are trying hard to stay awake, and fail. The countryside is undulating land made up of cereal crops. We stop for a Cornish Cream Tea - tea and scones with clotted cream which has a 60% fat content. Yum.
Cambridge in the 12 & 13 th century was an important centre for theology and education, and many famous scholars have been educated in the walls of Cambridge, Queens and Kings university. We check out the quaint shops, churches bridges ( silver and mathematical bridge) and punts. St Botolphs Church is the saint for travelers, so we pop in for a blessing.



Back on the coach we head for York, a city that was originally settled in 71AD, by the Romans,and then the Vikings. We pass rich fertile farming land, coal fields, Sherwood Forest, Robin Hood country and Grathman where Margaret Thatcher was born.
There is sadly no roman or Viking remains or buildings left in York. Although a city defense wall has been partially returned it's former glory.
York Minster, is a stunning cathedral that took 252 yrs to build, and was completed in 1472. It is suffering from lack of funds to restore it to it's original glory.



York is also well known for it's Railway Museum, chocolate and sweet production.

The tour guide, Hugh is a typical englishman, it makes me chuckle just looking at him. When he takes us on our walking tours, he dons his taupe coloured trench coat, long black umbrella, and leather suitcase. He raises the umbrella high so we know at all times we he is....I feel like I am part of a movie. All he needs is his bowler hat.
We arrive at our Leeds Hotel at 6:15 and dinner at 7:15.

Love Leanne and Greg xxxx


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Location:Leeds

Day 15

Our day starts at 8:30, with a tour of the city sights.
It is another perfect sightseeing day , with slight cloud cover and 25 c.
We view from the bus the Arc de Triomphe, Opera house and museum, Madeliene cathedral, the Louvre, National chambers, Royal Chapel-where Napoleon is buried, the Concorde, Star square, and finishing with a tour of the Notre Dame. Greg spent some time looking for the hunch back of Notre Dame, but was only able to find some scary looking gargoyles .
The Louvre was formally a fortress and is now the largest museum in the world,
Displaying the Mona Lisa and the sculpture of Venus de Milo ( known as the lady with no arms!).
The Notre Dame is a beautiful cathedral built in 1163 and completed in 1350.
As we entered there was beautiful choir music playing which really set the mood for viewing the cathedral. The magnificent rose stained glass windows in the nth and sth annexes are originals from the 13 th century. They are made up of tiny mosaic glass pieces unlike the the stain glass windows beneath which are only hand painted.



The cathedral is made up of the stories of the old testament and life of Christ, either depicted in paintings, stained glass windows or magnificent wooden engravings on the wall. The only people who could read in those days were the bishops, so stories were told by pictures.

Our tour concluded at lunch time, and an optional tour of Versailles was offered but Greg and I decided to have a few hours off.

We checked out the Louvre and then walked to the Arc de Triomphe down the Champs Elysees.( a long way by Gregs standards). We had coffee and watched the parisians walk by and enjoyed taking photos of the tourist sights that we had only viewed from the bus.



At 3:30, we meet up with the group again for a tour of Montmatre, the heart of bohemian Paris, cabaret and the red light district. We viewed the Sacre-Coeur church, which needed a good guerni scrub. However, it was a magnificent view from the top, with lots of market stalls, artists displaying their wares and portrait artists.





Greg and Leanne

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Location:Paris

Day 14

It is much cooler this morning, 16c, as we head to Paris from Glenoble.
Paris was was settled in the 6th century and now has a population of 65 million. It is made up of 45% mountains.
We stop at Beaune, Burgundy, a famous wine growing area. Beaune is also known for its production of Dijion mustard. The area is lush and green. Corn and sunflower fields are everywhere, amongst the vineyards- a typical european scene from the bus.

We stop at Beaune, for eclairs and coffee. It is a medieval French village, with it's defense walls and lane ways leading to all sorts of lovely shops. We found an old man sculpturing wood, lots of patisserie's, and modern clothes shops.



We arrive in Paris at 4pm, ready to board our boat for a cruise along the Seine.
Everyone receives a commentary in their own language, of the passing buildings and places of interest. The buildings are beautiful, and we pass all the places you read about in travel books. The cruise takes an hour.



On disembarking we walk to the Eiffel tower, to ascend to the second floor, which has breathtaking views. The Eiffel tower was originally built as a temporary structure in 1889, by Gustof Eiffel. 26,000 people a day visit the tower.
The population of Paris is 12 million, and in France 26 million.

The weather today has been a perfect 26 c.

Tonight we found a restaurant for dinner, not far from our motel. The waiters had fun trying to work out we wanted, so we used pictures in the menu, until they found someone who spoke English .

So far, I have been able to avoid the dreaded flu and cough that is going around the bus. The kids on the bus are now suffering and the back seat has been designated the sick bay, so you can lie down to sleep. Greg still has his fruity cough but feels fine. There is only a few of us healthy specimens who have not had it, I am really grateful that I am well as I would be a miserable patient!

Au-revoir

Greg and Leanne


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Location:Paris

Day 13

We leave the city of Menton in the district of Cote d' Azur, the blue coast, after breakfast at 8 am, on the route Napolean used after escaping exile.
We stop at Grasse to visit a perfume factory, where we learn how to make perfume and watch the hand made production of perfume and soap.
They employ two scientists and a "nose". A "nose" is a person who has had 3-8 years training on learning to discern 3,000 different aromas. The quanity/size of your nose does not influence the quality of your smellability. The " nose' is on a high salary, there are only fifty people worldwide trained with in this expertise.

We pass Nice and Cannes on the way to our lunchtime stop at Castellane.

Castellane is a quaint French village with hidden bakeries and shops down lane ways, which surround the village square. It is also a thoroughfare for the 'tour de France" and white water rafting. Greg and I opt for the cute little bakery for lunch- Joel and Rach will be proud of us- and after translation issues end up with a massive baguette stuffed with salad and chicken. Oh la la




Sisteron is our next stop, another town that the Tour de France rides through. The welcome flags and decorations are still up! A quick driver rest. And we are off again to finish our climb to Grenoble, passing apple orchards on the way.




We pass amazing scenery along the napoleon route, extremely high mountains, and windy roads. The trip from Menton to Grenoble although only 320 kms will take us all day.

Grenoble, is the city of Alps, and hosted the Olympic games in 1968. It had a tram going down the centre of the road which reminded us of Melbourne.
After dinner of salad, salmon, vegies and creme caramel, we decide to investigate the area with Robyn and Doug. Next to our hotel is a ice rink, so we watched the skaters and enjoyed a coffee - or I should say tried to enjoy the short black which is their way of having a coffee. There was a lengthy conversation over coffee about the rising and setting of the sun and how our shadows are on the opposite side - can't say I noticed really! ( note : Leanne wrote that)

Au-revoir

Leanne and Greg




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Location:Grenoble

Day 12 photos

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Location:Pisa and Monaco at Night

Day 12

We are traveling north west today, passing kms of nurseries who export trees all over the world. Today is beautiful in the mid 20's and a relatively civil start at 8 pm.
We stop at Pisa, to view it's only claim to fame....the leaning tower of Pisa, situated in the square of miracles.....because it is a miracle it hasn't fallen over. It was reinforced in the year 2000, with concrete into the base as it started to lean even further. Tourists have restricted entrance, because of stability concerns.

We arrive in Pisa, before the masses, but greeted by 6 african gypsies peddling their illegal prada bags and sunnies. They were virtually at our door as we descend the bus. Part of me feels sad for them, then Greg tells me to get over it - so practical !

The leaning tower, is just as you imagine, leaning, due to the swampy nature of the ground when first erected as a bell tower during a war between Florence and Pisa.(Pisa lost)
Heading now towards the French Riveria, we see the Apuan mountain ranges which are entirely made of marble, and also glimpses of the Swiss Alps.

We drive through 176 tunnels from Pisa to Cote d'Azur, passing from Italy into France. Finally resting at Menton, on the French riveria for our overnight stay.
Everyone on the bus is excited about being in France, and the usual quiet bus is abuzz with noise.

We settle into our room, and then head off to the pebble beach , only 5 mins away for a toe dip into the water.

Tonight is an optional tour and dinner in the principality of Monaco. It is the 2nd smallest independent state in the world- if you remember from previous blogs, Vatican City is the smallest. It is the most densely populated state in the world, with 125 different nationalities in this tiny area. To become a resident it costs 2 million Euro, plus no taxes. Monaco / Monte Carlo is famous for Grand Prix races.

Visiting Monaco has been a secret wish of mine for a long time, and it did not fail to deliver the WOW factor. Grandeur and wealth was everywhere, the privileged few were strutting around and driving expensive cars.
About twenty of us went out for a meal in a lovely French restaurant, situated in a quiet little square surrounded by the Nicola Cathedral where Grace Kelly and Prince Rainer were married. The restaurant was high on top of "the rock" , a fortress built in the 14 century. After dinner we visited the royal palace of Prince Albert, checked out the superb views over the yacht club and walked through the amazing gardens.
We stopped for a drink at "Le Cafe de Paris" which was extremely elegant , and I think we all felt a little out of place, as we listened to some beautiful french singing and mingled with the jet set.
The casino was opulent, the cars parked outside it were all expensive and chauffeur driven. The women of course were gorgeous trim and wearing designer everything.

Monaco, surprisingly was not bustling with tourists or peddlers of wares. They have a policy of quietness, at night, and there are certainly enough police around to enforce it. Cars and motorbikes are also restricted at night.

The night was very special and we really enjoyed the beauty of the area as well as experiencing how the other half live!

Cheers Leanne xx


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Location:Pisa. French Riveria