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On Monday we went to the Louvre. We both enjoyed the building more than the the art. :)
Tuesday we started on Champs Elysees, stopping at the Laduree patisserie.
Another 284 steps. Oih. I'm coming up with a theory that steps are a French reaction to loving bread, potatoes and pastries.
An afternoon boat ride on the Seine.
Afternoon tea at Angelina. Their hot chocolate = decadent.
The bar where we shared 50cl of wine before heading off to dinner. It's a hard life. ;)
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Ste-Chapelle, 'Holy Chapel' consecrated in 1248 with incredible stained glass windows.
Notre Dame. It's amazing to think this building was basically derelict by the 1830s when Victor Hugo's The Hunchback of Notre Dame rekindled interest.
I love the stone work. Such detail.
We stopped into a little restaurant on Ile St-Louis for lunch where I tried snails vol-au-vont with Rochfort sauce. I was feeling adventurous and it wasn't terrible, can't say that I'll be ordering snails again though. ;)
We wandered in the afternoon, in the Marais and along the Seine. Then it was time for an afternoon nap to rest up for our 11pm show.
It was incredible - bright, cheeky, a bit camp, topless, and very French. A lot of fun.
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Our first full day in Paris we walked north to Montemarte. It was lovely wandering and exploring the winding streets. Such a bustling atmosphere.
After a fortifying lunch, we climbed the dome of the Sacre Coeur Basilica. All 300 steps of it.
Thankfully there were incredible views. :)
Lightly snowing all day, you could feel the temperature difference from the top of Montmartre to the bottom. This is the view out our hotel window.
For dinner we ended up at a restaurant in Passage de Panoramas, where I had a great rib steak with mustard sauce, then got order envy over Mike's delicious chocolate cake. With wine of course. :)
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Our last day in London, we headed to Westminster Abbey and actually forked out the £18 admission fee. I was convinced to take an audio guide by an usher who pointed out 'You've paid a fortune to get in here'. It's an amazing place - the epitaphs written on tombs and plaques particularly tickle my fancy - but I wish I could have taken photos inside.
For lunch we headed to Borough Market in Southwark which was wonderful. Lots of stalls and life. Mike bought a pork roll with apple sauce, complete with a massive hunk of pork belly.
We spent a lot of the afternoon in Tatershall Castle, a pub on a boat overlooking the London Eye. Rebecca recommended it and met us there - it's surprisingly non-touristy. For dinner we walked to a different pub, the Lyceum Tavern, where I had the traditional British fare - fish and chips.
To finish the night we did some research for our safari. ;)
The Lion King was amazing. Mike says Zazu, the king's feathered assistant, stole the show.
Next morning it was time to leave London. We caught a black cab to the St Pancras train station for the Eurostar ride to Paris.
We had planned a relaxing afternoon doing not much but somehow that didn't happen. Mike was too excited to explore. :)
I've been a bit slack in taking/posting Month of Faces photos the last couple of days, but here's Day 22 - a photo of Boyf taken in the Lourve forecourt.
We wandered and wandered. First just south towards the Siene, but then Mike caught a glimpse of something in the skyline and we had a particular destination in mind.
We went up to the top and it was freezing. Incredibly, bitterly cold. So cold I barely took any photos up there! There was an enclosed viewing area on level down where I did snap a couple, once my hands defrosted.
It's been snowing on and off here in Paris, although melting before it hits the ground. Generally it hasn't bren too bad, rugged up in thermals, coat, scarf and lots of layers. But that wind was icy.
Dinner at the bistro around the corner then we headed back to the hotel for the night. We've just had a breakfast of crossiants in our hotel room and I better finish getting ready so we csn go explore Montmarte.
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A morning walk across Hyde Park.
The Albert Memorial.
I wandered around the Victoria and Albert Museum for a couple of hours and only saw a quarter of the place. So appreciating the free entrance to museums! Boyf looked through the Science Museum and now wants his shed to one day look the same. Oih.
A visit to Harrods with its incredible food hall and Egyptian escalator.
An afternoon boat trip on the Thames. We braved it out sitting on the open top deck - by the time we got off we were frozen! We've been so lucky with the weather the last couple of days - cold but sunny with no rain or wind - but that's come to the end. It might even snow today. Oih!
After warming up in the pub, we made our way to Bond St where we meet with Aly, another friend from my Cuba trip. A delicious dinner at a dim sum restaurant called Sing Song with lots laughs, catching up and reminiscing.
On the walk back to the hotel, we stopped into a bar to warm up again. Sharing a cheese platter, we were fighting to keep our eyes open by the time we finished our drinks.
Another great day. Just a cold one.
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First stop, Covent Garden Market where a string quartet were playing some incredible music. Very atmospheric.
We wandered along The Strand and Fleet Street to St Paul's Cathedral. With a £15 admission and no photo policy, we admired it from as far as the ticket desk. :)
Over Millennium Bridge, we wandered along South Bank to Tower Bridge.
Later, we caught the train to Watford Junction (love that name, sounds so British!) where we were picked up by Rebecca, a friend I met in Cuba a few years back. She fed us a lovely early dinner - I must ask for her custard recipe ;) - before dropping us off at the Harry Potter Studio Tour.
The sets, costumes and props are amazing. Boyf, who isn't particularly a HP fan, was most interested in the animatronics and now wants to watch the rest of the movies. ;)
The Griffindor common room. The detail in everything is just incredible.
Drinking butterbeer - yum! - on Privet Lane.
Finally, Hogwarts Castle, an incredible place to go to school.
Another good day in London. Today, Science Museum for Boyf while I check out the Victoria & Albert Museum, then reconvening for a sticky-beak in Harrods. Maybe a boat trip on the Thames later, if we don't think we'll freeze.
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Yesterday we headed out of central London to Brooklands Museum, home of the first car racing track and a Concorde. I'll give you one guess who asked for this one to be on our itinerary. ;)
We were to sit on the Concorde and 'experience' as it would have been in flight. No champagne and caviar though, but as it cost us £4 as opposed to £6,000' I'm okay with that. ;)
My favourite part of the Museum, a car ride out into the original racetrack banking. The angle of the bridge shows how slopped it is. My knuckles might be a little white in this picture; did I mention the car didn't have doors?
Back in town late afternoon, we headed to Trafalgar Square for a look around the National Gallery and the National Portrait Gallery. Everywhere we turn there seems to be so any people in London. I can't imagine it in summer!
We finished the day with a walk along Regent and Oxford Streets, including a visit to Hamblys.
All toy shops should be like this - Hamblys brings out the inner 9 year old in all of us!
A Month of Faces, Day 17: I forgot to post, the internet was giving me fits the other day. Not a great face photo, but I love the contrasts. :)
A Month of Faces, Day 18: Gold man, outside the National Gallery.
Now I better sign off, we're off to explore Convent Garden and the Harry Potter studio today. Didn't get a chance to post last night, fast asleep by 9:30pm.
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Walking across Hyde Park in the early morning. A wonderful 'We're actually here!' moment.
I remember this fellow from my last trip.
Dalek's on the bridge. We stumbled across filming a scene from Dr Who. Boyf loved it. :)
And where we had lunch.
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Two for the price of one today. I think I'll call this series Airport Waiting. ;)
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Ok, paparazzo pup isn't my face for today, but he is quite appropriate. And quirky. ;)
After work today I spent a few minutes in Federation Square trying to surreptitiously take photos of complete strangers. I can say with absolute confidence, street photography is not for me. I feel too guilty and obvious, like I have a red blinking arrow above my head declaring 'I'm spying on you!'
Regardless, I do quite like the composition of this photo. (Focus and lighting could be better on the man's face.) I'm pretty sure the four of them are a family group, exploring the city for the day.
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