Articles from this Category
18 July 2024
Above: A pretty spot in the residential area of Valognes. As sightseeing in the region had been gotten out of the way, yesterday was spent mostly on DIY at Valognes apart from a fancy lunch at Brasserie Marcel along the way, including foie gras including foie gras served in three ways: The first was perhaps […]
16 July 2024
Above: Eight missile hatches on each side visible. Chores and DIY It was a morning of chores, starting with the laundry before calling into a great hardware superstore called Leroy Merlin on the way to Valognes for more DIY. Today I started masking the attic windows for painting. It was all good until I realised […]
15 July 2024
Chateau Balleroy E had some errands to do in the morning and we did them en route to my first stop, which was Chateau Balleroy. I got dropped off in the wet weather on the road while E went to work briefly, and walked to the ticket office located in one of the two stables. […]
14 July 2024
Above: Part of Cherbourg’s breakwater barely visible from the shore. Latin Mass Staying with E on the military base, we had a hearty breakfast on site. When I talked about “café au lait” from the machine, he commented that I spoke French with no accent. But I don’t speak French! We headed to the naval […]
13 July 2024
Above: On the train to Normandy. Luxembourg to Normandy by trains Today, I’m travelling to Normandy in France, which requires a suburban bus to the station, then a train-replacement bus to Metz Ville to connect with the high speed train to Paris Gare l’Est, getting to St Lazare station for the final normal rail service […]
12 July 2024
Above: Luxembourg’s old city is built on a steep rocky outcrop. The balcony-like road on the upper level is referred to as the corniche (a name often used for an esplanade in many places). Haute Ville Despite having retired around midnight, I woke at 0515 (or 0415 UK time). I got out of bed around […]
11 July 2024
Above: Rives de Clausen area. Heathrow pick-up and drop-off hell As we had retired early last night, I woke at 0530. It was very light already. We were ready to go by around 0700 but stayed a bit longer to say good bye and make sure our morning nature calls were answered. Leaving around 7930, […]
1 July 2024
Nuremberg Trial site The hotel did an awesome breakfast for EUR11 and to my surprise, it did have some hot eggs and sausages. Here I was thinking that it would be cold continental in Germany. First up this morning was a visit to the site of the Nuremberg Trials. We got there by underground just […]
30 June 2024
Going to the airport I was happy to take public transport (NZD11 or EUR6 per person) to the airport for our midday flight but Kim was keen on an easier option. Last year, the hotel offered us a ride for EUR20 (per car) but this year it was going to be EUR40. So, we decided […]
17 July 2022
Crossing to Evian in France Today is my final move in Switzerland, hopping on the bus across the hotel at 0720 to take the train to Geneva. But in a development that came up only yesterday, I decided to make a stopover in Lausanne for a side trip to Evian, across the lake on the […]