Day 41 - Thursday 9th November 2023

Today we'd be flying out of Kuala Lumpur heading to Sydney. We'd be landing in Sydney in the evening.

We were booked on a Malaysian Airlines flight due to leave at 9:10am. Most of the time we prefer to travel business class using Qantas Frequent Flyer points but in this case we were paying money to fly economy class.

As usual for an international flight, we had to be at the airport three hours before departure and so we planned to take advantage of the hotel's shuttle service bus to the airport at 6am. It would be a long day with an early start - I set my alarm for 4:30am.

It didn't start well because there was almost no hot water in the shower.

It got worse. Last night, we'd ordered breakfast to be delivered by room service at 5am but it didn't arrive until 5:30 and there was not enough time to have more than a few bites before we checked out at 5:45. Our opinion of the Movenpick hotel was going downhill.

The shuttle bus worked well and we reached the airport by 6:15am. The queue at the economy class checkin wasn't as bad as it can be. Although both bags weighed the same (25.4kg), which was above the 23kg limit, the lady at checkin seemed quite relaxed about it.

Once again we had to walk through the building and get a bus to another building. After passing through customs and security, we found a Starbucks for a coffee and muffin for breakfast. Then another long walk to the departure gate.

I was limping and so it was slow progress. At the departure gate, Suzy organised for me to board early at the same time as the people on wheelchairs.

The plane departed at 9:30am and it was almost a full flight. For some reason, most of the people onboard seemed to be Indian.

They served a breakfast at 11am and another light meal at 4pm (KL time).

I was surprised that they provided free wifi onboard. I've seen wifi onboard some other flights but it is rare for it to be free. Unfortunately, it wasn't very reliable.

The captain seemed to be very cautious about turbulence because he put the fasten seat belts sign on several times and for a long time – even though there didn’t seem to be a problem most of the time.

We landed in Sydney just after 8:30pm Sydney time (5:30pm KL time). It was an anxious wait for our luggage because our airtags showed them as last seen at KL. Eventually it showed them in Sydney and they emerged on the carousel soon after.

Customs at Sydney airport was very quick and efficient until the last step. When we had collected our bags and we were heading for the exit, the nothing to declare exit had a long queue that wasn't moving. We tried the other queue.

The taxi got us home at about 10:40pm where Philip and Milo were waiting to welcome us home. It was midnight before we got to bed.

We were home safely and our big overseas adventure had come to an end.

Day 40 - Wednesday 8th November 2023

About two hours before we were due to land in Kuala Lumpur, the flight attendants woke us for breakfast. I had managed to get about three hours of sleep whereas Suzy had more than four hours.

The "beds" were more comfortable than on the previous flight - mainly because there was  plenty of room for my feet this time. Once again, the seats folded down to a flat horizontal bed.

The breakfast was very nice - fruit, croissant, muffin, omelette, sausages, coffee.

The plane landed at about 2:30pm Kuala Lumpur time.

Arrival at the airport started well and then went downhill. There was an airbridge to get to the terminal but then a very long walk through the terminal. We had expected then to go through customs and baggage claim but it wasn't to be because that happened in a different building. It was a bus trip to get there.

Then there was another long walk which I found difficult. Eventually we went through customs and entered the chaos of the baggage claim area. The good news was that our bags did arrive.

There are signs around the airport about improvements and upgrades they are doing to the airport. They certainly need improvements. Lots of them.

We got a taxi for the relatively short journey to the Movenpick Hotel. However the taxi driver didn't accept credit cards - only cash sand we didn't have any Malaysian currency. Instead we gave him a 10 Euro note which seemed to make him happy.

Compared with the airport terminal and the taxi ride, the hotel was a breath of fresh air. Staff were falling over themselves to very helpful, courteous and friendly. For example, a senior staff member repeatedly asked us if we wanted a welcome drink. Although I declined they brought us drinks anyway (fruit juice).

The hotel building is an impressive structure and nicely decorated inside.

Our room was by far the largest room we'd had on our holiday. It had a king size bed, table and chairs, lounge, safe, carpet, wardrobe, bench for luggage but no work desk. The wifi speed was slow and unreliable 5Mb/s down and 3.5 up.

The bathroom was also much bigger than we'd seen on this trip. It had a walk-in shower and bath. It even had an entrance door at each end.

Thankfully the room had air conditioning including cooling - unlike the European hotels. Also the light switches were labelled here so you know what each switch does - perhaps European hotels could try this too.

For dinner we went down to the hotel restaurant at about 7pm. When we'd checked in, we'd been given a voucher for two free drinks. It turned out that this was for fruit juice because they don't serve alcohol anywhere in the hotel. It was also strange that we couldn't charge the dinner to our room.

Day 39 - Tuesday 7th November 2023

Today we'd be flying out of Brussels and travelling to Kuala Lumpur via Dubai with Emirates. The flight was due to depart at about 3pm.

We checked out of the hotel at 11:15am and got a taxi to the airport.

There is a strange arrangement for drop-offs at the airport. Initially, he took us to an official drop-off area and told us that we'd then have to walk about 400m to the terminal. The alternative was for him to drive us into the multi-storey car park next to the terminal for an entry fee of 3 Euros. I didn't want to try walking that far and so we decided on the second option.

After checking in, we went to the business class lounge (Diamond Lounge). Suzy then when back to the customs counter to claim a tax refund for goods she'd purchased.

The plane departed on time and the onboard service started well but wasn't always good. Sometimes we had to ask for things that should have been provided automatically.

Also the seating area wasn't well designed. Although there were two little cupboards for various types of drinks, there was nowhere to store things such as the headsets or your glasses case. They could have done away with the little cupboards and just provided space to store a single bottle of water etc.

More importantly there wasn't enough room for my feet when I tried to get some sleep. Although the seat folded down to a flat horizontal bed, my feet were shoved into a tiny space. So I didn't manage to get any sleep.

The plane landed in Dubai at about 12:15am (9:15pm Brussels time).

Unfortunately, they used stairs instead of an airbridge and so I had to carry my hand luggage down the stairs. It was even harder for the man in front of me who had a walking stick. He had to be assisted by his wife and a crew member to get down to the tarmac.

Then they used a bus to get us to the terminal where we had to go through security again. It was reassuring that the Find My app showed our luggage had reached Dubai.

We had time to fill in before the next flight and so we went to the business class lounge. Since we didn't know when meals would be served on the flight, we had a light meal in the lounge to keep us going. We don't normally have meals at this time of night.

It was a very long walk to the departure gate. They seem to be sending us to the farthest gate each time. I was struggling to walk that far. I probably should have tried to get a ride on one of the motorised carts they had in the terminal.

Staff at the gate helped me get down to the airbridge. But when we got onto the plane, we were faced with a staircase to get up to business class. Luckily a crew member carried my hand luggage up the stairs and other crew members took it to my seat and helped get it into the overhead locker.

The plane pulled back from the terminal at about 3:40am but it was about 4am before it actually took off.

They served a light snack after take-off and then it was time to get some sleep. This time it was easier because it was more comfortable. There was plenty of room for my feet. They said they would wake us for breakfast before landing.

Day 38 - Monday 6th November 2023

Today we woke up to a bright sunny day with blue sky. However it was still cool. The temperature was 8C and the feels like temperature was 4C. We had breakfast in the hotel restaurant.

The plan was to explore Brussels today. It would be our last full day in Europe.

We left the hotel at 10am and caught a tram from the nearby Stephanie Place. We followed the hotel's advice and used our credit cards to tap on to pay the fare. The hotel had suggested we get off at the Palace and walk down the hill from there.

On the way down, we had good views of the city.

The first destination was the famous statue of the little boy having a leak. There were several tour groups there taking photos too.

Usually the statue is naked but today it was dressed and had a trumpet.

Then we went into a nearby shop that sold Belgian chocolates. Other shops were selling Belgian waffles. As the morning progressed, we saw lots more chocolate shops. It seemed as though almost every second shop was a chocolate shop.

A couple of blocks further on, we reached the Grand Place which is aptly named because it is surrounded on all four sides by grand buildings including the city hall.

By that time, we needed to escape from the cold for a while and so we went back to a waffles shop where we could sit down, get warm, enjoy coffee and a chocolate waffle and plan the rest of our outing.

When we left the waffle cafe, we noticed a shop that sold cannabis products.

Further on past the main square, we found a shopping arcade that reminded me of the Strand Arcade or perhaps the QVB back home. Apart from chocolate shops, it had expensive jewellery and handbag shops.

Finally we walked up the hill to the cathedral. It was a tall imposing structure. Inside it was nicely decorated with statues, paintings and stained glass windows. It was good to just sit there and admire it all.

It would be the last of many cathedrals we'd seen on our trip and it was a good one to finish with. Apparently this cathedral dates back about 1000 years.

When we left the cathedral, it was raining and so we caught a Uber back to our hotel. More than half of the journey was in tunnels rather than on the cobblestone streets.

For lunch, we went to a coffee shop about a block up the street from our hotel. The baguette was nice but I don't know why it took them half an hour to prepare it.

This afternoon, we'd asked the hotel for recommendations as to where to go for dinner tonight. Their preferred choice was Le Rendez-Vous des Artistes which is only 5 minutes walk away (or 15 minutes if you take wrong turn and you limp most of the way there).

It was a great choice. It was a delicious meal with good wine (Syrah). I had filet mignon medium (it really was medium this time) with potato croquettes while Suzy had beef stew with Belgian chips. There was no room left for dessert.

The bloke on my right had the tallest burger I've ever seen and the bloke on my left had the biggest pot of oysters that anybody has ever seen.

They really pack you in - just like one of the bistros we'd been to in Paris. To get in or out you needed to slide tables sideways to make enough room. I guess it's a sign of a popular restaurant.

When I asked for the bill, they gave me the bill for the couple on my left (who were still only part way through their meal) which resulted in lots of laughter. I probably should have paid it because it was cheaper than our bill.

After taking a more direct route and dodging puddles, we were back in our hotel soon after 8:30pm so we could enjoy some of the chocolates that Suzy had bought this morning at one of the many chocolate shops in Brussels.

Just for comparison, I had a glass of the cheap wine we'd bought yesterday at the supermarket. Although it tasted better than yesterday, it was nowhere near as good as the wine we'd had at the restaurant.

This was a great evening to conclude our holiday in Europe.

Day 37 - Sunday 5th November 2023

Today we'd be leaving Paris and travelling to Brussels on the Eurostar train. We had breakfast in the hotel.

When we checked out from the hotel just before 11am, the taxi was already waiting for us outside the hotel blocking traffic in the narrow one-way one-lane street.

We reached the Gare du Nord railway station at about 11:10am - more than an hour before our train was due to depart.

When the platform number was announced, there was the normal rush to board. Our carriage was near the end of the very long platform. It wasn't easy getting our heavy bags onboard. At least there was a break in the rain.

The train left on time at 12:21pm and reached Brussels on time at 1:44pm. Some kind people helped us getting our bags off the train.

The train was in fact two trains. As we walked along the platform at Brussels looking for a lift (to avoid the escalators), we noticed that they'd uncoupled the trains. The two trains would then go to different destinations.

We got a taxi van that was big enough to take our luggage but it ended up costing us 40 Euros for a ten minute trip. He wouldn't accept a credit card and insisted on cash. We concluded that we'd been ripped off.

Our room at the Thon Hotel Bristol Stephanie was ready. They'd given us a room on level 10 - the top level - and so we had a view of the city from the large (wet and slippery) balcony.

The room had a queen size double bed, work desk, safe, fridge, tea and coffee making, comfy chair, separate toilet (with hand basin),  no carpet. The bathroom had a shower in the bath. Wifi was  slow 2Mb/s down and 10 up.

At about 3:15pm, we heard some rowdy noise outside. It turned out there was a demonstration heading down the street (Avenue Louise) under surveillance by police. Their sign said "Truth and justice" in French. It seemed to be a pro-Palestinian rally.

At about 4pm, we went out for a walk. The street had trams running down the middle and the only way we could see to get to the other side seemed to be to use the underpass. After going down the stairs, we baulked when we saw the underpass was occupied by homeless people.

Further on, we went into a supermarket to buy a bottle of wine. Although all the French wine had corks (as usual), we found one Belgian wine that a screw top and so we decided to give it a try. The man behind the counter told us there was a pedestrian crossing further up the street so we could avoid the underpass.

So far Brussels looked rather drab and unattractive. Perhaps it would have been better on a warm sunny day. It didn't help that the streets were cluttered with rubbish as if there was a strike by garbage collectors.

By contrast, our hotel was bright, cheerful and tastefully decorated. The staff were very helpful and spoke good English. One of them gave us detailed advice on what we should go to see in the city tomorrow.

For dinner, we went to the hotel's restaurant. Our booking was for 7pm which is when the restaurant opened and when we left just after 8:30pm we were still the only people who'd been dining there except that there were other people at the bar.

My guess is that they have business meetings and conferences on weekdays and don't have too many tourists like us.

It was a delicious meal artistically presented. We shared a combination of salad and starters. I've noticed that in the restaurants we've been to in Europe, they use the term "starters" rather than "entrees" - possibly because Americans think that "entree" means main course.

We got chatting to our waiter. It turned out he came here from the Philippines 30 years ago and his children were born and raised here. His home back in the Philippines was in a mountainous area a long way from civilisation and had no transport or electricity.

It had been yet another interesting day to experience Europe.

Day 36 - Saturday 4th November 2023

Today we'd be leaving Strasbourg and heading back to Paris using the TGV train (train grande vitesse).

For breakfast, we planned to go to a cafe instead of the hotel. It was a cool 8C outside and so we rugged up and headed out just after 8:30am. However we couldn't find any cafes that were open and so we went back to the hotel after all. Perhaps people don't go out for breakfast on the weekend around here.

We checked out of the hotel just before 10am and walked the short distance to the tram stop. The trams run regularly and so we didn't have long to wait.

At the railway station, we found a waiting room where we could keep an eye on the display board to see which platform the train would be using. The train was due to leave at 10:52 but ended up leaving about 25 minutes late.

Soon after we boarded, it started raining and it rained most of the way to Paris Gare du Nord railway station. Just before the final destination, it stopped briefly at the Charles de Gaulle airport. We reached our stop at about 1:15pm.

At the taxi rank, the ground was very wet but it was no longer raining. In fact, the sun was breaking through the clouds. We continue to be lucky in avoiding rain most of the time.

The traffic wasn't as bad as before - probably because it was a Saturday - and so we reached Hotel Moliere at about 1:50pm.

Our room was already available. We had left our luggage with them while we went to Strasbourg and our bags were already in our room. This time, they'd upgraded us to a deluxe room.

The room was bigger than on our previous stay. It had a king size bed, two wardrobes, separate toilet. The bathroom had a walk-in shower and a separate bath. There were curtains around the bed.

After settling in, we went to the laundry nearby to do a load of washing. It was raining again and so we borrowed umbrellas from the hotel.

For dinner, we'd booked to go to a different restaurant, Bistrot Vivienne. This was one of the restaurants that the hotel had recommended. It was only a few blocks away from the hotel.

It was an excellent meal. The desserts were delicious. They seemed to put people who'd booked in a next door location which was quiet and not crowded. Then again, maybe they were keeping the other side for young people.

Previously I'd suggested we should go to the Gardens of the Royal Palace which was close the restaurant and our hotel. Not such a good idea because it was dark and closed. It turned out to be a long way to go back to the hotel.

Day 35 - Friday 3rd November 2023

When we woke this morning, it was a chilly 7C outside. Although it was cloudy, they were no longer forecasting rain.

We had breakfast in the hotel restaurant on level 1 (as opposed to the Le 1387 restaurant on level 0). It was a buffet breakfast like a typical large hotel. There was more choice than our boutique hotel back in Paris. It was also more expensive. I didn't have to cook my own eggs and I ordered an omelette.

Today we'd be exploring Strasbourg. We left the hotel at about 10:15 and walked towards the Strasbourg Notre Dame Cathedral. Because it was so cool, we were well rugged up. I was wearing a light jumper, my heavy puffer jacket, beanie and gloves.

The plaza in front of the cathedral was busy with tour groups and individuals such as us. As we'd seen elsewhere, there were also beggars, homeless people and gypsies.

Our priority was to go on a sightseeing boat trip and so we didn't go into the cathedral yet. Instead we bought tickets from the Botorama office next to the tourist information office near the cathedral.

The boat was fully enclosed in curved glass so you could admire the scenery from every angle. It also gave you weather protection which was just as well because there was some light rain towards the end of the outing. It was also warm inside and so we didn't need our jackets.

However the reflections in the glass make it hard to take good photos.

There is a canal that loops all the way around the city making it an island. There are also branch canals.

After about 10 minutes, we approached the old town (La Petite France) and had to go through a lock. We'd planned to come back here on foot later in the day. There is a dam on the river to maintain the water level. Naturally there was a lock at the other end of the old town.

The architecture in Strasbourg is quaint and distinctive - particularly in the old town. It is very different from Paris. Because Alsace Lorraine has been part of Germany rather than France from time to time, there is German influence in the buildings.

In one of the branch canals, we passed by buildings related to the European Union including a huge glass building that is the European Parliament. I was surprised by this because I thought it was based in Brussels. Apparently most of the EU's administrative work happens in Brussels but the parliament meets in Strasbourg.

The river cruise finished just after 12 noon. It had been a good way to get an overview of the city.

The commentary was offered in several languages. I'd tuned in the the English version on channel 3 whereas Suzy listened to channel 13 which she thought was corny but we concluded this might have been the channel for kids.

On the way back up towards the cathedral, we took the time to take photos in the fascinating streets and plazas along the way which we had previously rushed through on our way to the boat.

The cathedral was closed at lunch time and so we decided to go to one of the nearby cafes, La Grande Dame,  to have our lunch. We had a table next to the window upstairs and so we had a good view of the passing scenery below.

As we've seen elsewhere, there were people walking their dogs - including golden retrievers. There aren't any parks nearby and so they wander through cobblestone streets. It is also common for people to take dogs on trains and trams.

I had a burger, a glass of Syrah (we call it Shiraz) and a cafe allonge (which is an espresso with added water - I'd call it a long black and around here it is often called cafe Americain or Americano).

As we walked back towards the cathedral, we saw more soldiers on patrol with their fingers on the trigger of their machine guns. This time there were six or seven of them. They seemed so young - possibly teenagers or early 20s. 

t was such a juxtaposition. They looked like they were on patrol in the jungle expecting the Vietcong to jump out from the bushes at any second in amongst the tourists and locals.

The cathedral was now open again and so we could go inside. It's a very big cathedral - tall and long. Although the outside of the building is very ornate (perhaps too much), the inside is not very ornate.

There are several side rooms including one containing some sort of astronomical clock which dates back to 1842. Apparently it puts on a show every day at 12:30 which is probably why the cathedral was closed to the general public at lunch time.

Next we made our way towards La Petite France (the old town of Strasbourg) which is about a ten minute walk (or 20 minutes at my pace).

The architecture and scenery here is very special. Everywhere you look there is another fabulous photo opportunity. Many of the buildings front onto the various canals. Trees and flowers add to the beauty. It's very pretty. An exceptional place.

As we were leaving the area, Suzy said "now you can see why I wanted to come to Strasbourg".

We got back to the hotel by about 2:30pm. By this time I was ready for a rest after all the walking whereas Suzy went out shopping again.

Tonight we decided to go somewhere other than the hotel for dinner. Based on Suzy's research on restaurant reviews, we went to a nearby restaurant called Bistrot des Cocottes at 7pm.

It was just a two minute walk from the hotel. (It would have been just one minute if we'd known exactly where it was).

It was a good choice. Great food and good service. Great atmosphere. I had steak again and concluded that medium means something different in France. Suzy's pork dish was delicious as was the fondant dessert with dark chocolate. A glass of wine was only 5 Euros.

On the way back to the hotel, we went to the nearby tram stop to see if we could work out how to get a ticket tomorrow to get back to the railway station. We couldn't figure it out but a couple of young men  who spoke some English showed us how.

We were back in our hotel soon after 8pm.

Day 34 - Thursday 2nd November 2023

Today we'd be leaving Paris and travelling to Strasbourg by train. The plan was to spend two nights in Strasbourg and then come back to Paris for one night before then going on to Brussels in preparation for the flight home.

Since we'd be coming back to the same hotel in Paris, we had arranged to leave our big luggage with them so we didn't have to cart the luggage on and off the train. So we were travelling light with backpacks for things we'd need for the Strasbourg trip. I would also be taking my laptop bag and camera bag.

We checked out from the hotel at 11:30am and caught a taxi to the Gare de l'Est railway station. Our driver seemed to be very patient and skilful. You'd have to be in order to navigate your way through Paris traffic. I'm glad I wasn't driving. It was stressful enough just being a passenger.

We arrived safely at the station at 12 noon which was in plenty of time because the train was due to depart at 12:42. The weather forecast had talked about wind and the wind was certainly very strong. It was cool (12C). We needed our heavy puffer jackets.

We bought baguettes to have for lunch on the train.

The display board didn't show Strasbourg. We eventually figured out that Strasbourg was just one of the stops on its way to its final destination in Germany.

Theoretically the platform number is supposed to be displayed 20 minutes before the train departs but it was less than 10 minutes when it came up. So there is not much time to get to the platform and find your carriage in the very long platform. This explains why everybody runs for the train when the platform number comes up.

Our seats were upstairs this time and so it's just as well we didn't have our big bags. Suzy had booked first class again and so the seats were comfortable.

The TGV was soon travelling at high speed through the countryside. Most of the time we were passing green fields and occasionally we saw sheep and cattle. We saw farmhouses and some small villages each with its own church spire.

There were three stops at small stations before we reached Strasbourg. Surprisingly the train was 5 or 10  minutes late in getting there. Quite a few others were getting off the train there too.

Suzy had done research to find out how to get to our hotel from the railway station and the solution was to get a tram. The platforms for the tram are under the station on level -4. It wasn't easy trying to work out how to buy tram tickets but we figured it out in the end.

We reached the hotel, Hotel Maison Rouge, at about 3:15pm. This is a high class hotel right in the centre of Strasbourg.

Our room was on level 4 with a view of the tram tracks in the street below. It has a queen size bed, work desk, safe, fridge, carpet, wardrobe, large TV, tea and coffee making. The bathroom has a shower in the bath. The wifi speed was about 70Mb/s down and 65 up.

It was more spacious than our Paris hotel and so there would have been plenty of room for our luggage if we had brought it.

Suzy went shopping and I went out to take photos of the nearby streets, plazas, shops and buildings. In the main plaza, there were cranes installing a large Christmas tree.

The trams regularly came through the street and so you need to be alert. All the streets I saw were closed to other traffic. They were all cobblestone streets.

As I was leaving the plaza, I saw a soldier carrying a machine gun and then another and then another. All three looked as though there were on patrol in a war zone. They weren't strolling through the plaza - they were on alert with their fingers on the trigger. It looked scary.

I chatted to one of them but I'm not dure he understood what I was saying. When I got back to the hotel, I asked the concierge if it was normal to have soldiers on patrol. He said it was normal since the terror attack. I thought he was referring to the Middle East but he said he was referring to a terrorist attack here in Strasbourg.

When I got back to our room, I googled it and found there had been a terrorist attack at the Christmas markets in Strasbourg in December 2018. A man with a gun and knife had killed and wounded people.

Suzy came back with her shopping including a bottle of wine which had cost her only 5 Euros. Unfortunately the bottle had a cork again. When I rang downstairs, a waiter came up to our room and opened it for me. Great service.

Suzy had booked for dinner in the hotel restaurant for 7pm. It's an elegant restaurant called Le 1387. They didn't seem to offer bottles of wine - just wine by the glass. We both had a nice glass of red for 10 Euros each - double what Suzy paid this afternoon for a full bottle.

I enjoyed my Angus steak. Just as well I ordered medium because it was fairly rare. Every restaurant has a different interpretation of medium and medium rare. My guess is that if I had order rare it would have still been running around in the paddock.

The dessert was delicious.

We were back in our room by 8:30pm where I could have another glass of our cheap red.

Day 33 - Wednesday 1st November 2023

Today we'd be spending more time exploring Paris. Once again we'd be using the hop on hop off bus for sightseeing. We had a booking to go to an art museum at 11:40am.

It was another cool cloudy morning. The forecast said there might be showers at times. We left the hotel at about 10:15am and were just in time for a bus outside the Big Bus office. We got off the bus at the fourth stop just outside the Musee d'Orsay.

Suzy had prebooked tickets for the Van Gogh exhibition at 11:40am. Although we had arrived much earlier than that, they let us in. In fact, we walked straight in without having to join the very long queue that most people were enduring.

The museum is in a building that used to be a railway station. It is a grand building with a huge arch roof. Inside there are statues and paintings from famous artists such as Renoir, Monet, Cezanne, Gaugin and many others I'd never heard of.

The first part of our Van Gogh ticket entitled us to a virtual reality experience. They sit you down and place a device on your head. When the video starts, you see images of Van Gogh's work, his studio, his palette, etc.

The scenery floats in front of you. You are supposed to reach out and "touch" items and interact with what you see. From time to time a colourful bird flies around you. The whole experience lasts about ten minutes. I don't know how they do it but it's amazing.

Next they ushered us into the exhibition of Van Gogh's paintings. Once again we were able to walk straight in without having to join the very long queue. There was room after room of his work.

There was more artwork on the upper levels - mainly impressionist painters. By then it was time for lunch and so we went to the restaurant on the upper level.

We left the museum at about 1:30pm and got back on the bus for the trip back to out hotel. We managed to get seats on the upper deck under the canvas roof. Although it rained most of the way back, the sun came out just before we got off the bus. We were back at our hotel at about 3:40pm.

Suzy wanted to go shopping and I wanted to go the Louvre Museum which was only 5 minutes walk away. I didn't go into the museum. I just took photos from the outside in the plaza. I wasn't the only person taking photos. The ground was wet but it wasn't raining. In fact the sun was shining brightly.

For dinner we tried to book at a different restaurant recommended by the hotel but it was booked out and so we went back to the nearby Bistrot Richelieu again. It was very crowded. They squash you in - the tables were very close.

Suzy ordered a dish off the blackboard menu but they brought her something different because they'd run out of that dish. She rejected the dish they brought and ordered something else. Not impressive.

We were back at our hotel at about 8pm and had coffee in the lounge area downstairs.

Day 32 - Tuesday 31st October 2023

Today we'd be exploring Paris. When we went down to the hotel breakfast at about 8:45am, it was cloudy and cool (11C) outside. Yesterday they'd been forecasting rain but there was no longer rain on the forecast.

We had a very nice breakfast in the hotel restaurant. They had the same machine for cooking boiled eggs that I'd seen earlier in our holiday and so I knew how to use it except this time the timer was an hour glass rather than a clock timer.

Since we've had success with the hop on hop off bus in other cities we've visited on our holiday, we decided to do the same here in Paris. We left our hotel at 10:15am.

The Big Bus ticket office was only a block away from our hotel. We'd already booked online and so the office just issued us with the paper tickets. We'd decided to book a two-day pass including a boat trip on the River Seine.

As with other cities, the top deck is open - although sometimes the bus has a canvas cover over the rows at the front for weather protection. We managed to get seats on the top deck.

There are ten stops on the tour and we decided that we wanted to get off at three stops: Notre Dame, Arc de Triomphe and the Eiffel Tower.

Unfortunately we miscalculated with the first stop and got off one stop too early. This gave us an opportunity to take photos of the river and surrounding buildings while we waited for the next bus. They are supposed to come every 15 minutes but it doesn't always turn out that way.

We were then worried about the stop for the Notre Dame site because the bus just sailed past the cathedral. All was well because the bus did a loop around several city blocks before depositing us very close to the cathedral.

It was a popular spot because most people got off there. Although it wasn't raining, the ground was wet and there were puddles and mud to avoid. There was a very visible police presence.

The cathedral was still under reconstruction and there were cranes everywhere. At the front of the cathedral, they've built a temporary timber grandstand for people to sit and take photos. We know all about delayed construction.

It was a long wait for the next bus. As we waited we chatted to a couple from Brisbane in front of us in the queue. She was in a wheelchair because she'd had a mishap on their holiday.

After navigating various other parts of the city (and after crossing the River Seine several times it seemed), the bus travelled along the full length of the Champs Elysees past all the cafes and expensive shops before stopping near the Arc de Triomphe where we got off the bus.

This was obviously another great photo opportunity.

Then we walked a short distance down the Champs Elysees before stopping at a sidewalk cafe for a coffee and cake. It had great atmosphere with the crowds walking past close to us in the cafe and the Arc de Triomphe close by. As Suzy said, this ticked lots of boxes.

It was then only a short wait to board the bus again. When we reached the stop for the Trocadero, they announced that it was an ideal place to take a photo of the Eiffel Tower. Although we took photos from the bus, we managed to take heaps of photos later of the Eiffel Tower from other locations.

When we got off the bus at the Eiffel Tower stop, the main purpose was to find where to board the boat for the river cruise. After a few false starts we found it and found a bench seat onboard. It was mostly sunny and the temperature had risen to 14C.

Unsurprisingly it was a popular outing because the boat was full. A large group of enthusiastic girl guides from England occupied the full length of the long bench in front of us.

The boat set off down the River Seine at 2pm taking us past various landmarks such as the Eiffel Tower, Place de la Concorde, Louvre Museum, Pont Neuf, Notre Dame and the Trocadero.

There was plenty of activity on the river. People on our boat and others would wave to each other as we passed by and the kids would create an echo ruckus as we passed under low bridges.

There were numerous small police boats patrolling the river. In fact, most of day we'd heard sirens throughout the city - mostly police cars and occasionally ambulances.

After the boat turned around, we saw the landmarks from our side of the boat. We docked at the Eiffel Tower just after 3pm. It was an excellent way to see so many of the highlights of Paris. Suzy always likes to see a city from the water such as a river, canal or sea.

We grabbed a sandwich for lunch before heading off for a walk further along the riverside. Just as we were heading back, we ran into two other couples from our river cruise. They had just been up to the top of the Eiffel Tower.

A nearby cafe attracted us for a brief stop for espresso coffee before we headed back to board the bus for the remainder of the journey.

Soon we managed to get more photos of the Eiffel Tower from the bus. I now had heaps of photos of it from every conceivable angle.

Suzy got off the bus one stop early before our hotel so she could go to the Galleries Lafayette shopping centre. I went to the final stop and walked back to the hotel.

For dinner we went to Le Comptoir restaurant at 7pm. It was another good meal. I had salmon and Suzy had pork spare ribs (which didn't look at all like spare tibs). We ordered a Cote du Rhone red wine but they charged us for the wrong wine and gave us a reduced bill.

Next we went to a nearby laundry to sort out our washing instead of paying a fortune for hotel laundry.

We were back at our hotel at about 9pm after a memorable and tiring day in Paris.

Day 31 - Monday 30th October 2023

Today we'd be leaving our river cruise and getting a train to Paris.

Scenic has an excellent system for arranging disembarkation. They issue everyone with coloured tags for their luggage according to their departure time. They organise taxis and vans to take passengers to the airport, railway station or hotels.

Some people left as early as 4am whereas a few didn't leave until the afternoon. Our taxi had been booked for 11:30am to take us to Lyon Part-Dieu railway station.

Everyone had to vacate their room by 8:30am and so we had a few hours to relax in the lounge after breakfast before our departure. We shared the taxi with two other couples and reached the station at about 11:50am.

Danielle had given us advice about the train travel including that we buy something for lunch before boarding the train because the food onboard wasn't great. So we bought some baguettes and found a waiting room to sit and wait.

In the waiting room, we saw another couple from the river cruise. It turned out that they had a French speaking guide and so we decided to tag along with them because the guide knew where to go.

Eventually they allocated platform B to our train and we followed the guide. They are very long trains and we were on carriage 11 and we had to wait in area W on the platform for this carriage. The areas go from A to Z.

Originally the train was due to depart at 1:04pm. The display board said it was running 10 minutes late, then 20 and then 25.

They was another train waiting at the platform and when our train arrived, they hooked them together.

It wasn't easy getting our luggage on board. Luckily Suzy had booked seats downstairs so we didn't have to carry the bags upstairs. She'd also booked first class and so the seats were comfortable.

The train took a few minutes to reach top speed. There was a screen at the front of the carriage displaying information such as a map. At one stage I noticed that the speed was 266km/h.

The scenery dashing past the window was mainly rural with sheep in green paddocks. Because of the mist and rain, we couldn't see long distances. You could tell we were going fast when we passed a train going in the other direction - at least I assume it was a train because it was just a noisy blur.

When we arrived in Paris at the Gare de Lyon station at 3:20pm, there was some sunshine. The platform was very long and narrow. Although it was busy and crowded, at least everyone was carting their luggage in the same direction.

Outside the station, we joined the queue for a taxi. The ground was wet but it wasn't raining. While we were waiting, Suzy made the comment to me about how pushy the French are.

It took the taxi about 10 minutes to travel the first 100m out of the station precinct. I was glad I wasn't driving because the traffic through the city was chaotic.

We reached our hotel, Hotel Moliere, safely at about 4:15pm. This is a boutique hotel in the heart of Paris a couple of blocks away from the Louvre Museum and close to many other attractions.

Our room on the fourth floor overlooked a courtyard. It was spacious by Paris standards but smaller than most other hotel rooms we've stayed in. It was hard to find space for our bags.

The room had a queen size bed, work desk, carpet, safe, fridge, wardrobe, separate toilet (without its own handbasin), walk-in shower. The wifi speed was about 70Mb/s in both directions. It had heating but no air conditioning.

Downstairs there were tasteful lounge areas. The staff were very friendly an helpful. It had a very different atmosphere to a big hotel.

The hotel is in a narrow one-way street, Rue Moliere. At the beginning of the street, there is a statue of Moliere with a fountain. Moliere was a famous French playwright in the 17th century. When I was learning French at school, we studied one of his plays, Le Malade Imaginaire.

The hotel reception had recommended the Bistrot Richelieu for dinner and so we booked to go there at 7pm. It was a good choice.

After dinner we went to a small supermarket nearby where they sold wine. It was very cheap. I bought a nice bottle of cabernet shiraz for 3.49 Euros (less than $A6).

Day 30 - Sunday 29th October 2023

Daylight saving ended last night and so we got an extra hour of sleep. It was a mild cloudy morning (16C). There was no rain on the forecast - just wind.

Our outing this morning was a guided tour of Lyon starting at 9am. Suzy made sure she was one of the first to leave the ship and get to the bus so we could sit on the front seat to get the best view and to be able to take photos out the front window of the bus.

The first destination was the basilica at the top of the hill. Along the way, we passed some Roman ruins - one was a set of tombs and the other was an open air theatre.

Although navigating the narrow streets was a challenge for the bus driver, he managed to get there without any scratches on the bus. We've seen this several times of this holiday. The drivers are very impressive.

Because it was a Sunday, it was probably more crowded than usual at the basilica. They divided us into two groups - each with a separate guide. I think we did well because our guide was easier to understand than the other guide.

The basilica is called the Basilica of Notre Dame of Fourviere. It was so large that it wasn't possible to get all of it in a single photo.

Our guide took us first to an area next to the basilica that gave us an extraordinary panoramic view of the city of Lyon way below. As we all took photos, he described various buildings and points of interest.

For example, he pointed out several buildings, structures and swimming pool that were constructed decades ago in the unsuccessful attempt to host the Olympics at various times.

The forecast for today was "windy" and they were not wrong. It was very windy up there at the top of the hill.

Next he took us back to the front of the basilica to describe more about its features and history. After that, we had about twenty minutes of free time to explore inside and outside the building. It is a very impressive buildings inside and outside.

The bus then took us back down the hill to the old town. with our guide providing interesting information along the way about the buildings, bridges and river.

Our guided tour of the old town started outside the courthouse which is a grand building with lots of tall stone columns. He told us that this is where they tried one of worst Nazi war criminals, the Butcher of Lyon.

Like so many other towns, we walked along narrow cobblestone streets lined with houses and shops. Our guide stopped at a couple of shops in particular - a patisserie and a silk shop.

He also showed us something I'd never seen before: a traboule. This is a passageway in a building that provides access to apartments. There is usually a large wooden door at the entrance. It's like walking through a secret tunnel. Usually the traboule goes all the way through the building to the next parallel street.

Some apartments have access at ground level from the traboule but usually there are three or four levels of apartments. Part of the way along the traboule, there would be a small courtyard  and the apartments have windows overlooking the courtyard.

The final destination of the guided tour was the Saint John Cathedral next to a large plaza. We had about 20 minutes of free time to look inside the cathedral or explore the surrounding streets before meeting back in front of the courthouse for the bus trip back to the ship. We reached the ship at about 12 noon.

There was live music in the lounge at 5:30pm. Almost everyone was there and so the lounge was crowded. There was only one waitress on duty and she was struggling to look after drinks for the masses.

At 6:30pm, Danielle gave the last port talk during which they introduced all the crew so we could clap and thank them for their great work on the cruise. The captain was missing because he'd already left the ship.

We enjoyed yet another excellent dinner and good company.

I was very tired and we in bed at about 10pm.

Day 29 - Saturday 28th October 2023

Originally the ship was due to be sailing all day back to Lyon without any stops. However they decided  yesterday to change the plan by leaving earlier and getting to the ancient town of Vienne by the morning. There wouldn't be any organised outings but we would be free to go ashore ourselves.

Although they expected to reach Vienne at 6am, it was about 8am before we got there. Later I found out that they were delayed by the height of the river. There must have been a storm upstream resulting in increased water and a faster current.

Another factor might have been the amount of debris being washed downstream. A few logs were quite substantial. You wouldn't want to run into one of them.

When we opened the curtains soon after 8am, the ship was moored right next to the town. It was overcast again and cool (9C) but not raining.

At about 9:30am, straight after breakfast, we ventured out to explore Vienne. We walked north along the riverside until we could see the cathedral (St Maurice Cathedral).

We looked at the front of the cathedral but didn't tackle the many stairs leading up to the entrance. Instead we found a side door from the street next to the building.

This cathedral is big. Very big. Perhaps it is not as ornate as most cathedrals but it makes up for that with its imposing size. Apparently parts of the building date back more than a thousand years.

Saturday is market day in Vienne and Suzy is always keen to go to the markets. They were only a couple of blocks up the hill from the cathedral. The markets were big too. The plaza and streets were blocked off for the many stalls.

I left Suzy there and went along the street to see the ruins of the Roman temple (Temple of Augustus and Livie). It seemed to be in reasonable condition considering its age. Most of the columns were still standing.

This was quite an attraction for the city. About a block further up the hill, there was an attraction from a different era: a big ferris wheel in the plaza outside the town hall.

A block or two further on, I came across more Roman ruins. They consistent of stone arches, walls and some foundations.

At each of the sites I went to, I came across other people from our ship who were also exploring the town.

I was back on the ship by about 10:45. When Suzy got back at about 11:30am, it had started to rain.

Lunch in the dining room was excellent again. I had the roast turkey. I was delicious.

The ship departed from Vienne soon after 1pm. The river was still flowing quite fast and there were even white caps on the waves. The brief rain shower earlier had gone and there was mainly blue sky. We continue to be very lucky with the weather.

Tonight's schedule was different from normal because we'd be going to a concert in Lyon. Therefore the dinner was rescheduled to the earlier time of 5:30pm. There was a disembarkation talk at 4:45pm and the port talk was at 5:15pm. The ship docked at Lyon at 5pm in the same place we boarded the ship at the start of the cruise.

We boarded buses at 7:30 to take us to the concert which was held in a hall that used to be the chapel for the nearby Catholic school (Chapelle de la Trinite). The hall was ornately decorated with statues.

The performance was by a choir (no instruments) of five women and five men plus a conductor or leader. She made the announcements, acted as the conductor and sometimes joined the choir in singing. It was all classical music and lasted less than an hour.

Some people walked back to the ship after the concert but most of us caught the bus. We were back at the ship by about 9:30pm.

Day 28 - Friday 27th October 2023

When we woke this morning, the ship was moored at Chateauneuf du Rhone (not to be confused with Chateauneuf du Papes where we'd been yesterday) which is an industrial town near the ancient town of Viviers. However, the dock was not close to the town and so we mainly had river views.

It was slightly cooler this morning (11C) and there was plenty of blue sky.

Our outing this morning was a walking tour of Viviers. To get there, Scenic had organised buses to take us from our ship to the town. Although there are moorings at Viviers, they were all fully occupied. The bus trip was about ten minutes and reached Viviers soon after 9am.

There we met our guides for the tour. Initially our guide led us along a long road lined with plane trees. She said this route used to be where the Rhone River flowed many years ago.

She guided us through the narrow cobblestone streets explaining the architecture of the buildings as we went. Slowly we were making our way up to the cathedral at the top of the hill.

We were lucky with the nice sunny weather - not just because it was a pleasant day but also because the sunshine lit up the cathedral.

She said this cathedral is the smallest cathedral in France. We were allowed to take photos and we were allowed to walk around the altar area.

After leaving the cathedral, we walked to a large adjacent grassed area on the same level as the cathedral that had fabulous views of the city below, the river and the mountains in the distance. At the top of a nearby mountain, there was a large statue of the Virgin Mary.

She told us that there are two power plants in the area - one hydro and one nuclear.

Next she led us down more cobblestone streets to get back to the buses that were waiting to take us back to the ship. We were back on board by 11:30am.

Our afternoon outing was scheduled to start at 1pm and so lunch was earlier than normal at 12 noon.

The primary destination was to be the Chauvet Cave which is also known as the Pont d'Arc Cave or Caverne du Pont-d'Arc. This cave, which was discovered in 1994, contains artwork that dates back 36,000 years.

We wouldn't be going to the original cave because it's protected. Instead we'd be going to a full size replica of the cave known as Chauvet 2 or Grotte Chauvet 2. It would take about 90 minutes to get there.

The bus left the ship at about 1pm and took us through rural areas including vineyards and small towns.

They'd warned us about windy roads and had even suggested that people consider taking seasickness tablets. Some of the roads were windy but seemed tame to me compared with others we'd encountered earlier this year in Scandinavia and Portugal.

About an hour into the journey, we stopped beside the road at a lookout that had excellent views of the valleys and the river below. We had time to take photos.

Further on, the bus slowed down so we could take photos of the Pont d'Arc which is a natural 50m high rock arch over the Ardeche River.

When we reached the replica cave site, we were divided into groups of 20, supplied with headsets and allocated to a guide.

We were told we weren't allowed to take photos inside. If I'd known that, I would have left my camera on the bus instead of having to lug it around the exhibit for an hour and a half.

The exhibit used subdued lighting in an effort to resemble the real cave. There is a metal walkway that meanders through the various parts of the cave.

Overall it is very impressive that they have managed to reproduce the cave in so much detail such as the contours of the cave and the stalactites hanging from the roof of the cave. They even show footprints from bears and the areas where bears used to sleep to hibernate.

The guide led us from one viewing area to another. The final one had the most artwork showing many different kinds of animals.

The tour lasted for almost an hour. I struggled with this because there was nowhere to sit down. On other guided tours, I usually manage to find a seat so I can listen to the guide.

When we emerged from the exhibit, it was drizzling.

The bus trip back to the ship was shorter than the journey to get there and we were back on the ship at about 5:30pm. It was raining when we got out of the bus.

This evening, we'd been invited to another special dinner called Table La Rive. It is held on a table at the back of the lounge area and can accommodate six couples.

It is a 10-course degustation meal with excellent food that is well presented. Before each course, the chefs and waiters describe the dish. Although they provide a different wine with each course, Suzy and I stuck with the red wine all the way through.

The waiters make the evening very entertaining. For example one waiter showed us how he can balance one empty wine bottle on another empty bottle before finally revealing that they were stuck together with a cork. It was a lot of fun.

The entertainment in the lounge was a disco night with music that suited our generation. People were dancing, singing, chatting and having a great time. It was a wonderful evening. It doesn't get better than this.