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.