Dieppe week 3

Monday 17th June
Today, we took a trip to Rouen to see a chiropractor for Bob's back. The first of a couple of appointments he has made.  It has been giving him quite some pain, so after arriving at the required point, it was discovered that the chiro appoint was for tomorrow. After a few phone calls, we secure an appointment with another one. We fill in time until the designated time, by having some lunch, and walking around the streets, and malls of Rouen. After strolling the mall area, which is very pleasant, I can't help but think this is what Maryborough needs. A place for people to wander down, utilize the local eateries, and touristy things, with no hassle from traffic.
The chiropractor, does his bone crunching on Bob's back, so hopefully, within a couple of days, all will settle down.

Tuesday 18th June
Bob's back doesn't appear to have gotten any better from the treatment yesterday, so we go to the second chiropractor in a little place called Londinières. This is a very small community, about 30 mins from Dieppe, and again find the destination of the chiropractor, with the aid of the navigational system in the car. We have been using this most of the trips we have done. The chiro is in the local medical centre. This chiro is very thorough, and took a lot of health history, and time with Bob. He was a young guy, but knew what he was doing, as I heard the cracks when the bones crunched back into place. Bob felt some relief, so again, hopefully, his back will settle soon. The country side is lovely here, very green, and dotted with contented cow and paddocks of crops, such as Wheat, corn, and a crop with little blue flowers, which I have researched and found out that it is flax.

Wednesday, 19th June
Today, we stayed in the local area, and checked out the local castle. It houses the museum here, and has done so since 1923. The castle itself, was built in the 1188, and was destroyed in1195. It was restored in the 14th century. It was also used as a prison for many centuries, and in WWll the castle was used by the Germans. It houses one of the largest Ivory collection in France.  It also gives a great view of the coast line.

Bob's back is a little better, but it needs rest. A quick stop at the shop to get something for tea, and day is done.

Thursday, 20th June
A rest day today, back still not brilliant, but we walked down the hill, and explored the area. France is a fascinating place, the way the buildings are built. There are little alley ways and walk ways scattered through out the villages and cities. Tiny streets, just wide enough for one car.

Friday 21st June
Today we are taking a trip back to Caen, to see the War Memorial, that we couldn't get to on the 6th. Most places are very busy in France, and this is no exception.  The only notable difference is there is a lot of school children on excursions, of all ages. It is a huge place, and we go through the museum, although, it upset me somewhat, so I got through without looking at much. Bob wandered on, taking in things that interested him. I find these war things bring up so much emotions, the tragic loss of husbands, sons,  brothers, uncles, fathers, grandfather's, from both sides. I know we have had to  have such things in order for us to live in the freedom we have now. But we are reaping the rewards for such great trageity 75 years earlier. The pain the women went through, not just from our side, but all sides. And yes, some would have been ever so proud of their boys, lads, menfolk. And war keeps happening.
After a light lunch, we adventure to " The Bunker" which is below the museum. There is more items that were used back then, and this bunker was were lots of major decisions  were made by the Germans . It is quite long, and quite impressive.
We head back to Dieppe, and I take a turn in the drivers seat. All goes well except for when we have to go through the toll, and present a ticket we previously got from and earlier toll. For some reason, it isn't legible and I have to deal with this. After many attempts to get it to scan, and knowing there are cars backed up behind me, I begin to get flustered, and of course, it's all in French.  Bob gently settles me, and eventually after I find the assist button, the fees are paid. When we get to Dieppe, the town is alive with music and entertainment. We shall see what  tomorrow night brings.

Saturday, 22nd June
Today, a trip just up the road.
France has 4 Nuclear power plants, and a couple of them are close to this area, about 20 mins away. Penly, is the name of the place, and the town is yet again a very pretty little village.  We drive to the power plant, and see all the major Barbed wire fences. Not only is it barbed, but also electric. Serious wiring.
Next we head to Le Tréport, about another 20 mins further on. The weather has turned out to be perfect, and the temperature even better. Le Trèport is another fishing village, with some tourist, but not like other places we have been. All the villages are designed in the same way, in that the marina, is in the middle of the village, and so it sets for a wonderful calm about the place. There are many bathing huts, and Le  Trèport has the highest white cliffs on the coast line. There is a funicular that goes up the cliff, and inside them.
Bob gets his first haircut since we have been away, and an understand is achieved on what is required.
I take wheel to go back home, and the navigational system tells me to turn, where it is virtually impossible to. So I disagree and go onwards to the next turn. Hmmmmmm, degree of difficulty, 8. Large car, small road with tables and chairs. Oh and did I mention the bystander watching and giving me odd looks.  I gingerly negotiate the road, not damaging anything, turn the next tight corner, and there right in front of me is an even smaller area to drive through. With inches on either side I get through the stone archway with motion  sensors alarming.  And I had to pick now to drive!!!!!!!  After  more small roads and up hills, ( put in gear changes in the left hand car) we make our way to the road out.

Later in the evening, Bob and I go out to see what the town is like at night time. At 10.30ish we venture in, there are still lots of people about, the night is very pleasant and most Resturants still have people in then and still serving. We walk and take pics, and make our way to the beach side,  eat an ice cream and make our way back to the unit. The town is pretty at night. 

Sunday, 23rd June

A quiet day today, just resting and chilling. Went for a walk in the late evening, 10.30 to get some sunset pictures, but alas, it was cloudy, and that didn't happen. But we did see some goats, and the Ferry come into dock.   

Dieppe week 2

Monday, 10th June
Today was a cricket day, so Bob watched it on the laptop, but after the game ended, we went for a drive into town. Found a Lidl shop. It is very similar to the Aldi we know in Australia, and it is fairly easy to get to from where we are.
We make our way back to the maintain area, and look for a coffee place that is open, find one and then we take a walk to the Jetty. It is a very windy day, and quite cool. We watch a couple of yatchs come in and notice them rolling a bit with the wind and the swell. The walk along the Jetty finds it is very different to other ones we have seen. There is a lot of concrete and structures with holes in the walls, and am unsure what it is all about, maybe somethimg to do with the bad weather they have.
When we head for our unit, we are delayed as the road has been closed due to the bridge being not there. It has been moved so as to open the channel for some boats to go out and a hatch to come onto the marina. After about 15 mins we are on our merry way again.

Tuesday, 11th June
Today, we head off to explore the coast line where D Day happened. What an interesting day it has been. First stop was Piont du Hop. The landing place where troops climbed the walls of the beaches with ladders and ropes. There were wonderful monuments in memory of those who had fallen, but when one sees the reality of what they were being sent to try and achieve, it was crazy. But a job had to be done. So many lives lost, for peace. So many holes in the ground from where bombs exploded, gets one thinking.
Next is Utah beach, and this time, there is sand, but again, many lives lost, and when you look to see what they had to try and do, it was again crazy. I am sure the Germans would have thought it also. But I got to go onto one of the bunkers, and look out at where all the action would have happened.
Next place is Saint-Mere-Eglise. The place where the paratroopers were dropped. We saw the Chappell where the paratrooper landed and was stuck there for some time. A replica of the paratrooper uses been made and put there in memory.
We go on to Cherbourge, and have a quick look, then head back to where we are staying tonight. Bayeux. This was randomly picked by Bob yesterday, when we were making the plans. WOW, what a place this is. A huge church, and the home of the Bayeux Tapistery. I never knew it existed. This tapestry is almost 1000 years old, and is 70 meters  long. It really does my head in to think that some one some where made this, but also, it has been preserved and kept for all that time. It is the story of William the conqueror and his battle with the Saxons. All in yarn and linen. Just amazing.

Wednesday 12th June
We explore more of the coast line, Omaha beach, Arromanches-les-Bains, and Ouistreham. Went through the museum at Arromanches, and learnt so much about what happened way back then.  How the temporary harbour was built, and even now there are still pieces of it there. Oistraham ( sword beach ) we saw the Pegasus bridge, the bridge that was fought over. Amazing history.  Even though Australia was not involved here,  it was very interesting.
I got brave today, and drove the car. This one is a manual, so not only am I in a car driving on the wrong side of the road, on the left hand side of the car, but now I have to deal with three peddles. And skinny roads.  Lots of the villages are small,  but the houses are built maybe 1.5 meters away from the road, and the road has only enough space for a parked car, and a moving one. Very close encounters at times. But no one was mamed and the car didnt get any bruises. So a great outcome for all.


Thursday 13th and friday 14th June.
Rest days. Bob has sore back. We are looking for chiropractor. It is somewhat tricky when there is a slight language difference. An appointment was made for Monday,  but not in Dieppe.

Saturday 15th June
Vinnie birthday.
Called Vinnie for his birthday, he has been waiting for a couple of weeks to open his present that I sent him.  A quiet day, I walked into town, and got a couple of things.  The markets were on,  and there was a lot of people about.

Sunday 16th June
Despite Bob's very sore back, we went for a drive to a little coastal place called Saint-Valéry-en-Caux. It was very quite, and the beach here was still pebbles, although, some of the pebbles were a little larger than pebbles. There was fish mongers set up on the side of the road, and lots of seagulls. As we took a little stroll to the other side of the town, our walk was halted for 15 mins while the bridge was lifted and one boat came into the marina, and one left. Was interesting watching the road being lifted up. Found somewhere to have lunch, then made our way back to the unit. 

Dieppe, week one.

Monday 3rd June.
Today we explore the township of Dieppe. It is a beachside town, with lots of little boats in the middle if the town. We walk down the street, were there are so many eaterys. Mussels seem to be on most of the sidewalk  menu boards. Next we go and find a supermarket and do some shopping for the next week or so.

Tuesday 4th June
Phil's birthday, I try to call him, but no answer, but eventually we connect and have a chat.
The day starts out a bit showery, and of course, I have put on a load of washing. The day clears, I hang the washing and decide to walk into town. I want to go to the post office,  but it is closed.  It seems that a lot of businesses close at 12 and reopen  at 2. Just like Monday, some businesses don't open. I walk along the streets, taking in the shops,  and discover a shopping mall. I find the beach,  which is not sandy like out beaches in Australia. They are pebbley, and the sound of the water breaking on the stones is very different.
I have also noticed that red poppies grow wild over here. I make my way back to the post office,  hoping the person behind the counter can understand some English, and thankfully he know enough.  I get my package posted, and go back to the unit.

Wednesday 5th June
Not much done today. Went for a drive to the centre of town, and then along the beach front.
Wanted to watch the state of Origin live, but the streaming was to slow, so we waited till the game was over and watched it. It was a great game, with Queensland winning, just.

Thursday 6th June
We planned to go to Caen today, as it is D Day, so off we go. The drive is good, and I notice some differences in the trucks over here. Most of them are cab over trucks, but the other big difference is the prime miners are only single drives.  Which is really strange to see.  I am sure there is some loading specifations or length requirements that require this.  There also is a lot of road tolls also. And you do  have to stop  and pay,  not like back home,  where there is no one to man the tolls, and all is done electronically. So as you can imagine, there is a bit of a bottleneck. Because it is D Day here, all trucks have to be of the road,  (the ones in the restricted zones ) by 10, and can only resume their travels after 2.30, I think it was. We get to Caen, eventually, as roads have been closed, which made it difficult for tourists like us.  So as a consequence we didn't get to see any festivities or the museum. W decide we will come back when President Trump and the French President are not in the area.  It will be good to go down to the beach and take in what hsppened 75 years ago.  We make our way back to Dieppe, along the coastal road,  and still at some rely nice places,  Port de Honfleur, Le Harvre, which are flourishing vibrant ports. Lots of people, eaterys, and tourists. Parking is always limited. We also stop at Plage we Fécamp, which is an absolutely beautiful place,  which doesn't seem to have as many tourists.

Friday 7th June,
The day is a bit murky, as it has started with rain, so spent most of the day indoors.  We do do out to get some fuel,  and to check Aldi out. It is not quite the same as back home, and not a lot of people there.  We go to a main shopping centre,  and I hunt down some skin cleanser and toner, to replace the ones I had return from me at customs,  And  also some leave in after wash hair conditioner. We find Yves Rocher and with a gentle nudge from someone, I go in to see if I can obtain whst I require. With neither the sales lady having much knowledge of English and me having even little less of French,  we communicate with a minimum understanding, but still able to purchase whst I needed. And plus a little help from Bob. Mission accomplished.
It has become very windy since mid afternoon,  and even some decent rain.
While at the shopping centre, we decide to have put evening meal here.  Find a place called Flunch. We sit down and watch how this works, as is not like your typical Resturant. After some tint,  Bob goes to make some enquires and the place doesn't start serving until 6.30. Which is something else we have noticed, lots of places don't serve until 6.30, 7. Although they appear to be open.  So the end result is,  it is something like the Ikea eatery. You go select what you want, with a trolley and a tray, go to the cashier, select you main that you want, pay,  then they cook and you eat.

Saturday 8th of June.
Not much happened today.
Bob watched the cricket. Did some washing.
Went into the town  and walked about the place. Markets were on. And there is some festival on tonight.

Sunday 9th of June.
The day is a bit murky again, but I did do some washing, and had to bring it in, as it started to rain. There is a celebration of the bridge here tonight, 130 years old. But I think the rain may effect it somehow.

Paris day 10.

Sunday 2nd June
Today we say goodbye to Paris. It has been a very interesting and busy place.  Keeping us both active, not only physically, but mentally aswell, using the metro, understanding the history, and age of the place.  Things here built long before Australia was even discovered. We take the metro to the Gare de Nord, one of the large train stations in Paris, many trains arrive here from other countries. And this is where we pick up our hire car for the next month. So after filling in the obligatory paperwork, showing of drivers license and passport, we get the key, ( if you can call it a key.  More like a garage door remote, )and head off  to find the car.  Once located, we orientate ourselves around the vehicle,  a Renault capture, and head off. First minor issue, getting the reversing mirrorsto fold out, button is found. Now we are good.  So now we are on target to go to the unit,  pick up the luggage, which has to be vey quick, as there is no parking,  and the thing to do it seems is to pull up,  put hazard lights on, and hope for the best. Anyhow we get done and head on our way to Dieppe. Navigating out of Paris was not an easy task,  especially if the gps is 10 seconds behind were you actually are.  Missed turns,  little tension, and some new sights of  Paris, but we eventually leave Paris behind. 
Bob decides to take the scenic route to get to Dieppe, after an hour on the motorway. We pass though the rural county side,  view giant wind turbines, come across an old church, which we stop to look at.  Things we would not have seen on the motorway, even though it was about an hour longer,  it was worth it.
We arrive at Dieppe, find the next accommodation after a couple more wrong turns.  Dieppe is built on hills,  and very narrow streets. Mostly only wide enough for one car and a parked car. We locate a convience store, grab a couple of things for tea and retire for the day. 

Paris day 8 and 9

Friday 31st May
Today we venture to a couple of museums, the first one is the National  Maritime Museum. We catch a couple of trains to get to where it is,  only to find out that it is closed for renovations. Ok,  but we are now at the best viewing spot of the Eiffel Tower, so we change plans and make our way to the tower, and get up close and personnel with it. So we catch the required train, and a short walk late arrive.  The line up is very long to get in,  what with security checks that as being done.  We eventually get in,  and look about us. So many people, most lined up to go up the Eiffel Tower. There are 3 elevators in use,  and one line up we saw was a wait time of over 2 hrs. We decided no to wait in line and went on to do something else.
Next was our river cruise of the river  Seine. Again line ups, but no where s bad as where we have come from.  On board, we settle in on top of the boat,  and watch the river bank and all that is around it.  Some of the major land marks,  the Notre dame Cathederial, although it is closed for repairs, it is still a huge and empowering building. It would have been quite something before it had the fire go through it.
After our cruise, we have a spot to eat,  and the make out way back to our little unit via the metro.
After we get back to the unit,   which is about 5.30, I decide to go and explore the park over the road from us.  As there are no yards with the dwellings in which people live in,  there are large parks for all to enjoy.  It is 61 acres in size.

Saturday 1st June.
Another huge day. We started our day going to the Arc de  Triomphe. As it was Saturday, the protesters, ( yellow jackets ) are around our train stop that we were going to get off at,  is closed,  Charles de  Gaulle. So we get off one at earlier and have to walk the rest of the way,  which turned out not to bad.  Once at the Arc de Triomphe,  we see the line up,  but, we are leaning to go to the front, and see if we can skip the queue, as we have a Paris pass. And presto, we can.  Thank goodness someone had the foresite to purchase this.  So we hustle to where every one is going, go though the security check, and go forth. We didn't know where we were heads to,  but whst the heck.  We go in though the doors start to ascend  the steps. 284 steps later, we are at the top of the Arc de Triomphe. There were a couple of little stops, given that the stair case was spiral. At the top,  we sit and catch our breath, and watch other's do the same as us.  Makes us feel not so bad. Our breath back we go and scope what's about, hmmmm, more stairs. But not so many. Once we climb them and step outside, it was worth every step, the view is great. Once we come, which is a little easier than going up, we find the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Then leave the Arc de Triomphe for the last time.
Now, we venture down the Champs Elysée, and stop at an sidewalk Resturant. Then we continue down the after,  taking in all the high end names. We walk past Louis Viutton, and Bob decides to go into the building. Now this is not one store that you just walk into,  you have to lube up outside,  and wait.  Today the line up is not so bad, but, we are only there for a couple of minutes and a man comes up to us and asks us to follow him.  What the???? So we diligently follow and are led inside. Interestingly, most of these shops have security, so after a showing of my bag, we get to take in the shop.  I question Bob as to what just happened, and he said that the walking stick was worth every $. Ahhhh. This shop, is the oldest store, and is remarkable, and so to the prices. But it was nice looking about,  seeing what the other half buy.
Now onto Chanel, still taking in the brand name stores. Gucci, Givenchy, Hugo Boss, Montblanc, Saint Laurent, to name a few.  We find a Chanel shop, and again, bag check, and are escorted to the perfume suite. Ok, so now the really tricky bit,  finding a scent I like.  Hmmmm, I sniff and smell, but find nothing that really does it for me,  but the sales lady,  said the there is another shop over the road that has a larger selection,  and some cosmetics. So of we got to the other place, again, bag check,  and the welcome guy ( who is very nice ) queries us to where we want to go. He suggests we take a 30 min walk to the centre of Paris. So of we go, and I get frustrated with myself,  as I seem to be difficult to satisfy with specific ideas.  Why can't it be an easy task,  but here is not a place for just settling for.  And besides, what's wrong with taking in the sights. We pass many Gendame in their full kit, complete with machine guns. With certain roads closed off, walking is not the hustle and bustle of elsewhere. We get to our destination, and again, bag check,  and directed to the parfumery. After a little wait, we are attended to, and eventually I find something I like.  So the lady makes the sale,  going into the closed door office, coming back with paperwork so we can clan the duty free tax,  and we are finished.  My poor Bob, he has walked such a lot, and all with a sore knee. So we find the closest metro station, and head back to the unit. It is by this time 5.30.

Paris day 5, 6and 7

Tuesday 28th May
It is Miss Indi's 7th birthday today. So I have to get the timing right to ring her for her special day. Given that Paris is 8 hrs behind  aust, or Australia is 16 hrs ahead, I have to ring when they have had their day. Thank goodness for face time calls. It is wonderful to be able to see Indi on her birthday, and she had not opened my gift to her, so she was able to open it while I was watching. It was great. So now her dad and herself will have to make the gift I gave her.
Today, we are going to go to Moulin rouge, Sacre Coeur and the chocolate museum.
Again we use the metro to get to our first stop. Moulin rouge is pretty cool, given the history. Although we did not see any show, it was good to see a different side of Paris. We stroll the streets, and survived the walk along the adult part of Paris. We had a bit to eat at a Vietnamese eatery, had a great bowl of Pho. Next we walk to find the Sacre Coeur, wandering up and down winding streets, and up the hill. The streets closer to the Sacre Coeur are full of artists, selling their artworks, and painting at the same time.  It was cool to see the local artists working, on one side of the street were resturants, and on the opposite side were the artists.  We get to our destination and there is a sharp short rain shower, which sends people scattering. People are ushered through the security check pretty quickly while is was raining. Once inside the, it is pretty amazing. The stained glass,  the art work on the ceilings, all the ornate touches. It gets one thinking,  how much wealth there is,  and  yet there are beggers not so far away. I guess some things have not changed over the centuries. We go back down the hill via the Funicular. This is just like a cable car, with which it uses a cable traction for movement. Much better for Bob's knee.
Next stop the history of chocolate, whilst this had free samples, and a demonstration of how their chocolates are made, it was kind of not what I  thought it would be.  There were some interesting historical items, like the history of how the coco bean was used and how it evolved to the hot drink we have today.

Wednesday 29th May,
Today was a rest day.

Thursday 30th May.
Today we went to the Musée du Louve.
It doesn't matter when you go to things around here there is lots of people, of all countries about. There is a huge line up,  but fortunately, we have a Paris pass card, and we get to skip the large line up. Once inside, there are steps going in all directions. There is no way you can see everything in this place in one day. So we find a map of the building and displays, and pick out what we would like to see.  The obvious choice is the Mona Lisa, and the French crown jewels. So we find the Mona Lisa after some walking and admiring many artworks and sculptures. Looking at the sculptures, it is not hard to become overwhelmed. The ages of some of these pieces are amazing. And to think some of these are well over 2000 years old, and older.  The absolute skill that was used,  surely is nothing short of mind boggling. Given their tools of the trade way back then. At the Mona Lisa we go into the room, and we start to line up, the attendee there waves us through to the disabled line because Bob has his walking stick. and we miss the line up and get a bit closer to the Mona Lisa.
Next we go to track down the French crown jewels. Wonder through the Egyptian section, in awe of the collection, go down some stairs, only to find out that we are in the wrong spot, and need to go back to where we had come from.  And that the display is closed. Bummer. There are a few collection that are closed for renovations.
We leave the Louve, and track down a FNAC store. W find it.  It is in the biggest shopping mall, and this store is massive. There are 3 levels, all dedicated to electronics, books, music, probably a bit like JB HI FI. We find what we are chasing and head for our unit.

Paris in a nutshell

I have loved Paris for over 50 years and I was excited to visit her again; this time for just on a week. This time also I would be sharing her with Roberta on her first visit.
While Paris has not changed our visit was significantly impacted by a number of "human" factors which took the gloss off our time there.
Firstly my torn meniscus left knee restricts my free movement causing issues while walking, climbing stairs and particularly when descending stairs. I have a compression stocking and a knee brace and now resorted to using a walking stick. All offer good assistance to my getting around. 
The second human impact was the crowds. If Paris tourism is suffering from "terrorist shock" then it does not show. There are people everywhere - on the Metro, in the street, shops, restaurants and cafes, and the attractions. Endless lines of people trying to get into all the attractions, major and minor. 
We went to the Palace de Versailles on Saturday and on arrival were greeted by a sea of people with 40+ busses in the parking lot and more arriving all the time. Thankfully we pre-purchased tickets on a tour which provide priority entry, skipping the major lines. Inside it was a crush, and not the candy type. Our guide was great but the crowd was limiting and claustrophobic at times. Versailles itself is an amazing piece of French history and highlights the life style of King Louis 14 of France and his 2000+ entourage. The buildings and the 2200 acre gardens are a must-see for anyone visiting Paris.
The Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Paris, commonly known as Sacré-Cœur Basilica and often simply Sacré-Cœur, is a Roman Catholic church and minor basilica, dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, in Paris, We climbed the steep winding road some 2.0 kilometres to the summit. Again a magnificent site not to be missed, sitting on the highest point in Paris. The basilica is massive and second only to Notre Dame in this part of the world. The view over Paris is superb.
It is on this day I found the third "human" factor to spoil our visit - pickpockets. Everywhere you travel in Paris you are warned about the presence of pickpockets, well I found one, or should I say they found me. It was a very costly experience and I still struggle to understand how, where, when - I know why. But is was only money and adds to my worldly experience!
We have achieved what we set out to do in Paris. We visited the Louvre, took a cruise on the Seine, climbed all 287 steps to the top of the Arc de Triomphe, visited Chanel and Louis Vuitton stores, visited Moulin Rouge, walked the Champs Elysees and had coffee at a sidewalk table, rode the Metro many times, did the hop-on hop-off bus around the city and saw many amazing sights. We wanted to go up the Eiffel Tower but when we finally got inside the queue for the lift had a 2 hour long wait - not for me. 
The fourth 'human" impact was security, Every attraction has strict security with bag searches and scanners. I lost my favourite pocket knife at the Eiffel Tower security. On the street, inside Metro stations armed police are present. On the 2 Saturdays we were there we encountered the response to the Yellow Jacket protests. All though Paris centre were dozens (hundreds) of Gendarmes in full riot gear, carrying automatic weapons. Comforting but a little scary at the same time.
Our accommodations were very small but serviceable in typical Paris form, no wasted space but close to public transport and shops - the "patisserrie" near our BnB was pure evil!!
Paris is still Paris, still gives me goose-bumps and I love her but for now we are picking up our hire car and heading off to the sea-side and Dieppe for our next adventure.   

Paris day 3 and 4

Sunday 26th May
We depart from our lodgings and head to our new digs across Paris via Uber. A 30 min ride and we are there. We wait while the owner of the unit comes to greet us. When he sees how much luggage we have, he immediately starts to apologise for the size of the unit.  Hmmmm, ok. Then we get inside,  we thought our room before was small, this one is not much bigger. Hughes takes us though all of the  do's and don'ts and how to work the tv, the microwave, ( which is on floor level ) the washing machine, which I am glad he did,  cause it is very different to any I have used before.  After he leaves us, we contemplate whether it will be ok. We can make our work,  we really only need somewhere to sleep,  even if it is on the fold out lounge. We managed to caravan for a week, surely we can manage this. So we take a short rest, the go and explore what is about. At the top of the street,  there is a market happening,  and we get some fruit and veggies,  and a couple of peices of steak for tea. We  notice there is patisserie just across the road from us,  and a Resturant, the  metro is on the corner, we have all that we need.  Day is done.

Monday 27th May.
Today we plan to tour around Paris on the Top on Hop off buses. There are two routes, so of we set with our 6 day train passes. Go to use it and it doesn't work. Thankfully,  Bob hasn't cond through yet,  so we go to the ticket window, and how like crazy that the person behind the window can understand a little English. He does,  and my ticket is re issued. So we plot out our required train trip, and head to where we need to be. We catch the red tour  first, and go around viewing the wonderful buildings and listen to the commentary. This is a 2 hr tour. There is only one place where the two routes connect, so we get off at that spot after doing a complete loop. Then we have a spot of lunch and get onboard the blue tour. The blue tour is a 1 hr tour. These hop on hop off bus tours are a great way to see what ever city you are in.
We make our way back to our unit, stopping via a little confidence store to get some food essentials.

Paris day 2

Saturday 25th May..
Today, we venture out of Paris to the  Chāteau de Versaillies. We rendouvus at a wonderful place, near the Eiffle tower. We have arrived early,  so breastfast at one of the eatery's that are about.  We have planned this day tour out of Paris on account of the Yellow jacket protests that will be about today,  and one can see the presence of the Gendarme about. In full combat gear. I felt very safe. I even got a pic taken with a couple of the officers. But there is a he presence about,  sirens going all the time,  police vehicles travelling to places,  motorbike officers riding to their designated places. 
We board the bus,  and make our way to the our destination. The bus trip is a 30 min ride. We have a guide for the tour, and after some minor technological problems, no headsets, we enter the Palace. Our guide, Alex, was a wonderful guide, he was English for a start, and may have even been in stage performances. A true gem.
The Line up to get into this place is astounding,  and we have come in an in between time. Then goodness we are doing a guided tour.
This place was absolutely astonishing. The place were King Louis XIV lived with all of his wives and mistresses. Ceilings and walls adorned with paintings. The hall of Mirrors was truly magical, abd beautiful, and full of  history. It has 357 mirrors bedecking the 17 arches opposite the windows. People everywhere, squishy at times, and not being able to stop at some spots due to so many people. You could spend so much time just looking.  
Then we get to the gardens.  WOW. They stretch for 2200 acres, but were at one stage 23000 acres back in the day. This included woodlands for hunting. Interestingly, the designer of the gardens knew how important having things symmetrical was to the king,  he designed the water features and the Grand Canal to appear the same size when one was looking out from the palace.  This meant the furtherest pool , had to be larger so as to look the same size as the first one. The distance between the first and third basin is 1670 metres long. 
I think you could spend a day looking over the palace, and a day exploring the gardens. An amazing if not very decadant piece of French history.