Year: 2018
Our Australian Connections in the Wars in France
On our final day in France, we set some time aside to visit some of the historical places where Australians served in WW1. I have a familial connection with this area as my grandfather, Walter, was wounded for the second time and his war ended near here on 8 August 1918. He was in the […]
Read More
South to Amiens
We initially found it difficult to get from Bruges to Amiens as all the train services seemed to require a trip via Paris. By good luck, I found a transport service that enabled us to be picked up in Bruges and driven to Amiens yesterday. For a few extra Euro, we were able to build […]
Read More
A Hidden Treasure in Bruges
We checked out of our hotel in Bruges this morning, but not before we explored the basement where some ruins of an old church and artists from the original City walls can be seen. The former site of St Donatian’s is now occupied by the Hotel. The foundations of the cathedral were uncovered in 1955. […]
Read More
Christmas Night Dinner in Brugge
We’ve just finished a wonderful meal in the restaurant of the Crowne Plaza Hotel where we are staying in Brugge. The food was superb and the service was excellent. The all-inclusive price included champagne and wine. We had a table by the window and that enabled me to look out across the town square. I […]
Read More
Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in Brugge
Our Christmas Eve in Brugge began with breakfast together and then a walk round the market square to buy some presents for each other. It was a cloudy day and cool, with the temperature hovering around 8C. Belgium is famous for a number of things and they are all available here in Brugge. The obvious […]
Read More
We’re in Bruges for Christmas
Our 1 1/2 hour train trip from Gare de Nord in Paris to Brussels was easy and uneventful. We were on a long train that split into two in Brussels – one half continuing on to Amsterdam and the other terminating at Brussels. I measured our speed on an iPhone app and for most of […]
Read More
Our European Christmas – Third and Final Day in Paris
This was our first wet day but it only drizzled a little and it wasn’t even worthwhile getting out our umbrellas. We had one last thing to do before we leave Paris and that was to visit the Arc de Triumph. This is one of the most famous monuments in Paris and stands at the […]
Read More
Our European Christmas – Second Day in Paris
Today was one of the days where everything fell nicely into place. We planned our day around spending the morning on the Isle de la Citie and the afternoon at the Louvre. It all worked very well. We were welcomed warmly at breakfast by the restaurant manager who remembered us from yesterday and had the […]
Read More
Our European Christmas – First Day in Paris
We arrived in Paris on Tuesday afternoon after a tiring trip from Singapore. Slightly late, our flight didn’t leave Singapore until 1.00 am and by then the girls were whacked. Violet was asleep before the plane took off but Audrey was suffering from exhaustion and was ill during the entire flight. A four hour transfer […]
Read More
Our European Christmas – First Stop Singapore
We’ve embarked on a long-term dream of mine and that is to have my family with me for a white Christmas in Europe. So Jill, Cathy, Audrey and Violet and myself are on the way. I’m sorry that David, Yuki and their boys can’t be with us. Yuki has just recommenced work after her maternity […]
Read More
Back to the West (Again)
We travelled over to Perth on Wednesday for a family visit and a weekend with our grandchildren. First, we planned to spend a few days around Busselton in the south west of Western Australia. Our departure was delayed for three hours due to the late arrival of our aircraft from Sydney. Sydney was experiencing a […]
Read More
Walking in the Otways
I have tried to get away about once each year to do a walking trip with my old friend Rob. We set aside some time last week to go down to the coastal town of Apollo Bay where there are many short walks and spectacular rainforests. It is one of the wettest areas in the […]
Read More