The River Rhine

We spent several days travelling down the River Rhine and are currently on the River Main. The countryside is GREEN, GREEN, GREEN!!! Such a rich delight.
The weather has been very hot, up to 35C and quite humid. There have been at least 2 tours offered each day but today we decided on taking part in the morning tour only. Most tours include quite a bit of walking and as the sun sets at about 10pm the afternoon walks can get quite warm, especially on streets with cobblestones.
Everyone seems to have flocked to the camping sites along the river for the Summer holidays and even in the cities people walk along the edge of the river late into the evening.
We have had the opportunity to sample some of the wonderful beers and wines and ice cream rather than coffee and cake ;-))
There are many locks in this part of the river so bus tours have been organised to take us to some of the small historic towns while the boat navigates these locks.

Antwerp

Most of Tuesday was spent on the road from Paris to Amsterdam where we boarded the cruise ship Amadagio at about 5pm. It took quite a while to drive out of Paris and it’s surroundings as many people were heading off on their annual summer holidays. We stopped for lunch at Antwerp, in the quaint historic area of the city known for beer, waffles and chocolates. Wonderfully restored and maintained, cobbled streets and buildings around the square offered some picturesque photo opportunities. We were welcomed on board the cruise ship with the usual pomp and ceremony and wonderful 4 course meal.

City of Bridges

Today we saw Paris from the River Seine. Another perspective on this beautiful city.

Each bridge adds it's unique character to the city scape.

Following the river cruise we went to Montmartre the bohemian artist area. Here the streets are very narrow,. there are many tourist destinations and once again endless cafes and restaurants.

Sacre Coeur the imposing Catholic church dominated the landscape with yet another amazing view of the city.

Oh!!! Surprise surprise... guess who we saw going the other way on the river ???? See Eiffel Tower Surprise...

UNBELIEVABLE!!!

Eiffel Tower Surprise

A beautiful Summer day showed Paris in all her glory.

We had a morning tour where we we were introduced to many of the significant landmarks including the Eiffel tower. In the afternoon we visited Le Louvre with a million other people. The first Sunday of the month is free admission and with this being the first weekend of the Summer school holidays everyone in Paris seemed to be out making the most of the beautiful weather.

7 million people visit the eiffel tower each year so what are the odds of meeting your own daughter lining up in the same queue at exactly the same time????? Well that is exactly what happened.
We plan to meet in Ireland later in the month but we didn't expect to meet today in such uncanny circumstances... maybe it is time to buy a lottery ticket ;-p

Paris

Kuala Lumpur to Paris in 12 hours!!!

We arrived at 6.30 am and after some initial complications with the pick up arrived at the Hotel Du Louvre where we sat and had coffee and croisants while we contemplated how to tackle the local area in the midst of a thunder storm. Le Louvre beckoned but so did the streets. We decided to plunge in and walk along the river to get our barings. We arrived back soaked but happy and delighted to find our room was ready.... a chance to catch up on some sleep.

There are many restaurents and cafes in the vicinity so we will have much pleasure in testing as many as possible.