Ches and I were only in Edinburgh for a few hours before we reached the conclusion that we far prefer smaller cities to the large such as Paris. Even with Edinburgh's population of just under 500,000 swollen by tens of thousands of visitors for the Fringe Festival, it's just more comfortable. Alison met us at the airport where we waited for over 30 min for the worst rental car company in the world to provide us with a pre-booked car. Their customer service rea...

We were both more than ready to leave Paris. In many respects it had been a disappointment. When Paris closes for summer it makes many things a lottery and added to that the disappointing weather it left a lot to be desired. I mentioned in an earlier post about the restaurants, boulangerie and market being closed and that I had higher expectations for our last day with a visit to the Museum of the Middle Ages and a restaurant ranked 52nd in Paris. I did say...

If you don't rubber neck at the site of a car smash, a building on fire or a ship sinking, then you might want to pass on this blog and wait for the next one. On Wednesday, Ches, Alison and I walked up to the Parthenon and St Etienne du Mont. The church is a wonderful small church packed with interesting features and we are so glad Sharon called us out on not visiting earlier in the week. From there we walked down through back streets of the Latin Quarter ...

Tuesday was an interesting day …….!!!!!!! My weather forecast site said that there would be cloudy periods most of the day. Alison's said rain on and off all day. She won. We travelled to Versailles for the second time. 15 years ago, we went on May Day. It was like mid-winter. Rain and wind that drove Ches into a gift shop to buy a windcheater that she still wears occasionally and might just as well have brought with her today. Actually it wasn't all t...

Monday morning was a glorious summers day and perfect for visiting Chateau Chantilly. We planned the trip like a military exercise. Metro station name and time, direction to Metro station to disembark and time of arrival, walk time to RER station (country trains) and time of arrival, Time of departure and destination. Time of arrival at Chantilly. The same for the return trip. … Check! We arrived at Chantilly station, located the free bus for the 10 min dr...