Our apartment has outdoor metal blinds which we were told to close at night. They make the apartment so dark inside that Peter thought he had woken during the night when he heard a loud bang. But no, it was after 9 am and I was still asleep! It is so good not having to get up early. We have no internet at the apartment so no need to stay in bed catching up with what is happening in Australia and New Zealand and elsewhere via the I-pad. After a leisurely breakfast...

We continue to stay on Heather and Tim's boat moored at Mareuil-sur-Aÿ and we have been exploring the local area without going too far. The weather has been quite cool. One of the holidaymakers from a motor home (or camping car as it is called in France) said that it is ten degrees cooler than when they were here last year. Most days it is around 20 degrees but when the sun goes down and the wind gets up it is cool in the evenings. It is still light until ar...

We have the next few days with our friends and hosts, Tim and Heather and we are based in their boat, Chamamé, which is moored at Mareuil-sue-Aÿ in the champagne area of France. Friday morning Heather and I made a trip to the supermarket. It is always an interesting venture and now that Heather has some French language it is easier. With two trolleys (plastic hand trolleys that you click two plastic blue baskets on too) we started. The shop is large, ha...

Tuesday morning and both Diane and Adrien went to work and we had a day exploring on our own. To say we used the Metro is an understatement. We planned to re-visit the Notre Dame and so I saw a Metro station with Notre Dame included in the name so wrongly assumed this would be correct, and I was wrong. We did enjoy walking around that area of Paris though and explored the shops. With no French language and no knowledge then which station to go to it was "complica...

It is a long week-end in Paris with Monday being a bank holiday. Adrien and Diane thought it would be an ideal day to travel out of the city and to visit Honfleur in Normandie, which is on the coast about 200 kms from Paris. Adrien and Diane have their own car, but like most residents in Paris, they have no parking at their apartment. The alternative is street parking which is difficult to find or a parking building. Adrien's car is parked in a parking building w...