Last couple of days in Paris have been much more inspiring. Guess that we allowed the rail situation to tarnish our experience, as well as a few French archetypes. Today, the few people we were in contact with were so much warmer than at the outset.....that really helped to unblock our perceptual filters. Today was predominantly the 'Louvre' day. Can you do it in less than a day? A week? A month? So many artistic delights. Highlights were the Caravaggios, Egypti...

Been a few days since our last diary entry. Haven't been too thrilled with developments. In Paris, city of love and where every pretentious 'bohemian' wanna-be-writer/artist with a B.A wants to spend extended time to write a book or paint. Seems like the whole city is bursting with flawlessly groomed people in designer clothing paying exorbitant prices dining at the million or so sidewalk cafes and restaurants.....baaaah, would love to instantly relocate these p...

This entry will cover both the 19th and 20th October. The two days are spent covering every nook and cranny on the town map: walking along all the canals, passing several windmills, stopping for rests on park benches in lush, green gardens, browsing shop fronts with the occasional purchase, cafe and lunch stops, morning markets, museums, cathedrals etc etc At the Church of Our Lady, we viewed Michelangelo's world famous 'Mother and child'. In the same church, we ...

We catch an IC train from Brussels to Brugge and are there in just over an hour. I love this Eurail pass!!! The IBIS hotel is right next to railway station which is good for access but, bad for not being fully immersed in the cultural, historical centre. It is a picturesque 15 minute walk into this canal town and again, we are gobsmacked by this next destination. We can now fully appreciate why Jess and Josh both loved it. It is all so surreal, so picture perfec...

It's a half hour train ride to Gent even though it is 60 km away...sound like Australia rail? Historical centre is 2.4 km from Gent St Peter's station so we use the tram..... Not trying to sound hip but OMG .... This canal city is breathtaking, stunning, sublime.....all previous superlatives x 2 apply. We walk along the canals and then pay admission: 8 euro each to explore a 900 year old castle, predominantly restored but a truly exhilarating experience. We also ...