I’ve been home for over a week now and, after dealing with some business and admin stuff, have had a chance to gather my thoughts. Here are some reflections from our trip to England and France along with some photos from London and Strasbourg:
- If you work in solitude most of the time, it is an adjustment to be with someone else 24/7 but it was fun 🙂
- Whether home-cooked or dining out, fruit and veges in the UK are somehow more flavoursome than Australia. Or is this just my tastebuds in holiday mode.
- I enjoy art galleries but it must be very dull being a guard at the National Gallery in London or other institutions for that matter.
- Driving an unfamiliar car on unfamiliar roads with signs in another language is stressful, even if you are used to driving on the opposite road and have GPS, maps and a navigator. Our schedule of one week of country driving; six days walking/public transport in London/ Paris/ Strasbourg; followed by another week of country driving was about right for our nerves. And opting to take the comfortable airport bus from Strasbourg to Frankfurt, rather than driving, was genius if I do say do myself.
- We were grateful that gas stations were located near the car rental return depots at Heathrow and Strasbourg but those one-way streets going in the wrong direction were a little pesky.
- Wheelie suitcases are a godsend but wheels are no use on the stairs in the Tube and Metro. I was carrying teaching quilts and printed materials. I did pare back but, at 20kg, my suitcase was still too heavy for comfort especially when the lift wasn’t working at Abbesses station in Montmartre – the deepest station on the metro system. If combining travel with teaching again, I will have to be even more ruthless…
- Mirabelle is such a pretty word and the yellow plums taste good too. Pamplemousse is a strange word but I like grapefruit juice at breakfast with a proper croissant. It’s just as well. (It pays to refresh your memory about whether hotel breakfast is included in the room rate or is extra!)
- There is lots of potted colour (flowers) in England but they take geraniums to a whole new level in Alsace. I guess it would look contrived anywhere else.
- Paris is a wonderful city for walking. We clocked up over 23 km in a single day. Walking along the Seine between the Eiffel Tour and Pont Neuf, we did encounter a couple of guys in quick succession trying out the infamous found-a-gold-ring scam. However, we just ignored them and they didn’t give us any grief.
- Alsace may be close to Germany but good beer is surprisingly hard to come by.
- How is it that two people with iPads can use their devices so differently?!
- It’s six years since we were last in Europe but there doesn’t seem to be much greater penetration of wifi on public transport, restaurants, pubs etc. I relied on wifi but, as a back up, it was useful to have a small international roaming pack from Telstra. I used it to check e-mails, look up stuff and make Skype calls while on site at the exhibition in France. Used carefully, my 100MB lasted longer than I expected.
- The Laundry King needed to have reliable internet in France for work purposes. Once we got it configured, the prepaid nano-SIM data package with LeFrenchMobile worked pretty well. We ordered it ahead of time and it was delivered to our hotel in Paris.
- It’s banal to talk about weather but, with only one day of rain in three weeks, we appreciated the opportunity to get out and about.
- Pre-trip research is all part of the fun and anticipation but serendipity makes a good travel companion too. Many happy memories were created.
PS: Remember, you are welcome to join me on Instagram and Facebook too!
Karen Rips says
I can only imagine you navigating and the laundry king driving. In our travels, Ted navigates while I drive. Sometimes we are amazed when we get it right
Brenda Gael Smith says
Oh no, swapping roles would not work for us at all. I am much too timid when it comes to driving on the right-hand side of the road and the Laundry King is lousy at map reading!
Elizabeth E. says
Funny–that Montmarte lift was out when I was there over ten years ago, and with all the others, we hiked up the billion stairs to get out of the station. I don’t envy you with your luggage!
The photos are beautiful, and I loved seeing them. I laughed a lot of your travel notes, as my husband and I just took a trip this summer of 17 days, and we have some similarities!
And yes, the vegetables taste better there than in the States, too.
Elizabeth
Brenda Gael Smith says
This is a case where a little more research wouldn’t have gone astray. Our hotel was equally close to the Blanche metro station which only has a single flight of stairs. Live and learn!
Diane says
So glad you and David enjoyed your trip, Brenda — I really enjoyed seeing your photos along the way.
Brenda says
What a wonderful diary, it has been great to tag along.
Re: #9, I have a bronze reminder of my first visit to Paris and only managed 20km on my last visit! Thank you for taking Antipodean quilts to the world.