Friday 17 & Saturday 18 June

Friday, 17 June 2016

Well, today was a day of travelling.  It was sad to be leaving our new Welsh family.
Matt, Belinda and the kids drove from Swansea to London to return the hire car.
Bec, Mindy, Daryl and I got the train from Swansea to London Paddington.  Once in London, we said good-bye to Bec and Mindy  --  they were heading off to Berlin.





Daryl and I found our way from Paddington station to St Pancras station (some difficulties resulting from a derailed train!) and then had to negotiate that huge station to find the international departure area.  We then went through customs and hoped that we would find Matt, Belinda and the kids somewhere in the huge crowds of people.  Won't tell the whole story  --  it's sufficient to say that after Matt dropped Belinda and the kids at St Pancras station, he successfully tackled the London traffic to return the hire car, but then had to run all the way back to St Pancras station.  He only JUST made it in time!

At last, all on the Eurostar train  --  time to settle down, relax, and enjoy the trip.




Some amazing information on the train screens.  The Eurostar often travels over 300 km/hr.  Wow!

SATURDAY    18 June 2016

I was really looking forward to showing Matt, Belinda, Josh, Darcy and Grace around Paris and to see their reactions when first discovering some of the famous attractions.

After meeting for breakfast, we all started walking down to the River Seine and Ile de la Cité to see Notre Dame cathedral.  It was the start of a lot of walking!









There were some wonderful sights to see along the way.




This market square has survived here, near Notre Dame, for hundreds of years.




We were on our way to the amazing Sainte-Chapelle (Holy Chapel).  It's nearly 800 years old!  The stained glass is unbelievable.








After more walking around the island in the middle of the River Seine, we crossed over the to Latin Quarter.  It was time for lunch.




... more walking  –   and me constantly trying to keep up with those ahead of me!




Boulevard Saint-Michel




... and quite by accident, we discovered on entry to the famous Sorbonne University.




More walking as we headed for Jardin du Luxembourg (Luxembourg Gardens) and Palais du Luxembourg (Luxembourg Palace).