August bank holiday - Brighton and Windsor

We had a long weekend at the end of August and decided to stay in London and do a couple of day trips. On Saturday we went to Brighton and had a lovely sunny day there enjoying fish and chips (with mushy peas of course) and ice cream on the beach, spending far too much loose change on the amusements, and wandering the many great shops and cafes.

Brighton Pier - home of the 2p entertainment.

Brighton Beach - sunny, full of people promenading.

The classic - cod and chips, and mushy peas.

Royal Pavilion

The highlight was visiting the Royal Pavilion, a palace built by King George IV. It’s decorated on the outside in an Indian style and the inside has been kept, or redecorated, as it was when he lived there in the 16th century, in amazingly rich Chinese style. Unfortunately we couldn’t take any photos inside but we were amazed at the huge chandeliers suspended from dragon’s mouths and at the ornate and colourful decoration throughout. Definitely worth the trip.




The other day trip we did was to Windsor and Eton. Windsor Castle was a great way to spend a drizzly day. Wonderful to be able to visit a castle that’s still lived in by Liz and Phil. We enjoyed an old fashioned pub lunch when the sun came out, then went to Eton college and enjoyed a tour there.

Here we are in front of the castle.

Dean couldn't wait to get into his Sunday roast, and he wasn't expecting the photo!

Finally, Lou gets to be a Princess.

We are really pleased to be living in Clapham Junction which has so many great train connections just down the road to us, makes day tripping super easy!
Now planning our weekends away in Belgium (Dean for the grand prix) and Copenhagen (Lou with her sister) in a couple of weeks, then a very busy travel-packed October with both the Yarrall and von D parents over this side of the world. We’ll need a break after that!

That said if anyone wants a place to stay in the UK, our place has now got a very comfy air bed for use of guests, as well as running hot and cold water.

Paris

Just got back from a wonderful weekend in Paris to celebrate Lou’s 28th birthday.

We got the Eurostar there on Friday night and were really pleased with our hotel which was nice and close to the train station and very modern and clean (although after Malta anything would have been a palace).

Saturday morning we had an amazing breakfast in the Latin Quarter (left bank) of croissants, pain au raisin and pain au chocolat plus café crème – can’t believe how yummy it was and why no other country in the world can do it like the French.

From there we visited Notre-Dame and when we came back outside it was pouring with rain so we decided not to queue to go upstairs and save that for another day. We wandered down to the Lourve, not intending to go in this visit but save it for next time however the weather and the fact there was no queue meant we went right in.

Decided to stick to the 19th century French and Italian painters section with Lou boring the heck out of Dean with what she could remember from art history ten years ago. After a couple of hours seeing those (and Dean triggering a warning alarm by trying to point right at a painting) we braved the crowds to visit the Mona Lisa (what’s all the fuss? I felt sorry for all the other paintings that don’t get a look in), and similarly crowds at the Venus de Milo. To the right is a photo of people taking a photo of the Venus de Milo.

After the Lourve we wandered through the lovely gardens to the Place de la Concorde and up the Champs Elysee to the Arc de Triomphe.

From there we went back to the hotel for a cuppa and a change of clothes before heading back into town for a lovely meal including escargot (had better in Wellington to be honest), soup l’ognion, duck and plenty of wine.

After dinner we joined the queue for the Eiffel Tower. It took over an hour to get tickets and then another half hour or so in the queue from the second to third floor but being night time we were entertained every hour by a lights show – pretty much thousands of fairy lights twinkling, very pretty.

By the time we got to the bottom again, it was Lou's birthday, so Dean gave Happy Birthday a valiant attempt in French.

Sunday was Lou’s birthday so we had a wee sleep in before heading to Montremartre which we really enjoyed. Visited the Sacre Couer including the 300+ steps to the top for the view, made a picnic lunch out of baguette, fromage and pate, enjoyed a giant glass of Bourdeaux and generally wandered around soaking up the atmosphere of the many artists around.

Went to see the outside of the Moulin Rouge and Lou was a bit surprised at how small it was compared to the movie!

Another visit into town to see the Trocadero (Dean had fun memories of skating on the iced over fountain when there over ten years ago with his family) and Champ de Mars (with a wee nap on the grass, Lou’s getting tired now she’s old) then on the Eurostar back home.

All in all a lovely weekend, saw plenty and also relaxed and enjoyed our time. We will definitely be back as plenty more to see. Very pleased at how good Dean’s French was, especially as he (predictably) hadn’t brushed up. Lou’s wasn’t too shabby either so we managed pretty well.

Looking forward to practicing it again when we head to the south of France with Lou’s parents later this year. Au Reviour!