Hotel Premiere Classe Dreux

... a ltr bottle of Vin rouge and a bottle of water. Not only excellent value but terrific quality and service. The atmosphere was friendly and relaxed and it was difficult to tell we were foreigners abroad.

Well fed and watered we got tucked for the night ready for an early morning START!!....

... at the entrance, a line of trees, and white sandstone features. We approached the memorial wall where I knew that Great Grandfather’s name was recorded. After a brief scan, I spotted his name, recorded as the only Lieutenant from the 15th Infantry Battalion to have lost his life. It is somewhat co-incidental that my father reached the same rank and I am now at the same rank level in the Australian Air Force Cadets.

Villers-Bretonneux, Picardy, France woodsfamily

... were nice but nothing like the orchard we headed back to the bus for the ride home.

I don't know what it was about Giverny but everyone raved about it on the way back and we all agreed that we had a great time. It may have been the free wine at lunch or the delicious apple juice or maybe even the people I was with but it was one of the best days here yet. Lots of beautiful gardens and gorgeous weather was the backdrop to our awesome day. On to another excursion next Tuesday!

... day the wind was kindly behind me. As the scenery constantly unfolded, my eyes feasted on chateau after chateau and petit village after petit village; all picture postcard perfect. With almost no traffic I made good progress, snacking along the way. But it was a long haul and so with aching back, knees and shoulders I was pleased to pass the sign announcing my arrival in Dreux. An unremarkable town, in spite of its long history; it has worked ...

... price of fuel Diesel 1.48e: ex-diesel 1.52e: ex sans plomb 98 1.63: sans plomb95 - 1.49e. We visited a huge crater at La Boiselle which was created when Welsh miners dug beneath a small hill, packed it with explosives and blew it up. It must be about 15m deep. Also visited Thiepval, Mouquet Farm, Pozierres, High Wood, Longeval, Delville Wood, crossed the Somme several times and stood on the top of the monument at Villers-Bretonneux where a sniper could ...

... and consisted of underground tunnels that seemed to travel for ages under the town. I have never seen so many bottles in my life, and the total cost was over 4.5million dollars. Tuesday was a very long day of driving because we had decided to head north to the battlefields of The Great War (The First World War, or World War One which ever name you prefer). These battlefields are very significant to Australians and played an important role in cementing the Australian ...

... Another interesting fact was that the monks over the years got pretty lazy and after they got rich through the many donations, they actually stopped practicing their religion and moved to Paris, only returning once a year to the Abbey. The date to stay clear of is Aug 15 which is the big pilgrimage of monks and worshippers to the Abbey where the place is jam packed with people and you cannot physically move once you are in. In fact, our guide told us that you will ...

... had dropped his ring!! This happened to Ryan 2 times in less than 20 minutes as we walked through the Tuileries Garden so it was not a surprise to see the rest of the gang of women at the Eiffel Tower - begging and playing their game. They left empty handed with us ready for the next joker! This is apparently the new trick for gypsies during high season - we were extra careful after this experience! The Eiffel Tower was spectacular! We ...

... more of Rodin's works, virtually all of them human forms (a few are of parts of humans, such as hands). He really captured the human spirit in his works. Since they were all by the same artist, it lacked the variety of the works in the Glyptotek in Copenhagen, but I'd still recommend a visit if you're in Paris. It's a very "French" experience. Just across the street from the Musee Rodin is the Hotel des Invalides, a giant ...

... not impressive. It's just that the "does there have to be so many people crammed into so small a space" rule applies. It's fine while you're outside. In fact, the gardens around Versailles are extensive, lush, and immaculately maintained. I spent well over an hour just walking around them, and saw much less than half of them. But the inside tour of Versailles was just a mob scene, especially with large groups of Chinese, Japanese, and other tourists all ...