Ibis Chartres Ctre Cathedrale

... a ltr bottloe 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.<br><br>Well fed and watered we got tucked for the night ready for an early morning START!!....

... we had breakfast. One team were called the 'Viking Dancers'. Somehow the little blond girls did not quite give the impression of fearsome Viking raiders. We also wondered what Viking dance would be like. Pirouettes followed by axe-throwing?<br><br>Car Hire<br><br>We arrived early at the car hire place and were the first in the door when it opened. We had some unfortunate surprises when the car we hired was not available and the ...

To Sylvie&#8217;s in the French Countryside-Sylvie, who was an exchange student at the Harty&#8217;s back in 1970 lives and works right outside of Paris. We have reconnected with much effort from Adrienne Harty (Steve&#8217;s mom) and she invited us to dinner at her country home and also to spend the night. What a generous treat. The ride to Houdan was a beautiful drive through the French country (after we managed to ...

... as there seemed a plentiful supply of wine in their restaurant. We had a lovely meal, the whole shebang, which was not only expensive but delicious -Andre informs me we will be having a cheaper meal tomorrow :P. The mango vodka cocktail for starters and a bottle of 2005 Red Wine (Cabernet Franc) certainly didn&#8217;t go astray either. That may explain why Andre is fast asleep next to me at the moment. After a lovely day I think I may do the same until tomorrow&#8217;s adventures.

... for a bit (got 2 weeks left on it, but might be able to get more) but once that's up we're gonna have to come back home :- ( Didn't say anything before cos we still didn't know what was going on, but obviously I'll let you know as soon as we get more info.<br><br>I'll fill you in on the actual places we've been later - Jack'll be wondering where his croissants have got too!<br>xx

The famous battle at Villers-Bretonneux occurred between 23-24th April in 1918 when the German advance on Amiens ended in the capture of the little town.  The Australian Divisions recaptured the village in a battle that left a fond memory of Australia within the tiny hamlet and the town is literally a commemoration to Australia. <br>The Villers-Bretonneux Memorial is the Australian National Memorial erected to the memory of all Australian soldiers who ...

Saturday 25th April So we set off from the hotel at 3am to drive from Lille to Villers-Bretonneux the site of the Anzac Day service. Once again it appears our bus driver got lost but we did get there in time. ANZAC service Wow wow wow wow wow. I don't know how it looked on TV back at home, but OMG that was the most amazing somber event I have ever been a part of. Driving up to the Australian Memorial the ...

... you begin to appreciate the magnitude of the 'war' and the effect on those families who lost loved ones. Most of the soldiers were in their early 20's some only 18 years old. Many of the Australians died between 10th and 12th April 1917 while the Germans died as the war was coming to a close May 1918. There is one important factor here, there is no difference between the soldiers, they lie side by side irrespective of which country they fought for - it is how it should be.

... commute into town and paid our respects to the Arc de Triumphe. Apparently THIS is where the Japanese tourists hang. We hadn't seen many others, but they were all there! We did not wait in the line to go up, but thought about it. We also did not go up Sacre Coeur the day before b/c the first line about that in our guide book included the words "narrow" and "claustrophobic" and I learned my lesson at St. Stephens. We are still ...

... But the exterior ones are fabulous and I will share with you what I think are the best shots. I kept repeating myself, "I just wasn't expecting this!" He replied that he already knew that some considered this cathedral the most beautiful in the world. So now a slideshow, please view as a slideshow and I will try to write a little bit about each picture that I post. What a spectacle and what a spectacular day!!