Kyriad Bonneuil Sur Marne Bonneuil-sur-Marne

... memorabilia and locally sources items. We hit the road and about 10 mins away was Heath War Cemetery. We visited two soldiers here - LT Gaby (Jamie's study person) and the family soldier - Private Beatham 24 years old - died on 18 August 1918. (RIP). Steve had brought a photograph of him and a picture of his former grave - when they were all wooden crosses - possibly just ...

... sun (beautiful day here). We're just grabbing some net and materials to make a cheap dinner and will likely have an early night. On plan for tommorow is the purchasing of a museum pass, which for €35 allows free access to the majority of museums and monuments in Paris. Eiffel Tower is first on the hitlist. Hope your all well Steve PS: The posts may be shorter for a bit, these French keyboards are playing hell with my typing.

One last day in Paris... This is my third visit to the City of Lights, and every time, the thought of leaving Paris breaks my heart. How is it that human beings all over the world were not inspired to build cities and communities all as beautiful as this one... I know, I wax poetic - or rather melodramatic - but I can't help it. There's something about Paris that makes me happy just walking around in its neighbourhoods. Where to go and how to fill this one last day? There are so ...

... leave them with my cousin in England so I don't have to carry them around. The guy showed us a map of France and the different wine regions. He cracked an anti American joke, explaining to the Americans in the room that it was a map of France, in case they didn't know. They didn't seem very impressed! I learnt that the French classify their wines by the region rather than the grape like they do in ...

... buildings back home. Everywhere, even on the smallest of buildings, there is carved stonework. Hundreds of stone faces, figures and animals stare down at me from the sides of buildings, decorating arches, doorways, windows. No two are ever the same. The churches are divine. Whether one is religious or not, you can't help but appreciate the work and the effort put into the churches. Notre-Dame was positively stunning, even more so in person than all the postcards, pictures, and ...

... que tu montes, il faut que tu resdescendes quand tu reviens. On a acheté de l'andouille. Micheline dit que c'est de la ***** en paquet. C'est du porc roulé avec ...

... and Palace being used prior to the Revolution. The glass pyramid is front of the Musee is interesting, but we were only here to see the outside today, and so we walked on. The inside tour would wait for another day; it was too beautiful to be indoors! We walked along the River Seine, surveying the many "bouquinistes" (used booksellers) lined up along the walls. These type vendors have been here since the mid-16th century when ...

... Mountains and it would be a hard drive as the roads could be icy. So we drove through Toulouse and onto Ville Franche de-Rouergue where we found an aires for the night. We went for a walk around town and found the massive cathedral which again was just beautiful. We just love France so much, it is so pretty with all the old streets, the pretty stone houses with shutters and the people have been so nice and patient given that we can't speak any French, they just continue to laugh at ...

... time in Frankfurt. The trains were nice and climatized at first. From Frankfurt on we sweated. Nothing special happened. Just that the train from Frankfurt to Paris was as full as the Paris metro during rush hour. Mari wondered how this could be. In Finland this couldn't be happening, because they sell only as many tickets as there are seats on a train. No need to discuss the service and logistics of Deutsche Bahn. All of us who have used it before ...

... of Americans. No offense, but we were hoping to meet some locals. So it was a short social night, but a good contact night in general. Steve came in handy for the rest of the trip... Christmas came and went with lots of phone calls and tears on my side. I have realized something very important-during the holidays, I must be with my family. I love them way too much to be so far from them again during these times, even if I am in Paris. We should be together... it's not the ...