Was a very cruisy day today. Went back to Sacré-Cœur Basilica so Zac could see it and take photos, and then had an afternoon tour out to Versailles, the palace of King Louis 14, 15 and 16 as well as Napoleon. This is a totally ostentatious place. All of the rooms have huge frescoes painted on the roof, and ornate carvings everywhere, most of the trim in the rooms is gilded, and there is marble, silver, gold all over the place. There is an entire wing dedicated to paintings of famous French battles, and treasures galore, and that is only inside. Outside is a massive garden, too big to walk around, you have to rent a golf cart to see it all. No wonder the peasants revolted, the palace is so over the top, even for ... read more

Today was a great day. We began with chocolate croissants, custard filled pastries, cheeses, toast, cereal, fruit, a grand French breakfast. We began the days adventures with a trip to Notre Dame cathedral, an excellent example of Gothic architecture and a truly imposing building, and a wander through the Latin Quarter. We had horrendously priced coffees at a cafe, 2 cappuccino and 1 espresso was 17.60€ or close on $40. Then took the metro to The Louvre. Zac was amazed at this structure, its scale and detail. The place just seems to go on forever, there are intricate carvings and columns everywhere, and the pyramids out front are great to photograph. We put our padlock on the bridge of padlocks, I threw the keys into the Siene, and we meandered our way back to the hotel. ... read more

Mark & Zac has a wonderful surprise for me this morning. We walked to Little Venice where we took a canal boat ride up to Camden Town, near the London Zoo. It was very pleasant pootling along the narrow, calm waterways. Camden was not what I expected. I expected a pokey little area, with some markets around, what we were presented with was a bustling area, huge markets with every kind of food you can imagine, everything from pizza to Nepalese cuisine. The people of Camden tend toward the alternative, lots of tattoos, face metal, leather jackets, jeans with spikes in. Then, walking down the same street are the hippies, long flowing hair with flowers woven in, John Lennon glasses, loose fitting tie dye shirts and bell bottom trousers. Lots of performance artists too, got some ... read more

Have a day all on my ownsie today, Mum and Dad have buggered off to Paris for the day, but I wanted to see a bit more of London, and be in a foreign city by myself, so after a hearty English breakfast I set off. Took the tube to Mansion House, walked over the Milennium Bridge, saw and took photos of The Globe Theatre, where all of Shakespeares' plays were held in his time. Then went to the HMS Belfast, a preserved WWII battleship. I was very excited to see this, as I have never been on board a battleship before, and this thing is huge. Unfortunately, it was not to be, as they are refurbishing the walkway to get onto it, and it is closed, so hanging my head, I went to the pub. ... read more

Today began with a walk through Hyde Park, I would love to see it in snow. A hugely pleasant place, joggers jogging, cyclists cycling, horse riders riding riding horses, all in all a wonderful place. We continued through Wellington Arch and down Constitution Hill to Buckingham Palace to see The Changing of the Guard. It was a bit drawn out to be honest, but very impressive. The Royal Band was there and played all kinds of music, Frank Sinatra, Michael Jackson, along with some ceremonial music. The guards were resplendent in their scarlet jackets and black furry hats, boots shined to a mirror sheen. They all carried semi-automatic rifles with fixed bayonets. We then walked down The Mall to Trafalgar Square to have coffee and watch the world go by. Down the road, past Downing Street, ... read more