Not loving this overnight train business. After a night of shuffling bags around in a space not much larger than the bags themselves, at least I can solve the Tower Of Babel in about 20s now. Didn't get much sleep, only to wake up and get dressed thinking it was 7:30am when, in fact, it was only 6:25am. Hmmm... At least we had a small breakfast served on the train. We arrived in Munich at 9am and found the lockers to dump our baggage after booking the Vienna-Venice overnight train. Not quite sure what I've done, but my left heel started [View Full Entry]

---

---

Another late start after our 1am finish last night. Again, absolutely perfect weather for our last day in Paris! Karina booked the accommodation in Venice, which means we're set for the next 2 weeks except an overnight train to Venice which we can't seem to book from here. After a quick breakfast we pack our bags for Munich. Checkout is 11am, and we stretch the definition somewhat! At least they allowed us to print our accommodation vouchers and store our luggage until we return this evening to catch the overnight train to Munich. We catch the subway again to the Catacombs, [View Full Entry]

---

---

A relatively late start this morning, another perfect day weather-wise! We're not out the door until around 11am and head to Notre Dame, which we visited on the evening we arrived but not since. This time we could go inside, and it's even more impressive than outside. Huge lead light windows look spectacular passing the bright morning sun. We were surprised that photography wasn't discouraged, although it's impossible to capture any of the majesty in the low light. Next stop was the comic shop where Karina saw Frosty The Snowman in the window. We stumbled across a street of 5 or [View Full Entry]

---

---

It was very difficult to get out of bed at 6:15am after such a full day yesterday. A quick breakfast and we caught the RER (train) to The Eiffel Tower. The weather, BTW is absolutely perfect! Rushing towards the tower at 7am we were dumbfounded by the number of people already queuing up - none! Nada. Zero. Barely even a soul to be seen, actually. You could choose to ascend from any of the 4 corners - two of which had only lifts to the 2nd level, the other 2 only stairs. From the 2nd level to the top was another [View Full Entry]

---

---

Out the door around 9am and looking to buy something for breakfast. Clearly everyone else in Paris is still in bed, because absolutely nothing - not even sandwich shops - are open. In the end we give up and make do with a banana each. Our plan is the 2-day hop-on hop-off open-top bus tour. The weather is spectacular - if not slightly too hot - and it's not long before we're off on the 1st circuit of 4 included in the ticket price. This is the main leg - Notre Dame, Eiffel Tower, The Louvre, Arc de Triomphe for starters. [View Full Entry]

---

---

An early rise and early breakfast to catch the 8:53am from St Pancras (Kings Cross) in London to Lille, France. A 20 minute tube to the station from Earls Court and a short walk with a few sets of steps to contend with and we found the Eurostar departure point, checking in with only a few minutes to spare. Inside the train you could imagine yourself on a plane, 2 seats either side of the centre aisle. Your ears even keep popping! We weren't issued seats together, but a kind lady agreed to move when Karina asked if we could sit [View Full Entry]

---

---

It took us a while to get out the door this morning, mainly because we were trying to figure out the best way to get to Paris tomorrow. Time was getting on so we grabbed a cheap lunch around the corner and jumped on the underground to Madame Tussauds. We arrived not long before 11am and the lines weren't *too* long to get in - about 10 mins. The exhibition was great - except for the number of people inside. At times the crowd thinned, but in places we couldn't even move, which dampened the experience a little. It's obviously a [View Full Entry]

---

---

An early morning start to get to the London Eye before the queues. It was cold, wet and rain was forecast all day (and tomorrow). We arrived shortly before the ticket office opened and battled our way through more than 8 people to exchange our voucher. We opted to wait under cover until the Eye started up half an hour later, but noticed they actually started it shortly after we had our ticket! Again, we had to wait *several* minutes in the queue to board our "flight". Glad we got up early and rushed there. As impressive as the Eye is, [View Full Entry]

---

---

Continental breakfast is included here so that means one meal is taken care of - yah! We timed our arrival at the underground to buy an off-peak day travel pass at 9:30am. The trains and stations here seem much more crowded than New York, though they appear to run more frequently and perhaps more reliably. The idea today was to complete the 24 hr hop-on hop-off open-top bus tour. Also included in the tour price was a river cruise and various walking tours. The tour started at Picadilly Circus and took us to most of the major attractions in London. Our [View Full Entry]

---

---

This evening we arrived at Heathrow and caught the subway almost to the door of our hotel in Earls Court. Too easy, especially after a long flight from New York via Zurich. We were pleasantly surprised by the location, size and standard of our room given what we had seen/heard about London hotels and the relatively cheap price we paid. After having a hot shower and getting changed into warmer clothes we went for a short walk around Earls Court before jumping on the underground to check out Harrods & Hyde Park. Now the part that I can't quite believe - [View Full Entry]

---

---