Today we went to Battle to visit Battle Abbey (and Battlefield) where the Battle of Hastings occurred. Guess what happened there? There was a ... battle!! The presentations and audio guides were great. Have certainly been catching up on my European history. Weather has still been cold with lots of frozen ponds which the kids keep trying to break. Daniel found a dead and nearly frozen sheep in on of the ponds in the battlefield.... read more

Today was Eileen's birthday. I'm sure you all know here age so I won't repeat it here. No cup of tea in the morning unfortunately. Presents in the morning and then breakfast. Drove from Bruges to Calais to catch the Ferry. You drive the car through two customs, French and the UK right behind. The UK customs had trouble with the passports for the kids so the officer asked me for my occupation. When I told him I worked in I.T. he asked whether I forged them - then he smiled. A relaxing Ferry ride. Eileen did a bit of shopping and we all exchanged our Euros for Pounds. No commission on the ferry but the exchange rate was poor. Off the ferry and up to Dover castle. Drive on the left, drive on the left. ... read more

Mainly looked around town. As we now have a thing for steps and towers, we climbed another bell tower. Got very narrow in places. Much to Isabel's relief the bells didn't go off on the hour. It was interesting to see the mechanics inside a huge clock with four faces. Shall I tell you how it works? ... nah! The big highlight was ice skating in one of the main squares. None of the kids had done it before and they did quite well. Of course Eileen had to show off her skating skill. I was just waiting for a fall, or one of those scenes from a Berenstein Bears book - but no - she did well and smiled a lot. Looked around the shops, particularly the chocolate shops, but more importantly anywhere we could ... read more

Today we used the Paris Metro (underground rail) system to visit the Montmartre district. The trains are very regular with a train every 3-4 minutes, and each one fairly busy. Met our guide at Abbesse station who took us around various locations of relevance to artists (like Van Gough), a martyr, movie celebrities, movie locations (like Amélie) and infamous burglars. We finished on top of a hill with the church - Basilique du Sacre Coeur. Normally a great view of Paris but ours was limited as it started snowing lightly. Still - we managed to fit in a merry-go-round ride. Headed back to the train station via the Moulin Rouge. Didn't think about this being a bit of a red-light district. Using every art of distraction we could think of, we made our way past a ... read more

Ah - finally - a cup of tea in the morning!! Boy have I missed that. Apartment is very quiet and we all slept in. First order of the day was shopping. Eileen and the girls went for food, and Daniel and I went for a new camera. We were recommended FNAC for the camera. Quite an impressive shop for all electronic foods, but stayed focused and got the camera. We then met back at the apartment for a quick lunch. Walked to the Notre Dame to get on the tour bus. Patches of snow around and it was very cold. The bus is an open top. Eileen and the kids lasted about 15 minutes but I was determined to make the most of it. However, after about 30 minutes my hands and feet started to ... read more