An early morning train trip to Charles de Gaulle airport, then goodbye to Paris. Arrived in Dublin before lunch, and took the local bus to our hotel. Then into town, had lunch in St Stephens Green. The sun came out while there, then walked to St Patricks Cathedral, followed by Christ Church Cathedral. Surprisingly, Dublin has no catholic cathedrals, these two being Church of Ireland and Church of England. From there we walked back through Temple Bar, the hub of Dublin's very active night life. Crossed the Liffey River over the Halfpenny Bridge and onto O'Connell Street to catch the bus home. ... read more

Woke to a clear sky so walked to Tour Montparnasse and up to the top of the skyscraper for views of the city,but very hazy for distances. 360deg views so great vantage point. Caught the metro to Eiffel Tower, then had lunch in the Parc du Champ de Mars. From there, walked via Les Invalides to the Pont Alexandre III, a great iron bridge with statues, named for the Tsar of Russia when they were friends. Past the Grand Palais and Petite Palais, down the Champs-Elysees to Place de la Concorde tosee thefountains, obelisk and watch the traffic. Up via Rue Royale to the Madelaine, plenty of exclusive shops. Then to the Opera Garnier, and down to Place Vendome - more exclusive shops and the Hotel Ritz. Then through Jardin des Tuileries to Place du Carrousel, ... read more

First fully wet day for my last drive in France. Negotiated the motorways back to Charles de Gaulle airport, a week of manual driving back to front without too many problems. Hopefully I'll be able to convert back again when I get home. Caught the train in from the airport to Paris, our hotel is near Saint-Michel train stop, on the direct line. Very conveniently located midway between Notre-Dame, Pantheon and Jardins du Luxembourg - only 5 minute walk to either. So the best way to spend a wet afternoon was to visit a museum. Walked to the Musee d'Orsay,an old railway station converted to a museum, most famous for its collection of Impressionist art. So wandered the galleries looking at Van Gogh, Renoir, Tolouse La-Trec, Degas, Monet, Manet and Gaugin, to name but a few. ... read more

A day well spent exploring the palace and gardens at Versailles - former hunting lodge of King Louis XIII, then enlaged by his son King Louis XIV. King Louis XVI added the Trianon estate as a gift to his wife, Marie-Antoinette. First started with a walk though the gardens and groves. No flowers out yet, or fountains going, but still a magnificent site. Walked through the groves, past the Grand canal to Marie-Antoinette's Estate - now being fully restored. Visited the Grand Trianon, the Petite Trianon, the pavillions, theatre and the little village she created by the lake. Then back to the main palace, and a tour through the state apartments - the King's Chamber, Hall of Mirrors, then galleries and Dauphin's apartments. An amazing spectacle, one of the best palaces you will see. ... read more

Drove 3 hours through the Normandy countryside to visit some of the D-Day Beaches. First stop at Arromanches-les-Bains, the western-most point of GOLD beach, and the site of Port Winston. This is where the first artificial harbour was set up on June 6, with 17 old ships, and 115 Mulberries (football field size concrete blocks) towed across the channel and sunk. Then on to Longues-sur-Mer, where remains an intact German batterry of 4 150mm guns, with a range of 20km. The observation post was set 300m in front on the cliffs. These guns bombarded both the landing fleet and GOLD & OMAHA beaches. Next to Colleville-sur-Mer, and the largest American war cemetery. Overlooking OMAHA beach, some 9,000 Americans are buried there, marked by white marble crosses or Jewish stars. A sobering sight and memorial to the ... read more