Blogs from Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Île-de-France, France, Europe

A whirlwind 3 days in Paris but we packed in a lot in that short time. We had a 2 day pass on the open top touring buses and there were four routes that took us all over Paris. We managed to fit in the longest tour covering the main attraction on the first afternoon after arriving at 6 in the morning. We were very proud of ourselves for managing to stay awake and get organised to do that. The next day we planned to do the next 3 tours each an hour long. We had a slow start because I think the jet lag had caught up with us a bit. However we managed our goal and arrived back late in the evening and then took a stroll around the neighbourhood to catch the Friday ... read more

The sky was blue outside our window this morning at 8am but by the time we were ready to get moving, the clouds had started to move in. We left the complimentary unbrella at the hotel trying to think positive and started walking toward the river. We did some zigging and zagging and eventually stumpled in on our neighbourhood from 2006. We stayed in the Latin Quarter that time, and recognized many of the buildings from the area as we walked around. After crossing the bridge, we got to Notre Dame. There was a steady stream at the entrance so we joined the flow and made our way inside. There is photography allowed in the cathedral so Penny got busy with her SLR taking pics of the stain glass and other stand outs in the building. ... read more

Monday 25th October: Today we went out for a walk around Saint Germain, it's a really nice old town with lots of shops and things to see. Our first stop was in front of the chateau in Saint Germain, it's not the most beautiful chateau in France but it's quite impressive. No-one lives here any longer but it is now a Museum which is a place with lots of old objects in it. We then went into the park next to the chateau and I saw the place where Louis XIV was born, he was one of the French kings, they used to live in Saint Germain before they built an immense palace in nearby Versailles. The park next to the chateau is really big and has a huge terrace which goes all the way to ... read more

Night time is the right time in Paris. This was my second time here and I loved it. We walked all over during the day and took the riverboat tour at night. Amazing! ... read more