London one more time

After a slight security hiccup and having to empty our bags to the guards to show them our chocolate swiss army knives we finally boarded the Eurostar back to London.

We had left the last one and half days in London open to relax, see a few things we had missed the first two times and also visit Ruslip to see where Jess's dad had grown up.

We started out back finally making our way over to Buckingham Palace to watch the changing of the guards.  There was already a sizable crowd present so we could not get a good vantage point to watch the actual ceremony but did get some close ups of the old and new guards entering the palace gates.

Leaving before the whole ceremony was complete we got back on the underground and made our way out to Ruslip.  Navigating our way through various streets, which we discovered later that we could have gone straight down the main street, we arrived at 74 Bempton Drive. We took a few photos and made our way back to the main street for some lunch at the local Bakery.

After Ruslip we made our way back to London for a spot of shopping (including a visit to Harrods again) before finishing up in a pub watching the first euro semi final between Spain and Portugal.  On the way to the pub we passed a van with one of our names on it.

We awoke on our final day of our trip, finished packing our bags and headed out for one last day of adventure. We had seen some adverts for the London Dundegeon and having done the London Bridge Experience we were keen for another walk through of screams and laughs.  Lucky for us we got to tag onto the end of a group of 10 year old school children who were scared witless.

We had one last stop for the day and that was a visit to Madame Tussaudes to mix it with the rich and famous, grabbing a few behinds along the way!

Our trip had now come to an end, we made our way to Heathrow, had one last meal, got back on a plane and headed home.

Discovering Paris

Our first official day in Paris we started out early by first collecting our Paris Pass from the Hard Rock Cafe and made our way to our first attraction, the Arc de Triomphe.

The Arc de Triomphe stands 50 metres tall and honours those who fought and died for France in the French Revolutionary and the Napoleonic Wars.  Beneath its vault lies the tomb of an unknown French soldier who died in World War I.

After finishing at the Arc de Triomphe we headed over to Montmarte where we rode a funicular up to the base of the Sacre Coer, however we decided not to visit and instead headed over to a gallery showing works by Salvadore Dali, Jess's favourite artist.

From there we had lunch in Paris's highest point, Place du Tertre, a square in Montmarte bustling with artists before walking down the streets to find the Moulin Rouge.

Jess was taken back by all the the seedy adult shops and strip clubs in the area, it felt like we were back in Amsterdam's Red Light District again!

Next stop was the Conciergerie where Marie-Antoinette was imprisoned prior to her execution by Guillotine.

From here we then found ourselves at the famous Notre Dame.  We joined the queue which we believed was for climbing the towers to see the gargoyles however discovered that it was just to visit the cathedral only.  Upon exiting we found the queue for the towers but it was no longer open as closing time was approaching so we decided to sit down in the gardens behind Notre Dame and listen to a student brass band play.

Dinner time had approached and after dropping some supplies off at our apartment we went to a bar serving french food.  For entree we had escargot, snails!

The following day we got up nice and early to visit the Louvre.  Doors open at 9am and we arrived not long after 8 and a queue had already formed.  Lucky for us we had our Paris Pass which afforded us skip the line privileges.  We grabbed our map and headed straight for Leonardo di Vinci's Mona Lisa.

With the map in hand we wandered the halls in search of some of the famous works.  Venus di Milo, Michelango's Slave, Turkish Baths, Winged victory of Samothrace and many more.

Having briskly walked a number of the halls in the Louvre we headed outside and through the gardens towards the Place de la Concorde, the site of Marie-Antoinette's execution.  The famous avenue the Champs Elysees was closed for a bike event (not the Tour de France). 

We crossed the Seine River and made our way over to the Eco Militaire and the Golden Dome behind which is the location of Napoletinas Tomb.

It was now time to try something different.  As we were not able to fit in a visit to the Catacombs we decided to go subterranean at another museum.  The Musee des Egouts, the Paris Sewers.  Here you can enter a section of the old sewer system which still is in use.  If only pictures could convey smell, Poo Wee!

We returned to our apartment to freshen and change before going to the Moulin Rouge.  Upon arriving we discovered that camera's and phones were not allowed, which is for a good reason so we checked our coats and camera's in at the cloak room and were taken to our seats, right up the front. The show didn't start until 9 so we ate our meal and chatted to the couples beside us waiting patiently for the show to start.

The show began and wow what an amazing show it was, filled with laughter and amazing costumes full of colour and feathers. It is a must see if you are visiting Paris.

For our final full day in Paris we returned to our now infamous site and decided to ascend the Eiffel Tower.  The queues were already quite large as only one lift was in operation, given we were sick of climbing stairs and not having any skip the line privileges we just joined the end and waited our turn.

Getting off at the second floor we joined yet another queue to get to the third and top floor however we found out that we needed tickets and this was not the queue for that.
Eventually we made it to the top and enjoyed the views and a glass each of champagne.

After spending more than half the day at the Eiffel Tower and its queues we descended and took some time to take some more silly pictures in the gardens.

We had one more item to tick off on our list of Paris items.  Place a lock a the Bridge, so we headed over and bought a lock from one of the stalls, closed it on the bridge and threw the key into the river.

Our time in Paris had now come to an end.  We only had a half day left so we went shopping for some last minute souvenirs and macaroons.

We said goodbye to mainland Europe and returned to the United Kingdom.