Having left Paris on Friday we took the train an hour north to the city of Lille. Sitting just 10 miles from the Belgium border, it is the tenth largest city in France with approx a million citizens and was the original capital of Flanders. We had been drawn here, en route to Belgium, byContinue reading “Touring Western Europe -France -My New Friend Lille”
Tag Archives: Lonely Planet
Guide to Versailles and Chantilly: A Tale of Two Châteaux
Whilst in Paris we have visited both Versailles and Chantilly. What a totally different experience! This is certainly a tail of two chateaux!The aim of this post is to hopefully enable you to decide which property you would prefer to visit assuming you have a choice. Versailles is of course a Palace and not aContinue reading “Guide to Versailles and Chantilly: A Tale of Two Châteaux”
Touring Western Europe -France-Old Man Notre Dame
We arrived in Paris on Tuesday after a 7 hr train journey from Barcelona. Having booked our tickets before we even left the UK, we had secured first class tickets for a minimal increase on the second class price. On arrival on the train we discovered that there was very little difference between the two typesContinue reading “Touring Western Europe -France-Old Man Notre Dame”
Barcelona: Saved by Modernist Architecture
Whilst I left Barcelona feeling as if it had sold it’s soul for the tourist dollar ( see my previous post published on April 11th) I also left appreciating and acknowledging that the city has some rare and beautiful modern architecture. You cannot help but be in awe of Gaudi’s work, Barcelona’s most famous ModernistContinue reading “Barcelona: Saved by Modernist Architecture”
Touring Western Europe -Spain -Barcelona Has Sold It’s Soul!
I would normally be sat here writing about our adventures in Barcelona rather than an opinion piece. We had arrived here by train from Valencia on Monday and settled into our Air BnB late afternoon with a view of La Sagrada Familia from our balcony. I guess this is still an adventure but it’s hardContinue reading “Touring Western Europe -Spain -Barcelona Has Sold It’s Soul!”
Valencia, It Just Has It All!
So what else did we see or do which made us want to stay in this wondrous city? We took a break from the Jardin de Turin to visit the Museum Faller. This museum is all about the art of carnival sculpture and to which I am dedicating a separate article on Tuesday because itContinue reading “Valencia, It Just Has It All!”
Touring Western Europe -Spain-Valencia, Please Can I Stay?
Wow! Oh my goodness! This is it! We have been looking for a city that makes us want to return and actually try life as a local for three months and this could be it! I am so excited………………… On Wednesday, we travelled from Granada back to Madrid Atocha before boarding our train to Valencia,Continue reading “Touring Western Europe -Spain-Valencia, Please Can I Stay?”
Visit Avila: Discover Spain’s UNESCO Heritage City
We set out early on Friday morning to catch the metro just down the hill at Lavapies or Lava Pies as I tend to refer to it!With a quick change at Plaza de Espana we soon arrived at Principe Pio to board our train going 70 miles, more or less, due west of Madrid toContinue reading “Visit Avila: Discover Spain’s UNESCO Heritage City”
Touring Western Europe -Spain- Aranjuez
The Renfe Cercanios Madrid Network:When we were waiting for our return train yesterday in Avila we discovered there is another train service separate to the Metro and also not part of the Renfe intercity fast train network -the Renfe Cercanios Madrid network. It’s a bit like the London Underground in that it serves outlying regionsContinue reading “Touring Western Europe -Spain- Aranjuez”
Touring Western Europe -Spain -Bilbao
We arrived last Thursday, by plane, and treated ourselves to a taxi ride to our “home” for the next 6 nights. An Air BnB in the middle of the “Old Town”. -Casco Viejo.At the heart of the city are Bilbao’s original seven streets, Las Siete Calles, which date back to the 14th century. We areContinue reading “Touring Western Europe -Spain -Bilbao”
