Well, here we are back home. It feels a bit weird too because it's ages since we went away for two whole weeks...and it's ages since I left these islands too (UK holidays for the last 5 years or so).
Thanks to everyone who came with us via the photos we posted from the sea, Belgium and France. It wasn't my plan to post every day (in fact my plan was to do NO BLOGGING AT ALL!) but Mark took that photo underneath the Forth Road Bridge on the first day and I think I said something like 'let's post it from your clever phone and see if anyone can guess what it is' and then it all just carried on from there. I'm still laughing at Dick Jones' suggestion for the Day 1 photo that we were falling down a lift shaft (they have a ride like that at Disneyland...we didn't go on it though...). Jones is funny, very funny!
Anyway, most of the photos were identified but one or two were not so here are the final details for all of them for those who are interested. There are links back to the photo posts on the Day headings.
Day 1 – this was taken on the ferry out of Rosyth (just north of Edinburgh) and the photo is of the Forth Road Bridge (taken from underneath...I've been on it many times but never under it before). This Rosyth/Zeebrugge route is a new service (with Norfolkline) and there were lots of people complaining that the company before (Superfast) did it better. The cabins were great, the staff (Liverpudlians and Philippinos, largely) were lovely but it was a little cramped in terms of other space with not much viewing deck and stuff like that (and it's a long trip!). The breakfast was very expensive too...possibly the most expensive I've ever encountered (put it this way we took supplies for the home trip). They could do with rethinking how they serve the evening meals too...much unnecessary queuing. Anyway, onto...
Day 2 – this was taken arriving at Zeebrugge port in Belgium. We then went into nearby Bruges (Brugge) and stayed two nights there. It's a very beautiful city and smaller and more manageable for tourists than some of the better-known European city destinations. We wandered about a lot, took a horse and carriage ride, enjoyed sunshine, ate some chocolate...
Day 3 – like many places in Belgium, Bruges is full of chocolate shops. We had to post a photo of at least one.
Day 4 – after Bruges we headed down to Disneyland Resort Paris (as it's now known...changed its name to get away from bad Eurodisney reports, so I believe). This part of the holiday was a surprise for our Girl (and we didn't tell her till we pulled up outside). This photo was of the Disneyland Hotel at the entrance to the main amusement park (we stayed in one of the hotels about 5 minutes walk from the park...plenty close enough!). I was not looking forward to the Disney part of the holiday (crowds, commercialism, queues...) but we had taken lots of advice on how to get the most out of it in a short time and it all worked out and I even enjoyed it (and of course our Girl LOVED it). We avoided queues pretty much and we seemed to manage to see and do all the best bits for a girl of 9 who likes more fantasy and fun than excitement and screaming. I'm not sure I could manage a fortnight like some people do but a couple of days was surprisingly bearable.
Day 5 – this photo was the carousel in the Fantasyland part of Disneyland Park. We spent all morning in that...zone (and I mean all morning...we went into the park at 8am!). In the afternoon we made it into the new bit (Walt Disney Studios) and then we had our evening meal in the Disney Village (another bit...) surrounded by people in huge character suits (hot work, I'm sure). I was fascinated by all the different jobs at the resort and the armies of people from all over the world who work there. I wanted to interview them all ('who are you? Where are you from? How did you end up here?'). I still might do that...
Day 6 – this photo was the... unusual dog fountain at the château at Fontainebleau, south of Paris (I have relatives who live nearby). Dogs were quite a theme of the holiday (our Girl being dog-mad and stopping to talk to every dog/dog-owner that we met...whether she could speak the same language or not...).
Day 7 – we only had a day trip to Paris this holiday (but mean to go back to visit more thoroughly when our Girl is a bit older...I was last there some 20 years ago). We took this photo of the Canot de l'Empereur (built for Napoleon) at the Musée de la Marine at the Place du Trocadéro (we were there because one of my younger male relatives was hunting for a particular item in the giftshop!). Mostly we saw the Eiffel Tower (our Girl's one request) and the huge queues to go up said tower, then had lunch, walked by the river, took a bus, soaked in some atmosphere. I had taken Hilary Mantel's
'A Place of Greater Safety' as my holiday reading (it's been sitting on a shelf waiting to be read for ages) so it was great to walk on some of the streets I was reading about.
Day 8 – this is one of the ones that nobody guessed or knew. I suppose Dave King was the one I thought might get it (writing as he does about visual art so much) but maybe he's been on holiday too. We were in Barbizon (back near Fontainebleau) and this was at the The Ganne-Musée Inn of the Barbizon School (L’Auberge Ganne-Musée de l’Ecole de Barbizon). You can read about the Barbizon painters
here and the little museum is interesting because impoverished artists painted walls and furniture for the innkeeper when they couldn't pay their bills. The photo we posted featured one of the wall paintings (an anonymous one) in the upstairs part of the museum. I can see why several of you went off down a van Gogh road but it wasn't anything to do with him. There is also a
Millet museum in Barbizon (his studio/house) and we went there and walked in the Barbizon forest too.
Day 9 – next we moved south to other relatives who live in the Loire valley, just west of Charité sur Loire, and on the first day we took a walk with my cousin and she showed us the five-hundred year old oak tree that we photographed for this post (obviously this is the royal 'we'...it's Mark's phone...). I couldn't resist this old giant and its marker for one of the pilgrim routes (Chemin de Vezelay) - partly because of regular visitor
Solitary Walker (I wouldn't even have heard of the pilgrim ways if it wasn't for him). Mr Walker did recognise the marker but had not been down this chemin so didn't know the tree. I suppose it was a long shot...
Day 10 – We went into Charité and decided to take a photo of the town while we were there to help with the Day 9 photo (it worked...Solitary Walker got both in the end...wouldn't have been fun if it was easy, would it?). In the evening we went to a local party along the river to watch fireworks for the French national day (
14th July – but fireworks go on the night before). Very beautiful...and great fireworks.
Day 11 – no-one got this one either. It was
this place and a fantastic project. Mark loved all the technical stuff ('oh look, a medieval spirit level'...), our Girl loved the animals ('oh, look, goats and pigs and horses!') and I just enjoyed wandering about looking at everything and everyone. It was sunny and friendly and altogether
charmant.
Day 12 – Titus had mentioned the Tour de France earlier in the week and then we very nearly did get caught up in it on our way to lunch with relatives on day 12 (hence the photo). We did think we might take a look at the great race as it was passing so close by but you know these French lunches...it went on for hours! Our Girl couldn't believe how many courses we ate...time for a wee diet now I think...or maybe a big diet...
Day 13 – back on the road north we stayed overnight just outside Épernay in the Champagne region and took this photo on our way back to the car after another long meal. We weren't there very long (just to eat and sleep really) but we enjoyed the brief stop. In our hotel everything was champagne related...the key fobs were shaped like champagne corks (it's not just Disneyland that's tacky evidently...). Titus got this one. Clever dog.
Day 14 – finally we were back on the ferry at Zeebrugge and we took this photo an hour or so out to sea. The crossing was fairly rough (it had been smooth as smooth on the way out) but I like being on the water so I didn't mind (though it was a bit like sleeping in a tumble drier at nighttime). Some others on the boat looked fairly green and lots of people went into breakfast but came running straight out again. I don't think it was just the cost of breakfast that had that effect either...
And now home. Home sweet home. And congratulations to all those who spotted sights or guessed something right (I think Solitary Walker got the most points but Dominic Rivron, Titus, Swiss, Barbara Smith and Green Ink all got on the scoreboard too). Thanks also to those of you whose funny answers made me laugh and to relatives of mine (Ruth, Raymond, Carol...) who helped with ideas (and of course put us up too!). It was really good to get back on the road again.
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