J'aime Paris

The A380 left Singapore at midnight and we arrived nearly 13 hours later at Charles De Gaulle airport at 7 :20am and got a shuttle to our apartment . We are in a fantastic area of Paris called the Marais, a very old historic area where there are lots of things to visit on walks, Place De Vosges, Musee Carnavelet ( history), Jewish Quarter ( Rue De Rosiers )  and the Bastille monument etc. We have wonderful shops around us . I just love looking in the windows at the boulangeries,( Bakers ) chocolate shops, macarons, butchers, patisseries and fruit and vegetable shops. The Autumn fashions are on display and everyone wears lovely scarves and lots of leather coats are evident. The women are snappy dressers. We love the Metro and  have used it a lot using our great Navigo electronic ticket.
Highlights this week have been : a boat trip on the Seine, going to Giverny on the train and seeing Monet's house, garden and lily pond, going to the Orangerie gallery, Monet's huge waterlily paintings, The Musee D'Orsay, the top of The Galleries Lafayette for a panorama of the city  and a tour of the Palais Garnier, the inside of the Paris Opera House and setting of The Phantom of the Opera, amazing beauty. I also walked all the way from our street , up Rue De Rivoli to the Arc De Triomphe.Today we joined our tour group for a trip to the country on a fast train to Senlis in Picardie, where we visted a lovely Cathedral, some beaut Roman ruins and experienced authentic town markets . We passed by nagnificent Chantilly castle and a horse area, apparently the home of Americain.  Au Revoir mes amis xx

Adventures continue

It's now the end of the week and I am able to get onto my blog, having access to Jan's computer. The Paris apartment has broadband , not Wifi so I can't use the Ipad or put pictures up at moment.

We arrived in Singapore last Thursday and had two lovely days exploring Singapore. Not having been there before, I thoroughly enjoyed this highly developed Asian city. It has the most amazing buildings and is beautifully clean and calm. It also has  a highly developed  MRT  train system. A clever idea was recycling our tickets and getting 1$ back . We stayed at a great hotel  Grand Park City Hall, which had fabulous breakfasts. Highlights were a ride on the flyer, ( great views ) a river cruise, a Singapore sling at Raffles Hotel, hopping on and off the tourist bus (Hippo) seeing as much as we could .On Saturday we had a cable car ride to Sentosa Island, a playground with lots of beaches and activities such as Universal Studios. We shopped at Vivocity . You could go mad shopping in Singapore, It sure is a national pastime,  much better than Hong Kong. It would have been nice to visit the Botanic gardens and the zoo. Next time. !

Preparing and packing

Getting ready for our trip. Marg is meeting Jan on Wednesday and flying to Singapore, then onto Paris. After Paris we head to Provence on Saturday 29th . Ray meets me then and we travel by train through Italy to hop on ship in Venice for Mediterranean cruise. What to pack ! what will the weather be like ? I need some room in my bag for goodies !  Stay  tuned for an update .