We arrived Paris on Lufthansa from Singapore via Frankfurt on Wednesday April 2

and spent two weeks in Paris alternating days in the city with journeys out by rail.

We were fortunate to stay in a studio at the AmHotel Italie with some cooking facilities in Tolbiac (13th arrond.) not far from the Place d'Italie. It is on the edge of Chinatown but was close to food shops, laundromat and an internet cafe as well as a choice of brasseries in which to wind down in the afternoon.

The first three days were spent in Paris - Day 1 (Thursday) was a walk down the Champs d'Elysee visiting the Eglise de la Madeleine, Place de la Concorde to the

Jardin des Tuileries where Malcolm inspected the statues with the Louvre in the background.

Then onto the Ile de la Cite and a visit to St Chapelle and Notre Dame.

We had lunch on the banks of the Seine

Notre Dame with spring blossoms

Day 2 (Friday) was to Montmartre, Sacre Coeur,

Nearby to Place Pigalle and Place du Tertre

Cimetiere du Pere Lachaise and its many famous graves

Unfortunately it was our last day of warm weather. The next day (Saturday) turned cold so was spent in the the Louvre but it was to stay cold for a week greatly reducing our plans to picnic in the parks.

Sunday we activated our Eurail Pass and travelled to the

Chateau de Fontainebleu

Monday to Chartres (click and return)

Tuesday window shopping at Galeries Lafayette and Le Printemps before lunch in Les Halles.

This picture was taken on the roof of Galeries Lafayette just to prove I was there

Then onto the Rodin Museum

and the statue of the Thinker

and a walk past Hotel des Invalides. the Eiffel Tower and the Australian Embassy

Wednesday to the Loire Valley and Chateaux (click and return)

Thursday we went to Versailles in the morning and relaxed in the afternoon

Friday to wonderful Giverney and Monet's house and garden then onto Rouen (click and return)

Saturday by TGV to Lyons (click and return)

At 200 km per hour it took just 2 hours each way. it was the only day of rain in 4 weeks.

Sunday to the flea markets and Musee d'Orsay to see the works of Monet and others

Another lunch by the Seine as the temperatures began to improve

The Seine with Musee D'Orsay on left

in the evening a walk around the Marais before dinner in the same area

Monday was our last day in Paris so we walked to the Bibliotheque Nationale (National Library)

which unfortunately was closed then to the Pompidou Centre, and past the Hotel de Ville (Town Hall)

to the Ile de la Cite again and the Left Bank

Finally we again experienced the expected temperatures for Springtime in Paris

so lunch in the Jardin du Luxembourg

(Malcolm obviously enjoyed his)

then we reversed our walk of the first day up the Champs d"Elysee and farewelled the Arc de Triomphe

before finally a stroll through the Jardin des Plantes.

Tuesday we were leaving Paris and headed by train for Amiens and the Somme

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