London - Part 2

Spent the morning at Buckingham Palace to see the changing of the guard….and 1000’s of people.

Then a high tea at Harrods, followed by dinner at Sky Garden.

London - Part1

 London

We thought we’d spend a few days in London before flying home 

The Tower of London

Dinner with Heston

Tower Bridge

Westminster Abbey and The Eye

Gill record- 800plus pictures in one day

British Museum 

Somme

 Australia’s Somme

On the Somme the WW1 sites are everywhere, monuments, memorials, cemetery, etc.  Like Normandy the sites are spread over such a large area. We concentrated our time on just the Australian sites.  

I struggled with the audio for this video, and settled on waltzing matilda, a piano version, sorry it repeats. But waltzing matilda was their song.

I found this on YouTube when looking for appropriate music link

Other Somme Pictures

 Normandy

In Normandy we decided to base ourselves in one nice van park and travel each day to a different part of Normandy.  There is so much to see and it’s spread all over Normandy. 

Australia lost 10,700 men in France and Belgium, and when you consider the 7th and the 9th Divisions went to New Guinea after the battle of El Alamein where we had lost 1,200

I haven’t covered all the sites we visited, there are just too many and we only visited a small percentage of places available.  I’ve tried to keep all the site seperate and make a small video for each. 

Below is a map of Normandy and the site we visited. 

Airborne Museum - 9th October

We started with a visit to the Airborne Museum at Saint Mere Eglise.  The village of Saint Mere Eglise have a parachute hanging on their church….I won’t give you the story but if you’ve seen the movie “The Longest Day” you’d sorter know.

Iron Mike Memorial - 9th October

The memorial is placed where it is because they lost so many men taking the swamp and bridge.  Somehow we missed getting a picture of the bridge and our picture of the swamp and river don’t really show the ground that the Airborne troops had to fight over……but have a look it’s only short.

German Cemetery - 9th October

A cemetery for 220,000 men is very chilling.

 The Pointe Du Hoc - 9th October

Amazing views when standing in an old battlefield.  Some of the pieces of bunker that were blasted off are huge. 

 Omaha Beach USA Cemetery - 10th October

Very touching,  The size of the cemetery and all those crosses of men that gave all so others can have freedom.   The view out to the ocean side on a beautiful sunny day was spectacular and no one was noticing, they were all just in aws of where they were.  172.5 acres containing 9,397 graves.  

Omaha Beach Overload Museum - 10th October

A very good collection of real items used, this includes panzer tanks, full track trucks, a plane hanging from the ceiling, and lots of memorabilia.

I won’t post the video for this,  the site is full of detail and well worth visiting, but not so great for videos.

Omaha Beach Museum - 11th October

A very good collection of real items used.  Good to see there being looked after so well 80 years later.

Omaha Beach Memorial 11th

Standing on the beach looking at the size of the undertaking that was D-Day is breathtaking.  You won’t get it without being here. Or at least I didn’t prior to seeing it for myself. 

Utah Beach 11th

The cafe at Utah Beach - Sometime you really find a gem.

Bayeux Cemetery 12th

This is a British Cemetery with Australian included.   We’re heading west to where most of the Australian site over the next week.  But it’s impossible to visit the 1,172 cemetery in France, England and Belgium.

Bayeux - Town 12th

One beautiful little town. 

Royal Engineers Memorial (Mulberry Harbour B)

We parked up on the hill above Arromanches,  from there you get the idea of how big the Mulberry B was.   But trying to imagine it when full operating was impossible.  

The Garden of Memories  

When you walk up to the memorial you quickly notice the angle irons sticking up like they were in the ocean on D-Day, you marvel at the incredible sculpture and I wonder what the empty blocks of concrete was for.  Then it hit me why it’s called the Garden of Memories.

I asked myself is this a memorial, a work of art or the most touching reminder of the futility.

British Memorial

A very nice memorial with some Australian names on the posts.

 Mont Saint-Michel

An awesome place to visit.  

Fougeres

 Fougeres - France

I know its been a WOW location based on the number of photos and videos that Gill takes…plus 500 in 4 hours.

Chateau

The castle was heavily bombed during WW2 and much was lost in the castle and town.  The views are majestic from the walls.

The Churches and Town

The town has two churches, here is a little snip-it

The Watchmakers 

The watchmaker is a small shop down the high street, it has a small museum and a shop of antique clocks.  The guy (the watchmaker) has a desk where you can watch him repairing the mechanism.  We enjoyed 

The Waterwheels

Only time I’ve seen 4 waterwheels all running together and generating electrical power.

Very cool.!

Farm Stay

 French Passion Charcuterie Farm Stay.

2nd Oct

We thought we’d show you one of the French Passion sites.  OH French Passion is a group (1,000’s of them) that list out local small business that have setup their sites to accommodate a Motorhome or two staying over night.  There are all different type like an apple grower that makes their own cider, or local…..cheese, wine (cellar door), etc, etc. Some are just farms for families to stay and see the animals with their kids. This one is a charcuterie and fresh meats.  They also do fresh veg, wine, etc…from a bunch of local farmers.

The Farmer’s Wife met us showed us where to park, get power to the van and took us on a guided tour of her little shop.  OH she spoke good English. 

We slept the night there, with the smells and sounds of a farm around us, but the stay was awesome.  

PS sorry about the wind in the first few seconds of the video.

 Angers

Chateau 11 of 10

Well it’s more of a fortress or castle.  

I wondered how many know the history with the French and Thomas Jefferson?  Maybe for another video.

 Chateau Usse

Chateau 10 of 10…all done

27th Oct, We seen Chateau L'Islette on the same day

 Chateau L'Islette

Chateau 9 of 10

27th Oct

This is a small chateau that the family still live in….there is a blending of new and old….eg wood stove and induction cooktop

 Chateau Villandry

26th Sep

8 of 10 Chateau

Villandry has large very formal type gardens, the chateau is more like a big stately house rather than a castle.  But we had a nice day looking around.

Château d'Azay-le-Rideau

Working our way down chateau lane.  The mirror view of the chateau was spectacular on the day.

Chateau 7 of 10

Chateau Chenonceau

On the drive to the new location we stopped in at this chateau.  Break the long 1 hour drive into two 30 minute drive.

Chateau 6 of 10

 Chateau Chambord

Chateau 5 of 10

This chateau is the largest in the Loire Valley.  Very large, wth huge immaculate kept grounds.  Inside there is a number of exhibits (like the story of how they hide art there during WW2) and the few rooms decked out like the rest of the chateaus.  But mostly they rely on the awesomeness of the chateau itself.

At the chateau they have an equestrian and bird of prey show.  The show was cool, sword fighting, jousting, horse skills, etc….OH and a bit of keystone cops.  All built into a story line that covered some of the duration at the chateau.  I’ve kept this Video more about the show.

 Domaine De Chaumont-Sur-Loire

Chateau 4 of 10

The Chateau Chaumont is huge, we walked 10+Km, the Chateau is full of modern art.  I’m no lover of modern art, but there was quit a number you have to admire.  I don’t know how many pieces they have on display but our little video we did doesn’t scratch the surface.  A very much enjoyable day…a long day, with the volume to get around.

Chateau Cheverny

 Chateau De Cheverny

3rd of 10 chateaus in the Loire Valley 

Wed 20th Sep

Electrical cart ride, the driver floored it down the track, great fun.  I don’t know how long the tree plantation been their bat they are spectacular…..the size of some them….wow. 

There is a Tin Tin exhibitions that was tops to see. The writer of Tin Tin based the series as if Tin Tin lived at the chateau. 

Chateau Valencay

Chateau 2/10 -  Chateau De Valencay

Tue 19th Sep 

Visited the Chateau, looked in on a family run motor museum and had a great lunch in a little Creperie.

 Château de Sully-sur-Loire 

1 of 10 Chateaus

Had a great day, the guys firing the muskets and doing their swordsmanship really made the day.  

The eclectic coffee shop was amazing, half looked like a rundown shed.  Old motor bikes and push bikes in the back and a guy doing very interesting wood art.  There’s just a little snippet of this at the beginning of the video. 

Chateau was ok, but the rest really made it.

 My Gill

Too much time on my hands 

 Vezelay, France

Friday 15th September, 2023

Vezelay is very small walled town, with cobble-stoned streets and a perfectly preserved village of medieval type buildings. It’s located in the heart of the Burgundian vineyards, nestled on the top of a hill overlooking green fields that stretch out to the horizon.  

The town has the 11th-Century Romanesque Basilica of St Magdalene.   They say it’s a masterpiece of Romanesque art, but we just thought it was a very special place.  The correct name for the basilica is (Basilica of Sainte-Marie-Madeleine de Vézelay)

We’re also getting very good at finding these wonderful little restaurants for lunch.  Today’s choice had maybe 10 tables, very friendly service and a meal that I’ll remember. Very nice!

Mulhouse - Cité du Train

 Mulhouse Cite de Train

12th September, 2023

Mulhouse has a train museum with about 50 old steam engines.  All are in lovely working condition, I guess because the site in run by SNCF. (France National Rail)  Société Nationale des Chemins de fer Français' 

 Mulhouse - Musée National de l'Automobile

This site is amazing, a Bar, 3 restaurants, a race track and 450+ cars.

First video is us on the day, the other two are cars, cars and more cars

Cars, Cars and More Cars

 Baden Baden - Germany

9th September, 2023

We decided to follow some great advice and did a day trip into Germany on our way from Strasbourg to Mulhouse.

Stopped in at Cafe Konig, a beautiful restaurant and German Patisserie, then a quick look at some pretty baubles.

Strasbourg

 Strasbourg - France

Two days checking out Strasbourg….a very beautiful city and great food. 

Saverne - France

 Saverne

4th and 5th September, 2023

We decided to checkout one more little town before we hit Strasbourg.

Saverne still has quite a large Old Town area, it’s tucked in around the Canal De La Marne Au Rhin, so lots of their lifestyle and leisure is based around the canal.  It is one the busiest canal boat areas in France.

Our visit over the two days saw us in the Old Town area on the first day, seeing the Church Notre-Dame De La Nativite, the main old town square and the canal with its lock.  Next day we drove out to see the Saint-Louis Arzviller Boat Incliné Lift, a glassblowing crystal workshop and the Chateau Du Haut-Barr ruins, where we had an unexpectedly nice lunch stop amongst the ruins and some fantastic views over the Saverne area.

Plenty of clear blue skies and sunny days and even a sweet sunset made for a lovely couple of days.

RIP Jimmy Buffet, thanks for all the great songs you gave us to sail into the sunset, Margaritas in hand, of course.

Laon - France

 Laon

2nd September 2023

We had a fabulous day in the small town of Laon.  It was only 1.2 km from our park to the edge of the old town. The 100 meter climb was definitely worth it. The old town is about 3km long and 500m wide. So the video is bits from all the way around, the Abbey, cathedral and town streets. 

The Abbey

 Chateau de Pierrefonds

Tuesday, 29th August 2023

Our first French chateau. Chateau de Pierrefonds was first built in 1397 by Duke Louis of Orleans, brother of Charles VI.  In 1617, the castle was dismantled and the towers ripped open under the order of King Louis XIII to prevent it from becoming a refuge for his enemies.   It was a forgotten ruin until 1810 when it was bought by Napoleon I.  But it wasn’t until 1857 that the Emperor Napoleon III wanted to turn Pierrefonds into an imperial residence and commissioned the architect Eugene Violet-le-Duc to restore the chateau.  It was opened as a museum to the public in 1867.    Restoration work ceased in 1870 at the fall of Napoleon III and the chateau became property of the state and only maintenance work has been financed since.  During WWI it was used as a barracks and hospital.  It was damaged during both wars and sections of the stonework and brick work shows how new it is.  

We had a lovely day, the little township of Pierrefonds is just gorgeous.  There are numerous small chateaus doted around the super green valley. Eateries on the edge of a small lake.  We found a nice outdoor restaurant at their small square for a baguette and coffee.  

Farm Stay - Champagne Boulard Bauquaire

 Champagne Boulard Bauquaire

Friday 25th August, 2023

Well we thought we’d try out our first “French Passion” stay over.  French Passion is a club,  joining the club, give you access to their database of 2,500 small farms type stay over locations.  Like the first one we’re at now, is a family owned and run winery that has been in the same family for 8 generations.  Each of the French Passion sites have a spot that a Motorhome can park up at and stay over for one night. This can be as small as 1 or 2 motorhomes, some are up to 5.  Quite often this is just a level grassy area in the farmer’s paddock that is easily accessible for a motorhome.

Our first one is a winery but they have them at all different types of sites on farms. I’m looking forward to one of the cheese ones.  To stay for the night is free, but you get to try their homemade produce, be it cheese, vegetables, jams or wine and champagne in the Champagne region,  but it is expected that you buy some amount of their product.  We did a champagne tasting.

The trophy area for their current selection.

 Very cute little vat.  Picture makes it look big,  it it’s actually only about 300mm high.

 Australian War Memorial 

Wednesday 23rd August, 2023

Visiting the memorial was much more emotional than I had expected.  Where in my grandfathers time, Australia sent 1 in 4 or 1 in 5 of their able bodied men.

It is an impressive site with the Sir John Monash Centre built under and behind the actual Memorial Tower.  The videos and displays are extremely well done.  Definitely worthwhile use of 3-4 hours spent visiting the entire site.

 Metz

Monday 21st August, 2023

Took the train into Metz, nice at an early before the heat of the day set in.  We had time to sit under a tree in the square and watch a teacher getting about 50 “little tackers” to sing a French song.  Lovely moment in time.

Then we spent the day looking around Metz, it is a beautiful city on the Moselle river.

Nancy - France

 Nancy

Saturday 19th August, 2023

We walked to the train station and missed the train to Metz (where we intended to go). But there was another train heading to Nancy….say-la-vie.  So off to Nancy we went.  Worked out good we sorted our France SIM issue.  

We’ve now seen a number of what the Japanese call “Paris Syndrome “  basically the French being rude. Once you know to expect it, it becomes quite fun…OH I must say we’ve seen lots of very helpful people as well. 

 Verdun - France

Tuesday, 15th August, 2023

Yes we’ve crossed into France, new road rules, language, customs, etc.  Lots to see.

Citadelle Souterrone Verdun is an old fortress that they built lots of tunnel underground.  In WW1 the French could house thousands of soldiers and ordnances in the tunnels. They’ve built a small gauge rail system and they have a system where 4 people get in a little rail carriage. Each person has a helmet that delivers a virtual reality experience, like you’re actually there. No photos or video was allowed, but it was very good.

The town of Verdun is small but it still has a large cathedral, the best part though is the walk along the river.  The weather was 32 degrees with 98% humidity……hot!

Verdun is very proud of its WW1 and WW2 history and there are many monuments throughout the town.

I thought we’d try the single video again.

 Trier - Germany 

Well we thought we’d do something a little different. We made a single video of Trier. Let me know what you think….is it better?

 Moselle River

Everyone has heard of the romantic road through southern Germany, if you haven’t, it’s a road that travels through a list of very beautiful small towns that have castles, etc along the way.  Instead of doing this we’ve picked the Moselle River route.  

The Moselle is the Rhine’s peaceful little brother, it’s about 300 miles long and starts in France. The German bit is the bit we’re interested in. Also known as the Moselle wine route.  Grapes are grown on the sides of the hill at angles of 65 degrees, with stone terraces….wow  beautiful.  There is of course castles, fortress, etc   The river also heads off into France in the Lorraine and Alsace regions, where we want to see next.

One thing I’m getting to remember all the old 70’s music, everywhere you go that’s what they’re playing. A good friend in Oz told me to expect it.

Koblenz

This is the town at the junction of the Rhine and the Moselle rivers….the starting point.  We took the bus from the park into Koblenz and had a look around.  There was a cable car going up to the fort and always a church.