Farewell Adelboden, Versailles & Paris

Singing Songs with funny actions with the UK Leaders and Trefoil Guild ladies (that's our car in the background)

In the garden at Versailles

The most amazing meal of our lives, and it came with entertainement too.


About to enter the "round about" at the Arc de Triomphe

The apartment next to us is growing Papaya on their window sill (on the 2nd floor!).

The most amazing lift at the Louvre (looks like something out of the senate in Star Wars)

With the Mona Lisa (she looked sad to us, but everyone sees her differently)

Ater the worst meal of our lives we went back to the apartment for some Nutella

They take their security outside the Louvre Museum VERY seriously

Farewell Adelboden

We had a fantastic last night in Adelboden – we took part in a campfire with a number of more mature ladies (in their 70’s and 80’s) who were visiting Our Chalet as a part of a Girl Guide Trefoil Guild Tour, as well as some amazing Guide leaders from the UK that were staying at Our Chalet. We sang songs from the UK and Australia and had a fantastic time. It really proved to us that it doesn’t matter where you are from, or how old you are you can always have fun as a Guide. Steve (and one of the ladies’ husband) joined in with us – it sounds really daggy, but it was a huge amount of fun.

Versailles and Paris

When we left Adelboden, our plan was to drive as far as we felt comfortable (it was a 727km trip) and then stop for the night, and then continue on to Paris the next day. We were surprised at how far we got and how good we felt and so we continued on to Versailles, where we stayed the night in a hotel 2 blocks from the Chateau (Palace). The hotel was once the stables for the Chateau, and was built in 1676. That night we had the most unbelievable meal of our lives – everything we ate was phenomenal, and we will remember it forever (for the amazing food and for the gypsy that came and busked at our table with a piano accordian).

We visited the Chataeu and were amazed at how beautiful and opulent it was. It really brought history alive. We understand now what drove the people to revolt – at the time it cost 50% of the national gross domestic product.

We headed in to Paris and found our apartment – it is in the 3rd Arondoisment, and is across the laneway from the Nicolas Flammel building (the oldest house in Paris).

Some highlights so far – we went to the Louvre and LOVED it – it was full of so much beautiful art, it was very moving (sounds corny, but it’s true). We’ve been back a few times since. The Pompidou Centre is inside out – all of the pipes, lifts etc are on the outside – it isn’t pretty, but it is pretty stunning. Walking along the Seine to see the “beach” that they have made there for the summer.

We are driving in a lot of Paris – this is usually not a good idea, but the Metro is very disabled unfriendly, so we are driving and parking a lot (without too much hassle). The Parisian drivers are kamikaze pilots in training, but we are getting used to the fact that anything can happen. The driving highlight has been driving around the Arc de Triomphe – 8 “lanes” in a round about, with no lane markings. All the cars already in the round about have to give way to cars entering the round about, so it makes for some interesting driving.

On a low light, we have now had the worst meal of our lives. We thought that we would try a local restaurant, and went in about 7pm – we thought there weren’t many people there as it was early, but it turns out it is just really bad. We aren’t fussy eaters at all, and will try most things but of the 4 main courses we were served, only one was edible, and that was not very tasty at all. One of the dishes actually smelt of faeces. It was so bad it was funny, and it was a good thing we were the only people in the restaurant and that the waiter was avoiding us. We will also remember the meal for the rest of our lives, but not for the same reasons as the meal in Versailles.