London and Paris...

We recently returned from a fabulous trip.  The photo above, in the Philadelphia Airport, reminds me of the Jimmy Buffett lyrics from Changes in Attitudes, Changes in Latitudes - "reading departure signs in some big airport reminds me of the places I've been".

We feel so blessed to be retired and healthy - and able to travel.

While we love Viking Cruises - both river and ocean - this was a land tour.  We tried to rebook our Viking Cruise to Amsterdam that we had to cancel due to my broken wrist, but all of the spots were sold out into November.   John found a great trip from AAA through Collette Tours.  We had never used them before, but we were very pleased with the entire process.

We arrived in London and found that our hotel was just a block away from Victoria Station - perfect for exploring the city with the underground.  Our Tour Manager gave each person on the tour an Oyster Card loaded with 10 pounds to use the system.  John checked out the map to make sure we knew where we were going.

After we took a short nap and shrugged off the jet lag we took a stroll around the area and found Westminster Cathedral...not Westminster Abbey.  This is the Roman Catholic Cathedral and it was very beautiful..

This mosaic was in a chapel dedicated to the martyrs who died when Catholics were persecuted in England.

The ceiling was painted with flames ( as many were burned at the stake) bearing their names.

After meeting our tour group we were taken to a great restaurant for a traditional English roast dinner...it was SO good !

The next day we set out on a tour of London, stopping first at Buckingham Palace, then onto other sites.

We were blessed with beautiful weather through most of our trip...

An early advocate for women to get the vote...let's all remember that and VOTE !

Then it was off to Windsor Castle

So much to see in an afternoon!  Photos are not allowed inside, but we saw the tomb of Henry VIII and also Queen Elizabeth.  She is interred with her husband Philip and her parents.  

That evening we wandered around until we found a great "chippy" and enjoyed fish and chips and mushy peas.  Look at the size of that fish...we should have split and order, but we ate it all !

The next day was free until we met for Afternoon Tea, so we took off walking to the TKTS booth in Leicester Square to see what West End shows were offered for that evening  - along the way we met Mary Poppins.

Of course, we always have to stop for a good bookstore!

We thought it would be great to see SIX, the story of Henry VII's wives since we just saw his grave.  The show was not listed at the TKTS booth, I checked the website and it was sold out, but we decided to walk to the Box Office, just to see...

Back Story here - 4 years ago we had tickets to see Six, Come From Away, and Hamilton in NYC to celebrate my birthday.  A week before John suffered a heart attack - so thankful after stents and cardiac rehab he is great today - but we had to sell those tickets.  We made it to the Box Office, the sign outside said SOLD OUT, but we thought...let's just check.  We went in and asked are there ANY seats for tonight.  The lovely young lady looked at her computer and said..."oh, someone just surrendered seats for this evening" and we thought "great, wherever the seats are, we will take them."  The seats turned out to be 6th Row Center.  Fabulous Seats !  We were so thrilled...we spent the rest of the day walking around London until it was time for tea.

What a gorgeous day to explore the city!

Tea was served at the Clermont Hotel

YUM !  We only tasted one of these treats as we were full from the tea sandwich selection and the scones.  They boxed them up and we took them back to our hotel for a treat later on.  Then we headed back out to SIX!

I saw this sign in the ladies room and thought it was great...wish more theaters would do this as we seem to always have seats where the people around us talk during the show.

SIX did not disappoint.  Each of Henry's wives tells their story...funny, sad, rock, ballad, rap - I loved it.  John did not get a lot of the lyrics, but we took home a CD to listen and enjoy it all again.

We felt very safe in London...took the tube back to our hotel late at night with no issues.

The next day it was off to Paris on the Eurostar...the train that goes under the English Channel.

We hardly felt the high speed train moving...

Arriving in Paris we had a great dinner with our group and ended up returning to this restaurant, La Marine.  It was a very traditional French bistro, near our hotel on Republique Square and near the St. Martin Canal.  We enjoyed it so much we returned there for a dinner later in the week!

First full day was a tour of Paris...traffic was still crazy as many of the Olympic Venues were still blocking streets or being dismantled.

Luxembourg Gardens

people enjoying life...

The Pantheon

Once back at our hotel we stopped in a cafe for a quick lunch...once our pizza arrived this little dog scampered over to our table...sorry, no pizza for you !

That evening was a great cabaret show Paradis Latin...

Dinner was great, with lots of wine and champagne!

No photos were allowed of the show, but the singer during dinner was wonderful.  She sand for almost a full hour...great voice!

Free day...we took the Metro to Pere Lachise, the famous cemetery where over a million people, some very famous, are buried.

Once again, we were given a travel card to use the Metro and it was easy and safe.

This was such an interesting grave...still have to find out who this was.  People left film all over it.  I just noticed that John is in the viewfinder on this shot!

We wandered around the peaceful city of the dead...reminded me of Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book.  Good story of a group of ghost that take care of a live young boy!

Some graves very well maintained....others neglected over time.

The grave of the Egyptologist who translated the Rosetta Stone!

We were looking for Oscar Wilde...but realized we were far away. This man was looking for someone he could not find, too.

Then back on the Metro to go to Montmartre...

Artists everywhere, those iconic steps you see in many films...

and  Sacre - Coeur!

Next morning a walk to a boulangerie where we saw how the baguettes were made..

Croissant dough...

I got to make one...

John made "the eyeglasses" with chocolate..

Very fun time!

Back to our hotel to change for a cruise on the Seine and dinner on the Eiffel Tower.  This chess set was in the courtyard of our hotel.

My White Knight!

While on the cruise these balloons floated past...reminded me of that old short movie The Red Balloon.  Did anyone ever see that ?

Clouds and sun made for great photos!

Looking up underneath the tower...

A toast to Paris !

Cheese and tomato tart

Duck, sweet potato, carrots...

Not sure what this dessert was, but it was yummy!

What a fabulous trip !  This was the end of our tour and it was a great experience.  We stayed an extra day in Paris and then continued our adventure in Nice.  Stopping here and will get to that portion in my next post.  This was a long post, but so glad you came along on our trip to London and Paris!  Have you visited these cities ?  What are your experiences ?  I love when you leave a comment below.

Thanks so much for stopping by Our New Vista !