The travel arrangements all went without a hitch, although the 20 hours in transit coming home from Singapore was a bit exhausting. A number of our flights were quite empty so we were able to spread out to make ourselves as comfortable as is possible in cattle class. It is still my dream to upgrade to business class at least once before I die!
All of the accommodation we had chosen was great - no duds. My favourites were the hotels in Bayeux and Paris, as well as the B&B in St Jean d'Angeley.
In spite of the extremes of weather, we weren't inhibited or stopped from doing any of the things we wanted to.
London in the snow was lovely and our day out at Bletchley Park where the snow had actually settled on the ground was very pretty. My London highlight was the play we saw - The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime. If you've read the book, you'll know the story, but I would recommend it even if you haven't.
We managed the language just fine and grew in confidence as we went along. We found that what we had heard about the French appreciating it if you make an effort was true. Allan was awesome - always willing to have a go and enjoying communicating in the home language.
Provincial France appealed to me [Allan: and me] more than Paris. We saw such a variety of things, and could have spent much more time there. The Dordogne area was probably my pick [Allan: and mine] - everything is so old and the history becomes more interesting to me as I get older! The countryside is very pretty and the 'natural wonders', especially the rock formations, were amazing.
Normandy and the D-Day landing sites were moving, especially Pointe du Hoc, where you could see the craters made by the bombs back in 1944. It was a very haunting place to be, although quite peaceful. Seeing so much live footage of the landings - the grim determination on the soldiers faces, the men falling as they were hit, and the bodies on the beaches was very sobering, as were the 10,000 crosses at the American cemetery. I am very grateful not to have lived through war times.
The Bayeux Tapestry was more interesting than I expected - it is 70 metres long, so must have involved years of work.
We saw heaps of stained glass windows in cathedrals and chateaus around the country. Some simply seemed ostentatious, but most just added to the austere beauty of the building they were in. Some cathedrals were serene and beautiful, some were just OTT.
The moments I loved were where we just strolled through towns absorbing the atmosphere and the environment.
Paris was busy and crowded, but very 'buzzy'. Strolling down the Champs Elysee was great and the view from the Arc de Triomphe was spectacular. I liked it even better than the Eiffel Tower view - it was closer and more immediate some how.
You will know from the blogs that eating out in France was amazing. It is always a treat to not cook when we travel, but to sit with a glass of wine, a beautiful meal and your best friend and debrief the day is priceless!
Our dinner cruise on the Seine with P&J was a highlight of Paris - a nice meal combined with the sights as we travelled along the river and the twinkling Eiffel Tower was a fitting end to our time in France.
Singapore was an eye opener - so different from anywhere else we had travelled to. Even though you might expect it to be a concrete jungle with so much highrise, there was so much greenery and so many open spaces that it's really quite pretty. It is clearly a very planned city and very clean too. Having D&M to show us around was a huge bonus and it was great to catch up with them on their 'patch'.
So, all in all, we had a ball for the whole five weeks. Hanging out for the next trip already!
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