Bonjour Paris

All packed and ready to go, we made our way through the drizzly streets of Dublin to the station to catch the train to Rosslare.  A pigeon used Michael as target practice at the station, which I found hilarious (Michael did not).  I tried to tell him that it was a lucky sign but I don’t think he believed me.  Anyway, Michael had the last laugh on me later that evening when I discovered that my new cardigan, which I had been parading around in all day, still had the enormous security tag attached!

Our cabin on the Oscar Wilde was very spacious and this time we had a porthole so we could watch our progress across the water.  We had a lovely meal in the French restaurant and then watched a bit of the cabaret which was a bit too RSL for our taste.  The overnight crossing was so smooth that the following morning, Michael woke with a start, and not feeling the ship’s engine or any movement, was convinced that we had overslept and had already docked.  A quick look out of the porthole confirmed that we were still at sea.

The ship docked in Roscoff and it was a relatively short walk to the station, once we worked out which direction to take.  Four trains later, three of which were very comfortable country trains, followed by one metro train, we arrived in Paris.  The weather was glorious and it was just a short walk to hotel, check in and then off to reacquaint ourselves with the beautiful city.

Once again we had managed to coincide our stay with the free museum Sunday.  Michael and I took a leisurely walk along the canal and through the streets of Paris, stopping to window shop along way.  There was a huge women’s marathon taking place and I felt a little guilty watching the slim, super fit women running past.  Michael wanted to see the Arab Monde Museum so we made that our first stop.  The museum was very modern and contained many artefacts and interesting displays but it wasn’t quite what Michael was expecting.  Unfortunately, I wasn’t feeling well, so I returned to the hotel and Michael continued on to his favourite gallery in Paris – the Gustav Moreau museum.  He had a lovely time as there were a number of different works on display and he was able to spend as long as he wanted, looking at them all.

Cat Cafe

The next morning, we took a walk along the Rue Montorgueil, as I had read that this was one of the best “foodie” streets in Paris.  Michael and I had a lovely time looking at all the beautiful delicatessens, boulangeries and patisseries.  We stopped at Patisserie Stohrer, which is famous for its rum babas and was the patisserie to Louis XV.  Michael tried one and was impressed.  We then had a coffee at Au Rocher de Cancale, a café Alexandre Dumas mentioned in one of his books. 





I still get a kick out the history on view in the European cities.  I wanted to see the love- lock bridge as I had read that they had all been removed.  Indeed they have all been removed and the bridge railings are now covered in boarding with colourful and amusing graffiti.  I understand that the boarding will be replaced with Perspex later in the year.

Hymn of Bavaria

It was just a short walk to the station for the next stage of our journey.  We caught a very comfortable double decker train to Munich and, as we were in first class on the upper deck, it was a very pleasant trip indeed.    The best part of travelling by train is watching the ever-changing scenery and we saw many small villages nestled into the foothills of the mountains.  I would love to spend a month just driving through Germany, as it such a beautiful country.  We arrived late at night in Munich and once again it was just a short walk to our hotel.

The next day, Michael and I set off to reacquaint ourselves with the city.  Our last visit was in winter and the city was blanketed with thick snow.  It was lovely seeing Munich in the snow however it did make walking around a little more difficult.  This time, the city has come alive with many restaurants having outdoor seating and beer gardens, large and small have sprung up everywhere.  We re-visited the Hofbrauhaus for dinner and Michael was very happy to enjoy a meal of schweinhaxe and beer accompanied by the music of the oompah band.

I decided to take a leaf out of our son Tim’s book, and looked up where to find the best coffee in Munich.  A short tram ride took us to Vits café where we found the best coffee of our trip so far.  It was a trendy café where they roast their own beans and it was well worth the journey. 

One of the best places in Munich is the Viktualienmarkt - an outdoor fresh food market.  Every type of sausage, cheese, meat, fruit and vegetable is available and there is a large beer garden in the centre.  You are allowed to bring your own food into the beer garden as long as you purchase your beer there.  Michael and I purchased our picnic supplies and then headed to the Englischer Garten, a huge park, which is an oasis in the middle of Munich.  There are a number of beer gardens in the park and Michael and I took a seat at the Chinese Tower, ordered a beer and then ate our picnic whilst watching all the cyclist, walkers, dogs and children having a wonderful time. 

Michael and I had dinner at Zum Straubinger, a restaurant voted as having the best schweinhaxe in Munich.  Michael was beside himself as he enjoyed a full schweinhaxe, dumplings, sauerkraut and potato salad washed down with beer and riesling.  Apple strudel with ice cream followed and he was a very happy camper indeed.