Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
Well guys...yes it took a few days but 2nd blog has finally arrived. Apologies in advance re spelling!! Sitting at the a/port in Funchal, our flight has been delayed by 1hour...reliable TAP...so taking the opportunity to catch up.So our last day in Paris, we caught the train & decided to go to Notre Dame for mass, which was lovely...followed by a lovely petit bkfst again. It was a good thing we went that early as we missed the queues and all the tour groups. Once done, we caught the bus to the stop near the Louvre. It wasn't too far a walk, we even saw an attempted bag snatching....no success!! The gardens and adjoining buildings at Louvre were lovely, we didn't bother going into the Louvre itself. The queues were soooo long as on the 1st Sunday of ea month, one can get free entry...so every1 was there. From the gardens, there was a beautiful view of tbe Arc de Triompe and the central fountain was surrounded by some art inspiring sculptures. We captured the essence of 'life imitates art' - ask to see the photos!!Once done, we decided to head back to Champs Elysee for some coffee and shopping. The journey took longer than expected with central Paris closed down for France's version of Carnivale. So travelling by bus was a no go...so train it was. By this stage, I was gatvol of public transport but decided to take the metro w the rest of Paris. It was jammed packed but when we arrived @ our destination...we were not expecting to step out to the extravaganza that was 'Tropical Carnivale'. The costumes, the music, the dancing, the people...oh the people...was full on!! After about 15mins of weaving in and out of the crowds, we found a prime spot and were able to watch the different dance groups practice and get ready. After about 2 hours, the last group had passed and we began our journey dwn the Champs. We passed the fashion houses of Elie Saab, Gucci, Abercrombie and Finch and many more, to finally settle for coffee and cake at an amazing teahouse - Laduret. If ever in Paris, try their macaroons - AMAZING - wr even ordered some take away for our Eurostar trip. Later in the evening, we had dinner at the Latin Quarter. Even though we were all exhausted, the girls (Dom,Jac & Son) were still debating whether to hire bicycles and ride around Paris. Noone wants to do it during the day but at night....no problem. Suffice to say...it didn't happen :-) Last morning in Paris, an early start for us, do the last minute scramble around the apartment, check everything, pack, each of us to cart 20kgs dwn the stairs and hail a cab to Eurostar st by 8am...tick, job done. Eurostar, what an experience...i got interrogated as if I look like a criminal. Gatwick was a quick 2 hr experience and then off to Madeira.
What was meant to be our relaxing part of the holiday, turned out to be quite hectic. Alot of eating...the usual suspects....espada, espetada, mile frite, bolo de caco...let's just say that clothes are a bit snug. We all decided to take up some driving in Madeira...traumatic!! Hill starts, stalling of cars, angry drivers on the road...we had it all. Madeira was lovely, great to see family and friends but a week flew by too quickly...def need to go back.
We left Madeira on Monday evening on reliable TAP, who told us when we arrived that our plane was running an hour behind. This was a sign of what the next 24 hours were goin to be like. Due to the hour delay, we only had 15 mins to connect to our barcelona plane. Arrived in Lisbon, ran to our gate...gosh we r unfit!!!! Only to discover that our flight was delayed by 2 hrs. GREAT WORK TAP!! Arrived @ Barcelona to discover we had no luggage, that was Tues 3am and we have only received them on Wed pm. Let's just say the time inbetw has been interesting....Barcelona is insane.
More stories to come...we r hitting the nightlife in Barca...:-)
- comments
Monica Thanks for the update, feel like I'm "watching re-runs though. know all your stories before they even happen.......Just kidding, am enjoying the read & am still laughing out loud. Feel like I'm on holiday with you - let me rephrase, WISH I was on holiday with you. Hope you guys enjoy the ship, it is truelly amazing! You are so blessed to experience this holiday with such special friends!!! love & miss you!!!