Today was my birthday and we decided to celebrate in Hamburg! We stayed here for 2 nights, during which time Alex spent lots of time with her German friend, Laura, who had made the trip up from Dusseldorf especially to see me (and perhaps Alex as well). The hotel spoiled us with a birthday cake and although Lidia had booked the champagne package, after we enjoyed our bottle of champagne they accidentally delivered a second one. We told them about the mistake and...

The next three nights we spent in Amsterdam. What a wild city! You had to be on your toes the whole time because the bicycles roar around the city without slowing down. If you get in their way, you will surely be run down. Our problem was we kept looking the wrong way and then stepping in front of bikes coming from the other direction. Why can't Australia be the same as the rest of the world and drive on the right side of the road!?! The cheese in Amsterdam was...

We spent the next couple of days in Bruge, where we caught up with our friends from Melbourne, Alan and Irene. Bruge is a very picturesque city set on a series of canals, all with plenty of white swans floating around them. They are especially famous for 5 things: chocolate, speculoos (cinnamon cookies), Belgian waffles, beer and lace. We managed to sample all of these things (some in abundance) during our stay. The chocolate was absolutely to die for and we ce...

After leaving Mont St Michel we drove straight to Caen and then on a self-guided tour through the D-Day landing beaches. First we stopped at Arromanches Les Bain, where many of the allies landed. The girls bought poppy scarves and we took a few shots on the beach. The remains of the artificial harbour lie rusting in the ocean offshore like tombstones. We then went on to Longues Sur Mer where German battlements remain dotted in the green hills, some of them bomb...

We drove to a tiny village near Mont St Michel today and stayed in a cottage that we found on AirBNB. The cottage was very quaint, owned by a Welsh couple and their dog, Millie. As soon as we unpacked we jumped in Bessy and headed off the Mont St Michel, a life long dream of Lidia's and Alex's. We turned a corner on a tiny country road and there was Mont St Michel against the horizon. I said to Lidia, "Check that out". Mont St Michell loomed over the horizon li...