Conor, Kathleen and Leyla arrive in Paris

We met up with Kathleen, Conor and Leyla Sunday night for an early dinner at Brasserie Lutetia. On Monday, we took the Batobus to all 8 of its stops (got off to see the Centre Pompidou and the Tour Eiffel.

I think that, for Conor, the highlight of the Batobus ride was talking with the pilot for about 15 minutes about navigating the river and piloting the boat.

Today we went the Musée de l'Art Moderne to see a Keith Haring exhibit containing over 200 of his more political works.  These were my favorites.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Paris.

Actually, we arrived on Tuesday but it's been pretty rainy and cloudy.  Finally we had a nice evening and we walked up to the Seine at the Eiffel Tower. Loved this houseboat with its own swimming pool.

The view across the Seine was pretty nice too.

 

 



Car Challenge for Henry

These 2 cars were part of a wedding ceremony in Cardiff.  Any ideas?

 

I may know the answer for this one.

 



Last Day in Cardiff

During our visit to Cardiff Castle (see last post), we found that the stone walls surrounding the castle, which were embedded in thick dirt walls, had been used as air raid shelters during WWII.  These subterranean halls went throughout the castle walls (a half mile or more).

There were posters on the walls reminding everyone about the danger posed by the Germans.  This was our favorite.

After visiting the castle, we took this water taxi to the main quay.

The Cardiff docks had once been the loading docks for coal from Wales. This is a picture of the main office building for the docks, the Pierhead Building.

I'm pretty sure this is a recent addition.

And look who's famous here, as well.

 

 

 

 

 



Castles

Wales has the most castles per square mile of any country.  We visited 3 of them.

Caerphilly Castle

 



 

 

Castle Coch

One of the many signs we couldn't read.

 

Cardiff Castle

 

 

 

 

 

Brecon, Wales

We stayed at Peterstone Court near Brecon. in what was known as the stables. We took a 2 and 1/2 hour horse ride, but sadly no pictures as it was raining most of the time.  As they say in Wales, "all weather is good weather if you have the right kit".  We had rain pants and jackets - for hiking, we had ponchos to cover our backpacks.

The view rom Peterstone Court was lovely.

And there were sheep and beautiful gardens.

 

 

There will be castles on the next post.

 



Another day, another hike.

These beautiful pictures are taken along the Abergavenny-Brecon canal, in southeastern Wales.  We walked about 6 miles from one town to the next and back (and it only rained a little).

 

 

 

 

 



Llanthony Priory

Yesterday we went to see another 13th century church, Llanthony Priory, that was destroyed by Henry VIII.  This one had sheep and horses living in very close proximity.

 We started a short hike that went right thorough the fields with the sheep and horses.

But after about a mile, the driving rain made us turn back (I had made it to the shelter of a tree before the deluge - Bart wasn't do lucky).

Driving in parts of Wales is very interesting and narrow.  This road was just wider than our small car width and when a large truck came our way, we had to back up about a half mile before there was room to pull off and let them pass.

 

 

 

 



Tintern Abbey

We rented a car Tuesday morning and headed in to Wales.  Our first stop was Tintern Abbey.
We hiked up about 2 miles above the abbey so I have a couple of photos which aren't exactly like the linked ones.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Bristol, England

We landed at Heathrow Sunday, got to our hotel in time to watch the finals from Roland Garros.  Then went sim card and map shopping.  On Monday, we took a train from Paddington Station to Bristol in western England.  The river Avon runs through Bristol.

 

We ate at the restaurant at the far left .

Before dinner, we walked around looking for some Banksy street art.  Found a couple, but it was getting dark, so I have only 1 picture.

 

 



Demo has Begun

The demo work has begun in the house in Frisco (including the removal of a bathroom tile floor, which was supposed to stay!).  Here are some pics.  Can't wait to see it a month from now when we get back from Europe.

 

Kitchen

Living Room

Family Room

Beginning of a laundry room

Kitchen cabinets and insulation in garage.