Day 13 Paris:

We wake up this morning, looked out the window and it is a perfect Paris day. The sky is blue and the temperature is perfect. We take the opportunity to walk to the Louvre. We leave the apartment around 9am for the 2km walk. This is the best weather we have had on the holiday yet. We get to the Louvre and we are inside within minutes. The thing that gets me is that in Perth, it costs 50 bucks to take the family to botanic golf. Here, it cost 20 euro (26 bucks) for the family to see the most famous museum in the world. Botanic golf...Louvre....work that out! Everyone has told me and I have also read that Paris is expensive but this has not been our experience. Some things may be more expensive like wine at a restaurant, but wine at a bottle shop is heaps cheaper. Overall we think this is a cheaper place to visit than Perth. Another thing is that a lot of the attractions are free or very inexpensive to see even when compared to London. We end up spending about 4 hours in the Louvre and we check out the usual suspects, the Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo etc, etc but a lot of the artwork is more or less lost on us, or at least me, but it’s not so much about the artwork as it is about the experience of being AT THE LOUVRE!!!! We have some lunch while we’re there and sit by a window with a view I doubt I will experience again, we check out a few more exhibits and decide it’s time to get out. We take a walk through the Jardin des Tuileries which is pretty much a big wide path with amazing gardens either side that goes for about a K and a half leading up to the start of the Champs Elysee. This has absolutely solidified our perception of Paris as the most beautiful city we have seen. We turn around and walk back past the Louvre and keep going to our apartment picking up another assortment of cakes and breads and stuff to eat for dinner. The kids watch a movie while Kris and I head to the deck and eat, have a wine and get serenaded by the kid up stairs practicing his violin. He wasn’t much chop but it really made us feel like we were in Paris.

Tyler’s comments: Today we went to the Louvre. It was a place where all the old paintings were. I thought we were in the triangle but you’re in the building next door. After we walked in the park and then we went home.

Mia’s comments: Today it was a lovely day so we went to the Louvre. This is where the Mona Lisa painting is. This is one of the biggest and I mean biggest museum in the whole world.

"The Louvre entrance"

"Inside the Louvre entrance"

"Venus de Milo"

"Our lunchtime view from inside the Louvre"

"Walking along the Jardin des Tuileries"

"Looking back at the Louvre entrance"

Unknown facts about Paris:

Fact #1: There are more cigarette smokers in Paris than there are people...FACT!

Fact #2: You cannot walk more than 10m without tripping over some Parisians lung they have just coughed up and spat out onto the pavement...FACT!

Fact #3: Not one Parisian driver has a drivers licence nor has any one of them ever had a driving lesson...FACT!

Fact #4: The best place to have a cigarette while messaging a friend on your mobile and changing a song on your iPod, all at the same time is on your motor scooter while riding through the busiest intersection in Paris...FACT!

Day 12 Paris:

After last night’s late finish, today was a late start. We didn’t get moving until just before lunch. The first thing we decided was we need to eat, so we headed down the corner to get some lunch. The patisseries around this area are incredible. It’s very difficult to pass some of the shop windows without buying one of the amazing cakes on display (or two....or five). We have lunch back at the apartment and decide we will go on a river cruise, so we took the walk down to the River Seine. Along the way we pass the Notre Dame Cathedral, a place we have passed at least once a day since we have been here and we have amazed from the outside. We see a queue and decide to join. It was a short wait before we hit the inside. The view on the inside is even more magnificent than outside and better still it was free to get in. We continue to be amazed by the architecture in these building’s and it is just something we haven’t experienced before and is very difficult to explain. After a while we exit and wander closer to where we think we can find a river cruise. While we are wandering we stop at some shops, walk down some streets and after a while we decide we can’t be bothered with the river cruise and head off for a wine instead. We finish our wine and head back to the apartment sit on our balcony and devour a plate of meats, cheeses, fruits and a bottle of wine that was left for us from the owners of the apartment before we catch a cab for the Champs Elysee. Tonight we are going for a walk along this amazing street toward the Arc de Triomphe. It is an amazing night, the weather is perfect and we walk for a while and reach the Arc de Triomphe an hour or so before dusk. For me, the Arc de Triomphe is the main attraction. The Eiffel Tower is special, but there is something about the Arc de Triomphe that just gets my juices flowing. Maybe it’s because it is a photo opportunity waiting to happen. The views on top are incredible, a 360º view around Paris. We hang around at the top for an hour or so soaking in the views before making our way down. I take some time to get a few night snaps before we walk back down the Champs Elysee, jump in a cab and head home. That was something special, something we will never forget!

Mia’s comments: Today we went to the church called the Notre Dame Cathedral. First I lit a candle then I looked around the church. It looked lovely. After that we went to the Arc de Triomphe. We went up 248 steps to the top and then we had to go down again.

Tyler’s comments: Today we went to Notre Dame Cathedral. It was a dark place lit by candles. We sat down and prayed, lit candles, looked around and bought coins. Then at night we went to the Arc de Triomphe. We went up 248 stairs. We saw the whole of Paris. Even we saw the Eiffel Tower.

"Cakes from our local patisserie"

"Tyler in front of the Notre Dame Cathedral"

"On top of the Arc de Triomphe"

"At the base of the Arc de Triomphe"

"Looking down the Champs Elysee with the full moon to the left"

"The Eiffel Tower from on top of the Arc de Triomphe"

"Night shot of the Arc de Triomphe"

"Night shot of the Arc de Triomphe looking down the Champs Elysee"

Day 11 Paris:

Today has been a long day which started out with the weather being cold and overcast. We took off back down to the bus stop where we resumed our Paris Grand Tour (the green route) on the open top bus and can finally get to see the Eiffel Tower. So we are waiting at the bus stop, and waiting, and waiting........and waiting. The bus is not coming and we are becoming a bit testy including the other 350 people that have now joined the queue. 45 minutes later the bus finally arrives and we can get on our way. Not bad for a bus that is meant to rock up every 10-15 minutes. This bus company is starting to give me the-you-know-what’s. We are sitting on top of the bus and 5 minutes in Tyler says “I’m cold”. I look around and he has goose bumps and he is shivering. “Well, put your jumper on mate” I said. “I didn’t bring it” he replies. That’s strange, because I distinctly remember telling him about 85 times before leaving the apartment to either “put your jumper on or stick it in your backpack”. “That’s just great” I said to him. He was going to freeze going up the Eiffel Tower. Now I’m becoming extremely testy. I look at Mia, who is being very quiet, also with goose bumps and teeth chattering and I say “Are you cold sweet?” She says “Yeah” I say “well put your jumper on”................I reckon you can guess the rest. We arrive at the Eiffel Tower and Kris and I are not happy and the kids are just about blue from the cold so obviously we can’t hang around because they will end up with a cold or illness or something, so, we get off the bus, walk under the Eiffel Tower and keep walking, straight down the road to the next bus stop and straight back home. We had to go back to the apartment to get their jumpers because we weren’t buying them a new jumper at 45 euro a pop regardless of the example we are trying to set. What a wonderful first experience of this iconic structure. By this time the whole experience has been ruined for Kris and me so we decide to can the Eiffel Tower until we are in a better state of mind. We grab some baguettes on our way back to the apartment and we organise plan B. We decide to get back on the bus and take the yellow route up to Montmartre to check out the Basilique du Sacré-Cœur. This is another amazing building perched high up on top of the hill in Montmartre with amazing views over Paris. We took a wander through Montmartre while we were up there and this place is beautiful, little restaurants, little shops and amazing views from every corner. This is the sort of thing you see in postcards. I get a crepe and the kids get some macaroons and the mood is starting to swing. We decide from here to skip going out for dinner, as the meal last night in our first French restaurant was pretty ordinary, not to mention the restaurant was situated in the main gay strip of Paris and my view consisted of lots of men being extremely friendly to each other. Instead we will get something to eat at the apartment and do the Eiffel Tower at night. After a bite to eat we catch a cab, jumpers in backpacks, straight to the Eiffel Tower. We get there at 7:30 (about an hour before the sun goes down) and line up for a ticket. The weather has changed and is turned into a stunning evening. By 8:30 we are heading up the lift towards the second floor. We get out of the lift to see this incredible view of Paris. We have finally made it! The only thing left to do now is go the next step, all the way to the top. Tyler was the first to chicken out and I wasn’t far behind him because that is a long way up (yeah, I’m a girl) so it’s just Kris and Mia. Both are keen but the line is huge. They decide to give it a miss for today. It doesn’t matter anyway; it is awesome right where we are. After an hour or so we head back down via the stairs and take a seat on the grass in the Parc du Champ de Mars. We soak up the view and decide that this was a way better plan than the first one, thanks kids.

Mia’s comments: Today we got ready to go on our second bus tour. We saw the Eiffel Tower. We sat up the top of the bus again and it was windy but it didn’t rain. We got ear plugs to put on so we could hear information. We went to the Eiffel Tower at night and the lights shone all around it. It was cool.

Tyler’s comments: Today we went on our second open top bus tour. We went and saw the Eiffel Tower and then we came back home. After we went to Montmartre and we had macaroons. We saw lots of statues with swords, lots of restaurants and lots of shops. Later we got a cab and we went to the Eiffel Tower. It was very cool. When Daddy and me got to the second floor if we went to the top we would freak but Mia and Mummy wanted to but they didn’t. Then on the grassy part we took photos of the Eiffel Tower. It was really cool.

"Tyler and Mia at the Paris metropolitan"

Basilique du Sacré-Cœur

"Get your filthy hands off my crepe!"

"Mia in Montmartre"

"View down from the Basilique du Sacré-Cœur"

"View from the Eiffel Tower"

"Our Griswold moment"

Day 10 Paris:

Well it appears we were right; we did enter Paris from her behind. We managed to get out and about today on the open top bus tour and we saw this city in a much better light. The day started with us walking down to Notre Dame Cathedral to catch the bus. We took the Paris Grand Tour (the green route) which took us along the Champs-Elysees, around the Arc de Triomphe and down past the Eiffel Tower, the one thing we have been dying to see........or so it was meant to. Around the Arc de Triomphe we go and back down the Champs-Elysees. We’ve been stiffed!! The most famous spot in Paris and we get detoured. Apparently the bus tour doesn’t go that way today. Would have been nice to know that before we forked out our dough! Fortunately we forked out enough dough for a 2 day ride so we will have to try that one again tomorrow. We get off the bus a couple of hours later back at the starting point. We had to do the last quarter of the trip inside the bus because the Paris weather has gone from stinking hot when we arrived yesterday to cold and wet. We pick up some lunch and stopped off at the apartment to grab our brollies. We walked back down to get back on the bus s/and we’re sitting up the top with our brollies out when we think maybe if we get close enough we can walk to the Eiffel Tower!? We get off the bus, minus one umbrella because mine decided to turn itself inside out while we were travelling along on the top of the bus and we start the 1km or so walk. By this time it’s raining pretty hard. We get about two-thirds the way there and it just keeps raining harder so we decide to turn back and have a drink at the cafe/pub we passed a street back. We had a wine and decided to get back to the apartment because the rain is relentless. On the way back we stop in at a shop to buy a couple of tee-shirts and by the time we come out it’s like we are in a different city, the rain has gone, the sky is blue and the sun is shining. So we are back at the apartment now to shower up and head back out for dinner, our first real attempt at ordering food in a French restaurant. My all night French studying netted me a total of 4 words so we may try and order a ham and cheese pizza tonight and end up with pig’s trotters. All I can hope is that those trotters taste good!

"The Arc de Triomphe looking down the Champs-Elysee"

"Mia looking Gorgeous on the Champs-Elysee"

"Looking down the Seine to Notre Dame Cathedral"

"Our first French restaurant"

Day 9 London-Paris:

A mix of emotions this morning as we had to pack and leave London, but on the upside, we were off to Paris. After packing we went down to the local coffee shop for some breakfast and then a last wander around the streets of London before catching the tube to St. Pancras International train station for our journey to Paris on the Eurostar. This will be the first of our 8 train journeys. And the Eurostar proved to be a tough gig having to look out the window and watch the world go by at 320km/hr while drinking French Champagne!! When we arrived in Paris it was almost like we had arrived via it’s anus as our first impressions were “what is this filthy hole”. The taxi ride to the apartment (an approximate 5-10 minute ride) didn’t improve our initial estimations of the joint. Kris’s comment to me was “It looks like we have arrived in Phuket”. A bit harsh on Phuket I reckon. But I am sure we will get to see Paris at it's best soon enough. We were greeted at our apartment and shown around before we unpacked and went for a short stroll to pick up some supplies and a bite to eat. Tonight will be a quite night as the kids need to get a decent night’s sleep and we will hit the tourist trail tomorrow. We will probably get out on the open top bus tour as this seems to be the best way to see everything straight away and all in one day. It makes it easy from there to decide what we want to see in a little more detail later on. The language barrier is already proving tough so I may have to stay up late and study a couple of phrase books before hitting the sack. Au revoir!

Mia’s comments: Today we got packed to go to Paris. We went down 42 steps for the last time and this was the last time seeing Covent Garden. We got ready to go on the huge train that travelled about 300km/hr. There was a toilet on the train and a bar for getting food. It didn’t take long to get to Paris. There were lots of spray paintings on the wall of the Paris train station. But as long as I am in Paris I am fine. We arrived at our apartment. It was a beautiful house and it has a deck. It was fun walking in Paris, the home of macaroons.

Tyler’s comments: Today we got to Paris at 2:47 (Paris time) and 8:47 (Perth time). It was a 2 ½ hour train ride. We sat in the middle where it had a table in the middle. It was better than the plane because it didn’t smell too bad and there was more to do. I mostly read my book. The train went about 300km/hr. When we got to Paris it didn’t look like I expected. It was very old and lots of words out of spray paint. The city was very white but the rest of it was very neat and tidy. When we were going to the apartment we went up stairs that creaked under our feet. When I heard the noise of the creaking I thought our apartment wasn’t going to be good but it was great. My Mum & Dad’s bed is a fold out Murphy bed. It is more comfortable than our one. After we had a look around and went shopping. We got fruit and veg and our dinner. Our dinner was a roll with ham and cheese. After dinner we relaxed.

Travel Faux Pas #1: Packing Lightly

In your quest to be the ultimate light traveller, be aware that if you don’t bring certain items for the sake of saving space like say, underarm deodorant, don’t think you can just use your wife’s spray. After 3 days of happily spraying away at my underarms with my wife’s “deodorant”, I was humorously informed that I was in fact spraying my pits with V05 extra hold hairspray! My underarms may still have been stinky but by gees they looked stylish.

Day 8 London:

Today was our last full day in London before we leave for Paris tomorrow. We started off the day back on the tube heading toward Tower Bridge, the 120 year old suspension bridge over the Thames. As far as bridges go, this is a pretty good looking bridge! We managed to time it to see the bridge stop traffic, split apart and lift up to allow a large boat to pass underneath. After all that excitement, we thought we’d tackle the 2.5km walk up to St Paul’s Cathedral. We told the kids it was “just around the corner”. This proved to be a great plan as they only complained about 120 times (we were expecting far more). Actually, the kids have been pretty good. We have been making them walk a lot and they have done it all carrying their back packs full of food and water, books to read, honework etc. Anyway, we made it and what a fantastic building, well worth the walk. We took a wander inside but only got about 10m before we hit the till and a 50 buck price tag to see the rest of the inside. We declined. Kris suggested we could go to the mass and get in for free!!!??........so I grabbed the kids and ran like crazy back to the tube with the thought of going and checking out the Portobello Street Markets in Notting Hill. Notting Hill being the place made famous by the movie with Julia Roberts and described in the tourist brochures as “a populart (whatever that means) destination for Londoners and tourists alike”. That may be one way to describe it. Another way would be “a filthy street that sells $2 shop CRAP”. Needless to say, that was an arvo wasted! Back to the apartment to rest up before we hit the town for one last night. It’s the steak house tonight, a bottle of wine and lots of talk of how much fun we have had in London. We always thought we'd like London but we never thought we'd love it. This place is amazing and only made better by our accommodation and it's very central location. Tomorrow we will be packing up and moving on.

Note: Tyler and Mia are having a rest day.

 "Waiting in the Underground"

 "Tower Bridge"

 "St Paul's Cathedral"

"Our last dinner in london" (video)

Day 7: London

This morning was a bit of a late start as we have been reorganising accommodation for our Florence leg. We received an email a couple of days ago informing us that the accommodation in Florence had become unavailable due to termites destroying some major structural members and rendering the apartment unsafe. Not exactly what we would have wished for but nonetheless we need to find a new place to stay on short notice. After a couple of days of emails flying back and forth to various people we have managed to secure an apartment that we hope will be suitable. This has reaffirmed to us how valuable WiFi availability is in the apartments we are staying in. Without this we would not have received the email or spent a lot of time hanging around McDonald's. The quiet morning has also allowed us to relax a little after a late night at the Lyceum Theatre enjoying the Lion King. It was quite a spectacular show and we all really enjoyed it but I’m still not sure it was worth the gazillion dollars it cost us to go, but we had to do it and we are glad we did. So, we finally get organised and decide on a walk along Oxford Street and have some lunch so we hit the tube bound for Bond Street Station. Oxford Street is a major shopping road full of high end shops and loaded with people. We took a turn down Regent Street and found a cool little side street to have lunch. During lunch the familiar sounds of police and ambulance sirens filled the air, a constant it seems around the streets of London but we didn’t think much of it. After lunch we headed back down the side street and on the corner of Regent Street we see a taxi roped off with police tape and its windscreen was smashed in with the shape of someone’s body and the local fuzz were giving everyone the whole “move on, nothing to see here” line. Some pour pedestrian had tried his luck once too often it seemed. We are amazed we don’t see more of it the way the pedestrians are always trying their luck against the motorists. So it’s back to the apartment for a relaxing afternoon because tonight there seems to be some sort of fashion thing going down around the Seven Dials streets (we are on shorts Gardens, one of those seven dials). Tomorrow will be our last full day in London, let’s hope it’s not raining!

Mia’s comments: Today (last night) we walked to the very old looking theatre to see the Lion King. It was a really cool theatre. The seats were very comfy. When the play started I was too thirsty, I mean way too thirsty but I had to hold on. My favourite characters were the bird, the warthog, the baboon and the meerkat. It was a really cool play.

Tyler’s comments: Today we had a lazy day! First thing we did was we went and had morning tea. I had a big jam donut. After we went back to the apartment. Then we went to go and have lunch. It was a nice lunch and went home. We went to a restaurant called Rossopomodora for dinner. We had a ham and cheese pizza. Also, I got a back pack....finally.

 "Patiently awaiting the donut"

"Oxford Circus looking down Regent Street toward Piccadilly Circus"

"Regent Street looking back toward Oxford Circus"

Day 6: London

Well, it is a “wake up and look at the sky” approach to deciding what to do each day. I don’t think the weather forecasters here have been remotely close in getting it right so far. Today, fortunately, is pretty good so we head off to the London Eye. We get the tube and stop at Waterloo Station, the busiest station in London. We make our way down to the London Eye and before going on we check out the 4D experience. A good introduction on what to expect once we get on board. We climb aboard the capsule for our 30 odd minute journey around the wheel and it is amazing with awesome views of London. We take about 650 photos before getting off and we then take the walk across Westminster Bridge, past Big Ben, on our way to Westminster Abbey. Whilst walking across the bridge I get bailed up by some women trying to shove a rose down my shirt and asking for some spare change. I told the woman to get nicked and for that I’m “going to hell”.....according to her. Anyway, we made it to Westminster Abbey without further incident and joined the short queue for tickets. Once inside we saw some pretty amazing history and one incredible building. I’ve never seen anything like this before so it’s all blowing me away at the moment. I say a short prayer before exiting (just in case that woman was right) and we make our way by foot back toward our apartment in search of a feed. Whilst walking along we stumbled on 10 Downing Street which was a bit of an unexpected treat and a little further along some guards on horses. This proves my theory on walking everywhere instead of taking public transport. Where Kris’s approach is to whinge at how much we walk. I see that as 1 win for me and 0 wins for Kris!! We finish up the arvo with a bit of lunch, a bit of shopping, watch a few street performers here in Covent Garden and a quite beer down on the corner near our apartment. Now we are getting ready for the Lion King which is on at 7:30.

Tyler’s comments: Today went on a train that goes under the river to Waterloo. We got off and walked to the 4D experience of the London Eye. We got on and we saw the whole view of London. After the London Eye we went and saw Big Ben. Then we went to Westminster Abbey where Prince William and Kate got married. We got a treasure hunt to do and quizzes. If we got most of the questions answered we got a chocolate coin (it was big). When we walked we saw guards of the Queen. After we saw the guards we went shopping. We were looking for a bag for Mia and me but we couldn’t find any.

Mia’s comments: Today I went to the London Eye. We took lots and lots of pictures. It took 30 minutes to get around in one circle. After that we went to Westminster Abbey. It was fun because I got to do a quiz. Then we went to see the soldiers and I got to pat a horse. We went out for lunch and I had a toasted focaccia. We went back to our apartment and then we went to the pub. I had lemonade.



"Inside the London Eye"

 "Big Ben (standard tourist pose)"

 "Westminster Abbey (Wills & Kate entrance)"

"On our way to the theatre"

Day 5: London

Today we woke to wet weather again so we thought we’d go and check out if Lizzie was in, maybe have a cuppa. We get all the way down to her joint and we get told that apparently she wasn’t in. Likely story, so we headed inside to see if we could track her down. We looked in the Green Drawing Room, we looked in the Blue Drawing Room, we looked in the Throne Room, we looked under Kate’s wedding dress, but no Lizzie, she’d done a runner. Never mind, we had the chance to see her digs and it was very impressive. It could have done with a plasma screen and a surround sound system though. It made me wonder where they watch telly! We headed out the backyard for some tea and cake and take in the views over her back lawn. After a wander through the Royal Gardens we headed ‘round the front to see the changing of the guards. It was pretty tough competition out there to try and see what the hell was going on. We ended up watching most of it on the back of the camera while I was holding it out with my arm extended through the gates, but it was all worth it. We then hit the tube and stopped off at the Natural History Museum. Now that is a fantastic building and it makes the contents look pretty boring. We don’t get architecture like that back in Perth. Tomorrow, weather dependant, it will be the London Eye. And in the evening we will off to the Lion King.

Mia Q&A:

Dad: “Mia, what did you think of Buckingham Palace”

Mia: “Kate’s wedding dress was beautiful and the palace was fancy”

Dad: “What was your favourite room in Buckingham Palace”

Mia: “My favourite room was the room with Kate’s wedding dress in”

Dad: “What was your favourite part of the day”

Mia: “I liked travelling on the train to Buckingham Palace and to the museum”

Mum: “Tell me about the morning tea at Buckingham Palace”

Mia: “It was yummy and Mum and Dad had the little wedding cake (biscuit cake). Tyler had icecream and I had a scone. Mum and Dad’s coffer had a crown of chocolate on the froth.

Tyler Q&A:

Dad: “What happened when we got off the train today before going to Buckingham Palace”

Tyler: “We went and bought umbrella’s because it was pouring down with rain then we went and waited in line”

Dad: “What did you think of the changing of the guards”

Tyler: “I thought it was awesome but I was too busy looking at the police man with the machine gun”.

Mum: “What was your first impression of Buckingham Palace”

Tyler: “Where are their televisions? Where are the sports jumpers like the soccer jumpers and rugby jumpers”?



"Nothing but the finest china at Lizzies House"



"In the grounds of Buckingham Palace"

"The policeman with the machine gun"

"At the Natural History Museum"

"Looking down our street on the way home from dinner, The Crown pub on the left"

Day 4: London

The weather today was wonderful, bloody cold, but good enough to hit the open top bus tour. We took the original yellow tour and had a fantastic guide who was very British and very opinionated (same thing I suppose) and very funny. It all made for a great couple of hours touring around London. We saw all the sites, Big Ben, London Bridge, Tower Bridge, London Eye, Westminster Abbey. We then got on the blue tour which took us to Harrods. Man that place is amazing. Kris wanted to buy all her friends back home a pressie but I said bugger ‘em, I’m not carrying a suitcase load of crappy presents around for 6 weeks, so she got herself an el cheapo souvenir bag instead, much better idea (my apologies if you are one of those friends). After that it was off to look at Buckingham Palace, but of course, that was cut short by one of Tyler’s fifty eight toilet breaks for the day. We will have to rearrange that one for tomorrow as the closest toilet was in the next time zone. Then, off to the pub (which is about 15m from our front door) and then out for dinner. It’s now 8:30 and we are shagged, the kids are in bed and we’re not far behind them.

Mia's comments: We went on a bus tour that took us past Buckingham Palace. Tyler needed to go to the toilet and we ended up having to go to a hotel. We couldn't get a ticket to Buckingham Palace because they had none left so Mum said we could go tomorrow.

"Dad and Mia on the Bus"

Tylers comments: Today we woke up but Mia slept in. We ran after the buses for 20 minutes and eventually got a bus. It was an open top bus and it was a double decker bus. We travelled for 2 hours until we got off to have lunch. There was a guide talking to us about all the buildings and places we went past. We saw Big Ben, the London Eye, the London Bridge, Buckingham Palace and Westminster Abbey where Prince William and Kate got married. Then we went shopping at Harrods. Mum bought a bag. Then we went home and went to a restaurant called Cantina Laredo.

"Dad and Tyler on the bus" 

"Spot the tourists" 

"Buckingham Palace"

Day 3: London

Today we woke to a rainy London day (rainy as in persisting down!). Our plans had to be rearranged as we were going to do the open top bus tour. Instead, we ventured to the underground and made our way to Madame Tussauds. It was our first real taste of the tube and we understand now why people rave about it, a mass of complicated train lines criss-crossing each other but extremely simple to navigate. We took 3 lines to get to Baker St station and 2 lines back and waited no longer than 2 minutes for a train. Transperth has 2 lines in total and you can wait forever, sometimes longer! Madame Tussauds was amazing. We didn’t realise that it was more than just wax figures. The highlight was the super hero 4D movie (aka Tyler heaven). This is not the sort of thing that would normally impress Kris or me but this was incredible. After that we headed to Lords, the home of cricket for a tour of the ground. Extremely disappointing is all we can say about that. They need to visit the MCG to see how a real tour is done. It was twice as expensive as an MCG tour and nowhere near as good. Never mind, I got to see the famous cricket ground and that’s all I wanted really. We did a lot of running after that, mainly from the rain and trying to catch buses but it was all good fun. Hopefully the weather will be better to us tomorrow!

Mia’s comments: This morning I went to a wax museum. All the wax people looked real! I also saw a 4D superhero movie, it was a cool movie. I saw Hanna Montana and Justin Bieber (just for Kiani). After the wax museum we went on a Lords cricket tour. It was the boringest, silliest tour I have ever been on in my life.

Tylers comments: Today I woke up still feeling half asleep. My sister and me were counting the time to have breakfast and yay, it was breakfast. The first thing we did today was we went to Madame Tussauds wax museum. It had all the famous people on television and movies. It also had famous soccer, running, basketball and rugby players. There was a soccer shootout where you have to hit the target. Me and my Dad both hit the target. Then we went to a room where you could see slaves being killed. There was this one of a slave, on a wheel and he had spikes stabbing into his back and he was getting squashed.

 "Kris and Elvis"

"The kids are helping out the Prez"

Day 2: London

Our first full day in London, spent mainly finding our way around and visiting local attractions by foot. We wondered through Covent Garden and headed down to Trafalgar Square. Covent Garden is full of people, all day, with lots of street performers and amazing shopping. We organised our tube tickets for the week, bought our open top bus tickets which we will be using tomorrow, and purchased tickets for the Lion King for Wednesday night. We are looking forward to getting out a bit more tomorrow and seeing a wider area of London. Weather wise it was a beautiful day, quite warm and very sunny.

Mia’s comments: Today I went to a restaurant to have breakfast. I had a huge, HUGE croissant. It was a lovely cool day so we went for a walk. I got to sit with a statue lion at Trafalgar Square and Dad took a photo of me. I also got a coin and pitched it into the fountain. After that we went out for lunch and I had fish and chips.....yum, yum. We back to our apartment and had a bit of a rest after all that excitement. We went out and I got a Pandora bracelet with a suitcase charm. It suited me.

Tylers comments: Today we had our first day in London. The first thing we did was go out and have breakfast. We went to Patisserie Valerie and my sister had the biggest croissant I have eve seen. I had a scone, it was big but not as big as the croissant. After we went for a walk for 1hr and 47 minutes. There were four big lions that were about 2m tall and 4m wide. We even got to make a wish and my wish came true.

"Hang'n around in London"

"Breakfast at Patisserie Valerie"

"London Underground"

Day 1: London

After a very long flight with little to no sleep, we finally arrived at Heathrow Airport at 6:40pm on a balmy Friday evening.  Kris and the kids were exhausted and my eyeballs were hanging out of my head. We got off the plane to be met with a queue at customs that was ridiculously long. We had been waiting in the line for at least half an hour and hadn’t even got close to half way when a lovely customs officer pulled us out and stuck us at the front of the queue (there are some advantages to travelling with children). We headed down to the underground and jumped on the train to get us to Covent Garden. Fifty minutes later we arrived at our station and jumped in the lift to get to street level. We opened the doors to the lift and BANG, we are hit with this amazing atmosphere. People everywhere partying, socialising, drinking, dining......I looked back at Kris and the kids and they all had massive smiles. Tyler looks at me all excited and says “Dad, this is the best place we’ve been so far”. Considering we were only 30 seconds into our holiday that didn’t hold a great deal of weight, but I understood what he meant, I was in love with this place already!! We headed off on foot fighting our way through the crowds of people with all our gear heading mostly in the wrong direction, but we finally managed to find our apartment with the help of a few strangers. We were greeted by the owner’s son which was a huge relief. You never know when you organise something so far in advance if it’s actually going to happen the way it is meant to. The apartment is fantastic, small, but better than I had expected. It looks straight down onto the busy Shorts Garden road. As much as I’d like to head out and soak up some of this atmosphere, we really do need to get some sleep. We can soak up the atmosphere tomorrow!

1 Month To Go

We are all starting to get a little excited now. Tyler and Mia are telling us about all the things they are looking forward to doing on the holiday. We are in the process of booking all of the train tickets for the 8 journeys we need to make to get from one place to the next, which is pretty much all that's left to do. Booking the train tickets has been the most difficult part of the organisation process for this holiday. I had no idea how difficult the train companies make it to book tickets. We have decided against Eurail Passes and opted for point to point tickets which means having to book all the tickets via the train company's in each country. Some allow you to book 3 months ahead and some only 1 month ahead. Some allow you to book, pay and print out your tickets in one go while others make you send off for a quote and wait 48 hours for a response. The Eurostar leg from London to Paris was a breeze, just like booking an airline ticket. Then I tried the Paris-Munich leg and forked out 550 bucks for a $200 fare. Confusion set in and I ended up paying through the nose. It's seriously confusing but I think I have the hang of it now, after some advise from the the man in seat 61. Buying train tickets for Europe travel is very painful but I do think it will be worth it in the end and I would suggest if you are going to try it, visit the seat61 website.

Tyler's comments: I’m really looking forward to our holiday because when we get onto the plane I can play playstation and a lot more games. I can’t wait till the lady comes and says “what would you like to eat“. When we get off the plane I can’t wait 'till we see our apartment. After we have looked at our apartment I’m excited about going out to get a snack (but the problem is I don’t know the name of the snack). I can’t wait to go on the London eye. I’m going to beg mum (if it is fun) if I can go on 5 times. I’m excited about going up to the top of the Eiffel Tower and seeing the restaurant up at the top and having a snack. I think it is going to be fun.

Mia's comments: I'm looking forward to going on the London eye because I will get to see the lovely view of London and maybe having a funny feeling in my tummy while going around and around. I'm also looking forward to going to the interesting, inspiring wax museum because there are going to be lots of different types of statues made out of wax. I'm so excited about eating yummy scrummy macaroons with yummy flavours in Paris.I am also looking forward to meeting funny looney tunes characters like Donald Duck and Minnie Mouse at Paris Disney. I can't wait for my holiday to start.