Canada, Mexico, Europe, oh my! RTW here we go.

[Drakecula]

How did you get from your hotel in Mexico City to the Temples?

I was on a guided tour, so a minivan was our mode of transportation. This tour was the one I'd booked through Tempo Holidays, which went bust. I confirmed the booking with Ketzaltours, the suppliers.

 

[Drakecula]

Just a quick update to say London is amazing, we're having a ball seeing all the things and I'll write more when I've got a spare moment.

 

[Drakecula]

Okay, so after our camping in airports experience, we finally got to London 24 hours after we had planned. We got in about 9pm, so after making our way to our Airbnb it was quite late so straight to bed.

The next afternoon after a morning of some laundry, we headed out to the British Museum. What an amazing collection! We stayed until closing.

 

[Drakecula]

Off to Buckingham Palace for the changing of the guard this morning which was nice. We got there a bit late, so were a bit far away from the marching band and guards, but afterwards went up to the gates for a closer look at the Palace.





We then had a peek into Harrod's (fancy!), then wandered Hyde Park (squirrels!) to take a squiz at Kensington Palace.




We then spent the afternoon looking through Westminster Abbey. Holy moly what a building. So beautiful and full of history. You can't take photos inside, so I got some from the outside and in the cloister.





We'd picked up some tickets for Phantom of the Opera at Her Majesty's Theatre at Leicester Square the night before, so capped off a busy day with a wonderful show. I'd seen it on stage before but MrD hadn't.

 

[Drakecula]

Went to the Tower of London this morning. Got there early enough that there wasn't many people which was nice. On advice from a friend we went straight to the Crown Jewels, which meant there wasn't many people there either. Wowee some amazing stuff there. I liked how there was a mini travelator there to keep people moving.

The history of this place. It's just so old. Mind boggling at times. We spent a good few hours here, well worth the visit.







Of course the Tower Bridge is right there and very impressive.



In the afternoon we went on a Muggle walking tour to see some actual film locations and other sites that inspired the books or films. I'm a big fan, but I still learnt some new things on this tour. Like for instance I never realised 'the clink' wasn't just slang, it was an actual prison.



And the obligatory Platform 9 3/4 shot at King's Cross Station.

 

[Drakecula]

A slower paced day for the Sunday. Went and looked at Covent Garden Markets, found the greatest invention ever - a sushi train style cheese bar! Little plates of cheese with paired accompanying things going round on a conveyer belt. Genius!



Down past Trafalgar Square to the Thames before heading off to meet a friend of MrD's for dinner.

 

[Drakecula]

On Monday I took a bazillion photos, but they probably won't be that interesting to anyone but me. We were off to Leavesden to visit the Harry Potter studios! I think we were there for about 6 hours all up. So many sets and props and things to see! Had a ball.



Topped the evening off by getting a Latin copy of Harrius Potter to add to my collection. I try and get a copy in the language of the country I'm visiting (unless I've already got it). I know Latin isn't English, but I'd not seen it anywhere else I've visited so, it counts

 

[Drakecula]

Last full day in the UK, so gotta fit a bit more Harry Potter in. Off to Oxford to visit the Bodleian Library. Okay, so not only cause of the Harry connection but because of the librarian connection.

It's so pretty! Oxford, the library, just oh how I wish I could be a scholar using the Bodleian! Couldn't take photos inside the library, but it's amazing.

We used the Oxford Tube to get there and back, a bus service that runs 24 hours. You can get it from several stops in London, we got it from Victoria Coach Station.

 

[Drakecula]

Off to Berlin! I'm nearly caught up to current times now. Yesterday we flew to Berlin out of London City Airport on BA. It's a small airport, where you're in a large waiting area keeping an eye on the board to see which gate your flight will go from. No voice announcements.

Arrived about midday and we were a bit early for the hotel, so we dropped our bags and went two doors down to the Natural History museum.

Holy moly. Dinosaur skeletons! A magnificent T-Rex! Some neat taxidermy, information about Earth, our solar system, minerals. This was a great visit.



We also visited the Christmas Gardens which was at the Botanical Gardens. They had some really nice light installations which I couldn't take great photos of, since I'm only using my phone. I guess similar to Nightfest at Floriade, but bigger.

 

[Drakecula]

Now we're in the present, having travelled to Hannover for one night tonight. This is the part of the trip where I had plans to do the wizard school thing in Poland but they cancelled the event I'd booked and rescheduled after I'd already sorted things around the dates.

So, MrD pipes up and says there is a friend he wants to visit in Hannover. Hence why only one night in Berlin before coming here. Friend visit complete, we're off to Quedlinburg tomorrow. Chosen purely based off photos of a cute medieval town, so here is hoping it'll deliver. We'll catch up with a friend of mine there too. She lives nearby so will come meet us

Germany is really nice, but definitely the chilliest weather we've had so far.

 

[Drakecula]

Before catching the train, we wandered part of Hannover's red thread walk. It's essentially a red line painted on the ground that takes you around to see some of the sights. Apparently you can buy a guide that has info about the things along the way, but we didn't have too much time so just wandered for a bit.
They were setting up Christmas markets, which I think open next week. So we were a bit too early for them, but they look like they're going to be great!








Quedlinburg is amazing. It's just so cosy! Cute houses and buildings, it's like walking through a fairy tale. After wandering around aimlessly enjoying looking at everything, we had dinner at the Brauhaus. I had something called bierfleisch and it was delicious!

 

[Drakecula]

Met up with my friend and her niece this morning to explore a bit more of Quedlinburg including the church. While we were there a documentary was being filmed by a British crew and an American presenter. Was odd to hear the accents after nothing but German for the past few days. So if you see a documentary next year about Himmler and there's a bit about Quedlinburg, I was there!





We then stopped for a hot chocolate and mini slab of cheesecake (huge slices! My goodness!) before heading to Wernigerode. My friend drove to meet us, so she played tour guide and took us to the castle at Wernigerode.

Now this is a castle! It reminded me of a fairy tale, like Beauty and the Beast. It was quite magical. Was so nice to see.








Then back to Quedlinburg for dinner at a nice Greek restaurant. A great day. Tomorrow, back to Berlin.

 

[Drakecula]

More Berlin. The Wall, the Christmas markets and museums. Having lots of fun.

Yesterday we checked out the Pergamon and Neues Museums, then a Christmas market near Alexanderplatz and then a computer game museum which had lots of playable games.

Today, the Reichstag building and Brandenburg Tor - which was full of tractors and protesters for farmers. Lots of tractor horns! We wandered past Gendarmenmarkt and looked at the Christmas stalls there. More food to try!

Then down to Checkpoint Charlie before heading over to Schloss Charlottenburg for more markets. We topped off the day by visiting Berlin Icebar which was pretty cool (ba dum tish).

 

[kookaburra75]

Hi MsD - it all looks wonderful. You'll have to do a special presentation at the next Canberra dinner on your trip, I can organise a projector.
And I can sympathise with your airport experiences - that's why I carry a small bag of battery powered tea lights in my bag (MrsK always laughs at me), but they do come in handy in times of need.

 

[Drakecula]

Amsterdam! It's so pretty. The lovely old houses, the canals, the smell of marijuan_... No wait, not that last one. It's a smell that's common enough walking around here. I'd say tobacco is worse but either way, neither are my cup of tea.

We got in yesterday afternoon, after a train from Berlin. We checked in, got lunch, then wandered around exploring. Had a peek into the red light district just to say we have. Nothing too crazy I thought.

We're staying in an old canal house which is nice. The staircases are small and narrow, but it's got character

Today we visited the Rijksmuseum which was great. Really enjoyed it. We didn't have time for the Van Gogh museum, but to be honest I'm not a big art person so it may have been wasted on me anyway.

We caught up with a friend of MrD for dinner which was nice. Despite having Dutch grandparents, I do not have the ear for this language. They didn't speak much of it at home, hearing it does sound familiar, but I know no words at all.

 

[drron]

There were lots of tractors in Berlin.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1199652308927336448

 

[love_the_life]

I missed this altogether Drakula. Sounds like a wonderful trip. Enjoy. Us CBR mob will have to have coffee when you get back to hear all about it.

 

[Drakecula]

Arrived in Paris yesterday evening. We took a canal boat tour before leaving Amsterdam which was a nice way to see the city.

The train trip was pretty cool, having the chance to see some of the countryside. Saw windmills in the wild! Also have seen quite a few solar farms and wind turbines too.

We're staying with a friend in Paris, which is fun. He's making sure we try lots of French food, so our first meal was beef burgandy, and tonight we had cheese, bread and wine. Yum.

Today we went to Versailles. Gee whiz it's fancy. I liked Marie Antoinette's estate away from the main palace, it was very fairy tale like. I can imagine it was a nice get away from court life, and all those obligations and expectations.

 

[Pushka]

Arrived in Paris yesterday evening. We took a canal boat tour before leaving Amsterdam which was a nice way to see the city.

The train trip was pretty cool, having the chance to see some of the countryside. Saw windmills in the wild! Also have seen quite a few solar farms and wind turbines too.

We're staying with a friend in Paris, which is fun. He's making sure we try lots of French food, so our first meal was beef burgandy, and tonight we had cheese, bread and wine. Yum.

Today we went to Versailles. Gee whiz it's fancy. I liked Marie Antoinette's estate away from the main palace, it was very fairy tale like. I can imagine it was a nice get away from court life, and all those obligations and expectations.

View attachment 198412View attachment 198413View attachment 198414View attachment 198415View attachment 198416View attachment 198417View attachment 198418View attachment 198419View attachment 198420View attachment 198421

Maybe not this time of the year but we loved the gardens. We will be back in Paris in July and going on a Monday because the Palace will be closed and we just want to see the gardens. Last time we had taken a guided tour bus and we spent so much time eating one of those boring lunches with fifty of your new best friends for a day we didn’t get a chance to see them.

Lovely TR.

 

[Drakecula]

Today we visited Notre Dame which was lovely to see, despite the fencing and protective scaffolding and so forth. I really wish I could have gone inside, but alas. One day I'll have to come back and see it once it's been restored.
One of my favourite Disney movies is the Hunchback of Notre Dame, so I've always wanted to see it in real life. (We watched the movie again tonight )

We also visited Saint Chapelle which had some restoration done in 2015. Holy stained glass windows Batman! Was lovely to see.

All the buildings had that Paris feel about them which was nice. We also visited the antique markets where a lot of things looked like they'd fit right in at Versailles.

Have been eating our weight in cheese of course. The food is great!



Edit: I've noticed when I attach images and select 'full image' for insert all, it puts them in out of the order I selected initially, so sorry for that. But I'm using my phone to post and so I'm being a bit lazy by not reordering them as it's a bit of a pain.