Europe 2023 Virginia and Lyn's Adventure
Accommodation
- Hotels were very good-particularly Mercure de la President in Dieppe where we had a view of the sea and it was more like an apartment than hotel room.
- Hotels like The Belgrave Hotel in Pimlico, The Metropole in Cork, Les Jardin d Eiffel in Paris and Elite Park Avenue in Gottenburg were excellent and central to the sights so we could easily walk around the central area in these cities/towns.
Tours
- The walking tour of Montmartre-2 hours was excellent-it was just the right amount of time-with an excellent guide who took us on a route that was not too steep. She also showed us things that other tours didn't eg Art Noveau Church
- Paddy Wagon Tour of Cliffs of Mohr eacellent-a veryinformative bus driver with good commentary-he also took us to the little Cliffs of Mohr nearby as well as the big cliffs. The museum there had great videos of the ocean and cliffs.
- Tour of Monet Gardens was very good-minibus size of max 8 paeople, good and comfortable-they also showed a video on the bus about Monet gardens on the way.
Galleries
- The Rodin Gallery and Sculpture Garden (which apparently not that many tourista go to or know about) is quite stunning with the most beautiful sculptires in the garden-and plenty of them to see. There were few crowds there.
Transport
- Booking of trains and buses that were booked went smoothly as did all flights.
- Regional Train travel to Europe-what we found is there are quite a few steps getting onto the train and many double decker trains so best not to take big bags and just carry on bags. we struggled getting big bags on the trains in a short amount of time.
- Airport transfers were very good and prompt and I received a text message the day or just before due time for collection.
- Taxis-word od caution-in Dieppe taxis only take cash (no credit cards) and in Skibbereen a good samaritan drove us to the hotel as there are only 2 taxis and they were booked for trips to Cork Airport.
Places
- Dieppe-by the sea, has the best seafood we have ever tasted-the Mercure de la President Hotel is very central to the town. In fact a free bus which does a circle around the town in an anticlockwise direction is excellent and leaves across from the hotel. There is a sea pool across the road where you can get tickets from the hotel to use which wa svery nice with a spa too. The Saturday food markets which line the whole main street are amazing to see. They are apparently the largest in the Seine Maritime Department. Great cafes and restaurants. Dieppe is accessible by ferry from Newhaven in England or from Paris changing trains at Rouen and only 1 hour from Rouen.
Sights
- Skibbereen Heritage Centre-very good museum on the famine in Ireland. Very good exhibit and particularly good audio of stories and historic events. They also provide Irish geneology advice but you need to book this prior to a visit.
- Copenhagen -Clock-located in the city Hall-is an astronomical clock as well as the time-very impressive and beautiful both front and back. Also the city hall building worth a look as the building has beautiful staircases and artworks-frescoes/paintings etched on the wall and ornate ceilings.
- Gothberg-Konstmuseum-has 5 floors of amazing art-you can view Picassos, Gaughins without the crowds. A great opportunity to see masters and other European art.
Sights not on our list but we went to included:
- Sweden: Ales Stennar (the Stonehenge of Sweden) 59 stones placed methodically looking out to the Baltic Sea. Very few tourists and you could get very close to them, very stunning.
- Denmark: Copenhagen Canal Cruise Classic 1 Hour Leaves Ved Strandon Port (was better to go from this port as not as many tourists) Went under many low bridges-goes past Amelienborg Castle (where Princess Mary lives) Opera House, many old building and was a very good tour guide. Really reasonibly priced to at around $35 AUD.