Down and out in London...

is actually a biographical story by George Orwell. Things are looking up on the interview front for both of us, so it's just a matter of time now. In particular I'm getting much more interest than I was previously. So, we're not down and out yet.

Back on the hunt...

The fact of being back in London means two things. One, we have very little money left. Two, we need jobs. Rhiannon's applying for Admin and HR/Recruitment based roles, as a bit of a change, and will still be doing casual supply teaching in the mean time.
I'm back on the same old band wagon.

London.. Feels like Home...

I mentioned to Rhiannon as we stood on the train heading back to our stamping ground of Willesden Green, that it felt amazingly like being home. In fact, more so that I suspect going back to Melbourne, or Canberra, or Wagga, or Albury would just now. I'm not too sure why.

Anyway, it was a long day once we left our gorgeous apartment in Paris, and you'll see below that getting back to stable accommodation here was a bit of a cock-up.. in fact we're not even there yet.

Itchy and Scratchy Land - The happiest place on earth

Since I'm not a Simpson, I only got to go to EuroDisney. It's another of those things that you just "have to do". We'd pre-purchased tickets online for 47EUR each, to get access to two parks for one day. Saved us 20EUR each from buying on the day, and meant skipping the ticket line. It's unlikely you'd get time to see both parks though.

Moulin Rouge

It's one of "those" tourist attractions. You know, the place everyone knows about, and goes to see. We'd read heaps of reviews, some good, some bad, some idiotic (I mean really, complaining that it's not a place to take kids, surely you know that before?)

We reviewed a number of options, including the menus, and decided we'd be better getting dinner elsewhere and just seeing the 9pm show. And was it worth it ?

Family outing in Versaille

Ever been on one of "those" family driving trips ? surely, everyone has. Go left. No, go right. Sit down. Are we there yet. Change the radio station. Sit still. Open the window. CLose the window. Can we have Mcdonalds...

Well, today we went to Versaille. I'll write a bit more later, but for 30EUR for an hour using a 4 seater golf cart, it's much better than walking.

Paris - The Lourve and Not the Arc Triomphe

After a good night's sleep, a run to the shopping centre for some brunch, and then croissants with ham and cheese (how parisian!) we figured out that due to the weather, we would go to the Lourve rather than Versaille today. Once we got there, we figured out it's much better to pay 32 EUR for a 2day all-museum pass, which would get us into Versaille (15.50) and the Lourve (9.00) and the Arc de Triomphe, and the Musee D'Orsay and we could skip lines (priceless.) We figured this would be good value for money, even if we only did the Lourve and Versaille.

Arrival ala Paree

Despite our earlier issues with the trains, we were able to get on a train this morning at 6:08am. Well, the train was supposed to leave at 6:08. It eventually showed up at 6:28am, and left at 6:38. Still, we got into Paris on time.

Magic Fountain of Montjuic

Keep your volumes down a little bit for this - there's lots of background noise, but we didn't want to swap the audio as this track belongs with it.



This fountain is located in Barcelona. Jump off the Metro at Placa Espanya, walk up the hill and observe. It runs after 9:00pm, and was first shown in 1876 or something like that.

Saved by the hair on his chinny chin chin.....

So we found out, by a fluke of luck this evening, at around 9:30, that many of the flights into Paris tomorrow will be cancelled due to industrial action. Turns out there is more than just flights cancelled, and there are only two TGVs running to Paris from Toulouse (our present location)

So thanks for the heads up to Rhiannon's parents, we're now rebooked on a train departing at 6:05am. We would have had no idea, and simply shown up at 9:30 for our regularly scheduled train, to find out the next one was at 4:00pm, and probably already fully rebooked.

Still, for the last few days of a 2 months stretch, we're doing pretty well if this is the only major thing that's gone wrong.

We're just hoping that getting to the airport at 4:00am will get Trevor and Judy rebooked onto a different flight.