We started our week in London over a great evening with some kiwi friends, thanks once again to the Hascotts for having us crash at your pad! Our first day involved a trip to Oxford Circus and exploring all the streets and alleyways surrounding. The next day we made our way over to Sidcup, and enjoyed a wonderful lunch & afternoon of catching up with family. We spent the next couple of days with Janet and Alec which was also lovely. We went to Greenwich Park and stood on either side of the international date line, caught up with Keri & the kids and had a yummy pub dinner which Jill joined us for. Thank you Alec and Janet for your hospitality :)
The next day we were very excited to spend with some more kiwi friends, Beth & Zac (we were very lucky to have dates cross over in the same city!). We spent the day touring around many of the London attractions including Buckingham Palace, Trafalgar Square, the Science Museum, a walk around Harrods and found our fav NYC bakery in London for a cronut. It was very special to see you both and have memories made on the opposite side of the world. The next 4 days were spent exploring more of London, big highlights for us being the Camden Markets, Notting Hill, the Tower of London, lunch at Doggett’s Coat and Badge (it felt really special seeing Matts Uncle Dave's photo up on the wall) with Aunty Jill and enjoying a G&T on the Thames. London is a magical city with so much rich history that we aren’t used to having in our own backyard. We also loved spending time with Simon, Gabby and Ollie (and enjoying a kiwi style BBQ), thank you for having us!
We caught the Eurostar and found ourselves in Paris, our first destination where English was no longer the mother tongue. Paris certainly blew expectations for us, we were staying in the 1st arrondissement which certainly enhanced the experience, but the beauty of the architecture, cute cafés and crêperies and the romantic sunset walks along the Seine made Paris a favourite. August is also a fabulous time of year to visit the city, as most the locals empty out for the month so the city was relatively quiet. Our first day was spent at the Eiffel Tower, walking down the Champs-Élysées to the Arc de Triumph, trying snails and enjoying a run (a very very hot run) along the Seine.
The next day we ventured to the 9th arrondissement to see how shopping in Paris is done. We’re definitely not used to the luxuries Parisians have when shopping in places like the Galeries Lafayette! Huge gold, painted domes to look up at with macaroon counters around every corner. The weather closed in for the afternoon, so we decided to grab some wine and chill inside for the evening (a rarity on this trip!). Matt spent half an hour trying to uncork the bottle (our air bnb did not have a cork screw), he tried everything from a lighter, to smacking the bottom of the bottle with his shoe. We eventually got the bottle open after a few other attempts.
The Palace of Versailles was on the agenda for the next day. We made a big mistake and got there at midday and queued for just shy of 3 hours with no shade (never arrive at any tourist attraction at this time!). The wait was worth it, despite spending less time in the palace than we did waiting to get in. The photos speak for themselves! We then spent the evening walking around the 5th arrondissement and admiring local artists work. Our final day in Paris was spent out in the 18th arrondissement. We visited the Moulin Rouge, the Sacré-Cœur and ate more treats. It’s a really beautiful part of the city that we are glad to have seen. Our evening was spent watching the Eiffel Tower sparkle, and a 3 course meal where Matt finally got to try some frog legs (he much preferred snails). We were sad to leave Paris, having enjoyed it more than we expected.
Early the next day we made our way to Belgium which we only added on the itinerary a few weeks prior thanks to a tip from one of our air bnb hosts. She recommended us to go to Ghent, which is a very authentic, non-touristy part of Belgium to visit. It was beautiful, very medieval architecture along with the classic ginger-bread style houses. We spent the day wandering the streets, eating waffles and fries, drinking the local beer and going on a canal cruise. The next day we left for Brugge. Although being a 20 minute train ride apart, we found the cities to be quite different. Brugge was a lot more bustling than Ghent, with horse & carriages going up and down the cobble stone roads and waffle shops lined down the streets. Our day was spent in a similar fashion to Ghent - eating the local food and exploring the pretty streets and canals.
