Paris is always a good Idea. :)

When my other half decided we should go to Paris to see the end of a certain bicycle race , who was I to object!  Somehow I had gotten through 40 years without visiting this iconic city. I dreamt of picnicking under the  Eiffel tower and gazing upon the Mona Lisa’s enigmatic smile. 🙂

We arrived in the French Capital on a very hot and stuffy Friday afternoon, having amazingly managed to master the railway and metro to our bijou studio apartment in the Levallois Perret district of North West Paris. We booked it through airbnb , a really useful site , where people list  rooms and apartments to let all over the world. It cost us £48 per night for four nights , which was very reasonable I thought.

 The nearest famous landmark to us was The Arc de Triomphe , about 25 mins walk away. But mostly we travelled on the metro which was so handy, quick and easy to use.  Here are a few photo’s from our trip. I’m sure I will devote a few more posts to places in Paris we were fortunate enough to visit. There is also much we didn’t get round to seeing. So I need to return!  After all  ~  Paris is always a good idea. 🙂

Inside our cozy and compact basement apartment.

Arc De Triomphe. We actually paid to climb to the top ~ the views are amazing.

The Eiffel Tower from the top of the Arc de Triomphe.

I found a vintage carousel by the Eiffel tower. There is also another just over the river by the avenue de new york.

Of course I had to have a go.:)

Ferris wheel in the Jardin de tuileries.

Musee de la chasse et de la nature in the Marais district. An interesting visit.

I went all crazy cat lady and dragged Wil to a cat cafe. ^^

A very content occupant of Le Cafe des Chats.

Part of the crazy colourful Caravan of the Tour de France on Sunday.

The French version of the Red Arrows flew over Paris on the race day.

The tour winner in the yellow jersey ~ Nibali.

Basilica of the Sacre Coeur. well worth the climb.

A delicious lemon tart in a cafe ~ Montmartre.

Lovelocks on the Pont des arts bridge over the river seine.

I found Tiffanys in Paris. Alas it was shut!

A beautiful blue door in the Marais.

Pavement art stalls by the river.

I cannot decide which are my favourite highlights from our trip. Having a picnic in the shade of the Eiffel tower, viewing Paris from the top of the Arc de Triomphe, Enjoying the last stage of the Tour, climbing the steps up to the Sacre Coeur. There are so many. Yet there is still so much I’ve yet to see. Theres only one thing for it, I will have to go back……..Paris really is a good idea. 🙂

This was July’s post for the #take12trips challenge organized by Clare at Need Another Holiday. 🙂

Bonjour Le Tour ~ Muker & Buttertubs.

So ok I might not know my Kittels from my Cavendishes, yet it was still a wonderful experience watching the Tour de France in Yorkshire over the weekend. We camped with friends in the picturesque village of Muker which lies at the foot of the Buttertubs pass. The first stage of the iconic race battled to the top for the coveted King of the Mountains polka dot jersey. By the time we had trudged all the way up there with kids and push chairs, we felt like Kings Of the Mountains ourselves. 🙂 The atmosphere was fantastic! Here are some pictures from our weekend. 🙂

Sheltering from the rain in the King of the Mountains festival bar ( Friday).

Making flower wreaths.

Bonjour Buttertubs!

Grrrrrr Tiger on tour.

French Yorkshiremen.

Tv crew Helicopter.

Miffy Mobiles.

I’ll have some of that please. 🙂

The Peloton.

Love this pic of Lydia and Bronte with some rather tipsy ‘Frenchmen’.

King of the Mountains Festival grounds.

We watched the High lights on a big screen.

Saturday night in the Festival Bar.

The little uns keeping comfy while the grown ups pack up camp ( Sunday).

Happy Campers! ( Sunday).

We had a fantastic couple of days and it was really amazing that we got to experience the wonderful Yorkshire hospitality of the tour de france. :))))

A little Camping trip ~ Appletreewick ( Yorkshire Dales).

Happy Campers. 🙂

Summers here so we thought we would dust down the tent and head for the Yorkshire Dales. We stayed at Howgill lodge campsite about half an hours walk from Appletreewick. Its a little site we have frequented before as it isn’t to far away and the surrounding countryside is gorgeous. And the local pubs in the village aren’t bad either. 🙂

Here are some pictures of the Craven Arms which along with the villages other pub, The New Inn, is on the Real Ales Trail. As you can see The Craven has its own homage to the Tour De France which shall be departing from Yorkshire next weekend…
The dish on the right is Wils supper one night ~ pigeon with beetroot rosti and wild mushrooms. Sorry my veggie blogger friends.

Appletreewick has another campsite too called Masons Farm which I love nosying round as it has a vintage airstream van and an old citroen that serves coffee at weekends to the campers. We have stopped here in the past too.

Got a wee bit of walking in on our trip. The majestic ruins of Bolton Abbey are a two hour stroll along the river. Well worth it. 🙂

Foxglove.

Saw lots of these birds on the river. Its a Goosander.

Birds here fish for Cray fish.There were a few along the river bank.

Scabious.

Common spotted orchids.

Bolton Abbey.

Kids can do the Welly walk.

And big kids !

Good practice before the river stepping stones.

Back at the camp site we had our fair share of friendly visitors. Its a haven for wildlife. We saw a Greater Spotted woodpecker and heard a cuckoo every morning and owls hooting every night.

Camping Cat.

Chickens roam the camp site.

We also went for a bit of a reccy along the route of the first stage of the tour. If your in Yorkshire in the next few days , you can’t fail to notice how all the villages lining the way are celebrating their inclusion in this iconic event. 🙂

So Yorkshire has gone Yellow! Hopefully I will be blogging again about another imminent camping trip very soon, as we are heading for Yorkshire and The King Of The Mountains Festival next weekend. 🙂

This post is Junes blog in the #ttake12trips challenge.

52 Lists ~ Things To Get Excited About. :)

The latest 52 Lists topic is Things Your excited about. Well, looking at the year ahead I have actually got loads to be excited about:) I still get that wonderful nervous Christmas morning butterflies feeling when I can’t wait for something good to happen. Here is what I’m currently feeling excited about.

A soon to happen marathon Game of Thrones fest. I cannot wait!

A meet up with a couple of lovely craft fair friends for a mooch round Skipton.

A little camping trip in a couple of weeks with the other half.

Camping with friends at the King of the Mountains Festival in Yorkshire and getting to see the first stage of the Tour de France.

A pot painting date at Paint Pot with my niece and nephew.

A trip to Paris in July. Its actually so Wil can see the last stage of the Tour de France. But I’m sure there will be lots of sight seeing and romance too. 😉

A city break in Reykjavik in October. Finally visiting Iceland is a life long dream of mine.

Welcoming a new dog into our home. Hopefully this will happen at the end of the year, once we have got rid of our little travel bug. 🙂

What things are you getting excited about this year?