Happy Birthday Leanne

Leanne's birthday dinner. You could almost see the Eiffel Tower......

the view from the middle of the street was spectacular however..

If you don't use the flash and you squint a lot.

The view after a couple of bottles of champagne......

Very happy commuters in the Paris Metro at 1 am

Scenes from the Seine

Leanne and David ala Titanic








Notre Dame on the left and you know who, yes with you know what.

Lafayette department store

A beautiful building with too many things to buy.

Vicky arrived on the Saturday and we had a lovely lunch near the Gare de Nord, with just a little bit of dry white wine.........

oh no its empty

3 girls at the Louvre

Leanne, Kathy and Kel at the entrance to the Louvre. The size of the Louvre was overwhelming and we only scraped the surface.

Charming old shit

Kel and Kathy in front of one of the only two remaining art nouveau metro station entrances, on the way to Montmarte. Old shit being the architecture not Kaffy.

Stay tuned for more Paris adventures..................................

Our Spacious Apartment and the stairs...

Was a great apartment but on the third floor!!!

and no lift.

If you look closely you can see Kel's cousin Kathy waaaaaaay down the bottom.

Does my bum look big in this kitchen? Not enough room to swing les chat.

But very cute.

Kel n Shell hit Paris

We had a day of impressionists, visiting the Musee d'Orsay and L'Orangerie.

The water lillies by Monet were very pretty and so is Kel.

We had lunch, and also some wine, but not all of these bottles.

Shell at Chez Marianne in the Jewish Quarter, in the Marais, were our apartment was located.

More Lugano Adventures

At Dinner with Leanne and Dave. Drinking from traditional wine cups used in the region (or so we were told).

One of the many "Shazam" moments

It was a bit wet...view from the lake cruise to the next town.

Undeterred ,and armed with brollies, we explored the nearby town of Gandria near the Italian border.

Walking from the Top of Cheese Mountain - Mont Brie

After catching the furnicular to the top of the nearest mountain, we walked down and back into Lugano, and have been sore ever since - but enjoyed the challenge and the spectacular views.

It was very steep most of the way!

It doesn`t look that big from this far away.

Lake Lugano - same day

We drove through mountain passes and snow and arrived to balmy weather in Lake Lugano on the Italian border of Switzerland, all in one day.

Our view from Hotel Walter, on the waterfront, at Lugano.

On the Road to Lake Lugano with Leanne and David

It was freeeeeezing but spectacular

6 Days in Manhattan

We have just had the best 6 days, enjoying the crazy pace of New York City. If a city could have ADHD, it definitely would.

It was nowhere near long enough. We stayed in the most fabulous apartment/B&B in East Village - photo below

June is Pride month in New York and we went to a wonderful concert called True Colours - Cindy Lauper, B52s, Regina Spektor, Carson Kresley, Indigo Girls, Rosie O'Donnell - all at Radio City Music Hall - it was fantastic.


Now for some food porn....

Pastrami on Rye at Katz Deli and Oysters at the Oyster Bar, Grand Central Station

And of course, the famous New York Bagel

Out at a Bar with Kel's Cousin Caroline, Pete and Paul (he's the short one).

It is difficult to remember that Manhattan is an island until you hit the water.

Or the sky

Stay tuned for more exciting adventures...