Brittany and Belguim

We spent 4 nights with Scott, Jody and Stella ( the dog ) in St. Malo at Camping De La Fontaine, which we can recommend as a base for the area. 

The weather was slightly iffy but we managed to travel around quite a bit and BBQ almost every night. The area is known for it's Salt Marsh Lamb (Agneau de Pre Sale ) and we also enjoyed the local cheese, butter and artichokes.

St. Malo is a nice walled port town.

The North Sea Coast has a wild and windswept feel to it.

Cancale is known for its oysters. Fresh out of the sea is the best way to enjoy them.

Saint Mont Michel is very touristy but late afternoon turned out to be a good time to visit.

We spent a night in Honfleur on the Normandy coast; returning to one of our favourite campsites La Pharne. It's about a 500m walk to the old town and marina. The city is very quaint, the waterside cafes are relaxing, there are plenty of excellent restaurants and a bar called La Vintage has live music every night.

We met up again in Belguim, this time staying with Scott and Jody on a farm outside Ghent for a few days.

Ghent is a surprisingly cool little city: an alternative to touristy Brugge.

We loved our visit to Musee Herge in Louvain-la-Neuve dedicated to the life and work of TinTin's creator.

Paris

Paris as always is a delight. Returning this year for the tennis at Roland Garros with Rina and Menon, we had better seats and cooler weather but a bit more rain. It was great to see Nadal, Djkovic, Cilic and Del Potro on centre court. And we got into court 7 to see Anderson too. Serena's comeback was a little odd and the ladies failed to capture too much of our attention. 

 After 8 days in Paris, we left to explore Brittany but popped back for the weekend to go to the Rugby Sevens.  By the skin of their teeth the Blitzbokke managed to win the final tournament and clinch the 2018 Series.

We love roaming the various neighbourhoods of Paris so we returned to some of our favourite places and found a few new places we can recommend too.

Le Halles - On a Saturday there's lots going on around here, whether you love or hate the giant yellow roof.

Marche de Bastille - A good indoor food market- stop for tapas and wine.

Quay Saint Martin  - on a Saturday afternoon is busy with lots of people enjoying the parks and cafes. We tried Indian food for a change at Marcel.

St. Ouen -While away a whole Sunday at Europe's biggest permanent flea market and spend a few hours over lunch listening to cool live blues music at A Piccolo Theatre.

Auguste - go for the 3 course set lunch at this Michelin starred restaurant by Gael Orieux. One of the best Michelin deals in Paris.

Clover - Second restaurant of Jean-Franscios Piege where the kitchen is right in the restaurant and young chefs are put to the test creating fabulous food without the pomp. How about salmon sashimi seared at the table on a hot rock that is a genuine Paris cobble stone?

Bastade - Modern little restaurant where food is served in an edible bastade, a deep dish "crêpe". 

Harry's American Bar - totally touristy and overpriced but a real institution.

Le Sherwood - The best live music venue in Paris. A little bar with cheap drinks, a wonderful relaxed atmosphere and a killer cover band. After 1.30am,the DJ continues the party.

The Moose - Canadian Sport's bar and probably the only place to see any rugby in Paris.

Le  Musset - Touristy bistro near the Louvre - Definitely don't eat here but they have pretty good house wine and a TV to watch the Tennis.

La Tavola and Casa Bini - both very good family owned Italian restaurants - just when you think you can only get French food in Paris...try one of these for a change..

MoM - very trendy, modern bistro full of locals. Burgers are big in Paris at the moment; ( well everywhere actually ) but the posh Paris versions tend to be served very rare - tartare in a bun..

We always camp at Camping Indigo Paris, located in Bois de Boulogne; one of our favourite city campsites in Europe.

For more recommendations.. see the May 2017 blog too...

When you only have 5 days in London...

When you only have 5 days in London you have to make them count...

1. Stay very centrally at the Hub by Premier Inn in Covent Garden. When you want location, good value and clean, modern comfort but you don't need to swing a cat, it's a win. There's a Costa Coffee downstairs to fulfill all your breakfast needs and if you are as spoilt as Neil, you get room service!

2. Use Uber to get around. Or walk.

3. Take advantage of set lunch menus at Michelin starred restaurants.

* L' Atelier by Joel Roubochon

* Dinner by Heston Blumenthal

* Seven Park Place by William Drabble

4. Go to matinees of West End shows

* Chess

* Ruthless

5. Get your friends to come and meet you in central London...

* Cahoots

* Dirty Bones

* Darjeeling Express

* Cafe Boheme

6. Spend a great Sunday with family and drag yourselves off to the airport.

There's no time for reviews but everything on this blog post comes highly recommended. Especially the family and friends...

Whistle Stop Joburg

We popped back for 2 weeks to celebrate Mom's 80th birthday. We had a good time at Zebula together and enjoyed a great lunch at Blandford Manor.

Tommy's 60th Party, Shopping, Admin, Doctors and Dentists, a few braais with friends and family, Mother's Day brunch, Dynamo at the impressive new Sun Arena in Menlyn, ribs at the Thundergun and onto a plane to London.