When Lay Inthavong was growing up in the Lao capital Vientiane in the late 1970s and early 1980s she remembers a friend of the family who was so well off they had a bicycle. Life was quiet, cars were few and foreign tourists were unheard of.
Today Lay runs Thongbay, a successful guesthouse in Luang Prabang, with her Swiss husband Phillip. The guesthouse picks up Australian (and French and German) travellers like us from the airport in a minibus and runs them the short trip into town a few tim...
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Yes, it's big and quite scary. Yes, you have to queue up for ages to get on. Yes, the view's pretty good.
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Our time in London coincided with half-term school holidays so the Science and Natural History museums we visited on a rainy day were packed. Still great though (you really need a day for each), and we got to catch up with Tim, Alicia and Jirra and compare notes.
We stayed at the YHA London Central in Bolsover St which was great - central, clean, friendly with a good cheap cafe on the ground floor. Needs some tea towels in the kitchen though...
One super-touristy but really fun thing we di...
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Maison Bertaux is a great quirkly little French cafe/patisserie in Greek St Soho. A higgledy piggledy little place that spans two buildings. They do great quiche and pastries and are very friendly.
Noel Fielding of Mighty Boosh fame had an exhibition of paintings and drawings - Brian Ferry vs the Jelly Fox - showing there. He'd been given full run of the walls and had written little notes in marker pen around the place. Here's my favourite:
More pictures:
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With apologies to Rick...
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Next stop on our Paris trail was Père Lachaise cemetery in the 20th arrondissment. Père Lachaise was set up as a cemetery by Napoleon in 1804. It's pretty large as cemeteries go and has lots of very elaborate crypts and tombs. We were lucky enough to have some sunshine when we were there and it's a very beautiful place to wander through.
Like many we bought a map showing the cemetery layout and where all the famous graves are. There are loads of famous people buried there including several...
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Hard to find time to write all of the things I want to so I'll just put the pictures up....
Some pics are from St Germain and Latin Quarter. The view of Paris from the Eiffel Tower at sunset is great, as is watching the lights on the tower come on. These pics are from level two, not right at the top (heights-averse family members plus too much of a wait...)
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Ah, the great British seaside experience...
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We've found it hard to find time to fit in a visit to a castle so far. Sudeley is our first. It has ties to Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn , Elizabeth I and Catherine Parr, Henry's 6th wife who is buried here. The outside gardens, ponds, pheasantry, etc were as one would imagine - grand.
We enjoyed ourselves on the flying fox in the playground.
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Keeping it all in the family.
I lived in this house for a year or so before my family moved to Australia in 1982. When we left my wonderful Uncle Alan and Aunty June moved in and have been working on the house and gardens - which are incredible - ever since.
From the late 1960s until they passed away my grandparents lived next door at number 29. Now my cousin Jane lives there with her partner Andrew and young lads Alistair and Michael.
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