Dharma & Nita travel blog

Day 13–26th Sept Cruise (Belgium)

Posted on October 26, 2018 by Dharmesh

First morning in cruise! Today we were docking at Zeebrugge, Belgium, our excursion was departing at 9:15am.
Was up since 6am unable to sleep in, decided to go out for a walk to see the sunrise. On to level 14, the cold crisp morning welcomed me on the deck, with a great dawn view!
Could see mainland in the distance, still a fair bit of time before we would dock!

Good morning Belgium!

Back in the room, time to wake up Neha & Pooja, they were still very sleepy. Managed to get them out of their comfortable beds, time for them to get ready.

Off to breakfast at Sahara Buffet. The place was big, lots of variety but also a LOT of people, it was very crowded. Finding a table was a challenge, finally managed to get one, told Pooja to sit there whilst we got our meals. The food spread was nice and adequate, am glad they also did omelettes, my go to station for the next 6 mornings! Pooja liked the Pancakes and chocolate pastries!!

Breakfast done, back to our cabin to collect our bags and stuff for the excursion, then it was to the Theatre to be guided in the right buses.
At the Theatre, Doc & Balia were already there. Minutes passed and still no sign of Vik, called him, he said he was running late and would catchup with us. We got out tickets and followed our guide out of the ship.

Down the ramp to the waiting buses, which there were a few off. Getting on the bus told the guide we were waiting on one more family. It was then we noticed Vik & family coming down the ramp, however they were guided to another bus, tried to change but it was not to be! Sad smile

The drive to Brussels was long, took us over 1.5 hours to reach the outskirts of the city. First stop was the Atomium, a steel sculpture representing … you guessed it, an atom! This was a 10 minute stop, chance to take a few pics.

Back on the bus, touring us around the city…. heading towards the inner city where we would finally have a few hours to roam about.

Off the bus, the guide led us around the city to the Manneken Pis – apparently a very famous sight!

Finally made it to the Manneken Pis, it was a SMALL status of a little boy pissing!! From here the guide left us on our own, we had 3 hours to roam about. First it was time for some Belgium Waffles!

The freshly made waffles, with ice cream and melted Belgium chocolate was simply amazing! Now to walk back to the central square and look for a place for lunch! On the way to the Market square, ran into Vik’s group, they were on the way to the pissing man!

We made it to the market square, a bit more roaming about to find a good spot for lunch.

Lunch in Brussels

Lunch in Brussels

Settled on a Belgium Bistro, ordered a variety of dishes, Pasta, Salmon, Calamari, all very good!

Lunch done, now back at the market square, we had half n hour to buy some Belgium chocolates and then it was heading back to the Bus. Long ride back to the cruise ship, most of us took a bit of a nap.

Got back to the cruise ship, and right behind us was Vik & family, all decided to meet at L’Edera just after 6pm, all dressed up for the semi-formal night!
Food at L’Edera was again a flop! Was not enjoying food in this alacarte restaurant!! Steaming mad

Dinner done, with not the best food but lots of drinks – the liquid diet was fun for the guys!

Headed to Tiger bar, apparently it was Horror night, the crew were dressed up in Halloween style attire!

Horror night dressup

There were a few photographers around to capture these moments, made the most of that, time for portraits..

Of course there had to be a boys pic…

us gang!

All done with photos! Now to head to another bar and try out at acting “Gallan goodiyaan” song. It was more of a comedy that followed, we had absolutely no planning or script, and as for music, we could hardly hear the song from the mobile phone speakers. Neha did her best to make us clowns look good in her vlogs! Sorry but no mater how much editing you did, the acting could not be improved!
Few more drinks followed taking us close to midnight. It was time to call it a night, tomorrow was Amsterdam!

Neha’s vlog

Posted in Belgium, Brussels, Cruise, North Europe | Leave a comment

Day 12–25th Sept Cruise time (Paris–La Havre)

Posted on October 24, 2018 by Dharmesh

It was d’day for the cruise, today we were transferring to La Havre port to board the MSC Magnifica on our 7 night cruise of the north seas. En route to La Havre, we had arranged for a quick stop at Versailles, to visit the Palace of Versailles. Our transport was picking us at 9:15am.

Early morning start for Nita and I, we wanted to get another load of laundry done, so first up I was off to Laundromat, whilst Nita was organising the luggage and getting girls ready. With the ship cabins being small, we decided to leave 3 pieces of luggages at the hotel, no need to carry excess stuff on the ship, Nita was sorting that out.

I made the most of being at the Laundromat, another morning run of espresso (standing at the bar with a few frenchmen), and some freshly baked almond croissants!! By the time I got back to the hotel, it was around 8:30am, as planned Nita and girls had finished their breakfast, now all that remained was finalising the luggage and heading down.
All downstairs with the luggage, it was then I first met Balia & family in this trip, and did I get a good rubbing, where had I been last night & early morning, why were the kids down for breaky alone and where were you two then – lots of good laughs!!

Ready for the cruise

Everyone had checked out of their rooms and excess bags stored in the secured storage area, now it was a wait for the transport, minutes ticked over and it was around 9:30am, still no sign and we were not able to call him – phone was not going through. Then just like that, the concierge brings this guy to us and checks if we were waiting for transport to La Havre – YES!!! So our driver who could NOT speak a word of English, was waiting in the lobby for what may have been a good 5-10 minutes for us!! Well atleast he was here, lets go, not yet, where was the mini BUS??? No where to be seen. Translating via the concierge, apparently the bus was too big to come in our street and it was on the main road, which was a couple of blocks away!! It was strange and we were like, look outside there are delivery trucks all around, surely you can come in. After some convincing, he agreed but we had to walk a bit further up the street, atleast it was only a minutes walk.
Turning the corner, we could not believe our eyes and finally understood why he was soo hesitant, this was not a mini bus but a COACH, with capacity for 50+ passengers!!! Damn we could fit all three of our soccer teams in here!!

Time to load the coach…

All loaded and in the coach, time to move. The driver was saying something in French which we had no idea, so all we could say is, “yes lets go ahead” and kept pointing in front. We had only moved one block when the bus stopped, the guy was pointing ahead, finally realised, No Entry ahead and a very sharp left turn into a small alley which the bus could not make nor enter the alley. Now what, the guy talking to us in french and a lot of hand signals, finally figured it out, we had to reverse the bus but for that we needed to stop the traffic behind it!

Doc and I got off the bus, and went behind the bus to stop the traffic, wow, in Paris and we were controlling traffic. A few drivers were giving us the look but no one actually got angry!

Short video footage of the drama

After about 15 minutes of traffic control we were finally through, time to get on board, high 5’s with the driver, time to head out Smile . This is one experience we will all remember for a very long time!

It was just over an hour before we reached Versailles, lots of coaches parked around – this was a major tourist stop! Had no idea how big this was!

The queues were massive to get in, it would be atleast a good hour before we got into the palace if we queued, unfortunately we did not have that much time! Made the most of the views we had from where we were…

Time to move, back on the bus and heading to La Havre.
With sign language Doc was able to tell the driver that we should stop over for food and washroom break when possible! Was amazing how we communicated with each other, he did not understand english and we had the same trouble with french, still somehow we managed!!

Lunch break was at a highway roadhouse with a McDonalds. Time to refuel all of us, good 45 minute break, than it was back on the bus.

Another 45 minutes of driving, it was about 3pm we got in at La Havre. He got to the port however was not able to find a way of getting to the wharf where the ship was docked!! The signage to the wharf was for cars or small trucks only, it had a height restriction – bus was too high Sad smile . After two attempts of finding an alternate way, he told us the only way was to walk to the ship!! We could see the ship, but it was still a good 20-30 minutes walk, plus we had our luggage!! More debating and in the end we had no choice but to start unloading. Tried to find an UBER – damn no UBER in La Havre, taxi’s – none around! Frustrated we were almost set to walk, when the driver came back to us and informed us he had found another way, reload into the coach!! Phew!

Went around the corner and into a street that came to a gate for the British ferry, ahhhh not our ship?? Ok so it was a wrong turn, but instead of making a 3 point turn to get the bus out of there, he decided to reverse again. So how do you reverse on to a round about, simple, you get Doc and Dharma to get off and stop the traffic Disappointed smile , it was traffic control duties again, a few minutes of holding off traffic at the round about and then we were on our way. Finally made the right turn and it was at the departure point for MSC cruises!!YAY we were there. This was a big ship, well big for us anyways! Unloaded our luggage and into the departure building – which really was a large shed! All checked in and luggage processed, went through the photo area to take our pics with the ship wheel and then a lot of selfies with the ship, everyone was excited to board!

The gang!

Boarding the ship was easy and painless, I guess we were boarding from a small port, the number of new guests were not many and hence there was no waiting and we were soon in our rooms getting settled. The cabins were nice, infact they were better than I expected and included a lot of storage. Nita unpacked most of the bags into the cupboards and hangers, this way we did not have to worry about opening the bags during the cruise!
Our dinner was booked at 6:45pm, so had a couple of hours to wonder the ship.
Whilst doing a bit of wondering, it was announced all new guests had to come with their life jackets to the theatre for the evacuation briefing.

Emergency drills

Briefing done, time to drop off life jackets back in the room and we met the gang for dinner at L’Edera (This was a a-la-carte style restaurant.) Seated on two big round 8 seaters, kids on one, adults on the other. Now to get the drinks flowing!! The drinks package we all had was brilliant, no need to look at prices etc, just order what we wanted and keep staying hydrated Winking smile . Whilst the drinks and wine were brilliant, the food was not the best, very bland Sad smile . For the adults it was not a massive problem but was an issue for our kids!
Decided to head to the buffet post dinner, it would have more variety for kids.

Post dinner we headed to the top deck, above the buffet restaurant. It was good timing, sun going down and the ship had just started moving – good opportunity for more pics…

Was getting very cold in the open, time to come down to the buffet, kids wanted some snacks.
It was then off to the evening show, a dance musical. Nice musical, now to level 13 indoor pool area, this place had a good bar and lots of seating, plus it was enclosed – very important in the cold weather!

But first we took advantage of the many photographers around the place, lets take some portraits…and we had not even changed!

Now to join in with the gang on level 13,
It was time for more drinks and cocktails.

Cocktail time

All sat around just going through the very eventful day, somehow with all the hiccups, we still made it to the cruise – wow!!
Around 11pm we decided to call it a night, tomorrow was the Belgium tour, we needed to be ready to go at 9am!

In the room, Pooja and Neha were super excited to be sleeping in their bunk beds. Pooja also found a small nook near the cabin window.

Pooja enjoying her private nook

Neha’s VLOG

Posted in Cruise, France, La Havre, North Europe, Paris | Leave a comment

Day 11 – 24th Sept Paris (Disneyland)

Posted on October 21, 2018 by Dharmesh

Today was not a sleepin for the girls, it was time for the favourite – DISNEYLAND!! My second visit, 1998 was my first! Nita was not coming with us today, she was not too keen on the theme parks and wanted to spend the day roaming about in Paris.

By 8.30am, we had all left the hotel for the subway – it was a cold morning – around 12 degrees. Tickets purchased, then to the platform to catch our direct train to Disney – so lucky we were staying next to the best train line! In ‘98, I remember having to change two trains to get to Disney.

Train journey was just over 45 minutes (Disney was the last stop on the line!), kids were super excited getting through the security gates of Disney! Walking through security, we could see the main entrance to the Disney park, on the other side was the entrance to Walt Disney Studios park, that we were doing later in the day, aim in the morning were to finish off most of the Disneyland thrill rides.

Through the gates and we were in the magical world of Disney, so true, this is the HAPPIEST PLACE!! Just love the Disney feel, am soo in love with the Disney Parks! Grabbed the park map and then it was time to attack the rides! We all agreed to split up, every family had different priorities, for us it was simply getting the major thrill rides done.

First the Hyperspace mountain – this is the old Space mountain, now renamed to align with Stars Wars! Lots of Star Wars themed attractions – love it!

The Hyperspace mountain was brilliant, flying in the dark dodging tie fighters! They have enhanced the space mountain coaster with Star Wars themes so well.

From here we went across to Adventure Land, where we ran into in with Vik and Dian, hung around with them for a few more rides.

The Indian Jones coaster was lots of fun. Next we decided to head to the Walt Disney Studio Park, time to finish the key rides there.

What a great entry, the Cars theme! Would have loved to spend more time here, but we only had one day to cover lots, time to quickly move to the rides…
Next ride was the Hollywood Tower of Terror, Pooja was sitting this out Sad smile .

Lots of screaming in this one, the 4 of us got the front row of the lifts !!! YAY!

Then it was the Nemo ride and Rock ‘n’ Roller coaster, a bit of roaming about and back to the Disneyland Park for a late lunch, finish off Big Thunder Mountain (final ride), and then some shopping for the girls!

Lunch was at Hakuna Matata, good food there, Pooja and Neha enjoyed it!

Roaming about the park, making our way to the Tea Cup ride, this was a simple but fun ride, still remember my baby Pooja having sooo much fun in this on at her first Disney in Hongkong.

It was then Star Wars shopping for me and kids!!

(Pooja’s new Star Wars jacket)

Star Wars shopping done, it was time to head out of the park – wanted to avoid the Parade, the rush post that would be big! On the way out, one last stop at the Disney Pandora to pick up a Disney themed charm!!

Then it was time to say good bye to Disney… messaged the others that we were out of the park (the others left after about an hour or so).

Got the train back, Pooja was super tired and nodded off on the way. Reaching back at the hotel, Pooja was too tired to head out again for dinner and was super happy chillin in the room, she was like, “just get me some takeaway”!. Nita, Neha & I headed out for dinner @ Bollynan Indian – it was in the same street as La Perla – this place had good reviews on yelp and google. The place was small, more geared towards takeaway! Got butter chicken, palak paneer, fish curry, naan & a Elachi Beer!

Food whilst not mind blowing was good. Discussing Nita’s day, she had been busy, roaming about Louvre museum and the mall underneath it & the Les Halles streets. For lunch it was Hippopotamus again, Nita was in love with their Chicken Burgers and mashed potatoes!

(Nita’s lunch @ Hippopotamus)

She was however most happy with the green detox juice she found at an organic shop near our hotel! (Yes this may be very healthy, but definitely not for me Sad smile )

(Nita’s green detox juice)

Dinner done, got a butter chicken and rice takeaway for Pooja and headed back. Stopped by a Gelato place for a dessert fix – yumm!!

Back at the hotel, Pooja enjoyed her butter chicken. Vik called me soon after, he was with Balia, Doc & family at Hippopotamus –wow that place was a hit amongst us. We were all too tired to head out again, time to get some sleep and start fresh tomorrow.
Last night in Paris before our cruise.

Neha’s Disney VLOG

Posted in France, Paris | Leave a comment

Day 10–23rd Sept Paris (Eiffel Tower @ Sunrise )

Posted on October 20, 2018 by Dharmesh

Early morning start, wanted to be at Trocadero before sunrise to capture Eiffel pics. Were up at 6am, and out of the hotel before 7am. Sunrise was at 7:30am, by the time we got to Trocadero, sun was just breaking the horizon, not that we could see that, it had been a wet night and morning, as a result a lot of cloud cover, atleast there was no rain for the time being. A big big bonus, the cranes that were there a couple of days back were now gone!! Woohoo!! I thought we may be the only crazy ones there this early, was surprised to see 2 brides there for photo shoots and many other photo shoots taking place!! We were not the only crazy ones to wake up early for this Smile .

Time to setup my tripod to snap away, creating memories to mark being in Paris after 20 years, last time we were both here was in Sept’98!

Trocadero done, ordered a UBER to Rue de Universite, the street with amazing views of Eiffel! Nita had identified the street through her instagram followings. The weather was playing games with us, light drizzle than stopped and than start again…. somehow we got lucky with a few pics.

Back to the hotel, it was past 9am by the time we got there, Neha & Pooja were still asleep, time for them to get up and get ready for breakfast. Plan now was to get to Galleries Lafayette – a massive department store in Paris, similar to Selfridges but bigger.

Asking the concierge for directions, he recommended the easiest and fastest way was the subway which was just opposite our hotel. Headed that way, first the tickets and then a bit of walk to get to the correct platform. Unlike London, subway stations here are not as clean – well it looked clean but smelled bad, smell of urine!! Also a few homeless people sleeping on the benches. Pooja was definitely not enjoying this and wanted to get out asap. Luckily the train came in the next minute and we were in that. The trains here were bigger but again not as clean. Got to our stop in no time, and were at the entrance to Galleries Lafayette – concierge was correct, this was soo efficient. Time to enter shoppers paradise!

Nita and Neha were having a ball at Galleries Lafayette – lots of ladies stuff there, me and Pooja were looking around, to be honest I was a bit over the place, there was only soo much window shopping I could do. Pooja located a Macaroons counter, why not, lets get that in us.

Roaming about in the mens department, we ran into Vik & Dian, decided to all visit Angelina – a famous dessert place. They had a store in Galleries Lafayette! Vik also mentioned the amazing views from the top level, you could see Eiffel tower. Me and Pooja headed there, Nita had already been there….

Next was Angelina, the entry counter had the best cakes and macaroons …

Got seated, ordered a club sandwich, couple of cakes and chocolate drinks for all. Apparently their hot chocolates is supposed to be the best, ladies skipped their mocha’s and also got hot chocolates. Drinks and food came soon, whilst the food was good, the drinks were all below par! Infact it was not worth drinking, all the hot chocolates and ice chocolates remained untouched. The chocolate tasted as if it had been watered down!!
Told the wait staff how very disappointed we were with the chocolate drinks, they were gracious enough to take this off our bill.
Time to head back to the hotel, stepping out, the rain was heavy!! Quickly got into the waiting cabs and off we went. Me and Vik decided to have an early dinner, it was just past 4pm, and since we all had skipped lunch, early dinner was looking like a good option.

We headed back to La Perla italian near our hotel, we had such an amazing experience on the first night, we were ready for a second round! Nita, Meeta, Vik and I all ordered the same dish – Gamberi Pesto Prawns – the best dish!! Kids had a mix of pasta and pizza, finished it off with a nice Tiramisu.

Markus at La Perla must have enjoyed us visiting him again, he gave us all a round of Limoncello shots! This is the best drink I have had in a while, soo refreshing!!

By 6pm, we were all done and there was still soo much daylight. Kids were all more than happy to get to the hotel by themselves, the four of us took off for a stroll along the market street.

Stopped by a cafe for some espresso and more chit chat.

We may have been there for more than 30 minutes just chatting, than it was time to head back to the hotel. Time for an early night, tomorrow was an early start heading to Disneyland Paris!

Neha’s vlog

Posted in France, Paris | Leave a comment

Day 9–22nd Sept Paris Sights

Posted on October 20, 2018 by Dharmesh

Early start today for the guys, we had to pickup our orphaned clothes in the dryer at the Laundromat!! Three of us got there at 7am, were glad to see our clothes still there, phew!!
On the way back, stopped over for morning Espresso at the cafe opposite our hotel. Saw some guys having espresso at the bar, decided to do that! Nice espresso and very reasonable, only 1.10 euro each!

All downed this quickly, time for another round, this time we decided to take a seat, the same espresso was now 2.20 euro each?? Asking the guy why, turns out, if you stand and drink at the bar, it is cheaper, the additional cost to cover table costs – something new to learn. Decided to seat outside Parisian style, facing out! Espresso and cold weather – perfect combination!!

Back at the hotel, time to get the kids ready and down for breakfast.
The plan today was to walk to the Latin Quarter (across the Seine river), and make our way to Notre Dame. From there it was a free day for everyone to do whatever.

Breakfast done, we all hit the road, first stop the Pont Neuf bridge.

Over the bridge, lots of narrow streets and alleyways to Latin Quarter….

A bit more walking, it seemed we were in the Latin Quarter, nothing to different it, all the Parisian streets were soo picturesque, more walking and came across a Starbucks – breaktime….. kids for some reason really love Starbucks!!!

A bit of shopping on the way, Doc ducked into Levis, whilst Neha & Nita headed for Promod. Also good chance for kids to take a break from continuous walking!

Break done, time to herd the group forward towards Notre Dame. And was this a magnificent cathedral.

Being a weekend the queue to get inside was super long, even though it was moving fast, I decided to skip it – Pooja had been complaining today on how tired she was and I did not want to be going inside when it was soo packed, was taking a rain check on this one, will do it post the cruise!

We parted with the others and headed to the Hotel – only a 10 min walk from here. At the hotel, got Pooja/Neha some McDonalds, Pooja was more than happy to stay at the hotel for the afternoon – she was done with walking today !!!

Small break for us, then me, Nita & Neha headed out again. First stop – Jardin du Palais Royal, place where a scene from MI6 was recorded, with Tom Cruise walking through the gardens, we wanted to see that park! Quick UBER there…and it was time for lot of pics..

Weather was not holding up too well, it was grizzling, took cover and headed out to Champs Elysees, Vik had recommended the Abercrombie & Fitch store, not for the shopping but more the entry and its setup!

Found the Abercrombie & Fitch store with the help of Google maps, it actually did not look like a shop from the outside, big gates with nicely manicured hedges surrounding a curved path….. more looked like a resort entry!

The place is amazing and well setup, browsed around in the store a bit. Time to head out, Doc had recommended the Four Seasons Hotel high tea, we wanted to try that, messaged everyone that we were heading there so they could join us if in the area. Next stop Four Seasons, was a 10 minute walk! Walking in Paris is so so recommended, you get to see some amazing architecture, buildings and streets, every direction is something to admire!

The Four Seasons Hotel is just another big 5 star from the outside, however step inside and wow! Browsed around and of course visited their toilets – outstanding facilities Winking smile !. Got to the High tea area and inquired about it at the counter, unfortunately it was not meant to be, place was fully booked Sad smile . They did suggest the bar/lounge area near by, where we could have coffees/tea if we like. Took that offer and were seated in the last remaining bar chairs! Informed the gang through whatsapp, no chance of high tea today. Ordered an espresso, Nita got herself a Tea and Neha got the hot chocolate.

Wow, what a hot chocolate, was like drinking melted chocolate …. yummm! Tea break done, now to head out to Champs Elysees again.
Passed the Louis Vuitton store, big queue of people wanting to get in, kept on walking, no need to queue up here Winking smile .

To our left was the Arc de Triomphe, I asked Nita if she was game to climb the 200+ steps to get to the top, she was a big YES, whilst Neha was a big NO, unfortunately Neha had no choice but to follow us!!
Got to the other side of Champs Elysees to take the subway to the Arc entry. Getting to the top requires purchasing a ticket, line to which was not too bad and was moving rapidly. Tickets purchased, up the stairs to the security checks and then it was onto the spiral stairways leading up….

The climb was not too bad, we kept urging each other to keep going and before we knew it, we were at the top for the most amazing views of Paris and Eiffel!

We were blessed with good weather, after about 30 minutes on top, it started grizzling again, time to head down. Walked around the Arc and then it was back to Champs Elysees.

Bit of ladies window shopping to be done, than it was back to the hotel. Thought Pooja would be worried where we had been, nothing of that sort!! It was “ohh you back so early…” !!! It was after 8pm!! It was time for dinner, decided on Hippopotamus – a steak house that apparently had amazing burgers and ribs – Vik visited this place earlier that night and was telling me how I would love their pork ribs and Mojito!

I ordered the Mojito & Pork ribs, Nita and Neha settled on Chicken Burger and Pooja was happy with the roast chicken. The Ribs and the sauce were – OMG!! If you like pork ribs, you have to try this. Chicken burgers I am told were also great!

(Porks ribs – before and after!)

Called it a night, tomorrow Nita and I planned on going to Eiffel at sunrise for some morning pics, Neha & Pooja needed their beauty sleep Winking smile .

Neha’s vlog

Posted in France, Paris | Leave a comment

Day 8–21st Sept Paris (Hop On Hop Off bus & sights)

Posted on October 18, 2018 by Dharmesh

First morning in Paris, today’s plan was to get on the Hop On Hop Off bus and cover most of the sights. First to breaky, the spread at Novotel was nice, not the best but better than Holiday Inn London. My favourite was the French Madeleine cakes, they were sooo good!! If you are in France, you so need to try that!
They did not have an omelette station, however the staff were happy to get us the poached eggs we wanted – nice service!

Back in the room post breakfast, kids had jumped out of our windows which led to an open courtyard overlooking a giant poster of Paris!! Wow, this was cool.

The courtyard was connecting all our three rooms, soon everyone was out there rooms on to the courtyard, kids were loving it. If photographed at the correct angle the giant poster could be used as a great backdrop that could convince viewers to believe this was the real view. Whilst there, we called back home talking to mum and Neha wanted to show the backdrop to Bhavik kaka (my bro), we said to him look at our amazing view, and seriously for a few seconds he believed it that we were having such an amazing view!! It was not until I had zoomed out and shown him the surroundings that he realised it was just a poster!!

Enough of mucking around in the courtyard, time to head down to the reception, where we purchased the tickets to the hop-on-hop-off bus. Our nearest station was the Louvre museum, a 10-15 minute walk. Time to hit the streets of Paris herding our group of 12!

We arrived at Louvre sooner than we thought, the place was amazing, more opportunities for everyone to take more pics …. unfortunately I forgot to reset my Camera’s ISO to auto, (last night I had it on a very high setting for some night pics) and thanks to that a lot of my days pics turned out very grainy and not sharp at all Sad smile . My girls (all of them) were not too impressed with me!

Enough pics, finally managed to move everyone to the bus stop, bus was already there and was leaving in 10 minutes, got on it and were lucky to get good seats on top.

Had decided earlier to not get off at any sights and wanted to see what was around, and in the second loop we would get off, unfortunately not the best move, this tour was taking a while to make one loop, let alone the second!! Got off at a stop post Eiffel, saw Laduree and it was time for Macaroons!!

A walk around the place to see if we could find a cafe for lunch, unfortunately not much there, time to get back on the bus and get off at Champs Elysees. A bit of walking about looking for a good place to eat, settled on Roma Pizza!
Everyone was in need of some refueling, a few Pizzas and Pastas were ordered to be shared!

Food was very nice, we were soo hungry no one really had a chance to snap more pics of the food!! Post lunch, we all decided to hang around in Champs Elysees till around 4 pm (giving us close to 1.5 hours here), then we would catch the bus and go to Trocadero for some Eiffel Pics. All the families went in separate directions, lots to see around the place.
Walking around Pooja spotted Haagen Dazs ice cream, could not say no to that.

Back on the bus, we headed to Trocadero, and the view from there is simply amazing!!

On the sides, located a statue which would make an interesting pic, Dian was more than happy to model the way I wanted!!!

We headed across for some coffee, Paris style, seating outside facing the streets!

Whilst the espressos were great, the Mocha and Lattes were no where as good as what we get back home in Brisbane! I reckon Australia has the of best coffees in the world! Break done, back on the bus heading to Louvre, and then a short walk to our hotel, it had been a long day!

At the hotel, bit of a refresh then all decided to do a Laundry run and then head to dinner – the concierge recommended a French place which was very close to the Laundromat. Was funny, the entire group of 12 entered the Laundromat and took us a bit to work out how to use the machines which had instructions all in French! Washing started, now to head out for dinner.

Got to the French restaurant, place looked great and was packed!! We were not lucky for space, it was Friday night, we decided to atleast book for tomorrow. Whilst Doc was doing the booking, Tina browsed through the menu and not being too impressed, asked Meeta to also review it. Turns out the place had Frogs leg, Snails and lots of interesting varieties that honestly we were all not too keen on, other than Vik, all backed out, cancelled the booking and headed out to a nearby Thai place. All settled in and ladies ordered. Whilst they were ordering, me, Vik & Doc, headed back to the Laundry to start the dryers! By the time we got back food was already on the table, and was it good!! Very good Thai food indeed.

Dinner done, ladies took the kids back to the hotel, and us guys were back to the Laundromat to collect our dry clothes. Reaching there, the door was locked!! Oh oH! The place closes at 10pm, and it was 10:10pm, doh!, we just missed it. Nothing much could be done now, we simply had to get here tomorrow morning @ 7am to collect our laundry! Ladies were shocked to hear that, kids nighties were in the dryer!! Well time to improvise!

Put the kids to bed, then adults all headed out to Faust, the night club from Befikre movie. Stepping outside, it was cold, about 12 degrees now, noticed a 6 seater taxi, hailed him and we were off to the Pont Alexandre III bridge, under which Faust was located.

Getting there, we walked down to the lower area next to the Seine river. Amazing views to the bridge.

First stop was the Flow bar, a floating club/bar on Seine. Time for some red wine and enjoy the Paris night!

Hung around there for a few drinks, however the falling temperature was not helping! Next stop was Faust, only a short walk from Flow, unlike the movies, the club was not outdoors, I guess that would be a summer thing! Stayed there for a bit.

It was getting late, called it a night, out of there, Up the stairs to the roads, and no taxis!! I called an Uber VAN, which luckily was only 3 minutes away! Doc and Vik had never used Uber before that and this was their first exposure to it. Got them to set it up, we would be needing a lot of Uber in Paris! Our Uber VAN come on time and we were off to the hotel. It had been a great day and tomorrow morning we had to be up early to get our clothes from the Laundromat Dryer!

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Day 7–20th Sept (London to Paris via Eurostar)

Posted on October 17, 2018 by Dharmesh

Early day for all, leaving for Paris via Eurostar train, kids were super excited about taking a train going under the ocean bed…. to an extent, I was just as excited Winking smile . Our transfers to the train station were arriving at the hotel at 9:15am.

Early morning breaky than all were down with their luggage by 9am. Check out all done and now it was waiting for our transfers. The first van arrived on time, however then it was a looooong wait, apparently there had been an accident which was causing a lot of grief in coming to the hotel. Our train was at 11:30, and we had to be at the station checkin one hour ahead! Clock was ticking, around 9:50, the other driver called and said he was just around the corner. Decided to send one van ahead to atleast get some of the luggage sorted and find the right place. Meeta, Tina and the kids went in the first van. It was about 10am when the other van finally arrived, quick loading of the vans and then it was out of there. It was a good 30 minutes drive time! En route to the station, we were discussing how to get quickly into checkin without missing our 1 hour closing window, problem we had were the number of luggages, we all had about two bags each per person to wheel!! Decided as soon as we arrive, Doc would take all the passports along with Nita and Meeta and the young kiddies to the check-in to commence the process, whilst we would all somehow try and get the luggage from the kerbside to the checkin counters. We did not want to miss the train!

Arriving at the station at just past 10:30am, as planned Doc, Meeta and Nita went for the checkin counters, and we were literally all at the kerbside with around 20 pieces of luggage! And there were no trolleys! What is this place, no trolleys!! What next, left two persons out on the kerbside with the luggage, Me, Tina, Prashil, Neha took as many bags inside the terminal close to the queues – which were looong. Time to leave Neha with the bags inside the terminal, and all of the rest ran out to get the next set of bags. About three rounds and we were all done. Next problem, the checkin line was moving very rapidly, which was good, however we were being asked to go in the queue with the bags – how are we supposed to move these many bags in a queue without trolleys, and by this time Doc, Nita & Meeta were almost at the check-in counters. Lady at check in counter was understanding, and informed Doc not to worry about the 1 hour early checkin, we still had a lot of time but had to get the bags through. Nita and Meeta came near the side where we were with the bags (we were outside the checkin area and outside the queues), telling us to pass the bags under the ropes that divided us and the checkin area. Customer service lady next to us was not impressed and said you cannot do that and we had to take the bags through the queues …she just was not getting it that we could not carry it amongst us few, as the others were already at the checkin. Tina got very frustrated and there was some heated exchanges between her and the customer service rep. Whilst the heated exchange was occurring between them, we started quickly sliding bags under the ropes to Nita and Meeta, in less than a minute all bags were at the check in counter and we all slipped into the checkin area – am glad Tina kept the other lady busy!

The checkin area was unlike planes, all they did was take our tickets and now we had to move with our baggage through to immigration!! Time for each family to take their own bags, me and Nita took 2 each, leaving Neha and Pooja with one hand luggage each, the same was done by others. Slowly making our way through to security screening, then through to UK departure immigration and then another set of immigration counters welcoming us to EU!!! Wow we were officially in EU, even though we were still at he London terminal Winking smile . Immigration cleared, now waiting in the busy waiting area for the doors to open to allow us to get on the platform, around 11:05am doors opened and then it was a lot of people getting onto the terminal. The train itself was very loooooooong!! Had not anticipated that Sad smile . Our tickets were for carriage 10, and we were currently at 20 (I think or thereabouts), each carriage was long so a bit of a walk. Finally got to our carriage, now to load all the bags, Doc, Vik and I made a human chain, Doc was on the platform passing bags to Vik, Vik was passing these to me, I was stacking them in the luggage area in our carriage. All luggage in, we were finally all aboard. It was only another 10 minutes and the train was moving!!! Wow what a morning it had been, a bit crazy but atleast we were all on the train and Paris was the next stop.

Time to get some much needed refreshments for all!

Guys settled for beers, ladies were into their sweet wines, and hot chocolates for kids, accompanied by lots of nuts, crackers and chips, that was the best we could do for food there! Then it was a chance for all to nod off for a bit.

Some interesting stats….

Out of the tunnel it was still a while before the train arrived at its Paris stop. About 2pm we arrived, then it was unloading the baggage and walking to the arrivals area to look for our transport. Doc had organised for transport on the way to Harry Potter yesterday – am soo glad it was done, this would have been a nightmare to find transport for this many people at the station, especially with all the luggage!

Located our drivers, off to the VANs and onward to our hotel – Novotel Les Halles. To be very honest, the drive from the station to the Hotel did not pass any nice landmarks. Infact the place did not look that appealing ….hmmm hoping it would get better! Arrived at our hotel, phew this place was nice, outside were a few cafes all with chairs facing to the streets – so European!! Only see that in Hastings St back home! It was everywhere here.
The hotel was better and bigger than the Holiday Inn London. Rooms all allocated, we were next to each other on the first floor! Rooms were a decent size, nothing to complain. It was already past 4pm, time for us to get a late lunch / early dinner, everyone was hungry.
The concierge recommended we head to La Perla, an Italian place just around the corner, he was good enough to call ahead and book the place for us – awesome service!
All out on the sunny cold day, yay…. we were in Paris!

Small walk through a park, passing a massive shopping centre which did not rise up but rather go into the ground?? Further up, the narrow cobblestone streets were lined with food outlets, and cafes, what a place this was! Reaching the street where La Perla was – wow, this was like a market street, something I would have seen in movies or as a postcard – I am so in love with this place. I do not think my pic does justice to this street.

Located La Perla and informed him Felix from Novotel had called! They organised our table of 12, first some drinks, and boy was it a big cocktail that came!!

Ordered a variety of Pasta and Pizza. For us 6, we ordered our pasta/risotto with extra chilli and garlic, boy did they know how to add that! This was one of the best Pesto Prawn Pasta I have had. Nita has the Salmon risotto, again just amazing.

food pics with a view!

It was a hearty meal, kids and adults all had a good feed. Since we still had sunlight remaining, we decided to head to Eiffel tower. First back to the hotel, Doc still had to get his room, and then we all headed to Eiffel.

(Outside the hotel waiting for our taxi to Eiffel)

On the way there, the first glimpse of Eiffel was wow!!! Neha and Pooja were OMG, this is so pretty! Finally @ Eiffel, the place was busy, well was expecting that!

(an sometimes it is too hard….love Pooja’s ability to make faces)

Lots of pics being taken by all, we must have spent a good hour there. Time to move on, Doc suggested we take the tuk tuk to Champs Elysees! Hired two, ladies in one, men in the other, kids were shared!!

We got off near Arc De Triump, at the top end of Champs Elysees. I remember this place from the prior Dec visit, was super cold and brightly lit with xmas lights, was not the same this time. Still the place looked amazing!

For dessert we headed to the Laduree, found a table for 12, time to try some of their cakes – disappointment!! they had run out of most of their best sellers Sad smile . Only a couple of options to choose from, ordered a couple of varieties and drinks for all. Me and Vik settled on Beer – the place inside was warm and we needed a good drink! Dessert was good, kids enjoyed their hot chocolates!

Time to call it a night, now to find a taxi, for some reason there were NONE that were free, all of them were occupied!! I wanted to call UBER but the other guys did not have so that was out of the question, all had to stick together (it was our first nite here). A few more minutes, the ladies hailed a people mover VAN, asked him if he could order another one as we were 12, and the best response he gave, I will take you all, but at a price which was quite high! Then some negotiations and finally we agreed on a number. Time to load 12 people in the 8 seater!!! Somehow we did manage and infact it was not too bad, these Mercedes VANS are quite big. Drive to the hotel was interesting, all along the driver kept going on about how he hated UBER and his level of service was so good and he was all about customer service etc. A lot of one way communications…….. me and Vik were seating in the front, am glad Vik was in the middle ;). Finally all at the hotel, a few more laughs about our ride back, and the day overall, it had been a very crazy & stressful morning, but the afternoon in Paris had been nothing short of amazing!! Two extremes – we were all tired. Tomorrow was not a sleepin day, we were doing the hop on hop off bus!

(Neha’s vlog)

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Day 6–19th September London (Harry Potter Studio Tour)

Posted on October 16, 2018 by Dharmesh

Not much to cover today, first to catch the changing of the guard at 10am and then Doc’s family, me, Pooja & Neha were heading to the Harry Potter Studio Tour. Vik’s family and Nita were not interested in that one.

Neha & Pooja were up early today, very excited for Harry Potter Studio visit. Wish it was always like this! Breakfast done, we were out of the hotel by 9:20am. First up, to the changing of the Guards at Buckingham Palace, only a short walk through Green park.

Passing through the park, we noticed lots of arm chairs to relax on the lawns whilst catching some sun. Even though it was overcast, me & Vik had to showcase that!

Moving on in the park, we passed a couple of British cops, who were more than happy to take a pic with the kids.

Arriving at Buckingham Palace, the place was PACKED!!! Not much chance of getting close to see the changing of the guards ceremony. About the same time the guards on horseback were coming by, atleast we got to see them close by.

And a couple of jumping shots……

At this point we all decided to split up now, we were heading to Selfridges, decided to do lunch there today. Walking back through Green Park, the fall leaves were providing a great backdrop for more pics!!

Took the tube from Green Park to Oxford Circus, add a short walk and we were at Selfridges. Ladies did a bit more browsing around and then it was time for lunch, to the Selfridges food court (on level 4). Settled for the Asian variety, food was very good indeed. Recommend this place for lunch.

Around 1.30pm, we made our way out, grabbed a Taxi and were back at the hotel. At 2pm met up with Doc & family at the foyer, headed out together for Harry Potter Studio tour, each way was approx 1 hour, had to factor that in to our 4pm start time. First up, tube from Green Park to Euston, then the above ground rail to Watford Junction where we were taking the Harry Potter Shuttle.

Finally at Harry Potter Studios,

Pooja was super excited, quickly through the gates and then it was hearing the ooohhhhs & aaahhhs from Pooja!!

The entry was the best, we were taken into a room to be shown a shot video, then into a small theatre to watch on a big screen some behind the scenes footages etc. The last shot was of the giant door way. Then the white projection screen is lifted and you are looking at the projected door but now it is really there.

Through this door our tour starts and the first room is the Hogwarts hall.

Finally onto the famous train platform.

Finished earlier than expected. It was a very good studio tour but they did lack a couple of rides or simulations! Would I visit this again – NO! Did the kids enjoy it – YES, would they come again – NO Sad smile .
Headed back and organised evening dinner at Wahaca Mexican at Covent Gardens. All left the hotel around 8.15pm. Vik had also invited Nilesh lamba to come by there. Was a good nite with a lot of good food and a lot of laughter. Lots of world cup chatter!

Called it a night, this was our final night in London, tomorrow we were heading to Paris via Eurostar.

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Day 5 – 18th Sept London (Harrods Fish n Chips, Lion King Theatre)

Posted on October 14, 2018 by Dharmesh

A free morning for all families till late afternoon, when we were all going to see the Lion King show at 7pm, till then everyone was free to roam about.

Our plan was to head to Selfridges on Oxford St, Nita & Neha wanted to do that, whilst I had to take Pooja to the K-pop store again (Seoul Bakery), unfortunately yesterday she lost her newly purchased BTS keychain and all her joy had turned sour, she had been in tears all afternoon Sad smile .

With the free morning today, I wanted to take some early morning pics around Westminster, especially the London Eye & Palace of Westminster. Me and Nita headed out early whilst the kids were still sleeping (chance for them to catchup on some much needed sleep, lots of walking and early starts had them tired), just one station from Green Park and we were in Westminster just before 7 am– so LOVE the London tube system.
A cloudy day, so no morning sun rays Sad smile , nevertheless, a good day, and a chance for some pics.

Back at the hotel, kids were still asleep, time to wake up all!! Quick breaky and we were out on the streets just before 11am. Neha & Pooja were not complaining today, they had a good sleepin! First stop – Selfridges on Oxford St, only a 14 minute walk from the hotel.

At Oxford St, we split up, Pooja and I headed to Seoul Bakery (K-pop) to get a replacement key chain that she had lost yesterday, Nita and Neha browsed about on Oxford St, slowly making their way to Selfridges.
A visit to K-pop store is not complete with just one purchase, she had to get a few more goodies! All done, made her promise that was her last K-pop shopping in London! Am glad she agreed to it!

Walk to Selfridges seemed never ending Sad smile , finally we were there, caught up with Nita & Neha. Was so surprised by the size of this place, it was another Harrods! The food hall was a must with the yummy cakes/pastries, good stop for Pooja.

The sweet treats was just a small piece of the food hall! There was a gourmet area for fresh meats, seafood & cheeses, a Caviar & Champagne Bar, Raman bar, and it continued. It was wow! Now to roam about the place, Pooja and I spent a lot of time at the Electronics department, just browsing through all the cool tech.

(Pooja was very interested in this games chair!)

(Ferrari history book, encased in an actual Ferrari alloy engine case – only 4,500 GBP)

Caught up with Vikash & family at Selfridges for lunch, turned out the food court (different to the food hall), was not as enticing as Harrods, both decided to head to Harrods and try their famous fish n chips! Off to Harrods in the famous London black Taxi’s. I had not realised how spacy these Taxi’s were!!

The Harrods food hall was busy, for Fish n Chips, it was close to impossible to get the 8 seated together, decided to sit 4 & 4 as that was quicker, got seated in around 20 minutes. Time to order some Fish n Chips!

We ordered the Fish n Chips and Neha’s favourite – Calamari with baby octopus. To round it off, I got the Harrod 1849 Lager! Food was excellent, Beer was good but not something I am longing for. Good lunch session, a bit more roaming about and then it was back to the hotel, to rest up and get ready for the Lion King show.

Around 6pm we all left the hotel for the Lion King show @ Lyceum Theatre, down to the tube to get off at Covent Garden.
Covent Garden itself is such a gem of a place, very different to other places, cobble stone streets, small shops markets style – it just had a different feel to it.

Approaching Lyceum Theatre, we could see the big Lion King signage and the large crowds gathered at the entry. Got our prepaid tickets, herded the group of 12 through the gates to the Royal Circle. Wow, this was a nice theatre, good decor and large!! We had good seats, getting a centre view of the stage.

Only issue with the place was it was warm!! This problem was present at a lot of places in London, with the weather being COLD outside, it was abnormally warm indoors at most places, rather than just slightly warm. It is a bit crazy, you get all rugged up to go outside and as soon as you go indoors you need to rip all your layers off!!! A first world problem Winking smile .

Show started on time @ 7:30, the play, cast, scenes props & sight n sound were amazing, however it felt a bit long, especially for the ones who did not follow Lion King too much. Still me, Neha and Pooja had a great time!

Next we all headed to Dishoom Indian restaurant at Covent Gardens, a very famous Indian streetfood style chain of restaurants. Got there around 9.50pm, and the place was packed! Table for 12 was hard, however they were able to arrange one table of 8 and one of 4. It was almost 10pm, we were not arguing, Doc & Vikash went on the 8 table (downstairs), we were on the table of 4 upstairs!

The wait staff provided some recommendations, we decided to go with, the famous butter chicken, paneer tikka masala, Dishoom’s famous black dhal, Okra fries and the standard naan and rice.
Dishes arrived very quickly which was great, everyone was starving! Taste wise, the okra fries were brilliant, as were the naan, the curries I was not so sure of and the super famous black dhal was a bit of a let down! Was I impressed by the food – not really, was expecting something amazing however it was not to be, maybe it was eating at Bombay Bustle that set my expectations too high ???

Our dinner was done, Vik & Doc were still going, we decided to head back to the hotel, checked google maps and it was only a 15 minute walk, time to stroll back, good chance for kids to see London at night. Walked thru Leicester Square & Piccadilly Circus, it was good walk showing some a different view of London at night.

It had been a good day, tomorrow was viewing of the change of guards and then off to Harry Potter Studio Tour.

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Day 4 – 17th Sept, London (Madame Tussauds & London Eye)

Posted on October 8, 2018 by Dharmesh

Today was a visit to the Madame Tussauds, me and Nita had visited this place in 1998! Our third visit to a Madame Tussauds and the kids second visit. We were booked for the 10am session.
Early start for the group, took the tube from Green Park to the Baker St station. Madame Tussauds is directly next to Baker St, infact the stations has signage indicating which way to go for Madame Tussauds.

We got there by 9:30am, hoping to get in early… only to be disappointed, the place did not open till 10am!! Well time to wait outside, atleast we were first in the queue.

At just after 10, we were let in, it was good to be in first, we got a few minutes with the bollywood stars before the wave of other bollywood fans arrived. And then there were lots of pics…..

Turns out Pooja was in most shots, she was super active with getting her pics taken whilst Neha was busy vlogging it all.
Madame Tussauds completed, next group meetup was at 3:30 pm at the London Eye, till then everyone was free to do whatever they liked.

First stop for us was the Seoul Bakey @ Russell St. Pooja is a big fan of K-pop, and had researched this place as selling k-pop memorabilia!!
Took the tube to Bond St, than switched to the Central line to get off at the Tottenham Court Road, a few minutes walk and we were at the Seoul Bakery. The place looked like just any small Korean cafe, asking the staff there about K-pop store, and they led us down to the lower level store which was essentially a locked room. They opened the room and left Pooja in there, she was free to go through it all and pick what she wanted! Was super impressed with their trust that fans will not steal!

Pooja picked up some key rings, posters and ofcourse she had to get a BTS album. That done and all paid for, with a very happy Pooja, we headed to Oxford Circus via the Tube.

There the first stop was to get some lunch, we turned into Argyll St, which is a pedestrian walking only street and settled for Italian at Bella Italia.

Food here was amazing and very filling, we ordered two pasta dishes and one Pizza, all very very good! By the time we finished lunch, there was not much time to look around Oxford St, time to head back down to the tube and get to our London Eye session at 3:30pm.

Vikash & Doc were already they with the family, we just made it and all boarded the same cabin.

The London Eye does go high and provides some amazing views over London. Would I do it again, not really, I am not a great fan of such attractions so this was not to my taste. A full circle done in 30 minutes, we were down again, time to head back to the hotel.

Doc was dining out with his family in London tonight, me and Vikash decided to head out to Harrods for afternoon Tea after dropping kids off at Hotel. Told them to order Room Service!

The Hotel concierge suggested we take a Taxi rather than the underground, it was much faster and about the same cost as we were 4. Time to hop into a London Taxi!

We arrived at Harrods in no time, if you are leaving in the Mayfair area, definitely take a Taxi to Harrods, much easier than all the walking involved with the Tube.

Headed to the Harrods tea rooms on Level 4, the place is something!

We ordered coffees, couple of cakes and scones for all. It was nice afternoon tea session. Seating there enjoying the atmosphere, we started planning the evening, Nita suggested an Indian restaurant that was recently visited by Sonam Kapoor, me and Vik were – lets do it! Made a reservation for 4 (no kids!!) for 8:30 pm @ Bombay Bustle, and a plus, it was located in Mayfair not too far from the hotel!

Back at the hotel, we sorted the kids dinner, room service, which they were very happy with, none of them wanted to go out!! Dian and Aaria were in our room, kids were all having lots of fun.

A quick 20 min walk got us to our destination, Bombay Bustle. It did not look much from the outside, however once we entered, the place was busy! It was themed like a train carriage, we could not see many spare tables.

We informed the front desk of our booking, they took us downstairs!, and wow it was grand!!

Downstairs we were give the lounge table, with nice sofas! Apparently this was the same table Sonam Kapoor and her party came to.
Time to order some food, ordered a few varieties recommended by wait person, who was amazing.

Food was amazing and delicious!!! As was the dessert khulfi!
Wow, what a way to end the night, Bombay Bustle restaurant is highly highly recommended.