Charles Negre Photography Museum

During the first week of our housesit in Nice we visited the Photography Museum conveniently situated alongside the Flower Market on Cours Saleya.

Back in Nice with Petra & "the Girls"

The past week has flown by. We arrived in Nice the evening of April 17, reconnected with homeowners Katherine and Paul on the 18th and officially began our housesit with Petra and "the girls" the following day. It's hard to believe today marks the end of the first of our three weeks here, but oh, what a week it's been!

Paris to Nice Via SNCF Train

Mid day on Tuesday, April 17 we took a city bus from our Airbnb flat to the Gare de Lyon to catch the 14:11 train that would take us to Nice. 

The Louvre

Our final day in Paris we toured the Louvre the world's largest and most visited museum. It receives 15,000 visitors per day, 70% of whom are foreign tourists.

Paris Landmarks by Foot & Via BigBus Tours

Day five in Paris we took the BigBus red and blue line tours and much to our surprise spent about four hours total on both buses. It was certainly a good value (tickets cost €36.00/person) and the audio commentary provided just enough facts to provide some history and insight without being overwhelming.

Notre Dame

After touring Saint Chapelle on day four of our stay in Paris we strolled a few streets further to see Notre Dame.

Saint Chapelle

Our fourth day in Paris we walked from our flat on the left bank to Île de la Cité one of two remaining natural islands in the Seine within the city of Paris. It is here where the medieval city was founded and home to  Saint Chapelle.

Musee de l'Orangerie

The Musee de l'Orangerie is situated on the right bank and surrounded by the Tuileries Gardens.

Eiffel Tower & the Jules Verne Restaurant

It goes without saying that the Eiffel Tower is on everyone's list while visiting Paris. We had no idea of the many options available to us, but upon learning one can dine in a Michelin restaurant on the second level AND it includes a private elevator ride we booked a table two full months in advance of our arrival.

Musee d'Orsay

The Musee d'Orsay is housed in the former Orsay railway station that was built for the Universal Exhibition of 1900. 

London to Paris on the Chunnel

We arrived in Paris via Eurostar train 6022 from London on Tuesday afternoon - just one day later than originally planned so while the rotating French rail and air strike did affect us, it wasn't all that traumatic. One might even say it added to the story of our latest adventure. 

London's Guildhall Art Gallery

Travel itineraries are rarely carved in stone and today is a perfect example of that. Since early January we've had tickets for the Eurostar (chunnel train) from London St. Pancras to Paris Gare du Nord. Due to the rotating French rail and air strikes that began last week and continue through June, however, our train was cancelled. So, what's a couple to do? Re-book and make the best of it, of course, and this morning John suggested we visit the Guildhall Art Gallery.

Winchester Revisited

We first housesat for homeowners Lisa-Jane and John in April 2015 and when the opportunity arose for us to spend additional time in Winchester with Poppy we happily packed our bags. Sadly, today is our final day with this lovely girl, but we're SO grateful for our time with her.

Oxford Revisited

January 2016 we spent a week in Oxford and enjoyed it so much we hoped one day to return. Seeing as we had a few free days between our Marlow and Winchester housesits and Oxford was within an hour's train ride we made good on that goal and stayed three nights last week in the Malmaison - a former prison turned hotel.

Marlow

We spent ten days in mid-March in Marlow, Buckinghamshire with Jasper, Mew and Purr. These three adorable fur babies belong to Claire and David whom we had the pleasure of meeting four years ago during our first UK housesit.