Sweeeeeeeeetzerland (part 1)

Hello my friends...we have returned from our exciting trip across Europe by train....

.....here I am at Ebbsfleet...ready to catch the train to France....nice sunny start to the day.....*yawn*...but we had been up since 3.45am because William was also going off on a music tour to France and we had to get him to a very early coach....we were looking forward to relaxing for a couple of hours and maybe catching up on naps on the way to Paris....

.....of the hilarity...humour in the WC on the train.....

....after our naps I helped the typist pass the time by doing the crossword...we only had to cheat on the final clue...we had never heard of "niobium" before....its a metallic element...

....we took a train from Paris all the way to Switzerland and we arrived just in time to take a relaxing stroll around Basel before dinner and bed....but OMD..look at this ....all the crazy Swiss people were leaping into the river and being carried at high speed by the current .....it was  great way to cool off they said (it was about 100 degrees when we arrived)...they carry their clots in waterproof bags which blow up in the water and act like floats...there were hundreds of them doing it...

....I opted to cool off by finding a shady spot for some quiet contemplation.....Basel has these little fountains and pools in every nook and cranny....the water is nice to drink because it just flows straight out of the mountains into the city.....perhaps I should try a few laps...

....I attended to my normal duties in the morning....an espresso to wake up the tired troops before breakfast.....

....we wandered down to a nice cafe in MarktPlatz and had some Bircher Mueseli...a Swiss speciality...its basically muesli and fresh fruit...plus more coffee......

...and we spent the morning at the Beyeler Foundation....a very nice modern art museum in Basel....no cameras allowed inside sadly....

....we enjoyed it very much...and also enjoyed our nice lunch in their cafe....(*more coffee)

....it was fun travelling around Basel by tram....they go everywhere and run strictly to timetable...there are almost no cars in the city....we saw plenty of real dogs on the trams by the way

...look...a tram is due and there it it is.....

...in the afternoon we went to the museum dedicated to paper making and book printing...the whole thing is powered by the river which flows past its door and this big water wheel....

.....wow, they are literally sewing a book!.....

...we did this with a real Quill!....BOL..we even made the paper its written on!...

....look...no cars...

...to end our afternoon we went to see the cathedral...in German it is called the Munster and lives in Munster Platz...

....and it was nice and cool inside....

...on our second morning we walked around Basel some more....bit cooler today thank the dog....

...some old bits with pretty cobbly streets....

....some modern bits with street art.....

...and lots and lots of uppy and downy bits.....

...bikes everywhere.....we stopped to admire this one because it had a very nice old leather Brooks saddle made in England...but fancy new carbon wheels...

....Basel is such an interesting town...

...we call this "Rooftops of Basel"...I think perhaps we have been seeing too much art on this trip....

....I shall bring you more from the rest of our holiday tomorrow my friends.....

Tour de France ...and possibly other places too

Hello my friends....*waves to Mr Frankie and Mr Ernie and promises to get on to their blog to read it asap*....there was great excitement last weekend because the Tour de France was starting and you know how much the typist likes his cycling...so on Saturday morning, just ahead of the professionals, we set off on the Tour de Clapton.....

....we got up at 7am....and given the serious nature of the day's route i demanded that we took the special front-mounted bag so i could keep an eye on the route via our little yellow navigation computer....and we keep the jelly babies in here too...

....we stopped every now and again to have a jelly baby...they are good for cyclists because they are a little sugar shot for instant energy on a hot day and can be easily gobbled down whilst on the move...we stopped to take this photo for safety reasons...

....we cycled out of Surrey and in to Kent and eventually all the way to Tunbridge Wells....that's about 42 miles from our house...we went to investigate their shiny new cycleshop-cum-cafe called The Velo House....they have very nice espresso...and tables which have maps of the area printed on them for navigation tips....

....we calibrated out sat nav so we knew we were on the right route home....we wanted to try going up the fearsome Yorks Hill...a very steep local mountain .....we do like a challenge when we are on the bike but some of these places can be hard to find as they are quiet little lanes in the middle of nowhere....we had done this once before but on a very windy and rainy day and at the end of a long ride and he was interested to see if it was quite as bad as he remembered...

....but we made sure to sample the warm date and banana bread with cinnamon butter before we left...two slices...perfect......fule is very important for cyclists....

....it was lovely and sunny and we got a tremendous view of Kent as we left Tunbridge Wells.....

....and we did find Yorks Hill...and we did get up it...and it was VERY hard...but he did set a personal best time...a whole 1 minute quicker than last time....and we eventually had to stop and rest tired legs....and by the time we got home we had cycled 88 miles and climbed almost 6,000ft ....this was quite tough on some members of the team on a hot and windy day....navigation was faultless i should add....

....Miss Lola had restricted her day to finding shade in the garden because she is badly in need of grooming and her coat is like that of a polar bear...

....although she was happy to help us watch the actual Tour de France later in the afternoon.....

....on Monday I decided to accompany the typist on one of his European trips....this time to Dusseldorf in Germany....we started out early...but I don't think that is any excuse for him making me come out with bed-fur....

LOOK! I am out in London with fur like THIS!...its embarrassing....

...our tips these days are like a wire-curling contest...how many devices are we travelling with?....

...fist stop Brussels....I enjoyed going to our meeting in a Mercedes ....good quality sun-puddling....

...but afterwards...OH DEAR...we missed our train to Dusseldorf thanks to traffic...the driver said it was because of the Tour de France coming across Belgium!!...oh the irony

...so while he worked a bit at the station i tried to relax and plan ahead....

.....I was very happy to finally reach the hotel and sort out my fur......

...and the following day I was CEO Dog....someone has to be in charge on days like this.....

....these European trips can be a bit daunting....so many countries in so few days...you don't know which way to turn.......

...but i was happy to receive a message from Miss Lola letting me know she had finally found a groomer with an open appointment and had her fur done...she is happy to be cooler....

.....but i was rushing about in Germany with the temperature over 100 degrees....

....and was only able to finally cool down when we got back to Brussels that evening....who's had the Toblerone?

...that was my week pals...and tomorrow we head off for two days in France...I wish it was to watch the cycling but it isn't...*sigh*....

Clapton...somewhere in Europe...le woof