Monday, 14 September
Drove to St Davids to see the Cathedral and remains of the Bishops Palace. The Cathedral is one of the nicest that we've seen, with a unique wooden roof, carved like stalactites, that gives the interior a wonderful smell, and makes it feel a lot warmer than the stone. Saw some old tombs with statues of knights on them, resting their feet on lions, and visited the little treasury which had some exellent old croziers (bishops' staffs). A lot of the goodies had been 'retrieved' from the bishops' tombs, which seems a little invasive to me!
The ruined palace was quite a contrast, and makes one imagine what it would look like if it had survived like its neighbour. I bought a book on archaeology from the National Trust shop, then we went to an exotic looking deli for some baguettes. They weren't quite up to much, unfortunately, but I came away with a Welsh real ale for later. Still, at least we got to munch our lunch in the sun again.
That was about it for the sun, though, so we wound our way onwards under a gloomy outlook. Passed through Fishguard, site of the last invasion of England and where Under Milkwood was filmed, and on to Cardigan. Zipped through there too, and turned off to a promising Iron Age fort, which has had working replicas rebuilt on site. That was very illuminating, a quite a bit like Asterix's village. I'd have been keen to experience a banquet in one of the huts, but wouldn't have been so keen to stay the night...
Setlist
Afterwards we walked to the Louvre, and pulled a good several hours exploring the lesser-travelled galleries. Saw lots of interesting work from Asia/Africa/South America/Pacific, and we particularly enjoyed the Ancient Persian rooms with their exquisite glazed terracotta bricks.
Popped back to our hood to say goodbye to Anthony, grabbed our bags from the hotel, then headed home on the Eurostar (with another delay - this time at the entrance to the Channel tunnel).
Went to Anthony's favourite restaurant for dinner, with Maggie and Julian as well. Pretty rich foods (soup with foie gras, duck breast covered in foie gras, you get the idea...), and unusual decour (bras and people's business cards). Capped it off with a little bicycle ride around the Pantheon and our local hood. Great fun!
Found a nice street market to have breakfast in, before visiting the Natural History Museum. This is spread across many buildings, each with their own ticket costs, so we plumped for the Evolution building - which had a great interior, and many interesting stuffed animals, but was light on information - then the outdoor Menagerie.
Took the underground RER train across the city to see the miniature Statue of Liberty, before walking around underneath the Eiffel Tower - this time to admire the tenacity and perseverance of the crappy merchandise touts. Returned home on the RER and ate dinner once more at the crepe restaurant.
Another late breakfast, at a different cafe near the Pantheon. Great coffee, and excellent squeezed orange juice to accompany our Croque Madames. Visited the Pantheon afterwards - formerly a church but since converted to a memorial to the French Republic. It is beautifully decorated inside, with a recreation of Foucault's Pendulum demonstration, and houses a tomb below where famous patriots are interred (Voltaire, Rousseau, Victor Hugo etc).
Walked across the river to the Pompidou Centre, then back for a boat cruise from the Pont neuf. More soak-in-the-culture walks, and some Nutella street crepes, before going to meet Maggie and Julian for dinner. Had some drinks in a little Spanish place on the Ile de la Citee, before moving north to a great Italian restaurant.
Dinner was indeed delicious, and we naturally had sweet crepes for dessert as well (salty butter and sugar, lemon and sugar, and coconut and rum flambee). Afterwards, Anna did a 3 hour night time walk around the river to the Eiffel Tower and back again.
