Europe Tour with A and M

We were up very early again as this time difference and travelling is still affecting sleeping patterns. We waited till about 7.30 before Mez went to look for a coffee, as we have no supplies yet. Nothing opened, they are night owls so nothing much open early. We had booked a 4 hour bike tour for today, touring the city. Found the meeting place okay and got instruction on how to use electric bikes. These bikes are soooo good so easy to ride. Lyon has many hills and thanks to these bikes it was pretty much a breeze getting to see the sites. The guide was excellent and gave us a very interesting and historical story of the city. 2 hours into the ride we stopped at a small cafe for drinks, bread( OMG French bread is to die for), salami and cheese. Very nice. Great bike tour of the city well worth it.   One of the stops in a large park that houses a small zoo. It was designed after Hyde Park in London.    We rode along both the Saone and the Rhone Rivers that cut through the ...

This trip was going to be a long one and it lived up to expectations and more. Left the Dubai hotel at 5.30. Flight from Dubai to Paris was terrible. Crowded, rude Frenchmen and long. Arrived in Paris and walked and walked with heavy luggage from one side of the airport to the other to find our domestic flight to Lyon. By this time we were sweating up a storm, it was so hot in the airport as they have this whole updated version of the airport with this fancy roof that lets all the heat in and therefore the aircon is not effective. Pleasant, NOT. And of course the plane to Lyon was delayed an hour and a half. We got the last row of the plane jammed up against the wall and therefore had to sit bolt upright for the plight. Arrived in Lyon 9.30 Dubai time, 7.30 Lyon time a total of 16 hours in either planes or airports. Very hot and tied by this stage. Arrived at hotel right in the middle of the city with lots and lots of restaurants, cafes, bars and shops all around. Lyon is definitely a ...

Arrived about 5.30am, an early start to a day that saw us peter out very early. Dubai airport would be the biggest and busiest airports on the planet. It has its own freeway inside the parameters of the area. We were shuttled to a terminal and spent a good 10 minutes travelling on the bus to get to there. Hotel close to the airport, clean and cheap all you need for a one night stop over. We decided to visit a few malls in the city and they are everywhere.  First up was Souk Madinat Jumeirah - a mall that has good views of Burji al Arab( hotel that looks like a sail). The creative architecture of the buildings around Dubai is a site to see. The mall is also right next to one of the 3 famous palm islands off the coast. Due to the haze that is ever present it was very difficult to see.  Amazing building and the tones of blue that make up the exterior are beautiful. This mall is also known as little Venice. Not much happening due to the fact that it is Ramadan month and no restaur...

Left home early to get to the airport in plenty of time to see if we could pay for an upgrade only to be told that if there is any chance you have to do it when you get on the plane. Things weren't looking good and we took our seats in economy. Not long later we were told there were two seats left in business class BUT they came at a cost. Walking up the stairs to the top deck of this massive A380 was like walking into another world, you can easily tell I haven't had this experience before. Seating, service, food and comfort were all worth every cent. This was the best 15+ hour flight I have ever been on.  Only one major problem - we don't want to go back to economy!    So much room amazing.    White tablecloths each time a meal was served. Behind us was the bar area where you could have a drink or snacks at any time throughout the flight.       Dinners entree     Dinners dessert.  More walking tomorrow needed.    Sleeping...