Helen

Today is the day I am going to meet my newly-discovered sister, Helen, and my new niece and nephew, Chloe and Alex. We arranged to meet at Versailles, as Neil and I were hoping to go there anyway, and it is supposedly not too difficult to reach by car from Brussels (as it turned out, their 2 hour trip took more like 5, because of traffic). We had our own problems getting there by train as the machine only took coins, not credit cards, and we ended up going to a posh hotel with a lady from Chicago and her daughter, to get their concierge to give us cash out. They were really nice, and we had a bit of fun going the wrong way on the train at first, then catching the next train back and finally arriving in Versailles.

Being June, peak season, the crowds were horrendous, not helped by 37 degree heat, so we canned the idea of queuing up to walk around the palace or the grounds, and after Neil took a quick Segway lesson we met my new family and spent the afternoon in a bar. Very pleasant. I can see a trip to Belgium coming up in the not too distant future!

After a few hours of eating, drinking and catching up, they had to drive back to Brussels, and Neil and I took the train then the Metro to Pigalle to see the Moulin Rouge. We had contemplated at one stage going to the show, but I' m glad we didn't as it would be crowded and probably disappointing. Nice to see the outside though.

We arrived back at our hotel after buying yet another Croque Madame around 9. All in all a really good day.

Making a segway

Helen, Chloe, Alex and me

Pigalle