Thursday 18th August 2022.

Todays adventure is a trip to Parc Monte Royale. We think that a single fifteen minute bus journey will get us within spitting distance. Then it’s a bit of a walk to the lookout point.  Leaving the house, we were turned around at the end of the street as there was a small of gas, and the next thing about five fire engines turned up with the fireman wearing gas masks.  

There had been a gas leak yesterday in the street where the shops were and they had evacuated people (including a lady with a parrot on her shoulder and six kittens). As we did not want to go out for the morning and then find we would not be allowed back in on our return, we played safe by taking some snacks and drinks plus spare nappies and Paddington for the little one. Safe to set out now, we walk to the bus stop.

There is a lot of traffic and the bus is rather slow making it’s way along the street.  We decide to alight two stops earlier than we originally thought.  This turned out to our advantage as we walked past the Museum of Contemporary Art, and there are some interesting sculptures outside, as well as a mural on the actual road road itself.

You might just be able to make out some of the sculptures on the LHS.

A few streets further uphill and we arrive at the foot of some wooden steps - looks like this is the way to the top… four hundred and fifty two steps later we finally arrive at the top, after a few breathers on the way. 

The view back down some of the steps.

And the view from the top…

Eric said he was bit low down and couldn’t see.

That’s better 

We have a drink and a cake - can’t think of a better deserved chocolate donout. 

Think it may be good idea to catch a bus and the the metro to get back. The bus from the top only runs every half hour and we have just missed one but it’s a pleasant enough place to wait. 

After an early afternoon rest (the fire engines had now gone and the street was no longer cordoned off) we set out to a local park so the little one can have a run around, and we follow this with an early dinner out locally.  The first restaurant seemed OK and we choose what we wanted from the menu. After four of us had ordered with no problems, the last one to select their meal was told that it was not available, nor was the freshly squeezed orange juice that was on the menu. Someone had supposedly given us the lunchtime menu and we needed to choose from the evening one. Start again, but this time there is nothing that one of us wants to eat, and for a change, this time it is not the usual awkward vegetarian. Decide to go elsewhere, and settled on a pizza restaurant, where an enjoyable meal was had sitting outside under a canopy.  Time for a quick game of Monopoly deal before it’s bedtime.