We arrive at Blanche, the Metro station, and walk upstairs to above ground. The Moulin Rouge is right there and there's a queue of people lining up outisde it. We take a picture from across the road and then quickly cross the road to line up, too. There's a poster on its wall beside the queue with drink prices - good sign! It doesn't take long before we have a bunch of people lining up behind us. We're lucky that we got in quick!So now we've been waiting in the queue for about half an hour and our legs are getting tired. We see people leaving the bar in dribs and drabs but nobody is going in. Surely it's not that packed! It's only 2:30pm. The line isn't moving but the sun is: our shade is about to disappear. Then a young guy comes along the line with his iPad in landscape mode, flicking the screen up and down as he goes down the queue and asks people their name. This is quite organised for a bar. Would you like a glamour shot of me now or later?
He looks at us and says something in French that I don't understand. I ask him if he speaks English and he does, a little. I ask him if the bar is full. He says, "no, it's not a bar. It's a TV show. It has humorous people who stand and say funny." Oh my god. We've been waiting in line all this time for a TV show?! Now, that is comical. Maybe we should just watch it so that we can see inside the Moulin Rouge and the sneak out before the show starts? We last about five more minutes in the queue before dipping out.
So we're in the red-light district with thanks to the Moulin Rouge's history. What to do? Bugger it, let's have a drink somewhere. Looking around, we see Le Chat Noir - that ubiquitous print that so many French-related bars and houses contain. Is this the original place? Who cares?! Get me a drink! We make friends with the barman, Gaétan, and waitress, Ninah. After what feels like a short period of 
time drinking, albeit two hours later, Alex arrives. We're a little dubious about another bar person joining the crew but he turns out to be lovely. Another hour goes by and then the rest of the crew join and we lose our important status; the one you feel when you've been drinking for hours and nobody else is as special as you to the staff. We have had a bit to drink and we say we're ready for food so we're given the bill.
It is now 7pm and all we've done is stand in the queue for Moulin Rouge for no reason. What next? We need to eat, even if just to sober up a bit. We stop at a pizza restaurant and have a great pizza, then head up the hill for a walk. It isn't long before we start climbing a hundred stairs and steep hills to find more shopping. Then we hit jackpot: Montmarte. It is amazingly big. So much money has been poured into this building! The sun is about to set over Paris and we're up here to see it all. Beautiful but I really wish they'd cut those trees. They're in the way.Pics of the day
We start our first full day in Berlin by catching a train to a nearby major station, Hauptbahnhof. It looks big enough that it will have nearby sights to see. These train stations are just massive. Anyone would think they're going to add another three train lines above the highest most platform. It may just be the local history kicking in but the large stations instill a feeling of grandiose power and authority.
Before we go anywhere, we're both hungry and decide to sit down for some lunch by the river. The head waiter is immensely funny. We can't understand most of what he says but he has such charisma that we hardly need to. Everyone is laughing and having a great time. Cruise ship after cruise ship glides by while we eat our woodfired pizzas.
We continue around the city and take pictures of some interesting buildings. We also come across a group of dancers, possibly ballet dancers, who are practising outside the Koncert Hall. It's like coming across a practice session of Fame!
One of the most notable tourist attractions in Berlin would have to be the TV tower at Alexanderplatz, which is just around the corner from where we're staying. We find our way to the tower and line up for the quick elevator ride to the top viewing deck. There doesn't seem to be any real city centre or layout. The city is very spread out. It should be interesting tomorrow when we try to find our way around tomorrow.
The hotel is only a few blocks away so we jump in the tram. It's an unlimited ticket, right? I check out the gym and jacuzzi area to compare with the hotel in Copenhagen.
Although this one doesn't have a lap pool, it does have two jacuzzis and a sauna! It's all quite nicely decked out with fairy lights in the ceiling and mood lighting all 
I've finally figured out the Metro (again), this time thanks to an iPhone app that can tell me the route and connections from a starting point to an ending point. We safely make it to St Lazare train station in order to catch Les Grandes Lignes: the country trains. As per most countries, the country train is more comfortable than the city trains. In this case, they are exceptional! We have a little chuckle about the difference between first and second class tickets: first class seats are orange and have a little table and lamp. The funny thing is the train cabin lights well outshine the table lamp so it's quite useless.
First stop in Rouen: Office de Tourisme. We ask about the usual things but also enquire on how we can look up Mum's great-great-great-great-grandfather's name. The lady knows where the archives are held and tells us to go to the tallest building across the river. We walk over the river toward the building and walk around the entire block on which it sits to find the entrance. Finally, we discover it and enter the lobby. Some security guards sit upright and watch us. The girl behind reception looks intrigued. I explain the situation in my best French while she looks at me with a pained expression on her face. As I near the end of my explanation, her eyes light up and she says: "oh, les archives! Ils ont fermé en janvier!" No way... the archives closed in January! OH MY GOD. Feeling quite defeated, we go outside and find a nearby market, not unlike a weekend market, under a building. Hooray, more shopping. A nearby shop has humungous tomatoes, if you're interested. We head back over the river to the main side.
It's getting quiet cold so we buy a jumper for me. The next cute little tourist train departs at 5:00pm so we walk around, grab something small to eat, and then get ready for the ride. It takes us around the more important parts of Rouen and explains some things. It's quite interesting to hear at the time but I probably won't remember much! All I remember about Rouen is the crazy architecture and where Jeanne D'Arc was burned alive at the stake. Ah, memories.
The trams are amazing: clean, efficient, friendly and helpful staff. We're now in a very different world: we've stepped into Amsterdam proper. The tram makes its way down the mall-like pedestrian street past all the shops. It's beautiful. People are riding bicycles, walking, talking, eating, and looking completely relaxed. We cross canals that are simply gorgeous. The architecture contains history in every brick and is maintained and clean. There are green trees everywhere amongst the paved cobblestone streets and cycle paths. Welcome to Holland.
Night is falling so we head up to the Leidesplein where all the cafes and restaurants are. What a gorgeous setting. It feels like we've been shot back in time, albeit when there was still electricity and some modern conveniences. I love this place already. Oh yeah, dinner. We opt for Mexican - well, I do the opting and Mum agrees - and then have a lovely stroll back to the hotel. I can't wait to see what we will discover tomorrow.
