THE photos of Monet's Garden were taken during a Scenic cruise of the River Seine from Paris to Honfleur in October, 2014.

This cruise appealed to us because we would be able to tour the Palace of Versailles and also go to the Western Battlefronts from both World Wars as well as Monet's Garden where everyone would be familiar with his paintings of water lilies and the iconic Japanese bridge.

Even though most of the flowers were past their prime, the autumn tones, as seen in the photo, were magnificent.

In March, 2015, I went with an old school friend from Mackay to India on a Wendy Wu Golden Triangle tour for nine days.

India was the 60th country I have visited and the Taj Mahal is now crossed off my bucket list as the monument I wished to see for our 50th wedding anniversary.

As my husband had no desire to visit India, I only went for this short trip with Margaret.

The Taj Mahal is the largest monument in the world, built for love by a Mughal Emperor to house the tomb of his favourite wife and took 22 years to complete.

The whole experience in India was absolutely amazing. There were many national relics including forts and palaces and I was absolutely spellbound by their intricate beauty of inlaid stones, carvings etc.

There is still a distinct British presence as every day, the armed forces perform a ceremony and lay a wreath at the India Gate, a huge monument like the French Arc de Triomphe, in New Delhi to commemorate the 70,000 Indians who lost their lives in the First World War while fighting for the Commonwealth.

Somehow I feel there is a distinct relationship between my two holidays as I visited the battlefields in France where the Indian soldiers lost their lives and then saw their beautiful monument like the French Arc de Triomphe in New Delhi.

Even though Graham did not visit the Taj Mahal with me, we will be celebrating our golden wedding anniversary on the island of Palma de Mallorca off the coast of Spain during an Azamara Club Mediterranean cruise on the actual date at the end of the year.