Barcelona to Paris Trip Report
May 2016
May 2016
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Barcelona
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Dear family and friends, we are on the move once again. This time we are travelling to Barcelona, Spain to spend a week with our friends from Scotland, Malcolm and Myra. We are going on from there to the south of France, a river boat trip to Paris and then home.
We left San Diego on Sunday morning about 11 AM on a flight to Houston where we changed to catch a flight to Frankfurt, Germany. I was a bit concerned about flying there because of the overly friendly security guard who got a little personal in his search when we went through there several years ago. Much to my relief, he was not on duty so I got through with my dignity intact. We continued on from there to Barcelona arriving about 3:30 PM, Monday. It had been a long flight. Laura got a couple of hours sleep but I had been unable to sleep. We were both dragging.
We caught a taxi and gave the driver the address of the Easy Sleep apartment that Myra had booked for the four of us. The building is 7 stories high and our apartment is on the 3rd floor front. It is a pleasant apartment. It could sleep 8 people as there are 3 rooms with twin size beds and one room with a double. It had two bathrooms but the second bathroom is tiny. When I brush my teeth, the sink there reminds me of a dentist office – Rinse and spit, please”.
Malcolm and Myra arrived about 2 hours after we did. We got settled a bit and then ventured out down the street and around the corner where we found a Mexican restaurant. So we had dinners of enchiladas and burritos. We visited, and then retired to bed just a few minutes after midnight, I was surprised that we lasted that long.
Tuesday, May 10
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| La Sagrada Familia |
As we travelled around the route, we realized that we had gotten on at the wrong stop 14. We had originally started on the Green Route and now were on the Red Route. We did finally get to where we could switch back over to the Green Route and ride the bus back to La Sagrada Familia.
The nice thing about the bus rides is that we got a good overview of the city and it helped in making our plans for the next few days.
After returning to the apartment, we headed out again for dinner. This time we found a restaurant around the corner for dinner. Laura and I split an order of paella and Malcolm and Myra had a steak. Refreshed, we returned for a game of Mexican Train with Malcolm being the winner.
Wednesday, May 11
Today we headed back to La Sagrada Familia to view the inside of the temple. Construction on the temple was started in 1883 and is still under construction. It is breathtaking what Gaudi inspired when he took over the design from a previous architect.
After our visit to La Sagrada Familia, we caught a taxi and rode down to Las Rambla which is a thoroughfare which is lined with shops of all kinds. We walked and explored many of the shops along the way. We found the La Boqueria which was a large covered but still an open air market. The place was a madhouse of people jostling about, looking at the displays of foods, buying fruits, candies, meat and fish to name a few of the items on sale.
We continued down La Rambla towards the water. There were many costumed figures up and down the area. It made for a very interesting diversion. There were also many st
reet vendors who were attempting to separate you from your money. We also saw a number of beggars plying their trade. Malcolm saw one pickpocket make an attempt at lifting a man’s wallet from an inside coat pocket. He did not make the score as far as Malcolm could see. We kept our wallets protected just in case there were any more around. I still remember my experience in Madrid when both my front pockets were picked at the same time.
Soon we had reached the water and walked around the port area admiring all the sailboats that were moored there. It was an enjoyable afternoon. We stopped for beers which were large and expensive. We walked a little further and found a restaurant where we had a light dinner. Laura tried their gazpacho and a plate of Gambas Ajillo (garlic shrimp) while I had a hamburger and fries. We caught a taxi back to the apartment, caught up on our emails and then played some more Mexican Train. I was able to be the winner that evening.
This morning, we headed to catch a train to go visit Montserrat which lies about an hour’s train ride out of Barcelona. Montserrat is the site of a monastery built on high ridge of cliffs. We then had to ride in a gondola to reach the monastery. Once we reached there, we were able to walk about viewing the various buildings and also ride a cog train to the higher reaches of the cliffs, where we had very good views of the surrounding countryside.
After our visit and the train ride back to Barcelona, we visited a shopping center which had been built inside of the main bull ring in Barcelona. In 2010, Barcelona banned bull fights, so some businessmen took the façade of the old bullring and gutted it before building the shopping mall inside.
From the top of the shopping mall, there was a panoramic view of the city. Since it was dinner time, we decided to eat up there at one of the resturants. Laura and Myra discovered a drink which they tried – Campari and OJ. Malcolm and I stuck with beer. I was able to score a free beer glass to add to my collection there. We then returned to the apartment and had a resounding game of Mexican Train with Laura taking the honors.
Friday, May 13
This morning we arose as expected, caught a taxi to the Music Museum. It was not what I expected; it was a tour of the “concert hall” that had been originally built in about 1912 for use by choirs. It has been renovated in recent years and they continue to have concerts there. Some of the shows are as inexpensive at 20 Euros and then others are up to 200 Euro a ticket. It was a beautiful building, almost church like in beauty and structure. The pipe organ has 3000 pipes in the organ. The hall seats about 2400 but not all have a view of the stage.
After our visit there, we continued our way towards the La Rambla. We took another side trip through the open air market and continued on until we ended up in the Gothic area. We stopped to admire the Gothic Church, view the items being offered at an antique/junk sale and then stopped at a tapas bar for a light lunch. We then went to the cable car station to take us to Castell de Montjuic. It is a military fort above the city.
The cruise was pleasant. We got a good view of the beaches and the fancy hotels along the waterfront. After we returned to port, we walked over to a port side shopping mall and had tapas and drinks on the deck overlooking the sidewalk and the waterfront. It was a pleasant afternoon break. We then walked up the La Rambla looking at the items that the vendors had out for sale and watching the street artists.
We then headed back to the apartment for a rest before venturing out for dinner. We planned on returning to the site of the Old Bullring to go to one of the restaurants that were on the roof level. When we got there, we found that the sports fanatics had turned out in mass for the return of the Barcelona Football team which had just won the regional championship. There were scads of people everywhere. Lots of security around the mall with access closed off to the elevators so we had to go up via the escalators to the roof level. Lots of security at each level as you changed escalators. There were throngs of people on the roof overlooking the area where the team was scheduled to appear. We went in to the restaurant and were almost through with our dinners, when the cheering and music peaked. Myra ran out to see if she could get a photograph of the event.
This was a day of travel. We said our good-byes to Myra and Malcolm who would be heading home a little later in the day. The week with them had gone by quickly and we were sad to say good-bye. We were worried we wouldn’t find a taxi that early but we were lucky; we caught a taxi about ½ block from the apartment to take us to the train station. Out train was scheduled to leave at 7:20 AM, so we had plenty of time. We rode on the train to Carcasonne, France. Our luck had stayed with us, we caught a taxi after just a few minutes wait and he drove us up to the gate of the walled city. Taxis are not allowed inside because of all the foot traffic and very narrow streets. A little van came out to meet us and to take us into the city and our hotel. Riding over the cobblestones was reminiscent of our ride in Africa. We checked into the hotel and then went out exploring.
The lines for the castle tour were long so we wound our way through the streets checking out the various shops. Since it was about 1PM, we stopped for lunch at a little tavern across the street from the castle entrance. We dined on Crouque Monsieur which is a ham and cheese sandwich. The ham is between the two toasted pieces of bread but the cheese is broiled onto the top of the sandwich. It came with fries and mayonnaise. Laura had a short beer and I had a cup of coffee. When lunch was finished, I decided that it was too quiet, so as I pushed my chair back from the table, one leg of the chair went off the edge of the deck where we were seated. The next thing I knew, I was flying through the air and rolling down the cobblestone street. Now things were more exciting, lots of people coming over to help me up and to check if I were injured. Fortunately other than a few small bruises and a bruised ego, I was fine.
We stopped for a little while after about 2 PM to stretch our legs and to see the sights of Monte Carlo. We went into the Casino but you have to buy a ticket to get into the actual gambling portion so we stayed in the main entry area. We also stopped for a beer for Laura and an iced coffee for me at the Café de Paris just outside of the casino. It was a challenge to walk around the area because they had bleachers, steel barriers and chain link fence up all over along the route of the Grand Prix, which was just a few days ago.
After we left Monte Carlo, we headed to Menton which was where our hotel for the night was located. The GPS unit almost had a nervous breakdown because the road she wanted us to take was closed for construction. We had to go past the turnoff and she insisted that we make a U-turn and go through the roadblock. We did turn around and went back to see if we could find another route but ended up making another U-turn and going up to catch the expressway into Menton. We were lucky, there were no tolls on the portion of the expressway and it dropped us off right into downtown Menton. We wound through the town until we reached the hotel where we collapsed for about an hour before going down to dinner.
The toll road was nice, we were able to travel along at between 90 and 130 kmh. Every little while we had to plug our credit card into the toll booth – 4 Euros here, 1.5 Euros there. Finally we came to a booth that just spit out a ticket so down the road we went. We were getting close to Aux de Provence when we came to the last toll booth. I put in the ticket and credit card and was charged 25 Euros. That was a surprise.
We arose, ate breakfast in the hotel and then trekked back down the street with our suitcases looking for the car. It was in the same place I had left it which thrilled me to no end. I could just see trying to explain that the car was stolen or towed and half of our luggage was in it. We got the GPS programmed and after several trips around the block, we headed in the general direction of the EuroCar agency. But first we had to find a gas station. Fortunately there was one about 2 blocks past the rental agency, so I filled up the tank and then decided to see if I could locate where the cruise ship was docked. It turned out to be just a few blocks the other direction. We turned in the car and met another couple who were going to the cruise ship also. The manager offered to drive us there in her own car but there was too much luggage, so her worker loaded up his car with our bags and me. While Laura and the other couple took off for the cruise ship with the manager. It was about noon and check-in was not until 3 PM, so we thought we would have to sit on the dock until then but the ship let us board, took our suitcases and had us go to the lounge to enjoy drinks, sandwiches, pastries and such. We met four other couples, two of them were from Canada, we visited with them sharing tales of trips, their grandchildren and adventures that we have had. Soon our stateroom was ready. When Laura checked us in; she was told that we had been upgraded from the 100 deck to the 200 deck which meant we had a balcony window instead of a porthole at the waterline. We were quite happy about that.
We went down for breakfast at 8AM. I had the best chocolate croissant so far on this trip. There were many choices for breakfast but we stayed to the usual – some scrambled eggs, hash browns and some bacon. Laura even found some that was close to being up to her standards.
Our first tour of the day was a walking tour of the historical part of the city of Arles. Our guide took us up the hill to the Roman Coliseum, the Forum and the Baths. We also saw the hospital where Vincent Van Gogh went for treatment when he cut his ear off. We also saw some of the places that he painted during the 2 ½ years that he lived in this town. We saw the yellow café which he painted and the area of the house in which he lived. It was destroyed by bombing during WWII but the building next to it which formed its back wall is still there. Later in the day, we drove past the Insane Asylum in which he committed himself for a while.
While we were on the tour, the ship had left Arles and was now heading to Avignon. We got to Avignon and learned that we had beaten the ship to town. So we were given an extra special side trip to an island across from the main gates of Avignon so we could take pictures of the city walls. We were there just long enough to watch the ship tie up across the river from us. So it was back on the bus, across the bridge and off load onto the boat.
George just passed me the computer and told me to write about my adventure to Pont du Gard. As George said, I took a bus out to the Roman Aqueduct, which is an UNESCO World Heritage site. The bus ride was only about half an hour, and then when we got there we had a short walk over to the Pont du Gard. It was an amazing sight. It was actually built in the first century AD. I have seen lots of old things, but I doubt if anything I have ever seen was that old, and still that well preserved. There are parts of the structure in other areas that have been destroyed, but because this section spans the river it has been maintained all these years. In the 19th century they added a section on the front that blends in very well, but it does allow cars to go across, which was not part of the original structure. From the backside you only see the original structure. I climbed down on the one side in order to get a picture from below of the backside which was the Roman only section, then I walked across the structure to the other side and went down to take a picture showing the bridge side. There was an option to climb clear to the top of a hill and look down from above, but the guide said it wasn’t that scenic and it was a very steep climb. After a quick stop at the entry area for a soft drink, we then got back on the bus and headed back to the ship. We still had an hour until the ship sailed, so I opted to take a quick walking trip through the town, so that I could see that. As I was headed in I met George on his way back to the ship. We exchanged a brief hello, and I headed in at a fast pace to walk through the town.
We then went to meet the ship which tied up along the river just long enough to get the tour group onboard before we were heading north once again, this time for a stop in the town of Tournon for wine and chocolates.
Today, we prepared our palates for a Wine and Chocolate pairing. After breakfast, we left the ship and walked up into the town of Tournon. We toured the Castle of Tournon and then entered the cellar for a wine and chocolate pairing. The guide was an agent for wine exporters so he was quite knowledgeable of the wine of the region. The chef who prepared the chocolates had tasted the wines and then prepared chocolate to go along with the flavor of the wine. We first tasted a white wine paired with a milk chocolate. The next two wines were both red wines made from the same grapes, picked and processed in the same year but they tasted completely different. The difference was where the grapes were grown. One was grown on a granite slope and the other on a limestone slope. They were paired with a chocolate filled with raspberry jam and the other was with a dark chocolate center. It was a very interesting morning.
We docked in Lyon at 3 PM; it finally decided to rain so we bundled up and took an umbrella just in case it started to get serious. We joined a small group who were visiting the Les Halles Market Tour. This turned out to be a modern covered market. So we were a bit disappointed, but the up side was we had the opportunity to taste several selections of wine, sausage, pate, cheeses and pastry. Life is good.
This morning we arose and Laura decided to venture out into the older part of town for a couple of hours before we leave on our next tour. I decided to stay onboard and catch up on this trip report.
This was a travelling day. We had to be up and our bags out of the cabin by 7:30 AM. That was not too difficult to accomplish. We then had to wait until 9AM to catch the bus which would take us eventually to the train station to catch the high speed train to Paris. So we had a leisurely breakfast and finally it was time. I said the bus would eventually take us to the train station but first it dropped us off in one of the squares in Lyon and the guide told us we had one hour before we were to meet for our cooking school class. Laura and I headed out in the direction of the Old Town on the other side of the river but we were sidetracked by a street market. We browsed through it and Laura showed me a purse that she had spotted the day previously. I showed her how her present purse was starting to fall apart so now she has a nice new purse which can also be a souvenir of her visit to Lyon. At 10:30 we met for the cooking school. The group was divided into 3 parts and each group was working on a dessert, an appetizer and a main course. After they each finished and had tasted their work, they shifted so each group did each step. It was fun and we learned a couple new recipes.
There were so many beautiful things on display and it was not just the works of art on the walls but the walls, ceilings and the building itself is a work of art. It is easy to see how you could easily spend a week visiting the Louvre and still not have seen everything. We had just a taste.
Afterwards, we left the Louvre and headed up the river to Notre Dame. It had started to sprinkle so we were getting a bit concerned about the weather. It then started to rain very hard. We were getting soaked even with an umbrella. We took refuge along with other pedestrians under some scaffolding. As we were standing there suddenly there was a flash of lightning and a clap of thunder. Very, very Frightening. Galileo, Galileo, Galileo Figaro. After a while the storm settled down and we ventured out again. Later when we got back to the room and I was checking the email, I saw a news report that 11 people, 9 of which were children had been injured by the lightning.
The driver was on time and all the passengers were there so we headed off. This time taking the not so scenic backroads; we wound through little towns and the driver would say on your right there is, blah, - blah and now on your left is blah – blah. But at no time did he slow down long enough for you to get a good look. Finally, we were back on the freeway heading into Paris. Now traffic has come to a complete stop because of an accident up ahead, cars start backing up down the freeway to get back to the turnoff that might take them past the accident. Our driver tries but gives up and we inch slowly ahead. Traffic was terrible, if I understood French, I think I might have learned a couple new swear words. He was zig zagging about until finally we reached the Arc De Triomphe. One of the other passenger’s hotel was near there so Laura had requested that we be dropped there so we could do some exploring.
We walked down the Avenue des Champs Elysees, then turned down Avenue George V and crossed the river to walk under the Eiffel Tower. But before we reached the Eiffel Tower we stopped for a very late lunch at a little sidewalk café. Laura had a Ham and Cheese sandwich while I had the Quiche of the Day which turned out to be a ham quiche. We washed it down with a local beer called 1664 which was refreshing. The waitress gave me the beer glass as a gift so now I have 2 glasses from Paris and 2 glasses from Barcelona. I will have to make shelves to display them.
What a beautiful building. It only took 15 years to build which is amazing when you look at all the work that was done. It certainly made a statement. They had displays of some of the costumes that had been worn for various operas or ballets. They also had a large library with copies of operas and even scale models of the sets.
We finished our tour of the Opera House with the mandatory exit through the Gift Shop. You could purchase replicas of some of the costumes. I saw several that would have looked pretty spiffy for Victorian dress.
Just before getting to the Place de Concorde I found the Maile shop, which was on my list of things to check out. They sell mustard, all different kinds, and it is suppose to be the best. Besides, they have them in neat crocks that you can refill. I ducked in there, did some mustard tasting and bought some mustard. Chatted with the sales clerk, she was quite friendly. Then continued my walk. After walking though the Place I decided to walk up towards the Seine. I found a couple of chocolate shops, which I had to check out. Chatted again with some people along the way. Found a small sandwich shop and the owner of it – he said his name was “Happy”, heated my sandwich up and suggested a desert which was a sort of cream puff type pastry with a salted carmel filling. I had read about these, they are called chou’s and was hoping to try them. He was surprised when I asked if they were chou’s – he didn’t expect me to know that.
On our way to the Eiffel tower, we walked down along the river and across the Pont Alexandre III bridge. We saw the saddest thing as we were walking across the bridge. There in the rain was a bride in her white wedding dress with a long trail dragging it through the puddles so she and her intended could have their pictures taken on the bridge. Crazy!
We caught a cab back to the hotel and packed up for our departure for home in the morning. It has been a good trip even if the weather while we have been in Paris has not been the best. We have seen a lot but still have a lot more to see. We are looking forward to returning to Paris sometime in the future but now we are looking forward to returning home to our family, friends and two little schnauzers.
Wednesday, May 11
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| Window in the cathedral |
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| La Boqueria Market |
After our visit to La Sagrada Familia, we caught a taxi and rode down to Las Rambla which is a thoroughfare which is lined with shops of all kinds. We walked and explored many of the shops along the way. We found the La Boqueria which was a large covered but still an open air market. The place was a madhouse of people jostling about, looking at the displays of foods, buying fruits, candies, meat and fish to name a few of the items on sale.
We continued down La Rambla towards the water. There were many costumed figures up and down the area. It made for a very interesting diversion. There were also many st
Soon we had reached the water and walked around the port area admiring all the sailboats that were moored there. It was an enjoyable afternoon. We stopped for beers which were large and expensive. We walked a little further and found a restaurant where we had a light dinner. Laura tried their gazpacho and a plate of Gambas Ajillo (garlic shrimp) while I had a hamburger and fries. We caught a taxi back to the apartment, caught up on our emails and then played some more Mexican Train. I was able to be the winner that evening.
Thursday, May 12
This morning, we headed to catch a train to go visit Montserrat which lies about an hour’s train ride out of Barcelona. Montserrat is the site of a monastery built on high ridge of cliffs. We then had to ride in a gondola to reach the monastery. Once we reached there, we were able to walk about viewing the various buildings and also ride a cog train to the higher reaches of the cliffs, where we had very good views of the surrounding countryside.
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| View from the top of the bullring shopping center |
Friday, May 13
This morning, we caught a taxi and returned to Parc Guell. Because it was earlier in the day, we were able to gain access to the portion of the park which displayed the artistic design of Gaudi. Even though we were able to enter the park, it was still filled with people so at times it was very difficult to take pictures of things you want to photograph because of the throngs of people.
The Parc Guell was built between 1900 and 1914 as an English-style garden city. However the idea failed so Guell sold the land to the city and in 1926 it was reopened as a public park. It was an interesting place visually, there were gardens in the area also but there were no flowers in bloom. It may have been too early in the season.
After walking about the park, we caught another taxi and headed back downtown to view several of the homes that were designed by Gaudi. Admission to the houses was a bit pricey so we opted to view them from the outside. Again, they were very fanciful. After our adventure looking at the architecture, we returned to the apartment to rest our weary feet We went out for dinner at a little restaurant in the neighborhood and then retired for the night.
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| La Pedera by Gaudi |
After walking about the park, we caught another taxi and headed back downtown to view several of the homes that were designed by Gaudi. Admission to the houses was a bit pricey so we opted to view them from the outside. Again, they were very fanciful. After our adventure looking at the architecture, we returned to the apartment to rest our weary feet We went out for dinner at a little restaurant in the neighborhood and then retired for the night.
Saturday, May 14
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| Inside the Music Museum |
This morning we arose as expected, caught a taxi to the Music Museum. It was not what I expected; it was a tour of the “concert hall” that had been originally built in about 1912 for use by choirs. It has been renovated in recent years and they continue to have concerts there. Some of the shows are as inexpensive at 20 Euros and then others are up to 200 Euro a ticket. It was a beautiful building, almost church like in beauty and structure. The pipe organ has 3000 pipes in the organ. The hall seats about 2400 but not all have a view of the stage. |
Castell de Montjuic
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We did not enter the fort but planned to walk around it. However, we got turned around and found that we had walked down the hill and we were nowhere near it anymore. We gave up and found a city bus stop and caught the bus back to a plaza where we could catch a taxi back to the apartment. After a couple of hours rest, we ventured out for dinner. This time we walked up to the area of the Sagrada Familia, where we found a Turkish restaurant at which to dine. Dinner was pretty good; I was surprised when my chicken dinner came. It looked like the chicken had gone through a fan but it was the way they cut the meat just like you see gyro meat cut in a stateside restaurant. After dinner, we returned to the apartment for some more Mexican train. I won once again. I think that we will be trying our luck with a different game tomorrow night.
Sunday, May 15, 2016
We slept in this morning. I think all the walking and staying up late to play Mexican train finally caught up with us. We caught a taxi after breakfast and ventured down to the port area. We booked a 90 minute cruise. While we were waiting to board, I ventured up to another street market selling antiques and junk. It is interesting to be a looky-loo.
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| Our boat for the harbor cruise |
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| Barcelona from the water |
By the time, we finished dinner, the mob had dispersed. So we caught one of the few taxi cabs left in the area and returned to the apartment. No time for games tonight, we have to get packed up to be ready to leave early in the morning.
Monday, May 16
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| Carcassone |
The lines for the castle tour were long so we wound our way through the streets checking out the various shops. Since it was about 1PM, we stopped for lunch at a little tavern across the street from the castle entrance. We dined on Crouque Monsieur which is a ham and cheese sandwich. The ham is between the two toasted pieces of bread but the cheese is broiled onto the top of the sandwich. It came with fries and mayonnaise. Laura had a short beer and I had a cup of coffee. When lunch was finished, I decided that it was too quiet, so as I pushed my chair back from the table, one leg of the chair went off the edge of the deck where we were seated. The next thing I knew, I was flying through the air and rolling down the cobblestone street. Now things were more exciting, lots of people coming over to help me up and to check if I were injured. Fortunately other than a few small bruises and a bruised ego, I was fine.
We found that the lines for the castle were short now, so we headed in to take the tour. The castle was very pretty. It had parts which dated to Roman Times and then up to the 14th century. It was added to and remodeled until it fell into disrepair in the 18th century. Laura visited the Gothic cathedral while I was resting. It was very dark inside but the stained glass showed up very clearly.
For dinner we went across the street from the hotel at the Le Trencavel bistro. Laura had a cassoulet confit canard and I had the beef stew. It was an excellent dinner. It is a bit strange eating dinner so late since when you finish it is almost time for bed.
Tuesday May 17
It was another travelling day, after breakfast at the hotel they drove us to the main gate where a taxi picked us up to take us to the train station. Laura requested that the taxi driver stop so she could take a picture of the castle from the riverside.
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| Carcossone Bridge |
We rode the train back to Marseilles and then changed train to Toulon. We arrived there at about 3:30 PM. We had car reservations with EuroCar but when we got to the rental office, they said there was a problem with the car. We waited about 30 minutes while they located another car for us. It was interesting because the rental agent did not speak very much English. I’m not sure but I think I may have purchased the car when she ran the credit card. We did ask for a GPS unit that spoke English which was exciting. We were doing pretty good following the directions but then I bumped the unit and it stopped working. We drove blindly around and pulled over to try to figure out where we were and how to get to the hotel from there. We then noticed that we were in front of the main EuroCar rental office and the gentleman, who had brought the car to the train station for us, came down to see if he could help us. His English was about as good as our French so he sent one of the young ladies down to help. She got us back on the road again and with only a few missed turns, we arrived at the hotel.
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| Toulon Harbor |
We settled in, Laura washed some laundry in the sink. If it does not dry by morning, we will be heading down the road with laundry hanging out the windows. Soon after, we ventured out to a restaurant down the road from the hotel which had been recommended by the staff.
One of the things that I liked about the restaurants in Barcelona was that the menu came with pictures so if you could not read the Spanish titles or there were not any English subtitles, you could point and get pretty much what you thought you were ordering. Not so much so far in France. Last night our waiter had a good command of the English language, tonight we were struggling to try to figure out what we were going to eat. We finally took a chance and Laura had three very large prawns with risotto and I had a very tender beef steak with mashed potatoes. We shared a bottle of wine. Laura had a caramel ice cream for dessert that she said was to die for.
Afterwards we walked a short distance on the beach; Laura tried to fall into the Mediterranean. She claims it was the fault of the soft sand, I think it was the wine. So now we are all tucked in safe and sound for the night.
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| Me walking back to the hotel after dinner in Toulon |
Wednesday, May 18
Today, we were real terrors of the highway. The GPS was a great help most of the time but on several occasions; she waited until I was committed to making a turn when she said to turn the opposite direction. We chose to take the scenic route instead of the express toll road. We certainly roamed about the countryside. GPS told us our 2.5 hour trip was now a 4.5 hour trip.
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| Inside the Casino |
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| Monte Carlo |
Thursday May 19
After driving over the highways and byways to get to Menton yesterday, we decided to take the toll road to Aux de Provence. So Laura set up the GPS and off we went. We were directed first through a narrow street with tall apartment buildings on either side and the middle of the street filled with parked cars. It only got worse; soon we were on a narrow road heading up the mountain. At times, it was a squeeze to get between the parked cars on the road and the ditch on the other. We got to one corner and came head to head with several cars coming down the mountain. I had to back up to find a place to move over so they could pass. Fortunately, that was the only traffic that we met until we reached the toll road.
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| Aix en Provence |
We stopped in Aux en Provence and wandered through some of the city streets. We stopped for crepes in a little restaurant on the street. We arrived just as all the street vendors were packing up for the day. We then went hunting for the car. It was not as bad as the parking garage in Auckland last year, but it is difficult when the signs in the garage say you are here but they don’t tell you where anything else is. I knew where I was, I wanted to know where my car was.
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| Aix en Provence |
After the expense of the last toll road, we decided to take the highways and byways to Arles where we were to spend the night before catching the river cruise.
We arrived in France in the wrong season to see the lavender in bloom but we did see some pretty scenery. They also say that you see a cow every day of your life. Sometimes it may be just a picture, but it is still a cow. As we were driving along, we came to a pasture filled with large, black, horned cattle. That in its self is not so interesting but each cow had a number painted on its side.
Driving through the back roads instead of the toll road we came across the old Roman Aquaduct Roquefavor. Laura knew that it was somewhere near Aix en Provence but when she tried to program it into the GPS it wouldn't take it. But just by accident we came across it on our travels. Laura was thrilled to stop and take some pictures.
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| Roguefavor Aquaduct |
We arrived in Arles about 4:30 PM, located the hotel with little difficulty. The real test was finding parking. We ended up about 1 ½ blocks away. We got checked in and then went for a walk up into the old Roman part of the city looking to find somewhere for dinner. We walked about looking at the sights and eventually ended back down on one of the main boulevards. We found a nice café and Laura had the Bull stew and I had a Caesar Salad. Afterwards we headed off to bed.
Friday May 20
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| Our ship the MS Amadagio |
Dinner was at 7PM, we were seated with two other couples with whom we soon became acquainted. Dinner was excellent though it took 2 ½ hours until we had the last course. The wait staff was very attentive and humorous.
Saturday May 21
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| Coliseum in Arles |
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| Inside the Coliseum |
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| Les Baux de Provence |
We returned to the ship for lunch and then took a bus tour to Les Baux de Provence which was a little town with ruins of a castle in the Alpilles Mountains. It was very interesting plus they had examples of the various weapons of war such as a catapult, trebuchet, and battering ram on the castle grounds. They also had shops showing the blacksmith, leather worker, basket maker and a stone carver. However when we got there, they were all at lunch.
After winding back down from the castle ruins through the town, we got back on the bus and headed to visit an olive farm to learn about the cultivation of olives and production of olive oil. The best part of this stop was the opportunity to taste three different olive oils and to learn what made them different. They of course lead us through the mandatory gift shop before we could get back on the bus.
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| Olive Farm where we tasted different olives and olive oil |
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Bridge of Avignon made
famous by a song
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We had about 2 hours to rest before dinner which was just as delicious as last nights. Now it is time to head for bed to get some rest before the next day’s adventure.
Sunday May 22
This morning after breakfast, Laura and I went our separate ways. I took the walking tour of historic center of Avignon and a climb through the 300 steps of the Papal Palace while Laura took the bus ride out to see an ancient Roman aqueduct called Pont du Gard. The city tour was interesting but since it was Sunday and early in the morning there were few locals up and about. You could window shop as you walked past the shops because none were open.
The papal palace was a very large collection of buildings that we wandered through. Much of the palace was still under renovation. The French Army had used the buildings as a barracks for their soldiers. They opened up windows and added floors to the rooms; the renovation has been slowly repairing the damage and returning the palace to its original conditions. Some of the artwork had been destroyed but in cleaning the walls, they discovered frescos painted under the paint. The picture of the floor tiles are ones that they salvaged.
I am now turning the computer over to Laura to tell you about her adventures today.
I am now turning the computer over to Laura to tell you about her adventures today.
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| Pont du Gard Roman Aquaduct |
| Going through a lock |
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| Going thru a lock |
We joined up on the ship again and it started cruising up the Rhone River. We spent the entire afternoon and early evening cruising. We went through 4 locks on our way to Viviers, but I must say the scenery along the river was not too inspiring. We did see several castles along the river but most of the time it was just a few trees and brush. The weather was also not cooperating, dark clouds were coming in and we were getting light rain.
We arrived at Viviers after dinner at 9 PM. It was a dark and stormy night but we thought we would brave it and go out on the “Ghost Walk”. Our guides were dressed in period clothing and we trudged down the street under umbrellas trying to keep from stepping in the deep puddles. It was interesting listening to the guides but because it was at night, you could not see the town very good.
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| Viviers ghost walk and our ghost |
We were visited by a ghost, who was an actor portraying a Protestant leader of the town who was quite a cad. We learned that he had embezzled monies from the tax monies. He was charged, tried and beheaded in a single day. He told us that his body was cut into four pieces and thrown into the river. He said it was very difficult to collect himself because he could not swim. We got back to the ship about 11 PM, damp, cold and tired. We had a warming drink and then turned in for the night.
Monday May 23
After breakfast it was back in our Mercedes with our own driver. Of course it seats 60 people. But it was very comfortable. They drove us out into the countryside where we stopped at a Truffle farm and learned how truffles were grown, watched the dogs hunt for truffles and best of all taste truffles prepared by our hosts. They sliced truffles onto a piece of baguette which was very nutty tasting. They then served a piece of baguette with several drops of olive oil and black winter truffle. It was much stronger tasting almost a garlicky flavor. The truffles were accompanied with a choice of red, rose or white wine from a neighbor’s vineyard.
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| Shaved truffles for us to eat |
After that visit, we travelled to the small town of Grignan which was perched upon a hill surrounded by lavender fields and topped by a Renaissance castle. One of the things that also made the town stand out was that the residents had planted hundreds of climbing roses which made for a very beautiful view.
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| Grignan |
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| Grignan |
We then went to meet the ship which tied up along the river just long enough to get the tour group onboard before we were heading north once again, this time for a stop in the town of Tournon for wine and chocolates.
Tuesday May 24
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| Chocolate |
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| Tournon |
Afterwards we had time to walk down into the town to do some window-shopping and to take photographs.
We then returned to the ship to relax, have lunch and start cruising towards the city of Vienne. The weather once again refused to cooperate and we were greeted by clouds and a scattering of showers. But we were cozy inside the ship so it was not a problem.
Wednesday, May 25
We docked at Vienne yesterday evening, this morning after breakfast we were off for a walking tour of the city with a visit to the Temple of Augustus. The weather was cooperating as it was not raining but it was not sunny and warm.
But first we visited a old church which was now a museum of Roman artifacts.
The walk through the town was interesting as it was quite a mix of old Roman ruins, Medevial buildings and modern architecture.
We were back on the ship by noon when we pulled out to cruise up the river to Lyon. That was the major complaint about the cruise. We did not have much free time in an area after the tours. It would have been nice to spend more time in the towns and do the cruising at night while we were asleep.
Vienne was also famous for its Trompe d'oile paintings on the walls of the buildings. Laura particularly liked one that was a painting of a doorway with a dog lying in it. It was very realistic.
Vienne was also famous for its Trompe d'oile paintings on the walls of the buildings. Laura particularly liked one that was a painting of a doorway with a dog lying in it. It was very realistic.
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| Wall painting |
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| Inside Les Halles Market |
We returned to the ship about 5:30 PM to start to get ready for the Captains Gala Dinner. It is the night when everyone dresses up and comes out to dine. We also learned that the tastings at the market had taken most of our appetite. The gala dinner was tasty and was presented in a very artistic manner as were all of our meals onboard. The wait staff were bending over backwards to make sure that all of our wishes were met. There certainly cannot be any complaints on the food that we have been served this past week, nor the service.
There is a large cathedral on the hill overlooking the city. The Protestant leaders of the town did not want a church to be the symbol of the town so they commissioned Eiffel to build a communications tower that is patterned after the top portion of the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
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| Lyon |
Thursday May 26
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| Oingt - Organ player at entrance to town |
After Laura returned from her little side trip into town, we sailed up the Rhone to where it met the Sonne River. We arrived in the wine country and boarded the bus to visit the little hilltop town of Oingt, and then visit one of the local vineyards to taste their wines.
Oingt is a charming old city, made of stone and cobblestone streets. We were greeted at the gate by a man playing an organ but it makes its music from wooden blocks that run through the instrument. It sort of looked like punch cards. The tour guide sang a medieval song in the church which was hauntingly beautiful. But then it was time to travel to our wine tasting.
We were met in the vineyard by the owner. The vineyard was established by his family in 1776, but he has only worked the vineyard for the past 40 years. The vineyard consisted of 2 ½ acres and produces on an average of 7000 bottles of wine a year. In the cellar which was built in the 17th century, we were able to taste 4 of his wines and sample some sausage and cheese. Life continues to be good.
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| Enjoying our wine tasting |
Afterwards we returned to the ship, which sailed back down the Rhone to Lyon. We had a nice dinner and then retired to our cabin to pack for our departure in the morning.
Friday, May 27
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| Cooking School in Lyon |
Afterwards we had another hour to wait until the bus picked us up to transport us to the train station. We sat outside under a tree on a bench and talked with a couple from Canada and watched the world pass us by.
Eventually, the bus came and the guides rounded us up and shepherded us through the train station and then onto the correct train car and into our assigned seats. The train was comfortable and we arrived in Paris after about 2 hours and 20 minutes. We were then herded onto buses and taken to the hotel for which the tour group had reservations. We, of course, were not staying in that hotel. We had just used the ship’s transfer to Paris as it was easier and cheaper than if we had done it ourselves. So now, we claimed our suitcases and caught a taxi which took us to our hotel which is located a few blocks from the Opera House.
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| Palais Garnier Opera House near our hotel |
After a quick unpack, we ventured out into the streets of Paris. We walked over to the Opera House and wandered up and down the streets of the area. We did stop for dinner. Laura had a bowl of French Onion soup which she declared as the best she had for a long time. She then jumped at the chance to have Frog Legs. I on the other hand, was nursing a cold which had me under the weather, I settled for a ham and cheese omelet.
We did find our way back to the hotel with only a little difficulty. The pigeons ate all the bread crumbs that I had left as markers. Then we slid between the sheets for a good night’s sleep.
Saturday, May 28
We arose late, drank some OJ, and ate a banana and an apricot which we had purchased at a market on our way to the hotel last night.
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From inside the Louvre - looking up through
the Pyramid
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We had decided to visit the Louvre today so we walked to the Opera House and then towards the river down Rue de la Paix when we reached the Place Vendome we saw where they were setting up for a Woman’s Auto Rally. We saw some nice older cars. We kept walking and finally entered a park which runs along the river. We turned left and walked through the park to the Louvre.
We wandered through the Louvre for hours looking at the Roman statuary and then the French and Italian Paintings. We made a special point of visiting Mona Lisa as did a great number of other tourists.
Since there were few things labeled in English and we do not read French, we had to make up names for many of the works of art.
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This was originally a
base of a fountain
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| Mona Lisa |
There were so many beautiful things on display and it was not just the works of art on the walls but the walls, ceilings and the building itself is a work of art. It is easy to see how you could easily spend a week visiting the Louvre and still not have seen everything. We had just a taste.
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| Mercury |
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King Charlemagne statue
outside Notre Dame
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We reached Notre Dame and being a little oblivious of what we were doing cut the line to enter the church. We spent a short time looking around the church, which we had seen before. We then wandered off across the river to visit the Shakespeare and Company Bookstore. We headed back towards our hotel but thought we would have an early dinner and then catch a taxi. So having done that, we are now safely back in the hotel. I have my souvenir beer glass for a French beer drank in the city of Paris. .
Sunday May 29
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| Notre Dame Cathedral |
We opted to take a tour bus out to Monet’s Gardens in Giverny instead of trying to find the train station and find the correct train and all that. The driver picked us up at 8 AM at the hotel along with another couple from Brazil. He then went to two other hotels to pick up more tourists until there were 7 of us in the van. It was an hour ride to Giverny, mostly on the freeway so we nodded off until we got to our destination. We first went to the water garden in hopes that we might beat the rush but alas we were outsmarted by 3 tour groups from the Viking Cruise Line. We had come early to beat the rush but it seemed like we did not make it. There were too many damn tourists. The weather was cooperating. It was not sunny. The sky was a misty gray, but at least it was not raining like yesterday.
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| Monet's water garden |
Monets house, garden and some funny chickens
We then wandered over to the gardens around his home and studio. Laura had found some funny fuzzy headed chickens that she took pictures of. We walked through his home and his studio was now the gift shop and the exit. We had about 20 minutes before our driver was to pick us up so we went to a little shop outside the Monet home grounds. Laura found a tapestry pillow cover that she believes will look good on our couch in the living room. I went next door for a coffee and to get her a soda to drink for our trip back to Paris.
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| Arc de Triomphe |
We walked down the Avenue des Champs Elysees, then turned down Avenue George V and crossed the river to walk under the Eiffel Tower. But before we reached the Eiffel Tower we stopped for a very late lunch at a little sidewalk café. Laura had a Ham and Cheese sandwich while I had the Quiche of the Day which turned out to be a ham quiche. We washed it down with a local beer called 1664 which was refreshing. The waitress gave me the beer glass as a gift so now I have 2 glasses from Paris and 2 glasses from Barcelona. I will have to make shelves to display them.
We checked out the menu at the Jules Verne Restaurant but 190 Euros each for a 5 item dinner did not sound to good especially since we had just eaten. Also we were not dressed for it. We will save it for next time we visit Paris. Or at those prices, probably not.
After our visit to the Tower we wandered aimlessly in the general direction of the Pont Alexandre III which is one of the most ornate bridges in the world. But now it started raining so we decided to hail a taxi and return to the hotel. It is now 6 PM and we are safely tucked away planning tomorrows adventures.
Monday, May 30
We awoke this morning to another rainy Parisian day. We had purchased some juice, breakfast rolls and a couple of apricots so we had them for breakfast. Afterwards we decided that it might be a good time to visit the Opera House because it was close and it was inside.
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| The Famous Chandelier in the Opera House |
We finished our tour of the Opera House with the mandatory exit through the Gift Shop. You could purchase replicas of some of the costumes. I saw several that would have looked pretty spiffy for Victorian dress.
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| The stage of the Opera House |
Afterwards, Laura and I split up once again. It was still raining and had increased in intensity since we entered the Opera House, I did not feel like doing anymore sightseeing in the rain, so I went back to the hotel and Laura struck off on her own. I will let her describe what she did and saw.
George has turned the computer over to me again. I did decide that I would walk in the rain. From the Opera House I decided to head towards the Place de Concorde. I thought I was going the right direction but soon discovered I was a little lost. Since it was raining everyone was in a hurry to get to where they were going, but I saw a woman walking just ahead of me and I caught up with her. I greeted her in French and asked her if she spoke English, she said yes, a little. She took me along with her for about a block, chatting as we went, then she pointed me in the correct direction. Along the way I found a grocery store. I always love to check out grocery stores in foreign countries. You can actually find some interesting things. This grocery store was 2 stories high. I did pick up a couple of things to bring home. For some reason, my favorite souvenirs are food items.
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| Place de la Concorde |
What I came away with from this walk in the rain, is that every person I ran into and talked to were so friendly. They took the time to help me with directions and to just interact with me. I came back to the hotel feeling high. I have heard from others that the French are considered rude. I have argued that they are not. Sure there are always a few rude people anywhere in the world, we have rude people here, but the French as a whole, are not rude. Maybe the people who find them rude are approaching them wrong. Never expect them to or assume they speak English, a lot of them don’t. But when approached showing you are trying to speak their language, they will try to speak English, and working together you can usually communicate. Back to George.
After Laura returned, we headed out for our last dinner in Paris. We caught a taxi and went to the Avenue des Champs Elysees where Laura had spotted a restaurant that specialized in mussels. We found it and went in for dinner. We ordered an appetizer which was pate, a dry sausage and some small pickles. It was very good, but it was much more food than we had expected. Laura ordered a pot of mussels and I had a fish and chips. That may not have been very exotic but that is what I felt like.
(Laura again – our waiter tonight was also quite friendly and helpful, he even wrapped up the sausage we didn’t eat, and he suggested we take it home with us – it’s dried. In the reviews for this restaurant I had read that the waiters here were not attentive and were very unfriendly, again I have to take exception to that, I found it just the opposite.)
(Laura again – our waiter tonight was also quite friendly and helpful, he even wrapped up the sausage we didn’t eat, and he suggested we take it home with us – it’s dried. In the reviews for this restaurant I had read that the waiters here were not attentive and were very unfriendly, again I have to take exception to that, I found it just the opposite.)
After dinner we walked towards the river and the Eiffel tower. It was still raining and we were hoping to catch the lights on the Eiffel tower. To warm up after our walk, we ducked into a small café and had some Custard for dessert and I warmed myself with a Latte. When we came out, the tower was lit up. It was great but also a little spooky because at first the top of the tower was blanketed in a cloud but after a few minutes the cloud passed and we had a great view.
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| Ponte Alexandre III Bridge |
On our way to the Eiffel tower, we walked down along the river and across the Pont Alexandre III bridge. We saw the saddest thing as we were walking across the bridge. There in the rain was a bride in her white wedding dress with a long trail dragging it through the puddles so she and her intended could have their pictures taken on the bridge. Crazy!
As we walked along the river, we came across one of the famous Parisian street toilets. Since the previous day when we were in need of a toilet and could not find one that was either unoccupied or not out of service, we found one and decided to make use of it. Just to have one of those special vacation moments.
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| The Eiffel Tower lit up on our last night |
Tuesday, May 31
This has been a travelling day. 8 hours in the air from Paris to Newark, NJ and then another 6 hours to San Diego. It is good to be home again. Just learned that the Seine River is flooding in Paris. They have closed the Louvre in order to move things to higher ground. We left Paris just in time.
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