20 juin - Dinan, Bretagne
Just when we thought things could not possibly get better we arrived in Dinan. Our B&B is about 1/4 the way up a steep cobblestone street leading from the port to the old town which looks like it has been created for some Hollywood set! Half timbered houses very like in England lean drunkenly over narrow cobblestone streets; the ramparts completely circle the old town which stands on a bluff above the River Rance, just inland from St Malo. Our room does not have a level floor anywhere but the bathroom is brand new. We look down on the street and the most amazingly red wall of roses opposite.
We intended to go straight out of Paris onto the autoroute, but missed a turn - what luck; we ended up in Bougival where the impressionists used to go to get out of town, at the locks on the Seine (Rhondda, this answers your question re locks). Its these serendipitous things which really make a journey special - like the day before, after visiting Giverny in perfect sunshine, finding the restaurant we had eaten at in 2004 - le Jardin des Epicures - and enjoying the best meal we have had so far on our trip - not only the food but the setting on the terrace, the sunny day, the friendly people around, the waiters. What a way for Arthur and Rhondda to spend their last afternoon in France - and we arrived at CDG with an hour to spare.
We are hoping for some sun tomorrow to visit Mont St Michel - it is overcast today. The countryside looks a bit dry for this part of France so the locals are proabaly a bit like Sydneysiders, hoping it would rain.
Second last day in Paris
Wednesday the weather broke and we had one day with a bit of rain, followed by one night of the same, then by late Thursday it was clear again and has been lovely since. Wednesday and Thursday we took advantage of the weather and hit the museums and shops - each of us doing ,more or less our own thing..... started with the Orangerie, just reopened after 5 years, on Wednesday, then Thursday first thing the Louvre, followed by the Musee d'Orsay/Picasso Museum. Thank goodness for the museum pass which lets you straight in (apart from the obligatory security check) - Rhondda and Liz were a bit selective in what they saw at the Louvre but even then were there 3 1/2 hours.
Yesterday we splt up again, Arthur M going off to explore the bookshops on the Rive Gauche. Rhondda, AL and Liz enjoyed walking along the little known Viaduc des Arts, a garden walk along an old railway viaduct in the east of the Marais on the Right Bank, then to St Eustache, Dehellerin Cookware shop, Montorgueuil district, Les Halles and the Georges Pompidou Centre.
Today we have done the Arc de Triomphe, Montmartre, Pigalle, Moulin Rouge, Pont Alexandre, petit Palais, mostly by metro rides. Now the Maltbys are off to pack as we will drive the, straight to CDG tomorrow afternoon after visiting Giverny in the morning. We are going to a restaurant on the Isle St Louis, recommended by our neighbours, the Steels for dinner.
Later - photos are - La Place de la Bastille, walking along the Viaduc des Arts, Sacre Coeur viewed from the Georges Pompidou Centre.
12 juin, leaving Annecy en route to Paris
Amazing day yesterday on Mont Blanc: I will attempt to post photos as soon as possible:
12 juin, leaving Annecy en route to Paris
Amazing day yesterday on Mont Blanc: I will attempt to post photos as soon as possible.
Tuesday:
This will not be a very long blog, as I am slowly melting from the heat. We are in Paris when it sizzles!!! The temp is likely to get to 36 today - very few places have air conditioning including our mini appartment. Last night was airless and noone slept very well.
Enough moaning: our trip from Annecy, mostly on the autoroute went very smoothly until we hit the outskirts of Paris, then poof (favourite expression at the moment) we halted!! When we ddecided to stop off in Beaune, little did we know we would meet up with Irene and Peter Calder for lunch! A few SMS and phone calls and the wonders of modern communication (thank you Anthony for the phone numbers) and we made contact just as they were starting on their first course in a lovely little Cave (wine shop/restaurant) - amazing. Three hours later, after a delicious lunch and catchup, we resumed our journey, finally reaching our appartment behind the Georges Pompidou Centre at 1910 where we were met by Jerome, one of the owners. Very nice place..... for 2! Although it has 2 King size beds there is only a sliding screen in between. We should have been suspicious as it was very cheap for the centre of Paris. No aircon means it is very hot. Rhondda and Arthur have decided to find somewhere else for 5 nights as Rhondda did not sleep at all. Bonuses - this internet is opposite and very cheap; the place is very central; a change to cooler temps is expected tomorrow - but not too cool, fine until the weekend; we are in Paris; it is still light at 10:30 at night; there are scores of good places to eat close by - Jerome recommended us several.
My mobile number in France is 0688978368 - leave off the 0 if calling from outside France. I still have to post photos - again I forgot to bring my CDs to this internet!
to be cont...
Friday 9 juin; last day in provence
Our last day in provence - tomorrow we drive to Annecy for 2 nights: We have booked (taking no chances this time) at Exelsior les Marquisinarts on lac Annecy. We plan to look around that part of the alps and go up mont blanc if the weather permits, before going on to Paris on Monday:
This week we have visited:
- Roussillon, a town built on the edge of ancient ochre quarries, with houses painted all shades of ochre and red. The old quarries are spectacular but we came home a lovely shade of red - you should have seen some of the kids... it was paradise for them, if not for their parents.
- Gordes, the ultimate in Luberon villages - everyone wants to live there, with price tags to match. The Village of the Bories, just outside is a collection of restored conical shaped very old (bronze age), built completely out of the flat stones called lauzes found everywhere on or close to the surface of the ground - like similar places in Sardinia, Ireland, Malta, all over.
- Abbey of Senanque but the lavender was not quite there - this is the place seen in all the pictures of Provence:
- Fontaine de Vaucluse - the source of the Sorgues river and fascinating paper mills and mill wheels.
- Avignon - the pont, the Palace of the Popes, the old town.
- Chateauneuf-du-Pape - vineyards planted on fields of rocks but yielding the most amazing wines: We watched workers pruning the vines to maximise the yield, with explanation in French, most of which i picked up.
- Vellerons and the daily farmers market, where we bought a basket load of fruit, ancient varieties of tomatoes, white asparagus for next to nothing - picked that morning. We are absolutely pigging out on cherries and the apricots are just starting. The local melons from Cavaillon are just superb.
- today and yesterday - Aix-en-Provence - the big Cezanne Exhibition for the 100th anniversary of his death started today at the Musee Granet - very well displayed and controlled - we had to book a time to visit.
- Wednesday we had a rest day and lazed in the sun (burnt) by the pool, read and slept.
|
|
next post will probably be from Paris!!!
Dimanche 3 juin, Apt, et le Mistral est fini
We were told by our lovely Joelle (the manager) that the mistral at this time of the year n'est pas normal. Boy did the weather change. After the sun and heat earlier, it was our warmest clothes and the heaters on until Saturday am. On Friday we were almost blown away at Les Baux as well as being blown away by the beauty. A highlight this time was the Cathedral d'images created in the limestone quarries under Les Baux. Here, changing images of Cezanne's works and life are projected onto the enormous white walls of the underground quarries: we visited here in 1973, not a soul was there and we parked our van in the entrance - it was dwarfed by the opening. Now you pay 7euros to visit. It was incredible, but you will have to wait for the pictures:
Yesterday the wind had dropped and there was not a cloud so we decided it was the day for mt Ventoux (1920m) - WOW- great views in all directions, particularly the alps, including mt blanc. Shared the road with zillions of velos (bikes) doing a mini Tour - not to mention the odd fast motor bike weaving betzeen the cars and the velos - the velo riders zere a lot fitter than us (did Arthur say that?)
today we are in Apt and have just seen a procession of Provencal bands and costumed locals, some folk dancing - the shops are closed as today is Sunday and tomorrow is a fete so Arthur is happy!
to be continued..... your comments are very welcome.
1 June 2006 Apt; Provence
Things have definitely improved since arriving at Saignon, with our lovely gite on a lavender farm - at the rate the weather is warming up, we shall definitely be seeing colour by the end of next week.
We have visited the large Sunday market at Isle s/la Sorgue, m,eandered along th back roads in th Petit Luberon where we are staying - Menerbes (Peter Mayle, A Year in Provence), Oppede Vieux. Up until yesterday it was warm enough to swim in the pool, but a massive cold front swept across and the wind have reached 65 kph - so what did we do yesterday? visit the highest newest bridge in Europe, 3 1/2 hours away at Millau - a long drive, all on autoroute but worth it; particularly with the added bonus of the village of Roquefort (yes the cheese) nearby where we visited a cave and sampled!!!
This froggy keyboqrd is frustrqting ,e; so i zill close
