Post by californian on Sept 16, 2014 16:51:45 GMT
Best of France, September 2011 (Left 09/01, returned 09/16)
I left from Los Angeles two days earlier, Thursday Sep 01, I had planned a WWII walk for Saturday 3rd, but Paris was having a heat wave, which in top of the humidity, got the best of me, the walk was at 3:30, by that time I had walked quite a bit, and did not feel up to walk 2 ½ miles more, but overall I did well that day, had a tour of the Opera Garnier, gorgeous building inside and out, visited the Church of St. Madeleine, continued walking towards Plaza de la Concorde, a little bit of the Champs Elysees and I have to say, I knew French man like to fool around, but I did not know that they are constantly losing their wedding bands!, at least three people on a 45 min spam asked me if it was my ring that they had just picked up in front of me…besides these three, I saw many other con artists taking money of silly tourists with card games, has anybody ever won at these games? Good thing that they were many vendors with buckets of ice and cold water, I think 2 euro each, but very helpful in that heat. Next I stood in line to get the ticket to visit St. Chapelle, it was extremely hot in the court yard under the sun, not shade what so ever, but the stained glass windows! What a gift to the eyes!, by passed the long lines at Notre Dame, since I had been inside 2 or 3 times, but I did want to see the back again, the flying buttress, what a marvel of building. The Museum of the Deportation at the end of the Isle of the Cite was opened but the main part; with the lights representing each deportee was closed. It was then that I decided to go back to the hotel and skip the walking tour. Started to rain later and I went for a walk around the hotel, bought some fruit and sandwiches at a very nice supermarche (?) around the corner from the hotel, walked to the bridge to see the Eiffel Tower all lighted up (Hotel Novotel Eiffel Tower).
I overslept the next morning, so I started about 10, took the Metro and found St. Sulpice Church, I knew that on Sundays the organist plays ½ hr concert after Mass, this is a massive organ, it sounded so beautiful, it made me cry. From there I walked to St. Germain–des-Press, from the 11th century, which was once outside medieval Paris, across the street there is a restaurant called Deux Magot, which was once the hangout of Ernest Hemingway and others of that era, I had an omelet… from there I walked to Luxemburg Gardens, it rained on and off, love Paris in the rain…
The meeting at the hotel was at 4:30, and we started with the optional tour of the left bank and Notre Dame, Montmartre was out because of the rain. Cindy is our TD, Marc our driver, the 48 of us had come from Australia, Canada and the US. Very nice group, some young, and a 86 old lady, traveling alone, very independent.
Day 1- We left toward Lyon, hotel changed to Park Suites, in the center of town. First stop Beaunne, very nice, had a wine testing. Before going to the hotel in Lyon, we climbed a hill for a view of the city, then to nice restaurant for the included dinner.
Days 2 and 3-From Lyon to Nice, where we stayed two nights, stopping in Avignon to view the bridge and castle, and Montecarlo. In Nice we had a very good location, Hotel Bascolo Plaza, one block from Mediterranean and the Promenade des Anglais. The optional the next day was ½ day trip to St. Paul de Vence, Eze (with dinner included) and Grasse. I did not do it, since even the restaurant was the same as 9 years earlier, decided to explore Nice instead. Went on a boat ride, had socca, tired my luck at the casino, had a nice dinner and wine, all these with my seat mate, an American lady from Oregon, we got along beautifully.
Day 4- From Nice, we drove west, passing Cannes, Air en Provence, arriving at Arles about lunch time, we had a very nice guided tour, mainly the old arena, and a walk and history of the Van Gogh stay in Arles. Arrived in Carcassone, with the best castle we have ever seen, the hotel also had been changed, the new one--------, with a magnificent view of it and the bridge, especially at night.
Day 5- On the way to Biarritz, in the Pays Basque, we stopped at Lourdes, a good two hours, exceptional place, beautiful Cathedral, people getting water in all kind of containers, I bought 4 small bottles and filled out also for my Catholic friends. Nice shops also. Biarritz is still very famous for the surf, and celebrities are still going there, Madonna was there with her children very recently, we were told. It was very warm, but we had a nice time, shopping was also good, I was not looking but I found a pair of Mephisto sandals that I had to have, and at a better price than in the US. Dinner at the hotel? Probably…
Day 6- Went up to La Rhune, about 2900 ft elevation (900+ meters) The weather was good, not cold or windy, Cindy told us to wear to take a cardigan and socks, but it was not needed really. We only stayed up about ½ hr, I did not have the chocolate that they are famous for, but I heard it was very good. La Run (in Spanish) is in Spain, still Basque Country, or Pais Vasco as is called in Spanish. We did stop for a couple of hours in St. Jean de Luz, beach town, famous for the wedding of Luois IX to the Infanta ----of Spain, their houses and the church still there.
Day 7 and 8- On to Bordeau for two nights. Of Bordeau we only saw the big plaza (a circus was in town) and the undescriptible fountain, it has so many statues and horses and water coming from everywhere, I will have to google it to find out exactly what represents, it was incredible. My camera battery died about there so I could not take many pictures of it. I think that night we had dinner at the hotel also. All the meals were very equally good, at the hotels or restaurants or the optional dinners, always had wine included (and very good wines). Next morning went to Lebounne with the biggest street (and plaza)m market I have ever seen, not too many tourist I though, mainly the locals doing their shopping, I enjoyed it very much, one of my favorite things. Then to St. Emilion, and vineyards and vineyards….that night the optional tour was at a Chateau and winery, we went together with the other Best of France group. Excellent again.
Day 9- Tours, Chenoncen, dinner at a “Be my Guest” farm, where the owner, a beautiful lady hat spoke English very well, explained how she and her husband bought the farm years ago and discovered many things hidden during the reign of terror, after the revolution, now on display, mainly religious statues. The farm was very pretty, just perfect for pictures and I was sorry did not walked around before dinner, because I missed good shots. The main dish was ossobuco, superb, and the dessert! A very rich chocolate mousse cake with mocha butter cream on the side, we all practically licked the plates! The gardens of Chenoncen were fantastic, we toured the famous castle, well done, the flower arrangements in each room were incredible.
Day 10- St. Michelle, Omaha Beach. St Michelle, very impressive, I did not go to the Abbey, not sure if anybody went up, but just walking around the place the many shops, that although very modern now, have been there from the time of the construction of the Abbey, in the 10th century???, I saw the making of the famous omelets, very fluffy, I tried to have one, but the restaurant was very slow, sat there for about 10 min, and left (and it was very expensive besides). This restaurant must be famous because it had signed pictures of many celebrities, old timers I think, Hemingway being one. I had to buy a crepe instead.
Omaha Beach is a very emotional experience, the American Cemetery and Museum very hard to see without tears, the beach below is now beautiful, difficult to imagine D-Day and all that happened on that day and weeks after. One couple in our group had an uncle buried there and the Cemetery guide took them to their grave and invited them to the Flag ceremony. They told us how they expressed their gratitude, and hug them and kissed them, gave them souvenir American and French flags and sand from the beach. We went down to the beach also. From the road we saw the German Cemetery. Tough day, but the hotel and dinner were very nice.
Day 11- last day on the road, started for Paris with a stop at Giverny, Monet’s house and gardens, the famous Japanese bridge and water lilies, no words here to describe them. After Giverny, there was the optional of Versailles, for all of us not going (been there twice), Cindy gave the option of spending some time in the town of Versailles or go to the hotel, I, and a few other decided go to the hotel, got there about 2:30 and the rooms were ready. A couple from Washington DC and I went to Montmartre, shared a taxi, and had a great time there, had dinner, went to Mass at Sacre Cour, took the little train around Montmartre, saw the entertainers, did a little more souvenir shop and back to the hotel about 9.
Day 12 (last) Early to The Invalides for the group picture, it was too early to go inside, so we went to the Eiffel Tower in the meantime, came back to see Napoleon’s tomb (and others). While others went to the Louvre, I stayed and toured the Museum of the Army, was happy to see that the group ticket was good enough, did not have to buy another. I spent a few hours there, had lamb at a restaurant a few blocks away, and did not go to Rue Cler as I had planned; my camera battery had died again, so went back to the hotel and got ready for the Farewell dinner. It was very nice, a restaurant ----on the Champs Elysees, a couple of blocks from the Arc of Triumph. And that was the end of a great, great tour. Next day to the airport, some lucky people stayed longer. I missed a few things, I am going back as soon as I can!!
I left from Los Angeles two days earlier, Thursday Sep 01, I had planned a WWII walk for Saturday 3rd, but Paris was having a heat wave, which in top of the humidity, got the best of me, the walk was at 3:30, by that time I had walked quite a bit, and did not feel up to walk 2 ½ miles more, but overall I did well that day, had a tour of the Opera Garnier, gorgeous building inside and out, visited the Church of St. Madeleine, continued walking towards Plaza de la Concorde, a little bit of the Champs Elysees and I have to say, I knew French man like to fool around, but I did not know that they are constantly losing their wedding bands!, at least three people on a 45 min spam asked me if it was my ring that they had just picked up in front of me…besides these three, I saw many other con artists taking money of silly tourists with card games, has anybody ever won at these games? Good thing that they were many vendors with buckets of ice and cold water, I think 2 euro each, but very helpful in that heat. Next I stood in line to get the ticket to visit St. Chapelle, it was extremely hot in the court yard under the sun, not shade what so ever, but the stained glass windows! What a gift to the eyes!, by passed the long lines at Notre Dame, since I had been inside 2 or 3 times, but I did want to see the back again, the flying buttress, what a marvel of building. The Museum of the Deportation at the end of the Isle of the Cite was opened but the main part; with the lights representing each deportee was closed. It was then that I decided to go back to the hotel and skip the walking tour. Started to rain later and I went for a walk around the hotel, bought some fruit and sandwiches at a very nice supermarche (?) around the corner from the hotel, walked to the bridge to see the Eiffel Tower all lighted up (Hotel Novotel Eiffel Tower).
I overslept the next morning, so I started about 10, took the Metro and found St. Sulpice Church, I knew that on Sundays the organist plays ½ hr concert after Mass, this is a massive organ, it sounded so beautiful, it made me cry. From there I walked to St. Germain–des-Press, from the 11th century, which was once outside medieval Paris, across the street there is a restaurant called Deux Magot, which was once the hangout of Ernest Hemingway and others of that era, I had an omelet… from there I walked to Luxemburg Gardens, it rained on and off, love Paris in the rain…
The meeting at the hotel was at 4:30, and we started with the optional tour of the left bank and Notre Dame, Montmartre was out because of the rain. Cindy is our TD, Marc our driver, the 48 of us had come from Australia, Canada and the US. Very nice group, some young, and a 86 old lady, traveling alone, very independent.
Day 1- We left toward Lyon, hotel changed to Park Suites, in the center of town. First stop Beaunne, very nice, had a wine testing. Before going to the hotel in Lyon, we climbed a hill for a view of the city, then to nice restaurant for the included dinner.
Days 2 and 3-From Lyon to Nice, where we stayed two nights, stopping in Avignon to view the bridge and castle, and Montecarlo. In Nice we had a very good location, Hotel Bascolo Plaza, one block from Mediterranean and the Promenade des Anglais. The optional the next day was ½ day trip to St. Paul de Vence, Eze (with dinner included) and Grasse. I did not do it, since even the restaurant was the same as 9 years earlier, decided to explore Nice instead. Went on a boat ride, had socca, tired my luck at the casino, had a nice dinner and wine, all these with my seat mate, an American lady from Oregon, we got along beautifully.
Day 4- From Nice, we drove west, passing Cannes, Air en Provence, arriving at Arles about lunch time, we had a very nice guided tour, mainly the old arena, and a walk and history of the Van Gogh stay in Arles. Arrived in Carcassone, with the best castle we have ever seen, the hotel also had been changed, the new one--------, with a magnificent view of it and the bridge, especially at night.
Day 5- On the way to Biarritz, in the Pays Basque, we stopped at Lourdes, a good two hours, exceptional place, beautiful Cathedral, people getting water in all kind of containers, I bought 4 small bottles and filled out also for my Catholic friends. Nice shops also. Biarritz is still very famous for the surf, and celebrities are still going there, Madonna was there with her children very recently, we were told. It was very warm, but we had a nice time, shopping was also good, I was not looking but I found a pair of Mephisto sandals that I had to have, and at a better price than in the US. Dinner at the hotel? Probably…
Day 6- Went up to La Rhune, about 2900 ft elevation (900+ meters) The weather was good, not cold or windy, Cindy told us to wear to take a cardigan and socks, but it was not needed really. We only stayed up about ½ hr, I did not have the chocolate that they are famous for, but I heard it was very good. La Run (in Spanish) is in Spain, still Basque Country, or Pais Vasco as is called in Spanish. We did stop for a couple of hours in St. Jean de Luz, beach town, famous for the wedding of Luois IX to the Infanta ----of Spain, their houses and the church still there.
Day 7 and 8- On to Bordeau for two nights. Of Bordeau we only saw the big plaza (a circus was in town) and the undescriptible fountain, it has so many statues and horses and water coming from everywhere, I will have to google it to find out exactly what represents, it was incredible. My camera battery died about there so I could not take many pictures of it. I think that night we had dinner at the hotel also. All the meals were very equally good, at the hotels or restaurants or the optional dinners, always had wine included (and very good wines). Next morning went to Lebounne with the biggest street (and plaza)m market I have ever seen, not too many tourist I though, mainly the locals doing their shopping, I enjoyed it very much, one of my favorite things. Then to St. Emilion, and vineyards and vineyards….that night the optional tour was at a Chateau and winery, we went together with the other Best of France group. Excellent again.
Day 9- Tours, Chenoncen, dinner at a “Be my Guest” farm, where the owner, a beautiful lady hat spoke English very well, explained how she and her husband bought the farm years ago and discovered many things hidden during the reign of terror, after the revolution, now on display, mainly religious statues. The farm was very pretty, just perfect for pictures and I was sorry did not walked around before dinner, because I missed good shots. The main dish was ossobuco, superb, and the dessert! A very rich chocolate mousse cake with mocha butter cream on the side, we all practically licked the plates! The gardens of Chenoncen were fantastic, we toured the famous castle, well done, the flower arrangements in each room were incredible.
Day 10- St. Michelle, Omaha Beach. St Michelle, very impressive, I did not go to the Abbey, not sure if anybody went up, but just walking around the place the many shops, that although very modern now, have been there from the time of the construction of the Abbey, in the 10th century???, I saw the making of the famous omelets, very fluffy, I tried to have one, but the restaurant was very slow, sat there for about 10 min, and left (and it was very expensive besides). This restaurant must be famous because it had signed pictures of many celebrities, old timers I think, Hemingway being one. I had to buy a crepe instead.
Omaha Beach is a very emotional experience, the American Cemetery and Museum very hard to see without tears, the beach below is now beautiful, difficult to imagine D-Day and all that happened on that day and weeks after. One couple in our group had an uncle buried there and the Cemetery guide took them to their grave and invited them to the Flag ceremony. They told us how they expressed their gratitude, and hug them and kissed them, gave them souvenir American and French flags and sand from the beach. We went down to the beach also. From the road we saw the German Cemetery. Tough day, but the hotel and dinner were very nice.
Day 11- last day on the road, started for Paris with a stop at Giverny, Monet’s house and gardens, the famous Japanese bridge and water lilies, no words here to describe them. After Giverny, there was the optional of Versailles, for all of us not going (been there twice), Cindy gave the option of spending some time in the town of Versailles or go to the hotel, I, and a few other decided go to the hotel, got there about 2:30 and the rooms were ready. A couple from Washington DC and I went to Montmartre, shared a taxi, and had a great time there, had dinner, went to Mass at Sacre Cour, took the little train around Montmartre, saw the entertainers, did a little more souvenir shop and back to the hotel about 9.
Day 12 (last) Early to The Invalides for the group picture, it was too early to go inside, so we went to the Eiffel Tower in the meantime, came back to see Napoleon’s tomb (and others). While others went to the Louvre, I stayed and toured the Museum of the Army, was happy to see that the group ticket was good enough, did not have to buy another. I spent a few hours there, had lamb at a restaurant a few blocks away, and did not go to Rue Cler as I had planned; my camera battery had died again, so went back to the hotel and got ready for the Farewell dinner. It was very nice, a restaurant ----on the Champs Elysees, a couple of blocks from the Arc of Triumph. And that was the end of a great, great tour. Next day to the airport, some lucky people stayed longer. I missed a few things, I am going back as soon as I can!!