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Post by Owen on Oct 2, 2014 12:11:03 GMT
1 ~~~ Tour de France (Aug/Sep 2002) ~ Narelle (Nell) ~~~ IV = 11982 Views
This travel tale was written by Narelle and relates to a Insight Vacations Tour. It was originally posted on the Insight Vacations forum.
First, the introduction:
My name is Narelle. I am 31 and live in the beautiful city of Melbourne, Australia. Between 15 August and 16 September 2002 I took my first trip to France (and indeed Europe), and this is the journal of my experiences. My Tour de France consisted of the Insight �Country Roads of France� tour, followed by the Trafalgar �Treasures of France� tour, and then I spent another 8 days by myself in Paris.
I learnt French at school and university and, whilst I hadn�t spoken the language for about 13 years, I had always maintained my desire to travel in France. I had studied the history of Paris and quite a lot about French culture, so was keen to have the French cultural experience for myself. My tour was a long time coming, first having been booked in November 2001 and including a false start in April when I should have departed and had to reschedule only a fortnight before departure.
I propose to post my journal on both the Insight and Trafalgar bulletin boards. I�m going to say nice things about both companies so I hope our moderator will be tolerant and allow it to remain in its entirety on each board.
Warning: I am verbose. Some of you will like that and some of you won�t, but of course you don�t have to read it if you don�t want to. My journal is posted with thanks to those who have posted information before me, which I found so very useful before my trip. Not only did others� posts help me with such things as packing and planning, they also prepared me for what coach tours are like and for the types of people and situations I would encounter on these tours. If my contribution to this board can help others to be better prepared for their tours then I�m happy. If it gives some people a little reading pleasure or they learn a little from it, then that is a bonus!
Please do ask questions if you have any and I will endeavour to answer them. If they are better answered in separate threads then I may do that too.
I took a lot of photographs while I travelled and would love to be able to include links throughout the journal. However, my ISP doesn�t allow me any space to do this. If there are any Aussies reading who have a suggestion as to where I could post my photographs for little cost then I�m all ears.
As for the journal itself, I took very brief notes in a notebook throughout each day, and diligently wrote in my journal each night a detailed account of the day�s activities. What follows will basically be a reproduction of that journal.
Posts: 64 | Location: Melbourne | Registered: 10 Septemb
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Post by Owen on Oct 2, 2014 12:12:18 GMT
2 ~ Thursday 15 August, 2002
Finally, no more sleeps! So many months of counting down the sleeps until my departure, one would have thought that I would be supremely well organised, but there was still a last minute rush. This was in part due to the fact that I didn’t receive my travel documents from my travel agent, Fay, until they arrived at my office by courier at 4.40pm on Wednesday. Fortunately I had the good sense to check the tickets straight away because Insight Vacations had booked the wrong flight to Singapore and Fay hadn’t noticed. My ticket said that I was to depart at 0050 – only 6 hours away! A panicky call to Fay then a nervous � hour before she rang back to say it had all been fixed and I could still depart at 1605 as planned.
Mum picked me up from home and drove me to my boyfriend, Julian’s place in the city and from there he drove me to the airport in his lunch hour. I breezed through check-in and customs then sat around for over an hour until boarding my Singapore Airlines flight to Singapore. An uneventful flight, then a very long walk to the departure gate for my connecting flight to Paris.
The flight to Paris did seem very long. I had deliberately stayed awake throughout the flight to Singapore in my determination to adjust to French time as easily as possible. However, upon leaving Singapore it was only 5pm French time and my body was telling me that it was 1am Melbourne time and I’d been awake for 20 hours. I struggled to stay awake through dinner and then dozed on and off until about 1.30am Paris time. (It seems my body had made adjustment to Singapore time but didn’t want to go back any further!)
Friday 16 August, 2002
The plane flew directly over Istanbul which was a sight to see at night, but nothing could have prepared me for the vision of flying into Paris at night. After flying over many towns and villages, all of a sudden we hit the outskirts of the city – la banlieue – which sprawled for mile and miles. The lights were so pretty, a real sight. As we touched down at Charles de Gaulle there was just the slightest hint of the coming dawn on the horizon. We had disembarked before 6am and by 6.15 I was through customs and had my suitcase. Now to find my way to Paris and l’H�tel du Square d’Anvers.
One of the great things about travelling solo is that there are no fellow travellers to be affected by one’s mistakes. One can do stupid things and no-one need ever know (unless you decide to publish your journal on the internet!). But then, there is only one set of ideas for tackling problems and only one set of eyes looking out. I decided to catch the RER train to Gare du Nord and then make my way from there. I successfully found the lift near Sortie 36 and made my way to the shuttle stop and caught the correct shuttle to take me to the train station. Problem was, I didn’t see the signs indicating that there were only two stops on this shuttle service – the one where I got on and the one where I should have got off – and I ended up having to do another lap of the circuit. I certainly saw the “Gare” sign the second time around, and realised that the first time I passed it I had been distracted by the fascinating crisscross patterns of jet streams in the sky above the airport, the jet streams pink in the early morning half-light.
The first chance to check out my French on a Frenchman came at the RER station. No problem at all buying a ticket to Paris - €7.70 and I was on a train in no time. Second chance to test out my French: finding a taxi to take me to my hotel. The driver was 75 year old if he was a day and sat in front continuously chewing his cud and talking to himself and he didn’t move above second gear all the way. I think he duped me into putting my carry bag into the boot so that he could charge me extra. He didn’t like my pronunciation of square or d’Anvers, but even when he’d understood where I wanted to go he had trouble finding it. He kept repeating that there are deux milles h�tels � Paris. I eventually spotted the hotel and the driver drove the wrong way down a one way street. €7.50 for what should have been a drive of a few hundred metres.
The hotel is located on a square of the same name, the square having a park with pretty gardens and a playground, with many people using it even at 8.10am. Third chance to test out my French when I introduced myself to the concierge and asked if my room was ready. I just had a 15 minute wait in the lounge and then was presented with my key – no problems with the language that time so my confidence was restored.
My hotel room was small, as expected, and very simple but adequate – a double bed, TV, desk & chair and bathroom with toilet and tiny shower (I know a few people who would have trouble getting into it!), and a window and little balcony with wrought iron railings (like nearly every other building in Paris). I was certainly grateful to be able to check in so early, to be able to shower and especially to get out of my hot clothes and into some summer clothes!
At 10am I made my way on foot south along rue Turgot and rue de Rochechouart to the Cadet M�tro station. There I purchased a carnet of 10 M�tro tickets (€9.60) and took the M�tro to Op�ra. The sight coming up out of the station into the place de l’Op�ra, looking straight at the opulent Op�ra de Paris Garnier is exactly as my friends described it, just incredible.
I was determined to keep walking virtually all day to adjust to Paris time, so decided to take an introductory walk around Paris, glimpsing many of the famous sights but not risking missing the detail through tiredness so not going into any museums etc.
From the Op�ra I walked southwest along the boulevards des Capucines and de la Madeleine to place de la Madeleine. I had read many times about the fact that much of Paris closes down for summer holidays in August, but I hadn’t been prepared for the scope of this. When people say that 80% of Parisians leave Paris in August, I don’t think they’re exaggerating. Even on the big boulevards there are designer boutiques and homewares stores and caf�s that are closed. La Madeleine, with its square shape and rows of Corinthian columns, is not a very “churchy” looking church. It could just as easily be a bank or a general post office, and I’ve read that there actually were proposals long ago to convert it into a parliament or bank before it was consecrated. I took a quick look in Fauchon, the “millionaires’ supermarket” on place de la Madeleine. I think everything in there was out of my price range, but what incredible looking foods, especially the chocolates and the patisserie.
I continued walking down rue Royale (more beautiful boutiques) to the place de la Concorde. Again, I was amazed by the scope of the sight – it’s an enormous place! My professeur Maurice had suggested that I go looking for millionaires (preferably with ch�teaux) at the H�tel Crillon. Well, it seems like Paris is treating me like many other places I have visited by bringing out the scaffolding to conduct repairs and renovations right while I’m visiting. When I went to New York, Central Station and City Hall were in scaffolding. When I went to Washington DC, Mt Vernon was in scaffolding. And in Paris part of the Crillon was just one of many buildings I’ve seen today that are currently undergoing repairs, their facades shrouded in scaffolding.
After a brief rest in the gardens near the beginning of the avenue des Champs-�lys�es (and my first glimpse of the Eiffel Tower and Arc de Triomphe), I continued across the Pont de la Concorde over the Seine where the Palais Bourbon or Assembl�e Nationale is located (home to the French Parliament). Going left along the quai Anatole-France took me past the Mus�e d’Orsay. There were large queues of people waiting outside to access the Impressionist treasures housed within this grand old railway station. It would have been hot work for Les Bouquinistes, the sellers of art and second-hand books who line the riverside as the temperature really started to climb. I think it probably reached over 30�C and whilst there was a haze over Paris all day, the sun really was hot. Nice coming from a Melbourne winter to this!
I turned right into the rue du Bac, walking past many closed antique shops and boutiques, their signs saying they’ll be back at the end of August. I then turned left into the boulevard St-Germain, a very stylish shopping strip, and it being nearly noon, I found a caf� at which to have lunch. At Caf� le Rouquet I ordered a Salade Saint-Germain for €8 – consisting of lettuce, tomato, ham, cheese, hard-boiled egg, olives and a yummy dressing. I think nearly all of the diners there were tourists – plenty of guidebooks in evidence.
Further along the boulevard St-Germain the caf�s became more numerous, and I had my first 2 experiences of begging in Paris in quick succession. The first was a man jumping out at everyone passing and asking for help. I pretended I didn’t understand French with him. Then I encountered a young woman pushing a small child in a pusher and calling for someone who speaks English. When I said I do she put a note in my hand that claimed her son has a plastic heart and she urgently needs money to save his life. He was a very robust looking child so of course I refused his mother assistance.
I will certainly return to St-Germain-des-Pr�s which was really bustling around the area where Les Deux Magots is situated, the caf� once frequented by famous artists and writers like Hemingway.
I walked along rue to Buci and rue St Andr�-des-Arts, through busy place St Michel and along quai St Michel, crossing over the Seine into the Ile de la Cit� at Petit Pont. There were large crowds queuing to climb the towers of Notre-Dame (which also had a front corner in scaffolding), and vendors of ice creams and souvenirs were taking full advantage of the tourist numbers. This is certainly somewhere I think one should come early in the day or with a tour group so you can jump the queue. After taking a few photos of the cathedral I found some affordable postcards so bought a dozen. The range of prices for postcards is amazing. I paid €1.50 for 12 but saw them for as much as €1.50 each!
I returned to the right bank via the Pont d’Arcole. In the place de l’H�tel de Ville there was a beach volleyball game underway on a makeshift beach. On my left the Tour St Jacques was completely encased in scaffolding. The Centre Pompidou was up ahead and looked even more unusual than I had expected with the bright red, green, blue and yellow pipes on the outside of the building. In the place Georges Pompidou there were plenty of artists producing portraits of tourists and selling their works.
Next I walked through the Square des Innocents and past the Forum des Halles shopping centre, left along rue du Pont Neuf and then right along rue de Rivoli. Outside La Samaritaine department store there were many sellers of trinkets and refreshments. I gave in to the heat and paid €2.40 for a 50cl bottle of Coke.
I then made my way to the Louvre. Whilst many people queued by the Pyramid in full sun waiting to get into the museum, as many people were lazing in the share (as I did for a while) or sitting with their feet in the water near the Pyramid.
The commercial area of Paris beckoned next, so I made my way through to the back of the Louvre. It was here that a Frenchman who had been walking in the opposite direction, raised his eyebrows at me and turned around to follow me. I could feel him on my tail and once outside back in the rue de Rivoli he came up to me and asked me where I was from. He then offered to be my personal guide for the afternoon. He asked me to join him for coffee or a glass of wine, to take a walk with him. I politely declined each invitation and said that I would prefer to walk alone. The entire conversation took place in French and he was very persistent. Finally I told him quite firmly in English to leave me alone and I at last got rid of him. Only 9 hours in France and I had a Frenchman trying to pick me up!
I walked past the Com�die Fran�aise and through the beautiful Jardin du Palais Royale with its lush central garden, formal rows of trees and modern sculptures. I then followed a walk from my Paris walks book called Commerce and Culture: From the Bourse to the Op�ra, starting near the Palais de la Bourse. This is no longer the home of the French Stock Exchange but still impressive. The thing that really struck me was just how quiet this whole area was. Where were all the suits? I’ve since read that 15 August was a holiday for the Feast of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary. I think that most of Paris must have elected to make a long weekend of it and take Friday 16 August off work too.
The rest of my walk took me in and out of streets and arcades around the business district, then back to the Op�ra. I went along boulevard Haussmann past the great department stores, then headed back to Madeleine. From here I took the M�tro to Pigalle then transferred lines to get to Anvers.
Back at the hotel by 4.30pm I showered then relaxed for a few hours. Now to find somewhere for dinner. I asked the concierge for a recommendation. She recommended La Table d’Anvers, a restaurant a few doors from the hotel, or that I continue south of the square. She warned me not to eat at any of the places just north of the square in boulevard de Rochechouart unless I wanted to fall ill. So I wandered south looking for an affordable little bistro, and wandered and wandered… Many of the caf�s and restaurants were closed or closing, and there were several sleazy looking bars. I had several men look me up and down as I walked and several made comments. Sleaze is easy to identify, whatever language it comes in.
The further I walked the more uncomfortable I felt, so eventually I decided to splurge and eat at La Table d’Anvers. It was a very fancy restaurant. Five staff greeted me when I walked through the door. There was one to hold back to curtain across the entrance, another to show me to my seat. There was a drinks waiter, a waiter to serve the food, a waitress to take the orders and announce the dishes as they were served, a junior to hold the trays and keep an eye on things, then another lady to look after the bill. I was their first diner for the evening (at 7.40pm) but soon a party of 4 Americans arrived. When I left after 9pm there were only 2 more there – a couple of French girls.
Dinner was magnificent. First I was given an appetiser which was a tiny square of roasted eggplant and a mystery vegetable, topped with a dob of cream cheese and a coriander leaf. A nice little tempter. Then there was a tiny glass of jelly, pineapple flavour I think, with some sort of white mousse underneath. I ordered a glass of Pauillac 1997 – a lovely red wine. I skipped entr�e and had for main course the Filet de Bœuf Normand, Foie Gras Po�l�. The beef fillet was topped with roasted duck foie gras and was served with a little copper saucepan of creamy mashed potatoes with gravy, a little cake of shell pasta gratin�e, and vegetables. D�licieux! For dessert I ordered the Macaron Citron et Fraises Marin�es. This was a finger shaped macaroon with a subtle lemon flavour topped with half strawberries and little squares of white chocolate. Beside this on a long plate was a tiny glass of strawberry ice cream topped with bitter lemon sorbet. The marinated strawberries were finely diced and served in an espresso cup. I declined coffee (desperately needing sleep by now) but was brought a plate of sweet treats which included 2 tiny raspberry tarts, 2 squares of turkish delight, 2 little madeleine cakes, 2 rich chocolate truffles and 2 liqueur filled dark chocolates. Absolutely superb, and so it should have been for a rather extravagant €84.00. I won’t be eating like that every night!
So I made it through the whole day without falling asleep. The lack of air-conditioning in my hotel room proved to be a problem as I needed to close the window to block some of the noise from the street. Various rides and amusements occupied the centre strip of nearby boulevard de Rochechouart and the crowds generated quite a bit of noise well into the night. However, once I fell asleep, after more than 50 hours awake, I slept like a log.
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Post by Owen on Oct 2, 2014 12:13:22 GMT
3 ~ Saturday 17 August, 2002
A typical French breakfast in the hotel to commence the day � lovely fresh baguette with butter and jam. I also had some stewed apple and a croissant. I checked out the hotel at 9.45am. It had cost me �70 for bed and breakfast � excellent value given I had taken 3 showers and had the room for 25� hours! However, I left very concerned that I didn�t want to return to this area after my coach tours for my final 8 days. I must get in contact with my travel agent to arrange different accommodation.
One thing about the old city of Paris � it�s not very friendly to disabled people, especially those in wheelchairs, nor is it friendly to people with heavy suitcases. Whilst the M�tro system is very easy to navigate, it falls short in the escalator and lift department. However, I soon found that Paris also has no shortage of men jumping forward to help a young woman with a suitcase, as one did as soon as I began my struggle down the stairs of the Anvers station. My plan to take the long route on the M�tro paid off in limiting my transfers to one, but also because there was an escalator at the bigger station of Charles de Gaulle-�toile. From there I caught the train to Glaci�re, only a short walk from the Sofitel Forum Rive Gauche, and with yet another man eager to carry my suitcase downstairs for me.
It was an interesting trip on the train with buskers coming into the carriage to entertain and hopefully make a few Euro cents in the process. To hear the piano accordion on the M�tro really made me feel like I was in Paris! How wonderful to emerge from the underground past Passy station, to cross the Seine and see the Eiffel Tower right there close to the train line.
Upon check-in at the Sofitel I found it fortuitous I hadn�t paid the single supplement for the Insight �Country Roads of France� tour because there was either no other single female in the tour group also prepared to share, or an odd number of us, so I had scored a room to myself.
What a contrast to the previous night�s accommodation (with 2 extra starts and at about 5 or 6 times the rack rate)! The room, whilst not roomy, was considerably bigger with twin single beds, desk and chair, table and chair, ample bathroom, separate toilet, hairdryer, TV, robe, toiletries and face washer. And real pillows, not like the French bolster I had had the previous night.
In the envelope with my room pass there was a welcome note from the Tour Manager, Virginie Gravier. It gave details for the welcome drinks at 6pm and detailed the optional excursions she planned to run in Paris during the tour. Having read this, I decided simply to walk around the Montparnasse area for the afternoon. This meant turning left out of the front door of the hotel and a fairly easy walk. The areas around the �stars� (where many streets meet) of place Pablo Picasso and place Denfert Rochereau were bustling and offer many caf�s, brasseries and restaurants. Along boulevard Montparnasse I stopped for a tarte au citron and a cool drink (�3.69). Lovely! I passed the Tour Montparnasse, the only skyscraper in Paris. It was built in 1973 and stands 209m tall and looks very much out of place and I understand it has never been particularly popular amongst Parisians.
Next I made my way to the Cimeti�re Montparnasse, a very neat and pretty cemetery opened in 1824 as a replacement for many of the small cemeteries in the old city. It is the resting-place of such famous people as Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir, Guy de Maupassant and Samuel Beckett. I spent about 45 minutes wandering around looking at the tombstones, including one incredible one in the shape of a cat which was tiled with brightly coloured glass tiles� I wonder who Ricardo was?
I next walked to the nearby Catacombs. A small queue had formed already, with the opening hours only 2.00-4.00pm on weekends. It was just on 2.00pm. The entrance fee was �5.00 and well worth it to see such a macabre and revolting sight. The catacombs were begun in 1786 and are labyrinthine excavations under Montparnasse built to house the millions of corpses transported from the cemetery at Les Halles which had become a health hazard. The bones are neatly stacked with rows of skulls between rows of leg bones and rows of arm bones. There are miles of passages lined on both sides with bones piled to head height and in places metres deep back to the wall. My favourite part was the bag check at the end to see whether I had souvenired any bones! Truly an awful but fascinating thing to see.
Outside the sun was still beaming down strongly � probably about 29�C and I was grateful for the bottles of water I bought the previous day at the supermarket (�0.32 for 500ml). My feet were killing me (it was hard walking on the gravel in the catacombs) so I elected to return slowly to the hotel and to have some quiet time and a good wash prior to our welcome drinks at 6.00pm.
The Tour Manager, Virginie, was at the door of �The Patio� restaurant on level 3 of the hotel to greet each tour member. We were each presented with a map of France, a coded luggage tag and a blue form on which to record our personal and passport details. We were served a drink each, with some nibblies on the tables. Virginie welcomed us and got us to introduce ourselves. It is a small group � only 24 in total after 2 last minute withdrawals and 1 no-show. Also a good mix of nationalities � 4 from Australia, 3 from New Zealand, 2 from Israel, 6 from Canada, 8 from the US and 1 from Hong Kong. It appears that there are at least 3 younger than me. I�d say the twin girls from Canada are in their early 20s and the girl from Hong Kong doesn�t look much older than them. The oldest is probably in his mid to late 70s. The average ago would be somewhere around 46, I�d say.
Virginie explained the basics of how the tour would operate. She also told us of how she and the driver had made a few adjustments to the schedule so as to avoid or cope with the end of summer traffic. This involved bringing the Giverny optional excursion forward to tomorrow morning instead of at the end of the tour, and moving tomorrow�s visit to Chablis to Monday.
After drinks I joined 2 other tour members for dinner at a restaurant just metres from the Sofitel, Au Reveil Samaritain. It turns out this couple live only 10 or 15 minutes drive from my home. I had steack frites (steak and fries �8.00) and tarte aux pommes (apple tart �4.00) with a glass of Bordeaux red wine (�3.30). Very tasty. I was in bed by 10.00pm and asleep almost instantly.
Posts: 64 | Location: Melbourne | Registered: 1
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Post by Owen on Oct 2, 2014 12:14:44 GMT
4 ~ Sunday 18 August, 2002
My wake-up call came as scheduled at 6.00am, but I�d been awake and waiting for it since 4.00am. Suitcase outside at 7.00am (it was collected by 7.02am!) and downstairs for breakfast. A huge number of tour groups were all using the same vast dining room. Breaky consisted of baguettes, ham, cheese, scrambled eggs, bacon, yoghurt, fruit salad, croissants, jams, etc. More than adequate.
12 people had elected to take the Giverny optional. We departed at 7.45am and arrived at Giverny right on 9.00am, having listened to Virginie give a fabulous talk on Monet�s life and the Impressionist movement as we drove along. Giverny is located near the pretty town of Vernon by the River Seine in Normandy. Monet discovered the area in 1883, moved there in 1890 and bought the property in 1893, living there until his death in 1926. He was as passionate about gardening as he was about painting and planted the most wonderful gardens full of hundreds of different sorts of flowers, trees and exotic plants. He actually had the River Epte diverted to enable him to build the famous water garden with its water lilies, weeping willows and Japanese bridge. A beautiful example of East meets West. Apparently he used to spend 40,000FF per year on the garden.
Our admission included access to Monet�s charming pink and green house in addition to the glorious gardens. The house has been maintained exactly as Monet left it and is really something to see. Monet�s studio has been turned into a very impressive gift shop where the prints are very reasonably priced. I made it through the gift shop buying no more than a postcard, but did stop at the nearby tearooms for a slice of the regional specialty, tarte tatin (upside down, caramelised apple tart). Quite tasty but I think I prefer tarte aux pommes. I heard one other member of our group very loudly saying that the tarte tatin was �awful, just dreadful!� but I couldn�t agree with that. We met again at 10.30am to take the coach back to Paris.
Our coach driver, Willie, is Belgian. He drives for Insight for 7 months straight from April to October each year. All of Insight�s coaches and drivers are sub-contracted. Willie�s coach is a fabulous high deck coach, higher than most of the others on the road, with the front seats close to the front window, above the driver. There is plenty of room, especially with only 24 tour members. That�s 2 seats each with 1 to spare!
We arrived back in Paris before midday and after collecting the rest of the tour members and their luggage, we were back on the road at 12.20pm. As we drove out of Paris briefly along the A4 and then onto the A5 headed for Troyes, Virginie did a lot of talking. She ran through the tour guidelines, safety on the bus, seat rotation procedure (clockwise by 2 seats every day), her role as Manager, the importance of being on time, being aware of pickpockets, etc. One thing I found fascinating was the paper disc she passed around. This was an example of the discs that are used to record all the details of the bus�s travel over each 24 hour period. Since a number of bad accidents resulting from drivers overdoing it, it is now law for all buses to have this monitoring system which records how long and when and how fast the bus has been driven. The police can pull over a bus at any time and inspect the disc and any breaches of laws can see the bus grounded for 24 hours. (Virginie and Willie both seem to use the word �bus� more often than �coach� so this is not going to be the touchy issue that some bulletin board members have hinted at.)
The landscape from Paris to Troyes was not very varied. Lightly wooded areas scattered amongst field after field, many with crops already finished, plenty of fields of sunflowers still in bloom, but not many vineyards. About halfway to Troyes we had a 15 minute stop at a large petrol station along the autoroute where people could buy snacks and drinks and use the toilets. I bought a 1.5l bottle of water for �0.45 which allowed me to refill the smaller bottles I�d bought on Friday. Given I�d seen water being sold in Paris for up to �3.00 for 500ml on Friday, I figured this was a good approach to take.
We arrived in Troyes (pronounced like the French number 3: trois) at 2.55pm. As administrative capital of Champagne it�s not a very interesting city, except for the old part of Troyes in the centre. The whole city was severely bombed in both world wars, but the medieval centre has been restored and is quite charming with its half-timbered houses, their upper floors overhanging the narrow lanes which are lined with caf�s and cr�peries. I joined 2 couples for a late lunch at a little place that had some tables in the shade � just a salad and lemonade (�6.50 and �2.00). Back at the bus Virginie informed us that it was 36˚C. I had felt some sting in the sun but had no idea it was that hot!
From Troyes we continued on out of Champagne and into Burgundy. Virginie spoke at length about regional food and wine as we drove through countryside that is quite heavily wooded with some very thick forests. The talk of wines and cheeses and escargots and wonderful meat dishes had my taste buds watering.
We arrived in the beautiful old walled town of Beaune just after 6.30pm. The H�tel Henri II (a Best Western) is just outside of the ramparts but very central. Once again, I was delighted with my room � this time on the 4th and top floor but generous in size. I discovered at dinner that others have much smaller rooms so I kept my mouth shut, particularly given that others have paid a single supplement. They might be upset to know I�m getting more for less. Just the luck of the draw I guess.
Dinner tonight was included in the tour package. We had made our menu choices earlier in the afternoon, so met at 7.30pm and walked to dinner where our choices were served to us. The restaurant Caveau de Gilles was, as its name suggests, in an old wine cellar. Entr�e was parsleyed ham in a jelly terrine. For main course I had guinea fowl with a redcurrant sauce and vegetables. Everyone was served 3 cheeses and then for dessert I had a � pear poached in red wine with toasted almond slivers and blackcurrant ice cream. I shared a � bottle of C�tes de Nuits red wine with one of the other ladies at my table. Dinner conversation was largely about food and I can tell early in the tour that I�m not going to be disappointed by a lack of interest from others in gastronomic France. Virginie speaks with such knowledge and passion about food and wine, and there are certainly a few other �gastronomic adventurers� in the tour group. I have resolved to try as many different things as possible on this tour and to taste the regional specialties wherever possible.
Given we have 2 nights in this hotel, I took the chance to do some washing before I went to bed.
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Post by Owen on Oct 2, 2014 12:15:38 GMT
5 ~ Monday 19 August, 2002
7.15am wake-up call this morning for an 8.45am departure. We drove via the road to Auxerre to the famous wine village of Chablis. As we drove past the fields of crops (mainly sunflowers and recently harvested canola) and Charolet cows, with little hilltop villages appearing at regular intervals, Virginie told us all about the Dukes of Burgundy. Such fascinating stories and she is a wonderful storyteller.
In Chablis at La Cave du Connaisseur we had a tasting of a couple of local wines � a petit Chablis and a Premier Cru Mont�e de Tonnerre. The inexperienced struggled with a tasting before 11.00am! After the d�gustation there was time to explore this charming, affluent and typically Burgundian village. I found the post office and bought some stamps so I could send some postcards. �0.79 per card to Australia.
Virginie spent most of the drive to and from our next destination explaining the optionals available for the remainder of the tour and how our time would be managed. I think we are most fortunate to have a tour manager who is so passionate about her country, its towns, its culture and especially its food and wines.
We arrived in the medieval hilltop town of V�zelay at about 12.20pm. V�zelay is just gorgeous with its one street running directly up the hill to the basilica, lined with quaint little shops (which all closed at 1.00pm for lunch) and many restaurants. I elected to buy a ham and cheese baguette at the boulangerie (�3.00) and eat it in the shade of the trees behind the basilica on the top of the hill. From the wall at the top of the hill there was a spectacular panoramic view of the village below and the rolling hills with a patchwork quilt of fields, vineyards and woods. Whilst eating my lunch I turned on my mobile telephone and received an SMS from my boyfriend Julian but was unable to send one back, not sure why. Rain clouds were brewing in the distance and I felt about 3 spots of rain, then the sun re-emerged and it was stiflingly hot again but with increased humidity.
At 2pm we met Virginie outside the Basilique Ste-Madeleine and she explained about the history of V�zelay. Apparently the church was built when some human remains were found which were thought to be those of Mary Magdalene. Consequently, V�zelay became a place of pilgrimage� until another set of remains, also thought to be those of Mary Magdalene, were found in Provence. V�zelay was suddenly off the pilgrims� map! Despite its loss of religious status, the church and town remain of historical significance and V�zelay is regarded as one of the 10 most beautiful towns in France.
We arrived back in Beaune at 4.15pm and I raced off to the local internet caf� to shoot off some messages to family and friends and to check again what to do to use my mobile telephone. I�m following instructions and I asked my carrier to switch me to international roaming so I can�t figure it out. Use of the internet cost me �5.00 for 55 minutes.
Back at the hotel I had a quick shower and got dolled up for our optional ch�teau dinner. This was held at the Ch�teau de Saulon. We departed at 6.00pm, driving through many of the most famous wine villages like St Georges de Nuits, Vosne Roman�e and G�vrey-Chambertin, with a little photo stop along the way.
On arrival at Saulon we first had a wine tasting in a new tasting room at the front of the property with big windows looking upon the ch�teau. I didn�t enjoy the aligot� that we tried first, nor the first pinot noir, but the second pinot noir, a 1999 C�te de Nuits Marsannay Domaine Fougeray de Beauclair, was excellent and only �10.00 a bottle. What a shame I can�t take any home! To go with the wines were some delicious cheese-filled choux pastry savouries. I can�t remember what they are called in French. The tasting room was �non-climatis�e� and terribly hot and humid (I worry about the wines in there!), so it was a relief to get outside for some cool air.
What a laugh the Australians got outside of the tasting room. Our driver, Willie, was telling one Australian lady how he has planted two eucalyptus trees in his yard in Belgium and wants to get a pet koala. When we told him that there are only about 4 species of gum trees that koalas will eat the leaves of, and they eat about � a tree worth a day, and basically only zoos are allowed to import koalas, the look of disappointment on his face almost broke my heart!
Many of us chose to stroll up the tree-lined driveway to the ch�teau restaurant rather than catching the bus. Dinner at the Ch�teau de Saulon was memorable. Again, we had made our meal choices earlier in the day. I ate escargots with a parsley flan and parsley sauce (the flan seemed more like a souffl� without the souffl� dish to me) � beautifully presented and extremely tasty. For main course I had lamb with a garlic sauce and vegetables. Again, delicious! Then the cheese course � there was a large selection brought around on a trolley for each of use to choose from. I selected 3 fairly local ones � the Langres, the Brillat Savarin (so creamy) and the �poisses (which Virginie calls �the weapon� and it�s not hard to figure out why). Just superb! Dessert for me was a frozen red berry souffl� with red currant sauce. The white and red wines were both excellent too and it all made for a very special evening at a 2 Michelin star restaurant at a grand ch�teau.
On the coach trip back to Beaune a little post-dinner cognac had primed Virginie for a performance of La Marseillaise, then she played French music like Piaf and Aznavour. It was a very contented group who arrived back at the H�tel Henri II at about 11.00pm.
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Post by Owen on Oct 2, 2014 12:16:48 GMT
6 ~ Tuesday 20 August, 2002
A little rain fell in Beaune overnight and the morning was overcast, mild but a little humid. Today we had to have bags out at 8.45am for a 9.30am departure. We walked from the Hotel Henri II to the H�tel Dieu in the old part of Beaune. This old hospital (used until 1971) has the best example of the traditional Burgundian mosaic tiled roof and it is magnificent. An absolutely breathtaking sight. The interior was also very interesting to look at with its old hospital beds, medical instruments (I�m glad I was never a patient there!), tapestries and an amazing 15th century painting of the Last Judgement by the Flemish artist Roger Van der Weyden.
After exploring the H�tel Dieu we were free to explore the town until midday. I went to have a closer look at some of the ramparts of this walled village and looked in many of the shops. Beaune has the most extraordinary number of patisseries and caf�s. I bought a pain au chocolat (�0.70), a big slice of tarte aux fraises (strawberry tart) (�2.50) and some sweet, white nectarines for lunch. Pure decadence! I could have wandered around Beaune all day in the lovely shops, but time was limited. However, I did find time to buy some sets of local mustards for gifts (4 little jars for �2.80).
One thing that I love about French villages is seeing the locals returning home after buying their fresh bread. I had seen them in Chablis and V�zelay, and Beaune was the same � locals walking along the streets with several long baguettes tucked under their arms.
Back on the bus and goodbye to Beaune, the village with the most gorgeous roundabouts planted with bright flowers, one with a set of gates, one with barrels piled as in a wine cellar. We now headed south as far as Macon, then turned east towards the Alps. At the foot of the Alps the landscape became very lush and even more heavily wooded. We stopped for a 20 minute break at around 1.55pm � time to eat my pain au chocolat and one of those beautiful nectarines I had bought in Beaune.
Today was my turn in the front seat and it was a great position to be in as we climbed into the Alps. Great rocky cliffs soar over the tops of conifer trees and villages of chalets. We passed Geneva but you can�t see the lake from the autoroute and the city�s famous water spout didn�t appear to be on.
The system of tollroads in France is interesting. Nearly all of the major roads are privately owned and operated so drivers are frequently coming across toll stations and the tolls really add up. Apparently it would cost a car about �150 to travel from Paris to the Pyrenees. When you take fuel and car expenses into account, it would be cheaper to take the train unless you had several people in the car. No wonder the TGV is so popular.
It is also interesting to observe the car fleet on the roads. There are very few large cars at all like BMWs and Mercedes, and the Peugeots, Citroens and Renaults are mostly the smaller models. Peugeot 206s are everywhere but after 5 days I still haven�t seen a 307.
As we drove closer and closer to Chamonix and Mont Blanc, we could see large signs which had been hung on cliff faces and over the entrances to tunnels. They were protesting the re-opening of the Mont Blanc tunnel where that dreadful accident occurred not so long ago.
My luck with hotel rooms continues. We arrived in the alpine town of Chamonix, home of the first winter Olympic games, at 4.00pm and were given our room keys. My room is on the side of the hotel that looks straight at a glacier � a far better view than people on the other side of the hotel would have. The H�tel Les Aiglons is a chalet, like almost all of the buildings in this area. My room has a separate toilet, twin beds, bath/shower (no screen or curtain!), table and chairs, armchair, with a little balcony overlooking the swimming pool and looking out to the nearby glacier. Incredible view!
At 4.45pm we gathered downstairs, just as the heavens opened up and the rain poured down. Never mind, we�d already had the disappointment of Mont Blanc being shrouded in cloud. We weren�t going to let a little rain stop us. Virginie led the group into the centre of Chamonix which was absolutely bustling with holiday makers. I spent about an hour looking around in this very pretty town before making my way back to the hotel for a little rest before dinner.
Those of us who had returned to the hotel gathered at 7.15pm to walk to the restaurant back in the main street of Chamonix. Dinner, an included one, consisted of some traditional dishes (chosen earlier, of course). I started with French onion soup (superb). This was followed by a regional specialty called bertou. It was a bowl of melted cheese for dipping, with potatoes, ham and salami. Very interesting � a nice flavour but there was nothing fresh to break up the meal and I can�t imagine that so much cheese can be particularly healthy. I chose a local Savoie chardonnay to go with the meal (�2.50 for a 25cl pichet). Dessert was ice cream � scoop of plain and a scoop of berry flavour, served with a blackcurrant sauce. At the restaurant a group of locals in traditional dress, accompanied by a small band with piano accordion and some type of horn, performed traditional dances of the area � not terribly animated or inspiring. We left before 10.00pm and returned to the hotel.
Posts: 64 | Location: Melbourne | Registered: 10 September 2001
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Post by Owen on Oct 2, 2014 12:18:12 GMT
7 ~ Wednesday 21 August 2002
Wow! This was an incredible day! Breakfast had the standard cereals, croissants, yoghurt, baguette, ham and cheese. It had bacon and eggs and fruit salad but my favourite part was the baby pains au chocolat. Magnifique!
Those of us who had chosen the Chamonix Mer de Glace optional departed at 8.10am for a short bus ride to the station where we caught the 8.30am cog railway to Montenvers. As we ascended the mountain from Chamonix at 1035m to Montenvers at 1913m, much of the landscape was shrouded in cloud. However, at the top of the railway the cloud was clearing and the sight of the massive glacier (the Mer de Glace) was incredible. It was a 25 minute ride to the top and due to a lot of water in the ice cave which needed to be cleared out, we had about 40 minutes to look around before the ice cave opened.
There was a display of alpine fauna and a cave-like gallery of rock crystals. We were transported down to the grotte or ice cave by gondola/cable car. Each year between February and June ice caves are dug here and they are fascinating. It�s amazing to think that you are standing in a cave of ice that is actually moving, however slowly. I took a heap of photographs today as the sun gradually came out and cloud gave way to brilliant blue sky. As more mountain peaks appeared around us I just kept snapping. The sight was absolutely awe-inspiring.
As we descended again on the cog railway, it was so pretty to look down over the village of Chamonix in the valley below us. At one point we had to stop to allow an ascending train to pass us, and all of a sudden one of our group called out, �Wow!�. To our left an enormous snow-covered mountain had become visible. Was it Mont Blanc? It wasn�t until we reached the bottom and regained our bearings that we were sure that it was.
What luck! To see Mont Blanc towering above the valley of Chamonix was such a treat. As we drove out of town, Willie pulled the bus over on the roadside to allow a photo stop and viewing of Mont Blanc. Whilst it didn�t look hugely taller than the much nearer glacial mountain, it has such an air of majesty about it. Unforgettable� all 4807m of it!
The alpine air had had a stunning effect on people because there were many who couldn�t avoid snoozing on the way from Chamonix to Annecy� me included. Annecy was another wonderful treat. It is tr�s, tr�s jolie. The lake with its swans and pedal boats and other craft is an amazingly clear colour that just glistens in the sunlight. The bridges and river banks are lined with balls of flowers. The old town around which we wandered is laced with canals lined with caf�s and shops and medieval buildings. In the middle of the main canal, atop an island, sits the Palais de l�Isle which originally was a prison. I had lunch with the couple from Melbourne at a table in the sun. A beautiful ham and cheese omelette, then as we walked through the old town we ate ice creams in waffle cones. Every second person in Annecy seemed to be eating an ice cream. We walked up to the top of the hill to the turreted Ch�teau d�Annecy which overlooks the old town. All up we had 3 hours to spend in this charming town before it was time to get back on the bus.
Virginie decided to give us another lesson in French culture on the way to Grenoble. This time it was something very familiar to me � Antoine de St-Exup�ry�s �Le Petit Prince�. Virginie told us a little about St-Ex, whose remains were only discovered in the English Channel a few years ago after his plane went down in 1944, and she read some of her favourite passages to us (in English of course, but with her wonderful French accent which is so easy to listen to).
We were given a brief orientation tour of Grenoble and its old town before heading to our hotel, the Mercure Grand H�tel President. Grenoble is an industrial and university city, situated on 2 rivers and completely surrounded by mountains. There�s not a lot of interest there for tourists, but it is in a very convenient location for people who are planning to travel south along the route Napol�on. As soon as we arrived at the hotel I dumped my gear and rushed out to find an internet caf�. There were none nearby but another Mercure 10 minutes walk away had a computer available, albeit with a French keyboard. I spent 15 minutes getting my e-mails and dashing off a couple of messages to Julian and Mum, then called in at the supermarket to buy some fruit. �5.00 for 15 minutes internet in the hotel. Only �1.52/kg for white nectarines, my very favourite fruit!
Virginie was in the hotel bar accepting payments for optional tours. I have signed up for all of the optionals offered through to my departure, a total of �277. If the first 3 are any indication, it will be money very well spent providing some real highlights in my trip.
Tonight�s included dinner was served in the hotel and there were no choices of dishes (except for those with special requirements). I had my first kir pre-dinner (cr�me de cassis/blackcurrant liqueur and white wine). Very refreshing and tasty. Entr�e was a seafood salad, main course was pork fillet with apple and vegetables, and dessert I�m not sure what. We were told it was meant to be a chocolate and orange cake. I couldn�t taste either of those flavours, but it was a tasty, light round cake that looked like a fat donut, very sticky, topped with whipped cream and swimming in a blackcurrant sauce. I dined at a table with all 6 of the Canadians, and a couple from New Zealand with whom I shared a bottle of Haute Savoie Gamay.
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Post by Owen on Oct 2, 2014 12:19:31 GMT
8 ~ Thursday 22 August, 2002
Every day on this tour is so different but equally amazing. Today we had wake-up calls at 6.30am for an 8.00am departure. The alpine air seemed to be working wonders because everyone was claiming to have had their best night�s sleep of the tour so far. Out of Grenoble and onto the Route Napol�on heading south, out of the Dauphin� region and through Les Alpes de Haute Provence. We made a couple of early photo stops at some beautiful valleys.
As we drove towards our morning stop at Sisteron, Virginie gave us a lesson in the history of Napol�on and how he had followed this same path, but in the opposite direction, on his return from Elba in 1815. It was a fascinating talk, which turned into a discussion and question and answer session, and Virginie namedd several history books to recommend for personal reading on this subject.
The further south we travelled, the drier and more rugged the landscape became with rocky cliffs and deep valleys. Lush pastures gave way to fruit orchards and lavender fields. We stopped for lunch in the quaint village of Castellane on the river Verdon. It is a town surrounded by rocky cliffs and gorges and has a 14th century clock tower and a little church perched high on a cliff overlooking the town. I decided to sample a local specialty and bought some fougasse for lunch � a flat bread with topping, in this case anchovy paste. Very salty but tasty. I also had a large piece of tarte proven�ale aux framboises (raspberry tart) � all this for �2.10. Most of us ate lunch in the town square.
It was a tough day of coach driving for Willie. Some of the winding corners on the Route Napol�on have to be turned completely blind and one just hopes that the oncoming traffic can hear the horn. As we listened to a tape of Stephen Fry reading Peter Mayle�s �A Year in Provence�, Willie had to concentrate very hard indeed.
I hadn�t appreciated until today that the Alps run all the way to the Mediterranean. We hit suburbia at Grasse, and the residences were solid from here all the way to the sea. Grasse, the perfume capital of France and indeed the world, is a fascinating city to drive through with terraces zigzagging all the way down the mountains. The drivers of Grasse, like most French drivers it seems, have little consideration for anyone else on the road, and a few cars parked at roundabouts at the points of zigzags gave Willie even more of a challenge behind the wheel.
We came closer to the Mediterranean at Cannes then headed east to Nice. We were taken for a little orientation drive along the Promenade des Anglais to the centre of Nice, before returning to our hotel, the Radisson SAS. Nice is just stunning. People were thickly crowded onto the rocky beaches, many paying big dollars to lie on a banana lounge under an umbrella on a private part of the beach, others braving the rocks. The traffic is crazy, people with no care for their own lives or those of others. Despite a haze over the Riviera which prevented us from seeing the sea until we were upon it, the water was azure blue and inviting.
It was 3.45pm when we arrived at the hotel. The rooms are much larger than any we�ve found elsewhere, and we all seem to have struck it lucky and been allocated rooms overlooking the promenade and the sea. Ah, la C�te d'Azur! So pretty! I took the opportunity to turn my bathroom into a Chinese laundry, then went downstairs to try to use the free internet service in the lobby. No luck, it was busy.
At 5.15pm the 10 of us who had chosen to take the optional to the perfume factory met in the lobby. We were taken to the Fragonard perfume factory at �ze, driving through Nice and past its harbour and past Villefranche-sur-Mer. Beautiful views of the water, the fancy hotels, the dense residential area with many Italianate houses in shades of yellow, ochre and pink.
We were given a guided tour of the perfume factory, at the end of which I felt like I had been processed through a production line myself. We were too rushed to be able to smell the fragrances properly, and nothing really grabbed me in the shop, so I left with just the experience of having seen how the process works. Whilst the Fragonard perfumes are made in the Grasse factory, the �ze factory produces essences, soaps, lotions etc. and packages the perfumes.
Next we went to the top of the hill to the medieval village of �ze. The fortified village, of which little remains, actually was built in the years before Christ, but most of what exists today has been built since the time of Louis XIV. Still very old and quaint and well worth seeing. And the drive along the Moyenne Corniche gives some wonderful views over Villefranche.
By 8.15pm we were back in the centre of the old part of Nice where we went for dinner. 6 of us went to a restaurant called Le Safari. I ate the local specialty, les petits farcis � la Ni�oise et salade. Literally, little stuffed ones, these are little vegetables like tomatoes, aubergines and zucchini stuffed with a mince and herb stuffing (�10.00). There was a bit of a laugh when one of our party ended up with a dish of ravioli for dinner � he thought he�d ordered petits farcis as well! We shared a bottle of C�te de Provence white wine � a St Tropez Ma�tres Vignerons. Very nice. Unfortunately we had to rush to make it back to the bus by 9.45pm.
On the way back on the bus I convinced a group of people to come for a nighttime swim in the Mediterranean. 5 of us had a 10.15pm swim in the beautiful warm waters of la M�diterran�e under a full moon, with the lights of Nice before us, with 3 others looking after our gear on the beach and soaking up the balmy evening. It was magic, pure magic!
I went downstairs to use the Radisson�s free internet service at about 11.30pm. It became free at about 12.10am and I sent a few e-mails. Messages from Mum and Dad make it seem as if they only received my e-mail from Grenoble, not Beaune. Curious.
Posts: 64 | Location: Melbourne | Registered: 10 September 2001
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Post by Owen on Oct 2, 2014 12:20:27 GMT
9 ~ Friday 23 August, 2002
I woke at about 4.30am and when I couldn�t get back to sleep, went back downstairs to use the internet again. I�d figured out that my e-mail to everyone from Beaune wasn�t delivered, nor my one to Mum from Beaune. I re-sent those and sent one to Julian. I was getting worried about time being wasted as I�d asked Mum to contact my travel agent in Melbourne and get her to change my hotel for my final week in Paris. Having re-sent my e-mails I felt much better and was able to get a few hours sleep before it was time to get up.
9.30am was departure time today for our trip to Monaco, the independent principality abutting the French Riviera. It is a tiny place, only 473 acres, but the Monagasques are working madly to reclaim more land from the sea. Monaco is rich and opulent and well-presented with very tight security � police everywhere � and plenty of vendors out to win the tourist dollar.
We first had a look in the cathedral where Princess Grace and other former Grimaldi Royals are buried. There we had about 1� hours to look around. I joined the huge crowd that gathered in the square outside the Grimaldi Palace to watch the changing of the guard. Boy, was it hot standing in the sun to watch that! While in Monaco Julian gave me a call on my mobile phone. I was so happy to hear his voice and to talk for a few minutes. The rest of my time before meeting the group again was spent wandering around on �the Rock� of Monaco. I bought a sandwich with salami and tomato for �1.50 and ate it in the exotic gardens overlooking the sea (not very exotic plants by Australian standards). We didn�t go near the Monte Carlo casino (which looks like the Op�ra Garnier in Paris) and this disappointed a few of the punters in the group. However, I enjoyed the drive along part of the Grand Prix circuit.
Those of us who had elected to visit the Villa Rothschild were dropped off there with Virginie, and Willie took the others back to Nice. We had a little incident in the driveway when our path was blocked by a long Mercedes which overhung the back of its car park too far and obstructed the main passage. It took a while for the caretaker to find the Mercedes owner to move the car, but fortunately we weren�t stuck in the driveway all day.
I was just blown away by the gardens of the Rothschild Villa. The Baroness B�atrice Ephrussi de Rothschild built the villa and gardens, completed in 1912. She only lived in the villa for a few years before her husband died in about 1915, and upon her own death in 1934, having no children, she gave the property and its collections to the French Academy of Fine Arts. The gardens are formal and arranged in the shape of a ship with beautiful water features and roses, lavenders, rosemary borders and all sorts of sculptures. Just stunning with magnificent views of Villefranche and Beaulieu on either side of the Cap Ferrat. Apparently the Baroness used to dress like Marie Antoinette and, from her balcony overlooking her �ship�, she would oversee the work of her gardeners who she required to dress in sailor uniforms.
Inside the house we received a guided tour. The house is pink terracotta and marble and houses wonderful collections of porcelains, tapestries, paintings and drawings. The Baroness really was a lady with a fine eye for beautiful collectibles.
At 3.30pm Willie picked us up to return to the hotel, however several of us got off the bus in Nice to wander around the shops and city centre. I wasn�t in the mood for shopping but couldn�t leave Nice without having seen a little more of it, so had a look around and did some people watching in the Place Mass�na.
The bus came to collect us at 5.45pm and we made our way to the Nice Harbour where we boarded a cruise boat for our own private cruise. All but 1 of our group had chosen this optional. We travelled west in the Baie des Anges (Bay of Angels) as far as the Negresco Hotel, then back around and into the harbour of Villefranche. From the water we had a birdseye view of some of the best real estate the Riviera has to offer, including homes owned by Elton John, Sean Connery and Bill Gates. We were also able to view from the water the Villa Rothschild where we had been earlier in the afternoon.
After a boat trip our taste buds were calling for fish so many of us went to a great little restaurant in Villefranche-sur-Mer called La Fille du P�cheur � the Fisherman�s Daughter. I think our group made up about 5 tables at this restaurant. I sat with a couple from LA and a lady doctor from New York and we had a fun night. We started with Kir Royales (cr�me de cassis with champagne � delicious) and then shared a bottle of local white wine from Ch�teau Sainte B�atrice, with the other 2 ladies having a few more Kir Royales. I chose to have the �27.00 menu prix fixe. I had a big bowl of moules � la marini�re (mussels in white wine), followed by swordfish served with an eggplant-stuffed tomato, potatoes and eggplant. Dessert was a cr�me caramel � not what I�d ordered but never mind. It was excellent and we didn�t have time to change it as we had to meet back at the bus at 9.00pm.
Tonight I organised an even larger group to go swimming � 9 in all. The 6 Canadians all came, the couple from San Diego and me. We would have had even more swimmers if some had not decided at the last minute to hop off the bus at the Nice casino for a little flutter. It was a little cooler in the water than the previous evening but still magic. I went off to sleep quickly tonight.
Posts: 64 | Location: Melbourne | Re
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Post by Owen on Oct 2, 2014 12:21:06 GMT
10 ~ Saturday 24 August, 2002
For the first time on this tour I didn�t wake before the alarm. Bags out by 7.45am for an 8.30am departure. I braved the hot breakfast this morning but didn�t really enjoy it. Too used to the high quality of the cooked breakfasts at home. Back to fruit and croissants tomorrow for me!
We arrived at the hilltop village of St Paul-de-Vence before 9.00am and had until 11.00am to explore. This delightful fortified village is home to many artists and its gorgeous stone paved streets are lined with galleries and boutiques. We all climbed to the top of the hill to look out to the Mediterranean and to see the little cemetery of the village. Then I wandered through the shops and galleries and, despite the temptation to spend up on art, restricted myself to one little ornamental turtle that had been made in the village.
St Paul was the home of Yves Montant, the famous French singer and actor, so on the way to our next stop Virginie played some of Yves Montant�s music for us.
We arrived in Aix-en-Provence at 1.20pm and got off the bus at La Rotonde, the famous fountain at the end of the cours Mirabeau, a pretty plane tree lined street with caf�s and restaurants right along the sunny side and predominantly administrative buildings along the other. Several of the group had a big seafood lunch at Les Deux Gar�ons, after all, one can�t say one has been to Aix unless one has been to Les Deux Gar�ons. However, just a photo had to suffice for me. Because of time, Les Deux Gar�ons was all those people saw of Aix.
I bought a chicken, tomato and lettuce baguette and a Coca-Cola Light and sat with a couple from our group by the middle fountain on the cours Mirabeau in this place called �the city of a thousand fountains�. That was the only cool place we could find to sit! I then wandered around in the old part of town, in and out of lovely shops. In the square in front of the town hall I saw a couple of wedding parties. The bridal and guest cars were all decorated with ribbons and tulle bows and were tooting their horns as they drove through town. In a linen and olive store I bought 3 panni�re � pain (linen bread baskets) for gifts, and in another linen store I bought a lovely jacquard tablecloth. �4.60 each for the former and �44.00 for the tablecloth.
There was just time to buy a couple of postcards before it was 3.30pm and we were back on the bus, as the first few drops of rain started to fall. Before long we were driving into a wonderful late summer thunderstorm as we entered the Luberon, the area made famous by Peter Mayle. As we travelled, we listened to the remainder of �A Year in Provence�. I can see now why Peter Mayle fell in love with this area � thick, lush forest with rocky outcrops rising above, slopes covered in vines and fruit trees, the landscape changing constantly, often wild and rugged, but so very appealing. The towns and villages retain their old charm with stone buildings and narrow lanes, and many of the roads are supported by very old stone retaining walls. We made our way slowly around the winding roads, Willie again displaying admirable skill behind the wheel of the enormous coach. By the time we made it to Bonnieux we had a great procession of cars trailing behind us, unable to pass, and then we created a traffic jam in the opposite direction as Willie manoeuvred the coach along the narrow main street, causing quite a spectacle for the locals.
By now thunder and lightning were crashing and flashing around the valleys as we drove through some very heavy rain. In Lacoste, across the valley from Bonnieux and below the ruins of the Marquis de Sade�s castle, we stopped for a quick photo stop for the brave before continuing on to Avignon, the Cit� des Papes, arriving around 6.20pm.
Buses are not able to drive far inside the massive ramparts of this old city so we had quite a walk to get to our hotel (fortunately it wasn�t raining), but what a location! The Mercure Avignon Cit� des Papes is located just metres from the huge Palais des Papes. It was almost unbelievable to look out of my hotel window and see the palace only a stone�s throw away. Almost immediately that I made it to my room the heavens opened and we were in the middle of a fantastic electrical storm.
Once the rain had subsided I went out to look around and have some dinner. The hotel is on a big square lined with restaurants with a 100-year-old carousel operating in the middle. I went in search of one restaurant recommended both in my DK guide and by Virginie. However, being confronted by a rather aggressive beggar who followed me and rubbed his fingers together only inches from my face, I decided to stick to the main square. I ran into the family of 4 from Canada (Mum, Dad and twin 22 year old girls) and they invited me to join them for dinner. I ate duck in peach sauce (OK) and a very good cr�me brul�e. About �20.00 including wine.
Posts: 64 | Location: Melbourne | Registere
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Post by Owen on Oct 2, 2014 12:21:59 GMT
11 ~ Sunday 25 August, 2002
A relatively early 8.00am departure this morning to visit one of the France�s most popular tourist attractions, the Pont du Gard. The early start was worth it as we were the first visitors of the day and it was already getting busy by the time we left. This monstrous 2000-year-old Roman aqueduct with its 3 tiers of arches is a wonder of construction. At 49m high it is the largest bridge the Romans ever built and they thought it to be the best testimony to the greatness of their Empire. I walked up past the top of the aqueduct for a breathtaking view, and encouraged many others in the group to do likewise.
Next we drove to Orange to see the Roman theatre there, built in the 1st century AD. The theatre is still used for performances today and is in very good condition. The back wall is 38m high and over 100m wide and whilst it no longer bears the white marble that once lined it, it is spectacular. Louis XIV called it the finest wall in his kingdom. I tried a mille feuille from a local patisserie for morning tea before re-boarding the bus.
Now down to serious business, some wine tasting at Ch�teaneuf-du-Pape. Not much remains of the ch�teau neuf itself, but the area is home to some great vineyards. The area is very dry and rocky, the vines growing from amongst the pebbles and kept low in height, the vineyards all unfenced. Our tasting was at Domaine Mousset and we tried a white and 2 reds. Very nice reds but not worth the hassle of transporting any home.
Back in Avignon around 12.30pm there was time for lunch and a wander. I bought a tablecloth for �32.00 in a very pretty Proven�al pattern. Their linens are lovely and so very different from the linens we have at home. At the opposite end of town from our hotel I happened across a market that unfortunately was just being packed up. I bought a big chicken baguette and a soft drink for lunch and ate these up near the papal palace. From the gardens above the palace one can get a wonderful view of the Pont St-B�nezet (the Pont d�Avignon) and the city on the mighty Rh�ne River. After looking through the church I met back with the group at 2.15 in the place de l�Horloge (the palace forecourt) from where we took a little train ride around the town. Very �touristy� but not a bad way to see the town.
At 2.45pm those of us who had elected to take the optional to the olive mill departed. What a surprise this optional was � I was just blown away! We drove through St-R�my-de-Provence, the birthplace of Nostradamus and one-time home of Van Gogh, a pretty town with boulevards lined with plane trees. Then we went to Les Baux-de-Provence, one of the strangest, wildest and most haunting places I�ve ever seen. Atop an enormous plateau of rock are the ruins of a ch�teau from the middle ages where feudal lords once lived. I paid �6.50 to look around the ch�teau and was stunned by the views from the top. Below Les Baux, one can see olive groves and vineyards, but then mountains of rock rise up above them, with Les Baux on the highest peak. Whilst one can�t see anything but the ruined citadel from one side, on the other side of the mountain rise climbs one of the most beautiful little villages I�ve seen. It was crawling with tourists visiting the many galleries and linen stores. Unfortunately, we only had about 70 minutes here all up, and 3 hours wouldn�t have been enough, but it was all such an unexpected treat (perhaps I was asleep when this optional was explained to us?).
Next we went to the olive mill, the Moulin du Calanquet, where we were shown through the production plant and then tasted olive oils, tapenades and table olives. For someone who normally doesn�t like olives, surprisingly I really enjoyed them. I bought a few tapenades and a book of Proven�al recipes. As we were leaving it began raining gently. This became a downpour after we made it back to Avignon around 7.15pm.
I relaxed in my room for about an hour then went out in the rain into the main square to have dinner. At a local cr�perie I had a ham and cheese galette (buckwheat cr�pe) followed by a lemon and sugar cr�pe, with a glass of red wine, all for �11.30. Back at the hotel the couple from LA were hosting a little room party for 6 of us. They had red and white wine, terrine, pistachios, mixed nuts and bread. Lovely! We chatted and joked and laughed a lot, right through until 11.00pm.
One topic of discussion this evening was one particular member of our tour group who had increasingly been �creating waves�. I have to severely edit my journal at this point so as not to mention any names, although everyone who was on our tour would know who is who in this tale. However, I do think it is relevant to recount most of the experience. I think it may help others to be better prepared for the fact that they could encounter something similar on their tour, or it may gives those contemplating not paying the single supplement some food for thought. This one particular woman on our tour was the epitome of the stereotypical ugly American tourist. At times she was loud and quite rude, shouting at people who don�t speak English as if increased volume would help them understand a foreign tongue. She would complain frequently about almost everything. She wouldn�t listen to anything except direct answers to her own questions, which meant Virginie and others would often have to repeat themselves for her. She was heard on numerous occasions to say, �It�s MY tour,� as if she were more important than everyone else on tour. She races ahead all the time in order to be first and to get the first view or first choice at everything. Granted there are plenty of spare seats on the bus, but we are trying to operate a seat rotation and this woman was the very fast to break the rotation and jump forward to claim the �better� seats.
This woman had chosen not to pay the single supplement and had been matched up with a lady of roughly similar age from Australia. This Australian lady, like me, hadn�t even considered that she would be so unlucky as to get matched up with someone who would be so disrespectful of her roommate. Apparently the American woman would scratch around in her room for hours each night with the lights blazing, not caring at all that her roommate was in bed and trying to sleep. This disastrous situation came to a head on the second night in Nice, after which the American woman asked for a separate room for the remainder of the tour, thus relieving the Australian lady from having to share again. Upon arrival in Avignon, it apparently took 3 different rooms before the American woman had one that she was happy with. I went to bed counting my blessings that I hadn�t been the one to be matched up with her. I thought when not paying the single supplement that I could get along with anyone but I just don�t know how long my patience would have lasted.
Posts: 64 | Location: Melbourne | Registered: 10 September 2001
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Post by Owen on Oct 2, 2014 12:23:51 GMT
12 ~ Monday 26 August, 2002
Today at breakfast our gentleman tour member from Melbourne received a phone call to let him know that his sister had passed away. This had been expected as she had suffered from emphysema and couldn�t breathe unassisted, but it was still very sad news for this man and his wife. After little more than a week together, it was clear that we had become like a family away from home, with most of the tour group offering hugs and condolences when they heard the news.
We departed this morning at 9.00am in a light shower of rain. Provence really is the most fascinating place and I took careful notice of the surroundings as we drove out of the area. Because of the ferocity of the mistral, the powerful wind that can hit the area from the north at any time of the year, sometimes lasting for up to 15 days, the vineyards are hedged by rows of cypress trees or bamboo or some other sturdy vegetation to protect the vines.
The first stop today was in the gateway to the Camargue, the Roman city of Arles. Vincent Van Gogh lived here in 1888-9 and this is where he lost his sanity, cut off his ear and had himself committed. A statue in the gardens commemorates Van Gogh. We visited the old Roman Amphitheatre that is used for bullfights even today. From the top tier one can get a wonderful view of the Arles panorama. We had a little time to explore (and I bought yet another tablecloth, a round one for �18.00), then we were back on the bus and heading through the Camargue.
The Camargue, the delta of the Rh�ne River where it divides into the Little Rh�ne and the Big Rh�ne, is a huge, completely flat area of wetlands and pastures. Bullfighting is still a tradition in this area and one can see the purpose-bred black bulls and white horses in the pastures.
We had about 2 hours for lunch in Stes-Maries-de-la-Mer, the seaside town where pilgrims come to celebrate the legendary arrival in 18AD of Mary Magdalene, St Martha and the Virgin Mary�s sister. It was market day and there was a market set up in the square, but the entire town has a market atmosphere. The town stretches for about 2 blocks in each direction around a church in the central square, which we visited. There is a little harbour and a nice promenade along the beach, despite the fact that the sand is muddy and grey in colour. By the beach is the local bullfighting arena. The town is crawling with gypsies and beggars and I was approached for money on several occasions.
I found a little restaurant near the beach that was offering Pa�lla Royale and a glass of Sangria for �10.00, and given this dish was being served nearly everywhere and I was dying for some rice, I chose this for lunch. Very nice.
Willie was not allowed to park the bus near the centre of town and boy was this lucky for us! We had quite a walk to the parking area by the wetlands, dodging the dog droppings on the dirty streets, but when we got there we were treated to the sight of much bird life, including pink flamingoes. Wow! These wading birds are so interesting to watch � I whipped out the binoculars and was transfixed. I had so much wanted to see flamingoes in their natural environment. Yet another big tick on my list of things I wanted to see on my trip.
Back on the road we made a photo stop near some white horses, then one tour member spotted hundreds more flamingoes wading, unfortunately behind tall reeds so we couldn�t photograph them. We passed many rice paddies, also common in the Camargue, and witnessed mountains of sea salt, another industry in the area.
We arrived in Montpellier at 3.15pm then it took us 45 minutes to drive to our hotel, the Metropole, in the centre of the city. I don�t think I�ve seen worse traffic before where there hasn�t been an accident. Apparently this was just normal. Montpellier was another place where the bus couldn�t park near the hotel and the poor porters had to cart our cases halfway across town. Our cases hadn�t even made it to the hotel let alone our rooms when a group of us gathered at 4.30pm for a little orientation walk in Montpellier.
I didn�t have the opportunity to gain more than first impressions of this city. There were young people everywhere (it�s a university city) and the streets were crowded and noisy and dirty. Many people had dogs and were not cleaning up after them � that�s just not something that the French tend to do. There is a new tram network in the city which is impressive, but it feels like a city fighting between modernisation and historical preservation. The result, to my eyes that saw but a glimpse, is that the old is falling into disrepair and the new is taking its time to emerge. The lady doctor from New York and I walked around for about 30 minutes before returning to the hotel.
Only about 10 metres from the hotel was an internet caf� which was excellent value � only �1.00 for � an hour, and � that price for members. I dashed off an email to Julian and found that yet again my emails to Mum had been rejected. I wrote a new one and hoped for the best.
At 6.00pm 16 of us gathered for our optional dinner excursion to St-Guilhem-le-D�sert, so-called because of its remote location. Surprise, surprise, our favourite tourist had asked ahead whether the twins (who had occupied the front seats that day) were coming and on finding out that they weren�t, she raced ahead to be first on the bus to take the front seat. Probably about her 4th or 5th time in the front seat now.
It was a long drive out of Montpellier and we encountered more traffic jams. However, eventually we were out in the country again. We passed through Millaud, put on the map by Jos� Bov�, the guy who demolished the town�s McDonalds restaurant the night before it opened. We climbed into the mountains along the H�rault River to St-Guilhem, named after Guillaume of Aquitaine who retired as a hermit in this town in the 9th century. The river is a popular place for white water rafting. There is a lovely Romanesque church at the top of this charming village that rises from the river above rocky gorges and ravines.
Dinner was marvellous! We had the entire restaurant to ourselves and sat at 2 tables of 8. I knew I wouldn�t like it, but I�d chosen pastis for my pre-dinner drink. I was right, it was not to my taste at all, but now I can say that I�ve tried it. For entr�e I had coquilles proven�ale (scallops served in a creamy sauce cheese). My main course was a lovely veal casserole served with vegetables. The cheese course was a goats cheese coated in walnuts, and the wine was plentiful. Before dessert we all were given a little alcoholic sorbet to �burn a hole� in the stomach to make room for dessert. My dessert was �les flottantes (floating islands), fluffy big egg shapes of poached meringue floating in a type of butterscotch sauce. Delicious!
This was a truly great night, and the laughs kept coming when one of the men returned to the bus quickly and stole the front seat for the trip back to Montpellier, then instantly fell asleep and snored all the way. Our displaced tour member was obviously quite put out, but, rather than just taking a seat further back in the bus (after all, the were only 16 people with 49 seats), she sat herself next to the girl from Hong Kong in the second front row and talked loudly about herself all the way home.
Posts: 64 | Location: Melbourne | Registered: 10 September 2001
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Post by Owen on Oct 2, 2014 12:24:41 GMT
13 ~ Tuesday 27 August, 2002
What a terrible night�s sleep! There was a nightclub outside my window and all night I could hear the pounding of the music, through until when the rubbish trucks and the tinkling of glass bottles being cleared replaced the thumping. I �awoke� with bloodshot eyes, looking a real treat. As I discovered at breakfast, I hadn�t had the worst night. Our couple from Melbourne hadn�t been able to get their air conditioning working and had sweltered all night, needing to keep the windows closed because of the noise. The couple from LA had had a tiny room with a bed that folded down from the wall. That meant that their heads had been recessed into the wall cavity, they had no bedside tables and their room was so dangerously small and pokey that they were too afraid to get up during the night for fear of injuring themselves, particularly on the frame of the fold down bed. And they lay in fear all night that their bed was going to spring back up into the wall! The consensus seemed to be that this hotel did not live up to its reputation as one of the best in Montpellier. Most of us felt that on this occasion a newer and cleaner hotel on the outskirts of the city would have been preferable.
After breakfast I raced back to the internet caf� for a few quick messages (still no news on a replacement hotel in Paris), then went to the place de la Com�die to take a photo or two. No one seemed to be sorry to be leaving Montpellier as we departed at the luxuriously late hour of 10.00am. On the bus, Virginie reminded us that there should be a seat rotation in place and that people should allow that to occur before moving forward to any unoccupied front seats. Someone must have complained. Our favourite tourist sat on the seat above the toilet � she�s obviously discovered that it is a little higher than all the others are! Our couple from Melbourne is completely lost � a different seat each day is rotation enough for them, but no-one minds fitting around them. There is certainly no greed involved in them not following the rotation. Amazingly the sequence of 5 rows around me has managed to rotate very effectively throughout. It�s others who are upsetting the apple cart, but in the end it doesn�t really matter because it is such a great coach.
We made it to the fairytale medieval city of Carcassonne before noon, the place used for the filming of the movie �Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves�. It is a city surrounded by two sets of ramparts with a cathedral on top of its hill, and was originally settled in the 2nd century BC. Whilst many of its buildings were built in the middle ages, and the pointed turrets were added in the 19th century, it has been wonderfully restored and is rightly one of the most popular tourist attractions in France. It was absolutely crawling with visitors today, but we fought our way through the crowds for a little orientation walk with Virginie and a visit to the magnificent cathedral, a mixture of Romanesque and Gothic architecture with wonderful stained-glass windows.
At a little restaurant near the top of the hill, the couple from LA and the New York doctor and I had lunch at a table in the sun. We shared a bottle of local red wine and the doctor and I shared the traditional dish of Carcassonne � cassoulet � with a mixed salad. The cassoulet was wonderful. The white beans were tender and the combination of herbs very tasty.
After lunch we went our separate ways to explore Carcassonne. The craft stores were wonderful and I could have spent a fortune, but limited myself to a pair of turtles for my collection � a bottle opener and a corkscrew, and a plastic medieval castle with knights and horses for my nephew.
Back at the bus at 2.30pm and we were one short � our lady from Auckland had gone missing and her husband was starting to panic. Meanwhile my phone rang and it was Mum. She�d finally got my messages and had rung the travel agent for me. It was great to hear Mum�s voice. After her greeting she said, �You sound very relaxed. Have you been on the wine at lunch?� Oh, she knows me so well! That Corbi�res AOC Ch�teau de Saint-Laurent had indeed relaxed me. I spoke briefly with Mum, with the twins, thinking it was Julian who had rung me, making kissing noises in the background. Our missing tour member eventually came running up the hill at about 2.55pm, puffing and frazzled and most apologetic. She�d made a wrong turn and lost her way when some troops came marching through the city on a practice drill. Never mind, we were on the road again by 3.00pm.
The drive to Toulouse was an odd one. We passed from brilliant sunshine with blue skies to driving through a downpour, to arrive in Toulouse in more brilliant sunshine. Toulouse really is an interesting city with a lovely canal flowing through it, and beautiful buildings made of the local rose red brick. It has come to be known as the pink city, and of course it is famous for its aerospace industry (we drove past the home of the Ariane rocket).
As soon as we had checked into our rooms there was a very heavy storm which showed no signs of abating as we gathered downstairs for a brief walk around the city. Eventually most of the group aborted their plans for a walk, but the NY doctor and I decided to brave the elements. We walked to the place du Capitole, an enormous city square paved in red brick and surrounded by red brick buildings. These included the H�tel de Ville, an 18th century building with 8 magnificent rose marble columns across the front. We then walked through driving rain to the Basilique de St-Sernin, the largest Romanesque basilica in Europe, built between 1080 and 1096, and added to in later years. The basilica has a beautiful belfry, octagonal in shape with rows of arches. We were able to have a brief look inside before closing time. We returned to the hotel around 6.15pm, with plenty of time to get dried and ready for dinner at 7.15pm.
Dinner tonight was an included one held in the restaurant directly next door to the H�tel Grand Capoul. We had the entire upstairs section to ourselves. I arrived upstairs first so moved to the far side of the room and sat at a table for 6 (I always tried to choose the larger tables so as not to split up married couples). Our favourite tourist very quickly sat opposite me and no one took the seat next to her. Kir Imp�riales were served to everyone (not sure what the difference is between that and a Kir Royale, if any), and we noticed that our couple from LA were missing. We had commenced our entr�es of smoked salmon with little pancakes before they appeared and sat at my table. They had gone for a walk to buy some wine to have a drink before dinner and had got lost. Eventually they had the good sense to ask another hotel for directions and they made it back, way too late to enjoy their pre-dinner wine, but just in time to stop the doctor and I from drinking their Kirs for them!
Dinner was excellent. After the smoked salmon we had chicken in a proven�ale tomato sauce, served with rice and diced eggplant, followed by Brie, followed by profiteroles filled with vanilla ice cream and topped with chocolate sauce, followed by coffee. Red wine was included.
After dinner I joined 3 others for a little late evening walk. We at least could leave Toulouse knowing that we had seen a little of the city centre.
Posts: 64 | Location: Melbourne | Registered: 10 September 2001 Report This Post Nell Virtual Traveller Elite Picture of Nell posted 01 October 2002 13:18
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Post by Owen on Oct 2, 2014 12:26:01 GMT
14 ~ Wednesday 28 August, 2002
We left Toulouse at 8.45am, everyone disappointed to have seen little of the pink city. As we started, Virginie asked us to keep to our seat rotation as much as possible. I investigated what had prompted a second reminder about the rotation because it was really amusing me that there would be complaints when there were 25 spare seats on the bus. It turns out that �guess who� had complained that a pair of sisters was hogging the front seats. She (who took the higher seat above the toilet for the second day in a row) believed that because these sisters were sharing a room, they should also share a row and it was wrong that they were having a row each. Virginie explained to the girls that this was upsetting one person and would they mind sharing to keep the peace. One of the girls went to this woman and offered her the front seat for the day. She had replied, �No, I don�t want it now that the day is half over. I want it for a whole day.�
First stop today was in Cahors, a 2000-year-old town in the River Lot. It was market day in this pretty town and we had around an hour to explore the market in the square near the Cath�drale de St-�tienne. This cathedral is unusual because it has cupolas (or domes) rather than a vaulted ceiling. The produce at the market was wonderful and I tasted and bought some of the famous Cahors �black wine�. This is largely made from the malbec grape and is very dark and strong. The pride in the winemaker�s voice was evident as he encouraged me to sample his product and compare the vintages. I must work on expanding my French wine vocabulary! I had an almond croissant from a patisserie in the main street for morning tea.
As we drove through this area of Quercy into the Perigord, Virginie talked about the local gastronomic specialties � the black wine, truffles, foie gras and confit de canard (duck preserved in its own fat). The architecture in this area is pretty also, with little turrets quite typical on houses and dovecotes in the gardens.
Around 12.45pm we arrived in the village of L�Hospitalet from where we were able to view and photograph the breathtaking sight of Rocamadour, a village hanging off the side of a cliff on the other side of the valley.
We drove down the hill through yet another tight tunnel through a hill of rock and on to Rocamadour, where Willie once again put on a display of driving prowess. He turned the bus around in a tight sloping area at the foot of the hill and one could see from the state of a balcony on the nearby building that not every bus driver in the past has managed to get around without touching anything! Our little gastronomic group of 4 � the LA couple, the NY doctor and myself � had lunch together again today. I had a mushroom omelette served with frites and salad. We shared a bottle of Cahors black wine too.
Those of us who wanted to climb the staircase to the sanctuaries higher up in Rocamadour gathered at the foot of the staircase at 2.30pm to meet Virginie. Those who didn�t think they could manage the stairs took the ascenseur to the top for about �3.00 return. Rocamadour is yet another place where pilgrims used to come, this time because of a body found here � that of Christian hermit St Amadour. The St Michael�s chapel is very pretty with its frescoes, but unfortunately the tourist attraction of the village hanging off a cliff has hit hard and the local craft shops are in danger of being overrun by the many tacky souvenir shops.
Unbelievable behaviour from one tour member as we re-boarded the bus at 3.30pm. She hopped on eating an ice cream, the one thing that Virginie had stressed on Day 1 that we absolutely must not do. I was sitting opposite the rear door and gave a gasp as she boarded, and one lady had to restrain her husband from having a go at her. Virginie pulled a face and muttered, �How many languages to I have to say it in?� but decided it just wasn�t worth making a fuss over so late in the tour. This woman was very well aware that she was doing something wrong but she pretended that she was oblivious. I was amazed too, because she had had a full lunch at the same bistro that we ate at, and then I�d seen her eating an ice cream only an hour earlier, so this was her second one. But then, she had told me at dinner in Toulouse that she eats every meal on tour as if it�s her last. (I guess that would explain her stuffing her handbag with food from the breakfast buffet every morning, which had upset the staff at more than one hotel.)
Virginie had had so many questions asked of her about her education from tour members that she decided to tell her story as we drove to Brive this afternoon. She explained how she had studied languages and history at the Sorbonne and completed her undergraduate degree and Masters degree. She had spent a year in England and a year in Virginia in the US. She eventually decided to do a PhD so, whilst living in England, she wrote her doctorate paper on the economic history of and prospects for the inland canals in the UK. She spoke of how she entered the travel industry over 10 years ago and how she now spends her off-season time as an associate professor at the Sorbonne.
In Brive-la-Gaillarde, a pretty town with lovely plane trees and nice houses, we checked into our hotel, La Truffe Noir. Wisteria was in bloom in the front garden and whilst the rooms were small and basic, it was nice. I found out where there was an internet caf� and raced out to catch up on my e-mails. That was about 5.00-5.40pm. I had a little walk down the street to see a little of the town, then at 6.15pm we left for our included highlight dinner in Collonges-la-Rouge.
It�s not hard to figure out why this village is called Collonges-the-Red! It is a little village where every house is constructed of the local deep red sandstone, creating a stunning effect. We had a little time to walk around in the village before dinner at a local restaurant. We had a private room in which the tables were arranged in a U-shape. Local cleanskin wines were included with dinner and they were of a very high quality. I had chosen to eat goose pat� followed by perch in a walnut wine sauce which was served with rice (not very colourful but delicious). Of course there were cheeses and then we all ate blueberry tart for dessert. The food was excellent but not necessarily a highlight when compared to the optional dinners we have taken. However, the venue was definitely a highlight.
Upon return to the hotel I caught up on my washing, then sat at the desk and wrote for a while whilst listening to a wonderful production of �Turandot� on the TV.
Posts: 64 | Location: Melbourne | Registered: 10 September 2001 Report This Post Nell Virtual Traveller Elite Picture of Nell
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Post by Owen on Oct 2, 2014 12:26:58 GMT
15 ~ Thursday 29 August, 2002
Ah, the French and their plumbing! It amazes me how limited their plumbing prowess is � these are the people who designed the Concorde and the TGV and the Ariane rocket, and yet so many of their bathrooms are unbelievably backward. So many different ways to flush a toilet and so much difficulty involved in washing oneself in the morning. They love their shower hoses and obviously if you�re French you only need one hand to wash with and you hold the hose with the other. This must be an acquired skill. I think that the few hooks that are placed on shower walls to hold the hoses are just there to make things more challenging for tourists. Either you are too tall for them, or you have to back right up against the wall to get wet, or the water comes out at right angles to the wall and the whole bathroom gets drowned, including your previously dry towel that was folded on the towel rack at the opposite end of the bath. This doesn�t happen to the French who can cope with the smallest of shower screens or curtains, and sometimes don�t need any screen at all!
This morning showering was an adventure for 2 reasons: (1) I couldn�t get any cold water to come out of the tap so my shower was scalding, and (2) I couldn�t get the water to come out of the shower hose instead of the bath tap without holding the pin that changes where the water comes from. So I ended up showering on my knees to hold the pin, whilst extending my arm as high as possible because of the heat of the water coming from the hose and the lack of a hook on the wall to hold it.
Downstairs at breakfast I found that the Auckland couple had been for an early morning walk without an umbrella and had been caught in a downpour, arriving back at La Truffe Noir dripping. Perhaps a walk would have been an easier way to shower this morning!
On the bus for our 9.00am departure and the seat rotation was all over the place. The pair of sisters had moved right back in the bus to keep the peace, people deserving the front seats in the rotation had taken them, so the troublemaker had jumped in and taken the seat directly behind the front door, displacing another couple whose subsequent move caused a chain reaction which created absolute chaos! Fortunately it had become a big joke to all but one of us.
We drove out of Brive in very wet and misty conditions, out of the Dordogne Valley and into the V�z�re Valley to the Grotte de Lascaux. I had wanted to see the Lascaux cave paintings since art history lessons at the age of 13. I was amazed at the time that the teenage boys who discovered the cave in 1940 could have known then the significance of their discovery. Actually going there erased any amazement � anyone could tell what an incredible collection of prehistoric art this is. The actual cave has been closed to the public since 1963 because of fungal deterioration of the paintings, but Lascaux II, a copy made to within 1 centimetre of precision and replicating 90% of the original paintings, is fascinating and not a replica to be sneezed at. The talent of the painters is wonderful in using the shapes of the rock to define the shapes of the horses, bulls, bison and deer. The guided tour was excellent.
Coffee was the order of the day during our brief stop in Les Eyzies, a little village with limestone cliffs towering above it, with troglodyte dwellings � homes actually built into the cliffs.
I was fascinated by the landscapes in this area known as the black P�rigord because of the black colour of the trunks of the oak trees. The main crops are corn and tobacco, but there are also densely wooded areas that I thought were a bit creepy, and rolling green hills and plenty of farms rearing geese and ducks for foie gras and other local specialties made from these birds.
Our lunch stop for the day was in Sarlat-le-Can�da. This is a lovely market town, the bricks of which are more golden in colour than in other villages we have seen on our travels. 12 of us ate lunch together at a beaut little restaurant. Given I stupidly hadn�t chosen duck for dinner last night or tonight, I had no choice as a gastronomic adventurer but to eat confit de canard for lunch today (�12.20). It was delicious and far less fatty and much lighter than I had expected, including the accompanying sliced potatoes which were fried in the duck fat. I chose yet another good wine for lunch today, a white from Bergerac. I also had the opportunity to try yet another local specialty: Virginie let me have a taste of her salade aux giz�res � salad with duck gizzards. Surprisingly very tasty!
Before returning to the bus we explored the old part of town with its many shops selling foie gras and confit and all sorts of terrines and other local produce. Back on board at 3.15pm for a lovely drive back through the Dordogne Valley. We were back in Brive by 4.30pm and I went for a little walk in the town, window shopping and admiring the lovely buildings.
Our included dinner tonight was served at 7.30pm in the hotel restaurant (quite famous in the area). Several of us gathered in one of the rooms for pre-dinner drinks at 6.15pm. Our man from LA had bought some Roquefort and rockmelon to go with the wine � the white he and his wife had bought in Toulouse when they got lost, and my black wine from Cahors. It was a lovely little party and we were in fine spirits when we went down to dinner. Given the Toulouse experience when I had chosen my seat first, tonight I mischievously put my arms out to block the stairs to the dining room until our favourite tour member had selected her seat. Even then, she still changed seats from the first one she chose, but at least she was at a different table. As it was the last night that we would all be dining together, we didn�t want her former roommate to have her evening spoilt by having to share a dining table with her.
When we were all seated at the dining tables, Virginie came into the room with a large bunch of long stemmed white and peach-coloured roses and presented each of the ladies with one of them as a thank you gift from her and Willie on our last night all together. The waiters brought vases of water so that we could stand the roses on our tables.
The meal was very good. I had chosen raw salmon to start with, served with finely diced capsicum and sprinkled with a mild vinaigrette. Next was a chicken and wild mushroom pie that was absolutely enormous, over twice as big as needed. Dessert was apple flognarde which also was great (thin slices of apple with a cr�pe-like batter poured over and baked). Wine wasn�t included in the dinner but our lady from Auckland bought a bottle of wine for each of the 3 tables to apologise for holding us up when she got lost in Carcassonne. A lovely gesture � particularly given none of us had given it a thought since, we were all having so much fun.
After dinner I joined 4 others for a walk around Brive-la-Gaillarde, then had a little chat downstairs in the bar with Willie and Virginie who were having a little whisky with the gentleman in our group from Toronto.
Posts: 64 | Location: Melbourne | Regist
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Post by Owen on Oct 2, 2014 12:27:56 GMT
16 ~ Friday 30 August, 2002
There was an oddly subdued mood amongst the group this morning as we departed Brive-la-Gaillarde at 8.30am. We left Brive in a thick fog that lasted almost all the way to Limoges. This was a one hour drive away and we arrived punctually for our porcelain demonstration at 9.30am.
The process of porcelain making is very interesting. The locally dug kaolin is mixed with 2 other powders of quartz and feldspath. This powder is mixed with pure water to a paste called barbotine which is then poured into moulds and fired for the first time at 980˚C. The second firing is at 1400˚C and the pieces reduce in size by 14%. The enamel and decals are applied with great skill and subsequent firings (there may be one or several) take place at 700˚-900˚C. We watched a video on the whole process then had time to shop. I bought a beautiful deep cobalt and gold plate for Mum for �22.00. What a shame I�m not a local because the dinnerware is lovely and so reasonably priced.
Our visit finished at 10.45am and we headed for Poitiers. The drive took nearly 2� hours and, despite being on smaller roads, we did run into some heavy traffic. During the ride Virginie briefed us on the final day and a half of our tour and collected flight details from everyone and explained the Insight evaluation process. Along the way we had one last chance to laugh at something that had amused us several times throughout the fortnight � a Frenchman standing on the side of the road relieving himself. They seem to have no modesty at all and don�t bother to turn away from the passing traffic or step off into the grass. It�s just out there for all to see!
We had lunch at the Poitiers railway station after waving goodbye to Willie who was returning to Paris by bus (of course) with all of our luggage. The train was scheduled for 2.09pm but it was running about 20 minutes late. While we were waiting on the platform another TGV went through. A warning that it was approaching was made before we could see the train and we found out why when it flew through the station. The force of the wind that hit us as it passed was phenomenal.
On the TGV we raced for our seats given that the train only stops for 3 minutes. We�d been told to plan ahead who we wanted to sit with but hadn�t anticipated that all of the seats would be facing forward like in a bus. Never mind, just a slight rearrangement to our plans. However, one married couple did end up sitting on opposite side of the aisle, and �guess who� had the opportunity to offer to move so they could be together but didn�t. Once we were underway Virginie handed out the tour evaluation forms. I couldn�t fault the itinerary and sang my praises for the work of Virginie and Willie.
The TGV made up for lost time with ease. The ride was quiet and smooth and we could appreciate our speed when the cars going at 130kph on the freeways appeared to be moving like snails. Upon arrival at Gare Montparnasse at 4.10pm we had a long walk from the platform to where a transfer coach was waiting to take us to the Sofitel Forum Rive Gauche, back where our journey together had started 13 days earlier. At this point we said goodbye to the family from Toronto who would be leaving early the next morning.
After checking out my room on the 17th floor, I went downstairs to find �guess who� giving Virginie another ear bashing, this time about the single supplement. This woman believed that the supplement should be split between the 2 women who had changed to single rooms, but Virginie had told her that because she had been the one to ask for the transfer to the single room, she would have to be the one to pay for it. This woman claimed that the Australian lady had shouted abuse at her and that had forced her to seek a single room. Not likely!
Just at this moment the Australian lady came downstairs, and with Virginie finally finished with hearing complaints, we went to the bar for a drink and to unwind. Goodness knows, Virginie deserved it. She has the patience of a saint and not once did she display anything but calm professionalism throughout the entire tour. She rang ahead to every hotel to notify them of the change of booking for 1 fewer twin room and 2 extra single rooms. And she organised with Insight for the Australian lady to take up a single room on each of the next 2 tours she was taking after this one. One drink at the bar turned into several rounds with 3 others joining us. At around 7.30pm Willie staggered in looking exhausted. The end of summer holidays traffic had added 2� hours to the trip from Poitiers to Paris.
5 of us walked down to Rue Daguerre for dinner, just near the place Denfert-Rochereau. I had steak with fries for dinner and of course we shared a bottle of red wine, as this was my farewell dinner. Whilst the others have one more night on which there is an optional farewell dinner and a cabaret show, I have to join my next tour tomorrow and so can�t be with them. When we were nearly done Willie walked in. We gave him a glass of red wine and all chatted for a while longer. Back at the hotel the couple from Auckland were waiting in the foyer for our return to see if anyone wanted to join them for an evening walk, which I did.
Posts: 64 | Location: Melbourne | Registered: 10 September 2001
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Post by Owen on Oct 2, 2014 12:29:06 GMT
17 ~ Saturday 31 August, 2002
Today was a really odd sort of day. I packed my suitcase and went downstairs to arrange with reception to keep my room until 12.30pm. A quick breakfast at which the mood amongst our group was strange. It appears that our favourite tour member is human after all and had gotten a bit upset and tearful the previous day when she overheard one of the group saying something about her on the TGV. A group of 3 couples had gone for dinner in Montmartre last night and had seen her there but hadn�t asked her to join them and were feeling bad about it. We agreed that it was sad that the presence of someone like her had brought out the worst behaviour in many of us. We had talked behind backs and been a little ungracious in trying to avoid and exclude her, but we were only trying to defend our own enjoyment of the tour. None of us started the tour that way but were provoked into that type of behaviour. It became a question of how much we were prepared to tolerate, given we had all paid big money and travelled long distances for a trip we wanted to enjoy, and how much of that were we prepared to sacrifice out of kindness towards someone who wasn�t showing us much respect and who we would never see again. Even now as I write, I worry that the person in question might read this and get upset about what I have said about her, but I have written nothing but the truth as I experienced it. I know that I didn�t ever speak discourteously to her and that I �took my turn� in dining with her on a few occasions. I was a bit naughty in conspiring not to sit with her on a few occasions towards the end of the tour, but that was in defence of my enjoyment and that of some of my fellow travellers. Still, many of us were feeling pretty awful about it this morning and it was sad to finish the tour on a slightly sour note.
As I boarded the bus this morning for our Paris sightseeing, I handed Virginie and Willie envelopes containing my tips. They both deserved every Euro I gave them and possibly more and I wrote a thank you letter to each of them for their outstanding work. I also gave Willie a little koala stickpin that he soon had pinned to the dashboard of the bus. That will be about as close to owning a koala as he will come, I think!
Virginie introduced us to our local Paris guide for the morning, Madame Ren�e. What a contrast to Virginie! How spoilt we had been over the past fortnight listening to Virginie�s voice with her lovely expressions! Mme Ren�e�s voice reminded me of Mlle Giroux, one of my old French mistresses from university days. She had a harsh, very nasal voice and if I closed my eyes to listen to Mme Ren�e I could have thought I was back in one of my old History of Paris classes with Mlle Giroux (who was probably nearly 80 but most adamant that she was mademoiselle).
Mme Ren�e certainly knew her stuff but did not engage us at all. There was no animation in her presentation, but she did at least ask a few questions of us to establish what we had learnt on our tour. First we had a drive around the Left Bank past the Palais de Luxembourg and the Pantheon and the Sorbonne, then we drove onto the Ile de la Cit� to Notre-Dame. Ren�e spoke in quite some detail about the cathedral and the statuary above the western portals (very interesting) before leading us around inside. I didn�t enjoy following a little red flag on a stick but it was practical.
What a magnificent cathedral Notre-Dame is! The detail of the many statues is overwhelming and the rose windows inside are spectacular. What a godsend that this place survived the wars. Ren�e wasn�t allowed to talk inside but she did point out particular features to us. Outside she explained how the gargoyles are in fact water pipes so that rainwater drains through them and not down the side of the building.
Back on the coach Mme Ren�e showed us some of the Right Bank along the rue de Rivoli. We walked through the Place des Vosges, a stunning symmetrical square built early in the 17th century. Next we made our way to the Seine near the Eiffel Tower from where we took an hour-long cruise along the river past the Ile St-Louis and back again. The boat we took was huge and because we only just got there in time for the 10.30am cruise, most of us were seated inside. It is a great way to see many of the great sights of Paris.
On the return trip to the hotel we passed by the end of the tunnel where Diana, Princess of Wales, was involved in that fatal accident 5 years ago today. Large crowds of people were gathering above the tunnel entrance and some were leaving flowers. Above the tunnel entrance is located the Liberty Flame, a monument to the French Resistance fighters, but it seems many people now have come to treat it as a monument to Diana.
We returned to the hotel before noon and it was time to say the last of my good-byes. I had already bid farewell to the couple from Auckland who didn�t do all of the sightseeing with us, and to the NY doctor who jumped off the bus before the cruise. Plenty of hugs from people who have been wonderful travel mates and who I hope to see again one day. I then went up to the room of the couple from Melbourne who showed me photographs of their family and I promised to see them again home in Melbourne.
Virginie called into my room to give me the list of names and addresses to keep in touch with people, so I got to say goodbye to her too. Then I checked out of the Sofitel and caught a cab to the Hotel Libertel Terminus Est to begin my Trafalgar adventure. That was a fun �9.00 taxi ride with the driver electing to use the bus lanes most of the way. Very scary, with cars doing right hand turns in front of us as we sped along the bus lanes!
I checked into my new hotel at about 1.00pm and found a letter from my next tour director, Lexie Martone. I have read rave reviews about her on the TT BB and she has an excellent reputation. And my luck continues: I again have a room to myself despite not having paid the single supplement.
The concierge gave me directions to a nearby internet caf� and I caught up on my e-mails. There was one from a workmate with news from home, one from Mum and finally, one from my travel agent with some hotel options for my final week in Paris. �4.00 for 1 hour.
I took a little walk around the hotel, which is directly opposite the Gare de l�Est. It is very much an African French area and the queues outside the Afro hairdressers were very long! I saw a young guy being chased down the street with blood pouring from his face, and received a few sleazy comments from men loitering in the streets. Not an area in which I felt at all comfortable. Eventually I found a little caf� where I had a croque monsieur and a lemonade, then it was 3.30pm and time to return to the hotel for the start of the tour.
My Trafalgar �Treasures of France� tour has 42 people on it. The tour had been sold out, but a few didn�t turn up and there were a few last minute cancellations. Apparently people are buying their cancellation insurance and using it which is proving costly for the company. Lexie Martone, our Tour Director, was seated in the foyer of the hotel getting people to fill out their forms with personal and passport details, giving them name tags, maps and a little bottle of champagne each. It turns out this is Lexie�s version of a welcome drink. At 4.00pm she herded us onto the bus and the tour started in a whirl.
We went for a drive around Paris, taking advantage of the very light traffic to see plenty of sights. Lexie gave us several photo stops, then we had a guided tour of Notre-Dame. Yes, twice in one day for me and I still want to come back to climb the towers. Lexie wasn�t afraid to whisper a few comment inside the church (I don�t think she�d be afraid of anything!) and it was a very different but complementary tour to the one I�d had earlier in the day.
Next we made our way along the Champs-�lys�es, around the Arc de Triomphe and to the Eiffel Tower. We had tickets to the 2nd level and visibility was excellent. It really is a spectacular view of a beautiful city which was gleaming in the late afternoon sunlight. Back on the bus at 7.15pm (there were plenty who didn�t return until 7.30pm � they probably got caught in the crowds of postcard sellers blocking the exits!) � then back to the hotel before 8.00pm (passing Diana�s tunnel again en route with a crowd still gathered there).
In the foyer I asked Lexie for some advice on the hotels my travel agent had named and Lexie was very quick to recommend where and where not to stay, not knowing the particular hotels but the areas in which they are located. Whilst in the foyer I met up with 6 other women who are all travelling alone on this tour and we all went to dinner together at a restaurant a few doors from the hotel. One of the ladies is from Sydney and has been room matched with a lady from Melbourne (whose husband stayed at home), another is from Brisbane (having a holiday on the end of a long business trip with a husband waiting at home), one from San Francisco, one from Boston and another from North Carolina. Steak b�arnaise, a good Bordeaux, cr�me caramel and great company. It was a lovely first night, ending at about 10.20pm. Oh boy, there seem to be a lot of Aussies on this tour. I hope that�s not a bad thing!
Posts: 64 | Location: Melbourne | Registered: 10 September 2001 Report This Post Nell Virtual Traveller Elite Picture of Nell
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Post by Owen on Oct 2, 2014 12:30:28 GMT
18 ~ Sunday 1 September, 2002
First thing today was an optional excursion to the Ch�teau de Versailles. Suitcase out at 7.30am for an 8.25am departure. The roads were very quiet indeed so driving was a breeze. Even though we arrived right on 9.00am there were already big crowds gathering in the courtyard which was bathed in sunlight. Lexie is a licensed Paris guide so she gave our tour of Versailles through the palace buildings. She sure knows her stuff and really took us back to the rich and opulent days of Louis XIV and Louis XVI and the many famous events to have occurred here at Versailles.
All of the furnishings within the apartments are original except for some of the fabrics. The ceiling paintings by Charles Le Brun are breathtaking, as of course is the famous Hall of Mirrors. Lexie�s explanations throughout were wonderful. She talked of the immense task it has been to recover the furnishings over the years, many of them having been bought back from overseas collectors. The palace was raided during the Revolution and much of the original silver and gold was melted down, but the revolutionaries missed some things like the chandeliers and the mirrors (it is silver behind the glass, which is why they appear dirty), and original blueprints remain which document exactly what existed where.
When I was in Marie-Antoinette�s bedroom my mobile phone beeped and I received a message from my boyfriend Julian wishing me a happy 6-month anniversary. What a darling! He made me feel guilty that I hadn�t even thought what day it was.
After completing the tour of the palace I had about 1� hours to view the gardens � and soon discovered why many people stay all day. First I had a look at the Orangerie, a formal garden of citrus and palm trees beneath the parterre, then went and sat on the main stairs to watch the fountains. We were lucky to be visiting on a day when we could see the fountains. They are only turned on a couple of days a week for 1 hour and only during the warmer months because the pipes are deteriorating and they haven�t found an effective way of replacing them. The fountain �show� is accompanied by classical music with water jets spurting from much of the garden statuary. Quite spectacular.
I then spent the remaining 45 minutes exploring the beautiful formal gardens designed by Andr� le N�tre in the 17th century, walking by the Grand Canal and checking out the sculptures. The King�s Garden is just divine but I had circumnavigated it before I found where the gate was and I didn�t have enough time to go in. In fact, I was so pushed for time seeing these magnificent gardens that I didn�t even have time to buy some lunch before the bus was due to leave at 12.00 noon.
Luc, the driver (another Belgian), had returned to Paris to collect those in the group who didn�t choose to do the Versailles optional. Given that Paris really sleeps in on a Sunday, I�m not sure that they would have had time to do much during the morning. There were a few stragglers but we were on the road to Normandy soon after midday, leaving behind the crowds at the magnificent Palace of Versailles. Luc�s coach is nowhere near as nice as Willie�s coach is. For a start it is much lower and the seats are less luxurious. It also seems to have less precise steering and the back of the bus tends to sway a lot on the road. The legroom is less too because the high deck coaches effectively have one fewer row of seats. However, it is clean and just fine. I was spoilt over the past fortnight.
As we travelled Lexie went through the basic tour guidelines including her view of the best seat rotation for a short tour � moving back 2 seats each day (so keeping to the same side of the bus throughout the tour). She then asked us to select the rest of our optional tours. These are going to cost me more for 8 days than they did on my 15 days with Insight, but that wasn�t completely unexpected. I chose all except the visit to Giverny because I�ve already been there.
We arrived in Rouen at about 1.45pm and pulled up outside of the Notre-Dame Cathedral, yet another monument wrapped in scaffolding and undergoing some restoration work. It�s a beautiful Gothic construction, never fully completed, with one tower built with money raised by taxing butter during Lent. In a town that was almost completely destroyed during WWII, it�s incredible that this cathedral ever survived the bombings. Inside the Cath�drale Notre-Dame there is a statue depicting Jeanne d�Arc (Joan of Arc) being burned at the stake which happened in the nearby place du Vieux-March� in 1431. The bishop�s staircase is quite interesting to see too. I was pleased to have seen for myself this cathedral that Claude Monet had painted several times.
I took the chance at almost 10.00pm Sunday Australian time to telephone home for the first time. Being Father�s Day, Dad was off visiting Grandpa, and Mum was in the city at a hotel for a conference, so I spoke briefly to my youngest brother, Simon. I then rang Mum and asked her to call my travel agent about my hotel booking because I get the feeling that I�m not going to find any internet access points until I return Paris next Thursday.
We departed Rouen at around 2.10pm and drove deeper into Normandy. The landscapes were largely lush pastures where Normandy cows grazed, and pear and apple orchards, with occasional wooded areas and plenty more cornfields. I am stunned by the amount of corn being grown in France given it is all for the consumption of animals, not humans, and it really isn�t exported.
The pretty harbour village of Honfleur was our next stop at around 2.50pm. It is every little bit as �jolie� as my professeur Maurice described it and a photographer�s paradise. The crowds were thick, the sun was shining and it was just perfect to take a stroll, stop for a cr�pe and coffee then stroll some more. We had just over an hour here, but one could spend plenty of time poking around in the little shops and walking, or just sitting back and talking it all in.
By around 5.00pm we were in the lovely seaside resort village of Cabourg. Lexie had promised us a palace for the night and a palace we got. Our hotel was none other than the Grand Hotel, the white Belle Epoque hotel on the seafront where Marcel Proust used to spend so much of his time. The hallways were lined with photographs (all autographed and dated) of many celebrities who had been guests of the hotel over the years, including Edith Piaf and Charles Aznavour. My room was absolutely enormous with an entrance hall, separate toilet and bathroom and in the main room 2 large single beds pushed together as a king bed, 2 wing back armchairs and a table, dressing table & chair, desk & chair, fireplace and mantelpiece and enough floor space to play skittles. My balcony overlooked the square in front of the hotel with its neighbouring Norman houses.
Instead of sitting around waiting for my suitcase, I went for a walk. The hotel backs onto the promenade along the beach that was lined with blue and white striped bathing tents. Just like in the movies! There were people sunbaking and swimming or playing ball games on the sand by the English Channel. I then walked along the main street and back again, just looking and only buying a postcard. Upon return I went and paid Lexie for my optional tours and prepared for dinner.
Dinner was in the grand dining room, the first time one of Lexie�s Trafalgar groups has been allowed to use this room. There was no choice of meals tonight but what we got was quite nice. Crudit�s first followed by chicken in a creamy sauce with an apple tart for dessert. We saw a beautiful sunset over the English Channel and met a movie star Jack Russell terrier named Georges who was dining at a nearby table. Yes, this dog who had starred beside Jim Carrey in �Mask� was sitting on a dining chair eating his meal off of plate on the table! Lexie asked us all to stand up and say our names and where we are from � probably a little late, I thought, given we are already through 2 of the 8 days of the tour. I had a quick look in the adjoining casino before bed, but the antes were way out of my league and the cigarette smoke was disgusting.
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Post by Owen on Oct 2, 2014 12:31:16 GMT
19 ~ Monday 2 September, 2002
Today was a big day that really crammed a lot in. I had originally booked for the Insight �Normandy, Brittany and Loire Valley� tour which follows a roughly similar itinerary to this Trafalgar tour, but it was cancelled 60 days before the tour start date. The same tour starting 2 days earlier had also been cancelled. Insight were unable to offer me any suitable alternative that wouldn�t require me changing my flights (virtually impossible to do this on the booked out Paris to Singapore leg) or leaving my boyfriend stranded in Paris for a week. As it turned out, Julian ended up not being able to join me in Paris due to business commitments, but I didn�t know this at the time my second tour was cancelled and so I shifted to the Trafalgar tour. My main concern with this one, in comparison to the Insight one, was that this particular day was going to be far too rushed. It includes the 3 things that were attracting me to the entire tour in the first place � the D-Day landing beaches, the Bayeux Tapestry and Mont-St-Michel � but didn�t allow time for a visit to any of the war museums. The Insight itinerary had the visit to Mont-St-Michel on a separate day, which allowed an entire day for the tapestry and WWII history, including a visit to one of the war museums. As it turns out, after today I am convinced that I need to come back here and travel this area by car so that I can go at my own pace and see a lot more that a non-specialised tour couldn�t possibly cover.
We packed up and ate breakfast early this morning and were on the bus by 8.00am. The seat rotation was out of whack from the first day we had to rotate and there was no end of complaining from a pair of Australians. They had been in the very front seat yesterday but someone was in the seat 2 back from there today and wasn�t budging, so the couple from Sydney came and sat in the very back seat where all around them were treated to much moaning and griping, as well as the smell of the salami they had taken from the breakfast buffet to make sandwiches for lunch. But that�s not all, they took baguettes and hard-boiled eggs too. The man likes his curried egg sandwiches for lunch and so comes away on tour prepared with a little container of curry so that he can make his sandwiches with eggs from the breakfast table every day.
We took the local roads through little Norman villages, most of them a combination of the old and the new, clear evidence of much of the villages having been ruined during the war and rebuilt since. In many places the fast rebuilding necessary post-war meant that the architecture was simple and inexpensive and often rather ugly, in sharp contrast to the charm of the old Norman houses. We followed a little of the path followed in the movie �Saving Private Ryan�, then went to Omaha Beach and walked on the very spot where US troops landed on D-Day, 6 June 1944, when they began Operation Overlord, the first step in the Allied Forces� invasion of German-occupied France. I souvenired a few stones from the beach. I�m sure my middle brother Ashley, who is an amateur war historian, would love some of those as his gift from my tour.
We visited the American War Cemetery. It has a colonnaded semi-circular memorial at one end with relief maps on the walls showing the various military operations in the area in 1944 and 1945. In the centre of the semi-circle is a huge bronze statue called �The Spirit of American Youth Rising from the Waves� with the words �Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord� engraved around the base. There is a lookout to the sea with another map of the landings.
Nothing could possibly have prepared me for the overwhelming emotion I felt walking through the grave plots with the perfectly straight rows of white marble headstones � 9,387 crosses and Stars of David, of which 307 are unidentified, marked �known only to God�. The tears just rolled down my face as I looked at the sea of headstones before me. Beyond the American flags and reflecting pool and graves is a small limestone chapel. Inscribed in the marble altar are the words �I give unto them eternal life and they shall never perish�. The inscription on the left wall reads �Through the gate of death may they pass to their joyful resurrection� and on the right wall �Think not only upon their passing. Remember the glory of their spirit�. Some of the gravestones had fresh flowers placed at the bases, and on some family members had rubbed sand from the beaches into the engraving to make the names stand out.
Behind the main memorial is the Garden of the Missing, with the names of 1,557 service people who went Missing in Action in Normandy.
We were at the cemetery from 9.45am until 10.35am. Lexie gave people the option of visiting the war museum in Bayeux instead of the Bayeux Tapestry. Whilst I would have loved to visit a war museum, I�d been wanting to see the tapestry since my year 8 history classes 18 years ago, and it was worth it. For �1.00 I hired an audio set to hear the story of the events leading up to and during the Battle of Hastings in 1066 as I walked along the 70m length of the embroidery. It is in remarkable condition for an 11th century piece of work � the linen is still strong and the embroidery wools still vivid in colour. The detail and humour in the depiction of the story of Harold and William are stunning.
A couple of ladies from our group joined me for a croque-monsieur lunch at a caf� in Bayeux. In the gift shop I bought some postcards and another gift for my brother Ash. This was a WWII clicker like those the Allied Forces used to identify themselves when they were dropped from the air into Normandy. Ash is going to love this! Then I had a look through the Gothic Cath�drale Notre-Dame, including its crypt, and had an ice cream by the water wheel before returning to the bus at 1.10pm.
It was about a 2-hour drive from Bayeux to our next stop, a biscuit factory and shop just near Mont-St-Michel. The car park was a good place from which to take a few distant shots of the Mont-St-Michel before going inside to taste the pure butter cookies. I bought a small tin of them for my youngest brother, Simon. I hope I can get them through customs at home.
Before going to Mont-St-Michel we checked into the H�tel de la Digue, the last hotel before crossing the causeway to the island. We dropped off our hand luggage, had a quick toilet stop then got back on the bus to cross the causeway.
Building on the island began in the 8th century but the interesting part came in the 10th century when a Benedictine abbey was founded. The building of the church began in 1017 and the cloisters and monastery, La Merveille, were added in the 13th century. Lexie led us up the Grande Rue and up the many stairs to the abbey where she gave us a very detailed guided tour of the abbey. My only complaint was that she rushed us through the church to get ahead of other tour groups and we were unable to return for a decent look. It was fascinating to explore the three levels of the abbey and marvel at the ingenuity of the construction for its time, and wonder at the feat of bringing the stone to the island and raising it up the mountain. The construction of the causeway didn�t start until 1877, so one could marvel at them getting the stone to the island as well. During the Revolution the abbey was used as a political prison and most of the religious symbols were removed, but the floral carvings in the cloisters remain undamaged. It has taken many years to restore the abbey to its current state and the process of restoration continues.
Like most of the other little hilltop villages in France, Mont-St-Michel has one main street that is lined with eateries and souvenir shops. Apparently all of the shops on the Mont-St-Michel are owned by the same one or two families, so there is not much variation and it is pretty tacky. We wished it weren�t so close to dinnertime because the many cr�peries looked very inviting. We remained on the Mont-St-Michel from about 3.50pm to 5.30pm when many of us decided to return on foot rather than by coach.
Back at the hotel many of the group took advantage of the lovely evening and gathered in the courtyard for a pre-dinner drink. Dinner was an included meal and very nice indeed. Again, there wasn�t any choice of dishes. We had omelette (very fluffy!) followed by salmon in a creamy capsicum sauce with vegetables, with pears and vanilla ice cream drizzled with chocolate sauce for dessert. I had a pichet of red wine to accompany my meal, and it was thoroughly enjoyable, seated at a table that looked out to the Mont-St-Michel. It was lovely to watch this as the sun set and the lights came on.
The rooms at this little family run hotel were something else! After the opulence and space of the Grand Hotel Cabourg, it was a bit of a shock to the system, but we had been warned that we�d be staying with the sheep in very simple conditions. The room size was OK and the twin single beds were comfortable, but once again it was the plumbing that let things down. The bathroom was a little capsule that I had to step up into with a round shower on the left, basin ahead and toilet on the right with the towel rack hanging above it. I could sit on the toilet to wash my hands or do my hair, and at bedtime there was no cold water and the toilet wouldn�t flush.
Before bed I watched �Grease� the movie in French on TV. Fortunately they didn�t dub the songs but used rather inaccurate French subtitles for these. But it�s a great film in any language!
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Post by Owen on Oct 2, 2014 12:32:00 GMT
20 ~ Tuesday 3 September, 2002
The adventure with the French plumbing continued this morning. There was still no cold water � so a very hot shower and no flushing of the toilet. I am so glad that I didn�t have to share a room in these conditions! It wasn�t until I was checking out of the hotel that I discovered that all the people on my floor in the hotel had been in the same situation.
After the plumbing adventures, it was time for seat rotation adventures. People started boarding the bus at 7.45am for an 8.10am departure and the couple from Sydney was again voicing complaints to anyone who would listen. Lucky for me no one had pinched my front seat so I was able to take my due place in the rotation. There were two very good things about being in the front seat � I�d felt quite sick near the back from the swaying of the rear of the bus on the road, and the front seats have seat belts. No other seats except the ones directly behind the rear door are equipped with seat belts, which I personally think is disgraceful. I would have thought that a tour company like Trafalgar would require the buses they use to have seatbelts fitted in every seat.
This morning�s drive commenced with our passage through some of the cornfields and pretty flower villages of Brittany, passing into the Loire Valley and stopping at 10.50am in the city of Angers. We stopped just near the very impressive 13th century ch�teau with wonderful formal French gardens in the moat. We had been warned that there would be nowhere else to pick up any lunch today so I went to a local patisserie and bought a tuna, egg and salad sandwich, and stayed there to have a nice big cup of coffee and a Paris-brest for morning tea. Very nice!
On the road again at 11.40am, it was another hour�s drive to Saumur. As we crossed the River Loire, the fairytale turreted Ch�teau de Saumur could be seen on the hill. We went to a local cellar � Veuve Amiot � where we had a tour and talk on the process of making sparkling wines, followed by a tasting of their brut, demi-sec and a sparkling red. I don�t know how Saumur gets its reputation for making the second best sparkling wines in the world after Champagne, because I honestly thought they were very ordinary. I do have a fairly experienced and educated palette and there was nothing that impressed me at all, and a wine buff in the group was in agreement. Oh well, there are obviously plenty of others who enjoy these wines, but the unimpressed ended up sitting on a step outside in the sun where we could eat our lunch.
Once again on the road at 1.40pm, we drove along the Loire River past woods and cornfields and flower gardens, but hardly saw any vineyards which was surprising. In places limestone cliffs rose above the river and troglodyte dwellings could be seen carved out of the cliff faces, similar to those around the V�z�re Valley. Apparently the French only pay tax on dwellings if they have a roof so this is a cheap form of housing to buy.
It was a long stretch to our next stop at Ch�teau de Chambord at 4.05pm. First things first � respects had to be paid to Madame Pipi (i.e. toilet stop required). It was the best �0.30 I�d spent in a long time! Time for a few photographs of this enormous royal ch�teau, supposedly designed by Leonardo da Vinci for his great friend, Fran�ois I. A couple of people in our group couldn�t find the bus and held us up by 10 minutes, so we didn�t leave until 4.40pm. Lexie was really stressing out and was just about to go without them when they came running. Just to give her more stress over time, we had to take a detour through little village streets on the way to our hotel in Amboise, and what Luc said would be a 30-minute drive became a 60-minute drive and it was 5.40pm when we arrived at the Novotel Amboise. This is a nice enough hotel. Good size rooms with a double and a single bed each and pleasant view from all rooms of rolling hills or Amboise or the hotel pool. I did some washing before it was time to get ready for dinner.
Lexie had made a couple of adjustments to the itinerary. Firstly, she brought the viewing of the Ch�teau de Chambord forward to today instead of tomorrow morning. Secondly, she changed the included dinner in Amboise to tomorrow night, and tonight was our optional ch�teau dinner. On the way to dinner Lexie gave each of us a big praline chocolate to thank us for coming. It was a short drive to the Manoir St Thomas Restaurant in Amboise where we had pre-dinner drinks in the garden. The ap�ritif was a variation on Kir Royale made with cr�me de framboises (raspberries), and hors d��uvres were served. Upstairs in the dining room, entr�e was a salad with prunes and fat bacon and goat�s cheese toasted on little rounds of bread, all on a pile of dressed greens, capsicum and mushroom. For main course we had a choice of 2 dishes, selected yesterday morning. I had the regional specialty, porc aux pruneaux (pork with prunes). The cheese course was like a camembert melted between puff pastry squares, served on salad greens. Dessert for everyone was a frozen berry type of dish. The real disappointment of the night was the wines. Both the red and white were AOC Loire-Touraine and I didn't fancy either of them. The coffee was weak too.
On the way home we stopped for a nighttime view of the Ch�teau d�Amboise, then Lexie played a tape and led a sing-a-long on the bus back to the hotel. All a bit daggy but I think people sort of enjoyed it. Lexie certainly did.
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Post by Owen on Oct 2, 2014 12:33:29 GMT
21 ~ Wednesday 4 September, 2002
Today we had the luxury of a sleep-in with no cases to pack and a departure time of 8.45am. Our first stop, the Ch�teau d�Amboise, was only 10 minutes away so we entered as it opened at 9.00am. This historically significant ch�teau has only recently been renovated and restored, and only one wing remains, so it is not visited by a lot of people. However, it was home to Louis XI, was the place where Charles VIII entered and departed this world, and was used frequently by Catherine de� Medici and Fran�ois I. First Lexie took us to the Chapelle St-Hubert where Leonardo da Vinci is buried. The chapel is very small but contains intricate sculpting that is like lace, and the front features a sculpture of a hunting scene. The hunting theme continues throughout the ch�teau which was actually used as the royal hunting lodge. Again, Lexie gave excellent detail as we toured throughout the ch�teau and down the enormous spiral ramp that could take horses up to the front door. It was a shame that a mist was hanging over the town and the light was poor.
After touring the ch�teau we had about an hour to look around the town of Amboise. There are some excellent shops with tapestries and swords and pieces of Limoges porcelain. I bought some gifts for my young nephews, then stopped for a cup of coffee at a salon de th� adjoining a wonderful chocolate shop. It is just as well that I can�t take chocolates back into Australia (at least ones that aren�t packaged and sealed) or I could go mad in the chocolate shops � such artistry!
Back on the bus at 11.05am and off the Ch�teau de Chenonceau. Just as we arrived Julian rang me. He was feeling ignored as he hadn�t heard from me for days. I explained that I haven�t been near an internet connection since Saturday and wouldn�t be again until at least Thursday night. Lovely to hear from him, even if only briefly. He is off to Bangkok next Monday night until the weekend to deliver a tax paper at a conference.
The entrance to Chenonceau is very grand. From the gate one walks along a long drive lined on each side with 200-year-old plane trees and the ch�teau gradually appears at the end of the drive. First there is a huge forecourt with stables (now a caf� and restaurant) across the lawn on the right-hand-side. The ch�teau is built across the River Cher with a long gallery built on top of an arched bridge stretching to the far bank.
This ch�teau also has an interesting story. It was built by Thomas Bohier and his wife Catherine Bri�onnet from 1512. Bohier was tax collector in the r�gime of Henri II who claimed the ch�teau as a royal palace in 1533 (perhaps Bohier had been siphoning a little off the taxes collected to afford to build this place). In 1547 Henri II gave the palace to his long time mistress, Diane de Poitiers, who had the arched bridge and formal gardens built. When Henri II died in 1559, his wife Catherine de� Medici evicted Diane de Poitiers to Ch�teau de Chaumont and added the gallery over the bridge and changed the western gardens to a far more feminine style. From 1575 the ch�teau belonged to Henri III and his wife Louise de Lorraine, who upon the assassination of Henri III in 1589, spent 11 years in the attic in mourning. She had the attic painted black and it really is worth seeing. The ch�teau survived the Revolution, as by then a local farmer-general�s wife, Mme Dupin, owned it. For the past 89 years it has been owned by the Menier family who are chocolatiers.
Despite being almost �ch�teaued-out�, we had a good look through Chenonceau. Surprisingly, it has original tapestries and paintings by masters on display with little security. The floral displays throughout are stunning.
After photographs in the gardens, 4 other ladies and I went into the village of Chenonceaux for lunch. This is just a few minutes walk from the gate of the ch�teau. While at lunch I got a call from Mum letting me know that my travel agent has finally fixed up my accommodation in Paris.
After a lovely lunch in the sun, we returned to the bus by 2.15pm. At this point Lexie pulled me aside and asked why I hadn�t chosen to go to Giverny on Friday. I explained that I had already been there, and she told me that I was the only person to have selected the Louvre option who wasn�t going to Giverny first. It was obvious that she didn�t want to have to meet me at the Louvre at a certain place and time, and so she offered to take me to Giverny for free. I felt bad about going for free, particularly given some of the others already knew that I hadn�t selected that optional, but I certainly didn�t want to get in Lexie�s bad books by being difficult so I accepted her offer.
We were back at the hotel by 2.15pm and had a little free time before those taking the next optional departed at 3.00pm. For this excursion we had a local guide called Carole. First we went to the little island in the Loire in Amboise called the Ile d�Or. Here there is a bronze statue of Leonardo da Vinci by an unknown artist. Next we visited the manor house of Clos-Luc� where da Vinci spent the last 3 years of his life. Carole gave us a guided tour of the house and spoke in depth about Leonardo�s life, his art, his inventions, his genius. This man truly was hundreds of years ahead of his time, as became hugely apparent when we looked through the cellars. Here IBM have created a display of models of da Vinci�s inventions made from materials of da Vinci�s time and based on his sketches. We also saw the opening of the secret passage which goes under the Loire and up to the Ch�teau d�Amboise, used by da Vinci and his friend Fran�ois I to visit one another. Apparently there is also a passage between the Ch�teau d�Amboise and the Manoir St-Thomas where we dined last night. Unfortunately, due to having been held up on the road by roadworks, we didn�t have a lot of time to explore the inventions display.
Back at the hotel by 5.15pm there was time to relax. At 6.30pm a group of us gathered by the pool to drink our little bottles of champagne we�d received on the first day in lieu of welcome drinks. From here we went directly in to dinner in the dining room. Our meal was salad, fillet of pork in a cream sauce with rice and vegetables, with 3 flavours of ice cream for dessert. We shared a nice bottle of Bordeaux at my table, and it was an early night with us back in our rooms at 9.00pm.
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Post by Owen on Oct 2, 2014 12:34:33 GMT
22 ~ Thursday 5 September, 2002
I woke up this morning choking on my tonsils and feeling pretty ordinary (fortunately this didn�t last far into the day). I struggled but managed to get my case packed and outside my room by 7.00am for our 8.00am departure. It was 2� hours drive to our first stop at the Cathedral at Chartres. Chartres is a city on the middle of flat farming country and comes to have the most magnificent Gothic cathedral in all of Europe because it houses the Veil of the Virgin. There is a labyrinthine maze inlaid in the floor of the nave which pilgrims would follow on their knees. Even today there is an annual pilgrimage on foot to Chartres from Paris. The cathedral has over 150 stained-glass windows including 3 of the finest rose windows to be found anywhere in the world, and the carvings within the church are incredible. Some of the windows have recently been cleaned, but some are still very grotty and I felt like getting a ladder and a bucket of soapy water and getting to work.
Before re-boarding the bus at 11.05am I called into a little sandwich shop to buy some lunch, having been warned by Lexie of the limited options available at our next stop, the Ch�teau de Fontainebleau. The drive to Fontainebleau was quite stressful with increasing traffic and erratic behaviour on the roads and Luc had to jump on the brakes on more than one occasion. On the A10 we went through the largest toll station in Europe with 35 gates.
We arrived at Fontainebleau at 12.30pm and first explored the ch�teau. Whilst it was built largely in the time of Fran�ois I, today�s collection of furnishings comes from various periods since then, and there are some reproductions. The most interesting part was seeing the Apartments of Napol�on I, including his throne room, his bedroom with its tiny little bed, the bathroom with a minute bathtub, and the room in which he signed his abdication in 1814. A few of us ate our sandwiches in the garden of Diana, Goddess of the Hunt, before returning to the bus by 2.00pm. It would have been nice to have a little longer to explore the gardens here.
En route to the hotel for the final 2 nights, the Renaissance la D�fense, Lexie took us through the Bois de Boulogne and showed us the Longchamps racetrack. We were at the hotel by 3.30pm, so I had 1� hours to go to the supermarket and use the internet � and finally confirmation of a hotel booking for me for Saturday onwards!
We met for the Montmartre optional at 5.00pm. This was a great evening. Luc drove us near to Montmartre where we all dived off the bus and raced to catch the Montmartrobus to take us to the top of the hill. We wandered through the streets of Montmartre, seeing several places featured in the film �Am�lie�, and visited the Basilica of Sacr�-C�ur which seems to have ongoing Mass throughout the day. A wonderful view from here looking south over Paris. How white the city looks and how cute the rows of orange chimney pots. I joined the 2 Aussie ladies who were room sharing for dinner (theirs was a room match made in heaven � Lexie actually thought that they were best friends and hadn�t realised that they�d never met before the tour). We found a little bistro where we sat outside and had onion soup (delicious) and lemon and sugar cr�pes (equally delicious). Then we strolled amongst the crowds and watched the artists doing portraits. I decided that I should return to Montmartre next week and have my portrait done as a gift for Julian, so we looked at the various artists at work to see who was the best. We had all agreed on a particular artist when the noticed the name Julian written on the back of his paintbox. The ladies thought that that was a sign so I asked him when he works there so I could come back.
In no time at all it was 7.45pm and time to meet the group again. We walked part way down the hill, past the famous �Au Lapin Agile� nightclub and the last Parisian vineyard, to meet Luc with the bus. He then drove us to the Seine near the Eiffel Tower where we took a twilight/evening river cruise between 8.30pm and 9.30pm. This was just magic watching the city lighting up, seeing people dancing by the river and pairs of lovers dotted along the riverbanks. On the way home we had a quick photo stop at the Arc de Triomphe and were back at the hotel soon after 10.00pm. We ladies were keen to have an ice cream but out on the terrace of La D�fense it was like a ghost town and there was no ice cream to be found.
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Post by Owen on Oct 2, 2014 12:35:22 GMT
23 ~ Friday 6 September, 2002
I don�t think I�ve yet written about the composition of our tour group. Given we didn�t have any welcome drinks it took me a couple of days to figure out who was who and where everyone was from. Anyway, there are 14 Australians, 19 Americans, 2 Columbians, 2 South Africans, 1 Korean, 2 Singaporeans and 2 Taiwanese.
I woke up today very congested with bloodshot eyes and feeling very lethargic. I�d had a very rough night�s sleep and woke twice to find myself sleepwalking and very disorientated. I only had time to grab a little breakfast � what a pity because it was the best spread I�d seen all month. Apparently the tour groups don�t normally get this but the maitre d� for the group breakfast room was away and we were the only group in the hotel so they let us in the main dining room.
As I�ve said, I hadn�t elected to do the Giverny optional because I�ve already been there, but Lexie had invited me along for free to save her the hassle of having to meet me at the Louvre. There really is a lot of nudge-nudge, wink-wink, you scratch my back and I�ll scratch yours sort of stuff that goes on with Lexie. It�s very blatant and makes me feel quite uncomfortable, but I think it�s best just to go along with it.
So we set of at 8.00am and arrived at Giverny by 9.00am, taking a few back roads and short cuts along the way. I thoroughly enjoyed the second visit and the video on Monet that Lexie showed on the bus. We stayed there until 10.50am then went straight back to Paris and to the Louvre where 17 of us took a guided tour with Lexie. I found the whole Louvre experience quite overwhelming, from Lexie sneaking us in an entrance that is not for groups to being taken all over the place to see the main attractions. Nothing could ever come close to seeing �La Jaconde� � the Mona Lisa � for real. Just an incredible painting that is quite entrancing and needs to be looked at from various angles. My other 3 favourites were G�ricault�s �The Raft of the Medusa� (a huge, graphic and very moving painting), the �Venus de Milo� (what a huge neck she has when you see her side on!), and the �Winged Victory of Samothrace� (who could have known that it was found in over 100 pieces unless they were told?). We went down underneath the museum to see the old foundations of the original building on this site. Then a big surprise � we looked through the apartments of Napol�on III, completely fitted out post-Revolution and only recently opened to the public. That would explain why I�d never even heard about them. Until January of this year the French President still used the dining room for State dinners � and a more magnificent dining room I never did see. Such opulence with crystal and gold and rich red fabrics. And in the salon was the largest Baccarat chandelier imaginable! By 2.30pm we�d barely scratched the surface of the largest museum in the world but we were all exhausted and happy to get back on the bus.
We were back at the hotel in La D�fense by 3.00pm and I went out to find an ATM to get some cash, then went across to the mall and had a piece of quiche for a late lunch. I then ran into 2 others from my group who had skipped the Louvre to go shopping, so I joined them for an ice cream (we were still wanting one from last night) and then returned to the hotel for about 90 minutes nap. Then it was time to revive myself and dress up for another night out.
The bus ride to the Moulin Rouge was fun. Not too much of a problem getting around the Arc de Triomphe, but we got stuck on another circle for ages and were well entertained watching the traffic chaos from the high vantagepoint in the bus. It seems that all cars on the right have right of way so it is easy to enter a circle but near impossible to get out, and if there is room to make another lane then it�s permissible to do so. The drivers are amazing the way they dart in and out and push in where there�s no room to do so.
At the Moulin Rouge I was told my bag was too big and I had to check it and I got a bit of a tongue-lashing from Lexie for bringing it (but it�s all I have). Dinner was a prawn salad, beef with frites, pear tart for dessert, with plenty of wine. There is a half bottle each included in the ticket price. I chose to drink red � it was a 2000 St-�milion Grand Cru and fairly rugged but passable. A couple of singers did all the standard classics, (or is that classic standards?), as pre-show entertainment, and the 20th wedding anniversary of a couple in our group was announced. I wished I had my boyfriend there to give me a twirl on the dance floor.
We were seated at tables that touched the stage. Champagne was poured for everyone and the show began. It was fast and colourful and varied with great costumes and superb acts by 2 pairs of strong man acrobats. At one point a pool of pythons rose out of the floor in front of us and a girl dived in and swam amongst them. There were plenty of topless women, but also others who didn�t go topless. The only disappointment for me was the can-can � not what I thought a real French can-can should be. The show went from around 9.00pm until 10.45pm, and Lexie and Luc were waiting for us outside when we emerged from the throng of people, half fighting to get out and half queuing for the late show. I gave my envelopes of tips to Lexie and Luc as we arrived back at the hotel.
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Post by Owen on Oct 2, 2014 12:36:19 GMT
24 ~ Saturday 7 September, 2002
I made sure I was up and ready so I could be downstairs to farewell those who were taking the 8.00am transfer to the airport. I lingered over breakfast to farewell others, then at 9.30am one of the other ladies and I met for a last stroll around La D�fense. We went to the Auchan supermarket � what an experience for 3 nectarines! You have to put your own bag of food on the scales and select the correct button and a price sticker prints out. Then we queued for ages only to discover that we were in the row for loyalty card holders so we found aisles reserved for those with baskets (no limit on the number of items in the baskets) and finally got through.
I got my suitcase and bag and checked out of the hotel, paying for the most expensive internet service I had found yet at �12.00 for one hour. The trap in La D�fense is that one has to call a taxi and cannot avoid paying the cost of the taxi getting there to pick one up. My taxi already had �7.40 on the meter when I got in it, and was at �26.50 when I arrived safely (but very quickly!) at the Best Western Marais-Bastille on the boulevard Richard-Lenoir in the 11th arrondisement, my home for the next 8 nights. My room was available so I unpacked and did my washing before finding an internet caf� around the corner to let the family & Julian know where I was staying and that it seemed quite OK. Next I got a cr�pe for a light lunch and set off walking.
I chose to do 2 walks from my Paris Walks book � Nobility Regained: The Marais, followed by Storming the Galleries: Village St-Paul and Bastille. Sadly several of the old buildings noted on the first walk appear to have been demolished since writing, and the M�morial du Martyr Juif Inconnu to commemorate Jewish Holocaust victims was hidden (I think) behind a block of scaffolding. Nevertheless, I walked up and down streets and lanes, past shops and restaurants and caf�s and wonderful old mansions, most of them today hotels or museums. I went down the narrow rue des Rosiers, heart of the Jewish quarter, past wonderful delis Sacha Finkelsztajn and Jo Goldenberg. Continuing east I made my way to the Place des Vosges where many galleries were open and a mini-orchestra of stringed instruments played by students was busking before a large crowd and enjoying marvellous acoustics.
I then progressed to my second walk around the Bastille area with its many trendy and alternative shops and minimalist style caf�s. The Village St-Paul, contrary to what I had read to expect, was very quiet with junky antique and bric-�-brac shops attracting few customers. I went into the Jesuit church of St Paul-St Louis, then back along rue St- Antoine. Down along the Port de Plaisance de Paris Arsenal (once part of the Canal St-Martin) I paused to view the boats and the people in the riverside parks, then walked up to the place de la Bastille. The place is the home of the very modern Op�ra de Paris Bastille. Nothing remains of the Bastille and there is nothing to remind people of the events of 14 July 1789. In the centre of the place is the Colonne de Juillet, a column over 50m tall topped with a gold statue that is a memorial to those who died in the 3-day revolution of July 1830. A little stroll around the streets east of the place de la Bastille, a few little purchases at a supermarket, then I collapsed on my bed in the hotel and watched the tennis - it was the US Open Men�s semi-final between Andr� Agassi and Lleyton Hewitt.
Around 8.30pm I walked about 100m down the road to a restaurant called Le Pr�au for dinner. I�ve tried many things French but can�t come at ordering a whole dish of steak tartare. However, I did order the tartare de saumon (salmon) which was lovely � served with lettuce and mushrooms with vinaigrette and chunky frites. A glass of light red and a cr�me brul�e for dessert all for �19.50.
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Post by Owen on Oct 2, 2014 12:37:24 GMT
25 ~ Sunday 8 September, 2002
I didn�t rush to get going this morning, waking at 8.30am and watching the final of the US Open women�s tennis between the Williams sisters. I had a little breakfast in the hotel then went out. Across the road a street market was in full swing with fabulous stalls of fresh produce - very inexpensive fish, nice meats, whole unplucked ducks, lovely fruit and vegetables. It�s moment like this that I wish I had a kitchen!
Today�s walk from my book was Island Hopping: Ile St-Louis and Ile de la Cit�. As I walked to the Pont de Sully a light drizzly rain started but it wasn�t cold so I pressed on. On the Ile St-Louis I wound my way in and out of the little streets and amongst the exclusive apartments, mansions and hotels. There are some delightful shops along the main street, rue St-Louis-en-l�Ile, and of course I had to stop at No. 31 to sample the ice cream at the famous Berthillon. It seems that Berthillon has close to a monopoly on ice cream on this island, but I had to go to the original which was quiet at 11.30am on this damp Sunday morning. I lingered over my 2 scoops � 1 vanilla and 1 chocolate � and savoured every delicious spoonful. 2 scoops for �4.90 and I was in heaven.
Back outside the wind had picked up a little and over the Pont St Louis I spent a while in a souvenir shop and bought a snow dome each for my 2 nephews and some coasters for my Dad. Despite the grey day the queues to go up the towers at Notre-Dame were still long. In the Place Louis Lepine, normally a flower market during the week, I confronted my fears (I�m ornophobic!) and walked through the Sunday bird market and was amazed by the array of feathered creatures and accessories for sale.
Around past the Palais de Justice and Ste Chapelle, I walked through the pretty place Dauphine with its inviting looking restaurants, and across the Pont Neuf where I took time to examine the faces on the newly cleaned portion of the oldest bridge in Paris. Back along the Seine by the quai des Grands Augustins where only half of the bouquinistes were at work, the other green stalls locked up.
From the place St-Michel, now in brilliant sunshine, I chose another walk � Secret Gardens and Great Mansions: To Les Invalides � and made my way through the bustling Latin Quarter to the start of the walk in Square R�camier, a sunken garden hidden at the end of a lane. This area of town around the boulevard Raspail and rue de S�vres was very quiet indeed. I passed the famous department store Au Bon March�, closed on Sunday of course, and walked around streets with impressive large homes and quiet little gardens, one that even had vegetable plots within it. With police on every street corner, I could tell when I was nearing the H�tel Matignon at 57 rue de Varenne, official residence of the French Prime Minister and location of the largest private garden in Paris.
Just a little further down the road I entered the Mus�e Rodin, a bargain at �3.00. Auguste Rodin�s sculptures are displayed both in the gardens and in the mansion where Rodin lived from 1908 until his death in 1917, the H�tel Biron. Highlights were obviously Le Penseur (The Thinker), The Kiss and The Gates of Hell � a work which can only be appreciated properly by seeing it close up. So much is lost in a photograph.
Despite sore feet, I made my way to the H�tel des Invalides, the former military hospital with its newly gilded dome. I paid my �6.00 and spent the next few hours looking through the Mus�e de l�Arm�e with its impressive displays of arms and armour from throughout the ages, its WWI display and an outstanding WWII exhibition. I didn�t find the Napol�on display but instead moved to the �glise du D�me, the magnificent domed church with painted ceiling that is home to Napol�on�s remains. Other tombs inside include those of Napol�on�s brothers, Joseph and J�rome Bonaparte.
Utterly exhausted and aching, I caught the M�tro from Invalides to Bastille and rested for about an hour before dinner. I chose a nearby restaurant called Le Monde des Grillades and had a shrimp cocktail, steak with Roquefort sauce (powerful stuff!), frites, couscous and vegies, and cr�me br�l�e, with a � bottle of C�tes du Rh�ne red wine (�25.60).
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Post by Owen on Oct 2, 2014 12:38:24 GMT
26 ~ Monday 9 September, 2002
It was raining when I awoke this morning and the final of the US Open Tennis between Agassi and Sampras was soon to start, so I had a long lie in. With many museums closed on Mondays, I opted to make things up as I went along today. It had stopped raining by the time I went out but it was blowing an absolute gale. I walked right along the rue St-Antoine and the rue de Rivoli and before I knew what I was doing, I was in the change room of a dress shop trying on clothes. Soon I had bought a pair of black trousers, a skirt and 3 tops and was filling out a tax refund form. Now I definitely need to buy a carry-on suitcase for the trip home!
I continued walking down past the Louvre but turned into the rue de Castiglione to try to escape the wind. Through the very expensive place Vend�me and back around to the Op�ra area I walked, where I found a place for a late lunch. I ate the fixed price menu of mixed salad, mussels in white wine with fries, and chocolate mousse for dessert, all for �9.90. While I ate I wrote my last few postcards and found a post office straight after lunch and got them in the mail.
No longer feeling much like shopping, I headed east along boulevard Montmartre from boulevard Haussmann, which turned into boulevard Poissoni�re which became boulevard de Bonne Nouvelle which became boulevard St-Denis. So many names for one street! As I progressed east the area lost its chic and became considerably dirtier, with many more bargain shops lining each side. Before boulevard St-Denis became boulevard St-Martin, I turned right into boulevard Sebastapol and made my way back towards my hotel to the Mus�e Picasso in the Marais. There are several schools just near here and everywhere there were parents and nannies collecting children after school and the atmosphere was just lovely. Entry to the Picasso Museum was �5.50 and I spent about an hour looking through the collection, fascinated by some pieces and totally bewildered by most of them. An excellent collection that covers many different media and the different periods of Picasso�s career.
Again with very sore feet, I was back at the hotel soon after 6.00pm, going out at 7.15pm for a walk and to pick up a cr�pe for a light dinner, then back in the hotel before 8.00pm for a relaxing night. I spent the evening planning my final 5 days in Paris and reading.
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Post by Owen on Oct 2, 2014 12:39:17 GMT
27 ~ Tuesday 10 September, 2002
A brisk morning weather-wise but blue sky with fluffy white clouds so I made an early start. At Bastille station I bought a 1 day Carte Mus�e for �15.00 then caught the train to the Ile de la Cit� (with a change at Ch�telet). By 9.00am I was in the small queue outside the Notre-Dame waiting to go up the tower at 9.30am. 9.30 came and went and no-one was allowed up. I watched the attendant set up the barriers for the queue and tape up the admission price and information signs (why they aren�t taped up permanently I can�t understand!), and eventually at about 9.40am this fellow explained (in French, so I had to translate for others in the queue) that some personnel were missing and so for reasons of security it would be a few more minutes before they opened.
Finally at around 9.50am, after 50 minutes in the queue (more than enough time to eat my almond croissant� and to think I�d come early to avoid spending ages in the queue!), we were allowed up. The stair climb wasn�t too much of a challenge for me. They kindly have sited a souvenir shop part way up to break the climb. Close up views of the chimi�res (chimeras) and gargoyles were wonderful, as were views of Paris from the level of the chimera gallery. The ascent to this level is via the north tower, then you cross to the south tower. Inside the belfry I examined the Great Bell �Emmanuel, Ludovic, Marie-Th�r�se� and another tourist took my photo for me. Many chickened out at this point, but it was only another 125 steps to the top of the south tower from where the panoramic views of Paris and the Seine, sparkling in the morning sunlight, were breathtaking. Part way down the tower there was an exhibition celebrating Victor Hugo�s �Notre-Dame de Paris� or as we know it in English, �The Hunchback of Notre-Dame�. This was quite interesting.
In complete contrast, my next visit was to the Crypte Arch�ologique in the parvis, the main square in front of Notre-Dame. Underground one can see the remains of the foundations and buildings of the original city of Paris from the Gallo-Roman period, with good explanation boards and lighting to help instruct the tourist.
Next was a visit to Sainte-Chapelle, the magnificent 13th century Gothic church with a magnificent display of stained-glass windows. The columns between the windows are each actually 9 fine columns gathered together in such a clever way as to make them almost unnoticeable so that it appears that the entire walls are actually stained glass of the richest colours, sending the most beautiful coloured light over the interior. The windows here are so different from any others I�ve seen before, and the architecture is very interesting.
Across the Seine on the Left Bank near the Place St Michel I found a cheap internet caf� so caught up on my mail. Lots of good news from home � strong wins in the football, Mum passed her exam, the building of my older brother�s new house is progressing well, as are his wedding plans, my brother Simon has a new job, but best of all � I am going to be an aunty! Grant and Ange and expecting a baby. I must find something Parisian for the new member of the family!
I had lunch at a little bistro in the same area � 3 courses for �10.00. Nothing flash but nice onion soup, steak with pepper sauce and cr�me caramel. Then I set off on another walk from my book � Scholars and Rebels: The Latin Quarter. This took me in and out of streets around the Sorbonne with their high density of bookshops. I passed the famous Brasserie Balzar, the old literary haunt that I had read so much of in Adam Gopnik�s �Paris to the Moon�. I visited the Panth�on, the huge domed Neo-Classical church originally built to honour Ste-Genevi�ve, now a civic building and mausoleum containing the remains of many great French people � Voltaire, Victor Hugo, �mile Zola, Louis Braille, Pierre and Marie Curie, Rousseau, Jean Moulin� I was terribly disappointed to discover that because of the current exhibit inside (which looked like a few enormous beach balls and some over-sized vacuum hoses filling the entire central nave) Foucault�s Pendulum had been temporarily dismantled.
With energy to spare, and a Carte Mus�e to make the most of, I embarked on another walk � Left Bank Impressions: St-Germain-des-Pr�s to Mus�e d�Orsay. I walked back along boulevard St-Michel to boulevard St-Germain, then in and out of streets containing many galleries, exclusive boutiques, antique dealers and some beautiful houses. There seems to be so much building and renovating and restoration work going on in Paris, and this was particularly so along my route this afternoon. There seemed to be at least one project underway in every street.
I ended my walk at the Mus�e d�Orsay where I remained until closing time, delighting in seeing many famous works �for real�. In particular, I loved Renoir�s �Dancing at the Moulin de la Galette�, some wonderful Van Gogh�s including 2 self-portraits, and many Monets. The crowd favourite seemed to be Monet�s �Blue Waterlilies�, but I was more taken with his works of the Rouen Cathedral, one of London, and some of his earlier works, plus the one of his first wife on her death bed.
Not concentrating when I transferred trains at Concorde, I got on a line that would take me the long way home, so I changed again at R�publique to get a train to Br�guet-Sabin, the station nearest my hotel rather than Bastille. I went out for a simple cheese omelette for dinner and was back in my room by 7.45pm, feet up and resting for another day.
Posts: 64 | Location: Melbourne | Registered: 1
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Post by Owen on Oct 2, 2014 12:40:22 GMT
28 ~ Wednesday 11 September, 2002
It was a magical morning in Paris this morning so I needed no encouragement to leave my hotel room and the non-stop TV coverage of the one year anniversary of the tragic events in the USA. I caught the M�tro from Bastille to Mus�e du Louvre, coming out of the station near the inverted Pyramid in a shopping mall that I hadn�t known existed. Outside I commenced yet another walk from my book � Grand Parade: The Louvre to the Arc de Triomphe. I was only just thinking how I hadn�t had any problem with pickpockets and con artists when, right near the Arc de Triomphe du Carousel near the Louvre, a good-looking young man stepped out and rather too forcefully offered to take my photograph for me. No doubt I would never have seen Mum & Dad�s camera again if I�d taken him up on the offer, but I read him like a book. I guess if he finds one or two �suckers� every day then he would make a reasonable living, so he just lies in wait for single tourists who look gullible. Well, he tried the wrong girl this morning!
My walk through the Jardin des Tuileries was beautiful, with people everywhere enjoying the sunshine, and the ducks lined up on the edge of the pond sunbaking too. After walking the dangerous obstacle course of the place de la Concorde, I headed to the Jardins des Champs-�lys�es, only to find them fenced off and surrounded by gendarmes at regular intervals. It took me a minute to twig that the US Embassy is on the other side of the gardens, with the Palais de l��lys�es at the other end, the official residence of the French President. Beefed up security for September 11.
I turned left into avenue Winston Churchill, passing between the Grand Palais and the Petit Palais, both currently closed for renovations, the former having suffered some serious damage to its glass roof in the terrible storms that hit Paris at the turn of the millennium. Then I made my way around through the place Francois 1er and back to the Champs-�lys�es, suddenly hitting the area of haute couture. Of course, I fell in love with a black and white beaded suit in the window of Chanel � only �9,300.00! Nothing I couldn�t pay off in 6-8 months if I starved and didn�t pay my mortgage.
If it weren�t for the Arc de Triomphe at the end of it, I�d have to say that the avenue des Champs-�lys�es is greatly overrated. Perhaps it was my resentment of the ridiculous prices, or just the warm day, but I wasn�t even tempted to have a cup of coffee on the Champs-�lys�es, sitting or standing, on the terrace or inside. I was far keener to get the Arc de Triomphe, which I climbed (�7.00) and enjoyed the view from the top platform. A great view of Paris and to the Grande Arche of La D�fense. The frieze and relief statuary on the arch are magnificent, and of course I took time to look at the tomb of the unknown soldier.
Retracing my steps along the avenue des Champs-�lys�es past all the big name stores to Avenue Marigny, I took yet another planned walk from my trusty book � Art and a Park: From the Champs-�lys�es to Parc de Monceau. This walk took me along another stretch of haute couture boutiques, the rue du Faubourg St-Honor� then through some of the stately residential streets of the 8th arrondissement. Perhaps I should have taken the opportunity to take in a few more art galleries but I was enjoying the sun so much that I decided to save them for another trip to Paris.
The Parc de Monceau was very busy for mid-afternoon on a weekday with barely a bench unoccupied and many people sitting on the grass � one of the few parks in Paris where this isn�t �interdit�. It�s a beautiful park with an odd collection of statues and monuments and �follies� such as an artificial rocky mountain cascade and a Corinthian colonnade. Out through the gilded gates, around past the Russian Orthodox Cath�drale St-Alexandre Nevsky with its 5 gold domes, to the Place des Ternes and onto the M�tro.
I quickly checked my e-mails at the cheap internet caf� near place St-Michel, had an ice cream while crossing the Ile de la Cit�, then caught the M�tro to Abbesses at the foot of Montmartre. After walking the very steep flights of steps to the top I understood precisely why the Funiculaire and Montmartrobus do such good business.
In Montmartre�s Place du Tertre I easily found the portraitist I�d chosen last Thursday and was his first customer of the day. It�s an odd experience posing for over � an hour while crowds of people gather and watch the artist at work and comment to one another in their many different languages, whilst not having a clue of what the work in progress looks like. I was encouraged by one thumbs-up from a tourist, a group of girls who queued for 20 minutes to be next, and an American guy who gave a very emphatic �Wow!� as well as a Dutch lady who said, �It�s beautiful, darling.� Whilst the smile seems to belong to someone else, there�s no doubt this guy has painted my eyes and nose perfectly, as well as the shape of my face and neck and my hair. The eyes really are incredible.
Arriving back at my hotel by 7.00pm, I washed and went to a little restaurant just down the road called Le Capricorne. I had the �16.00 menu and a pichet of sauvignon blanc de pays d�Oc. A lovely avocado and prawn cocktail for entr�e. Main course was a fillet of salmon in a herb butter sauce served with basmati rice, zucchini and tomato � I tasted hints of the flavour of Mum�s kedgeree and a wave of homesickness came over me, mixed with absolute contentedness at the same time. The bread served with this meal was the best I have ever tasted. It wasn�t too heavy or too light, it was crunchy on the outside but moist and soft on the inside, and it was warm and smelt heavenly. For dessert I had a kind of lemon cheesecake served with white chocolate and raspberry sauces. Not even the police and ambulance men outside having to deal with a violent incident in the park opposite could detract from my wonderful meal.
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Post by Owen on Oct 2, 2014 12:41:20 GMT
29 ~ Thursday 12 September, 2002
I ate yet another delicious white nectarine before going out this morning, through the street market on boulevard Richard Lenoir then along the Rue de Rivoli. Conscious not to tire my feet too quickly, I caught the M�tro to Galeries Lafayette where I passed some good shopping time in this beautiful Belle �poque department store with its wrought iron and coloured glass dome. The fashions in this store are wonderful, although many are very expensive and well out of my price range. After seeing the clothing stores in Paris I am confident that my hometown of Melbourne is one of the most stylish cities in the world. I had come to Paris expecting to be bowled over by the style and trend-setting of the fashion industry here, but actually feel that we are right up with Paris back home in Melbourne. But that didn�t stop me shopping. I bought a lovely black velvet jacket and some blouses, before going through the d�taxe process. Galeries Lafayette do not offer the option of claiming cash back at the airport � only cheque or credit to my credit card. I also claimed my free gift from the store that I was given at the end of my Insight tour � a handy carry bag.
Catching the M�tro to St Michel I again quickly checked my e-mails (having asked my Mum to reconfirm my homeward flights for me), before walking up rue St Andr� des Arts and stopping for a late lunch � a piece of quiche lorraine � at Paul. Paul is a chain bakery found all over Paris that I think is very reasonably priced and good quality food. Some people don�t like these chains, but there is something comforting about knowing what you will be able to get at a place and feeling confident that the quality will be the same every time.
I then followed another walk from my book � Shamelessly Chic: St Germain and Luxembourg. This walk explored the streets of boutiques south of the boulevard St-Germain � only window-shopping for me here! I took a little diversion along the rue de Rennes to look for a particular shirt store that I�d been trying to find. There was a striking black pleated shirt that I�d seen in a shop window in Aix-en-Provence, and again in Montpellier. I hadn�t had time to try it on in Aix, and the shop had been shut in Montpellier. As we drove through the streets of Paris on the final morning of my Insight tour, I had seen the shirt again in a shop window, didn�t notice what street we were in, but felt confident that I would be able to find one of these stores as it seems to be a large chain. I had found one earlier on Monday in the Marais but they didn�t have the shirt I wanted, and they gave me the address of �their only other store in Paris� on the rue de Rennes. This is where I went now, only to find that they didn�t have the shirt I wanted either. Strangely, when I asked for the addresses of their other branches, I was told that this was the only store in Paris. I pointed out that there were at least 2 because I�d been to another one that had referred me to this one. The shop assistant got very cross with me but grudgingly admitted that there were 2, only 2 and absolutely, definitely no more, and I was dreaming about having seen them in Montpellier and Aix. Not the kind of treatment I am used to receiving! I wonder what the ownership arrangements are within this chain, given each store obviously competes against the others.
Returning to my walk, I went to the Jardin du Luxembourg. Like the parc de Monceau yesterday, the Jardin du Luxembourg was bustling today with the sun having finally broken through the cloudy haze of earlier in the day. This is another lovely garden with statues (of course!), tennis courts, donkey rides and the obligatory pond and fountain around which people congregate to relax. With the French Senate now housed in the Palais du Luxembourg, there were gendarmes everywhere. Ending the walk in the nearby place St Sulpice (another church in scaffolding!), I walked back towards the Seine.
At the river the department store, La Samaritaine, caught my eye on the opposite bank, so that�s where I headed. At La Samaritaine I found a lovely pair of print jeans in no time and they fit perfectly (or will when I take an inch or two off the legs). Just along the rue de Rivoli a little top caught my eye inside a store that was just the right colour to go with my new jeans, so I tried that on and added it to my collection of purchases for the day.
By this stage my feet were really killing me and I hobbled back to the hotel in extreme pain, diverting slightly to buy some snacks at the supermarket, then falling into a hot bath in my hotel room. I spent the evening in, my feet too sore to contemplate going out again, and I was in my pyjamas by 7.40pm. I did some reading and planned my final 2 days in Paris, happy that I�ve done nearly everything that I wanted to do.
Posts: 64 | Location: Melbourne | Registered: 10
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Post by Owen on Oct 2, 2014 12:42:11 GMT
30 ~ Friday 13 September, 2002
Today I finally found the Paris I�d been looking for, the neighbourhood part of Paris that felt like I had imagined Paris would feel. It�s a feeling that�s impossible to describe but one that must have come from TV and movies and books, and this part of Paris looked like the Paris that I had imagined (or seen in films).
First thing today I walked south of the place de la Bastille and across the Seine to the Jardin des Plantes. I was very near the end of my last film for my camera, so found a little shop and bought another film. It cost me �5.70 for a 24 exposure roll � about 4 times the price I�d paid for the films I bought back home, but much cheaper than some I�d seen elsewhere in Paris. I walked through the botanical gardens of the Jardin des Plantes, then through the neighbouring streets, including yet another street market in the rue Mouffetard. I saw the remains of another Roman amphitheatre, the Ar�ne de Lut�ce, which was originally built like the one in Arles. The story goes that the Barbarians began its destruction in the late 3rd century, and later bricks from it were used to build the walls of the Ile de la Cit�. Realising how close I was to the Panth�on, I decided to walk to see the famous rood screen in the church beside the Panth�on, and it was on this short walk that I discovered Paris. Walking through the place de la Contrescarpe towards the Panth�on, the streets were slightly undulating, I could see the orange chimney pots on the roofs and it all just felt so very Parisian.
I don�t know why I hadn�t visited St-�tienne-du-Mont on the day that I visited the Panth�on (probably too upset about Foucault�s Pendulum not having been there). Anyway, I was glad that I decided to return. This church is a very odd shape and houses the shrine of Sainte Genevi�ve (who the Panth�on was originally built to honour). The rood screen within the church is magnificent and apparently is the only one remaining anywhere in Paris and dates from 1541.
I caught the M�tro from the Maubert Mutualit� station on the boulevard St-Germain out to �glise d�Auteuil on the other side of the Seine in the western part of Paris. Auteuil is a very bourgeois area of Paris and I enjoyed a walk around its leafy residential streets with their large apartments. Having finished reading all of the novels I brought with me, I was pleased to find a bookshop that sold English language novels at reasonable prices. I did a deal with a trader at a street market for a small carry-on suitcase, and bought a baguette and lemon tart for lunch that I ate in the gardens near the Mus�e Marmottan.
Entry to the Mus�e Marmottan was �6.50. What a wonderful collection of Monet�s works is on display in the basement of this museum! I sat for a long time examining these paintings, far preferring his earlier, more detailed works but incredulous at the genius of his late works, produced when cataracts had rendered him almost blind. It was such a treat finally to see �Impression: Soleil Levant�, the work that first got Monet into the Salon and kicked off the Impressionist movement. The rest of the collection of Paul Marmottan, including period furniture and many other Impressionist works, was lovely to see also.
After finishing at the Marmottan, I walked back to the Chaillot quarter and to the Trocad�ro Gardens, an area literally crawling with tourists. I admired the Eiffel Tower from the higher vantagepoint of the Palais de Chaillot overlooking the Trocad�ro Fountains, then walked near to the Pont d�I�na from where I photographed the fountains. From the nearby I�na station I returned to my �home� to drop off my new suitcase and the couple of little souvenirs I had purchased during the day. I then walked back along the rue de Rivoli to pick up the black trousers I had purchased on Monday which were being shortened for me. Along this strip I also bought a beautiful pashmina for only �5.00, then caught the M�tro back to Bastille.
Tonight�s dinner was absolutely magical. I got a table at Les Grandes Marches, the restaurant by the steps to the Bastille Opera House. Actually getting the table was interesting. I arrived at about 5 minutes before 7.00pm and was told that tables for dinner were not available until 7.00pm. The demeanour of the waiter told me that he just expected me to walk away. I had to say that I was happy either to have a drink on the terrace or take a table and wait until 7.00pm to be served, before he showed me inside and seated me.
I chose to have the �33.00 menu which included 3 courses and a � bottle of wine. Bread was served and some delicious choux pastry savouries and I chose to drink the red wine from Aix-en-Provence. For entr�e I ate 6 Brittany oysters (oh why, oh why did I wait until my second last night to sample these oysters? They really rival the best oysters Australia has to offer). For main course I chose the pav�e de Sandre avec fricas�e des champignons et �pinards fra�ches (a lovely thick white fillet of fish served with mushrooms and spinach). The cr�me br�l�e I had for dessert was the most delicate textured, delicious cr�me br�l�e I have ever tasted. The service throughout dinner was excellent, and all of the waiters spoke to me and allowed me to speak to them in French even when they knew that I was an English speaker (and they were all fluent in English as I could tell from them serving the other patrons). So often throughout my trip French people have assumed that their English is better than my French, which hasn�t always been the case, and it has disappointed me when some have not allowed me to converse with them in the local tongue. Not the case tonight.
From where I sat at dinner I could watch the ma�tre des p�ches preparing the seafood. Outside I watched the sun set over Paris after another day of perfect, cloudless skies, these constantly crisscrossed with golden jetstreams in the emerging twilight. A sensational dinner that could only have been better if I�d had someone there to share it with.
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