Last full day in France

The french Raffetto's have been spotted throughout France for the past 16 days. They show up with their black berets at museums, restaurants, hotels, churches, buses and other non-descript places. They ask foreigners or any other willing body to take pictures of them. The latest was at the marina in Nice.

We have our last dinner tonight with the tour group. It will be bittersweet...we have made some new friends. Tomorrow morning is an early day...our flight leaves at 7:25 am. We catch a shuttle at 5:00.

The mediterranean

Nothing like the beautiful water of the mediterranean. The blue of the water is a cross between the color of glacier water and the color of the stone torquoise. Tom took the opportunity to swim immediately upon our arrival. The beach here is composed of rock, little flat rocks. No sand. Had there been sand it would be perfect.

Dar and Tom checked out the marina and all the huge yachts this morning. We understand that neighboring Monaco had a yacht festival within the last two weeks...we joked that the leftovers were here in Nice. There is a yacht/ship for sale in the marina, 183 ft long, Lady Christina. Evidently her owner fell in love with another ship and launched her last week.

Cilla and I hoofed it all over the old city of Nice to shop for last minute souvenirs. The french have a Target like store, the Monoprix that has become our home away from home. We have found some great buys but also toothpaste, hair spray and a French to US converter for our new French camera.

Nice has a strong Italian influence. It has only been part of France for a little over 100 years. The colors of the buildings are almost identical to the colors on the Italian Riviera.
At lunch today we ate risotto and pasta. It was fantastic!

We have seen other Italian influences, like Ferrari's, Versace and Vespas'.

The search for a pair of great tits

Ann from Chicago is a world birder, I mentioned that in an earlier blog. Dar was harassing her on the bus yesterday that there are not any birds in Nice so she needed to give him her binoculars. Dar mentioned that he could use the binoculars to scope out the bathing scene in Nice...especially since they tend to go topless. Ann got out her bird bible and sure enough, there is a bird called a Great Tit. For those of us in North America, they are called chickadees. Ann suggested to Dar that he start his search for a pair of Great Tits in Nice, the bird type.

As we drove into town along the promenade, Dar had his first sighting of a pair of Great Tits, you decide which species they were from....

Nice is awesome!

We are in Nice, our last stop. Our hotel is on the main road, right across from the beach. Spectacular view from our third floor room...with a balcony and chairs. Dar and I had a glass of wine and soaked up the sun for about an hour before we left with the group to explore. Tom and Cilla went across and swam in the ocean.. I think Nice is great!

Heading to bed but will write again tomorrow. Have a great story about bird watching in Nice...

Vaison la Romaine

What a beautiful little town in the Provence region of France. We arrived here yesterday after stopping in L'Orange. They have a roman theatre that is in incredible shape...we toured the Arena and then watched a film. On the way out we exited stage right...and accidentally came out on the stage...we immediately realized our mistake and Cilla came barreling out... Along with her came the saleswoman telling us to get our butt back in there...we left our mark on L'Orange!

We came into Vaison at dusk...this town not only has a roman ruins area but also has a midevil and modern area. We climbed the hill and we stayed the night in the 15th century neighborhood.

This morning we toured the roman ruins and Vaison also has a roman theatre...not as well in tact as L'Orange but none the less unique.

At 11:00 we met at the bus and off we went to our last wine tasting at Domaine de Mourchon. A beautiful winery that is run by a Scottish family. Walter, the father took us through the vines, talked about the grapes, then we watched a load of grenache grapes get dumped into the conveyor system to be cleaned, pressed and put into the vats. The family bought the winery 12 years ago and they actually built the wine making area. It is a wonderfully efficient process, we will show pictures later.

We had lunch in the garden of the main residence, drank great wine and petted their two dogs and three cats. Fantastic!

Another great day...this part of France reminds me of Italy, more mediterranean looking with Cypress trees and rolling hills.

Vaison la Romaine

Hi all. Awesome little hill town called Vaison la Romine nestled in the middle of wine country...Cotes du Rhone country. We are safe and fully aware of the travel advisory's. We travel in a small group and we are in very small towns. Don't worry...we are careful. Our hotel doesn't have internet access so i am sitting in the lobby of another hotel. I will blog tomorrow. Love you all,
Mare and Dar and Tom and Cilla

Annecy and Chamonix

We left Beaune on Sunday...it turned out to be a beautiful day, sunny and warm, around 75. We arrived at Annecy at about noon. This town is on a lake about 1.5 times the size of Payette lake. It sits pretty close to the base of the french alps. The mountains jut straight up from there. It was a lovely little town, about a population of 25000 and the surrounding community adds about another 25,000. We toured the lake by boat...unique history dating back to the 15th century.

We left around 4:00 and headed to Chamonix. The autobahn is pretty straight thru this area but we did go through a number of tunnels. I still think Idaho should consider these...really slick!

We arrived in Chamonix, with breath taking views of Mont Blanc and all the french alps in early evening. Tom and Cilla have the best views from their room. We have a good view but not of Mont Blanc but that doesn't matter today, we had a storm come through today. And doggone it, they shut the lifts and gondolas down becuase of high winds. We managed to get out and walk a trail, the petite balcon sud trail. About 2.5 hours, and the views were beautiful.

Lwt's talk about the food...they eat meat, potatoea and cheese!

Practicing Charades before traveling

It occurred to me on the bus yesterday that it would behoove a peraon traveling to a foreign country, especially one where you don't speak the language, to practice charades before leaving. On Saturday night after the front desk closed and I was getting ready for bed, we realized that housekeeping had forgotten to leave us towels. Not one towel, not even the bath mat. I washed my face, dripped dry for a little bit and then finally dried my face with toilet paper.

We had an early day on Sunday so I set the alarm for 6:30 and threw on my clothes to get towels. I beat the receptionist in and was waiting for her as she opened the door into the courtyard. She greeted me and then I proceeded to explain my predicament. She didn't understand. So, I tried charades. Have you ever had to explain with actions that you need towels? I did this patting on my arms, she looked perplexed. I then tried to show her by taking my hand and running it down my arm. I repeated the word many times and I think she put 2 and 2 together at that point.

We made it to the bus on time but no coffee or breakfast for us. So next time we travel we will practice charades for a few weeks before.

It was only a request

Mary and Ann

Have met many nice folks on this tour...there are a few more memorable than others. Ann is a world birder, she goes all over to look at birds. She and her sister-in-law Mary are on the tour together. The first night we met I asked her if I heard her right that she is a birder and she launched into a story about going to Belize and getting butt larvae! That was at dinner! Needless to say, she is a colorful character.

She and Mary went to Paris prior to joining the tour like we did. They had a different hotel than we did, I think that is a good thing. Anyway, she was telling us that when they checked in they were handed their key and they headed to their room. When they got there, they had a queen bed. Ann went back to the desk with her confirmation in her hand which clearly said that they would like separate beds. The desk manager looked at the Ann as she showed her their paperwork and she replied very calmly that, "it was only a request". Ann stood there dumbfounded and said "but I requested separate beds and you confirmed that". The desk manager said that it was only a request and they are not obligated to oblige them.

So sometimes the language differences can be very glaring...like the french often say "it is impossible" when they really mean "i don't want to do something".

Ann also came on the tour hoping to see a stork. The storks nest in the area around Colmar. They have huge nests and usually lay their eggs in the spring and head out by this time. However, there are some that hang around year round. Dar and Tom saw about 15 of them out of the bus window two days ago. Ann, who was looking out the same side of the bus didn't see them. So Tom and Dar have to submit their applications to the Audubon society because they have seen the first bird on the "life goal list". I am thinking they will not be accepted since both of them would rather shoot them than mark them off a list!

Market day in Beaune

Mary and the countess

The chateau where we had a wine tasting and picnic

Some of the picnic items

The chateau bakyard for our picnic

Beautiful

Cilla, the French Raffetto

Another Beret moment

The courtyard at the Chateau

Didn't miss the wake up call this morning, it was market day in Beaune. I am not sure how to describe it but let me tell you they sold everything from the spice anise to mattresses. We passed stalls with beautiful fresh flower bouquets and stalls with dead rabbits and chickens. The produce here is fantastic, the artichokes are huge, at least twice the size that we see in Albertsons. They have the coolest pumpkins, very orange-red and the tops are rounder. There were sausage vendors, and yes Dad we had boar sausage... Oh, speaking of boars, our tour guide told us that the worst enemy of a vineyard is a boar. They not only eat the fruit but they also pull up the vine. Last year in the Alsace wine region, the government opened up boar hunting and paid a bounty for each hide. They shot 31,000 of them and they are planning to do the same this year.

I bought some mustard at the market, they have the best mustard...much like hot chinese mustard but maybe a little more aromatic (read into it that it has a nice wine flavor)!

At 11:00 we headed out to a Chateau and we did another wine tasting. The chateau looks like a castle, it sits on a hill. Very beautiful view. The castle was from the 15th century...and some of the outer buildings really needed maintenance. The countess of the estate took us around and her son, the new count did the wine tasting. Wine was very so-so. But we did have a beautiful picnic in their garden which our guide bought at the Saturday market. Foie gras is pretty good, especially the goose foie gras. We had cornuchons, comte, tomatoes, raspberries and strawberries. Not to mention boar sausage, bread, figs, six different cheeses, carrots, hot mustard and the best damn chocolate you can imagine! Our bus took us back the scenic way, through many small villages. This area is like Napa Valley only it is prettier and a lot older!

Colmar to Beaune

Lunch in Beaune

Hotel Dieu in Beaune

Medieval hospital beds

Courtyard of hotel.

Dinner in Beaune at a 12th century abbey

The chapel at Hotel Dieu

Typical architecture in the city

Woke up in Colmar, overcast and cool. We jumped on the bus and within 10 minutes we had sunshine coming through the windows of the bus. It has been a beautiful day, sun most of the time and the temperature has been very pleasant.

Our drive was about 2.5 hours and we went through rolling hills of farm land and forests. This part of France is beautiful. Very pastoral and one little quaint village after another.

We arrived in Colmar in time for lunch with a late check-in at the hotel. We found a small brasserie that had outside seating in the sun. Each time we are given a menu we spend 20 minutes trying to decipher what it says. Last night Tom and Cilla just asked the server what was his favorite was and they got 6 different meats with saurkraut. Dar had meatballs in white sauce and I ordered stew. Today we managed to decipher the menu and soup and salad for Dar, Cilla and me. Tom, still on his quest to eat himself through France ate salad and beouf bourgoinne ( beef burgundy).

The waiter was kind of snobby...made us use our limited French and he corrected our accents. He actually forgot Tom's second plate and made us wait quite sometime. No problem, we were in no hurry. When he finally came with l'additicione (the check) we engaged him in conversation. Turns out the whole nonsense of the French and American disliking each other was started by Oprah. Evidently she came to France on a vacation and during one of her shows she said the French were rude...now they are taking it out on us peasants. I think I might have to send her an email....

This afternoon we spent time at the 15th century hospital built by a Tax collector so he could go to heaven. It is really beautiful. Pictures to come later.

I am excited for tomorrow morning, Saturday market!

You can't ride a grape



Even the grandparents get involved in the harvest



When we were in Colmar yesterday we walked through a beautiful hillside of grapevines. We tasted the various grapes and we heard all about caring for a vineyard. The local guide, Jean Claude had a family vineyard that his father lovingly cared for until about 2 years before his death. Jean Claude explained that the roots of the plants got up to 100 meters down in search of water and that gives the grapes their intense flavor. He also showed us how to pick and prune the grape vines. Growing and tending grapes is a lot of work...Jean Claude and his sister sold the vineyard to their cousin because neither of them was fond of the process.

Dar and I had been throwing around the idea that when the horses went feet up we might grow grapes. Sounds very romantic and a nice end result, wine. But after yesterdays education, Dar announced as we were getting back on the bus that he thinks we should forget growing grapes. Tom piped up and announced, "You can't ride a grape!"

Everyone laughed and now, if something unfortunate happens on the bus, someone in the group says, "you can't ride a grape"

Colmar and the German influence

Colmar is in the Alsace region of France, just 20 miles from Germany. The germanic influence is strong here...much like the Dolomites in Italy. Think sauerkraut and sausage, dry white wine and pretty good beer.

We started the morning with a walk through the town. About 70,000 inhabitants but they have a city center that dates back to the 14th century. There is a canal system that goes right through the middle giving it a very Venetian feel. The flowers are beautiful...they standardly have their first freeze in late October. Geraniums are obviously their favorites.

Colmars city center

Tom and Cilla in front of museum

Altar polyptyque

Wine Barrels

We were able to see their bi-weekly market... colorful fruit, lots and lots of sausage and bread. We then took in their church, impressive cross hanging from the middle of the church with statues of Mary and their patron saint, St. Anthony hanging from the rafters beside Jesus. We then went to the museum. They have some beautiful 15th century altar artwork.

We then had lunch, the best french onion soup ever and off we went to tour Keysbergers, where Albert Schweitzerm was born. Lovely little town, smaller that Colmar with a rich history from WWII. It is hard to imagine that Allied tanks could even negotiate the skinny roads.

We then took a 45 minute walk through a beautiful vineyard. We actually tasted grapes off the vine, watched workers harvesting the grapes and our local guide, Jean Claude told us how to cut a grape plant, harvest grapes and what weatther conditions are best.

Lastly, we tasted Reisling, Pinot Blanc, Gerwerstreminer, and something else that completely slips my mind....might be the wine...!

Tom, Cilla, Dar and Mary in Keyeserberg

Pinot Noir grapes on the vine

In berets eating grapes

Rose bush at end of row of vines. Planted so that if there is some kind of disease t will show on the rose bush first.

More beautiful flowers

Owner of winery with his son

Great day! This is a lovely area, wish the weather were a little warmer...it seems to hover around 60 to 63 degrees but rainy and damp. Just keeping the jacket and scarf on!

Colmar...pretty as a picture

Colmar has a canal system all the way through the town.

15th century building in downtown Colmar.

Market day in Colmar, the vegetables are beautiful

Anothe 15th century building, built by the butcher, his likeness is at the top

Floor the bus driver.

For all of you that went to Italy with us, think Kastelroot with a french twist. We are in Colmar, a sleepy french town very close to Germany. They love sauerkraut and sausage! We got here right at dark, we hit rush hour traffic in Strasbourg and that put our driver, Floor over his alotted time to drive so we had to spend 30 minutes at an autogrill. Floor is Danish and he speaks impeccable english but his eye sight must be bad, he thinks Dar looks like George Clooney! Stop laughing!

This is a town of about 70,000 people with a strong german influence. Many streets that are pedestrian only and the coolest thing is, there is a cathedral in the center of town that chimes on the hour...we can hear it from the hotel!
Had a great dinner, Tom licked his plate clean...seriously. We have been asked a few times to recount the story of the family trip to Italy...no one can believe it...from Caleb to Pop and that we had 24 friends and family that wanted and could spend 19 days together! Which always makes me homesick. Hope you are all doing well and missing us as much as we miss you!
Tomorrow sounds great...we take a tour of the town, hit the local museum and then tour the wineries in the area in the afternoon. Nothing like a nice walk with fresh air, a taste of good art and incredible wine...should be a great day!

Verdun and WWI

The sanctuary at Verdun

The graves of over 10,000 French WWI soldiers

The dormitory in the fort at Verdun, each bed can sleep 5 guys. They didn't use straw beds, they encouraged lice and bed bugs.

The gun turret at the fort.

Me on the bus.

Today was a fairly sobering day. We stopped at the WWI monument in Verdun. Pull out your history books, this was a long time ago, 1914 to 1917. A serbian killed a duke of Prussia and all hell broke lose! Because of all the alliances, the whole of Europe started fighting. Sounds like the French were spoiling for a war anyway, they had lost the Alsace region and the Loire valley to Germany within 50 years of this event and they wanted it back. Get some hot heads from Russia and Serbia in it, stir in some of the Brits because they were friends with the French and you have a mess of trouble. I am not sure when the US joined but we added our two cents sometime too. The conditions were horrible, millions of lives were lost in the Verdun area. We learned about hand to hand combat and livin/fighting in trenches. We saw a french fort that Germans took over for about 3 months...I have no idea how anyone could live in this fort...there were four levels, all underground. Cold, damp and absolutely no water to drink and very little provisions. Such a contrast with today and our drones, humvees and technology...To say that this was sobering is really under rating it...we saw bones of 130,000 men and boys all buried together because they were not sure who or where they came from. It took almlost ten years to compplete the monument, gather the bones from the battle field and put them in their final burial place. So tonight, when you say your prayers, thank God for America, for living in the 21st century and for all the prior generations that sacrificed their lives for us and our freedom!

Reims, a hidden gem



Lunch at l'atmosphere in Reims, salad and wine!



Front of the Cathedral

The top rosette was saved before the cathedral was bombed in WWI. The only original stained glass left.

The view of the cathedral from behind

Above the entry to the catedral

We spent today walking through Reims. A fairly large city, 200,000 population but it has the feel of a smaller town. This city took a big beating during WWI. Over 80% of the buildings in the city were hit during the war. The town has been rebuilt through donations from the likes of Rockefller, Carnegie and UNESCO. The cathedral is spectacular. Gothic, very tall with wonderful statues. All the stain glass blew out during the war, it was hit over 300 times with bombs, shrapnel, etc. The new stain glass is so unique and beautiful. Really a hidden gem.

We spent most of the afternoon at a champagne tasting. We tasted 5 different champagnes and learned a few important things about champagne. 1) champagne is made with 3 different grapes. Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot minure. 2) The champagne region in France has very strong controls over the production even to the point of not allowing them to irrigate. 3) this is important and Brandon you must listen to this...Champagne is bottled at the point when it should be drank. Champagne does not improve with age. It should be drank within 3 years tops of bottling.
So Bran, have a party and enjoy that Dom!

We leave tomorrow for the Alsace region but first we must try more champagne!

Travel from Paris to Reims

Monument in downtown Reims

A restored building in Reims, 80% of the buildings were destroyed in WWII

A view of the cathedral in Reims

side view of the Cathedral in Reims

Did laundry this morning in Paris...quite nice really..clean and pretty quick. our camera bit the dust...wouldn't you know. Dar and Tom took off and tracked down a new one...it has a European plug and all the instructions are in french...again the Rick Steves book comes in handy for translation of the directions!
We road a high speed train here...great landscapes and scenery... Rolling hills and lots of wooded areas. We walked around the town, seems Reims is not only known for champagne but also the treaties for WWI were signed here...lots and lots of history. met with the group at 5:00 and then had dinner. We are the young kids on the tour...that's the way I like it, makes me feel young!
Tomorrow we see the town and historical sites...afternoon champagne tasting!
Until tomorrow!

Versaille and those damn wake up calls

Overslept again...the front desk did not give us our wake call but Tom and Cilla did. Woke up to a light knock and a sweet Bonjour. I responded thank you...heard a giggle and Tom bellowing wake up! It was 9:30 and we had asked for an 8:00 wake up call! We flew around and managed to make it down to the lobby at about 10:15...there went our early departure for Versaille. We rode the subway for the first time today...pretty much like the Italian trains. We got to Versaille at about noon...the same time 28,000 half marathoners got there from Paris! It was a zoo...took us an hour and a half to get in the front door to the Chateau. And we also had to endure a rain storm (thank goodness for my new raincoat).
 My God those French Kings lived lavishly...bought a book because it was so over the top. The gardens are spectacular! We returned at about 5:00, had a snack and then took the bus to Montmarte and the church, Sacre Couer. We got there at dusk and as we went through the chapel the lights of the city came on...breath taking church on top of the hill and the city spread out before us twinkling. It was lovely. We all wish we had more time to explore Paris...we must come back!
Tomorrow we do laundry in the morning and then we are off to Reims(they pronounce it like you have something in your throat and then say "ance"). We have a high speed train at 1:00.

The rench Raffetto's and French Chaffin's at Versaille

The Raffetto's kissing french style

The Chaffins enjoying the view

A portion of the gardens at Versaille

The fountain in the gardens at Versaille

Entrance gate at Versaille

View of a small portion of the west gardens at Versaille

Having a ball...weather very cool and a little rainy. Cilla and I might need to visit a store or two, she didn't pack warm enough! Yahoo, I love having a shopper with me!