Dan's and Susan's Excellent Adventures

I’m finally catching up with the blog.  This entry is actually from today.  

You might have noticed from our blog heading that we took out the tour of Italy part.   We don’t have the time that we thought we would have to go to Italy this year.  Aww.  So today we began our journey through the Routes des Grandes Alpes.

The Routes des Grandes Alpes is a grand journey beginning in the French Riviera in Menton, France, winding through the French Alps, and ending in Interlaken, Switzerland.  From Interlaken, we will take a train up to the Jungfrau Mountain.   We expect the drive to take about four days and along the way, we expect to see many Alpine villages, awe-inspiring roads, and majestic snow capped mountains.

We began our journey in Menton, France

Menton, France along the French Riviera

You can see the foothills of the Routes des Grandes Alpes from Menton

The first foothills were about 15 minutes outside of Menton

The first little village along the way.

Breil Sur Roya

We stopped for lunch in St. Martin Vesubie

There was a little mountain stream of water down the middle of the sidewalk.

Colorful little town.

Saint Saveur de Tinee

Beuil

Stop for photos

We decided to stay in Valberg our first night.

We arrived in Valberg around 3 PM and decided it was too far to go to the next town of Barcellonette since we don’t have any hotel reservations and there was availability at a hotel in Valberg.

 Having no hotel reservations along this route could be a little tricky, but so far, the Routes des Grandes Alpes does not seem very busy.  We have seen mostly motorcyclists and Porsches along the way.   The big tourist season probably doesn’t begin for another couple of weeks.

There was only one hotel that was open in Valberg, but we easily got a room.   Dan asked at the front desk what there was to do in town and we learned about a hike called “The Planetariam”.   We weren’t sure what to expect when we began walking the trail.

The trail head

We soon found great views along the way.

We could see the road from places along the way.

What a magnificent hike this was turning out to be.

It just kept getting better.  This was after only about 30 minutes walking.

My favorite photo of the hike.

Time to head back.  It looked like it might rain.

Time for a photo first.

Almost back to Valberg.

Back at our hotel.  The entire hike was only 90 minutes door to door.

We are really looking forward to tomorrow where we are headed to Brioncon.  The trip will be a surprise because we don’t know whether or not the mountain passes will be open.  But we like adventure.

The Azure Coast

 The Cote de Azur or the French Riviera is the Mediterranean coastline in the southern part of France that also includes the principality of Monaco.   The French Riviera has one town after another where it is difficult to tell where one ends and another begins.  The towns include the famous Cannes (as in film festival), St. Tropez, Hyeres, Toulon, Antibes, Menton, and the biggest city, Nice. 

 The area first became popular as a winter health resort for British upper class at the end of the 18th century.   In the mid-19th century, aristocrats from other countries began to vacation there.  Many famous artists and writers in the first half of the 20th century spent time there as well as wealthy Americans and Europeans.  Today, it is a vacation spot for people from all over the world.

From what I observed, there seems to be wall-to-wall hotels from one end of the Riviera to the other.   We arrived on May 30th, which is technically not the tourist season, so did not experience huge traffic.  But Dan lived in Nice for a month in the summer about ten years ago and he said the traffic was terrible. 

As you can see from the photos, the Mediterranean is just gorgeous with the azure blue color and mostly sunny sky.  The average high temperature in May is 74 degrees, but it was in the 50s while we were there.  That’s not a big surprise since it’s been unseasonably cold for most of our travel so far. 

 The water is beautiful, but many of the beaches we saw were rock or gravel. 

Topless bathers are common.

You can walk for long stretches right next to the water.  Just lovely.

Beautiful place to visit

Motorcyclists own the road in France.  The hotels along the coast in this photo look pretty much like the roads in the entire French Riviera.  Gazillions of them.  The hillsides have the big mansions that wealthy people from many countries and celebrities own.

This yacht has a helicopter on the middle deck.   We’re talking really wealthy people having summer homes and yachts here.

Monaco was really something.  We had the worst meal we have had on the entire trip at this huge mass-produced meals restaurant.   Dan and I both had pasta, no dessert, 1 glass of rose, and the tab was close to 60 Euro.  They charged 6 Euro for a carafe of tap water.  I think it must be the place to be seen flaunting your wealth.  We saw Ferraris, Bentleys, Lamborghinis, and every other high-priced car you can think of. 

Beautiful place, but one day was enough for us.  We were happy to move on to the next part of our journey. 

Monaco-the place to be seen

Everyone taking photos of the fancy cars in front of the casino.

With two solid days of heavy rain, we didn’t get to see much of Avignon, Arles, or Aix-en-Provence.
The average high in May for Avignon is 74 degrees.  I think our average high while in this region was more like 52.   We’ve been bundling up with sweaters, jackets, and scarves.

We did spend some time at the Palais de Papes.  You can read more about it by following this link.  Pope’s Palace

Palais de Papes in the rain

It was so rainy and cold in Avignon.

Pouring rain on the Pont Avignon bridge.

The best thing about being in Avignon is the dinner we had at a place called La Cuisine du Dimanche  The chef’s name is Marie and she shops daily for the freshest produce at the local market.   Marie is truly an artistic cook putting together flavors that are difficult to describe.   Dan and I absolutely loved this place.   

If I only had one day to spend in Provence, I would go to this restaurant and spend the evening beginning with the raspberry apertif, then the tapenade on cake-like bread, the vegetable soup, slow cooked pork with an amazing sauce, and any of the desserts.  In addition, the wines were superior.   I cannot say enough good things about this restaurant.  Definitely our best meal in France.


We had to skip any sightseeing in Arles because it was pouring rain.  We drove through the center of town, but we would have been drenched if we had stopped.    I was disappointed because this is supposed to be one of the best places to visit in the south of France.  It’s where Van Gogh spent several years and painted some of his most famous works.   There is an amphitheater there and more museums, but I would have loved just to walk around and see it. 

Moving on to Aix-en Provence where it was still rainy and cold, we had a difficult time finding the hotel.   Dan was on the phone with the manager several times trying to understand how to get there before we finally found it. The hotel is called Mercure Chateuneuf Le Rouge and is located in the heart of the vineyards, 15 minutes from Aix-en-Provence.

Across the street from the hotel, we stopped at a market to buy some peaches, strawberries, tomatoes, and some lavender honey.  Then we drove through the city once again in the pouring rain.  

The next day (May 29th) was one of my favorite days so far in France.

 Using the search engine Bing one day, I saw their featured photo of a beautiful little village in the mountains called Moustiers Sainte-Marie.   I followed the links and learned enough about it that I put it on the list of places that I would like to go some day.

Moustiers Sainte-Marie, or simply Moustiers, is a commune in the Alps de Haute Provence in southeastern France, and is considered one of the most beautiful villages in France.

It lies at the western entrance to the Gorges du Verdon. The village has been a center of the pottery trade, especially an earthenware variety called faience, for centuries.

When Dan and I decided to go to the south of France in addition to Paris, I was thrilled that we might be able to go to this beautiful mountain village.   But, we might have to eliminate some other places from our plans.  

We decided the night before, (May 28th), that we would make the journey, and that we would not take the motorway, but instead go through the twisty-turny-tiny roads that wound through lots of tiny villages.    Below, you can see the approximate location from a larger map and

We started at A and Moustiers is C.

from a larger scale. 

We took the smaller roads through Pourrieres, Rians, Ginasservis, Vinon-sur-Verdon, Greoux-les-baines, Allemagne-en-Provence, Riex, Roumoules, and finally Moustiers.

We started outside of Pourriers.

The towns along the way are charming, but lots of winding, narrow roads and wondering how long this would all take.

Greoux-les-Baines

There were all kinds of goodies, wines, cheeses, pastries, soaps, olive oils, and herbs.

I bought some herb Chevre cheese from one of the vendors.  I have come to love this cheese in the last few days.

We couldn’t leave without some pastries.

The village of Moustiers clings a hundred or so meters up the side of a limestone  cliff. A spring flows out of the cliff, creating a waterfall directly out of the center of town. At twilight, the sun strikes the south-facing cliff, creating a diffuse pink light for a few minutes on clear days.  Unfortunately, we couldn’t stay that late.

We still needed our jackets, but at least it was mostly sunny and no rain!

Everywhere you go in Moustiers, there is a photo op.

A spring that runs through the center of town.

This is the spring.  The foreground is a red flower.   There is a cafe right next to the spring that you can see in the back.

Very picturesque

Another view of the spring

We followed steps that would take us to the top of the mountain where there was a little chapel.  We didn’t quite make it to the top, though it wasn’t far at all.  Dan said it looked like rain.  Ha!

We could have made it.

A view near the top

Looking down from the mountain

a little rest on the way down.

a bridge over the spring on the way to the top

Dan sitting in a cafe waiting for his paninni.

A pottery store where I bought a couple of small pieces.

You can see the chapel at the top.

Dan having lunch.

We were only there for around two hours, but had a great fun.  A visit to Moustiers was well worth our time.

The next part of our journey was to try to get to Nice on the French Riviera.  We had no idea what was in store for us on the way.   Driving through the mountain passes, we saw a lake up ahead.

 

The lake is called Saint Croix and is fed by a river that must be glacial water because it is so blue.   The park had parts of it that reminded me of Yosemite with the half dome, Glacier National Park with the vast expanses of mountains, and Zion as well.  It was truly beautiful.  

Of course, there were lots of little towns that we traveled through in the park on the way to Nice.

And some very narrow roads through towns.

Finally we arrived at the place we were staying in Antibes on the French riviera.  More about that tomorrow.  It had been a spectacular day.

View of the Mediterranean from outside our room.

Nîmes became a Roman colony sometime before 28 BC.  

 We took a tour of the amphitheater, which dates from the first century. 

Having a cappucino outside the amphitheater

Nearby Nimes, we visited the most famous Roman aquaduct, the Pont du Gard. 

The Pont du Gard is an ancient Roman aquaduct bridge that crosses the Gardon River.   It is part of the Nîmes aqueduct, a 50 km-long (31 mi) structure built by the Romans to carry water from a spring at Uzes to Nimes.

Built in the 1st century AD, the Pont du Gard is the highest of all Roman aqueduct bridges and is the best preserved after the Aquaduct of Segovia. It was added to UNESCO’s list of World Heritage Sites in 1985 because of its historical importance.

The bridge has three tiers of arches, standing 160 feet high.

 It continued to be used possibly until the 6th century, with some parts used for significantly longer, but lack of maintenance after the 4th century meant that it became increasingly clogged by mineral deposits and debris that eventually choked off the flow of water.

 The bridge underwent a series of renovations between the 18th and 21st centuries, commissioned by the local authorities and the French state, that culminated in 2000 with the opening of a new visitor centre and the removal of traffic and buildings from the bridge and the area immediately around it.

We found it to be magnificent.  And France has done a great job of making it a huge attraction with it’s restaurants, shops, movie theater (for showing the film about the bridge), and even a hotel at the base of the bridge.   There was a huge parking lot and lots of tourists.  This is one tourist attraction that we really loved.

Pont du Gard

You can walk to the other side where there are hiking paths and another cafe.

View from the top of the bridge

Waking up to a sunnier, somewhat warmer day, led us to believe we would see lots of sights both in Narbonne and in neighboring areas.  We were hoping to see Guisson Beach, Narbonne Beach, and Fontfroide Abbey, a former Cistercian monastery near the border of Spain.   I was hoping to see the Abbey for historical purposes and because they have a reputation for great wines. 

Narbonne  was established in Gaul in 118 BC, as Colonia Narbo Martius. It was located on the first Roman road in Gaul, built at the time of the foundation of the colony, and connecting Italy to Spain.

Narbonne has canals that lead to the Mediterranean.  We walked along canals that led to the center of town where there was an old cathedral, Roman ruins, and the Via Domitia (see below).

This is the beginning of the Via Domitia,  the first Roman Road built in Gaul, to link Italy and Spain through Narbibbe.    It was constructed in 118 BC  around the same time the first Roman Colony in Narbonne.  It’s OLD!!

 

After that, we went to some Roman ruins that were in use in 100 BC.   I felt claustrophobic the entire time and couldn’t wait to get out.  They were a series of hallways and small rooms and were very dark. 

The beach was lovely and deserted, mainly because it was 50 degrees and windy.  

One of the vineyards that we drove by produces this wine-that I had at dinner.  Dan doesn’t like wine.  I can’t understand that.  

On the way back, we took a side trip to Fontfroide Abbey.  As we got closer, it started to rain.  By the time we got to the Abbey, it was pouring.  We waited in the parking lot for ten minutes, then decided we would try again tomorrow.  This weather is not cooperating.  I’m thinking May is not a good month for France unless you like cold weather.   Why didn’t we know that?  

The rest of the day we spent in the hotel room catching up on stuff.  I talked to Jay and returned some emails until 7 when it was time to go to dinner.    Finding the restaurant was an adventure itself.   The roads here are tiny and many of them are one-way.  GPS would not cooperate either.   Finally, we found it.

Dinner was at another great little French restaurant Auberge something.  We forgot already.   After dinner, as we were walking along the canal, I snapped some photos of these trees that are ubiquitous in Narbonne.  I love them, but don’t know what they are.  Maybe I’ll ask someone tomorrow.  

Yesterday morning, we visited the gothic cathedral St. Cecile of Albi.  This is the cathedral that we could see last evening from the bridge (the pont vieux) perched high on a hill above the River Tarn,  and is quite different from other cathedrals we have visited.   

Built in the 13th century in the heart of Cathar country, St. Cecile is the largest brick building in the world.   It is no accident that it looks more like a fortress than a cathedral. 

St. Cecilia in Albi was built as a defensive fortress and statement of strength after the Albigensian Crusade (1209-1229), a holy war waged by the Catholic Church against the heretical Cathars and the count of Toulouse.

Construction on Albi Cathedral began in 1282 under the direction of Bernard de Castanet (1277-1307), who was Bishop of Albi and Chief Inquisitor. Construction was mostly done by 1383, but the cathedral was not fully complete until 1492.

Entrance to the cathedral

Because of the strong, fortress-like exterior of the cathedral, you might expect the interior to be plain and practical.  However, such is not the case.  Art abounds in the side chapels, walls, and ceiling vaults and sculptures are found on many of the pillars.

One of the things I liked most about this cathedral is that it is not crowded.   When we went up the steps to view the “treasures” of the cathedral,  Dan and I were by ourselves.  

Most of the cathedrals that I have visited have an area where they keep special “treasures”.  Often times, these treasures are reliquaries or containers for relics of saints.  This one contains a bone of some saint.    I remember my fourth grade teacher, Mother Florence, kept a relic of St. Dominic Savio around her neck.    So after the saint dies, do they immediately go for the body parts?  I thought it took a long time to be declared a “saint”.  Not sure how all that works.  Just a little strange.

A tryptic in the “treasures” gallery

Lots of bricks

Right next to the cathedral is the Toulouse Lautrec Museum.  The Musee Toulouse-Lautrec is a museum dedicated mainly to the work of the painter Henri Toulouse-Lautrec and is located in the Palais de la Berbie, formerly the Bishops’ Palace. 

The museum houses over 1,000 works by Toulouse-Lautrec, the largest collection in the world. It is based on a donation by Toulouse-Lautrec’s mother after his death in 1901.

After I snapped this photo below, I was told that I could not take photos in the museum.  Usually there are signs in museums indicating photos or no photos, but I didn’t see one.  

Toulouse Lautrec, who only lived to be 36 years old, was a French painter, printmaker, and illustator, whose immersion in the theatrical life of Paris in the late 1800s yielded a collection of exciting, elegant and provocative images of the modern and sometimes decadent life of those times.

For images, follow this link:
Images from Musee Toulouse-Lautrec

One of my favorite parts of the museum is the gardens with the view of the River Tarn and the bridges.  You walk outside and there it is!

Time to go.  What a magnificent place to visit!

The next part of our visit was going to be Carcassone, a walled city within an hour’s drive of Albi.  However, we took the long way, which took us through some small villages and countryside along the way.

When we arrived in Carcasonne, it was pouring rain and the wind was so strong, it blew my hat off my head.  And that’s with the hat being tied under my chin.  So we decided to head to Narbonne, our next stop.    

When we arrived at the hotel, we found it to be quite different from the one in Albi and quite reasonably priced!   This is the Clarion Suites in Narbonne, France.  We decided to stay more than one night and return to Carcassone on Sunday when it is expected to be sunny and warmer. 

Our dinner was at Bistro Flo’s and was really good, but too much food. 

Dan had Veal Milanese with carmelized onions, tomatoes grilled on the vine, and other vegetables.  He gave me his onions and they were magnificent.  Too bad onions don’t agree with him.  

I had roast duck with a potato cream cake.  I couldn’t even eat half the duck-mostly because I wanted to save room for dessert.

 A bite missing before the photo.  It was a chocolate lava ganache with vanilla ice cream, pistachio cookie, and vanilla rum sauce with something pistachio under the rum sauce.  Quite tasty!

Dan had a peach tart with a walnut ice cream and raspberry sauce.  We were quite full and very happy!

View from our balcony

We didn’t realize that it was going to be winter temperatures when we rented the car in Toulouse to begin our journey toward the southern part of France.  We were truly counting on warmth by the 23rd of May, but the low temperature on the 23rd of May in Albi was 41 degrees F with a wind chill of 37.  It’s a good thing we had jackets and lots of layers.

The hotel room in Albi at Hotel les Pasteliers was small, but comfortable enough and the owners were very friendly, helpful, and spoke enough English for us to get by with Dan speaking enough French for them to understand as well.

In fact, everyone we have encountered in France so far has been very friendly and accommodating.   I had heard stories about the French not being friendly, but we had only good experiences with them. 

Tiny hotel room, but still OK

We arrived in Albi around 3 PM and had not had lunch, but luckily, there was a patisserie right around the corner.  We have eaten more pastries in the past ten days than in the past year I’m sure.   I hope that my pants will still fit by the end of this trip.

This pastry was filled with different cheeses and warmed before we ate it. 

Where is Albi, France?

Albi is a commune in southern France that is located on the River Tarn and  85 km northeast of Toulouse.   A little history:   After the Roman conquest of Gaul, in 51 BC, the town became the territory of the Albigeois, Albiga. Archeological digs have not revealed any traces of Roman buildings, which seems to indicate that Albi was a modest Roman settlement.

In 1040, Albi expanded and constructed the Pont Vieux (Old Bridge).  We came to Albi not knowing about what there was to see, but only as a stop on the way to the south part of France.

Boy, were we ever surprised to find such amazing, historical, and beautiful sights. 

The most challenging part of our visit was trying to bear up with the cold.  Last night was truly uncomfortable even with layers, scarves, jackets, hats, and resolve to be tough.   Patrice, the owner of
Hotel les Pasteliers, where we stayed, told us about the Pont Vieux, the cathedral, The Toulouse Lautrec Museum, and the restuarant Auberge du Pont Vieux.  

We were going to take the 20 minute walk to the Pont Vieux, but turned around after about 3 minutes because the wind chill was unbearable.  Patrice didn’t think we would find a place to park near the bridge, but we got lucky.  We had no idea what we were in store for as we were walking down the street and I heard some water running-like a waterfall… 

The cathedral in the distance was on our list of places to see in the morning, but we were enjoying the beauty of the bridge over the river Tarn at the base of the town of Albi.

We are on the Pont Vieux right next to the restaurant where we will eat called Auberge du Pont Vieux.

Augerge du Pont Vieux-owned by a couple, Emilie and Eric in Albi, France

The restaurant building was built in the 15 century and is really interesting.

The food was great.  I had sea bass and vegetables.

Dan had roast duck and a pastry that was stuffed with vegetables.  Very Good.

This wine is incredible.

What do you mean impaired?  I’m not impaired.

Emilie, the owner, was quite knowledgeable about wines in the region and I took full advantage of her extensive knowledge.

I had cheese for dessert instead of sweets.  HA!

Emilie, the owner of Auberge du Pont Vieux and lovely person.

Doesn’t quite capture the beauty at night.  You’ll have to go there and discover it for yourself.

Even though it was only 52 degrees, it was sunny for our last day in Paris!

We took the Metro to the Place de la Concorde at around 10:00 this morning and walked from there to the Arc de Triomphe down the Champs Elysees.   Interesting that many, if not most, of the shops on the Champs de Elysee were American-The Gap, Banana Republic, Adidas, and others. 

Beginning of the Champs de Elysee.

Getting close to the Arc de Triomphe

Sacre Couer

Modern Paris

Bottom of the Arc

After lunch at a small cafe, we headed for the Georges Pompidou Museum of Modern Art.  The entrance is a series of escalators with windows on the exterior of the building.  

Like riding through a giant tube

a juggler from the window of the escalator

an interesting art cave

a different take on Manet’s Olympia

really modern

a sofa sculpture-would be cool in the living room

inside the sculpture

dan taking a break

Dan looking at exhibit

one of my favorites at this museum

I was trying to figure this one out-either a flock of people with silver raincoats bending over in homage to someone or lots of air vents.  what do you think?

After the museum, we just walked around the neighborhood heading to Ile de St. Louis.

Everywhere you go in Paris, it’s beautiful.  This is going over the bridge to Ile de St. Louis.

Book sellers are everywhere along the Seine.  I didn’t see anyone with an e reader.  They still read real books over here.

Ah, Paris.  Must we go?

I want to stay.

Deep sigh. After a short break it was off for dinner.  We decided to stay close to the hotel, so found a little Italian restaurant, Le Petit Italien.  The people there were very friendly and we were hungry, so we forgot to take pictures of the food until we both had a bite. And after the meal the waitress brought us a couple of small glasses of Lemoncello.  Susan liked hers and asked what it was, so the waitress brought her another glass! Then we went outside and it was raining!  It wasn’t supposed to rain this evening, so I hadn’t brought my pack with the umbrella in it.  But it wasn’t too bad and we made it back without getting soaked. Tomorrow we fly to Toulouse and start the car journey portion of our trip.

This is the third day in a row it has rained and the high was 55 degrees today.  That’s cold for people who are used to Phoenix/Scottsdale weather.     We decided to stick to indoor activity in the way of more museums.  Also, our museum passes expire today.

The Musee de l’Armee had lots of cool suits of armor along with the history of the evolution of the suit of armor.    Also had lots of weapons including cannons.

                                An army of armor

This is what that gold dome looks like on the inside.     If you want to learn a little more about Napoleon’s Tomb, visit this link written by Rick Steves.  
Rick Steve on Napoleon’s Tomb

We went to a little cafe for lunch and had crepes.

After lunch we planned on going to both the Middle Ages Museum and also the Sorbonne.  When we got to the Middle Ages Museum, it was closed (as was the Georges Pompidou Museum that Susan had wanted to see)!  So we walked some in the Latin Quarter, but it was really cold outside and the wind was blowing.  We decided to go back to the D’Orsay before stopping at a patisserie on the way back to the hotel.  Maybe we got a little carried away with the pasteries. 

The beignet must have had at least a half a cup of raspberry jam in it when I bit into it.  Not your Dunkin Donuts pastry for sure.  So far, sharing the beignet was all we had room for.  But the night is young. 

A Day At The Louvre

A canelé is a small French pastry with a soft and tender custard center and a dark, thick caramelized crust. The dessert, which is in the shape of small, striated cylinder approximately two inches in height, is a specialty of the Bordeaux region of France but can often be found in Parisian patisseries as well. Made from egg, sugar, milk and flour flavored with run and vanilla, the custard batter is baked in a mold, giving the canelé a caramelized crust and custard-like inside.

They are good!!!  Just as good as the Macarons.

A macaron is a sweet meringue-based confection made with eggs, icing sugar, granulated sugard, ground almond and food coloring. It is also called Luxemburgleri. The macaron is commonly filled with ganache, buttercream, or jam filling sandwiched between two cookies.    So good!!