Day 14 - Last morning at our chateau lodging, boohoo. After breakfast, we are off to Clos Luce, the last home of Leonardo da Vinci. It is a cool museum site now, with numerous of da Vinci's sketches for machines turned into reality. Despite it being the 1500's, he conceived (on paper) of cars, bicycles, flying machines, military tanks, ball bearings, bridges that opened, paddle boats, boat locks, and more stuff. He was a botanist, architect, artist, and philosopher also. The rest of the day was a leisurely drive along the Loire to Bayeux in the north. After finding our hotel, we drove to Arromanches on the coast to see the WWII site where the Allies came ashore. The remnants of the floating harbor that they put in to launch their offense are still visible.
Day 15 - D-Day. Our visit to WWII history museums. It is sunny but cold, so being indoors didn't sound too bad. It's about 53 here. Supposed to be a little warmer the next few days, but not as warm as the first 11 days, unfortunately. The first museum is in Bayeux, describing the events of D-Day, June 6, 1944 when the Allies came ashore to drive the Germans out of France. It was a well done presentation. Lots of memorials and cemeteries in the area. The other museum we visited was in Caen, which went into much more detail on the reasons for WWII, and the history behind it. We got a much better understanding of the events leading up to the war. The destruction and loss of life is unfathomable. We were both pretty well drained by the end, but still felt it was something we needed to see. We just don't grasp our day to day freedoms and the luxury we live in. It is sobering to think that Chuck might not be here if his father hadn't survived the war, as so many men did not.
Monday, April 29, 2013
Sunday, April 28, 2013
Day 12
Day 12, plus comment on 13
Chuck didn't mention that it hailed yesterday! At least we were back in the car by then. Our lovely warm weather has departed, it has been cool the last couple of days and is expected to be that way the rest of the week. Oh well, that warm weather couldn't last. We brought cooler weather clothing and rain gear. He also didn't mention that the Chateau du Pray's hotel restaurant was a 1 star Michelin restaurant. Gourmet food. He also didn't mention he spotted an RV dealership and looked at units. Funny. They are made differently than in the US, these were "van conversion" types.
Day 12 was our drive from Clermont Ferrand to Chartres, which, after more monkeying around with the GPS, was relatively easy to find. Our destination was the huge gothic cathedral in Chartres. And I mean, huge. It is filled with flying buttresses, high, tall stained glass windows, art, sculpture. It is a Mary-centered church, with very few crosses or even references to Jesus. There are lots of theories about this church, that it is a pagan representation of female power, or a Mary Magdalene honoring church (disguised as the Virgin Mary to appease the Catholics). There is a large labyrinth in the floor that is only uncovered of chairs on Fridays, which is the day we were there, so we walked the labyrinth with other visitors. Walking in the footsteps of the pilgrims of 8 centuries was awesome. The day was cold, cloudy and windy, we were cold the whole time we were there! We toured the crypt, with another worship center devoted to Mary. Very ancient and spooky. Then we raced back to our car, braced against the cold wind, and drove to our castle for the next two nights in Amboise.
Chuck didn't mention that it hailed yesterday! At least we were back in the car by then. Our lovely warm weather has departed, it has been cool the last couple of days and is expected to be that way the rest of the week. Oh well, that warm weather couldn't last. We brought cooler weather clothing and rain gear. He also didn't mention that the Chateau du Pray's hotel restaurant was a 1 star Michelin restaurant. Gourmet food. He also didn't mention he spotted an RV dealership and looked at units. Funny. They are made differently than in the US, these were "van conversion" types.
Day 12 was our drive from Clermont Ferrand to Chartres, which, after more monkeying around with the GPS, was relatively easy to find. Our destination was the huge gothic cathedral in Chartres. And I mean, huge. It is filled with flying buttresses, high, tall stained glass windows, art, sculpture. It is a Mary-centered church, with very few crosses or even references to Jesus. There are lots of theories about this church, that it is a pagan representation of female power, or a Mary Magdalene honoring church (disguised as the Virgin Mary to appease the Catholics). There is a large labyrinth in the floor that is only uncovered of chairs on Fridays, which is the day we were there, so we walked the labyrinth with other visitors. Walking in the footsteps of the pilgrims of 8 centuries was awesome. The day was cold, cloudy and windy, we were cold the whole time we were there! We toured the crypt, with another worship center devoted to Mary. Very ancient and spooky. Then we raced back to our car, braced against the cold wind, and drove to our castle for the next two nights in Amboise.
Saturday, April 27, 2013
Days 13
Short post (Chuck) as we are tired. We enjoyed a fine day today exploring Chateau Chenonceau (?) a wonderful, large chateau or castle outside Amboise. (We are staying in a small chateau/castle called Chateau Du Pray, and our room is in one of the towers!) Chenonceau (the entire estate) is huge. The main structure is located on the river Cher. It is literally built on pillars on the river. Talk about a moat. We took an audio/video tour on iPods. Pretty cool. It took us about 90 minutes to tour the castle and halls. Karen enjoyed the gardens, and we walked a small maze that was like a playground for adults. ha!
Then it was driving around looking at smaller, similar chateaus/castles, and finally, clean up/showers before dinner. Dinner at Chateau Du Pray was heavenly. They sure know how to prepare food here.
Well, good night all!
Thursday, April 25, 2013
Days 10-11
So, this is Chuck posting. All kinds of things to report, we had enjoyable days in Avignon and Carcassonne.
Day 10. We toured the Palais du Popes. (I think I have it right) Which was a home to some of the competing Popes during the medieval time period where there was contention over which Pope was the true Pope. Clement 5 was the 1st Pope invited by the King of France. The king tried to keep Clement to extend his own power, and after Clement died, the next appointed Pope was apparently more than happy to stay. However, a schism developed and there was a time period where "two Popes" were supposedly known to the world, until it was finally decided years later.
It was a great day for the weather. We have been so fortunate. It was in the low 70's, sunny, just perfect. We also visited the gardens there. When we were coming out of a church, however, two women working together tried to pick my pocket!!! I actually said to the one who was responsible for distracting me, "nice try". Don't know whether she knew English. Needless to say, Karen was ahead of me and didn't hear it/see it, and I told her and pointed out the 2 women. They split up immediately (the one noting I was pointing at her). However, as we walked away, they came back together and talked. I was fairly $%^&* about it. Should probably have twisted her arm behind her back and taken her down, right? One thing I have noticed, there are rarely any police around. We rarely see them. In Italy, there were several federal or military types patrolling the train stations with their automatic weapons. But I would certainly see more police at home. Almost never see them on the highway, and we've been doing a lot of driving.
We had a nice drive in the afternoon to Carcassonne. Found our place (a home stay via AirBnB) very easily. Karen has enjoyed these home stays and the chance to see how others live. This woman was very welcoming, and we had a good opportunity to see another side of French life that was outside of the normal tourist view. We went in to the main town, and found few opportunities to eat. But as usual, the wine is great! So we settled on a good pizza with nice small salads. Then we decided to go into the walled city separate from the downtown. That was a nice walk. A medieval castle/fort almost perfectly restored. And it was great to see it at night, although by the time we walked back to the car, it was getting cold!
We crashed, no email, posting, etc. All that walking and good wine has it's effects on us.
Day 11. Martine, our host, had bread, a chocolate croissant, cheese, juice and great tea for us. A nice breakfast, and not too early (9 am).
Then it was on to the castle/fort. We thought we would be arriving too late to have a good tour of the walled city. The "palace" part was opened at 10 am. and we did an audio guide tour. i have to say I enjoyed it immensely. The restoration left it appearing as if it was some point in the 13th century. We had a nice tour, taking many pictures. Lots of historical information. Then we went to the cathedral. Not only was it quite a cathedral, but we listened to a small mens choir. They were excellent.
After that, we went for our planned big lunch. And boy, it was a good one. One of us got the 4 course lunch, the other (ha, me!) the 5 course lunch. Yes, 6 courses. Now, to be fair, we have talked about how we are going to have great dinners every day, and then by the time we are ready to eat, many places are closed, and our choices are few. And then no good dinner materializes. Some days we have lunch with food from a market (and cheese, bread, ham, fruit, etc can be pretty darn good) but today, we had a great one. Karen had the traditional "cassoule" which was a baked dish of beans, beef, sausage and some chicken. I had salmon with hollandaise sauce. But to talk about all of these courses, we shared french onion soup, a great salad, bread, timbaly (seafood souffle), cheese plate, peach melba, and a dessert crepe. We were stuffed! Took some great cheese and bread with us (which we had for dinner).
Sadly, by 3 pm we were leaving. we had a great late afternoon/early evening drive to Clermont / Ferrand. We found our Holiday Inn very easily. What happened next is very funny. We parked in the gaage, and apparently took the wrong elevator!!! So, we came into the office building NEXT to the holiday inn. And we could NOT get out of the building. Once in the elevator, the button to return us to the parking garage wouldw NOT work! The floors all had offices with locked doors. Again not a situation to NOT have a phone, righty? Eventually, I found a button that would let the front door of the main floor open. And we got out!
Ah, the stories for another day.
Day 10. We toured the Palais du Popes. (I think I have it right) Which was a home to some of the competing Popes during the medieval time period where there was contention over which Pope was the true Pope. Clement 5 was the 1st Pope invited by the King of France. The king tried to keep Clement to extend his own power, and after Clement died, the next appointed Pope was apparently more than happy to stay. However, a schism developed and there was a time period where "two Popes" were supposedly known to the world, until it was finally decided years later.
It was a great day for the weather. We have been so fortunate. It was in the low 70's, sunny, just perfect. We also visited the gardens there. When we were coming out of a church, however, two women working together tried to pick my pocket!!! I actually said to the one who was responsible for distracting me, "nice try". Don't know whether she knew English. Needless to say, Karen was ahead of me and didn't hear it/see it, and I told her and pointed out the 2 women. They split up immediately (the one noting I was pointing at her). However, as we walked away, they came back together and talked. I was fairly $%^&* about it. Should probably have twisted her arm behind her back and taken her down, right? One thing I have noticed, there are rarely any police around. We rarely see them. In Italy, there were several federal or military types patrolling the train stations with their automatic weapons. But I would certainly see more police at home. Almost never see them on the highway, and we've been doing a lot of driving.
We had a nice drive in the afternoon to Carcassonne. Found our place (a home stay via AirBnB) very easily. Karen has enjoyed these home stays and the chance to see how others live. This woman was very welcoming, and we had a good opportunity to see another side of French life that was outside of the normal tourist view. We went in to the main town, and found few opportunities to eat. But as usual, the wine is great! So we settled on a good pizza with nice small salads. Then we decided to go into the walled city separate from the downtown. That was a nice walk. A medieval castle/fort almost perfectly restored. And it was great to see it at night, although by the time we walked back to the car, it was getting cold!
We crashed, no email, posting, etc. All that walking and good wine has it's effects on us.
Day 11. Martine, our host, had bread, a chocolate croissant, cheese, juice and great tea for us. A nice breakfast, and not too early (9 am).
Then it was on to the castle/fort. We thought we would be arriving too late to have a good tour of the walled city. The "palace" part was opened at 10 am. and we did an audio guide tour. i have to say I enjoyed it immensely. The restoration left it appearing as if it was some point in the 13th century. We had a nice tour, taking many pictures. Lots of historical information. Then we went to the cathedral. Not only was it quite a cathedral, but we listened to a small mens choir. They were excellent.
After that, we went for our planned big lunch. And boy, it was a good one. One of us got the 4 course lunch, the other (ha, me!) the 5 course lunch. Yes, 6 courses. Now, to be fair, we have talked about how we are going to have great dinners every day, and then by the time we are ready to eat, many places are closed, and our choices are few. And then no good dinner materializes. Some days we have lunch with food from a market (and cheese, bread, ham, fruit, etc can be pretty darn good) but today, we had a great one. Karen had the traditional "cassoule" which was a baked dish of beans, beef, sausage and some chicken. I had salmon with hollandaise sauce. But to talk about all of these courses, we shared french onion soup, a great salad, bread, timbaly (seafood souffle), cheese plate, peach melba, and a dessert crepe. We were stuffed! Took some great cheese and bread with us (which we had for dinner).
Sadly, by 3 pm we were leaving. we had a great late afternoon/early evening drive to Clermont / Ferrand. We found our Holiday Inn very easily. What happened next is very funny. We parked in the gaage, and apparently took the wrong elevator!!! So, we came into the office building NEXT to the holiday inn. And we could NOT get out of the building. Once in the elevator, the button to return us to the parking garage wouldw NOT work! The floors all had offices with locked doors. Again not a situation to NOT have a phone, righty? Eventually, I found a button that would let the front door of the main floor open. And we got out!
Ah, the stories for another day.
Tuesday, April 23, 2013
Days 7-9
Email access has been rather unpredictable for the past few days. We are staying in a home-stay in Avignon tonight which has wifi, hence tonight's post. getting here and to last night's B&B were two stories that will have to wait until later. Suffice to say that the French find that giving directions is an optional activity. As RoyAnne has always said, it is fortunate cars have a reverse gear. no alley I've ever been in before could be as impossibly narrow as an alley in a French city, either. A true test of marital strength if I ever saw one. Tomorrow night is another home-stay, I am braced for the search. We have had every variety of challenge, as well, with power and electronics. We discovered our GPS is pretty much non-functional, but then discovered our rental car has a GPS, albiet one that does not appear to recognize a very comprehensive level of addresses. So getting around has been more of a sport or exercise in frustration. I've decided it is scavenger hunt with a few clues and moments of good/bad luck. One side benefit is interesting discoveries, like today, with several roads lined for miles and miles with beautiful plane trees that are just budding.
Sunday April 21: Our day in transit from Monte Carlo to Marseille. After a bus ride past the rich and famous sites of Monte Carlo, we bid adieu to the wealthy and headed west. We had a transfer in Nice, so were able to walk about and have some lunch and take a look around. Nice is nice. 'nuff said. Marseille turned out to be a Tunisian ghetto, with more Arabs than I've ever seen in one place. Lots of narrow, confusing streets. We managed to get lost several times, and all the restaurants closed up and we ended up eating in the railstation at a McDonald's type cafe. At least they had Heineken. The Old Port was interesting, lots of families out for a Sunday afternoon. French people converge in a major way in town squares. I think American culture is lacking something without this habit of promenading in town squares. Also, there is more than one Arc Du Triomphe in France, we have now seen one in Marseille and south of St. Remy. The Nazi's bombed the oldest part of town (that story is becoming a pattern here).
Monday April 22: The great escape from cities. We are "city'd" out. Now the challenge is interpreting French road signs and getting out of Marseille. The first thing we do is turn down a restricted street and are approached by some officials and told to turn back. Oops. Eventually we get on the 4 lane highway and are on our way to the coastal towns of La Ciotat and Cassis, to the east of Marseille. It is once again a beautiful day. In Cassis, we (after a dozen unsuccessfull circuits of downtown) find parking outside of town and walk back. The other profound discovery of French towns is that parking c'est horrible! We take a one hour boat cruise of the Calaniques, consisting of 5 coastal bays of very unique cliffs and blue green water. Beautiful! We then take a drive down the coast over mountains and along the cliffs, also eye popping. A great day along the coast. This was laundry day and we finally locate a laundromat. We commune with the French local populace there. My French, while bumbling, is getting us by, and Chuck is learning hand signals and "merci" and "bonjour". Our day ends with a massive manhunt of Gerenomes, searching for our B&B for the night. It is finally located, turns out to be a delightful country home full of antiques, chickens, beehives, and a very nice couple who speak hardly any English. We manage to communicate and have a good night and early a.m. there.
Tuesday, April 23: Off to St-Remy. We take a quick tour through Aix-En-Provence, but it is too much like the cities we just left, crowded, busy, crazy drivers. The drive through is enough and we are off to the Provencal countryside. St. Remy is quaint and we find our way to the mental hospital outside town. No, we don't check ourselves in, we tour the ancient buildings build centuries ago that became a mental hospital in the middle ages. This was the place that Vincent Van Gogh was sent to recover from cutting off his ear. He did a lot of painting while he stayed here, and it was easy to see why he was inspired. The gardens were beautiful and in full spring bloom, and the surrounding area is also lovely. There is a lot of good information on Van Gogh's life and the history of these buildings. Nearby the hospital, there are Greek-Roman ruins of a city called Glanum. This is an area that was originally established by primitive people prior to the arrival of the Greeks, who developed it, then the Romans developed it even further. Hot and cold running water, pools, markets, homes, temples, a fortress. It was amazing. If the stones could talk, they would tell a tale. I was not aware that there were many Roman colonies in France. We will see some more ruins tomorrow. Tonight we are at the home of Janine Jammer of Avignon, from the Air B&B site. Quite an experience.
Sunday April 21: Our day in transit from Monte Carlo to Marseille. After a bus ride past the rich and famous sites of Monte Carlo, we bid adieu to the wealthy and headed west. We had a transfer in Nice, so were able to walk about and have some lunch and take a look around. Nice is nice. 'nuff said. Marseille turned out to be a Tunisian ghetto, with more Arabs than I've ever seen in one place. Lots of narrow, confusing streets. We managed to get lost several times, and all the restaurants closed up and we ended up eating in the railstation at a McDonald's type cafe. At least they had Heineken. The Old Port was interesting, lots of families out for a Sunday afternoon. French people converge in a major way in town squares. I think American culture is lacking something without this habit of promenading in town squares. Also, there is more than one Arc Du Triomphe in France, we have now seen one in Marseille and south of St. Remy. The Nazi's bombed the oldest part of town (that story is becoming a pattern here).
Monday April 22: The great escape from cities. We are "city'd" out. Now the challenge is interpreting French road signs and getting out of Marseille. The first thing we do is turn down a restricted street and are approached by some officials and told to turn back. Oops. Eventually we get on the 4 lane highway and are on our way to the coastal towns of La Ciotat and Cassis, to the east of Marseille. It is once again a beautiful day. In Cassis, we (after a dozen unsuccessfull circuits of downtown) find parking outside of town and walk back. The other profound discovery of French towns is that parking c'est horrible! We take a one hour boat cruise of the Calaniques, consisting of 5 coastal bays of very unique cliffs and blue green water. Beautiful! We then take a drive down the coast over mountains and along the cliffs, also eye popping. A great day along the coast. This was laundry day and we finally locate a laundromat. We commune with the French local populace there. My French, while bumbling, is getting us by, and Chuck is learning hand signals and "merci" and "bonjour". Our day ends with a massive manhunt of Gerenomes, searching for our B&B for the night. It is finally located, turns out to be a delightful country home full of antiques, chickens, beehives, and a very nice couple who speak hardly any English. We manage to communicate and have a good night and early a.m. there.
Tuesday, April 23: Off to St-Remy. We take a quick tour through Aix-En-Provence, but it is too much like the cities we just left, crowded, busy, crazy drivers. The drive through is enough and we are off to the Provencal countryside. St. Remy is quaint and we find our way to the mental hospital outside town. No, we don't check ourselves in, we tour the ancient buildings build centuries ago that became a mental hospital in the middle ages. This was the place that Vincent Van Gogh was sent to recover from cutting off his ear. He did a lot of painting while he stayed here, and it was easy to see why he was inspired. The gardens were beautiful and in full spring bloom, and the surrounding area is also lovely. There is a lot of good information on Van Gogh's life and the history of these buildings. Nearby the hospital, there are Greek-Roman ruins of a city called Glanum. This is an area that was originally established by primitive people prior to the arrival of the Greeks, who developed it, then the Romans developed it even further. Hot and cold running water, pools, markets, homes, temples, a fortress. It was amazing. If the stones could talk, they would tell a tale. I was not aware that there were many Roman colonies in France. We will see some more ruins tomorrow. Tonight we are at the home of Janine Jammer of Avignon, from the Air B&B site. Quite an experience.
Saturday, April 20, 2013
Taste of Europe Day 5 and 6
This is Chuck's post for the trip. Day 5 was a great day in the Cinque Terra area. We took the train into Corniglia. It is a village perched against a cliff, as the villages are in this area. Italy is beautiful, but can be challenging to navigate. We hoped to hike the trail along the sea between one of the closest towns and Corniglia, but they were all closed due to safety and mudslides. Sadly. But we got into our B&B room and then set out to explore the small village, then headed to Monterossa via train and explored that village. Had a daiquiri (Strawberry) and really enjoyed the beach. We were quite entertained by very young children playing, by visitors dressed as if it was winter (felt like 80 degrees), and then by people at the same beach bar getting engaged. He got down on one knee and produced a ring. Pretty enjoyable and entertaining. Finally wrapped up, headed back to our room, and then went to a shop and bought a bottle of wine, then food to go at a local ristorante. Why? Because we had a room with a balcony, facing onto both the terraced hillsides and the ocean. What a view!!!! Best meal so far, arguably. Karen got a fresh fish (they brought it out for her to say OK) and I had pasta to die for (heavy garlic). Grilled veggies yumm... and great wine.
So Day 6, was quite a bit of train travel after getting up late. Getting up sloooowwwww. Anyway, then got on the train to head out of Italy to Monte Carlo (Monaco) . Yeah, thanks and courtesy of Starwood, we have a free night in Monaco at Le Meridian. Oh yeah. So, a long afternoon on the train. So, you think you've seen everything right? Just after changing trains in Ventiglia, the drunk in the seat behind us decided to relieve himself. Without going to the WC. He was laying across two seats, and apparently unzipped and began spraying the back of our seat. We yelled and moved quickly. Wish I had a picture of it. Karen stayed angry. I finally started laughing at the whole thing. Although, a kick to the balls would have been deserved.
Anyway, we are here in Monte Carlo. Enjoyed a free cappucino at the bar, hopped in the pool, (very nice on) then to the sauna. Cant get any better. Of course, we have a room with a balcony. Going to get a picture of her standing on the balcony in the morning. What a nice place. Won;t eat breakfast here, at least not at their prices.
Need to run!
So Day 6, was quite a bit of train travel after getting up late. Getting up sloooowwwww. Anyway, then got on the train to head out of Italy to Monte Carlo (Monaco) . Yeah, thanks and courtesy of Starwood, we have a free night in Monaco at Le Meridian. Oh yeah. So, a long afternoon on the train. So, you think you've seen everything right? Just after changing trains in Ventiglia, the drunk in the seat behind us decided to relieve himself. Without going to the WC. He was laying across two seats, and apparently unzipped and began spraying the back of our seat. We yelled and moved quickly. Wish I had a picture of it. Karen stayed angry. I finally started laughing at the whole thing. Although, a kick to the balls would have been deserved.
Anyway, we are here in Monte Carlo. Enjoyed a free cappucino at the bar, hopped in the pool, (very nice on) then to the sauna. Cant get any better. Of course, we have a room with a balcony. Going to get a picture of her standing on the balcony in the morning. What a nice place. Won;t eat breakfast here, at least not at their prices.
Need to run!
Thursday, April 18, 2013
Taste of Europe Day 3 and 4
Day 3 - this blog is called Taste of Europe for two reasons; we are eating our way across Europe and we are not staying in any one place very long, so it is is literally a taste of a lot of different regions!
Day 3 is our full day in Florence, and it started with a forced march to the Uffizi (art museum). There is no public transportation that makes sense in Florence, it all circles the city too far from destinations and you are left on your own to walk pretty much everywhere. I smartly got advance tickets, as the line was huge, even at 9 a.m. on a weekday in off season. the Uffizi is only #2 to the Louvre in Paris in world renown. Some really famous works of art in this museum. Got to have a bit of culture as Florence is the birthplace of the Renaissance, and a lot of the music, art, writing and architecture that set the stage for the world as we know it, began here.
We weren't so smart to figure out where to redeem our reservation for a ticket, and were chased all over the 2 adjoining buildings in search of the booth. finally, we are in the right (short) line with the ticket in hand. then we had to go through a search and seizure gauntlet like that of an airport. We learned that a crazy had smuggled in a hammer and smashed Michelangelo's David sculpture's toes a few years ago in a nearby museum, so they are taking no chances. We had to dump our water, and lost our water carrier. i forgot the map of the galleries and had to go back to the start. I think we were still jet lagged as it all began to feel like too much effort! but the museum and the building was beautiful. I was particularly struck by the 4 Rembrandt paintings, i was literally inches away from them. The rest of the day was occupied with an Ipod history walk, a visit to an old cathedral, the Duomo, Ponte Vecchio (13th century bridge that was the only one in Florence that the Nazi's spared) and lots of outdoor sculpture.
In the evening, we attended a concert of operatic arias performed in a cathedral. a nice cap on our culture extravaganza day. i will probably owe Chuck at least a week of race car travel for this day alone!
Day 4 - No doubt the most fun day so far. We took the train from Florence to Lucca, and borrowed bike provided for free by our hotel and rode the city walls and all over the city. Lucca is a medieval walled city, the fortress bulwarks date back to the 13th century. Actually, the Romans built the original ramparts, but they were rebuilt at least 2 times since the 1st century BC. everything is so ancient here, its hard to wrap one's head around it. The walls are so deep, there is a park around the top of them with a wide path. We did about 2.5 laps (4 km per lap). plus a lengthy ride through the city. this is more tricky than you might think, as the streets are cobbled and rough, and you are vying for space with other bikes, scooters, cars, trucks, and apparently thousands of children on school trips.
We climbed a tower that has trees growing on top. 220 steps to the top, and a great view. We ate lunch in a piazza that used to be a roman amphitheater. We got our dinner at a market and had a picnic on the top of the wall. A great day, and perfect weather. they are having unseasonably warm weather, but are predicting a cool down by this weekend.
Day 3 is our full day in Florence, and it started with a forced march to the Uffizi (art museum). There is no public transportation that makes sense in Florence, it all circles the city too far from destinations and you are left on your own to walk pretty much everywhere. I smartly got advance tickets, as the line was huge, even at 9 a.m. on a weekday in off season. the Uffizi is only #2 to the Louvre in Paris in world renown. Some really famous works of art in this museum. Got to have a bit of culture as Florence is the birthplace of the Renaissance, and a lot of the music, art, writing and architecture that set the stage for the world as we know it, began here.
We weren't so smart to figure out where to redeem our reservation for a ticket, and were chased all over the 2 adjoining buildings in search of the booth. finally, we are in the right (short) line with the ticket in hand. then we had to go through a search and seizure gauntlet like that of an airport. We learned that a crazy had smuggled in a hammer and smashed Michelangelo's David sculpture's toes a few years ago in a nearby museum, so they are taking no chances. We had to dump our water, and lost our water carrier. i forgot the map of the galleries and had to go back to the start. I think we were still jet lagged as it all began to feel like too much effort! but the museum and the building was beautiful. I was particularly struck by the 4 Rembrandt paintings, i was literally inches away from them. The rest of the day was occupied with an Ipod history walk, a visit to an old cathedral, the Duomo, Ponte Vecchio (13th century bridge that was the only one in Florence that the Nazi's spared) and lots of outdoor sculpture.
In the evening, we attended a concert of operatic arias performed in a cathedral. a nice cap on our culture extravaganza day. i will probably owe Chuck at least a week of race car travel for this day alone!
Day 4 - No doubt the most fun day so far. We took the train from Florence to Lucca, and borrowed bike provided for free by our hotel and rode the city walls and all over the city. Lucca is a medieval walled city, the fortress bulwarks date back to the 13th century. Actually, the Romans built the original ramparts, but they were rebuilt at least 2 times since the 1st century BC. everything is so ancient here, its hard to wrap one's head around it. The walls are so deep, there is a park around the top of them with a wide path. We did about 2.5 laps (4 km per lap). plus a lengthy ride through the city. this is more tricky than you might think, as the streets are cobbled and rough, and you are vying for space with other bikes, scooters, cars, trucks, and apparently thousands of children on school trips.
We climbed a tower that has trees growing on top. 220 steps to the top, and a great view. We ate lunch in a piazza that used to be a roman amphitheater. We got our dinner at a market and had a picnic on the top of the wall. A great day, and perfect weather. they are having unseasonably warm weather, but are predicting a cool down by this weekend.
A taste of Europe
Trip Highlights Day 1 to 2, April 15-16
Day 1 - Arrived in Zurich at 8:30 a.m. local time (2:30 a.m. Indiana time). Not much sleep, United flights do not compare to Air New Zealand! We got changed to a smaller plane, so no option for an open seat next to us. Plane was packed with grouchy people who lost their business class seats.
We quickly moved through the entry check without incident and then on to a train to Pontresina (after missing the train at the Zurich main station, which gave us time to buy lunch).
We spent the afternoon walking around Pontresina, a sweet little deserted town. Ski season is mostly over and summer season had not begun. Had a great dinner at the hotel, bratwurst and gnocchi, wild boar (tastes like roast beef), kraut and polenta. Yum. Did a stint in the sauna then off to bed for an actual full night's sleep.
Day 2 - We had a great Swiss breakfast (never saw an individual egg poaching machine before). Then got on the Bernina Express to Tirano, Italy. This is a 2 hour ride through the Alps, lots of snow, we climbed a long way above Pontresina altitude. the train track is an engineering marvel, and the scenery was spectacular. We got to know a nice couple from Australia on the ride. Ate our first meal in Tirano while waiting for our train to Florence. Met a couple from Texas there who ate lunch with us. Unfortunately the husband made the brilliant statement that, because he went to Italy with his wife, she agreed to go on a stock and drag race car vacation with him! Now Chuck has ideas.
The train from Milan to Florence was one of the high speed trains, reached speeds up to 180 mph. Everything flew by.
We found our hotel in Florence without incident, and after a typical Italian dinner, walked the city streets until past midnight. Beautiful warm night and the city is lovely at night.
Day 1 - Arrived in Zurich at 8:30 a.m. local time (2:30 a.m. Indiana time). Not much sleep, United flights do not compare to Air New Zealand! We got changed to a smaller plane, so no option for an open seat next to us. Plane was packed with grouchy people who lost their business class seats.
We quickly moved through the entry check without incident and then on to a train to Pontresina (after missing the train at the Zurich main station, which gave us time to buy lunch).
We spent the afternoon walking around Pontresina, a sweet little deserted town. Ski season is mostly over and summer season had not begun. Had a great dinner at the hotel, bratwurst and gnocchi, wild boar (tastes like roast beef), kraut and polenta. Yum. Did a stint in the sauna then off to bed for an actual full night's sleep.
Day 2 - We had a great Swiss breakfast (never saw an individual egg poaching machine before). Then got on the Bernina Express to Tirano, Italy. This is a 2 hour ride through the Alps, lots of snow, we climbed a long way above Pontresina altitude. the train track is an engineering marvel, and the scenery was spectacular. We got to know a nice couple from Australia on the ride. Ate our first meal in Tirano while waiting for our train to Florence. Met a couple from Texas there who ate lunch with us. Unfortunately the husband made the brilliant statement that, because he went to Italy with his wife, she agreed to go on a stock and drag race car vacation with him! Now Chuck has ideas.
The train from Milan to Florence was one of the high speed trains, reached speeds up to 180 mph. Everything flew by.
We found our hotel in Florence without incident, and after a typical Italian dinner, walked the city streets until past midnight. Beautiful warm night and the city is lovely at night.
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