France 2024 Travel Diary — Paul & Kayleen Thompson

Kayleen Thompson

16th July 2024

Paul and I both had a bad nights sleep so we had a late start to the morning. Had Coffee and brunch on our way to the Fort Canning Gardens. Walked to them and around them.

Caught the yellow bus to the Singapore Botanic Gardens where we shared a pizza (late) lunch before taking a walk about a portion of the garden … the rainforest and the smaller lake. Saw slender squirrels and a glimpse of the otters.

Got back on the bus for home, changed buses near Raffles Hotel to get to Chinatown and walked from there to the hotel.

Swim, laze and beers and wines by the pool in the cool breeze of evening…. THIS is how to ‘do Singapore’.

Having lazed a little long, we quickly showered and changed before scooting out for a quick Indian Dinner at a restaurant across the road. Then walked around to Marina Bay Sands to see the light and sound show.

Having walked all that way we had to take a look around the Marina Bay Sands shopping centre after the light show. Walked back to hotel.

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Kayleen Thompson

15th July 2024

We slept nearly 14 hours. A good nights sleep in a quiet (closed windows), dark (blinds) cool (air conditioned) room. Another day, another walk. This time it starts with the walk to coffee and breakfast at a cafe under our hotel building. Then on to the bus stop, for the tourist Hop On Hop Off bus, which was along the street for a block or so and round the corner. We do all of the ‘red’ tour and go around again to stop at the Gardens by the Bay. We spent a couple of hours in the garden, saw little squirrels and a sign about otters. Had a coffee stop. Then dashed to a bus for the ‘yellow’ tour, getting off at Raffles hotel. I (Kay) had a drink (possibly tea?) at Raffles foyer bar, The Long Bar, back in 1982. I wanted to take Paul for a drink there so we had a (happy hour) Cocktail and a coke in the new gardens area between the old original and newer Raffles buildings. And had a look into The Long Bar in its new location in the newer section. We don’t have the Michael Jackson budget for a special celebration or stay here but we managed a cocktail and coke. Booking.com says $2000 plus per room per night. MJ stayed there for his 35th birthday apparently. Cocktail special was about $15 and a small can of coke, $12.

We walked back to the hotel from Raffles, discovering the Singapore Merlion Fountain and views of Marina Bay Sands from the Jubilee bridge.

Showered and went out to dinner at the famous and long established Lau Pa Sat food markets just along our street a bit … as suggested by our taxi driver from the airport.

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Kayleen Thompson

13th July 2024

Today we leave France- Day 89.

We were at the hotel buffet breakfast by 6.30 and on our Shuttle to the airport at 7.30. And at airport by 8am. The usual processing had us through to the gate by 9.30. Time to relax. The plane is on time at 11.50am.

We travel to Singapore via Dubai, with a run between flights at Dubai. Dubai is a large airport and we didn’t know how far we had to go between gates in the hour between flights. Thankfully not too far and we made it before the first boarding calls for our second flight.

We travelled (total) time of 14 hours but went back in time by 6 hours.. Arrived in Singapore 8.30 am on the 14th July.

Pics: Christian Dior Shop Window at the Paris Airport.

View of part of the port from our hotel window in Singapore.

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Kayleen Thompson

11th July 2024

An early start. We woke to rain. Thankfully it had almost stopped by the time we took our half hour walk to the tour bus. We took a full day tour of the Alsace region including stops at a castle and 3 cities. We drove through others and saw a lot of grape vines and wineries. In Colmar, the Little (tourist) train tour was also included. It showered off and on through out the day… not a bad day to be on a bus.

Returned to Strasbourg at 7.30 pm so we found a place for dinner, Au Quai De L’ill restaurant, took a meander window shopping, to the Cathedral to see the Light Show, on the way back to the apartment.

Goodnight! Still so hot and humid! At least the third floor allowed us to have all windows open.

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Kayleen Thompson

9th July 2024

Slow morning with breakfast and coffee in the apartment. No hurry as we have 3 full days in Strasbourg, And days last till 10 or 11 pm.

Walk to the tourist office, taking in sights along the way. After leaving the tourist office we booked a boat tour for later today, then jumped on the tourist train for a tour of a part of Strasburg that includes Little France.

Once we were on foot again, we walked back through the areas that the train had introduced, to experience them at our own pace.

Late morning tea instead of lunch today. Had to try Kougelhopf…. A brioche bun in a different shape than a raisin brioche.

Meandering and walking amongst the old streets and buildings and along the river was hot work so a cool drink stop was required. It was still quite hot when we took the river boat cruise at 5.15 pm.

So, straight to Predinner drinks at happy hour. Then walked on to dinner at Au Pont St Martin restaurant for a taste of local dishes: Strasbourg sausages and a choucroute (sauerkraut) and meats dish.

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Kayleen Thompson

8th July 2024

Another travel day. Lyon to Strasbourg.

We left the hotel for breakfast: across the road to a Westfield shopping centre and found a Starbucks. We received notification that our train was delayed by 2 hours and 20 minutes so we went back to the hotel and relaxed in our room for a while… glad for the noon check out time. Then we left our room, left our bags for supervision at the hotel, and went back to the Westfield for a sit down lunch. Back at the hotel we relaxed in their comfy lobby for a while before going to the train station (less than 5 minutes away as it’s right next door).

The train left at 2 pm and we arrived at Strasbourg at 6.15 pm. Went straight to our apartment (15min walk) for a quick inspection and to drop bags. It’s third floor again… 60 stairs.

Then it was time to walk the neighbourhood, as we do. We found a place for dinner at the Tonneau restaurant and bought Brekky food on the way back to the unit.

Pics show the first peaks of Strasbourg.

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Kayleen Thompson

7th July 2024

It was a travel day so we had breakfast and packed up in no hurry. We left the apartment and walked through the markets to coffee. We have found a cafe latte on the menu of a good coffee shop. It was Sunday market day in Annecy. They have 3 market days in Annecy each week - Tuesday, Friday and Sunday. Most villages have at least one market day per week.

Then we wandered off to the park to sit for a while before having lunch at d’Abbeye restaurant - just a light salad. It was only a ten minute walk to the station for our train to Lyon. We train out to Strasbourg tomorrow so we are staying in a hotel close to the station but scurried straight out after checking in catch a bus.. we were out to find the Amphitheatre of the Three Gauls. It’s the remnants of an amphitheatre built in 19AD.

Its backstory can be found here: https://www.historyhit.com/.../amphitheatre-of-the-three.../

Unfortunately it was fenced off so we couldn’t walk amongst the ruins of this site.

We meandered back to the hotel via drinks at La Boston Trattoria in the Terreaux square with its magnificent statue- fountain Bartholdi and surrounding Museum of Fine Arts and city hall buildings, streets, malls, river bank and pizza dinner at a very popular restaurant, the La Scala Siciliana.

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Kayleen Thompson

5th July 2024

Well today was a pretty simple day. Just a ride around the lake.

…38 kms!

Then we rode some more, about another 8 km.

We hired electric bikes but the ride was pretty flat all around the lake on bitumen or concrete dedicated bicycle paths (apart from one short section on quiet roads through a village). We each had a swim at different parts and enjoyed lunch at the Pontoon Bistro, and a beer further on. Stopped often to admire the views and watch the paragliders. There were so many enjoying the beautiful day and gliding gracefully around the mountains.

Once back to the starting point we started the lake circuit again till we found an ice cream van for a last treat before returning the bikes.

Checked the bikes back in before 5pm and went back to the apartment for a relax before a drink, then dinner.

Dinner at the same restaurant as last night, La Bastille à Raoul, for a light salad dinner. Hahaha, even a salad can be too much! Neither of us finished these (giant) salad bowls. So we walked some more.

Should mention that we woke to ‘market day’ with the street view from our window being a sea of canvas stalls. (Set up started at about 6am).

Then tonight there were Euros quarter final soccer matches broadcast on screens in the bars, some of which were in our street. First is was Spain’s match which finished while we were having (our French, late, dinner). After dinner it was Portugal vs France, projecting France into the semi finals against Spain. The match went into overtime and a shootout, for France to win 5-3. The match finished at midnight and the celebrations continued.

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Kayleen Thompson

4th July 2024

This morning we took the tour bus for a one hour tour about Annecy. The bus stopped to allow us a look into the Basilica. That saved us a walk later!

We returned to the apartment for coffee and a call with Ben and Joce.

Then out again, bought a baguette sandwich to eat in the park. An elderly gentleman joined us on our bench seat and chatted to us in French… our challenge for the day, but a wonderful quiet relaxed place and way to practice our French.

We continued around the lake to a popular swimming area before turning back to the apartment. Kay had a snooze before we went to the Palais de l’Ile museum. Originally a prison (12th ,century), it has also been a mint (14th century), a courthouse (16th century), administrative offices (18th century), an old people’s home (19th century), held prisoners and suspects (early twentieth century) and now a museum.

We also checked out some bike hire for tomorrow. Home for relax before dinner at La Bastille à Raoul. And an extended walk back to the apartment.

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Kayleen Thompson

3rd July 2024

Packed up, went out to find coffee, found awful coffee at a burger bar because not a lot was open yet. Returned to apartment to meet owners, Steve and Bridget, before leaving.

Bussed to Lyon Part Dieux Train Station for 12.08pm train to Annecy. Two hours later we disembarked and dawdled our way to our accommodation as our emailed instructions said we couldn’t access the apartment till 5 pm. We were not getting responses to our requests and notifications so we tried the code instructions and they worked. We were in a little after 4 pm.

Dropped bags and wandered Annecy. Annecy is regarded as one of the prettiest villages in France and came recommended by a friend of Kay’s. It is close to Geneva and the Swiss border, has a lake (amongst the largest in Europe) and the Thiou river (the shortest in Europe) runs through it.

And it’s close to ski fields.

We are in the midst of the old village. In a very modernly outfitted apartment in an old building. Though old, the area is vibrant with restaurants and shops and people, both local and tourists.

We walked up stairs under our building to see the front of the castle fortress which rises behind us. We can see one of its spires from our shower. Like all castles here, it has layers of history. It was built in the 12th to 16th centuries when it served as the residence of the Counts of Geneva and the Dukes of Genevois-Nemours.

We also peaked inside the Notre Dame de Liesse church.

After dinner at the restaurant, Le Zinc à Raoul (across the street from our apartment building entrance), we meandered some more and caught the sunset.

These are all photos of Annecy. Unfortunately the overcast day made them a little dull.

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Kayleen Thompson

2nd July 2024

A slow morning. Paul makes coffee in the apartment.

Walked past some of the shops we found last night to see if they are open and take a peak at the silk and silk velvet stores.

Then walk across both rivers and along the river Rhône to reach the Parc de la Tete d’Or (Golden Head Park). Noted another electric fence, a security fence this time.

We ate our picnic lunch (French baguette sandwiches) overlooking the park’s lake.

Then walked again, via a coffee stop, tried a clafoutis (cake), back to the River Saône to take a river cruise.

Home to relax with a late afternoon tea, including a croquant slice before dinner at

Les Pampres Rouges (our third choice after our 2 preferences were both closed). Kayleen tried peach Kir as an aperitif.

Too many things to try… too little time !

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Kayleen Thompson

1st July 2024

We bought Brekky food yesterday, so we can do our own breakfasts in the apartment while we are here.

We are in midst of the old town of Lyon so to leave the apartment in any direction is a treat.

In our meanderings today:

. We had morning coffee at Le Palais Saint Jean cafe.

. We bought baguettes for lunch.

. Caught the Funicular to the Notre Dame de Fourviere, the Basilica of Lyon, dedicated to Mary who is acknowledged as saving Lyon from many catastrophes. Noted the ‘short’ on the electric fence that is to keep pigeons off the building.

. Entered the Basilica. Built in the 1800s, it’s not especially old, but very ornate, eclectic style. The wall murals are mosaics.

Called the upside elephant because of its 4 towers (feet of the elephant).

. Walked on to the Roman Theatre ruins, where we ate our lunch. We are glad we saw it last time we’re in Lyon because the Roman stage area was covered with a huge modern temporary stage this time.

. Meandered down the hill via sloping streets and stairs to the Saône river.

. Crossed the river to walk to the Bellcour square, a large red gravel square, where we had a cool drink. It was warm today.

. Wandered about the streets around the Bellcour. Some (since last visit) are now closed to traffic creating large malls.

. Ate an Haagen Dazs ice cream.

. Caught a bus to the point where the two rivers (Rhône and Saône) meet. It was an old port area but now a convention centre, The Confluence has been built there.

. Caught the bus back to Bellcour.

. Walked back across the bridges to our neighbourhood.

. Relaxed a little before dinner - at L’Authentik, a restaurant in our little square, Place du Change.

. And one more walk, randomly left and right about the neighbourhood.

. Researched Guignol.

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Kayleen Thompson

28th June 2024

We have 2pm check out from the hotel which is when our next French hosts (friends) will collect us.

In the morning, we went out to breakfast (at Waffle Cafe) and to see some sites of Clermont-Ferrand - the Cathedral, the Basilica, Jaude shopping district and square, and the park on the way back to the hotel.

The black stone used for the buildings is volcanic stone.

Our friends took us to visit the Puy De Dome. It is an old volcano and a high look out spot.

A short train takes people the last few kilometres to near the top. By the time we got to this point it had started to rain so we had drinks at the cafe, hoping for the storm to pass. But the weather did not clear, so we did not walk to the ruins or see the view of Clermont Ferrand and its countryside.

So what we didn’t get to see was (the reconstruction of) a temple dedicated to Mercury that was built on the summit by The Gallo-Romans in the 1st or 2nd century. It was abandoned around the 3rd or 4th century and rediscovered in 1872 during the construction of an atmospheric observatory.

We filled in time with a stop at a pub for a beer before visiting with the family of our friends. A chat and a drink, then we all went to a restaurant for dinner.

Then to the village and the home of our friends.

The pics are of Clermont Ferrand

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Kayleen Thompson

24th June 2024

A slow start, a local coffee, calls with family.

Paul worked out how to buy tickets for the local trams and we caught one to the tourist bureau. Bought sandwiches for lunch and ate them on the steps of the theatre, then bought our tickets for the tourist bus tour. This 70 minute tour introduced us to some history of Bordeaux and key city icons.

The tour included a sample of the Bordeaux food icon, the Canelés, a little cake with a caramelised outer and soft centre with vanilla and rum flavours.

We spent the afternoon revisiting a couple of icons we saw from the bus. Including the:

. Front of the Rohan Palace, now the city hall

. Cathedral St Andre and it’s tower- the towers are built separately to the cathedrals because the land was too unstable (previously marshlands)

. Botanical gardens (across the river by tram),

. Piere bridge - built on Napoleon’s orders.

. Gross Cloche (the big bell). A former

gate to the city in the 13th century. The bell is 14 feet tall and made in England in 1775.

The temp has increased, partly because we have moved south again. It is definitely summer now! 30 degrees here.

After a refreshing shower we walked back to the Rohan square that we had noted would be a nice place for dinner. Ate at Le Cafe Français (The French Cafe).

Kay’s beef tornadoes was, by far, the easiest best beef she had had in France. We had seen the coffee gourmand dessert (4 little desserts with coffee) served at another restaurant and thought it would be small enough to have one each… haha… the ´little desserts’ were much larger here plus the coffee came with a canelés plus Kay’s Calvados came with a canelés. Dessert overload! We managed! Kay had been wanting to try Calvados (an apple brandy) had missed doing so in Normandy where it originated.

Caught more pics of the Cathedral St Andre and the bell tower in the setting sun. Slow walk home by different streets.

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Kayleen Thompson

21st June 2024

After breakfast and leaving hotel, we had a walk around the Deauville markets.

Then tackle the road for a drive to somewhere. We stop in Villers sur Mer for a look at their dinosaur. Apparently one has been found near there. It’s market day so we take a wonder and sit over a coffee, to take in the atmosphere.

We put Flers in as the destination as somewhere to stop for late lunch. The route took us through quite a number of little villages, farmland and past abandoned town and country buildings. Sad to see.

From Flers we booked a hotel at Laval. But on the way we took a very minor detour to stop by the gate of tick and Angel’s Chateau de Motte Husson. Paul says ‘What? Who?’ It looks just as cute in real life as on the tele. I wished I’d booked a visit now.

We were in for a surprise at Laval. The summer music festival is on tonight. We got to the hotel in time for the streets in the area to be closed off from traffic. We took a little walk to the river and found The Three Little Pigs restaurant for dinner. Bands and musicians on every corner and mid street were setting up and things got under way about 9 pm. There was a couple of singers with good sound systems and backing tracks on the street at the restaurant next door to our hotel… kept us entertained till almost midnight. With the double set of double glazed windows and the roller shutter down, there was mellowed music but no crowd noise so it was possible to sleep.

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Kayleen Thompson

20th June 2024

A lazy morning, breakfast and time in our room. The a walk past the harbour and to the beach. Hundreds of beach (storage) huts line the beach front, each given the name of a film star.

Paused for a cool drink at one of the beach bars/restaurants. They have their deck chairs out on the vast expanse of sand on this beach - preparing for summer.

We bought a boulangerie lunch but ate at our hotel room.

Then took a drive to Honfleur for a coffee and a wander about its pretty little old harbour and old town streets. It was also Honfleur’s market day. See separate post for pics of Honfleur.

We tried to drive across the bridge over the Seine river near here but there were deviations in place so we found a place along the bank of the Seine where we could view the bridge, and Havre port. See separate post for pics of bridge.

Back at Deauville we took dinner at the very nice Hibouville Cafe (we would call it a restaurant). Then another walk to the beach to watch the sun go down on Deauville.

Most of these pics are Deauville.

There is quite a different ‘look’ to the buildings in this area - Normandy style.

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Kayleen Thompson

19th June 2024

On the way back to the hotel last night we bought bananas and the most amazing flavoured Spanish, flat shaped, peaches and yogurt for this morning’s breakfast. We walked to the Christian Dior museum because we had time. We were there right on opening time. Paul relaxed in the garden while Kay ventured in. The house was lived in by Christian Dior until he was 6, but his memories of the house and the inspiration it and its garden and seaside setting provided is quoted through the house (and his book).

Coffee and cake on the way back to the car. The cafe, Dame Gourmande, is mentionable because they served a latte (Aus style) and a most delicious carrot cake (they used the word ‘cake’).

Next stop: Bayeux to see the Bayeux tapestry. Taking pictures of the tapestry is strongly discouraged. The Bayeux Tapestry is an embroidered cloth nearly 70 metres long and 50 centimetres tall that depicts the events leading up to the Norman Conquest of England in 1066, led by William, Duke of Normandy challenging Harold II, King of England, and culminating in the Battle of Hastings. It is believed to have been created within a few years of the battle. Fascinating story/history. You can apparently view the tapestry in detail online. Look up Bayeux Tapestry Museum.

Then we travelled on, through some pretty coastal villages on our way to Deauville, a seaside town that hosts the annual American Film Festival. It is a popular seaside spot for Parisians.

We are staying at The Chantilly Hotel for two nights. Quaint, old rooms, a bath tub in ours. Breakfast included.

Took a walk about the nearby streets before dinner at The Yacht Crêperie.

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Kayleen Thompson

18th June 2024

A coffee at the local cafe before packing up and leaving the hotel. A drizzly morning, but it stays dry once we get to Mont Saint-Michel.

We passed a working windmill (making flour) on our way from Pontorson to Mont Saint-Michel. Silly of me not to have taken a video. We first saw Mont Saint-Michel from the windmill site. Wow! It is as spectacular as we have seen it in the brochures. An abbey and township built on a rock island, just off the coast of an area where flat salt marshes extend along the coast.

Again, so much history here in one little village… I encourage you to look up history Mont Saint Michel.

The car parks are a couple of kms from the island but shuttle buses carry people to the site.

We wound our way as directly as we could via lanes and stairs to the Abbey for our timed access at 11am and collected our audio guides. Once inside you can take as long as you want.

Once out of the Abbey, we found a restaurant, Les Terrasses De La Baie, for steak lunch.

Kay tried some Normandy cider (one of Normandy’s famous four Cs, cider, calvados, Camembert and cream). There are probably many different brands, but this anonymous one was fine.

After wandering around the little old town that shares the island with the Abbey, we caught a shuttle bus back to the car park.

We are glad to be here in the shoulder season. The town was crowded enough as it was and we had to wait in line about 15 minutes at each end for a bus.

We drove on to Granville as a bed/stopover place for the night. But Kay discovered that there is a Christian Dior Museum here …. Mmm.

We took a walk about the harbour, found the beach and a coffee stop that had a warm and comfy place to sit and cakes and chocolates to admire.

We bought a simple dinner from a boulangerie, then some fruit and yoghurt from a mini supermarket to take back to the hotel. Our hotel, Au Bout Du Quai (At the end of the Quay) is a quaint house with basic and clean modern rooms.

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Kayleen Thompson

15th June 2024

Today we began our journey along The Pink Granite coast. Unfortunately the weather was cold and windy with occasional drizzle so we were not tempted to take many or long beach or pathway walks that were recommended to us.

But we did stop at various places for photos and short walks where weather allowed

We sheltered in a little hamburger cafe for lunch.

It is obviously a beautiful area of coastline, the colour of the stones and sea enhanced by the sunshine which, fortunately, we did get to see a little.

Our stay over for the night is in the Aigue Marine hotel at Tréguier. Another pretty riverside village that we wandered about and had to wait (and wander some more) for a table at the L’Bistro d’Ernest. Here I tried another local dessert, the kouign amann (a pastry swirl baked? in a caramel sauce so it has an almost crackly caramel on the base).

Update:

Ahem: I lied! I tried the Trou Breton here. It was a lemon sorbet doused with a breton alcohol. Woah!

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Kayleen Thompson

14th June 2024

Today we left ´P’ and ´A’. We packed up and cleaned our room then Relaxed with a cuppa and a chat before having an early lunch.

We have learned about work aways (work stays) and see pros and cons. In our goal to ‘experience France’ we experienced something of life in a small country village, learned about French systems (tax/political/health/etc) especially as relate to Brits living in France. It was easy having English hosts who are very experienced work away hosts but it would have been much more valuable for our French experience if they were french speaking (with us).

First stop: Pontivy for coffee.

Then to Lannion. We took a walk, had a coffee and admired buildings including 2 churches. We climbed ??? (100plus) stairs to Brelevenez

Church of Saint Trinity. Though the sun had been out we were caught in a quick rain shower and sheltered in a doorway of the church.

All of the pictures are in Lannion.

At our accommodation our anxious-to-please host suggested a place for dinner. I tried the tripe specialty of Britanny. Initially it is ok but with an after taste so no, not again

It has been a cold day with a top of 14 degrees. We are heading to the beach

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Kayleen Thompson

13th June 2024

‘P’ has insisted on a day off. She thought we worked too many hours last week. It is a rainy day too and they don’t have the materials for some of the other projects like shed doors and gate.

The Valley of the Saints had been recommended as a site to see so off we went. We stopped at Pontivy for coffee (and beignets) and to buy sandwiches for lunch.

We also bought wine and champagne for tonight’s dinner. We have been in France for 8 weeks and haven’t had champagne yet (I know - unforgivable!).

It started to rain a little before we got to the Valley of the Saints - a paddock plus of huge, 2-3 metre high, (mostly) granite statues of Saints. Various artists have created them over the last few decades. It is an out door art gallery of statues. So, with rain coats on we braved the cold and sprinkling rain to wander the wet paddock.

When we had had enough we retreated to the warmth of a dry car and ate our sandwiches. Sandwiches in France are made with baguettes. Crusty, fresh and yum.

We drove on to Bon Repos Abbey. Took temporary relief from the miserable day with coffee overlooking a Monet-like scene (water and walk bridge) at a nearby cafe then crossed the stone traffic bridge over the Blavet river to visit the Abbey. We paid to enter thinking we would be under roof but most of the remains are without roof. Still, interesting.

Next stop was to see a portion of Lake Guerledan at a place called Caurel. On a nicer day we could have taken a walk but we drove by, paused for a look, took a quick pic and drove on.

As we passed through Corley we stopped to photograph remnants of fortress wall and towers.

Home about 6pm. We went out to dinner - to the home of the couple who came to dinner two days ago. ‘I’ loves to cook and he prepared a wonderful dinner.

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Kayleen Thompson

12th June 2024

Kay did a final sanding of the mirror stand and applied the stain. Then wiped down the deck furniture.

Paul put a third coat on the deck (may as well use the rest of the can of paint). After lunch we were back to the garden, raking and shovelling up the camellia flowers that have dropped (and hopefully finished dropping), and weeding a small section of garden that we can access now that a couple of large containers have been moved.

All is looking much neater and tidier now.

Kay added the second coat of stain before finishing up for the day.

We cleaned up and took a walk around the village. These pictures were taken on the walk. Note the date in the third pic. The pub was opening as we passed by so took a rest on the seats (basically) on the street for an hour and had a coffee. Should have taken a pic of the pub.

Sausages for dinner… Pontivy sausages are the most amazing tasting sausages - not fatty, mild herb flavours but so delicious.

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Kayleen Thompson

11th June 2024

Kay scraped and sanded 3 window sills of the house.

Paul put the second coat of paint/oil on the deck.

The garden is looking great in the sunshine.

After lunch Kay scored a furniture restoration job - sanding the mirror support for an old set of drawers. (‘P’ has a very old varnished chest of drawers with a mirror held in a mirror frame on top. The drawers had been restored already).

We did a bit of planning for the next stages of travel.

Visitors (another English couple in the village) came to dinner and we played a game before dinner, something like scattergories.

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Kayleen Thompson

10th June 2024

Our morning routine at the work stay has been pretty consistent

Alarm goes off at 8 am

We get up by 8.30 am

Breakfast at 8.45 am

Chat over breakfast and cuppa

Out to work between 9.30 and 10 am

Then lunch is about 12.30 pm

Afternoons have varied depending on how much time we take over lunch and what time we need to make up for time out but we try to get Back out to work at 1.30 or 2pm

‘P ‘ calls a Stop Work at 3 or 3.30.

Today there was a threat of rain so no deck painting. We weeded in the garden again. Paul deals with some nettles and old berry brambles.

After lunch Kay helped ‘P’ do an hours of tidying in the shed. Paul and ‘A’ emptied the trailer at the tip.

Paul and I took a drive into Pontivy for a walk and coffee, and put fuel in the car.

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Kayleen Thompson

8th June 2024

‘J’ and ‘S’ take us to Rochefort-En-Terre. We park a distance away (near the prehistoric theme park) and take a forest walk to the village. The few people that live there retain the village look of yesteryear so vehicles are kept out of sight . There is a medieval (12th century) castle, altered over the years and abandoned at some point , it was bought in 1903 and renovated by an artist Alfred Klots, then inherited by his son before being donated to the French government .

We stopped for a coffee before making our way back to the car. We saw evidence of the abundance of slate in this area. In the 1800s, many of the villagers would have worked in slate mines.

We drove on to a restaurant that was by the roadside and riverside (L’Oust river), seemingly in the middle of nowhere. Many cyclists and hikers travel along the river at this point. It is possible to ride/walk from Nantes to Brest along this pathway.

It was once possible to take a canal boat along rivers from Nantes to Brest but a dam now interrupts this.

After lunch we drove on to La Gacilly to see the open air photo festival which turns the whole town into an art galley. It is not formally open till next weekend so the display was incomplete. Still, there was plenty to see and we didn’t see it all. This year features Australian photographers.

‘S’ and I also stepped into the Ives Rocher (makeup and perfume) museum.

https://www.all-about-photo.com/.../festival-la-gacilly...

Back to ‘home’ for barbecue dinner, wine, desserts, cheese, chatter…

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Kayleen Thompson

7th June 2024

We work for about and hour and a half weeding in the garden.

Then we are off for the weekend, heading to Malansac to stay with family friends who have invited us to visit.

First stop is Josselin for lunch at a restaurant that overlooks the Oust (West) River and the Josselin Castle. … quite picturesque!

Restaurants usually offer a Formula menu in addition to the a la carte menu. A special price for 3 or 2 courses with limited options for both. We chose a 3 course meal. I couldn’t resist taking pics. Guinea fowl is a menu option we see regularly.

We took a walk around Josselin and had a coffee. Bought wine from a ‘cave’ to take to our weekend hosts. A cave is a bottle shop but they are a little more sophisticated. They often have a few tables and chairs so I guess you can sit for a drink or tastings. I relied on the proprietor for recommendations, decided on both a red (Pinot Noir) and a white.

Next stop: Malestroit for a wander. Old town and church and river . Bought biscuits from a biscuiterie for our weekend.

Arrived at our family friends at Malansac about 5pm. ‘J’ is an Aussie and ‘S’ is French but they usually speak English at home . Our French doesn’t get much practice here either. They both enjoy exploring new places and hiking and riding. We enjoyed a wonderful social evening and hearing more about life in France.

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Kayleen Thompson

6th June 2024

Today ended up being a fine day but there had been a shower overnight. Too risky for the second coat of oil on the deck. So a full day in the garden. We will be stealing off early on Friday (tomorrow) so do extra hours today (total of 7 hours today). The trailer is filling with weeds.

The temperature is so pleasant to be working in the garden. … All day… as it is not hot in the middle of the day, not humid. Max is about 20 degrees. When we start in the morning it is about 14 degrees.

We take another walk about the village before dinner.

Fields of barley or wheat surround the village. The flowers here are amazing : roses and geraniums are full of blooms. There are others, in gardens and growing wild, that I don’t know the names of.

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11

Kayleen Thompson

5th June 2024

This morning we attended a French conversation group morning tea with ‘A’. It is held in a nearby village called Josselin. In an upstairs room of a little cafe/bar. We are still to work out the differences between cafes, bars, bistros, taverns, brasseries, crêperies and restaurants. Sometimes places advertise being a mixture of multiple but the rules for what they offer and when is not consistent.

Nine people were present for the conversation: 7 English speakers including 3 Australians, and 2 native French speakers.

Unfortunately much of the conversation was in English. We must come back to explore Josselin.

Conversation included the topic of the Olympic flame that will be coming through Josselin tomorrow. 2 of the group were volunteers at checkpoints/crowd control.

The afternoon was spent in the garden. Weeding and, after ‘A’ got some more decking paint, Paul completed the first coat on the deck.

Pictures:

Buildings and streets of Josselin

The cafe/bar’s Meeting Room and resident cat and tardis toilet.

Buildings and streets of Josselin

Joys of the garden.

A pic of Pontivy’s decorated square.

Tow truck shenanigans

We offered to take ‘A’ out to dinner. So ‘A’ booked a restaurant and offered to drive us in to Pontivy.

Parking was limited by ‘No parking - tow zone’ signs along some central streets because of preparations for the Olympic Flame that was visiting the next day.

We drove past the last of the signs and agreed that we should be ok to park where we did

We had a lovely meal and extended chat at the Mantray restaurant before walking back to the car …. That wasn’t where we left it.

A couple of girls, living near, chatted with ‘A’ and offered to drop us to the Municipale Police Station… Sadly, frustratingly, it was closed and the phone number was not answered.

We walked back to the main street where multiple tow trucks were collecting cars and managed to flag down a tow truck driver to ask where the cars were being taken and to get a phone number to call. The car could be collected before midnight today or tomorrow. So we needed a taxi. Taxis were not operating in this tiny town of Pontivy on a Wed night. Time to ‘call a friend’ who collected us and took us (to another village) to the tow truck yard.

Home around midnight. Not quite the entertainment we expected for a dinner out.

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Kayleen Thompson

4th June 2024

A gardening day of light weeding for Kay, at our home stay. Paul went with ‘A’ to the tip to empty a trailer of garden waste. Then Paul got busy with pressure cleaning a deck (in preparation for painting). Paul joins Kay in the garden after lunch.

We took a long chatty lunch too.

No cooking for us. ‘A’ presents and prepares breakfast, lunch and dinner.

We took a short walk about the village in the evening. A test for Kay’s ankle - it coped well.

The house is directly across the road from a church. The bells ring every half hour. They start at 6.30 with a 2 minute chiming session. From the days before alarm clocks I assume, they wake the village to the day. Despite the double glazed windows and thick stone walls of the house, we still heard them.

At 7 they chime the hour with 7 bells. The number of the hour is the number of bells. And the bells continue till 10 pm.

Each half hour is 2 bells but the first bell is a higher tone than the second.

At 12.05 there is a little sequence to start followed by 100 chimes… Lunch time!

Lunch is provided for the students in France and the school children file, chattering as they go, past our house to the local village canteen.

The garden is surrounded by a tall hedge so we don’t see them unless we are near the gate.

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Kayleen Thompson

2nd June 2024

A rest day. Especially for Kay’s ankle. We did walk/hobble from the apartment to the beach area for late breakfast, so late 11.05) that breakfast menu was over so it was coffee and a choc pastry. We sat there in the sunshine till lunch time (12noon) and ordered a light lunch.

We hobbled a little further to a park bench to catch up on Facebook posts and relax and read and watch the Benodet beach life of holidayers and locals. We sat on the beach for a while. Paul had a dip in the Atlantic. The water is 15 degrees C. The day got to 21.

When the restaurant, La Pause, across the street opened at 7 pm we were there, ready for dinner. Then a hobble back to the apartment.

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Kayleen Thompson

1st June 2024

We partake of the hotel breakfast. Pack up and leave.

Bénodet is the goal. Kay is still limping, so activity outside the car will be limited today. We exited Pénestin via a coastal route. The country drive is a mix of highway and by ways and is very different from the south of France. More forest, no mountains, less rugged looking. First stop, lunch stop, is at Quiberon, a 9 mile long peninsula. The walk from the car is about a kilometre but we wanted the beach view. Paul went back to the car to do a drive-by pick up of Kay, only to find the road direct to her, the road he had just walked and checked was navigable, was being closed by police. Paul without a navigator in the small winding old town streets = not a happy Paul.

We drive the sauvage west coast of Qiiberon where swimming is forbidden (apparently) but surfing is not. Today’s sea was so calm it’s hard to imagine how rough it could be.

Next stop was Carnac to see the Carnac stones. The little tourist train left from the the info centre for the stones and provided a tour of the town, the harbour of Trinité de la Mer, three sites of the Carnac stones, and no strain on Kay’s leg.

Next stop: Plouhinec for coffee at La Cambuse pub overlooking a church. We created an extra scene by setting off the car alarm. People admire the (rental) car wherever we go . It must be a new model. It is a lovely teal colour.

Much of the drive now is back on the highway (N165). The drive through La Forêt Fouesnant was lovely as we drove into Benodet. It’s a pity we will be unable to take a walk there.

We find a dinner spot at La Pause restaurant and try a dessert called the Traditional Breton (a firm biscuit like slice). The dessert at Pénestin must have been a Far Breton.

Our accommodation is a second story apartment with a ladder down to bedroom. Paul is sacking Kay as the booker of accommodation. Is there anywhere to stay without stairs?

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2

Kayleen Thompson

31st May 2024

Breakfast at the hotel. L’Ancre d’Or.

Similar to the last. The standard croissant, bread roll, butter, jam, juice, coffee plus choice of additional yoghurt, fruit and cheese.

Some planning time was spent in our room bedore a beach walk. The beach where we are staying is the plage de la Mine d’Or (beach of the gold mine). There was a gold mine here in the 19th century. But it features golden coloured cliffs too ( like Redcliffe’s red cliffs at home) that have erosion problems.

We came up from the beach further along the coast to walk home via Pénestin village. Found a little cafe, Le Bateau Livre (the Book Boat), seemingly in the middle of nowhere and decided to take lunch there. They offered a cheap simple ‘menu of the day’, a choice of only two main meals so we had one of each - a lentil curry and a pork ribs. Delicious. We ate on the verandah admiring the old restored and unrestored buildings around. All eating places offer outdoor seating options. Who would eat indoors in France? - very few.

Walked on through the village and via roads, and a coffee at Mam Gwen, past the hotel to the path that took us the in the other direction above the beach. Then back to the hotel. Kay seems to have strained an achilles tendon from walking on the sand and hobbled to pre dinner drinks at Mam Gwen and dinner at Brasserie la Mine d’Or restaurant.

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Kayleen Thompson

30th May 2024

Breakfast at the motel. Sun was shining between clouds so we took a short walk past the Angers Castle for a Quick Look at the river. Then back to our room to finish packing and check out.

Train station had been evacuated but we got in before our train to Nantes came. Quite a few small crop farms as we went along. And cow and still a little bit of wheat.

At Nantes we had a baguette lunch before picking up our hire car.

Drove about an hour to Pornic where a very heavy rain shower greeted us. Walked from the castle to the harbour for a coffee.

Then took a photo stop at one of the Pornic beaches.

On through the Briere Park, an area of marshes, to Pénestin where we checked into our room, took a beach walk, relaxed, walked to dinner.

Our room is like a family home that has added ensuites and patio to every bedroom. Immaculate!

It’s still shoulder season and not really warm enough for the beach yet, so not too busy here. The family restaurant, La Plage Dorée, where we had dinner was just the husband and wife with one helper (daughter maybe). The portions were huge and desserts were home made.

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1

Kayleen Thompson

28th May 2024

An interesting turn of events for us today. We were to be travelling Paris to Nantes.

We found ourselves without accommodation in Nantes. We have booked places for Nantes through Airbnb - twice! One didn’t respond within the 24hour window for a response. The second took almost as long to apologise and say that they were not able to accommodate us. It seems Airbnb can take multiple booking at once?? Or people are advertising when they really don’t have the rooms available.

Anyway, accommodation in Nantes is nonexistent (not sure why). So, we decided to check accommodation in places before Nantes. We can get off our train early. We find a Hotel room at Angers - Yay! All this panicking was happening while we waited for the clothes dryer to dry the bed sheets at our Paris home stay.

We can leave Paris with a bed to go to - and made our way to the local train station and to the Paris Montparnasse Train Station where we paused for lunch and coffee.

At 1.20pm we boarded a fast train for Angers (Anjou). The train passed through Le Mans and wheat growing areas, then cattle areas closer to Angers.

It was a short walk to our hotel from the station where the welcome was homely, fresh and helpful. It was categorised as two star hotel but it is delightful. It may not have coffee making facilities or air con in the rooms but the room is very comfortable (with more space than some we’ve stayed in), freshly refurbed, very clean.

We unload and take a walk. Right across the street is a castle/fortress - Chateau D’Angers on the Maine River. The site was first built on in 900’s (10th century). Then added to or built over, especially in the 14th Century and again in 15th Century. Amazing stories - it has been inhabited by counts, dukes and armies. The church has held prisoners of war. The tower has held a prisoner who was being escorted by d’Artangnon (of the 3 musketeers) - they stayed at the castle for 3 months in 1661.

The fortress has never been breached.

Again, the brief history of the castle sending us to Wikipedia and local info websites for more details.

Also interesting is the display and story of the tapestry of The Apocalypse. Commissioned in 1375 by Duke Louis 1, it took 7 years to make (which was record speed given its size) and a collection of 6 woollen tapestries of 6 metres high by 23 metres long, each of these having 15 scenes.

Off you go… take a look at Wikipedia.

The attendant here asked us to do a survey at the end of the visit and she told us that the Onlympic Flame transfer is happening this evening - that explains the party/fete atmosphere on the other side of the river…. And maybe why accommodation is hard to come by in the area. There must be a significant entourage accompanying the flame.

We went on to walk a little of the old town - with buildings from 14th and 14th centuries. It’s a modern university town too, so there are new amongst and beyond the old.

Dinner at Chez Pont Pont restaurant overlooking the castle. I tried a pineapple dessert called Creamy Passion (possibly lemon curd with little pineapple pieces and coriander).

https://www.chateau-angers.fr/.../histoire-du-chateau-d...

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apocalypse_Tapestry

https://www.ouest-france.fr/.../histoire-quand-dartagnan...

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1

Kayleen Thompson

27th May 2024

Another easy day. Strolling through Paris.

It was supposed to be a garden day at Garden of Plants. A little rain interrupted the walk, and threat of more finally chased us from our gentle stroll. We headed for the Pantheon…for want of seeing another significant building. Along the way we took shelter and warmth in a bistro - coffee and charcuterie and cheese platter for lunch at Cafe Delmas. An art area judging by the names of cafes and streets.

We like how waiters don’t chase you from tables here. A cloud emptied itself as we lunched, so we were happy to take our time. (Though, if you are in hurry to get on your way, their inattentiveness can be frustrating).

Only a little further to the Pantheon :

We admired its size, especially its pillars and tall walls. Once a church (Saint Genevieve), it is now the temple of great men and women of the nation.

The law (droit) school is opposite and a library and (possibly other) university schools are in this area).

As we approached the Pantheon we caught a view of Notre Dame down one of the streets. So we decided to check it out, crossed the Seine River to the island that Notre Dame is on wandered a little, crossed back at another bridge and followed the Seine for a while till we decided to detour back to Rue Cler for dinner, but early enough for a coffee stop on the way. This walk took us through streets of upmarket brands (courts area) and art galleries, jewellers, and specialist decor stores. And churches, lanes and old buildings, and doors.

Tonight’s diner was Italian at Little Davoli.

Then back to a train station to home.

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Kayleen Thompson

26th May 2024

Spent the morning ‘at home’ washing and planning and making bookings for future parts of our trip.

In the afternoon we headed out for a walk to Meudon Forest passing by the supermarket on the way to buy baguettes (sandwiches) and drinks for lunch. Once in the forest we had a picnic by a lake, watched the birds and swan parents with their 3 goslings.

We continued a walk around the lake, then an alternative path through the forest to home. As we emerged from the forest, on to the streets near home we found the ‘fete’ that we had seen advertised on posters around the town. It was a mini side show with rides and ice creams, etc.

But we also discovered a hidden cafe above the Orangerie, but out of view below the Terrace of this public space. And views to the city and Eiffel Tower from The Terrace.

Apparently, as we were beginning to suspect, there was a residential palace on the site. The walk in the forest had circumnavigated this estate - a good length of the path followed the outside of the estate walls. The Orangerie is now in use by the city to store its parks orange trees in winter. The palace building is now home to an observatory. The Terrace area in front of the observatory is a park.

The walls on this city side are very tall and support the large terrace where the fete was being held.

Sadly, what must have been grand gardens behind the palace (most of the estate) seems overgrown.

After coffee at the cafe, we wander down ward, to home, then go out to the local pizza store for dinner.

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Kayleen Thompson

25th May 2024

Our ‘tourist’ day started with a visit to the Opera, just the building. We saw a model of it at the Orsay Museum. No doubt it’s another lavish building inside. It is also known as the Garnier Palace, after its designer Charles Garnier. It was closed to tours until 1pm today and judging by the lines of people waiting we were happy to pass it by.

We did take in its exterior from a few viewpoints: 1. From the Salon du Thè cafe across from the entrance. 2. Atop the Galeries Lafayette building. 3. In the front court entrance area to the building.

We had a coffee and croissant at the Salon du Thè. The crowds and buses ensured we kept our toes well under our chairs. An Hop On- Hop Off bus stops every few minutes and many people are waiting to get on and getting off right in front of us, in the half a footpath the restaurant has not used.

We walked past the front of the Opera building to the Galaries Lafayette and, WOW, it is a wonder also. The central dome and decor around the balconies is gorgeous. It has all the top brands in clothes, perfume, shoes etc, Like a Brisbane City Centre Myer store + +. This store is just the female building. And has a food hall with all manner of foods (like a Westfield shopping centre food hall) level and a Galeries Lafayette food cafeteria (like the Myer cafes - and if you are in a rush, this area was pretty empty).

The attracting feature is a roof top terrace. Free! And with Escalators all the way to the top! And with great views of the city and the Opera House. And it had lounging chairs and large screen TV - something to do with tennis (or tennis and the Olympic Games?) and Lacoste.

The walls to the Terrace are glass so views are enhanced.(see pics of Paul close to the edge. I wasn’t going that close (note Raelene Zischke).

On the way Back down, we meandered through the food hall level and the ground floor, then out and across the road to the men’s building. Here we browsed a little more to see if we could find a cardigan to replace Paul’s lost one. Then we bought some baguettes, took a slow wander past the front gates to the Opera House, on down to the Tuilieries Garden. More Olympics infrastructure was going in here and around the Obelisk. We had to cross a scaffold bridge to get into the garden from this side.

We ate our Lunch baguettes (called sandwiches here) in the park.

Then around Olympic’s stadium seating, to the Obelisk and into the Champs Élysées gardens (where there was more work happening behind fenced areas) and Petit Palais gardens. Discovered that the Petit Palais (entry is free) and the Grand Palais (opposite and closed at present) are art museums.

We found a most upmarket restaurant that overlooked the park as a place to have a cool drink. And watch the chauffeur driven cars and fancy brands cruise by (circle past). A small bottle of coke cola cost 9.90euros and ginger beer soft drink 11 euros. The drinks did come with olives and nuts.

We continued up the Champs Élysées, passing firstly (at this end) the jewellery stores for a good long block, then into the very busy section, full of name brand stores, where the footpaths are wider than the streets.

We wandered slowly, ducking into a quaint older style arcade withe Harry Potter and Ferrari, art, clothes and other specialty shops. We stopped to enjoy a coffee. Then continued on to admire the Arc de Triomphe and its roundabout traffic and the crazy tourists. We had a 5.30 pm reservation to go to the top of the Arc so headed down, under the road and up into the roundabout, into our timed booking (much shorter) line for security check and entrance into the stairwell ‘up’. A circular stairway of 200 stairs! I’m surprised at how well I managed the stairs but stopped a couple times due to dizziness. To a display level from which you take more stairs to a shop and display area floor before more stairs to the terrace. We took a good while to enjoy the view. When we came back down to the display floor we watched some of the ‘extinguishing of the flame’ ceremony. There is a camera on the flame area directly below and a screen on the floor here to make it look as though you are watching through a glass floor.

Down 200 plus a level of stairs and down , through tunnel under the roundabout to stairs up into the Champs Élysées sidewalk. Dinner time.

We got hooked by the sailers at the Deauville restaurant for dinner - we voted this place the best service and best food so far, though I opted for the chocolate mousse rather than the crème caramel.

We continued to wander down this alternate side of the Champs Élysées and back up (again) the other side.

What next? It’s almost time for the Eiffel Tower to light up and a bus should get us there in less than 30 mins. Well, that bus didn’t come the next one was extremely full but we squeezed on. Traffic was also squeezy so we missed the 10pm sparkles again! I did catch a little video from the bus as we went along cos I was at the front windscreen. Once off the bus, we crossed the bridge, captured more Tower photos and caught the last (direct) train home.

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Kayleen Thompson

23rd May 2024

Orsay Museum

I thought today was going to be an easy day, with time for sitting and admiring Paris. The morning was a bit of an excursion back to the Cafe Adelaide where we had lunch in Tuesday. Paul lost a cardigan on Tuesday and we hoped that he had left it at the Cafe (sadly not). After the leisurely breakfast, we trained back to the Orsay museum.

Once inside the Orsay museum we were busy. D’Orsay was much bigger and impressive than I imagined, and solely an art museum. The museum is in a converted railway station, plus additions. Soo many spaces and rooms and lots of recognisable artists. There was a whole section dedicated to Impressionism and, within it, whole rooms dedicated to individual artists - Monet and Renoir, Degas for example.

PLUS we had timed entry tickets to an impressionist feature, ‘Paris 1874’, telling the history of how the impressionists broke free from the formality of the Salon’s rules for art. (From the advert: 150 years ago, on April 15, 1874, the first impressionist exhibition opened in Paris. “Hungry for independence”, Monet, Renoir, Degas, Morisot, Pissarro, Sisley and Cézanne finally decided to free themselves from the rules by holding their own exhibition, outside official channels: impressionism was born. To celebrate this anniversary, Musée d’Orsay is presenting some 130 works and bringing a fresh eye to bear on this key date, regarded as the day that launched the avant-gardes.)

It was an interesting story. We spent almost 2 hours in that display.

Many other rooms, artists, paintings, sculptures, a small section on photography, a section on industrial art, kept us moving. And we still called an end to it before we saw it all. 7 hours on our feet, just in the museum! It is open till late in Tuesdays (tonight) but, we have the Eiffel Tower to see on today’s agenda.

On and off a train to the Eiffel Tower. There is so much security here due to the Olympic Games in August. There is also lots of work going on in gardens, revitalising spaces and constructing temporary stadiums. There are already stadiums set up here at the Champs Mars and across the bridge from the Eiffel Tower. Much of the grassed area behind the Tower is fenced off, with only pathways through.

The space under the Tower is well secured, fenced entrance gates, security and bag searches to get into the precinct.

We stood under the tower a while (no interest in going up).

Then we had to exit via security and exit gates, and wind our way through fenced off areas of the parklands and Champs Mars to reach Cler Street for Dinner.

Ate at Petit Cler cafe for dinner. Our plan was to come back through Champs Mars to see the Tower in Lights. Done!

Though there was a special display of twinkling lights on the tower (we saw them a little on our walk from the cafe), it was over by the time the tower was in full view at the Champs Mars.

Then Champs Mars Station to catch the train home. We can see the top half of the Tower from the top of our street.

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13

4

Kayleen Thompson

23rd May 2024

Post 2.

23rd May 2024

Our dinner at Le Petit Cler, on Rue Cler.

A beautiful tasty dinner and another crème brûlée.

But I took this pic to show how they can transfer a round tray-sized table into a table big enough to hold 4 glasses, a bottle of water (and a wine bottle or carafe if they have to), 2 large plates, salt and pepper shakers and a basket of bread. Oh, oops, the bread didn’t fit this time….It’s those rectangular plates.

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$No photo description available.$

15

3

Kayleen Thompson

22nd May 2024

A day dedicated to a visit to Versailles.

Our local train station is on the line to Versailles so access to it is easy (one train).

We had time to get our bearings and have a coffee before we had to be at our meeting point.

We opted for a guided tour which allowed us to skip lines and Francesco gave an amusing and animated narrative.

After the Castle tour we hired a golf cart to tour the gardens. It was threatening rain and did shower a few times. We got off to visit the Petit and Grand Trianons and a few of the groves.

Dinner at a bistro on the way back to the station.

A bath to soak those aching legs.

Let me know if you have any questions about the pics. I may get to add more captions later. They are a selection of Versailles Chateau and its gardens.

So much history again, starting way before this castle was built, the reason it was built, while it was resided in by kings, and each of the kings and their families, and after a revolution. So enjoy some research. The chateau was built by King Louis XIV, over the family’s hunting lodge, apparently because he wanted to get out of Paris. The decadence is ridiculous. The money spent was obscene. The equivalent of 300 Million Euro on mirrors, says our guide, who regards the palace as a place of promotion of France. Apparently French produced its own marble for the palace, and commenced mirror manufacturing and using its own artists for the ceilings, all to snub Italy. According to our guide, the King invited 10000 nobles to come to stay at the castle, enticing them with parties and fun. They lived on site and were compelled to follow the regime set by the King - their wake time, meal time, party time, worship time, etc was controlled and they were outed if they didn’t comply. He had many other crazy stories…. Certainly got us curious about history!

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18

15

Kayleen Thompson

21st May 2024

Montmartre Montmartre and Montmartre. Spent all afternoon and evening there.

We found the our RER not working from 10 am. We got to the station just after 10. That meant a longer journey time as we had to walk to, wait for and catch a bus to the metro station.

Got off and found coffee stop, which turned into lunch stop (which included my 4th crème caramel/brûlée since being in France).

Next stop: Moulin Rouge. Just for a photo, not a show. But the windmill blades are down - they were damaged in a recent storm.

Then: Montmartre’s Basilica of Sacré Coeur (Sacred Heart). Not an ultra ‘old’ building for France: Building first began in 1875, it opened for worship in 1891, and building finished in 1914. Hmmm, shall we take the stairs or the funicular? The funicular of course! There were still enough stairs from its top station to the church door. The Church is another magnificent and impressive creation.

After its tour we took in the city views and had to search out a spot to capture our first glimpse of the Eiffel Tower. We did not climb the Dome to take in the views from its vantage point.

A meander of the busy streets behind the Basilica before a cool drinks for toilet stop.

Then a meandering the lanes, zigzagging down the hill behind the Basilica. Found a street labelled the prettiest street in Montmartre. ?One side of it is a stone wall? There is a cute pink restaurant (la Rose Maison) and some ivy covered houses

.

Narrow lanes with buses and delivery vans and people and cars.

Parks dedicated to saints and artists.

The oldest vineyard in France.

Art (statues, street art, and someone’s collection of odd things).

And French architecture everywhere we look. Another rest and drink (toilet) stop, taking time to be still and in the moment.

Another tourist attraction is the Montmartre Cemetery. 11 hectares of graves and crypts. A bridge has been built over it, missing the tops of crypts by inches and, in some cases, the bridge girders and crosses intertwine. It rained a little while we wandered here, looking for the grave of Alexandre Dumas, famous writer of Tale Between Two Cities, The Three Musketeers and The count of Monte Cristo (inspired by the IF Castle on the islands off the coast of Marseille).

Have circled back around to Moulin Rouge and take a wander in a different direction.

Decide where we want to eat for dinner. At 6pm it’s too early for most restaurants to be open or Bistros to be serving dinner. ‘Les Frenchies’ (a couple who give hints and tips for France) have suggested some and we find one that is open all afternoon: Bouillon Pigalle. It’s like a fast food restaurant - large, many tables, waiters, decent food, fast service and more lined up to come take the empty spaces.

Then, more wandering, including another pass by Moulin Rouge for another pic with its lights on (though the sun hasn’t gone down), before home.

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20th May 2024

A rest and planning day.

We walked to find local coffee. There is a seeet little cafe on a corner where 2 ladies delighted us with their smiles and efforts to make us comfortable by setting up an umbrella for us. (Aussies who can’t cope with the Paris sun!) We’ve noticed, by the way, that the French don’t wear hats. We feel very out of place with ours - identifying ourselves as ‘tourists’.

We continued our neighbourhood walk and bought groceries. Back to the apartment for lunch. I had developed a decent headache that wiped me out for a couple of hours.

Paul had made progress on researching our Paris plan and making some booking for ‘beyond Paris’ and we completed an itinerary and the bookings for Paris after dinner.

We tried the local Chinese-Japanese takeaway (where we ate in) for dinner.

Photos are of our Meudon, Paris neighbourhood. Many of the houses are built from a rough and rusty coloured stone. Maybe it was an era style or is what was available locally. The stone is sort of bubbly (Not a good description for stone, I’ll have to take a ‘texture’ pic).

There are a great variety of housing styles including more modern looking apartments. There is also plenty of green spaces (noticeable after Marseille). There is actually a forest park near us. And the apartment we are in is on the 3rd floor in a building of 8. We see tree tops from every window. There are multiple buildings in this gated and walled community where there are grassed areas and plenty of trees between the buildings. It’s like an oasis in the stone jungle.

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Kayleen Thompson

19th May 2024

A travel day. Out to breakfast. Pack. A slow 30 min walk to Marseille’s St Charles Train Station. Buy lunch to eat on the train. Have a wait because train is delayed by 20 mins. We are in the first carriage (going forward)…. That means it’s the last on the platform (a good walk = 18 carriages + 3 engines)

Arrive Paris’s Lyon Train Station. Short walk to the RER (inter urban) station was extended with a toilet stop (with toilets at the other end of the Lyon Station -and that’s no short distance) and then a Google guide around the outside of the building (we could have walked back through it).

uh, oh, these packs are getting heavy

.

Getting tickets for interurban train was ok. I waited in line for person service and Paul braved the machine… and he had tickets first so we board the train… and get to our station…

And cannot get out of the station!!!

It is unmanned cos it’s Sunday.

We suspect Our tickets are for one zone, not two. We download an app to buy tickets (that’s a data, charge the phone hustle). An iPhone can’t download the app. So only Paul has the app. He gets through the gate with his e-ticket. We upset the gate warning system by passing his phone over the gate for me to use it. No-one seems to come running to arrest us but we’re probably under ‘watch’ by railway security now.

We are free… it is only a short walk to our accommodation (and we don’t get lost or take the long way round).

Our accommodation is a 3rd floor apartment in the suburb of Meudon. It’s outside of the main Paris zone but close to Versailles. The train station is only 50 metres from us so access to Paris is easy.

The local grocery shop isn’t open so it’s fruit from the fruit shop pastries from the boulangerie for tomorrow’s breakfast.

Then a beer stop till dinner (pasta meal at a little pizza shop).

Over 11000 steps. And climbed 20 flights of stairs. And it was supposed to be a travel day.

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Kayleen Thompson

18th May 2024

We venture out for coffee as there are no more coffee pods at the apartment. Then back to the apartment for video chats with family - catching up birthday and Mother’s Day calls.

The city’s port, and social area, is buzzing today and streets are blocked off. We discover it is the Good Air Festival- welcoming the summer (every year since 2016).

Main goal today is Grotte Cosquer (Cosquer Cave). In 1991 a cave was discovered by Conquer, a diver, near the rocky Calanques cove/inlet. The impressive display replicates the cave and you travel through the cave on little cars, pivoting this way and that to see the prehistoric paintings and carvings (dating back 33,000 years). Photos were not allowed so pics here are pics of the brochure. More can be seen at their website.

Next is the St Nicholas Tower that Google says, is open at noon today. Since we travelled back streets (to avoid the crowds) we chose to visit Abbey St Victor on the way, via an even longer route than was necessary (hmmm) - the longer route meant we saw another small park that offered an explanation for the pigeon lofts - see pic.

There was a service of some kind (baptism I think) in the abbey so the peak inside was brief. Quite bland and beautiful in its rawness, especially after seeing the Notre Dame church yesterday. An abbey/monastery, has been in this site since 415 (1st century). Destroyed and rebuilt a number of times. Parts of the current building date back to 1020. It has been added on to since then, the Large outer walls added in 1362.

As we proceeded on from the fort we heard the bells tolling after the service.

Fort Nicholas’s access was limited without a guide so the visit was brief but still with stairs and great views. There were at least 4, perhaps 5 cruise ships in port today.

Back into the harbour precinct for drink stop at Cafe Beau Rivage.

Daylight to spare! So we walk on past the apartment to visit the Church of St Vincent de Paul. The walk and church is along the Canibiere (French word for Canabis) Avenue, with street and trees and markets and people and bikes and cars and trams and chaos and giraffes.

We come to a busy intersection and choose to wander further… into busy market areas and local Saturday busyness.

On the way home we stop for fresh, tasty Pokè bowls eaten at their outdoor tables.

Our last a night in Marseille. There is more to see but our Paris accommodation is booked so we are off to Paris tomorrow.

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Kayleen Thompson

17th May 2024.

1 of 3 posts.

Today we got back on the bus. Destination: Notre Dame de la Garde. You can walk all the way of course, via streets and stairs. There was still plenty of stairs and hill from the bus stop! A funicular was installed at some stage to transport the villagers up to the church. But it was dismantled in the 1980s because its wasn’t paying its way. (Must have been before tourism was a thing).

I captured or recaptured some views along the way of the bus route.

I will post the Notre Dame de la Garde pics separately.

Then we caught the bus down to the harbour area for lunch. We tried the Halls - like a food hall with different specialist venders - pizza, hamburgers, Italian, seafood, tapas, wine, cakes - where you choose and order. Then collect and eat at the tables set up (like all the surrounding restaurants) in the square.

Then to Fort St Jean to explore its various levels and viewpoints. Will share pics via a separate post.

Coffee and crepe time, after lots of stairs on a warm afternoon, amongst the cafes/bistros/restaurants at the base of The 1950’s Pouillon Buildings. Then we diverted into space and streets behind the town hall to see more notable places and buildings (the Pavillon Daviel, Villeneuve-Bargemon square, the Intercontinental Hotel (previously a hospital), the 12th century bell tower Clocher des Accueles and a peak inside its neighbouring chapel).

Then interesting looking streets lead us to the Paniers (old town) streets of shops, residences, squares and crazy parking scenarios. We stood outside admiring graffiti art, not realising that we were at the entrance area to the Centre of Old Charity (once a place for vagrants and orphans, now houses museums).

Now it’s time for cold drinks! We purchased a takeaway dinner on the way home, to eat at home so we don’t have to take the stairs at the apartment twice (now and after dinner). … now I know why: My app says I have done 51 flights of stairs today and 10km.

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Kayleen Thompson

14th May 2024

After cleaning the house and packing in the morning, we finally committed to taking those 280 steps (stairs) down to the beach. After the trouble the taxi driver seemed to have with finding the address to drop us off at the house (on our arrival), we figured it was better to have a taxi find us at a known landmark for pick up. So we walked down to the beach restaurant, Pailotte du Rupione, and, after a cold drink (to recover cos we just walked 280 stairs with backpacks), we called a taxi and waited over a coffee.

The taxi ride to (and from) Ajaccio is about 30 minutes and 100 Euros (each way). Uber quoted 45 Euro but no Uber car was available on our arrival …. My research indicates that there are no Uber drivers on Corsica (?).

In Ajaccio we wandered the old town area, a very touristy area, and sought out the Crorsica cake, a Fiadone. We found a very sophisticated looking cake shop for Fiadone and coffee.

With not enough time to see both Napoleon’s residence and the Fesch Art Museum we chose the Fesch Art Museum. It included paintings and busts of Napoleon and many other Bonapartes. Napoleon was born in Ajaccio, Corsica. See separate post for pics.

We found a harbour front restaurant for early dinner, close to the ferry terminal so that we walked into the ferry terminal in time for boarding. After checking into our cabin we spent a warmer (than the trip to Corsica) evening on the deck, seeing Ajaccio and Corsica’s rugged beauty from a distance. Something we had not seen the morning we arrived because of the early morning fog.

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Kayleen Thompson

14th May 2024

Post 2.

Ajaccio.

The Fesch Museum was built in 1827.

The initiative to build the museum was taken by Napoleon I's maternal uncle, cardinal Joseph Fesch (1763-1839), archbishop of Lyons and the primate of the Gauls. It was Fesch's wish to establish an Institute of Arts and Sciences in his hometown. Before he died in 1839, Fesch donated 1000 art works including 843 paintings, from his large collection of more than 17,000, to the museum.

It includes paintings from as early as the 14th century.

Many of these paintings (pictured) are life size and sometimes larger, that is frames are up to about 3m in their largest dimension.

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Kayleen Thompson

13th May 2024

Beach days! … they are way too easy. So we made today another one. We drove to a coffee hut at Isolella for our second coffee. Then on a little further to the protected (from wind) side of Isolella to a little beach our hosts had suggested for snorkeling. We sat in a shady spot and chatted, overlooking the bay towards Ajaccio. We finally took a short dip and snorkel (the water is a bit cool), our last swim on Corsica.

Back at the house we cleaned the car

in thanks for the free use of it, then relaxed and read in the garden before early dinner (7pm instead of 8.30pm).

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Kayleen Thompson

12th May 2024

Another slow morning, with some Mothers days duties like calling mum.

Beach days might be making us lazy - as we opted to drive 12 minutes rather than ride 40 minutes to visit the old Coti Chiavari penitentiary site. We did take a walk around the site and saw the dam wall from below and above, the manure pit, powder magazine, and (through the gate to) the main detention building and wine cellars. And the cork trees and the eucalyptus trees.

I taken screen shots of some info about the penitentiary including its conception by Napoleon and why they planted eucalyptus trees.

Then we drove further to the most quaint village of Coti Chiavari where we admired the view and had lunch. My pictures don’t really do justice to this place. It has an interesting history - one reason the village is high on the hill to retreat from the pirates (barbars from the African coast, present day Algeria) that raised the coast.

We spent a couple hours on the Maré E Sole beach. There was quite a crowd on the beach today, being Sunday and a fine warm day.

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Kayleen Thompson

11th May 2024

We enjoyed our beach day yesterday and wanted to make today another beach day…. But at a long beach where we could take a long beach walk. Ok. Off to Tenutella beach, about an hour away, via very windy mountainous roads, with fantastic views. I scored quite a headache - I am sure from the stress of driving these roads, though not so narrow today, they still have to be shared with others.

Tenutella is obviously a very touristy place (in season) with lots of camping grounds and, yes, a long beach. But the sand was so coarse, and soft, that it was difficult to walk on. There was no firm sand at the waters edge either. We enjoyed a swim though.

Time to seek out coffee (we were too late for restaurant lunches) and found it at a hotel/resort. We pretended we were resort holidaying for an hour or so, enjoying drinks and the view, reading and relaxing. There were more resorts and camping grounds along this road into Propriano.

We travelled a bit further, into Propriano, for a wander and late lunch of crepe for Kay and pocket sandwich (jaffle) for Paul. It’s a port town, with a ferry in port, and a small harbour. A street of restaurants and tourist stores about the harbour area. Paul confidently and bravely negotiated the busy and one-way streets of another new (to us) place.

Then back into the car for the drive home via the Mare E sole beach where Paul had a quick dip.

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Kayleen Thompson

10th May 2024. Friday.

The morning was warm and the beach was tempting. We drove to the next beach along from our closest beach. It’s the one where we saw the cows on Tuesday. Mare É Sole beach. Today the sky was clearer and we realised that the mountains that were out of sight, under cloud on Tuesday, are indeed covered in snow!

We spent a few hours on the beach - we walked, we lazed, we swam (ahem- dipped! - the water was cool), we read, we talked, we snacked, we walked around the rocks to the next beach, we had coffee (P) and cocktail (K) at the beach restaurant, La Plage d’Argent.

On the way home we stopped in at the boucherie/deli (butcher and delicatessen) and the boulangerie (bakery). The team at the butcher/delicatessen were so friendly, allowed us to speak our French (and didn’t speak back in English) to buy lamb chops and terrine and cheese. We came away with bonus 6 eggs and a packet of potato chips. 6 stars out of 5 for Boucherie Stella de Mare.

Dessert pastries from the boulangerie.

We relax in the garden, reading. Take a walk up behind the house along a bit of a bush track linking housing estates around the hill. We wanted to take in the greater view from the higher vantage point but stopped short at the rock scrambling required (on the only track we could find) to get atop the higher rocky outcrop.

Then BBQ chops and salad dinner with wine and sunset.

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Kayleen Thompson

8th May 2024

Where do we start our explorations of Corsica? We decided to start close to home and took a bike ride, firstly to lunch at a beach hut restaurant ‘Pailotte du Rupione’ where the tables were on the sand and the dishes were amazing. I didn’t take pics but I had a Tuscano salad with almost 2 large flavoursome tomatoes (sliced) , slices of really soft large circles of boccincini style cheese, French/italian ‘ham’ (similar to what we call prosciutto) all served with a generous salad. Paul had steak and chips and salad. Now let’s move!

We rode on to the familiar places that our friends had driven us past and pointed out as places worth visiting. Mainly this was on the peninsula of Isolella, and included the Ste-Barbe Cove and Medea Cove and the Point of Seven Ships. We also walked up the little hill to the Isolella Tower. These towers exist on all of the land points on (Corsica or just ) this part of the island. Each one of the towers can be seen by the next and communications used to be made around the island via the towers.

The ride back up our very long and steep and winding street was the real exercise of the day. Note: if out riding we must conserve enough energy for the home street!

We took the car out for grocery shopping.

Corsica is now French but has been Italian in the past and many of the inhabitants look to be more Italian. The locals speak a mixed language called Corse.

They rely on tourism and a cruise ship pulled in the same morning we did, and pulled out the same (yesterday) evening. Today there was another cruise ship in Ajaccio for the day.

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Kayleen Thompson

7th May 2024

Our ferry pulled into port at Ajaccio on Corsica island at about 7am. Getting off was very straightforward. There really were few walk on/walk off passengers. Most people must have driven vehicles. We ventured a block or two into Ajaccio in search of coffee (

found) and a taxi (

also found though finding a driver took a little longer). We found a taxi rack with two empty taxis. So we waited along with another man. A third one pulled up but he refused to take us because there were 2 in front of him, they had to go first. From somewhere the 3rd and then a 4th driver found the taxi drivers for the first two cars.

30 minutes and 100 Euros later we were delivered to the house we are staying at on Corsica.

The rest of the day was spent with our friends - orientation at the holiday house, explanations and maps for best places to see in a week on Corsica, a drive to show us some key places (supermarket, boulangerie, butcher, special cafes/restaurants, beaches), lunch at a beach hut restaurant and a stroll and laze on the beach, then home for a chat and a pizza dinner. Our friends caught the night ferry back to the maninland and we have the house and a car on Corsica island to ourselves for a week.

Corsica reminds us of Tasmania and New Zealand. From what we can see in this area the landscape is rugged and the beaches are beautiful (the sand is not quite as beautiful as Australia’s sand but the water is extremely clear and blue/azure - like some in Australia). There are many little beaches between stretches of rocky shorelines.

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Kayleen Thompson

6th May 2024

Another travel day - Montpellier to Toulon for the Ferry to Corsica.

Hotel breakfast then packed up. It was raining so we geared up with coats and rain covers on our backpacks.

Tram to Place de la Comadie for a last look but in the rain it is deserted - tables and chairs stay out in the square but are empty. Had a coffee in the shopping mall. Then took a tram to the train station. SNCR Train to Marseille where we had a very quick changeover because our next train to Toulon was waiting. Rain has stopped.

At Toulon we had a few hours to wait for our Ferry crossing to Corsica. We meandered towards the port via the old city and stopped in a pretty Place (square) to enjoy a wine and beer. Then meandered towards the waterfront to the ferry.

In our attempt to ask someone standing at the entrance to a little office where we should go to access the ferry terminal and what time can we board, we were misunderstood and were ushered into the little hut-like office through a bag scanning point (like at airports). At a small waiting terminal we had to ask someone else if it is the right place for our ferry (it seemed a small space for all 3 ferries worth of walk-on passengers. The lack of signs, and limited information on tickets and at terminal info screens made us nervous, but there seemed nowhere else to be. We were not the only confused ones. We were sitting next to a German couple who asked us if we understood the messages and if they were in the right place. Obviously there are the ‘regulars’ who use the ferries all the time and know exactly where to go, what to do and can understand the fastly spoken French messages over poor quality loud speakers. We had plenty of time (1.5 hours)to sit here, cos we had been hustled in at the outer gate/scanning hut, which we thought meant that we could board early. But it’s ok… we are being very relaxed about these things and laughing at ourselves. We would have preferred to have been walking about Toulon to sitting in a small crowded waiting room, but it’s better than being stressed about being in the wrong place or being late for the ferry.

Once on board the Ferry (at approx 7.00pm) we dropped our bags in our cabin, and returned to the deck till the ferry left port (8 pm). Then had a formal dinner. It’s an overnight ferry so we had a small room with ensuite to sleep in.

The pics are of our walk through Toulon and from the Ferry.

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Kayleen Thompson

5th May 2024

A leisurely breakfast, finished packing and cleaning, then got a lift to the tram.

Tram to Montpellier’s Place de la Comédie one last time and enjoyed a Crepe and Coffee lunch in the sun before catching the second tram to our Hotel. The Holiday Inn is in Place de la France with a central entertainment hub of shopping centre (in state of rebuild?) an aquarium, multiple restaurants/bars, multiplex cinemas, ice skating rink and carousel in a new suburb of Odysseum.

Then we took an Uber to Palavas Les Flots, a suburb on the beach, to have afternoon tea with a family who are interested in taking a home exchange to Australia in 2025. (If you know anyone who want to come to France for 3 months in the first or second school term, let us know.)

Before returning to the hotel by Uber we walked the short distance from their home to the see the beach and have pizza dinner.

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Kayleen Thompson

4th May 2024

A day of preparing to move. Did our clothes washing and started the clean of the house, pool and car.

Took time out to have lunch at a castle.

We packed our picnic lunch and drove about 20 minutes from home to take the walk to Chateau Vivioures or Chateau de la Rocquette.

Home to do some more planning for future weeks.

Records of the Chateau date from early 1200s indicating that it was built in the 12th century (early to mid 1100s or before). It was in use up until the 16th century. So now it’s been in use for about 400 years and abandoned for about 400 years.

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Kayleen Thompson

3rd May 2024

A visit to Sète. It was a beautiful warm 20 degree day for a visit to the seaside.

A Big day …Perhaps because of the stress factor as much as the length of the day.

We drive for almost an hour (in each direction) but through nearly-the-full-suite of driving experiences: narrow country roads, highways, tollways, city streets, traffic lights, winding old city lanes, one way streets, steep (and winding) surburban lanes, multi-level car parks and teeny parking spaces. Oh, then there’s the traffic. We have to share the roads with people who should know what they are doing but what they do often seems random to us. They drive like rally drivers. Given the mostly narrow winding roads here, they get plenty of practice.

We also walked 20,000 steps.

Sète is the port town of Montpellier and has man made canals. It is a fairly small port, compared to Brisbane, as far as Container ships go. They also receive cruise ships. Then there are fishing trawlers, tourist tour boats, a mariner of sail boats, and the canals are lined with personal boating craft.

Again, there’s an ‘old town’ with lanes of shops and restaurants.

We tried to park in town by Google asked us to turn left into a park park that was really a sold building wall (at best, a doorway). So, quick reversion to plan B - a drive up to Mount St Clair first for a view over Sète.

After a severe word with Google it directed us to the real entrance to the Halles car park, in the centre of the old town. From here we walked the shopping streets, to and along the Royal canal, around the old port to the Lighthouse but chose not to take the stairs up the 33 metres.

We did continue south to Les Quilles to the northern end of the 12km long Sète beach.

Then back to Sète old town and more meandering, waiting for restaurants to open at 7pm. We finally decide on a restaurant and took a seat (at 6.30) overlooking the Royal Canal and wait with a beer.

Dinner, walk to car and drive home.

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Kayleen Thompson

30th April (yesterday) and 1st May 2024

Two rainy days.

We chose to stay at home yesterday, other than a short trip to town for lunch and groceries. We would have rather been hiking. There are old castle ruins and more archaeological sites that we would like to see if it were not for the cold and wet. (We did not come prepared for wet weather hiking.)

Watched a French movie last night: Amélie.

Today the rain was even heavier. We considered another museum but, on checking, all were closed for the May Day (Labour Day, 1st of May) public holiday. So we stayed in out of the rain again, read, chatted, watched a French movie: Petit Nicholas.

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Kayleen Thompson

29th April 2024 Post 3/3

Then to La Fontaine gardens. With a natural water source. The layers of history of this site is a little confusing to piece together quickly but the Gardens are impressive, and apparently built in the 18th century, but on top of a Roman religious site, the Augusteum, so old and interesting stuff was found as the 18th century gardens were built. (I have a second wonder- why was the aquaduct (Pont Du Gard from previous post) needed when Nimes had a water supply (apparently they needed more). My first wonder at rhetorical aquaduct was why bring the water from Uzes when the Aquaduct when across the river closer to Nimes (maybe to with slope of the land? A water pumping water out of the Gardon River seems simpler, to me, than building that aquaduct).

We didn’t make it up to the Roman tower Magne.

We finished our day in Nimes with dinner - a two course package of main course and dessert.

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Kayleen Thompson

27th April 2024

Today we visited the archeological site of Cambous, a hamlet dating back to 2600 BC. (About the time Egyptians were building pyramids). These people were growing crops and tending to animals, building shelters and cooking food. It is impressive to see what archeologists have found at the site and deduced from these findings. The imagination for how these people lived is getting a workout, but the remnants and information visible here provide a base.

The site was a short drive away and the walk to access the site was short and easy.

We also shopped for some groceries while we were out but it was a cold, windy and cloudy day and, although the rain held off, we were happy to be home for most of the day.

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Kayleen Thompson

26th April 2024

Visit Pont du Gard (bridge over Gard river). It is an aquaduct built by Romans in the 1st Century with a bridge added to its side in the 18th Century.

The we drove on into Avignon to visit

1. The famous bridge, Pont D’Avignon. It was interesting to hear of its ever changing history including the song

about it.

2. The Palais de Papes (palace of the Popes). Again, an interesting account of its history of growth and change on a self guided tour. So much information but(now) so many questions …. Fascinating!! The tablet picture/info guide did a fair job of trying to place us back into the early 1300s. Again there was that overwhelming frustration at only being able to ‘sort of’ imagine the real picture, and grasp the fact that real people walked the floors and stairs looked out of the windows, robbed, worked, cooked, slept, studied, defended, talked etc in this place … and over the course of 700 years.

We did a little meandering of the streets of Avignon before dinner at La Vintage French Restaurant. Then a drive home, the last part of which was in the dark, the perfect time for Google to decide to take us on the locals short cut between villages, a single lane farm-like track across a flowing creek crossing.

A cherry to the days ´new’ driving experiences of negotiating toll roads , negotiating city driving and inner city car parks. All Ok! We Survived!

Toll roads: have to collect a ticket at the ‘on’ ramp, have to stop to pay at the ‘off ramp’; speed is 130km (not that we pushed the little Dacia to that, but it would have been fun in the Tesla); this toll road had 3 lanes each direction.

City driving, in Avignon, seemed similar to home - Google kept us on roads that were a decent size and led us to an inner city car park like that at Southbank Brisbane. Ok.

Inner city car park had low roof, very narrow car parks, similar take-ticket-and-pay-at-exit system as we are used to, and music playing.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palais_des_Papes

https://pontdugard.fr/fr/decouvrir/monument

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Kayleen Thompson

25th April 2024

We took a tour of ‘Grotte de Clamouse’, a limestone cave. It has formations like most/all limestone caves but its own, unique display and features, and history.

Next to it was the Pont du Diable, the oldest Roman bridge in France.

Then stopped for a walk about the neighbouring village of Saint Guilhem Le Desert. There are many mountains and walks in this immediate area and St Guilhem seems to be the centre or crossing point for many them. It is the busiest village we have experienced (other than Sommieres on market day).

We relaxed in the square with banana split and beer, watching the world (of St Guilhem Le Desert) go by.

Tonight we took our house host out to dinner at a local restaurant.

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Kayleen Thompson

22nd April 2024

A gentle meandering day. We drive back to Sommieres to explore the older part of the city without all the markets and shoppers. It was very quiet as most of the shops were closed. We discovered that the Chateau de Sommieres is only open in school holidays but we were able to walk around it. But there are info signs!!!

The Castle dates back to the Middle Ages and overlooked the (Roman) bridge. Its actual origin may be as early as the 10th or 11th Century as it is mentioned in archives of 1040. An amazing history of counts, kings, sieges and wars. See link in comments.

After a (French) sandwich lunch we drove home via various villages, stopping to walk around in Vic-Le-Fesq and Quissac. Fontanès, Vic-le-Fesq, Quissac, Corconne, Vacquières, Fontanès to St Bauzille de Montmel.

Everywhere seems to be quiet and closed on a Monday.

It was a windy day and the wind was cold so home was a warm refuge from the day.

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Kayleen Thompson

20th April 2024

Market Day in Sommières.We drive to the markets and enjoy meandering the lanes and squares of this old village. It is on the Vidourle river. Apparently the village was originally created by the Romans and Roman Emperor Tiberius in the first century. Is the current bridge the same one (Wikipedia seems to imply that it is)? The village grew around the castle (built when?) and was annexed into the Fenxh kingdom by King Louis IX in 1248.

We shall have to visit on a non market day to take another stroll and wander further about the town. The oldest date that we saw on a building today was 1706.

Purchased fruit, the best tasting strawberries, and veges, 2 little books for our grand daughter from the markets. Drooled over many old items at the second hand stalls. (Can someone enquire about a shipping container from France? - Darren Gosper ). Ate lunch in a square at the Maison d’Avignon restaurant.

Home for afternoon coffee and a walk about our home village of St Bauzille de Montmel.

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Kayleen Thompson

19th April 2024

5 degrees Celsius at 8am this morning. ‘Twas a bit cool overnight. Heating has been turned off for the summer at the house so we were not in a hurry to be out of bed or out of the house. But there was no wind today and expected top of 20. The morning warmed up quickly and our hike had us sweating.

We drove to the village of Cazavieille (half way up the mountain) to hike to the summit of the Pic Saint Loup. The path is quite rocky, all the way, so you have to watch every step.

Views from the top were spectacular, to the sea in one direction and to the Cévennes in the other, and all the countryside and farmland in between.

There is a church there and a cross marks the highest point. We saw the spot, way below, where we parked and took a photo of the cross yesterday.

After the walk, we walked via the village back to the car park. Finding an open wine cellar, we ordered wine for Kay, Coke for Paul and charcuterie and cheese plate. Sitting in this very French scene, I had to pinch myself. We really are in France, living a dream.

But it has a reality about it… grocery shopping on the way home and cooking dinner and washing clothes.

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Kayleen Thompson

18th April 2024

Today we took a country drive. Figured we needed some driving practice and a drive in less busy areas would be less stressful.

Plus there is still a pretty stiff cold breeze blowing so sitting in a warm car was a better option than a mountain walk (to Pic St-Loup).

The map pic shows the purple route that we started. From #6 back to #1 was a little more direct as we stayed on the 2 lane highways. We thought these were scary enough yesterday. Today we discovered that country roads, like those in England, are single lane, with lots of blind corners.

But the drive took us through pretty, mountainous countryside and through tiny medieval villages whose streets don’t ‘do’ traffic very well. Every street feels like you are entering someone’s driveway. Thankfully, the roads were not busy so we only had to get off the bitumen once for oncoming traffic.

We stopped to take in views of Pic St-Loup (peak) and the Chateau de Montferrand.

We also stopped to take walks in a few of the villages. Unable to find any cafes in these small villages, and the two in Claret closed, we returned to St Mathieu de Travers for a late snack. Public toilets are also not available in too many places, not in the villages and not in the parks, even in Claret google told us that the nearest toilet was 27km away.

In all these old villages most buildings are lived in… the windows are all new(er) double glazed. And, as we have found elsewhere, probably include all the mod cons of heating, running water, electricity etc.

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Kayleen Thompson

16th April 2024.

We Arrived in Paris last night and got to Hotel de Venise without too much incident other than the first Uber Driver we booked from the airport abandoning our booking.

This morning we have boarded a train and are headed for Montpellier station. It is basically another travel day to get to our first destination of St Bauzille de Montmel.

Waking up to our first day in France.

On our way to the Train Station: a cafe called “The 2 Parisiens”. I couldn’t resist stopping for a photo.

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