Europe

France Adventure, Part 9

/ Terry / 2 Comments

9-26-08 – Avignon by Jodi

I slept a solid 11 hours – I can’t remember the last time I’ve done that! We actually had CNN news in English on our TV so we were able to catch up on home news last night. Still no internet to upload this, hopefully soon. We may stop at another McD’s tomorrow to use theirs. We walk downstairs to the nice buffet breakfast, fill up and head to our first stop of Pont du Gard.

Pont du Gard is a huge, 3 story section of Roman aqueduct which serviced Nimes. It is the 2nd tallest Roman ruin other than the coliseum in Rome. It was built between AD38 – AD 62.

Continue reading →

France Adventure, Part 8

/ Terry / Leave a comment

9-25-08 – Arles, by Jodi

We decide to pass on the hotel breakfast at 8 euro each and instead stopped at a patisserie for fresh croissants to eat on the road, mmmmmm. We travel on more country roads for about 2 hours until we reach the Mediterranean. We have now driven the whole country from north to south.

day 8-4We stop at a deserted beach for a short walk to stretch our legs and a short rest. The sand is very fine and white, with seashells in abundance. Of course, I have to stop and collect a few.

Continue reading →

France Adventure, Part 7

/ Terry / Leave a comment

9-24-08 – Carcassonne, by Jodi

This morning Alain gave us yogurt, fresh croissants, homemade spice breads and jam, coffee and hot chocolate. Francois pulled out his maps and wanted to see our intended route and made some recommendations of things to see along the way as we sat and had a wonderful breakfast at the family table. Unfortunately, we knew we wouldn’t have time, but he was a wealth of information and we appreciated his time. We thanked them both for being wonderful hosts and kept his notes for our next visit. We left with them both waving goodbye to us, just like a Mom & Dad, he he!

Continue reading →

France Adventure, Part 6

/ Terry / Leave a comment

9-23-08 – Sarlat, By Jodi

Ginette accommodated us by having breakfast ready early so we could leave by 8:30. She was such a sweet lady, constantly bringing us things and moving nice lawn furniture in front of our room to sit. She always insisted on packaging up leftover baguettes or bread at breakfast for us to take for ‘picnic’ as she would say. After about every sentence, she would say, VOILA! , so that is why I said that in the prior post. We really liked her a lot and she really knows how to pamper her quests and run a great B&B.

Drive-3So, on the road, about an equal mix of small country roads and highways, as we make our way to Oradour-sur-Glane. We drive to the new town of Oradour, buy a sandwich and eat outside the entrance in a park area before touring WW2 martyred town of Oradour-sur-Glane.

Continue reading →

France Adventure, Part 5

/ Terry / Leave a comment

9-20-08 Amboise and the Loire Valley, by Jodi

Drive to Fougers

Drive to Fougers

We eat breakfast 8am and greeted by not only Max but also Luna, his female counter part who was not friendly and very prissy & hissy. The drive to Amboise took us on some pretty small, one-lane country roads. They are big enough for one car with no centerlines. If another car approaches, you both pull over into the gravel and grass to pass each other. We kept seeing McDonalds signs but never saw one, they boast WIFI, so we were tempted to pull into one just for that, we may still do that in the future if we continue to have access problems. The drive was pleasant and about 4 hours long, but we were not in a big hurry. We enjoyed the scenery on our drive south trying to stay off the main toll highways.

Continue reading →

France Adventure, Part 4

/ Terry / Leave a comment

9-19-08  –  Mont Saint Michel, by Jodi

B&B

B&B

Our drive from Bayeux to Mont St Michel was an easy 1-½ hours, so we take our time packing and finally leaving our room at 10am. We arrive at our B&B greeted by a brown tabby named Max who wanted pets every time we see him and we were happy to oblige. Our B&B is beautiful, just 1 mile from Mont St Michel in the little town of Bouviere. We settle in and decide to have lunch before venturing for the 2-3 hour visit of the Mont. We found a pizza place and had a salad each and split a pizza. The pizza crust is made from a crepe, wood fire grilled in an oven and topped with tons of toppings, it was delicious and very filling yet still very light, exactly what we needed.

Continue reading →

France Adventure, Part 2

/ Terry / Leave a comment

9-17-08 Battlebus Tour of the Normandy D-Day Beaches and sites (photo heavy post), by Jodi

We both slept great until 6:00 am. We got ready and had our breakfast in the large dining room- baguettes, soft cheeses, homemade jams, yogurt, cereals, apple coffee cake, coffee, and OJ. Delicious!

BattleBus Tour Bus

BattleBus Tour Bus

We left the B&B and head to Bayeux city center to meet our Battle Bus tour guide and the 3 other couples sharing the full day tour. Our tour guide Allan, was a knowledgeable Brit, who has studied the Normandy invasions for 25 years and is a historical author. During the drive between stops Allan told us of local history and sites we passed relating to WWII and prior history of the area, he certainly made the drive interesting.

Continue reading →

France Adventure, Part 1

/ Terry / 2 Comments

9-15-08 Fly out, by Jodi

We leave for LAX airport at 5:00am to catch our 8:30am flight. We had a stopover in Philadelphia, just enough time to find the right gate and we were off again. I was able to nap about 1½ hours, first time ever on a plane, Terry didn’t sleep at all.

9-16-08 Arrive Paris

france trip route

france trip route

We arrived 40 minutes early but ended up standing in the customs line for an hour. We found an ATM to get some Euros, and had the information desk phone AutoFrance for our shuttle pickup to get our car. The lease couldn’t be any easier, we signed some papers, they gave us the keys with a few quick instructions about the car and we were on our way to the nearest gas station. Our car takes diesel, E1.40 per liter, which translates to about $6 per gallon and with the exchange rate it ends up at about $8 per gallon – ouch! A good thing is the diesel was getting about 55 miles per gallon per our calculations. The gas station also had a small store ala 7-11, so we grabbed some snacks and drinks for the road.

Continue reading →

Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Part 14

/ Terry / Leave a comment

This trip was taken between May 22, 2014 to June 10, 2014.

Our last full day on this adventure, Monday June 9.

Well again it was not a rush to get up and we again enjoy the last of our pastries for breakfast. As it has become a wonderful habit, we jump on the S-Train to the Main Copenhagen Station.

Copenhagen-115

Main Gate to Christianborg Slot

Today we are heading to Christianborg Slot, a palace built between 1907 and 1928. This was the third palace built on this site, the first being built by Absalon in 1167. The Neo-baroque tower is 106 meters tall and is still the tallest in Copenhagen. This building now the Seat of the Danish Parliament, houses the Prime Ministers Office, and also The Supreme Court; this being the only building in the world to house all 3 branches of government (executive, legislature and judicial) and the reception rooms are still in use today by the Danish Royal Family. This building must have a lot of secrets it could tell if only the walls could speak.

Continue reading →

Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Part 13

/ Terry / Leave a comment

This trip was taken between May 22, 2014 to June 10, 2014.

WIndmill

Windmill

Well our wonderful Scandinavian adventure is almost over and both of us are getting tired and maybe a little homesick missing the grandkids. We sleep in a little bit this morning enjoying a leisurely breakfast of the delicious pastries we bought yesterday. Leaving Valby on the S-train we head to the Frilandsmusset (Outdoor Museum) not far from the Sorgenfri Street station.

Continue reading →