Nancy and Doug Trips | FindPenguins

SW Europe 2023 Voyageur
Musee Carnavalet
4 juin 2023, France ☀️ 25 °C
We walked from our Paris apartment which is just at the border of the Marais where this museum is. The Carnavalet documents the history of Paris in chronological order from its prehistoric origins to the present day. It is a vast museum with over 85 exhibition rooms. Nancy and Jan particularly enjoyed the opening collection of cira 1700s business signs, many no doubt well preserved because they were protected within the 200 covered passages in Paris. The desire to preserve the "old Paris" in the 1800s is well appreciated today! The hodgepodge collection showcases everyday objects, models, historical curiosities, decorative art, and fine art. The section on the French Revolution was very informative, showing the events and places around the city that were involved.

Indeed, whole buildings, storefronts, glamorous period rooms, and art collections are on view, so it’s like a warehouse of small museums, with no end of surprises.

We enjoyed our first dinner in Paris at Sacre Frenchy kitty corner to our accommodation; very welcoming staff and we all had rotisserie chicken.En savoir plus
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Travel to Gay Paree
4 juin 2023, France 🌙 15 °C
Taxi to TGV and another smooth 311 kph trip of 2.75 hours and a taxi to the Apartments du Louvre Marias, a ground floor studio opening on to an internal courtyard just off the busy wide Rue Etienne Marcel. It straddles the 2nd and 3rd arrondissements. Nicely appointed with the most comfortable pull out we've slept on (Doug initially was booked to fly out out the day we left Avignon but accompanied us to Paris).En savoir plus
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Day 43 - Provence Day 3
3 juin 2023, France 🌙 19 °C
Our day exploring Avignon. Morning at the bridge, a tour train for Nancy with the Palais des Papes for Doug. Met back for lunch in the apartment and Doug was off to the museum.

Avignon is very worth visiting. There is lots to see and do, and many excellent food options in a maze-like old town inside the walls. It is also centrally located for exploring Provence by either train or car.

OUR TRIP ENDS! Tomorrow we take the train to Paris, than a day later Doug flies home while Nancy and Janet carry on for another couple of weeks as a "Sister Trip"En savoir plus
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Musee Petite Palais
3 juin 2023, France ☁️ 24 °C
We all met back at the apartment for lunch, then after lunch, Doug was on his own for the Petit Palais museum, one of the leading European museums of medieval art. Set in the former palace of Cardinal Arnaud de Via (died in 1335), nephew of Pope John XXII, which then became the palace of the Archbishop of Avignon, and was renovated in the late 1400’s by the Archbishop Julien de la Rovère who later became Pope Jules II.

It has a fabulous collection of paintings from the Middle Ages and the Italian Renaissance. The Petit Palais museum also displays significant holdings from the Avignon School from the 13th to the 16th centuries and medieval sculptures from the 12th to the 16th centuries, from Avignon and the surrounding area.

It was an very educational exhibition that showed the rapid development of artistic style from the late Gothic 1300's to the dawn of the Renaissance in 1400.

Nancy and Jan took a 45 minute "tourist train" through the town and realized just how many interesting and picturesque spots lie in this still walled city, rare in Europe. When the Pope moved to this town of 6000 it became Europe's largest construction zone growing to 25,000. Today 13,000 people live within the walls.En savoir plus
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Palais des Papes
3 juin 2023, France ☀️ 25 °C
Jan and Nancy kept to a leisurely pace on the Pont D'Avingon while Doug booked a noon visit to this Palace which is difficult to access by walker. The building is intact, but mostly barren. There are some surviving frescoes and sculptures, but the visit really comes to life with the use of the "Histopad" that uses tablets to show what each room would look like when it was 'new'.

When Clement V was elected Pope in 1305, he decided to transfer papal power to Avignon to avoid political unrest in Rome. He built on the foundations of an old Episcopal bishop palace, and the original buildings were expanded in 1334 and 1342. It is the largest medieval palace in the world. Each pope left his mark—the fortified palace has ten towers—and it came to symbolize the mighty influence of the Church. In 1376, Pope Grégoire XI reestablished the Holy See back in Rome, but two years later, upon his death, a new Italian Pope, Urban VI, was elected in Rome while opposing cardinals elected another pope, Clement VII, to rule from Avignon. The palace came to symbolize the rift in the Church called the Western Schism. This “antipope,” Clement VII, encouraged the arts and culture and made many further alterations, but the palace was fading as the centre of Catholic life. By the time antipope Benedict XIII took power in 1394, the church was deeply divided, and he was eventually forced to concede in 1403. The Avignon dynasty came to an end, and the papacy transferred back to Rome. The palace fell into disuse but remained largely intact, and today is a very impressive place to visit.En savoir plus
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Pont d'Avignon
3 juin 2023, France ☀️ 23 °C
This is the bridge referred to in the song "Sur le Pont D'Avignon". Pretty site and the Rhone River is peaceful and lovely too. There is a good exhibit on the construction techniques used in the old days to build the bridge.

In 1177, a young shepherd named Bénézet came down from the mountains of the Ardèche. He said he was sent by God to build a bridge in Avignon. The bridge of Avignon was started in 1177 and was built in only 8 years. 920 metres long, it had 22 arches and measured 4 metres wide. Arles having lost its Roman bridge, that of Avignon became the only place between Lyon and the Mediterranean to cross the Rhône. The city attracted travelers, merchants and manufacturers and quickly developed thanks to the revenue generated by the tolls.

In 1226, after the terrible siege to which Louis VIII subjected the city, three quarters of the bridge was destroyed. A few years later, despite it being forbidden, the people of Avignon rebuilt it.

From the 17th century on, the city could no longer bear the costs of the bridge's maintenance and repairs. In 1603, following strong flooding of the Rhône, one arch collapsed, then three others in 1605. Repair work didn't start until1628, interrupted by an epidemic of plague, and the bridge was not usable again until 1633. Two months later, the new arches were swept away by the Rhône, and here it sits today.En savoir plus
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Day 42 Provence Day 2
2 juin 2023, France
Day dedicated to Vincent Van Gogh on a driving tour south of Avignon.

We drove from Avignon to Arles, about an hour away. Today travel out into the country quick compared to the day before. Arles is touted as the other main base if you visit Provence but not as cosmopolitan.

Couple of lovely looking towns we only drove through including Fontvieille and Saint-Rémy-de-Provence that will have to be seen on a future visit!En savoir plus
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St. Paul de Mausole
2 juin 2023, France ☁️ 24 °C
We squeezed in one last stop to this Romanesque monastery that was built during the 11th-century in the foothills of the Alpilles mountains and just southwest of Saint-Rémy de Provence. Over the subsequent centuries, the monastery became a psychiatric asylum. The resident monks devoted themselves to treating those who required solace and care from the suffering of dementia. Saint-Paul de Mausole, to this day, continues to be a psychiatric health institution.

Vincent Van Gogh voluntarily entered Saint-Paul de Mausole Asylum from the city of Arles where he was living. Vincent was only at there for just over a year. From 8 May 1889 until 16 May 1890.

Drove through Saint-Remy-de-Provence on the way back to Avignon and it looks like a very pretty town worth spending some time in. We had to return the car by 1800h and with traffic jams, just made it at 1758h! The gas station near the rental agency had diesel but believe it or not the nozzle was too big to fit into the fill outlet of the Renault and the station attendant couldn't figure it out either! Always something unexpected! Doug negotiated a €7.50 charge for fuel.En savoir plus
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Carrières des Lumières
2 juin 2023, France ☁️ 25 °C
We really enjoyed this. Well worth the $. The masterpieces also are semi animated with some movement. Also impressive to see a quarry where much of the stone in the buildings we see must have come from. This is the only venue for this in Europe although there are others in the world.

The quarries were dug out over the years to extract the limestone. Masterpieces are projected onto the huge walls, pillars and floors of the quarry. with over a hundred video projectors project images onto more than 7,000 m² of floor space. The current show is called From Vermeer to Van Gogh, the Dutch Masters. This digital creation presents the genius of the Painters of the North with a veritable immersion in authentic painting, close to nature and its subjects.En savoir plus
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Arles
2 juin 2023, France ☀️ 21 °C
Rick Steves describes Arles as his favored base although less cosmopolitan than Avignon. Certainly a lot of things to see and we barely touched the surface of possibilities here. Jan got to see a Coliseum up close as she missed out in Rome, this one with a framework of sold blocks rather than brick filled with concrete. We also found a few of the Van Gogh 'spots'

In the 6th century BC, the Greeks colonized the region. Under the Roman thumb, Arles thrived and surpassed its rival Marseille. Its glory started in the 1st century BC and lasted until the 5th. The town was a hub in the interconnecting land and water ways, a port of importance (then the sea came much closer than it does now) and a center of Provençal culture. After the fall of the Roman empire, Arles languished and declined. The Roman structures fell into disarray, their stones used for Christian churches and monasteries. Today, the Arenes remains, but the theatre is more of a ruin: only two columns remain. In the 12th century Arles had a strong revival, magnificently shown by the church of St Trophime. Its portal is rich in splendid carvings.

One element of Arles' history is of great interest: Vincent van Gogh, the Dutch painter spent just fifteen, dramatic, months in this town and made 200 paintings here, the locations of some of which are marked with plaques.

On the outskirts of town is Montmajour Abbey but we only viewed it from outside as accessibility looked limited, and there were many other stops to make today. We did drive through a charming town called FontveilleEn savoir plus
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Day 41 Provence Day 1
1 juin 2023, France ☁️ 19 °C
A driving tour of the Luberon region east of Avignon. Easy driving conditions and so much to see in only 100km: An agricultural region with many farms, orchards, vineyards and roadside produce stands giving way to beautiful scenery in foothills and mountains.

Left the car in the public lot by the Rhone just outside the city walls and walked back to our apartment.En savoir plus
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Fontaine-de-Vaucluse
1 juin 2023, France ☁️ 26 °C
This village of about 600 people is the location of the largest underground spring in France and is the source of the river Sorgue. It once had several paper mills powered by the water flow, but is now a pretty tourist town. It also has an very ancient and austere church in the Romanesque style dating back to the 10th century called St. Veran.

The water in the fast flowing river here was unique. The water plants growing at the bottom with the clear water flowing atop and the sunlight filtering through gave the river a green iridescence that we had never seen before - very memorable. We decided to enjoy a drink in a riverfront café to enjoy this bucolic scene of the town buildings, bridge, ruins from the mill, water and the striking granite cliffs in the background. Unfortunately, our break was cut short by approaching thunder. Would have definitely liked to have lingered here, perhaps for dinner.En savoir plus
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Royere Museum of Olive Oil
1 juin 2023, France ☁️ 26 °C
La Royère by the village of Oppède is an organic wine and olive oil producer
with visits & tastings. The museum is very educational about all aspects from picking to production, old presses to modern technology.

The domesticated Olea Europa olive tree adapts very well to dry and sunny climates. Pruning is performed at the end of winter to maintain open space in the center of the tree, which enables sunlight to reach all the branches. Harvesting is performed with rakes that literally comb the branches and begins in November when the fruits become ripe.

There are around 30 different pressing units, cultivation tools, transport and storage equipment, miller tools, etc.

This private collection of Olive Oil making tools was really quite extensive and an interesting stop. This was one of the highlights of Provence.En savoir plus
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Abbaye Notre-Dame de Sénanque
1 juin 2023, France ⛅ 21 °C
The Provençal Abbey is a Cistercian Abbey which is best-known for its lavender production. The abbey is still in use today and seven times a day, the monks who reside there gather to pray together in the church. The monks make their livelihood by selling lavender and tending to honeybees. It was founded in 1148 and the church was consecrated in 1178.

We viewed the Abbey from the outside, as the opening times did not fit with our visit, but Rick Steves advised it was nothing special on the inside. It did have a nice gift shop and we bought some sable cookies made locally.

It was pleasant on the grounds, so we were able to enjoy our picnic lunch on a bench under a shade tree.En savoir plus
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Gordes
1 juin 2023, France ☀️ 23 °C
After breakfast, Doug and Nancy went to pick up the rental car at the TGV station. This time a stick shift Renault. Odd gear shifting meant a few stalls as Doug got used to things in the parking lot before heading on to the highway. Soon we were out into the country side.

Gordes is an all stone town with a spectacular setting that has been occupied since Neolithic times. It was picturesque from a distance; but we did not get out to explore the town.En savoir plus
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Les Halles Market
1 juin 2023, France ⛅ 15 °C
Doug and Nancy started the day at the local market where there was a good selection of everything we needed plus. Nancy decided on a local cured sausage and a local olive and anchovy tapenade; the later which no one was fond of. Somewhat expensive but excellent produce and after you get used to having fresh bread you never want to return to the sliced frozen we have at home.En savoir plus
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Travel to Avignon
31 mai 2023, France ☁️ 18 °C
A 1530h Ouigo high speed double decker from Nice with a change in Aix-en-Provence. Stress point was when it was feared Nancy got on the wrong train as she had been assigned a different car than Doug and Janet. However, all was well and we caught a taxi to check-in in our two bed apartment in the centre of Avignon: Hotel Garlande Le Madeleine. It was drizzling and this historical centre on first glance appeared rather deserted. The apartment cheered us up as it was spacious and nicely appointed. Jan decided she would use the next day to catch up on some rest.En savoir plus
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Massena Museum
31 mai 2023, France ☁️ 22 °C
Doug and Janet took this in while Nancy got caught up on a few things at the hotel. The museum is a nicely presented exhibition of some of the historical images of Nice and of paintings of battles of the Napoleonic Wars and portraits of generals including the namesake of the museum

The villa and museum were named after Victor Masséna, grandson of Marechal Andre Massena, Prince of Essling, Duke of Rivoli, one of Napoleon’s generals. After its completion, the villa initially served as the winter residence of the Masséna family for many years. After the death of the father, the son inherited the villa. He sold it in 1919 to his hometown Nice. The latter converted the villa into today’s museum and made it accessible to the general public.

After the museum, we all reunited at Bar des Chauffeurs where we had a pleasant lunch before departing to catch the train to Avignon.En savoir plus
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Nice Old Town
30 mai 2023, France ☁️ 24 °C
We dipped into Nice Old Town to find a place for dinner. There was an atmospheric plaza avec accordion minstrel to add to the ambiance. We sat down at a Le Clocher and had a memorably unimpressive meal that did not match the lovely setting in any way. On looking at the sea bass fillet with béarnaise sauce, Nancy asked Doug if he though it might make him sick and he said "it could". He ate it anyway but didn't get ill thank goodness. In any trip there's going to be accommodation or meals that are less than you hope and this was one of those times. The rest of Old Town seemed rather run down so we did not feel it was a highlight of Nice.En savoir plus
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Promenade des Anglais
30 mai 2023, France ☁️ 25 °C
On arrival back in Nice after visiting the Rothchild estate, Nancy and Doug picked up some fixings for lunch which we ate on the patio of the hotel with Jan then we all headed out for a walk along the promenade. Jan was not impressed by the cobblestoned beach thinking the 'famous French Riviera' should at least have fine sand. but the views and walk were lovely.

Starting in the second half of the 18th century, the English aristocracy took to spending the winter in Nice, enjoying the panorama along the coast. In 1820, some of the English proposed that they could work on the construction of a walkway along the sea. It was funded by the Reverend Lewis Way and members of Holy Trinity Anglican Church. The city of Nice, intrigued by the prospect of a pleasant promenade, greatly increased the scope of the work. It extends from the airport on the west to the Quai des États-Unis ("United States Quay") on the east, for a distance of approximately 7 km.En savoir plus
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Villa & Jardins Ephrussi de Rothschild
30 mai 2023, France ☀️ 23 °C
The Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild was built on a promontory on the isthmus of Cap Ferrat overlooking the Mediterranean Sea between 1907 and 1912 by Baroness Béatrice de Rothschild (1864–1934). a member of the Rothschild banking family and the wife of the banker Baron Maurice de Ephrussi, The gardens are classified by the Ministry of Culture as one of the Remarkable Gardens of France, whilst the villa itself has been classified as a monument historique since 1996. Upon her death in 1934, the Baroness donated the property and its collections to the Académie des Beaux-Arts division of the Institut de France. It is now open to the public.

Doug and Nancy caught the bus for a 30 minute hill top climb from Nice to visit this Villa and gardens which was very interesting and had beautiful views over the bay to Nice. Doug was a bit unsettled by this "playground of the wealthy" ; Nancy said she liked it and could fit right in.....En savoir plus
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Travel to Nice
29 mai 2023, France ☁️ 24 °C
Italrail at 0655h from Rome to Genoa to Ventimiglia along the Italian Rivera then French TER along the French Rivera to Nice arriving 1700h A rather long trip; the Italian trains proved challenging, especially when we got off walker, luggage and all and realized at the first of two downtown Genoa stops 2-minutes apart and quickly clamored on again hoping everything was aboard before it took off. As soon as we passed into France, we noted the polite formality of the French people who offered us help getting off the train. Best Western Brice Garden is a nice modern full service hotel, so a nice luxurious change of pace.En savoir plus
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Day 37 - Rome Day 3
28 mai 2023, Italie ⛅ 19 °C
Janet was booked for the Borghese with Nancy while Doug headed off to explore a Roman seaport with a bonus on the way home. A sublime 'best day ever' mix of history, art, architecture, and music!
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St Paul Outside the Walls
28 mai 2023, Italie ☀️ 28 °C
Doug had a major double surprise delight. He noticed he had to change trains on the way back at "St. Paul" and checked the map to find that is the location of the last of the papal basilicas he was trying to get to. Then, a sublime moment when a twenty person choir started setting up for a concert of classical chorale works.

Erected during the fourth century AD, the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls (Basilica di San Paolo Fuori le Mura) is one of the four major basilicas of Rome, and the second largest after St. Peter's Basilica. It was founded on the burial ground of St. Paul after his execution in the first century. The entrance is via a lovely courtyard with a statue of the Saint and a golden mosaic over the façade. Inside are enormous marble columns and above that, a row of portraits of every Pope to the present. There are only four empty places left though, so legend is the Judgement Day will be when the fourth Pope from now dies. I wish them all long lives.

Then, to my delight, a 45 minute concert of voices in this perfect setting. Goosebumps as a single soprano sings Pie Jesu and fills this massive space without microphones.En savoir plus
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Via Veneto
28 mai 2023, Italie ⛅ 28 °C
After the tour of the Borghese Gallery, Nancy and Jan got off the bus on Via Veneto, one of the most famous and expensive streets of Rome and where the classic 1960 La Dolce Vita was set. They enjoyed a somewhat overpriced piece of cheese cake in a sidewalk cafe.En savoir plus
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Ostia village
28 mai 2023, Italie ☀️ 26 °C
After a full morning in the ruins, Doug exited to the nearby village which was a tiny Medieval village with an old fort, and even a good shawarma for a cheap lunch.
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