Our European Adventure 2018

A 6 month trip on a shoestring Read more

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Our European Adventure 2018 Traveler
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Burgos Cathedral inside
June 9, 2018 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 54 °F
This staircase is an entrance on the side of the cathedral that has a higher street. It was designed by an Italian architect to hug the wall and take up very little of the interior space. Behind the altar in the ambulatory are magnificent stone carvings from Jesus life.Read more
Traveler Saint Gregory, known for being a prolific writer, and converting England to Christianity.
6/18/18Reply
TravelerSome very talented people back then .... beautiful
6/18/18Reply
TravelerWe agree!
6/18/18Reply
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Our European Adventure 2018 Traveler
Burgos Cathedral Chapels
June 9, 2018 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 54 °F
The many ornate chapels have carved wooden choir stalls in each (unique because they don’t appear in other cathedrals we’ve seen). The artwork took our breath away. So much color, wood and stone carvings, gold leaf, and paintings—it was overwhelming!Read more
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Our European Adventure 2018 Traveler
Chapel of the Constables
June 9, 2018 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 55 °F
This chapel is known as a cathedral within a cathedral. It is much bigger than the others. as it is dedicated to the founders of the cathedral. It is loaded with artwork and is a highlight of the tour.Read more
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Our European Adventure 2018 Traveler
The Cloisters
June 9, 2018 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 55 °F
And there is more!
TravelerMost of the time you seem to have these places all to yourself, are there a lot of people that just aren’t in the photos or is it quiet around these places?
6/18/18Reply
TravelerIt was still early in the season, but there are people around. I try not to show crowds my pictures. Sometimes I crop them out.
6/18/18Reply
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Our European Adventure 2018 Traveler
Rooms off the Cloisters
June 9, 2018 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 55 °F
The end--time for lunch! We had a lot to talk about after this experience!
TravelerBeautiful
6/18/18Reply
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Our European Adventure 2018 Traveler
Lesaka, Basque Country
June 9, 2018 in Spain ⋅ 🌧 64 °F
After lunch we drove North toward the coast. The Basque Country is very mountainous, and most of the homes in the mountains looked alpine, so it felt like part of Switzerland. But the names are strange to us as the Basque people have their own language (lots of Xs and Zs on the signs). Our B&B host lives in Lesaka, a small town in the hills. It was very quaint there—with more narrow, winding streets, as Dean found out trying to go to the grocery store. He said that American sidewalks are wider than some of the streets. Of course, the the town was founded in 1402! We had fun talking with our host, using Google Translate, and she gave us lots of information about the area’s sights.Read more
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Our European Adventure 2018 Traveler
Beautiful San Sebastian
June 10, 2018 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 68 °F
San Sebastian is often called the most beautiful city in Spain. Whenever we told our Spanish friends we were going there, they would get all dreamy-eyed, and give us lots of advice on favorite places to go. There are great views: the town spreads out from the shell-shaped beach. The harbor is surrounded by hills and you can see islands on the edge of the bay, with the ocean beyond.Read more
TravelerThis looks like a place for me 😊
6/19/18Reply
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Our European Adventure 2018 Traveler
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Landmarks in San Sebastian
June 10, 2018 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 68 °F
The first picture is actually the library!
Traveler Is this a Gazebo or Conservatory? I like it.
6/19/18Reply
Traveler It's like a bandshell, used for performances in the park.
6/20/18Reply
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Our European Adventure 2018 Traveler
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San Sebastian Old Town
June 10, 2018 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 68 °F
A celebration of heritage with folk music, and other scenes.
Traveler Playing the flute and drum together-what talent!
6/19/18Reply
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Our European Adventure 2018 Traveler
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San Sebastian: Gourmand's Delight
June 10, 2018 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 70 °F
The old town is fun to wander around and there were lots of people there as it was Sunday. It’s a great place to try new foods. We ate pintxos (appetizers) washed down with hard cider, churros dipped in hot chocolate, and gelato. (Thanks, Roman and Jorge!) Wish we would have had longer to follow up on all the suggestions!Read more
Traveler She'd better say, "Yes!"
6/19/18Reply
Traveler Made a meal out of pintxos-Yum!
6/19/18Reply
TravelerYum
6/19/18Reply
TravelerIt was!
6/20/18Reply
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Our European Adventure 2018 Traveler
Arrival in France: Dune du Pilat
June 11, 2018 in France ⋅ ☁️ 64 °F
Continuing North, we crossed the border into France, but we barely knew the border was there. The EU allows us to cross borders without having to show our passports. We used GPS (also known by us as the Queen, Elizabeth, or Queenie) to find Dune du Pilat, and she took us on a little road through nowhere to get to it.

Dune du Pilat is a huge sand pile 360 ft high. The winds are shifting the sand away from the beach, so it is gradually covering the forest behind it. We went up the 200+ steps and from there we climbed to the top. It was drizzling and very windy so we didn't get good pictures, but it was impressive.Read more
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Our European Adventure 2018 Traveler
Bordeaux
June 12, 2018 in France ⋅ 🌧 61 °F
Our host's daughter could speak some English, and she helped us figure out the Park and Ride system for the Tram into Bordeaux. (It wasn't easy!) Bordeaux is an old French city on the Garrone river, with lots of 18th to 19th century mansions, a palace, a grand theater, and cathedrals of course. Renovations are ongoing, but they have a long way to go.

This is Place du la Bourse, the most famous picture-spot in the city with its Mirror d’Eau reflecting the grand palace, and the Three Graces Fountain in front. There are nice views of the river and its bridges too.Read more
TravelerThis looks like a beautiful city! Glad you are seeing so much. SC 👍
6/20/18Reply
TravelerThanks for coming along!
6/21/18Reply
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Our European Adventure 2018 Traveler
Monuments in Bordeaux
June 12, 2018 in France ⋅ ☁️ 63 °F
This is a monument to the French Revolutionaries. It was good to see it has been cleaned and is nice and white again. The cathedral is also being cleaned up. The tower was built separately, to reduce the instability of the cathedral. And we saw a nice historic city gate with a grand facade.Read more
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Our European Adventure 2018 Traveler
Bordeaux: Cité du Vin
June 12, 2018 in France ⋅ ⛅ 68 °F
We had to visit the Cité du Vin (City of Wine), the International Wine Museum. We enjoyed tasting some wines from around the world. We were given a chip card, which we inserted into the slot, then we picked which wine we wanted to taste and it was dispensed automatically. At the end the chip card is totaled up. Each of our tastes was about 1€50 (about $1.75). There were more expensive ones, of course. So many choices, but Dean still had to drive, so we limited ourselves.Read more
TravelerYou look pretty 😃. Did you test ALL the vino? 🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷
6/19/18Reply
TravelerDean was pretending!
6/20/18Reply
TravelerLooks like a neat place. I think Sun Valley should install one of those to make money so we wouldn't have to pay to have our trees trimmed.
6/20/18Reply
TravelerSounds like a plan!
6/20/18Reply
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Our European Adventure 2018 Traveler
Brittany American Cemetery, St. James
June 13, 2018 in France ⋅ ⛅ 64 °F
Driving North, we happened to see a sign for an American Cemetery and Memorial, so we stopped to visit it. It was beautifully landscaped, and had a lovely chapel, with maps of the battle lines inside in both French and English. It was very moving.Read more
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Our European Adventure 2018 Traveler
Saint-James
June 13, 2018 in France ⋅ ⛅ 66 °F
Saint-James is a darling little town, with international flags hanging across the main street. We stopped at an old 1920s hotel to have coffee.

As you can see, Mc Donald's is everywhere! It's a good place to get WiFi, after 10 am when they open.Read more
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Our European Adventure 2018 Traveler
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Battle of Normandy: Memorial to Caen
June 14, 2018 in France ⋅ ☁️ 57 °F
Driving through Normandy is beautiful. Hard to believe this was all torn up in the war.

The Memorial to Caen is the most comprehensive museum about WWII. It includes events leading up to the war, during the war, and post war (cold war). There was also an old German bunker to visit and a movie, "Battle of Normandy: 100 Days that Changed the World". Most of Caen was destroyed during the battle. The museum had a lot of information, and we ran out of energy to see the cold war exhibits. It was all well done and very sobering.Read more
Traveler Country road with hedgerows.
6/20/18Reply
Traveler Fiat Topolino, which means Little Mouse in Italian--forerunner of the Volkswagen.
6/20/18Reply
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Our European Adventure 2018 Traveler
Omaha Beach, Normandy
June 14, 2018 in France ⋅ ⛅ 61 °F
“No mission too difficult. No sacrifice too great. Duty first.” (Quoted from the stone monument on the beach.) This D-Day Landing site is also commemorated by the metal sculpture, “The Braves”. We imagined the hardships the servicemen had landing and making it up the hill behind the beach. Overwhelming how so many lost their lives in the first 24 hours!

We stopped in the little town, Vierville-sur-Mer, and bought apple cider and calvados, which the business owner makes himself. There were some WWII pictures on the outside walls of the shop. One was of nurses who were shipped in to care for the wounded children, something we don’t usually think about.Read more
TravelerSo many lost their lives here. It must have been amazing to see. SC
6/21/18Reply
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Our European Adventure 2018 Traveler
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Normandy American Cemetery
June 14, 2018 in France ⋅ ⛅ 63 °F
What a beautiful memorial! Excellent sculptures and a circular chapel with a mosaic ceiling. They didn’t start the landscaping until 1956, when all of the soldiers were moved that families wanted in the States instead of here.Read more
Traveler "Quote inside: Think not only upon their passing. Remember the glory of their spirit."
6/21/18Reply
TravelerBeautiful!
6/21/18Reply
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Our European Adventure 2018 Traveler
Normandy: "Flowers of Memory"
June 14, 2018 in France ⋅ ☁️ 63 °F
We were lucky to see a Flowers of Memory ceremony in which French children were putting flowers on the specific graves of servicemen they’d “adopted”. Our national anthem was played on bells—we’d never heard it that way before and it was very moving! The atrocities the French suffered are still remembered, as well as their gratitude to the Allies for their freedom.

The children also visited a site where the cemetery overlooks a D-Day Landing area at the base of the hill.Read more
TravelerMust have been very moving!
6/21/18Reply
TravelerIt was!
6/22/18Reply
TravelerNow that’s something I wish I could have experienced Wonderful glad you were there for it
6/25/18Reply
TravelerWe had actually read about this kind of thing way before our trip, and we felt fortunate to see it for ourselves!
6/27/18Reply
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Our European Adventure 2018 Traveler
A Day Off in Le Mesnil-Amey
June 15, 2018 in France ⋅ ⛅ 52 °F
Our first pet-sitting was cancelled, so we had to make alternative arrangements for the next few days. We were fortunate to be able to stay an extra day at the studio we were in. I had caught a cold and needed to rest anyway. We washed clothes, hung out, and found another B&B available in Brittany.Read more
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Our European Adventure 2018 Traveler
Langueux, Brittany: Great B&B Hosts
June 16, 2018 in France ⋅ ☁️ 61 °F
We drove to our next B&B, and met our hosts Alexandra and Julien, a 28 year old couple who are very sweet. We were their first guests in the little house they have just finished renovating out of a garage or storage building. It is very well designed and well-constructed, and they are rightly proud of it, since they did it all by themselves!

They also welcomed us with cider that her sister makes and sells, and some local crepes. The unit isn’t quite ready (no internet or TV yet) but they were so nice, we didn’t mind. We found out that Brittany has its own language, based on its Celtic history. Of course, mostly the elderly use it, but it shows up in alternative spellings for place names.Read more
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Our European Adventure 2018 Traveler
Perros-Guirec, Brittany
June 16, 2018 in France ⋅ ☁️ 59 °F
This lovely town is on the Northwest coast of Brittany, called the Pink Granite Coast. Along the way we saw rocky inlets from the sea. A lot of condos are in progress, with great sea views, and old homes are being restored.Read more
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Our European Adventure 2018 Traveler
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Low Tide in Perros-Guirec
June 16, 2018 in France ⋅ ☁️ 61 °F
The tide was out, and it was a weekend, so people were on the beaches, making sand art pictures. Of course, they will only last until the tide comes in! It was mesmerizing watching them work, and probably a meditation for them to do it.Read more
Traveler WOW. just GREAT. 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
6/21/18Reply
TravelerQuite an art to do the sand painting! Too bad it gets washed away so soon!
6/21/18Reply
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Our European Adventure 2018 Traveler
Mont-Saint-Michel: An Island Abbey
June 17, 2018 in France ⋅ ⛅ 57 °F
This Benedictine Abbey is dedicated to St Michael, the archangel. It is an island, connected to the land when the tide is out. It was a Sunday, so lots international bus tours and other people were visiting the area. They get many more during the middle of the tourist season. We used the Park & Ride system and the shuttle dropped us off pretty close. We walked up through the village of hotels, restaurants, and souvenir shops that have been there since pilgrims started coming. About 26 people live on the island, running the businesses. Great views from on high.Read more
TravelerOf all the dumb things that go through my mind, when I saw this I thought of ..... Renaissance Festival Minnesota 😂😂😂 how’s that for dumb?
6/25/18Reply
TravelerIt reminded us of that too.
6/25/18Reply
TravelerIt does remind one of the Renaissance period!
6/27/18Reply
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