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France 2024

julho - setembro 2024
  • Alan Chapman
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  • Alan ChapmanViajanteFrance 2024

    London to Marseille

    18 de julho de 2024, França ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

    I left Matt, my niece Beth's husband, in my flat at 10.25, and took the Jubilee Line from Waterloo to Bond Street followed by the Elizabeth Line to Heathrow. The journey only took one hour. After 30 minutes, I was through baggage check-in and security and ready to have lunch.
    The BA flight to Marseille on an Airbus 319 left 30 minutes late at 14.30 but it still arrived on time at 17.00, an hour ahead of London time. The airport was modern but there was no welcome desk for Paris 2024. I took a bus ride costing 10 Euro for the 30 minute drive along the motorway to St Charles Station in Marseille.
    I checked into the Holiday Inn Express which was across the road from the station. The bedroom was fine with air-conditioning although BBC World wasn't available on the TV.
    Returning to the station for a snack, I had a walk around before returning to the hotel to sort things out, including the updated O2 phone contract with free roaming, having been able to text and WhatsApp Dave.
    There were views of Notre Dame de la Garde and downtown Marseille with the bay beyond from the bedroom window.    Leia mais

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  • Alan ChapmanViajanteFrance 2024

    Cathedrale la Major and Le Panier

    19 de julho de 2024, França ⋅ ☁️ 24 °C

    The day began overcast with a little drizzle but, by the afternoon, the sun came out and, with a clear blue sky and no breeze, it became very hot , and even hotter inland later in the afternoon. This was the first day of three weeks of almost continuous sunshine with temperatures in the low 30s.
    After a good buffet breakfast at the hotel and having bought a Daily Telegraph at a tabac in St Charles Station, I walked past Turkish and Tunisian banks and restaurants, and trams on the way to the Vieux Port, and then on to the 19th century Cathedrale la Major. On the way back, I walked through the hilly and historic Le Panier district with its narrow streets, art and craft shops, and cafes before returning to St Charles Station for a snack.    Leia mais

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  • Alan ChapmanViajanteFrance 2024

    Accreditation and Uniform

    19 de julho de 2024, França ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

    The reason for leaving London a week before the Olympic Games began was to collect my accreditation and uniform before attending a training day.
    Just before 13.00, I took the first of many Metro journeys from St Charles to Rond-Point du Prado which was next to the Parc Chanot and the Accreditation Centre. Unfortunately, there had been a cyber attack on Microsoft in the morning and Paris 2024's accreditation system was down.
    Rather than wasting the afternoon, I walked for 30 minutes to find the Golden Tulip Hotel which was one of my venues to volunteer as a Doping Control Chaperone. After walking through the Parc Borely and continuing along the promenade, I went to the Accreditation Office at the Marina and got my accreditation for Marseille. However, I still needed my Paris accreditation for the Paralympics plus a public transport ticket for Marseille. I was told that Paris 2024's systems had been restored so I took a bus back to the Parc Chanot and joined the queue to receive my Paris accreditation and transport ticket.
    The uniform had to be collected from the Decathlon shop, not in Marseille, but in Aubagne which was 20km north of Marseille and reachable only via bus or local train. Fortunately, a volunteer from Montpelier gave a lady from Strasbourg and myself a lift to the Decathlon out-of-town warehouse shop, and back to a Metro station..
    For dinner, I had the plat de jour at a restaurant near the station and returned to the hotel to prepare for the training day tomorrow.
    There were many young backpackers in the station plus Lime bikes and scooters on the streets.    Leia mais

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  • Alan ChapmanViajanteFrance 2024

    Training Day

    20 de julho de 2024, França ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

    Another journey on Metro Line 2 to Rond-Point du Prado and then Bus 83 took me to the Marina for the 08.00 start of the Training Day. There was a presentation in French, a tour of the site, and a video connection to one of the doping control organisers. There were about 10 Doping Control Volunteers, all French apart from myself. They kindly translated into English where necessary. We were each given a Swatch watch, water bottle, and ten return-journey public transport tickets. The chaperones set up a WhatsApp group which came in very handy over the next three weeks in conjunction with the Webex app which Paris 2024 used for communications. I had my photo taken with the Olympic and Paralympic mascots.
    In the afternoon, I took Bus 83 back to Vieux Port along the Corniche which was very busy. There were a few rocky and sandy beaches.
    Back at St Charles, I bought a return train ticket to Monte Carlo for 84 Euro for tomorrow's journey.
    I had lunch at a brasserie outside the station and then stayed in the hotel catching-up with things.    Leia mais

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  • Alan ChapmanViajanteFrance 2024

    Monte Carlo

    21 de julho de 2024, França ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C

    The train to Nice left at 08.00 and went via Toulon, Cannes and Antibes on the journey which took over two hours. There was a 15 minute wait at Nice for the train to Monte Carlo which was an old, packed, two-tier TER (Train Express Regional). It arrived at Monte Carlo in Monaco at 11.15 having not stopped at the border This was another country for me to tick off.
    I walked to the Casino and paid to go into the gaming salles with roulette, other games, and slot machines. It was very ornate with lots of coloured glass and windows. In the bar lounge, I had a James Bond vodka martini, "shaken, not stirred", for 25 Euro.
    Outside, I found a restaurant and had a Greek salad.
    The reason for the crowded train may have been that the final day of the Tour de France, the time trial, was being held on the 35km route from Monaco to the Promenade Anglais in Nice because Paris was being prepared for the Olympics. Waiting in the light drizzle, I took a photo of Mark Cavendish with the Casino in the background.
    Walking down the stairs which connected the steep roads in Monte Carlo, I reached the start of the time trial, but it was so packed, I decided to cut my losses and return to the station before the crowds. I was just in time to catch a train to Nice where I had to wait an hour for the train to Marseille at 17.10 which was quite slow in arriving in Marseille at 20.30.
    The weather cleared on the way home and there were some nice coastal views at Cannes and Bandol.
    There was lots of graffiti on the approaches to the station as well as on the streets of Marseille and in the Metro tunnels.    Leia mais

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  • Alan ChapmanViajanteFrance 2024

    Miramas

    22 de julho de 2024, França ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    I took a railcar from St Charles west along the Cote Bleue with its beautiful coves. These was followed by the industrial plants on the canals on the Rhone Estuary, and then farmland. It took 90 minutes to reach Miramas but, having walked outside the station and found that there was nothing of note to see, I returned on the next train to Marseilles. This took 140 minutes because the train was stuck outside Marseille for an hour.
    Many of the houses in the suburbs and countryside had creamy walls and red tiles. There was no terraced housing outside the old parts of towns.
    There was a lack of public toilets at St Charles and in the city.    Leia mais

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  • Alan ChapmanViajanteFrance 2024

    The East Side of Vieux Port

    22 de julho de 2024, França ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    After a salad lunch at St Charles and having bought rail tickets for the following three days, I took the Metro to Vieux Port. Boats to Chateau d'If were cancelled due to the rough sea. Although still 30 degrees, this was one of the few days with a breeze, a mild Mistral.
    I walked to the St Victor Basilica and went into the crypt to see the catacombs and sarcophogai. Afterwards, I bought navettes at the oldest bakery in town. These cakes evoke the first evangelists arriving in Marseille by boat.
    I walked to the Parc de Pharo for a great view of the city and port.
    I had grilled tuna for dinner in the Vieux Port.
    Back at the hotel, I changed to a room on the 8th and top floor because there had been music in the courtyard below my 4th floor window the night before. The manager was happy for me to move since I was staying for three weeks. It was quieter although I could still hear live music from somewhere in the city.    Leia mais

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  • Alan ChapmanViajanteFrance 2024

    Nimes

    23 de julho de 2024, França ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    At 08.23, I took a train to Nimes which went through Arles and crossed the Rhone at Tarascon with its castle in sight. Nimes is just across the border from Provence into the Department of Gard in the Region of Occitania.
    I bought a ticket for a number of the historic sites in the city. Firstly, I went into the Ampitheatre and had fun climbing up the different levels. The equipment in the arena in advance of shows in August was a pity.
    The city is very smart with wide boulevards, some following the Roman layout.
    The Maison Carree is the former temple in the Roman Forum. The Musee of Contemporary Art opposite was designed by Norman Foster.
    A road on the way to a church and a Roman gateway had many ethnic restaurants.
    An uphill walk brought me to the Tour Magne which, from the top, provided good views over the city.
    I walked through the Jardin de la Fontaine back into the centre and the Musee de la Romanite which was opened five years' ago. It was very impressive with lots of Roman artefacts including funerary monuments and mosaics. There was an exhibition and video about the legend of Achilles and the Trojan War.
    I had snacks outside the station as well as at a branch of Paul inside the the station which had arched corridors as in the Ampitheatre.
    The train-ride back to Marseille took 70 minute, passing through oil refineries and petrochemical plants west of the city before reaching farmland.    Leia mais

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  • Alan ChapmanViajanteFrance 2024

    Arles

    24 de julho de 2024, França ⋅ 🌬 30 °C

    I took a train to Arles which was smaller and more compact than Nimes, nearly everything being within the ramparts, parts of which remained facing the Rhone.
    I went into the Roman Ampitheatre and Theatre, the latter being prepared for a film or show.
    The L'eglise Saint-Trophime and Le Cloitre Saint-Trophime both had wonderful stone carvings. The nearby Les Cryploportiques were underground passageways with a modern art installation.
    I had the plat du jour at a restaurant in the Place du Forum near the cafe frequented and painted by Van Gogh.
    I visited the Thermes de Constantin, and Le Musee Beattu in the former priory of the Knights of Malta.
    Outside the ramparts, Les Alyscamps was a Roman and medieval graveyard surrounding the St Honorat church. Nearby, Luma Arles was a complex with old sheds repurposed with modern art, and an exhibition tower designed by Frank Gehry with great views from the outside terrace on the 9th floor.
    Arles has a photography festival in July and August, plus lots of restaurants, museums and galleries in the compact space.
    I had dinner back at St Charles where there were lots of SNCF staff welcoming spectators for the first night of Olympic football.    Leia mais

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  • Alan ChapmanViajanteFrance 2024

    Avignon

    25 de julho de 2024, França ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

    I took a train for the 90 minute journey to Avignon up the Rhone valley. The ramparts were still in place, and it was a mixture of Nimes with its historic buildings and Arles with its touristy streets.
    The Palais and Jardin des Papes were very interesting despite the strange art installations in some rooms. There were beautiful painted walls and ceilings in other rooms. A histopad acted as a guide.
    I had an entrecote steak as the plat du jour at an alfresco restaurant in the Place du Palais.
    There was a view of the Rhone, the Pont St Benezet, and the castle in Villeneuve les Avignon across the river from the Rocher des Doms gardens.
    I walked across the Pont St Benezet and a small section of the ramparts.
    I stopped for a glace on another hot day before walking past the Theatre, the Palais du Roure, the Eglise Saint-Pierre, Les Halles, the Eglise des Celestins and the Temple Saint-Martial.
    At 16.00, I took the train back to Marseille.
    In the morning, there had been eight Paris 2024 volunteers and staff at St Charles, and, in the evening, there were many SNCF helpers but the number of spectators at the women's football was only 9,000 compared to 63,000 for the French men's match the previous evening.    Leia mais

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