Wafflesand crepes Paris style
15 апреля 2023 г., Франция ⋅ ☁️ 9 °C
I talked Doug into grabbing some lunch before heading to our next tour. Under the Notre Dame hotel across from the Cathedral that I stayed in last December, there is a waffle and crepe house that IЧитать далее
Sainte Chapelle
15 апреля 2023 г., Франция ⋅ ☁️ 10 °C
In early December 2022, I visited Sainte Chapelle after completing my Camino de Santiago de Compostela in Spain. Now I got to bring my Douglas to this beautiful church that was originally used only byЧитать далее
Le Conciergerie
15 апреля 2023 г., Франция ⋅ ☁️ 11 °C
Next we visited the Conciergerie which used to be a gaol and once housed Marie Antoinette before she was beheaded. Now it is the Palais de Justice or Palace of Justice and has police officers workingЧитать далее
Escargot anyone?
15 апреля 2023 г., Франция ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C
After a day of sightseeing, we returned to our hotel for our next Gate 1 tour orientation meeting. Our new tour director is Simeon, a Frenchman from the south of France. We have 28 people on this partЧитать далее
Sunset cruise on the Seine
15 апреля 2023 г., Франция ⋅ ☀️ 13 °C
Full of escargots, we walked past the Eiffel tower, crossed the street and descended the steps to the river cruise dock where we caught the 8:00 pm boat. Sunset was slated for 8:40 pm, so the timingЧитать далее
The Eiffel tower at night
15 апреля 2023 г., Франция ⋅ 🌙 10 °C
In order to get our tickets for the Eiffel tower that let us use the elevator and would take us to the second floor and the summit, I had to book in February, and when I finally got through, there wasЧитать далее
The Catacombs
16 апреля 2023 г., Франция ⋅ ☁️ 10 °C
After our late night at the Eiffel tower yesterday, we were glad we could sleep in a bit this morning. Our tickets for the Catacombs had an entry time of 11:00 am, and we had instructions to get thereЧитать далее
The Arc de Triomphe
16 апреля 2023 г., Франция ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C
When we first arrived in Paris, we stopped at the Arc de Triomphe for photos, but today we decided to go right up to the top of the arch. We took the M6 metro from the Catacombs stop to L'etoilleЧитать далее
Montmartre, Sacre Coeur
16 апреля 2023 г., Франция ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C
Tonight we were driven to Montmartre where the Basilica Sacre Coeur is found. The area around the church is filled with artists and this was the place where impressionism was born. Monet, Gauguin andЧитать далее
Illuminations Tour with wine
16 апреля 2023 г., Франция ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C
We finished up our visit to Montmartre with a meal at La Bonne Franchette, a restaurant near the foot of the church. To start our dinner, we were served Kir, which is a blackcurrant liqueur mixed withЧитать далее
Champagne
17 апреля 2023 г., Франция ⋅ ☁️ 11 °C
This morning we said goodbye to Paris and headed east to the Champagne region. The soil, weather and growing season creates grapes and wine that makes champagne or sparkling wine. Champagne resultsЧитать далее
Dijon
17 апреля 2023 г., Франция ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C
After a day of driving, we arrived at Dijon, home of the tasty mustard that I like to cook with. Here we took a walking tour around the historic city centre following our local guide and the metal owlЧитать далее
Dijon mustard tasting
17 апреля 2023 г., Франция
Once our guided tour was finished, Doug and I circled back to see some spots more closely. We touched the ancient stone owl on the cathedral with our left hand to get our wish, and then we went into aЧитать далее
Beaune
18 апреля 2023 г., Франция ⋅ ☁️ 7 °C
We left our hotel in Dijon by 8:30 am and headed towards Lyon. In the late morning, we arrived at Beaune which is located deep within wine country. Our bus had been following the "Route de Grand Cru"Читать далее
Marche au Vins, Beaune
18 апреля 2023 г., Франция ⋅ ☁️ 11 °C
At a private wine cellar named Marche au Vins, we received an explanation about this great wine area. Bottles of wine from here are sold as some of the most expensive wine in the world. Most of theЧитать далее
Basilica of Fourviere, Lyon
18 апреля 2023 г., Франция ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C
Lyon was first founded by the Romans high on a hill overlooking the Rhine and Daune rivers. As we climbed the hill in our bus, we passed some Roman ruins and an amphitheater before coming to theЧитать далее
Cathedral Saint-Jean-Baptiste, Lyon
18 апреля 2023 г., Франция ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C
Late afternoon brought us to the Saint Jean the Baptist Cathedral in Lyon, where I found my familiar Camino scallop shell on the sidewalk. Many pilgrims start their walking their Camino de Santiago inЧитать далее
Aix-en-Provence
19 апреля 2023 г., Франция ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C
This morning we boarded our bus at 8:00 am and headed south to Aix-en-Provence, which is an area known for lavender fields, fields of fresh produce, ratatouille and almonds. It is also famous forЧитать далее
Mary Magdalene at St. Baume
19 апреля 2023 г., Франция ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C
As we continued on our trip, we passed by the municipality of Plan-d'Aups-Sainte-Baume, which became the sanctuary of Mary Magdalene in France. She traveled here by boat and evangelized the area, andЧитать далее
Fragonard perfume factory, Grasse
19 апреля 2023 г., Франция ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C
On our way to Juan les Pins, Antibes, we made a stop at the town of Grasse to visit the Fragonard perfume factory. We learned a bit about making fragrances, such as it takes one tonne of flowers toЧитать далее
St. Paul de Vence, the walled city
20 апреля 2023 г., Франция ⋅ ☀️ 14 °C
We traveled about an hour from Juan les Pins to St. Paul de Vence, which is a fortified city high up in the hills on the edge of the Alps. In medieval times, this city was on the border between whatЧитать далее
Saint-Paul-de-Vence, the city of Art
20 апреля 2023 г., Франция ⋅ ☀️ 16 °C
Saint,-Psul-en-Vence was a haven for artists and in particular, Marc Chagall lived here and is now buried here. Art abounds within these walls and everywhere we looked there were paintings orЧитать далее
Sur le Pont d'Avignon
21 апреля 2023 г., Франция ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C
This morning I sang "Sur le pont d'Avignon, on l'a dance, on l'a dance. Sur le pont d'Avignon, on l'a dance tous le monde." to Doug as we left our hotel room. After hearing and singing that song forЧитать далее
Palace of the Popes
21 апреля 2023 г., Франция ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C
After a bit of an explanation about d'Avignon, our tour director, Simeon, left us to explore on our own in this walled city. After eating our sandwiches for lunch in the main square, Doug and I walkedЧитать далее
Avignon
21 апреля 2023 г., Франция ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C
Doug and I returned to the square where we had eaten lunch near the old fashioned merry-go-round and I bought a print of Avignon surrounded by lavender fields in bloom from an artist selling hisЧитать далее





































































































































































































































































