European Adventures 2022

Celebrating our milestone birthdays in Switzerland, Italy & France in 2022 Read more

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Trip start
September 1, 2022
European Adventures 2022 Traveler
Day 1 Paris to Zurich
September 1, 2022 in France ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C
Our trip started out with an adventure of its own. We were calmly waiting at the departure gate when Peter reached into his backpack and couldn’t find his phone. At security he’d been told to put it in the tray, and it seemed it must still be there.

I was glad I wasn’t with him as he dashed back to find it - which meant exiting the departure area and checking in again through the Nexus line that was at the other end of the terminal from our gate. Problem was, I had his Nexus card so he had to talk his way back in. Meanwhile they’d called our section to board and he still wasn’t back. Tension was mounting. He dashed back at the last moment - frustrated & deflated - then reached into his backpack for his boarding pass, and low & behold, there was his phone. Disaster avoided. On board, after a surprisingly good meal - for Air Canada - plus a glass of wine we both felt much better.

The next stress point for me was putting in a new SIM card when we landed in Paris. I’d ordered one from SIM Corner - $33 for 1 month with 12 GB of data. As we’d arrived in good time, we went into the Sheraton Hotel, an oasis of calm at CDG airport where, with hot sweaty hands, I tried to insert the card. I was so proud of myself that it went in, the problem was it said “ pay as you go.” 😫. I quickly emailed SIM Corner and they replied instantly saying they thought the activation date was Sept 12 not Sept 1. Another disaster avoided. From now on I’ll be getting sim cards from them.

The next challenge was to see if the Rail Planner app with our Eurail passes worked. It did - but didn’t. As we had to reserve a seat, I had to show not only the Eurorail QR code, but the reserved seat’s code . I’d printed it out, but didn’t think to show it. Instead I dashed into the nearby ticket office and muttering my best French barged my way to the front of the line as the train was leaving shortly. Lesson learned. Once on the train all was fine, but between no sleep, jet lag & stress, I only took 2 pics. Not at all like me.
From then on it was smooth sailing from Paris to Strasbourg to Basel to Zurich. 😊

Must confess I’m writing this on Day 3 after Madeline kindly - and super patiently- got me set up on Find Penguins. It’s been quite a learning curve - lots of glitches along the way - but I’m getting more comfortable with it now.Read more
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Day 2 Sils Maria
September 2, 2022 in Switzerland ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C
We met up with John & Madeline in the morning - no actually with John at the train station. He had lost Madeline and by chance ran into us. How lucky is that. Together we figured out which gate our train was at. Thankfully my new SIM card worked and I was able to call Madeline so we all met at the gate. Happy reunion.

They’d purchased 1st class tickets, and we were 2nd class, so we departed to our respective trains. At Landquart we met up again, and they kindly joined us in second class. We were well settled when a young “officious” ticket checker came by. Not only did he ask to see our Eurail pass, but also our passports, which were locked in our suitcases. What a pain digging them out - but we did and all was fine.

We were planning on catching a bite to eat at St Moritz, but the bus to Sils Maria was there so we hopped on. We tried to pay using the machine on the bus, but we didn’t have a Swiss pass so it wouldn’t except our payment. In the end, we never paid - guess the bus driver decided to let us old folks go for free.

The road went by Lake Silvaplaner that was packed with kite surfers. Beautiful to see.
Once in Sils, thanks to Madeline, we settled in easily - a lovely, clean, aesthetic, 2 floor apartment. We then headed off to scout out the land. First stop was Neitsche’s house, - but decided to visit when we had more time. We then headed towards the peninsula where Neitsche walked, contemplated etc. We headed in the wrong direction first, then backtracked and ended up at the stone where he’d carved some “deep wise” thoughts. Madeline has a good base in German, so with her help and Reverso’s translation we got the gist of what he was trying to say - “The world is deep, deeper than thought, all desire wants eternity, deep eternity . . . “ It was a bit too deep for Madeline & me, but Peter & John had read many of this books, so perhaps it made sense to them.

We then stopped at the Edelweiss Hotel for dinner on the upper patio. It was after dinner that Madeline super patiently got me set up on Find Penguins. Not easy because I was hesitant to upload my pics & text, so it kept appearing on her blog. Another lesson learned - if you want your own account you have to be brave and upload everything.

I’ve never done a blog before, but as we were bopping around so much - and it is our BIG 75 & 80 - I thought it would be a good way to help the old brain remember what we did when. There is an option to make it into a book later, which I may pursue.Read more
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Day 3 Hike to Val Fex, Neitzche Hous
September 3, 2022 in Switzerland ⋅ 🌧 11 °C
Day 3 was overcast but we ventured out anyway. Our destination was Val Fex Crasta, but we only made it to Val Fex Platta. As we were heading up a steep climb into the Alpine meadows, it started to rain so we headed into the nearest Hotel - Sonne. As luck would have it, we all ordered the soup of the day - incredible, the best tomato soup ever, served in a white bowl with fresh basil and cheese. Aesthetic and delicious. Wish I’d taken a pic.

After a good 20,000 step hike, we headed back into town past Waldhaus an historic hotel where John Kag, author of Hiking with Nietzsche stayed. Madeline & I actually read this book, and enjoyed it in that it was more about a young man retracing Neitzsche’s steps in Sils Maria as a university student, then again as a young married man with a child, than about Neitzsche’s life and his philosophy. I even read I am Dynamite about his life, but must confess I didn’t find him a very likeable guy - very complex and dominated by his Mom & sister. Peter & John have read many of this books, and would totally disagree with me.

As we were on a Neitzsche roll, we stopped at his home and lost John & Peter there for several hours. I tiptoed past John deeply engrossed in reading some of his musical composition. Peter also was totally engaged. Madeline & I toured about, then sat on the steps outside waiting for the men - and thinking deep thoughts, of course . . . .

En route home we stopped for drinks - and to enjoy the pianist- at Hotel Edelweiss.Read more
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Day 4 Gondola to Fuorcla Surlej
September 4, 2022 in Switzerland ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C
It was a 20,000 step day today - quite proud of ourselves. It started with a lovely walk along Lake Silverplaner - lots of kite surfers out, then a 2 hour hike to the base of the Covatsch gondola. We were now at 1870 meter, but feeling fine.

Amazing views of Lake Silverplaner and Lake Sils heading up to the mid station, then a steep climb to the look out point of Fuorcij Surlej. Great photo ops here with the 3 glaciers in the background. A quick lunch of homemade - not actually homemade - noodle soup, good chats, then we headed back down.

The men decided to take another route,down, their parting words being “If we’re not back by midnight, send out a search party.” Madeline & I arrived at mid station and there was no sign of them. Thinking they were totally happy on their own - no doubt solving the problems of the world - we waited a bit, then decided to head down but to keep an eye out for them, of course.

At the base they still weren’t there, so we walked all the way home, picking up 2 pizzas on the way. We arrived home about 5:45, and they came back shortly there after seemingly disgruntled. They said they’d let 2 gondolas pass waiting for us . . . We have our doubts. . . .
Pizza, wine, beer, good chats and US World Cup tennis - a fitting ending to a great day.Read more
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Day 5 Sils Maria trek to Maloja
September 5, 2022 in Switzerland ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C
Another 20,000 + step day. This time we were off to Maloja. We started off towards Val Fe again, then turned left at Sonne Hotel - tempted to stop for tomato soup again- then headed straight up heading for Isola peninsula. What a climb. The highlight of the day was the goats. They were everywhere, stampeding past us and blocking our road - totally oblivious to the fact we were there. We paused at Isola and watched the men putting up trees to avoid avalanches, then trekked on to Maloja. From here we had another amazing view of the lake and a some kite surfers. On route back I we stopped at Isola for beer, then headed back home.

On route back we treated ourselves to cheese fondue - 4 forks and 2 pots- at Hotel Edelweiss. A swiss speciality we absolutely had to try.Read more
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Day 6 Sils Maria to Zurich
September 6, 2022 in Switzerland ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C
Unfortunately the time had come to depart Sils Maria. The bus was totally packed - in retrospect we should have gotten on at the main station. After a couple of stops, a lady signalled that there was a seat, so I inched myself back. As luck would have it,
it turns out she was Jackie Rosenthal, the granddaughter of Oscar Levy who had translated the complete works of Nietzsche. Needless to say she had lots of interesting stories to tell.
At St Moritz, and we decided to hop on the next train rather than wait for the one we’d booked. Love the Eurorail pass - you take take any train you want, except when you have to reserve a seat. Amazing views from the train including passing a UNESCO heritage site. Madeline got some great pics of the aqueducts, which she kindly shared.
Zurich is charming - not at all what I was expecting. After a great Swiss meal of wiener schnitzel and a huge stein of beer, we wandered through the old town. Wish we could spend a few more days here. Such fun fab 5 days with Madeline & John, but it was time now to head off to Lake Como.Read more
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Day 7 Zurich to Griante, Lake Como
September 7, 2022 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C
Off to Griante, Lake Como. We’re loving our Eurorail Pass - Rail Planner app works beautifully. Spectacular views once again from the train, except when in the world’s longest railway tunnel. The bus from Como to Griante was packed - standing room only, but a young American girl offered me a seat and helped us figure out which stop to get off on. 1.5 hours later our host met us and using a mix of Italian & French, with lots of gestures, helped us settle in. The place is up a steep hill - but the reward is a spectacular view from the balcony. For dinner we hiked up into the main village and found a local pizza restaurant - lovely patio upstairs, while a young girl made the pizzas in the open air on the main floor. We’ll certainly be getting our exercise here hiking up & down the hills.Read more
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Day 8 Exploring Griante & Menaggio
September 8, 2022 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C
Incredible thunder storm last night - a real sound & light show - but by 11 am the sun came out and we ventured out. The 3k walk to Menaggio varied from open path to tiny strip next to the road with cars, motorcycles & bikers whizzing by. We were amazed by how many cyclists there were on these narrow winding roads. The survival techinique must be “own the road.” Menaggio is much larger and more touristy than Griante. Our conclusion - right choice by settling in Griante.

Menaggio stretches up into the hills, and its shore is lined with boats & ferries. We even saw a Canadian flag flying. The heart of the city is Piazza Garibaldi - lots of bars & cafes looking out onto the lake. Highlights were a fresh fruit & veggie shop and a monument by Francesco Somaini dedicated to some silk weavers. It seems Como was one of the silk capitols of the world.

18,000 steps later we arrived home, opened a bottle of Bardolino and made ourselves some pasta - how Italian! All in all a great day. What a contrast between neat, orderly Switzerland and chaotic Italy - but each has its special charm.Read more
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Day 9 St. Martino Church & Bellagio
September 9, 2022 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C
Another 23,000 step day. There were so many great pics, I had trouble limiting it to 10.

In the morning we headed up to San Martino - an 18th century church high in the hills. It was a long steep climb in the heat, but well worth it for the spectacular view of Lake Como and the surrounding cities of Menaggio, Bellagio & Griante. It was super hot - not the best day to forget my water. There were very few on the path - delightful. On route there were 12 niches with religious mosaics and a chapel at mid station dedicated to St Carlo. Upon arriving at San Martino, Peter, of course assumed his meditative ooom pose - I faked it.

After meandering down, we caught the ferry across the lake to Bellagio. What a contrast - noisy, active & packed with tourists. After a pause for beer & bruschetta, I decided we should visit Pescallo, a small fishing village said to be 10 minutes away - obviously not by walking. I forgot that fishing villages mean hikes down to the shore and back up again - 40 minutes later, sweating profusely, we arrived back in the heart of the city.

Lake Como, and Bellagio in particular, seems to be bikers’ paradise. Our ferry back was jam packed with motorcycles.
We ended the evening at La Marianna, a lovely outdoor restaurant that’s been around since 1852 and prepares just 1 set menu per day. Friday, of course, was fish day, which we loved. Crazy thing was they had to cross the hectic road to bring the food to the outdoor restaurant. Interesting to watch. Pic show restaurant before everyone arrived.

What will tomorrow bring?Read more
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Day 10 Kayaking on Lake Como
September 10, 2022 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C
What a glorious day. 25C and sunshine. What a shame we spent the morning filling in docs for the sale of our house. At least that’s done.

We then ventured down to Al Puunt when they had real kayaks - not the cheap plastic ones. What an adventure. The lake looked calm, but being Saturday it was teeming with boat and ferries. Between wakes and backwash it was rock & roll non stop for 2 hours. We made it from Griante as far as Seconda Spiaggia, passing by Tremezzo where there seemed be some kind of celebration going on - lovely ladies in stilettos and music blasting. Can’t believe we didn’t get an invitation.

On route home we tried out a new path up to our place. It was super steep so Pete said he’d check it out and report back. I waited quite a while - at least from my perspective- then decided to head up the hill also. I didn’t see him, so after about 20 minutes I turned around, and while heading down ventured into a lovely cemetery. Not only were there monuments, but photos of each deceased person. From there I must have headed down the wrong path as I ended up back near our kayak place. Yikes, I now had to trek back about 20 minutes along the road. Peter met me along the way - not too pleased - saying he’d been searching all over for me. Lesson learned - when asked to wait, I guess I should wait.

A quick stop at our local mini mart where the lady speaks English and we’re now sitting on the balcony enjoying the view. We’ve eaten out twice, so will be eating in again tonight. Good thing Italian food is so easy to prepare - lots of pizza & pasta.Read more
Traveler Wow, you two
9/14/22Reply
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Day 11 Greenway del lago di Como
September 11, 2022 in Italy ⋅ 🌙 18 °C
Beautiful day, about 25C and not a cloud in the sky. Our adventure today was to wander down the Greenway del lago from Griante as far as we could go in about 2 hours, then meander back. It turned out to be a 24,195 step day.

Being Sunday, the lake was packed with boats & ferries. Seeing it from this perspective, I could see why I rocking & rolling in my kayak yesterday. The beaches are all rocks, so the one stretch of grass we saw was packed with people. Even saw another tattered Canadian flag flying.

Again the route went from wide & lovely to tiny strip along the road. We passed Tremezzo, then headed up into the hills for a steep climb to Chiesa di S Abbondio - great views of the lake. Once back by the lake, we lost the trail at Villa Balbianello, so turned around and tried to find a free table for lunch - not easy. We usually avoid table clothes, but had no choice here. Draft beer, capresse salad and a nice combo of fennel, shrimp & zucchini. Worth remembering. Great people watching.

On route back we headed up into the the hills again to Centro Storico near Griante. Heading down I realized we were on the same path I was on yesterday when Peter thought I was lost - but I wasn’t . . .

It’s been a great 5 days - off to Riomaggiore tomorrow for the next 5. Weather forecast says 3 days of rain - but so did Griante before we arrived and it’s been fabulous. Here’s hoping.Read more
Traveler Stunning
9/14/22Reply
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Day 12 Lake Como to Cinque Terre
September 12, 2022 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C
What a day it was - up at 6:30am, quick yogurt & pack and our host, Ettore, was there at the door to take us to the bus stop. We hadn’t expected that. The bus was packed - lots of students. Peter ended up standing near the door, I found a seat. Must say it was unnerving as the clock on the bus was wrong - implying we were going to miss our train.

We got there in good time and headed off to Milano on reserved seats. Here the problems began. A 30 something Italian guy was sitting in Peter’s seat. When I asked him to move, he flatly refused saying someone was in his seat, so he was going to sit here. I got ticked off and said “NO” we’d booked that seat, so it was his problem, not ours. He had a total hissy fit calling in me a monster plus more Italian names I’m glad I couldn’t understand. Peter signalled the ticket taker, who made the guy move. YIKES what a way to start.

The train was late arriving in Milano, so we dashed through the station and got on the train to Parma with 1 minute to spare. Again we had reserved seats, but someone was in ours, so we took the ones beside them, then got kicked out of those so kicked the people out of ours. Italy is not at all like Switzerland!!!

Here I encountered another problem - my Eurail pass wouldn’t open. I learned that the wifi on the train wasn’t strong enough to open it so I had to go on G4 . Another lesson learned - I’m getting so wise. . . . .

Train 3 took us from Parma to La Spezia - no reserved seats and what a cattle car. I’m going to have to perfect my elbows out barge ahead technique if we’re going to survive here. Peter stood in the entrance way, I eventually found a seat, and finally we got seats together, but far from our luggage.

Train 4 was a short 15 minutes to Riomaggiore - and the site upon exiting the train made it all worth while - Spectacular. Our place is spacious and aesthetic, and the view from the balcony is great - looking down on Main Street. After scouting out the place, taking pics, stocking up on beer, wine & salad stuff - we finally settled down on our tiny patio, nibbled calamares & shrimp and enjoyed the view.

Looking forward to exploring Cinque Terre tomorrow - weather looks great.Read more
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Day 13 My 75th B-Day Hiking Cinque Terre
September 13, 2022 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C
My BIG 75 and what do we do - hike 24,881 steps from Riomaggiore to Manarola, then Monterosso to Vernazza.

This was tough hiking, perhaps the hardest we’ve ever done. Like Grand Canyon but on a goat trail. At times we were both scrambling up holding onto rocks. At certain sections they had rails, which were essential due to the narrow goat trails we were on. Fortunately hikers along the route were friendly, and we took turns letting each other pass. A Swedish group in particular was good fun - great senses of humour.

Starting at Riomaggiore we were expecting a nice easy walk along the coast to Manorola, but saw that the gate was locked. We turned around and headed up the hill to try to reach it from on high. At the information booth we told the lady the route was closed, but she insisted it was open - Wrong, totally wrong. She directed us to another route high in the hills warning us there were lots of steps - a total understatement. There were millions of steps all straight up. Looking at the tiny map we noted that the route was marked EE - expert excursionist. Soooo true. 1.5 hours, and 235 meters straight up & down, we arrived at Manarola. Luckily, we found a lovely outdoor restaurant with Forst beer & seafood - exactly what we needed.

From here, though, we were stuck. There was no way we were going to head back over that trail to Riomaggiore, and the trail to Corniglia was also closed, so we decided to take a boat to Monterosso, the most northern city. This was lovely - relaxing & great views of the next 3 cities - Corniglia high in the hill with no port, Vernazza with it’s rocky beach and Monterosso, said to have a sandy beach, but it looked more like gravel to us.

From here we were expecting a calm easy route back - no such luck. First they dinged us 15 Euros to walk the tail, then we found it was almost as difficult as our earlier hike. It seemed up hill forever - 170 meters up and down so the tiny map said - then finally 2.5 hours later we arrived at Vernazza.

From here we caught the train back to Riomaggiore, picked up some pasta & sauce and happily retreaded to our new home high above the crowds - a lovely oasis of calm.

Sipping beer on our tiny patio, I was delighted to read all the Happy B-Day emails our girls had written. So thoughtful. Also loved the FaceTimes - the wonders of technology.

Yes, B-Day 75 was certainly a wonderful, memorable day.Read more
TravelerWow! A couple of things...1st off,happy birthday, what a way to spend it! 2nd,the pair of you are easily E.E. 3rd, I can understand how hard and tiring that must have been...considering you were allowed to eat during your excursion. 🤣
9/14/22Reply
TravelerThanks for the quick reply and fun comments. So glad you took the time to read my latest blog. You might enjoy our adventures at Lake Como - fab place. Can see why you & Daina chose it.
9/14/22Reply
TravelerWow what a 75 th birthday hike! You set a high bar, Jo-Lynne! Happy Birthday,
9/14/22Reply
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Day 14 - R & R and 75th B-Day dinner
September 14, 2022 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 25 °C
The weather forecast said 100% chance of rain, so we used that as an excuse for a bit of R&R after our marathon trek yesterday.

Finally, I had a chance to launch my blog. Thank you Aaron, Rob & Jim for replying so quickly - delighted to know it actually seems to work.

Just walking around Rio is a workout - narrow staircases everywhere heading up & up. Finally, we found a friendly young girl in the information booth who gave us good suggestions for some “reasonable” hikes the next few days.

A quick stop at 3 of our fav spots - bakery below our apartment where Peter picks up croissants & focaccia every morning, local wine shop, Coop 5 mini mart where we buy all our food - and we were back in time for cocktail hour on our tiny patio sipping Aperol Spritz. Soooo Italian.

Then it was down to the Marina for my B-day dinner at Restaurante dau Chila recommended by our hostess - Michelin sign on the door, good food, but even better setting. Think the owner is a friend of Franca, our hostess.

Forecast tomorrow is 100% chance of rain. Hope it’s as wrong as it was today.Read more
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Day 15 Hike from Corniglia to Vernazza
September 15, 2022 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C
Rested from yesterday, we headed off on another hiking adventure today. As the main E route from here to Corniglia is closed - and we weren’t up for that ridiculous EE trail again - we decided to take the train to Corniglia, hike to Vernazza, and take the train back.

The train ticket machine was the next challenge. I watched several people do it - then “mastered it.” 5 euro each and we were good to go. The train was jam packed - we elbowed our way in, then were sandwiched in the entrance unable to move. Fortunately it was only 2 stops.

Corniglia is high on the hill, so needless to say there were millions of steps leading from the train station to the city. From there, after asking directions, we found the trail and headed off. This route was much more reasonable than our first hike. There were lots of steep steps, and narrow paths with rails, but in between there were some flat sections- enough to get your breathe back. What a relief. It was also overcast with a breeze, which helped. There were lots more hikers - mainly French, but also German.

Midway there was even a shop selling fresh oranges and lemons - but it was so packed with people the only pic I could get was the discarded peels.

1.5 hours later, not sweating or puffing too much, Vernazza came into view. It really is picturesque with its harbour, and multicolour tall buildings. The streets are even narrower than in Rio, and packed with tourists. Finding a table without a table cloth was the next challenge - but a little further from the harbour we found one.

Curious thing - to me anyway - is that the utensils & bread come in brown paper bags.
A light lunch of mixed salad & Moretti beer, with aesthetically packaged olive oil from the region & balsamic vinegar . . . . and life is good. Vernazza is known for its olive trees and high quality olive oil. Loved that they brought bottles of each to our table.

We watched teams of Italian fisherman pulling up their dinghies, one by one onto the shore, wandered through the narrow streets, and paused a moment a Margherita di Antiochus Church, built in the 1500s - I behaved myself this time. The pic shows the real scene - lovely church, beside rickety building with laundry hanging out.

The train trip back was amazingly calm. Perhaps it was the hour - about 4pm - or the station, but we actually got a seat. As always, no one checked our tickets. Guess it’s the honour system, but when it’s packed there’s no way anyone could walk up and down the aisles.

We’re sitting on our tiny balcony now, enjoying our drinks, walnuts & olives and watching the street scene below.

Once again they forecasted rain & thunder storms, and we got overcast skies for awhile then periods of sunshine. Hope they’re wrong again tomorrow.Read more
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Day 16 Last day in Riomaggiore
September 16, 2022 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C
Unfortunately, it’s our last day in Riomaggione - head off to Nice tomorrow - so we decided to explore in & around the city a bit.

We hit all the spots on my must see list - Costello di Riomaggiore built in 1260, Giovanni Batista, founded in 1340, then rebuilt after it collapsed in 1879 - beautiful interior - then hiked up to Santuario di Nostra Signora di Montenero - also called Lady Madonna, 340 meter above Rio.

The route up was “reasonable” & picturesque, with our ears popping as we headed up. The view was spectacular - we could see 3 of the 5 cities. Heading down, Peter, of course, decided we should take the EE (Expert Excursionist) route. See short video. What you don’t see is what happened next.

After heading down the stairs, gripping the rocks, we came to a locked gate, which we inched past then slide slipped down another 10 minutes - then the path ended . . . . Sooooo we had to hike all the way back up. Certainly added to our step count - and sweat level.

Home for lunch on our tiny patio, then out again to explore further. This time down to the harbour, over to more look out points, them a quick stop at our local Coop for the essentials - wine & beer. We’re now happily “home” watching the scene below and sipping our drinks.

A quick reflection on our time here. It’s been a fab 5 days. Peter thinks we should have planned only 4, but I like more time to settle in and explore - especially when there are 5 cities to visit. We actually hiked every route that was open. The only one that was inaccessible was from Manarola to Corniglia.

Overall impression - colourful buildings built high into the hills, amazing scenic views from the trails, steep ascents, rocky descents, super narrow streets packed with people, staircases up everywhere you look, trains running continually between the 5 cities, lots of noise - Italians speak loudly - an air of carefree chaos.

We were disappointed we couldn’t find fresh fish - seems the fishermen found it more lucrative & easier to get into the tourist industry. The small restaurants served more frozen fish than fresh. The focaccia, capresse salad, gelato & local white wine, Litan, were great.

Our place was charming - highly recommend it. Our elderly hostess, Franca, speaking Italian only, said the stove didn’t work. She obviously didn’t know how to operate an induction stove. It worked well - had 3 dinners here - preferred being above the crowds peacefully looking down on it all. Fortunately, the noise subsided about 11 and with shutters closed and AC on it was quiet - at least until 7 when it all started up again.

Advice - perhaps don’t visit until 2024 - 25 when they say all the trails will be open - but don’t count on it. This is Italy after all.Read more
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Day 17 Off to Nice
September 17, 2022 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C
Saturday morning a “herd” of students arrived - good time to leave. We had 4 trains to catch to make it to Nice.

The trains in Rio were running late, and we had tight connections, so we decided to catch an earlier one. Good thing we did, otherwise we wouldn’t have make our connections.

At Rio it was standing room only, but leaving Cinque Terre it finally thinned out. The humourous part of the trip was watching people use the toilette, which we faced on 2 of the train.

Our conclusion - about 60% figured out how to lock the door, the rest ended up “exposed” as people assuming it was unoccupied pushed the button and the door opened. Must confess I was one of those people. YIKES!!! lesson learned - perhaps why I was so amused when it happened to so many others.

Once we hit France, the trains were relatively calm until we hit Monaco, when hordes of young “beautiful” people piled on. Interesting that no one checked passports or tickets going from Italy to France. In fact in Italy we were only asked to show our Eurail pass 2 times - either we looked old and innocent, or it’s an honour system — and you don’t dare get caught.

Our check in went quite well, although we had a bit of trouble with the fob and 3 keys they gave us. We then headed out to get a bite of lunch and explore Nice.

WOW what a city - 7 k of beaches from port to airport, broad promenades- totally different from the narrow streets of Cinque Terre - amazing views of the Mediterranean Sea, beautiful historic building. So much to see & do.

Some highlights were the Promenade des Anglais all along the sea, and 7 statutes in Massena Square that represent the 7 continents and are called Conversation à Nice. The colours constantly change.

Fortunately our place is in the heart of all this. Tomorrow we’ll stock our fridge with the essentials - wine, beer & food and start really exploring.Read more
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Day 18 Exploring Nice
September 18, 2022 in France ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C
Great day exploring. 18, 841 steps - but when it’s along the sea, with a short climb up and down from a castle - it’s a breeze.

This place is amazing. I can see why people rave about the Côte d’ Azure. Our waiter at a small restaurant at the port said he was from Paris, but “Why live there when you have everything here - sea, mountains, beaches, sunshine, good food, fine wine,
. . . . “

I took far toooo many pics of the beaches & street scenes - Peter also was clicking away. See some of his choices below.Read more
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European Adventures 2022 Traveler
Day 19 Our first frustrations
September 19, 2022 in France ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C
The day started out beautifully - great weather, good plan in place. We were going to rent Velo Bleu bikes and cruise Promenade des Anglais from one end to the other.

Bottom line is Velo Bleu won and I lost. I wasted at least 2 hours trying to get it to work - but in the end had to give up.

I set up an account, followed all the steps outlined, got to about step 4, called the number I was supposed to call - the voice message in French said “non valide” and it went back to the beginning. Soooooo frustrating.

Oh well, on to Plan B - a cultural day. First stop Musèe d’art moderne de Nice - closed on Monday. Next stop, Musèe Matisse, said to be the largest collection of his art in the world. After walking half way there, I googled it and it said it was closed from today until Oct 24.

OK, now what to do?? We headed back into the old city near the port, which resembles Cinque Terre with it narrow streets and buildings built into the hills. We had a lovely chat with a young priest outside Chapelle de la Visitation. He said the church still had a congregation of about 300 people, and he had come from another church to give the sermons for a few weeks.

The pics show other highlights we saw - Cimetière du Chateau - hate to think how much all those huge tombstones cost - lovely waterfall, Promenade du Paillon with its fountains, Marché des fleurs - a flea market with a lovely name but just lots of “stuff.”

After our initial frustrations, it actually turned out to be a fun day - and 15,201 steps.
Tomorrow, we’ve booked e-bikes to go to Cannes - there are no road bikes available just city clunkers. This will be an adventure for sure.Read more
TravelerWow Dodie! What a great travel blog! You have really captured the places. Pleased that you are having a good time and wish I were with you. :)
9/19/22Reply
TravelerWe’re having an amazing time. Each country is different and has it’s own charm. Côte d’Azur is as charming as I remember it being. Can’t believe the huge stretch of beaches and clear blue sky. Wish you & Jim were here to explore it with us.
9/20/22Reply
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European Adventures 2022 Traveler
Day 20 Biking to Canne
September 20, 2022 in France ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C
What a fabulous day - 84K biking from Nice to Canne - 22,979 steps. Not sure how that works, but love the stats.

We rented ebikes, only because there were no road bikes. Loved them. Initially we didn’t turn them on- thinking that was whimpy. At the first steep hill, though, we both did. WOW what a difference. We still only turned them on for hills. On the way back, though, as we were worried about getting back by 6:30pm, as required, we both turned on the battery and “sailed.” Easy to do 25 or 30kph with the battery on. Such fun.

As for the actual bike route, from Nice to Cannes it was all along the Sea - spectacular scenery everywhere. Took far too many pics and videos trying to capture it all.

The bike path from Nice to Antibes was wide, easy & spectacular. The highlights were Villeneuve Louvet with its aesthetic white apartment complex, and miles & miles of sandy beaches & yachts.

We got lost a bit in Antibes, but I’d download All Trails - 7 days for free- which I loved. Showed us exactly where we were and plotted our route. We’re considering paying $56/ year to always have access to it. Meanwhile we have it for our time here and in Agde where we’ll be doing lots of biking.

From Antibes the bike route was along the road - either a narrow bike lane or actually on the road. It wasn’t bad - traffic was reasonable and drivers were courteous.

At Golfe Juan, it went back to a lovely bike trail into Canne. What a huge, impressive city - packed with yachts, and “beautiful” people. We found a restaurant near the main promenade and enjoyed the view.

On the route back we wandered off the trail a bit to stay near the sea and watch the boats and sun bathers. There actually are sandy beaches - not gravel - along this stretch of Côtes d’ Azur.

As we had our “power” on we arrived back at 5:30 pm - 7 hours after we’d left. A quick stop to pick up the essentials again- fish, veggies, beer & wine and we happily settled back into our Nice home.

We’re thinking of going to Èze tomorrow to see this small historic town high in the hills and hike another Neitzsche’s trail. Stay tuned.Read more
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European Adventures 2022 Traveler
Day 21 Neitzche Hike in Èze
September 21, 2022 in France ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C
We hit our steps max today - 28,378 - totally unintentionally.

Our destination was Éze, an historic town nearby 1400ft up overlooking the coast - another venue where Neitzsche hiked back in 19th century. Seems we did it the opposite way to everyone else, though.

We took the streetcar to Vauban station, where we caught bus 82 to Éze. Ticketing was smooth & intuitive - not like Vélo Bleu. Soooo glad we caught the bus there and got a seat, because at the first stop it was jam packed with people - standing room only.

A lady from Switzerland, who was traveling with her teenage daughter, asked if we could open a window, which got me into a lovely conversation with her - and a chance to practice my French. She was “Tellement gentille” and didn’t even grimace too much at my French.

It was so crowded getting off the bus, we instantly headed off to find the trail - no actually we headed off to find a toilette. Surprise! There was a sign saying “Fermature de 13h a 13h30 pour le déjeuner. “ YIKES only in France . . . .

We didn’t pause to tour the city, just headed down the trail. It was super steep with slippery gravel and rocks. Took us a good hour to get down - stepping carefully. This is when we realized that most people were heading up from the Éze train station below.

At the bottom of the trail we found a small outdoor restaurant and ordered our usual Niçoise salad. An older couple from Germany, who were touring around Europe in their large motor home (5 wheeler) sat next to us and we got into a good long conversation with them.

The decision then was whether to take the 100 bus back to Nice, but the “royal we” decided we should climb back up to Éze - not the trail we came down, but another route that All Trails suggested. Glad we had that app as it managed to get us almost to the top - heading straight up the whole way. See video.

John, we were thinking of you throughout the climb - and agreed that Neitzsche was crazy, fit - or both.

We ended up at a bus station below Éze, so thought we’d wait there for the 82 bus to come down. It came by shortly thereafter - but zoomed past us. The bus driver had obviously never picked up anyone there before.

To make a long story short, we ended up walking 12.4 K back to Nice - arriving at 7:00pm. The plus was that we wandered through a different section of the old town and found a great shop with fresh fish. We picked up fresh tuna - what a treat. We also wandered thorough some quaint streets we hadn’t seen before.

Needless to say, I was happy to get home, crack open a 1664 and chill a bit.Read more
TravelerJo-Lynne……sitting here in Bordeaux……my own 1664, “rewardingly” beside me after ONLY a 14,000 step day here in Bordeaux, reading your latest exploits…..WOW…congratulations on the walk back to Nice and the 28,000 steps! Love your blog…..but too many pictures of Peter accomplishing impossible physical feats. And, love the N poem…..can you explain it? Cheers. John
9/22/22Reply
TravelerDodie, I have done it more than once going up from the train station. The train is frequent and convenient. The bus trip back as I recall is equally fabulous. The last time I did it the scenery along the corniche was spectacular. You and Peter are basically reliving our honeymoon of 1990. The itinerary is very similar. Lunch at La Chevre d'Or in Eze Village was sumptuous. Glad you are having a good time and envious! -J
9/25/22Reply
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European Adventures 2022 Traveler
Day 22 Last day in Nice
September 22, 2022 in France ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C
Vélo Bleu - Finally I won - with a little help from my friend.

Having wasted so much time 3 days ago, I was determined to figure out how Vélo Bleu works. Soooo frustrating. Must confess we went to Agence de la mobilité vélo bleu across the street from the train station, and a young girl kindly attached my account to my Visa card so all I had to do was tap - no 4 steps, no phone call - super simple. Why do they make it so complicated . . . .

We then headed out on our clunkers. Must say, riding from the train station to Promenade des Anglais seemed more dangerous than our trip to Canne. Once on the promenade we went from one end to the other, ending up at the port where we returned our bikes to a nearby stand. This was super simple- now that we knew how.

For lunch, rather than our usual salad Nicoise, we discovered a new fav - galettes - crepes semi folded over ham, cheese and egg. Delish.

We then decided it was time to get a bit “cultured” so walked through old town to Musée National Marc Chagall. Such a lovely building. Chagall wanted it to be more like a home so he hired André Hermant, who worked with Le Corbusier, to design it. The exhibit itself is impressive- especially the auditorium with the stained glass windows. What I found equally interesting was upon leaving we headed down some stairs and found many more prints of his artwork - fun happy circus themes, not the serious religious ones in the museum.

On route home we stopped at our fav mini market around the corner to pick up a few things for dinner, then arrived home at about 5 - much more reasonable than most of our other days.

In retrospect, Nice is well worth at least 6 days. Staying in the heart of the city works best - fun ambience, amazing scenery, easy access to everywhere - charming old city, vibrant new city, interesting nearby cities of Canne, Èze & Monaco.

We’re off to Agde tomorrow. Curious to see what adventures we’ll have there.Read more
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European Adventures 2022 Traveler
Day 23 off to Agde
September 23, 2022 in France ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C
It was an early morning start - up at 6:30am to catch our train. We’d checked out the station yesterday and noticed that many of the ticket gates weren’t working, so wanted to get there in good time.

We had to drop off the keys first, so headed out at 7:30. Fortunately all went well - gates worked, we were early so got seats. The trains ended up packed - people wandering up & down trying to find seats.

After passing Canne the train inched along as it was literally on about a 15 degree angle sloping towards the sea. We were heading around curves with a sheer drop down to the sea - trees were brushing against the train. The conductor announced in French that this pace was for safety reasons. Needless to say, all was quiet on the train. We could see the road we’d biked along 2 years ago, way down below.

Once the train straighten out, it got back up to speed. At St Raphael lots got off, but it filled up totally again. Seems they just keep selling tickets - so best to get there early and battle your way in.

At Marseille we had an hour between trains, so headed to the sushi restaurant we’d been to 2 years ago when we went from Avignon through Marseille to St Raphael. Good memories.

The train was less full heading this way, but packed once again when we hit Montpellier. 3 hours later, we were surprised to see how many people got off at Agde.

Saida, who was supposed to meet us, was working so she sent her husband - a friendly gregarious guy. He didn’t speak English, so we were happily forced to use our French. Must confess we couldn’t understand most of his jokes.

Trying to be a “super host” he toured us all around Agde, the old city, then to Cap Agde, the modern seaside where we we were staying. Along the way he stopped to chat with a friend who owned a restaurant, perhaps coincidentally? He also kept telling us now was the time to buy a place at the Cap as it was becoming “the place to be” on the Côte d’ Azur. He, of course, had friends who could assist us with our purchase. As we had no idea where we were staying, he actually confused us with his grand tour. It would have been better if he’d started at our place. His best advice was when we arrived at our apartment and he said “To buy groceries turn left, for restaurants turn right.”

As his wife Saida usually meets guests, he had no idea how anything worked in the place. We’ve figured most of it out - the washing machine is something I’ve never seen before - archaic, and how to flush the toilet was a complete mystery. We finally found a small button near the floor that when pushed filled up the toilet, then with a huge noise flushed it, then filled it up again. What a racket.

Initially, we weren’t impressed with the place - smelled stale and looked grungy. After opening the windows, cleaning a bit and looking around, we decided it’s actually quite nice. Very spacious, totally unlike our place in Nice - and even has an oven. The last 2 places only had induction stoves. This one has a good old fashioned electric stove and oven - that actually works well.

Before unpacking we wandered out and happily found a Carrefour super close. Peter even found a nearby park where he can do his pull ups - whatever. He’s a happy guy.

Just to say, I think we’re going to like this place. We’ll know more tomorrowRead more
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European Adventures 2022 Traveler
Day 24 Exploring Cap d’Agde
September 24, 2022 in France ⋅ 🌧 19 °C
We both had a great sleep - super quiet here, not like Nice.

Our plan today was to explore the city, get city maps & find bikes to rent. First objective was accomplished - 20,000+ steps, most of which occurred getting lost trying to find bikes to rent.

We lucked out by finding a Sunday market right across the street from our place. Vibrant ambience, great smells & colours - great photo ops. From there we found the Tourist Office - the most beautiful I’ve every seen.

We easily found the first bike shop - Loco-Velo, then headed off to find shop 2. Can’t believe how disoriented we were - even with a map & Google maps, we couldn’t find it. Got super close to the Naturalist beach. Didn’t venture in - doubt we’d be welcome.

The plus of the day is that we explored Plage du Mole and Plage La Roquille - lovely beaches and good biking paths. We stopped for drinks on the way back - fun people watching.

For dinner Peter picked up paella - absolutely delicious - a no fuss no muss meal for me to prepare.

Maybe tomorrow we’ll find bike shop 2 . . . . .Read more
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European Adventures 2022 Traveler
Day 25 Blue Bird day in Cap d’Agde
September 25, 2022 in France ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C
A glorious day - clear blue sky against deep blue water. Seems impossible to get a bad pic.

Success - we finally found a place to rent bikes. Will do so tomorrow for 6 days so we can explore further afield.

Today was a wandering day. Didn’t seem like we’d gone far, but my Fitbit buzzed a couple of items and ended up saying 25,873 steps.

On route to our bike shop we passed Aqualand, a huge water park the grand kids would love. Unfortunately it was closed. Makes no sense to me - weather is amazing, 24C with sunshine, but perhaps for them it’s getting cold. Seems many things close down the end of Sept, so best to come in August - but they say you then have to battle the crowds. I prefer this.

When we reached our bike shop, a sweet 7 year old girl rushed up to explain in French - we totally understood - that her mom was very busy with 3 children and was working in another shop, but she’d be coming shortly. She was lovely and so composed.

Bike rental all arranged, we headed back into the heart of the city. On route back we passed Ile des Loisir- another fun place for kids - also closed for the season. We then wandered to - Zone Technique where boats were being built and repaired. Next stop was Jetée Richelieu, the most southerly strip of land that guards the entrance to the harbour. It has huge black rocks leading out to the end. Pic shows me in flip flops somewhat apprehensive - grandkids would no doubt be running from rock to rock.

Next stop, a hike to the Grand Conque where there’s a monument to the African soldiers who fought for France in WWll. Then a quick walk over the bridge to Ile des Pecheurs - then a much needed stop on the Promenade for Sangria & Campari, and good people watching. We picked up fresh salmon filets in the Carrefour and had a lovely rather late dinner.

Tomorrow will be a biking day - don’t know where yet.Read more
TravelerWe sure have different weather. Your photos have gorgeous colors, mine are grey light, misty…little sun ( usually breaks out about 4). Enjoying your adventures.
9/26/22Reply
TravelerWe’ve been super lucky so far with the weather. Hope it continues. I thought of you as I wandered into the soap shop - lots of Savon de Marseille. I usually don’t shop but had to buy a few. Sooooo lovely.
9/26/22Reply
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