By John Meyer (with editorial comments by Lyne)9/6-Tuesday - Courtney and Stella picked us up and took us to the Airport for our 11:44 a.m. flight to Chicago-Montreal-Paris. We met Brian and Lyne in Montreal, where we took an overnight flight to CDG in Paris. My new knee set off buzzers at the screening so I got a free pat down. The flight on Air Canada was rather unremarkable and seemed to go fairly quickly.
9/7-Wednesday - We arrived at about 6:00 a.m. and after some confusion (we couldn’t get the rear hatch to open) over the rental car we were off to see if we could get into our hotel. Our BMW station wagon had a GPS so we were good to go. The GPS would prove to be a God send. It seems that all of the drivers are in a race to their demise, especially those on motor scooters and motor cycles. Loretta is not feeling well, as she has flu-like symptoms. ( Poor Loretta! )
9/7-Wednesday - We arrived at about 6:00 a.m. and after some confusion (we couldn’t get the rear hatch to open) over the rental car we were off to see if we could get into our hotel. Our BMW station wagon had a GPS so we were good to go. The GPS would prove to be a God send. It seems that all of the drivers are in a race to their demise, especially those on motor scooters and motor cycles. Loretta is not feeling well, as she has flu-like symptoms. ( Poor Loretta! )
One room was available when we got to the hotel and the Jenner’s were kind enough to let us have it so Loretta could rest. The rest of us went to a corner café and had coffee and people watched-very interesting. ( John was living his dream of what a vacation in France should be)
After Lyne and Brian checked in, we all took a nap. After a bit of a rest, we met in the garden for a glass of wine and then another short nap. At 6:30 p.m. we walked to a café for an early dinner and off to bed and tried to catch up on our rest. We plan to meet at 9:30 a.m. and take a short walk to the Eiffel Tower to catch the tour bus for Paris.
9/8 Thursday - While sitting out watching the sights and sounds of Paris, I have the following observations: fashionably dressed young women smoking as they walked with ear buds in their ears, children holding their parents hands as the go to school, lots of traffic and noise.
After Lyne and Brian checked in, we all took a nap. After a bit of a rest, we met in the garden for a glass of wine and then another short nap. At 6:30 p.m. we walked to a café for an early dinner and off to bed and tried to catch up on our rest. We plan to meet at 9:30 a.m. and take a short walk to the Eiffel Tower to catch the tour bus for Paris.
9/8 Thursday - While sitting out watching the sights and sounds of Paris, I have the following observations: fashionably dressed young women smoking as they walked with ear buds in their ears, children holding their parents hands as the go to school, lots of traffic and noise.
This morning we trudged to the Eiffel Tower, which was supposed to be a short 20 minute walk, turned into about a 2 mile walk. (I underestimated the distance, just a tad!) I was dead after that. (Sorry my dear big baby)
We sat up top of our tour bus, weather was nice, and took in all of the sights, Arch De Triumph, Notre Dame Cathedral, les Champs Elysées, le Louvre, Old Paris, Palace de L’Opera, Montmartre, the Left Bank, Latin Quarter, the Seine River, Trocadero, so many sights and so many people that it boggles your mind. After returning to the hotel, tired but filled with the sights of Paris, we sat in the garden of the hotel and had a few libations of wine and/or vodka. Ice seems to be a very rare commodity in France. We passed on dinner this evening as we were too tired to care to eat.
9/9 Friday - Loretta is not feeling well again today. (But she never complainned…dear Loretta) I went out to Starbucks for coffee and pastry, which is so flaky it is hard not to eat it in a few bites. Starting at the corner from our hotel we took 3 different Metro lines to get to Notre Dame.(almost as much walking as in going to the Eiffel Tower) On the way someone tried to steel Loretta’s purse. Thank you Brian for protecting her.
We sat up top of our tour bus, weather was nice, and took in all of the sights, Arch De Triumph, Notre Dame Cathedral, les Champs Elysées, le Louvre, Old Paris, Palace de L’Opera, Montmartre, the Left Bank, Latin Quarter, the Seine River, Trocadero, so many sights and so many people that it boggles your mind. After returning to the hotel, tired but filled with the sights of Paris, we sat in the garden of the hotel and had a few libations of wine and/or vodka. Ice seems to be a very rare commodity in France. We passed on dinner this evening as we were too tired to care to eat.
9/9 Friday - Loretta is not feeling well again today. (But she never complainned…dear Loretta) I went out to Starbucks for coffee and pastry, which is so flaky it is hard not to eat it in a few bites. Starting at the corner from our hotel we took 3 different Metro lines to get to Notre Dame.(almost as much walking as in going to the Eiffel Tower) On the way someone tried to steel Loretta’s purse. Thank you Brian for protecting her.
Some observations: Hugh variety of ethnic population, mixed ethnic couples, very ornate buildings, tourists, and more tourists. Notre Dame is as beautiful as I expected, very long line to enter. (Loretta and I stood in line while Brian and you sat waiting!!!! ) We took the Batobus (tour boat) for a ride down the Seine, from which we saw the Eiffel Tower, Champs Elysees, Musee D’Orsay, Louvre, St-Germain Dès-Prés, Notre Dame, Hotel De Ville and Jardin Des Plantes, among other sights, all from the river. We ate lunch at a pleasant sidewalk café in the Latin Quarter. Needless to say we took a cab back to the hotel.
After we got back to the hotel we set up shop again in the garden, drank wine and finished the vodka and listened to the voices of the school children on the other side of the high walled garden, in their school playground. No dinner again tonight, we had a big lunch so sandwiches and a banana from Starbucks sufficed. Another lovely day. Brian is correct when he said 3 days in Vegas and 3 days in Paris are enough. Paris was big but awe inspiring and wonderful.
9/10 Saturday - We had Paris in our rear view mirror by 9:00 a.m. and drove to the Champagne Region. All the vineyards were closed as the grapes had already been harvested. We were disappointed. (I’ll make it up to him in Naples) We drove on to Langres, to the Hotel De La Poste, supposedly the oldest hotel in France. Brian was kind enough to take my suffering wife to a local hospital where it was determined that she had an ear infection. She was prescribed medication and we hope it will solve her problems. Langres is a walled city, very quaint, narrow streets (all 1 way). We walked around the city, had pizza for dinner and off to dreamland.
9/11 Sunday - We had a very early breakfast at a sidewalk café (great pastry) and then on to Arles, another walled city. After driving for about 6 hours, were arrived in Arles and our hotel was smack dab in the middle of the town square, which was filled with people who were enjoying a beautiful afternoon with food and liquid libation. As we checked into our hotel, Brian went off to find the rarest of town features, a parking space . Our hotel was clean and inexpensive, but, without a lift. Our rooms were only up 2 flights with a curved stairway. A very kind biker helped us up (and down) with our bags.
We drove home (Brian doing the vast majority of it), and had a few drinks overlooking the valley (women shopped) then took a walk for some ice cream (later we ate the leftovers from our picnic lunch)9/15 Thursday - Breakfast today was not normal. Yes, I had my two cups of café-au-lait, 3 small croissants, 2 pieces of bread and jam, but, last night I asked the owner’s daughter if I could have eggs the next day and sure enough out came 2 fried eggs, sunny side up. It was a welcome treat.
We went to the Chapelle du Rosaire & Espace Matisse in Vence to see the chapel where Henri Matisse painted the walls with the stations of the cross and other of his works. There is also a small museum where hang more of his works and some priest’s vestments he designed. His works are very simple, almost childlike. (Brian and John made short work of the chapel but Loretta liked sat through the full explanation by one of the sisters. Matisse is one of my favorite painters ... I couldn’t miss that)We then drove to Mougins and had a great lunch at the Mecenate Restaurant. We were one day away from seeing the big Culinary Festival taking place there. All the great French chefs were to attend. They expected 10, 000 people to show up with no parking places and very narrow streets. Tell the truth, I was glad we were a day early (and I was very disappointed since I love to cook and french chefs are my heroes) We went back to the hotel, took a nap and sat out by the water fountain and people watched. At 7:30 p.m. we went back to eat at the sidewalk café run by the Asian women and her husband.
9/16 Friday - Today we leave for Aix-En-Provence. Getting there, we drove through the Gorge of Verdon, which is France’s version of our Grand Canyon. Going across the Gorge it is very winding on a very narrow road. Poor Loretta was afraid to look out her window as this kind of driving makes her very nervous. The Gorge is beautiful with a river running through it.
We stopped at a little town, Moustiers Ste. Marie (the kingdom of FAÏENCE – a kind of porcelain), and had crepes for lunch. It was a very quaint, little village where the women again shopped. Somehow, I got separated from the rest of them and after a while I was found wandering aimlessly at the edge of town.
We continued to Aix-en-Provence, called “the city of a thousand fountains” driving through cut fields of lavender, which is used in the making of perfume. I can’t imagine the wonderful smell and gorgeous blue color before it is harvested. I’m not sure how the French farmers can grow any crops as their fields seem to be nothing but rocks, but they do. When we get to our hotel in Aix, we are on the fourth floor and the best news is that it has a lift.
You drop your bags on a busy street in front of the hotel, check in and then drive the car around the back to the parking lot. Two security type gates must be opened before all of this happens. It was great people watching as the street in front of our hotel, the Grand Hotel Negre Coste is the main avenue in town called Cours Mirabeau. We ate next door at an outdoor cafe, which was pretty good except for the fact that a bird defecated on my shoulder (….it looked like red wine John!!!) Some more random thoughts about France : Men wearing rolled up blue jeans and purses, noisy motorbikes, roundabouts, small cars, very few parking places, strong coffee, toll roads, pigeons, NY Yankee baseball caps in different colors.
9/17 Saturday - I had my coffee at a table in front of the hotel and watched all of the students walking by. All of us then walked to the most interesting market I’ve ever seen. It occurs on Wednesdays and Saturdays. On one side they have every kind of spice, cheese, meats, fish, mushrooms, olives, bread, fruits and vegetables. It goes on and on. (We unfortunately missed the flower market. Loretta and I bought dry sausages to bring back home.) Then on the other side, they have dry goods, like purses, statues etc. Then another section has clothes. It was really something, very interesting.
Brian and Lyne looked for and found a women they had met while the woman vacationed in Le Manoir Bellevue, at Les Escoumins, Lyne’s birthplace. She owns a fabric store in the center of Aix.
It seems strange to see people all over France walking along with a loaf of long French bread, under their arm. They buy their bread daily.
After the market, we drove a short way to Cassis, a seaside fishing village where we had lunch overlooking the harbor. We ate fish soup and mussels. We then took a boat ride on the Mediterranean to view a series of protected coves called Calanques, where people moor their boats and locals come to swim and relax. It was a pleasant boat ride. It seems to me that any time I see two women or girls walking by, one has brown hair and the other has blond. Maybe it is time to go back to the U.S. if this is what I am writing about.
9/18 Sunday - This was a very restful day, it was raining, so this was the only foul weather we had on the trip. Loretta and I had breakfast at the hotel as did Lyne and Brian before we left at 9:00 a.m. for a 2+ hour drive to Montpellier to the home of Marie-France and Jean- Pierre who are friends of Lyne and Brian. Their home is very modern and the landscaping is really neat. We ate a “typical French lunch” of lamb and potatoes along with Foie Gras, cheeses, bread, and desert from Le Nôtre bakery. Marie-France really went out of her way to really put on a great meal. They were both very kind to us. We had a wonderful visit and Brian and Jean-Pierre had a chance to catch up on old times. Loretta and I had met them when they were in Naples at Lyne and Brian condo last winter, a very nice couple.
That night, Loretta and I weren’t real hungry, so we grabbed a takeout pizza from a little stand and ate it in our room. (Brian and I went for pizza at the restaurant next door…I suspect Loretta would have preferred to come with us rather than eat take out pizza in her room????)9/19 Monday - We left beautiful Aix, the City of Fountains, after the other three had a last, brief shopping excursion, while I sat in front of the hotel and read and people watched (one of my favorite pastimes). On our drive to our next overnight stop, Perouges, a small Medieval village, we stopped for lunch at a small bar – restaurant run by a young couple. The kitchen was closed, but, the chef/husband fixed us up with some dry ham on the bone, cheese and bread along with tomatoes from Spain. We had some wine and it turned into one of the best lunches we had.
Our next destination, Perouges was founded in 1236 and is a pristinely preserved walled city with very narrow streets. It was founded by a Gallic colony returning from Perogia in Italy. We are only about 15 klicks from Lyon. Dinner tonight was at a small restaurant in the village. There is not much choice since there are only 2 places to eat.
9/20 Tuesday - Loretta and I had coffee in the restaurant of the hotel. 14 Euros for 2 cups of coffee. Lyne bought us each a piece of a sweet pizza type bread, called Galette de Pérouges. It hit the spot.
After we got back to the hotel we set up shop again in the garden, drank wine and finished the vodka and listened to the voices of the school children on the other side of the high walled garden, in their school playground. No dinner again tonight, we had a big lunch so sandwiches and a banana from Starbucks sufficed. Another lovely day. Brian is correct when he said 3 days in Vegas and 3 days in Paris are enough. Paris was big but awe inspiring and wonderful.
9/10 Saturday - We had Paris in our rear view mirror by 9:00 a.m. and drove to the Champagne Region. All the vineyards were closed as the grapes had already been harvested. We were disappointed. (I’ll make it up to him in Naples) We drove on to Langres, to the Hotel De La Poste, supposedly the oldest hotel in France. Brian was kind enough to take my suffering wife to a local hospital where it was determined that she had an ear infection. She was prescribed medication and we hope it will solve her problems. Langres is a walled city, very quaint, narrow streets (all 1 way). We walked around the city, had pizza for dinner and off to dreamland.
9/11 Sunday - We had a very early breakfast at a sidewalk café (great pastry) and then on to Arles, another walled city. After driving for about 6 hours, were arrived in Arles and our hotel was smack dab in the middle of the town square, which was filled with people who were enjoying a beautiful afternoon with food and liquid libation. As we checked into our hotel, Brian went off to find the rarest of town features, a parking space . Our hotel was clean and inexpensive, but, without a lift. Our rooms were only up 2 flights with a curved stairway. A very kind biker helped us up (and down) with our bags.
We all had paella for lunch, which was all they had on this day, since they were celebrating the Fête du Riz (rice festival). And that night the Festival culminated with the Corrida (bull fight). I didn’t see 1 grain of rice but, I did see the bull fights. Brian ran into a man he knew who was once the Canadian ambasador to ICAO. He had come over to Arles to attend his 50th Corrida.
We walked to the 1700 year old Roman arena for the bull fights. Brian and the young women who sat in from of me were able to explain all of the intricacies of the action to me. It is very ritualized and full of pomp and circumstance. There were 3 matadores who would each fought 2 bulls. Each had their own Picadores and Banderilleros. I enjoyed the event and the experience. After the fights, we sat out at a café and had a drink and people watched. Got good night’s sleep.
9/12 Monday - Our next city to visit is Saint Paul de Vence, another walled city with our hotel having a gorgeous view of valley below. We are on the Cote d’Azur or the French Rivera. Of course our hotel is sans lift and 85 steps up to our room. As we arrived and Brian was backing up to park, he bumped into a guy behind him. No damage but Brian settled the matter for 20 Euro.
We had a marvelous, although very expensive, lunch overlooking the small town fountain. We walked out of the walled portion of the city to a café, where we were able to watch the locals play their version of Bocce ball. Saint Paul is very charming, however, very expensive city, 50cls of beer was 9 Euro. This town is full of shops but very few restaurants. Most restaurants opened in the evening at 7 or 7:30 p.m. (Loretta and I adored shopping in narrow streets in St-Paul) 9/13 Tuesday - I got up and tried to find a cup of coffee somewhere in town but no luck, everything was closed. I returned to the hotel and low and behold, coffee and croissants were available there. The view from the restaurant of the valley was eye opening. The four of us had breakfast together.
We had a marvelous, although very expensive, lunch overlooking the small town fountain. We walked out of the walled portion of the city to a café, where we were able to watch the locals play their version of Bocce ball. Saint Paul is very charming, however, very expensive city, 50cls of beer was 9 Euro. This town is full of shops but very few restaurants. Most restaurants opened in the evening at 7 or 7:30 p.m. (Loretta and I adored shopping in narrow streets in St-Paul) 9/13 Tuesday - I got up and tried to find a cup of coffee somewhere in town but no luck, everything was closed. I returned to the hotel and low and behold, coffee and croissants were available there. The view from the restaurant of the valley was eye opening. The four of us had breakfast together.
We then drove along the shoreline of the Cote d’Azur through Cannes, Antibes, Nice and Monaco, which is the second smallest country in the world, besides the Vatican. The tales of women being topless along the sea shore are true. I told Brian we were driving too fast. We took a tram ride around Monaco and saw the Palace, Casino, the Grand Prix circuit and the beautiful waterfront filled with very expensive yachts of the rich and famous.
On return to St-Paul, we never ate lunch because we couldn’t find a place open. So we had a drink at the hotel and walked outside the gates to see the Bocce ball players again. We had a great meal in town at a sidewalk café run by an Asian women and her husband: (snails, foie gras, leg of lamb, tarte Tatin… YUM YUM)Random Thoughts: Millions of motor scooters and motorcycles, very expensive food and drink, extremely narrow streets, people blow their car horns a lot, lots of smokers, gray granite everywhere, great weather, people didn’t smile much, lots of green space, houses perched on the side of hills, small cars, few parking spaces, The Alps, well dressed women, thank goodness for Brian and Lyne and their ability to speak French and having been to France multiple times.
9/14 Wednesday - Sitting on the patio eating breakfast it is breathtaking to see the sun rise behind the hotel and light up the valley in front of me. The houses are bathed in sun light as one by one the sun rises on the homes. With the Alps in the background, the view is stunning.
On return to St-Paul, we never ate lunch because we couldn’t find a place open. So we had a drink at the hotel and walked outside the gates to see the Bocce ball players again. We had a great meal in town at a sidewalk café run by an Asian women and her husband: (snails, foie gras, leg of lamb, tarte Tatin… YUM YUM)Random Thoughts: Millions of motor scooters and motorcycles, very expensive food and drink, extremely narrow streets, people blow their car horns a lot, lots of smokers, gray granite everywhere, great weather, people didn’t smile much, lots of green space, houses perched on the side of hills, small cars, few parking spaces, The Alps, well dressed women, thank goodness for Brian and Lyne and their ability to speak French and having been to France multiple times.
9/14 Wednesday - Sitting on the patio eating breakfast it is breathtaking to see the sun rise behind the hotel and light up the valley in front of me. The houses are bathed in sun light as one by one the sun rises on the homes. With the Alps in the background, the view is stunning.
We are on our way to Grasse to see where and how all of the perfume in the world is made. We are also on the lookout for a Tour de France biking jersey for our son-in-law (we had no luck as they are put away after the race is over). We asked at one biking store for a yellow Tour de France shirt and the manager said that people usually have to win one. I thought this was quite funny.
We decided to have a picnic lunch so we purchased all of the makings at a real big and nice grocery store and the checkout girl told us of a neat spot to have the lunch. We drove for about 20 minutes high up into the Alps through a small town (Gourdon) to a picnic area overlooking a breathtaking valley. Getting to the picnic spot was a bit scary but the view was magnificent.
After lunch, we took the ladies to the Fragonard perfume factory so they could tour and shop. Brian and I sat outside and people watched. It was a very busy place with busloads of people visiting. (The Fragonard facility smelled beautiful: perfume to Loretta and I – euros to the manufacturer!!!)
We decided to have a picnic lunch so we purchased all of the makings at a real big and nice grocery store and the checkout girl told us of a neat spot to have the lunch. We drove for about 20 minutes high up into the Alps through a small town (Gourdon) to a picnic area overlooking a breathtaking valley. Getting to the picnic spot was a bit scary but the view was magnificent.
After lunch, we took the ladies to the Fragonard perfume factory so they could tour and shop. Brian and I sat outside and people watched. It was a very busy place with busloads of people visiting. (The Fragonard facility smelled beautiful: perfume to Loretta and I – euros to the manufacturer!!!)
We drove home (Brian doing the vast majority of it), and had a few drinks overlooking the valley (women shopped) then took a walk for some ice cream (later we ate the leftovers from our picnic lunch)9/15 Thursday - Breakfast today was not normal. Yes, I had my two cups of café-au-lait, 3 small croissants, 2 pieces of bread and jam, but, last night I asked the owner’s daughter if I could have eggs the next day and sure enough out came 2 fried eggs, sunny side up. It was a welcome treat.
We went to the Chapelle du Rosaire & Espace Matisse in Vence to see the chapel where Henri Matisse painted the walls with the stations of the cross and other of his works. There is also a small museum where hang more of his works and some priest’s vestments he designed. His works are very simple, almost childlike. (Brian and John made short work of the chapel but Loretta liked sat through the full explanation by one of the sisters. Matisse is one of my favorite painters ... I couldn’t miss that)We then drove to Mougins and had a great lunch at the Mecenate Restaurant. We were one day away from seeing the big Culinary Festival taking place there. All the great French chefs were to attend. They expected 10, 000 people to show up with no parking places and very narrow streets. Tell the truth, I was glad we were a day early (and I was very disappointed since I love to cook and french chefs are my heroes) We went back to the hotel, took a nap and sat out by the water fountain and people watched. At 7:30 p.m. we went back to eat at the sidewalk café run by the Asian women and her husband.
9/16 Friday - Today we leave for Aix-En-Provence. Getting there, we drove through the Gorge of Verdon, which is France’s version of our Grand Canyon. Going across the Gorge it is very winding on a very narrow road. Poor Loretta was afraid to look out her window as this kind of driving makes her very nervous. The Gorge is beautiful with a river running through it.
We stopped at a little town, Moustiers Ste. Marie (the kingdom of FAÏENCE – a kind of porcelain), and had crepes for lunch. It was a very quaint, little village where the women again shopped. Somehow, I got separated from the rest of them and after a while I was found wandering aimlessly at the edge of town.
We continued to Aix-en-Provence, called “the city of a thousand fountains” driving through cut fields of lavender, which is used in the making of perfume. I can’t imagine the wonderful smell and gorgeous blue color before it is harvested. I’m not sure how the French farmers can grow any crops as their fields seem to be nothing but rocks, but they do. When we get to our hotel in Aix, we are on the fourth floor and the best news is that it has a lift.
You drop your bags on a busy street in front of the hotel, check in and then drive the car around the back to the parking lot. Two security type gates must be opened before all of this happens. It was great people watching as the street in front of our hotel, the Grand Hotel Negre Coste is the main avenue in town called Cours Mirabeau. We ate next door at an outdoor cafe, which was pretty good except for the fact that a bird defecated on my shoulder (….it looked like red wine John!!!) Some more random thoughts about France : Men wearing rolled up blue jeans and purses, noisy motorbikes, roundabouts, small cars, very few parking places, strong coffee, toll roads, pigeons, NY Yankee baseball caps in different colors.
9/17 Saturday - I had my coffee at a table in front of the hotel and watched all of the students walking by. All of us then walked to the most interesting market I’ve ever seen. It occurs on Wednesdays and Saturdays. On one side they have every kind of spice, cheese, meats, fish, mushrooms, olives, bread, fruits and vegetables. It goes on and on. (We unfortunately missed the flower market. Loretta and I bought dry sausages to bring back home.) Then on the other side, they have dry goods, like purses, statues etc. Then another section has clothes. It was really something, very interesting.
Brian and Lyne looked for and found a women they had met while the woman vacationed in Le Manoir Bellevue, at Les Escoumins, Lyne’s birthplace. She owns a fabric store in the center of Aix.
It seems strange to see people all over France walking along with a loaf of long French bread, under their arm. They buy their bread daily.
After the market, we drove a short way to Cassis, a seaside fishing village where we had lunch overlooking the harbor. We ate fish soup and mussels. We then took a boat ride on the Mediterranean to view a series of protected coves called Calanques, where people moor their boats and locals come to swim and relax. It was a pleasant boat ride. It seems to me that any time I see two women or girls walking by, one has brown hair and the other has blond. Maybe it is time to go back to the U.S. if this is what I am writing about.
9/18 Sunday - This was a very restful day, it was raining, so this was the only foul weather we had on the trip. Loretta and I had breakfast at the hotel as did Lyne and Brian before we left at 9:00 a.m. for a 2+ hour drive to Montpellier to the home of Marie-France and Jean- Pierre who are friends of Lyne and Brian. Their home is very modern and the landscaping is really neat. We ate a “typical French lunch” of lamb and potatoes along with Foie Gras, cheeses, bread, and desert from Le Nôtre bakery. Marie-France really went out of her way to really put on a great meal. They were both very kind to us. We had a wonderful visit and Brian and Jean-Pierre had a chance to catch up on old times. Loretta and I had met them when they were in Naples at Lyne and Brian condo last winter, a very nice couple.
That night, Loretta and I weren’t real hungry, so we grabbed a takeout pizza from a little stand and ate it in our room. (Brian and I went for pizza at the restaurant next door…I suspect Loretta would have preferred to come with us rather than eat take out pizza in her room????)9/19 Monday - We left beautiful Aix, the City of Fountains, after the other three had a last, brief shopping excursion, while I sat in front of the hotel and read and people watched (one of my favorite pastimes). On our drive to our next overnight stop, Perouges, a small Medieval village, we stopped for lunch at a small bar – restaurant run by a young couple. The kitchen was closed, but, the chef/husband fixed us up with some dry ham on the bone, cheese and bread along with tomatoes from Spain. We had some wine and it turned into one of the best lunches we had.
Our next destination, Perouges was founded in 1236 and is a pristinely preserved walled city with very narrow streets. It was founded by a Gallic colony returning from Perogia in Italy. We are only about 15 klicks from Lyon. Dinner tonight was at a small restaurant in the village. There is not much choice since there are only 2 places to eat.
9/20 Tuesday - Loretta and I had coffee in the restaurant of the hotel. 14 Euros for 2 cups of coffee. Lyne bought us each a piece of a sweet pizza type bread, called Galette de Pérouges. It hit the spot.
We have a long drive, over 500 km, to our final stop just outside Paris, quite near CDG. We had lunch at a truck stop on the toll road. We arrived at our hotel, Le Celtic at about 4:00 p.m. Our hotel is very clean and modern and chosen for its proximity to CDG Airport, in consideration of our next day’s departure. We had our final dinner in France with Brian and Lyne at the restaurant downstairs of the hotel and it was surprisingly very good.
9/21 Wednesday - Up early and ready to fly home. Brian and Lyne dropped us off at terminal 2 for our flight to Newark. Continental (our airline) fly’s out of terminal 1. So after some confusion; we took the train to terminal 1 and made our flight. Continental wanted $70 Euro for Loretta’s second checked bag. Not surprising, we carried it on. By the time we got through security and grabbed a coffee, it was time to board our 8 ½ hour flight to the States (Loretta told me Customs found her sausages from Aix-en-Provence on arrival in Newark but I suspect she lost her nerve and declared it). We flew from Newark to Cleveland to Green Bay where Courtney picked us up at 9:15 p.m. A very long and tiring day.
France was beautiful but very expensive, really old cities, great food. Traveling with Brian and Lyne was a pleasure for us (and for us too). They were easy to be with and did a great job of planning our trip. All in all it was a wonderful experience for both Loretta and I. (Brian and me are ready for another trip with John and Loretta, anytime/anywhere. Love and thanks, dear John, for this wonderful chronicle. XXXX Lyne)
9/21 Wednesday - Up early and ready to fly home. Brian and Lyne dropped us off at terminal 2 for our flight to Newark. Continental (our airline) fly’s out of terminal 1. So after some confusion; we took the train to terminal 1 and made our flight. Continental wanted $70 Euro for Loretta’s second checked bag. Not surprising, we carried it on. By the time we got through security and grabbed a coffee, it was time to board our 8 ½ hour flight to the States (Loretta told me Customs found her sausages from Aix-en-Provence on arrival in Newark but I suspect she lost her nerve and declared it). We flew from Newark to Cleveland to Green Bay where Courtney picked us up at 9:15 p.m. A very long and tiring day.
France was beautiful but very expensive, really old cities, great food. Traveling with Brian and Lyne was a pleasure for us (and for us too). They were easy to be with and did a great job of planning our trip. All in all it was a wonderful experience for both Loretta and I. (Brian and me are ready for another trip with John and Loretta, anytime/anywhere. Love and thanks, dear John, for this wonderful chronicle. XXXX Lyne)
