Monday, September 19, 2011
Wine Day in Provence
Sorgues or Seguret?? They are not comparable towns. We stopped in Sorgues first and realized that this was not the enchanting village we had envisioned - it did not make the list of "the most beautiful villages in France" though may other of our stops did. However it did have a Super U where we picked up lunch and dinner including a six pack of vin du maison. We quickly moved on to Chateauneuf-du-Pape. After a tour around the town and up to the last remaining wall of the Chateau as seen on many wine labels from the region, we stopped for our first tasting. We tasted one not so good white and with Ken's expert advice immediately moved onto the reds. The middle of the road from this group was the winner and Mary purchased a bottle. Our next stop was the wine museum which was closing in 20 min and there was no tasting, so we left. Time for lunch so we drove back to the castle we had spied on our way into town and made our own picnic. Luckily they had a degustation and a free bathroom. Sarah had a lovely conversation with the lady pouring the wine who complemented her on her excellent French. From there back towards town and a stop at the now open Clos des Papes - the best rated wine according to Wine Spectator magazine. Well worth the wait and the 5 euro tasting fee. It was so good we decided to buy a bottle regardless of the price. Ken, Sarah, Mary and Leanne drove on to Vaison-la-Romaine where there was a terrific castle at the top owned by the Comte de Toulouse. This inspired Sarah and Leanne to begin singing "I'm the king of the castle, you're the dirty rascal." We finally made it to Seguret where Susan, Doug and Margaret were ensconced having coffee and pastries enjoying the spectacular view. We were so inspired - we also stopped for coffee, tea and pastries before heading back to our villa. The quinoa greek salad was so good the other night it was requested that Mary and Margaret make it for us again. Good food, good wine and good company - doesn't get better than this!
Sunday, September 18, 2011
One Day in Provence
Our first full day in Provence started rather leisurely after our late night and multiple glasses (bottles) of wine the night before. Car 1 was sent to Raphele for provisions from the grocery store, patisserie and boulangerie. Upon return Car 1 made a return trip to Avignon to retrive Car 2. It was a rainy day so the rest of us relaxed at our new digs until everyone returned, the rain stopped and it was time to explore our closest city Arles. Susan, Doug, Mary, Margaret and Leanne took the nostalgic tour after entering the city right beside the hotel we had stayed at 4 years ago when we were in Arles on our Medoc trip. Sarah and Ken took advantage of "Jour de Patrimonie" for free admission to all of Arles attractions including the Arena and Roman ruins. We all met back at the villa for a chicken pasta dinner.
Saturday, September 17, 2011
On to Provence (Mary & Margaret)
We caught the train to Nice with connection to Marseille at 9am.
We were planning to get to Arles by 3Pm to meet the others but our plans for the day were complicated upon receipt of a text from the main gang advising us that they had missed their train connection and would not be arriving until late. There was much exchanging of texts throughout our train trip.
We arrived in Marseille at lunch time and had about an hour to wait. We broke down and ate at McDonalds as it was easy and they had chairs. Our train to Arles was sitting at the platform so we got aboard, we ended up having to sit for almost half an hour as there was some mechanical issue with the train. There were three train staff taking a coffee break in our car, none of whom bothered to check our passes.
When we arrived in Arles, we had hoped we could get assistance at the information booth to call our host but it was not open on Saturday.
Mary discovered she did not know how to make a phone call in France with her phone so Margaret was forced to use the last of her minutes to contact our host for directions and to call the taxi. The location of our villa was so obscure that we had to have the taxi call her directly for driving instructions.
After an interesting taxi ride through the countryside (punctuated by swearing by our taxi driver, several more phone calls (answering machine then finally an answer), we finally located our villa - what a lovely site. We were very relieved (and somewhat concerned being stranded somewhere in the middle of the random countryside - until our host pointed our three bicycles in the shed and advised us it was only a 3 km bike ride to the nearest village).
After a brief orientation (and after handing over most of the money in our wallets for the security deposit) we clambered onto the bicycles with our backpacks on our back to head off to the village to buy some groceries. We had our fingers crossed that we would also find a bank machine as we had only jingly cash left. It turned our that the grocery took credit so all was well. We bought as many provisions as we could stuff into our bags and headed back to settle in. (Just as we were pulling into town, Mary's phone rang once again and we were able to give Leanne the update (we had arranged for a taxi to meet her at the train and bring her to the villa)).
After relaxing for a while, we set about to make a large Quinoa Greek salad for our dinner and to offer the weary travelers on there arrival.
Leanne arrived shortly after 8:30 right on time, Mary had just gone out to watch for her taxi and was able to guide her taxi into our laneway.
After some internet research, Mary had finally figured out how to make a phone call in France with her phone but was now finding that she didn/t have any reception. At some point the light bulb went off in her head and she thought to recharge the phone. Around 10:30 pm, she tried sending a last text message to the lost travellers, telling them to let us know when they were close so we could wait by the gate to signal them in, almost immediately she received a reply "NOW" so she ran out to wave in a cavalcade of taxi and the car load of weary travelers (how very Amazing Race!)
We were planning to get to Arles by 3Pm to meet the others but our plans for the day were complicated upon receipt of a text from the main gang advising us that they had missed their train connection and would not be arriving until late. There was much exchanging of texts throughout our train trip.
We arrived in Marseille at lunch time and had about an hour to wait. We broke down and ate at McDonalds as it was easy and they had chairs. Our train to Arles was sitting at the platform so we got aboard, we ended up having to sit for almost half an hour as there was some mechanical issue with the train. There were three train staff taking a coffee break in our car, none of whom bothered to check our passes.
When we arrived in Arles, we had hoped we could get assistance at the information booth to call our host but it was not open on Saturday.
Mary discovered she did not know how to make a phone call in France with her phone so Margaret was forced to use the last of her minutes to contact our host for directions and to call the taxi. The location of our villa was so obscure that we had to have the taxi call her directly for driving instructions.
After an interesting taxi ride through the countryside (punctuated by swearing by our taxi driver, several more phone calls (answering machine then finally an answer), we finally located our villa - what a lovely site. We were very relieved (and somewhat concerned being stranded somewhere in the middle of the random countryside - until our host pointed our three bicycles in the shed and advised us it was only a 3 km bike ride to the nearest village).
After a brief orientation (and after handing over most of the money in our wallets for the security deposit) we clambered onto the bicycles with our backpacks on our back to head off to the village to buy some groceries. We had our fingers crossed that we would also find a bank machine as we had only jingly cash left. It turned our that the grocery took credit so all was well. We bought as many provisions as we could stuff into our bags and headed back to settle in. (Just as we were pulling into town, Mary's phone rang once again and we were able to give Leanne the update (we had arranged for a taxi to meet her at the train and bring her to the villa)).
After relaxing for a while, we set about to make a large Quinoa Greek salad for our dinner and to offer the weary travelers on there arrival.
Leanne arrived shortly after 8:30 right on time, Mary had just gone out to watch for her taxi and was able to guide her taxi into our laneway.
You Think You Had A Bad Day? This One Was Worse!!
Doug, Susan, Ken and Sarah were up early and made it early to the train station in Torino for the trip to Avignon. It was supposed to be a long day with the 8:11AM Eurostar train getting us in to Avignon just before 2PM so we could pick up our rental cars for drive to Arles and our rented villa. 2 changes - in Chambery and Lyon. Dragging all our bags and 12 bottles of excellent Italian wine. (1 bottle smashed as the carrier box disintegrated when we arrived at the hotel late the previous night - 22 euro of good Barolo on the hotel carpet!!)
When we originally tried to book a seat on the train with our Eurail pass we could not get a seat so we were forced to actually pay for second class seats for the leg between Torino and Chambery - 240 euros just to get on the train when we had already paid $500 each to get the pass in the first place! But, our choices were slim to none if we wanted to make the journey and arrive before midnight!!
The reservations for Susan and Doug were in car 8 and for Ken and Sarah in car 7. At about 8:00 when the train pulled in, we walked down the platform to our assigned cars and took our seats. Ken and Sarah were the only ones in their car and Doug and Susan only had 1 other passenger in theirs. Why in the world did we have to pay for our tickets when the train was almost empty?! What a rip off!! As were leaving the station, an italian rail person knocked on the window asking whether we were going to Paris. By the time Sarah got to the door to speak to the person, the train was pulling out and was on it's way. Our first stop was the other train station in Torino - Porto Susa. For some reason the train was spending a long time at the station so we thought it best to see what was happening. We found out that this was not the first stop but was in fact the last stop for this train. It was not going to Paris, it was going to the other Torino train station. Now we had a big problem!!
We immediately lined up at customer service which didn't open for another 20 minutes. We were 7th in line and after another 15 minutes got to the front of the line. Sorry can't help you, this is for the bus service. It was off to the Trenitalia ticketing office to see if they could help us. No can do. We need to see customer service next door. Next stop customer service. A very mean, Italian lady who spoke little English told us our next train would be at 5 and we would arrive just before midnight!! So much for picking up a rental car as the office closed at 9pm for Susan and Doug's rental and 10pm for Sarah and Ken's. OK, now what? We could take another with changes in Cuneo, Ventimiglia, Nice and Marseille getting us in at 10:04. Still too late to pick up a rental car and cover the 30+ km to get us to Arles....in the dark. Time to call the car rental company which was open till 10pm to see if they would be able to wait for us. Yes!! As long as there were no mix ups or train delays we might make it.
The cell phone we had for emergency contact was put into overdrive texting Mary to give updates as she and Margaret would have to contact the owner of the villa and get the keys. Sarah had to buy a double espresso and savour each last drop as we needed to charge the cell phone to allow us sufficient power to continue the frantic communication to salvage something of the day. At the end of it all everyone could be stranded at the Avignon train station with no where to stay and no way getting of getting to Arles. Did I mention we had all our luggage and 12 bottles of wine?! How many changes was that and how much time between trains!?!? Oh boy!!
With trepidation we got on the train to Cuneo. It wasn't much better than a derelict New York subway to the slums. And we were in 1st class. Time to drag everything off the train and do it all again to get to our next change. Between stops we managed to cancel Susan and Doug's rental car so they didn't get charged for the day. Tick. At least that worked out. Hopefully we will have a second rental car at Avignon and it will fit all our crap.
Between trains we barely had time to find out where to go next, use the facilities and get on board. The lunch packed from the breakfast buffet in Torino was all the food we had available as there was none on the trains and no time to find anything at the stations.
On the train between Ventimiglia and Nice, a masive number of people boarded train and made it impossible for us to drag ourselves and all our bags off the train. There was a sea of humanity between us and our next train change. Stops were less than 5 minutes at each station and it didn't look like we'd make it. Lucklily a lovely man from Quebec helped carry 1 of the bag and we managed to push our way off.
By the time we got to Nice we were happy that people spoke French and that the caliber of the stations had improved. We also got better service and managed to get on an earlier train to Marseille and an arrival in Avignon an hour earlier than previously thought. Now we were certain to have at least 1 rental car. Things were finally looking up.
The train to Marseille was lovely and the trip smooth. The train from Marseille was a Eurostar to Paris and in 1st class was palatial. Now we could relax and enjoy the short trip to Avignon.
We arrived on time and easily found the car rental agency. They gave us a complimentary upgrade to accomodate all our bags and we were on our way. Our luck ran out at Arles. We had no idea how to find the villa in the dark and the map we were given was awful. We eventually resorted to calling a cab and following it in the rental car until we got there. 28 euros later we arrived. Relieved and tired but in 1 piece.
It was so nice to see the girls and they even had food waiting for us when we arrived. They travelled on bikes to the nearest town to buy food. What great friends we have. Thanks Mary and Margaret. A few of the 12 wine bottles we dragged with us were opened and a mini celebration was had.
There were no pictures as we did not wish to have any to remember the day by. Now for the rest of our trip. Here we come Provence!!
When we originally tried to book a seat on the train with our Eurail pass we could not get a seat so we were forced to actually pay for second class seats for the leg between Torino and Chambery - 240 euros just to get on the train when we had already paid $500 each to get the pass in the first place! But, our choices were slim to none if we wanted to make the journey and arrive before midnight!!
The reservations for Susan and Doug were in car 8 and for Ken and Sarah in car 7. At about 8:00 when the train pulled in, we walked down the platform to our assigned cars and took our seats. Ken and Sarah were the only ones in their car and Doug and Susan only had 1 other passenger in theirs. Why in the world did we have to pay for our tickets when the train was almost empty?! What a rip off!! As were leaving the station, an italian rail person knocked on the window asking whether we were going to Paris. By the time Sarah got to the door to speak to the person, the train was pulling out and was on it's way. Our first stop was the other train station in Torino - Porto Susa. For some reason the train was spending a long time at the station so we thought it best to see what was happening. We found out that this was not the first stop but was in fact the last stop for this train. It was not going to Paris, it was going to the other Torino train station. Now we had a big problem!!
We immediately lined up at customer service which didn't open for another 20 minutes. We were 7th in line and after another 15 minutes got to the front of the line. Sorry can't help you, this is for the bus service. It was off to the Trenitalia ticketing office to see if they could help us. No can do. We need to see customer service next door. Next stop customer service. A very mean, Italian lady who spoke little English told us our next train would be at 5 and we would arrive just before midnight!! So much for picking up a rental car as the office closed at 9pm for Susan and Doug's rental and 10pm for Sarah and Ken's. OK, now what? We could take another with changes in Cuneo, Ventimiglia, Nice and Marseille getting us in at 10:04. Still too late to pick up a rental car and cover the 30+ km to get us to Arles....in the dark. Time to call the car rental company which was open till 10pm to see if they would be able to wait for us. Yes!! As long as there were no mix ups or train delays we might make it.
The cell phone we had for emergency contact was put into overdrive texting Mary to give updates as she and Margaret would have to contact the owner of the villa and get the keys. Sarah had to buy a double espresso and savour each last drop as we needed to charge the cell phone to allow us sufficient power to continue the frantic communication to salvage something of the day. At the end of it all everyone could be stranded at the Avignon train station with no where to stay and no way getting of getting to Arles. Did I mention we had all our luggage and 12 bottles of wine?! How many changes was that and how much time between trains!?!? Oh boy!!
With trepidation we got on the train to Cuneo. It wasn't much better than a derelict New York subway to the slums. And we were in 1st class. Time to drag everything off the train and do it all again to get to our next change. Between stops we managed to cancel Susan and Doug's rental car so they didn't get charged for the day. Tick. At least that worked out. Hopefully we will have a second rental car at Avignon and it will fit all our crap.
Between trains we barely had time to find out where to go next, use the facilities and get on board. The lunch packed from the breakfast buffet in Torino was all the food we had available as there was none on the trains and no time to find anything at the stations.
On the train between Ventimiglia and Nice, a masive number of people boarded train and made it impossible for us to drag ourselves and all our bags off the train. There was a sea of humanity between us and our next train change. Stops were less than 5 minutes at each station and it didn't look like we'd make it. Lucklily a lovely man from Quebec helped carry 1 of the bag and we managed to push our way off.
By the time we got to Nice we were happy that people spoke French and that the caliber of the stations had improved. We also got better service and managed to get on an earlier train to Marseille and an arrival in Avignon an hour earlier than previously thought. Now we were certain to have at least 1 rental car. Things were finally looking up.
The train to Marseille was lovely and the trip smooth. The train from Marseille was a Eurostar to Paris and in 1st class was palatial. Now we could relax and enjoy the short trip to Avignon.
We arrived on time and easily found the car rental agency. They gave us a complimentary upgrade to accomodate all our bags and we were on our way. Our luck ran out at Arles. We had no idea how to find the villa in the dark and the map we were given was awful. We eventually resorted to calling a cab and following it in the rental car until we got there. 28 euros later we arrived. Relieved and tired but in 1 piece.
It was so nice to see the girls and they even had food waiting for us when we arrived. They travelled on bikes to the nearest town to buy food. What great friends we have. Thanks Mary and Margaret. A few of the 12 wine bottles we dragged with us were opened and a mini celebration was had.
There were no pictures as we did not wish to have any to remember the day by. Now for the rest of our trip. Here we come Provence!!
Leanne - Lunch with Rebecca/Travel Day to Provence
It was a rainy start to the day, but somehow managed to get a free shuttle to the train station (courtesy of the convention going on at the hotel that I was not a part of.) An hour train trip to Geneve and met up with Rebecca at the station. After stowing my bag we hoped on the bus to the Old Town. We wandered through the morning market, Rebecca picking up food for dinner and me picking up snacks of olives, cheese and cherry tomatoes for the train. The sun came out in time for us to have patio lunch and catch up on how life was living in Geneve. It was great to see her and too soon time to return to the train station and on to Provence.
After an uneventlful train ride I arrived in Arles. Mary and Margaret and arranged for a taxi to meet me at the station and soon was with mes amies at our lovely rented house enjoying a glass of wine and quinos greek salad. Susan, Doug, Sarah and Ken arrived a few hours later and we all sat up sharing our stories of the past 4 days over a few glasses (bottles) of fantastic Italian wine. Thanks Sarah for lugging them on all those trains!
Friday, September 16, 2011
And on to France (Sept 15 - 16)
On Thursday morning, Carol and Larry caught the train to continue their adventures in Venice and then Turkey. We will have to wait until we are back in Vancouver to hear how their trip went.
Margaret and Mary opted to spend several hours waiting in Riomaggiore to catch a direct (slow) train to Ventimiglia rather than having to drag their bags on and off several trains. They should have also opted to sleep in but unfortunately didn’t manage that. We saw Carol and Larry off, then went over to the main strip for a nice relaxed breakfast, then we spent a couple of hours sitting in the wifi spot waiting for our train.
The train to Ventimiglia was quite uncrowded but was also without any services such as restaurant car or snack wagon. There were lovely views of the coast and beachs in between many tunnels. Surprisingly, after a 4.5 hour train trip, we pulled into Ventilmiglia almost exactly on time. There were only a few platforms so we had no problem finding our next train within our 16 minute connection time. Initially the train was not too crowded, we were sharing a car with a number of Australian and other travellors, though many moved as they realized ours was a 1st class car.
Things changed quickly when we reached the station in Monaco at around 6pm (rush hour in Monaco), all of a sudden our car felt like Skytrain at rush hour. It took some fancy work and a few bruised toes to navigate our large suitcases through the crowded train aisle.
On arrival in Villefranche-sur-mer we attempted to navigate our way to our hotel with only the assistance of a Rick Steves “map”. Mary took several navigational walk abouts but we had to resort to calling the hotel to manage to locate it. Note for future – close on google maps is not necessarily close and google maps does not show elevation. (The hotel clerks comment when we advised him of our location “you will need to climb”). After another navigational sortie and after climbing several blocks (in a roundabout fashion to avoid having to climb streets of stairs) we found the Hotel Riviera.
Our first impression of the hotel was a slightly upscale East Hastings SRO, the impression was not improved by dark hallways, old red carpet and chipped plaster walls. Mary had been sold by the description of a lovely terrace overlooking the bay – the terrace was lovely, the attached room ….. not so much. It was a “lovely” orange attic garret. After the initial poor impression faded we noted that we did have working air conditioning and a tv (with only French stations) and the sheets were clean. We were also lucky that the suitcase lift did function all the way to the third floor so we didn’t have to carry our bags up the narrow winding stairs. Margaret thought the elevator did seem to complain over much while transporting her bag.
Mary had been battling a cold all day, she had made an investment in some Italian Ibuprofen/cold flu capsules and a wise investment in a six pack of Kleenex. Circumstances called for a bracing toddy of the miracle cure Sporer Orangen-Punsch. Margaret also had a preventative punch to ward off any incipient cold virus. Definitely the punch had more medicinal benefit than the cold capsules, so Mary had a good night’s sleep. The effects of the punch lasted well into the following afternoon. I am sure that another dose this evening will result in complete recovery from any cold virus.
By morning, our impression of the hotel was improving, we opted not to partake in the 10 euro breakfast at the hotel but ended up spending 6 euro for coffee, croissant and yoghurt so the hotel breakfast was probably a good deal.
Villefranche-sur-mer appears to be the discount Cote-d'azure, there is a long strip of beach at one end of town and that must be the attraction for most people as there did not seem to be a great deal else in town . We woke far too early as the shops were only starting to open at 9am. We wandered down to the beach, the water looked really lovely on a very warm morning, but our suitcases are already overflowing without trying to squeeze in beach towels and umbrellas. We toured the Citadel with its Museums of impressionist/surrealist art and many figurative statues of women. There was some kind of conference going on in the Citadel, we arrived just as they were partaking of their midmorning refreshment break and we got to admire the tables that had been set out for their luncheon break.
After admiring the art and the gardens of the Citadel, we took the walking path around the Citadel to Port Royal de la Darse. On seeing the Rick Steves recommended Hotel de la Darse near there, we were feeling even better about our more centrally located hotel. We had beer and a salad at the local favorite marinaside café. It was definitely the place to go for the locals (I suspect it was the only place to eat in Port Royal).
After a relaxing lunch (sometimes slow service is appreciated – on those days that you have nothing better to do), we wandered back to the old town and toured the few clothing and post card shops that were there. We viewed the lovely Saint-Michel church and paid our fee to view the small but intricately decorated Chapel Saint Pierre. The entire interior and the front of the chapel had been painted by Jean Cocteau in 1954-1956.
We are now relaxing on our lovely terrace, enjoying a refreshing beer and waiting until it is time to venture out for dinner. Life is good. When we returned to our room, we discovered that the housekeeping staff had made the trek up to our attic and we had our beds made and we had fresh towels :o
Margaret and Mary opted to spend several hours waiting in Riomaggiore to catch a direct (slow) train to Ventimiglia rather than having to drag their bags on and off several trains. They should have also opted to sleep in but unfortunately didn’t manage that. We saw Carol and Larry off, then went over to the main strip for a nice relaxed breakfast, then we spent a couple of hours sitting in the wifi spot waiting for our train.
The train to Ventimiglia was quite uncrowded but was also without any services such as restaurant car or snack wagon. There were lovely views of the coast and beachs in between many tunnels. Surprisingly, after a 4.5 hour train trip, we pulled into Ventilmiglia almost exactly on time. There were only a few platforms so we had no problem finding our next train within our 16 minute connection time. Initially the train was not too crowded, we were sharing a car with a number of Australian and other travellors, though many moved as they realized ours was a 1st class car.
Things changed quickly when we reached the station in Monaco at around 6pm (rush hour in Monaco), all of a sudden our car felt like Skytrain at rush hour. It took some fancy work and a few bruised toes to navigate our large suitcases through the crowded train aisle.
On arrival in Villefranche-sur-mer we attempted to navigate our way to our hotel with only the assistance of a Rick Steves “map”. Mary took several navigational walk abouts but we had to resort to calling the hotel to manage to locate it. Note for future – close on google maps is not necessarily close and google maps does not show elevation. (The hotel clerks comment when we advised him of our location “you will need to climb”). After another navigational sortie and after climbing several blocks (in a roundabout fashion to avoid having to climb streets of stairs) we found the Hotel Riviera.
Our first impression of the hotel was a slightly upscale East Hastings SRO, the impression was not improved by dark hallways, old red carpet and chipped plaster walls. Mary had been sold by the description of a lovely terrace overlooking the bay – the terrace was lovely, the attached room ….. not so much. It was a “lovely” orange attic garret. After the initial poor impression faded we noted that we did have working air conditioning and a tv (with only French stations) and the sheets were clean. We were also lucky that the suitcase lift did function all the way to the third floor so we didn’t have to carry our bags up the narrow winding stairs. Margaret thought the elevator did seem to complain over much while transporting her bag.
Mary had been battling a cold all day, she had made an investment in some Italian Ibuprofen/cold flu capsules and a wise investment in a six pack of Kleenex. Circumstances called for a bracing toddy of the miracle cure Sporer Orangen-Punsch. Margaret also had a preventative punch to ward off any incipient cold virus. Definitely the punch had more medicinal benefit than the cold capsules, so Mary had a good night’s sleep. The effects of the punch lasted well into the following afternoon. I am sure that another dose this evening will result in complete recovery from any cold virus.
By morning, our impression of the hotel was improving, we opted not to partake in the 10 euro breakfast at the hotel but ended up spending 6 euro for coffee, croissant and yoghurt so the hotel breakfast was probably a good deal.
Villefranche-sur-mer appears to be the discount Cote-d'azure, there is a long strip of beach at one end of town and that must be the attraction for most people as there did not seem to be a great deal else in town . We woke far too early as the shops were only starting to open at 9am. We wandered down to the beach, the water looked really lovely on a very warm morning, but our suitcases are already overflowing without trying to squeeze in beach towels and umbrellas. We toured the Citadel with its Museums of impressionist/surrealist art and many figurative statues of women. There was some kind of conference going on in the Citadel, we arrived just as they were partaking of their midmorning refreshment break and we got to admire the tables that had been set out for their luncheon break.
After admiring the art and the gardens of the Citadel, we took the walking path around the Citadel to Port Royal de la Darse. On seeing the Rick Steves recommended Hotel de la Darse near there, we were feeling even better about our more centrally located hotel. We had beer and a salad at the local favorite marinaside café. It was definitely the place to go for the locals (I suspect it was the only place to eat in Port Royal).
After a relaxing lunch (sometimes slow service is appreciated – on those days that you have nothing better to do), we wandered back to the old town and toured the few clothing and post card shops that were there. We viewed the lovely Saint-Michel church and paid our fee to view the small but intricately decorated Chapel Saint Pierre. The entire interior and the front of the chapel had been painted by Jean Cocteau in 1954-1956.
Off to Piedmont For Some Barolo
Susan, Doug, Ken and Sarah arrived safely in Torino on Thursday after a full day in Milan. We didn't have much time to find a place for dinner that night so we ended up at a local pizza joint with a pirate motif. Why pirates and pizza go together I don't know but the food was good and we got our complimentary lemoncello after the meal.
It was an early start to the day as we were heading out to the Piedmont area to sample excellent Barberas, Barolos and Nebbiolas. We picked up the rental car and headed south of Torino to Asti. We missed the freeway turnoff so we were relegated to the backroads. At least we avoided the tolls on the way.
We quickly headed from Asti to Alba and were rewarded with some lovely towns and some great wineries.
We went to a lovely vineyard where the owners gave us a tasting and tour of their vineyard. The name was Cascina Longoria and their wines were all excellent and at a very reasonable price. We left with 8 bottles between us. The wines are featured in the shot above. The owner was named Carlo and he gave Ken some of his grapes for the ride.
After our stop at Cascina Longoria we went on to Grinzane Favour, Barolo and La Morra. More wine tasting and more great wine purchased + grappa!! It was a wine lover's dream.
It was getting late and unfortunately it was time to head back to Torino. It was the direct route on the autostrada to get back but still it was dark when we made it back to town. We filled up the rental car, dropped it off and wandered the streets of Torino with 13 bottles of wine to find dinner.
It was time to get home as we had the long journey from Torino to Arles in the morning.
It was an early start to the day as we were heading out to the Piedmont area to sample excellent Barberas, Barolos and Nebbiolas. We picked up the rental car and headed south of Torino to Asti. We missed the freeway turnoff so we were relegated to the backroads. At least we avoided the tolls on the way.
We quickly headed from Asti to Alba and were rewarded with some lovely towns and some great wineries.
We went to a lovely vineyard where the owners gave us a tasting and tour of their vineyard. The name was Cascina Longoria and their wines were all excellent and at a very reasonable price. We left with 8 bottles between us. The wines are featured in the shot above. The owner was named Carlo and he gave Ken some of his grapes for the ride.
After our stop at Cascina Longoria we went on to Grinzane Favour, Barolo and La Morra. More wine tasting and more great wine purchased + grappa!! It was a wine lover's dream.
It was getting late and unfortunately it was time to head back to Torino. It was the direct route on the autostrada to get back but still it was dark when we made it back to town. We filled up the rental car, dropped it off and wandered the streets of Torino with 13 bottles of wine to find dinner.
It was time to get home as we had the long journey from Torino to Arles in the morning.
Leanne in Montreux - Chateau de Chillon
Decided to walk to Chateau de Chillon this morning - 45 min walk from Montreux. It was warm and sunny, and a nice walk along the lake. Checked out the Freddie Mercury statue along the way. If you like medieval castles you need to check this one out. It really felt authentic and you could imagine how people lived back then. They were definitely shorter/smaller - the doorways and beds were very tiny. Going through some of the rooms - especially the prisons and when no one else was around was really creepy. It's actually on an island and quite amazing how they built it into the rock.
Then I hopped onto a boat and cruised to Vevey where I caught the "wine train" to Chexbres. After a nice long walk through the vineyards I made my way to the Vinorama to try a couple of the local wines. A quick train ride back to the hotel and it was time to start packing up again - next stop Provence.
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Doug, Susan, Ken and Sarah in Milan
After an early start from Como it was off to Torino with a stop in Milan for the day. It was only a 45 minute train ride and with bags safely in luggage storage, it was off to the duomo. The subway was quick and efficient but not air conditioned and packed with commuters. It was nice to get above ground and see the impressive sight of the Milan duomo - the 3rd largest in Europe.
After the duomo it was off to the lovely shopping centre across from the duomo.
Next stop. Leonardo Da Vinci's Last Supper. Thank you to Susan for booking so far in advance of our trip. But, my apologies for pretending I didn't know you when you almost got kicked out for taking pictures.
After that, it was the castle and off to Torino.
After the duomo it was off to the lovely shopping centre across from the duomo.
Next stop. Leonardo Da Vinci's Last Supper. Thank you to Susan for booking so far in advance of our trip. But, my apologies for pretending I didn't know you when you almost got kicked out for taking pictures.
After that, it was the castle and off to Torino.
Leanne in Montreux - Chocolate Train
The Chocolate Train was made up of a panorama car and a couple of classic cars. I was very happy to be in one of the classic cars, they were quite spectacular. Reminded me of the Orient Express but not quite as fancy.
With a chocolate croissant and hot chocolate on the way we made our first stop at Gruyeres and a tour of a cheese factory. Then we were bussed to the town of Gruyeres to tour the castle and have lunch. Of course I had to have cheese and found a place where I could get a single serving cheese fondue - Yum!
Then back on the bus to Broc and a tour of the Callier chocolate factory. This was the highlight of the day. A humourous history lesson on the introduction of chocolate to Europe and the Callier/Nestle brand. Next the tasting room with many different variety's to try. I had them all of course, then found out I couldn't leave the room before finishing. Needless to say I had melted chocolate all over my hands and a very nice French lady gave me a handi wipe - I like to think I gave them a good laugh. It was a quiet 2 hour train ride back and I headed to the gym in hopes of working off some of the cheese and chocolate consumed. It was all worth it!
With a chocolate croissant and hot chocolate on the way we made our first stop at Gruyeres and a tour of a cheese factory. Then we were bussed to the town of Gruyeres to tour the castle and have lunch. Of course I had to have cheese and found a place where I could get a single serving cheese fondue - Yum!
Then back on the bus to Broc and a tour of the Callier chocolate factory. This was the highlight of the day. A humourous history lesson on the introduction of chocolate to Europe and the Callier/Nestle brand. Next the tasting room with many different variety's to try. I had them all of course, then found out I couldn't leave the room before finishing. Needless to say I had melted chocolate all over my hands and a very nice French lady gave me a handi wipe - I like to think I gave them a good laugh. It was a quiet 2 hour train ride back and I headed to the gym in hopes of working off some of the cheese and chocolate consumed. It was all worth it!
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Hiking Cinque Terre (9/14/11)
On Wednesday, it dawned bright and sunny and Carol, Larry, Margaret and Mary prepared to tour the Cinque Terre. One section of the path was closed due to avalanche and the general consensus was that we would rather cruise than hike the section from Vernazza to Monterosa so we only ended up hiking/walking the section from Riomaggiore to Manerole and the section from Corniglia to Vernazza.
The temperature got up to close to 30 degrees with high humidity so the hike was very hot and sweaty. Our first introduction was the switch back stairs from the train station up to Corniglia, it looked very similar to the Grouse Grind but ended up not being too bad. Carol was able to augment her warddrobe on the way up to Corniglia so she was able to complete her ensemble.
We had lunch at a nice shaded restaurant in Vernazza, then toured about a bit and caught the train to Monterossa. It would have been nice to spend some time on the beach in Monterossa but we settled for a gelato.
The boat trip back to Riomaggiore was really nice, we got to view the scenery from the sea side. We caught a glimpse of the landslide area of the damaged the trail and we spotted our rooms overlooking the train station.
All in all it was a very nice day.
The temperature got up to close to 30 degrees with high humidity so the hike was very hot and sweaty. Our first introduction was the switch back stairs from the train station up to Corniglia, it looked very similar to the Grouse Grind but ended up not being too bad. Carol was able to augment her warddrobe on the way up to Corniglia so she was able to complete her ensemble.
We had lunch at a nice shaded restaurant in Vernazza, then toured about a bit and caught the train to Monterossa. It would have been nice to spend some time on the beach in Monterossa but we settled for a gelato.
The boat trip back to Riomaggiore was really nice, we got to view the scenery from the sea side. We caught a glimpse of the landslide area of the damaged the trail and we spotted our rooms overlooking the train station.
All in all it was a very nice day.
September 13-14 Lake Como
Doug, Susan, Ken and Sarah arrived in Como on Wednesday night and headed out for a quick reconnaisance of the town and to find a place for dinner. The hotel was simple but nice and most importantly was near the train station.
We found a lovely Italian restaurant on the Lake and took advantage of the "tourist menu" and the ample, inexpensive house wine.
It was an early start the next morning to get the boat for a tour of Lake Como. The weather was sunny but with a nice breeze to provide a relief from the heat. It didn't last but it was nice while we had it. We kept a close eye out for George Clooney and his Lake Como villa. Not sure if we saw it but were disappointed to hear he was in Toronto for the TIFF.
We enjoyed the boat ride and our first stop of the day was the impressive Villa Carlotta.
We found a lovely Italian restaurant on the Lake and took advantage of the "tourist menu" and the ample, inexpensive house wine.
It was an early start the next morning to get the boat for a tour of Lake Como. The weather was sunny but with a nice breeze to provide a relief from the heat. It didn't last but it was nice while we had it. We kept a close eye out for George Clooney and his Lake Como villa. Not sure if we saw it but were disappointed to hear he was in Toronto for the TIFF.
Ken was really excited to see what he thought were hummingbirds in the garden but upon closer inspection realized that they were some kind of insect. We named it a humming bee. Ken was horrified!! Later we found out it was a hummingbird moth.
After that it was a stop for water and prosecco and the ferry over to Bellagio.
We took the fast ferry back to Como as it was late in the day. After an extensive search for an elusive supply of mustard, we stumbled upon what we thought was a new restaurant for our last evening in Como. After being promised a courtyard seat near the lake we ended up at exactly the same restaurant as we ate the previous night. Oh well, the service was great and the meal was excellent....again....as was the complimentary lemoncello. :)
Tomorrow it was off to Torino via Milan.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)