We left Anibes by 9:00 - destination Reims, France, via the shortest route which took us on roads not too suitable for our oversized van. Changed route to avoid freeways and this took us up and over the mountains. Beautiful scenery all around us but still not fast - the Alps in France are different from what we have seen in Italy and Switzerland. The biggest difference is in the houses that nestle in the mountains. Switzerland is prettier.
We stopped for coffee around 10:30, sitting among the motor bikers who were all out enjoying the great weather. We picked up baguettes, grapes and a hunk of brie cheese for lunch and were on our way again. We soon realized we would never reach our destination at the speed we were going so picked up the pace and took the freeways. It can get costly because of the hefty tolls you pay but we do need to get to our destination.
The houses in the mountains have changed from medieval type to more modern the closer we get to the big cities. It's still neat to see villages nestled among the hills - from our vantage point on the freeways, it's impossible to see roads leading to the houses. This part of France also has many apple orchards - the trees are covered with nets and harvesting has not begun yet. We see fields of dried up sunflowers waiting to be harvested. I'm sad that they are not bright yellow anymore, would have loved to see this.....
Grenoble is the biggest city we come through on the freeway. The further north we travel in France, the flatter the countryside gets - we are out of the mountains now and see much better farmland. The vineyards are plentiful again and we are told that the closer we get to Champagne this will be the case as these grapes are used to make champagne...
Before stopping tonight we see some excellent farms - some with crops already harvested, some crops waiting to be harvested and lush green fields with cows grazing. It was so flat it reminded us of the Canadian prairies.
Even though we took the freeway for half the day, we still land up at the youth hostel in Reims just before 9:00 p.m. The cafeteria was still open so we could get a meal there yet.
It's late, time for bed.....tomorrow another 450 kilometers before we get to Den Haag....the weather was absolutely beautiful all day today - beautiful sunset as well.
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Saturday, September 18th
We were ready to check out of the hotel this morning when the staff asked us if we were going to eat breakfast first – we didn’t realize that it was bed and breakfast so we enjoyed eating outdoors taking in the view and hearing the waves. Across from where we were, is the island of Elba which is the island that Napolean was exiled to. Ferries run back and forth regularly from the mainland to the island.
What we can’t get over is the number of castles that we have seen in Europe – probably all part of their defense program during war times. They usually sit high up on the hills and now are surrounded by complete towns. Taking photos of this won’t do justice at all because we are too far away.
Since we were so close to Pisa we decide we need to see the leaning tower – you have to see it in relation to another building to see how it leans. It was too busy to take a tour of the tower – many other tourists had the same idea today.
Driving along the Riviera we see the American influence on this area – American flags fly along with the European ones. This goes on for quite a while and all of a sudden the appearance changes and it’s not as luxurious any more…..being Saturday the joggers and cyclists are out on the roads all enjoying the good weather. The tourism book says that the Rivieras are strung with resorts and towns, many of them spoiled because of unregulated development. We didn’t notice that but then we didn’t spend much time there. Now we are out of the Tuscan Region of Italy and the scenery changes. Tuscany is quoted as being a region filled with vineyards, cypress-ringed villas and olive-cloaked hills and this is so true. The cypress trees are unique to this area.
From there we go into the mountain ranges again with the towns/castles nestled right on top and lush green trees all around us. Every now and then we get a peek of the coastline again. One area we passed through was almost like a rainforest. Lots of farming yet as well, all terraced along the side of the mountain. Olive trees are in abundance as well as vineyards….we stop for a lunch break and then decide if we are to make good time today we had probably best get back on the freeways for a while. Being on the freeways, you go through one tunnel after another – the Italians have mastered the building of tunnels. Joe says it’s almost like having tunnel vision…..
Another must place to visit today is Monte Carlo/Monaco. These places too were very busy with tourists today. We checked out the price of staying there but decided we couldn’t afford it and they had no vacancies even if we wanted to stay. This is where the rich and famous hang out…..Joe and Bernie checked out the Ferrari dealership and gloated over the cars there. They have never seen so many Ferraris out on the streets that belong to people there.
By now it’s getting to be supper time and time to find a place to stay. We had to drive for another 2 hours to find both. It was late but we did succeed. Tomorrow we will make reservations somewhere earlier so we can enjoy the evening.
What we can’t get over is the number of castles that we have seen in Europe – probably all part of their defense program during war times. They usually sit high up on the hills and now are surrounded by complete towns. Taking photos of this won’t do justice at all because we are too far away.
Since we were so close to Pisa we decide we need to see the leaning tower – you have to see it in relation to another building to see how it leans. It was too busy to take a tour of the tower – many other tourists had the same idea today.
Driving along the Riviera we see the American influence on this area – American flags fly along with the European ones. This goes on for quite a while and all of a sudden the appearance changes and it’s not as luxurious any more…..being Saturday the joggers and cyclists are out on the roads all enjoying the good weather. The tourism book says that the Rivieras are strung with resorts and towns, many of them spoiled because of unregulated development. We didn’t notice that but then we didn’t spend much time there. Now we are out of the Tuscan Region of Italy and the scenery changes. Tuscany is quoted as being a region filled with vineyards, cypress-ringed villas and olive-cloaked hills and this is so true. The cypress trees are unique to this area.
From there we go into the mountain ranges again with the towns/castles nestled right on top and lush green trees all around us. Every now and then we get a peek of the coastline again. One area we passed through was almost like a rainforest. Lots of farming yet as well, all terraced along the side of the mountain. Olive trees are in abundance as well as vineyards….we stop for a lunch break and then decide if we are to make good time today we had probably best get back on the freeways for a while. Being on the freeways, you go through one tunnel after another – the Italians have mastered the building of tunnels. Joe says it’s almost like having tunnel vision…..
Another must place to visit today is Monte Carlo/Monaco. These places too were very busy with tourists today. We checked out the price of staying there but decided we couldn’t afford it and they had no vacancies even if we wanted to stay. This is where the rich and famous hang out…..Joe and Bernie checked out the Ferrari dealership and gloated over the cars there. They have never seen so many Ferraris out on the streets that belong to people there.
By now it’s getting to be supper time and time to find a place to stay. We had to drive for another 2 hours to find both. It was late but we did succeed. Tomorrow we will make reservations somewhere earlier so we can enjoy the evening.
Friday, September 17th
Everyone is going their own way now – John D left last night already – had to catch the 10:00 train to Vienna, Dora left bright and early to catch the 7:30 shuttle to the airport. Next were Peter and Rita and Bill and Rita and Andy to catch a 10:30 flight to Amsterdam. John and Irene went over to the train station at 6:30 to book their train trip back to Holland only to find out that the ticket agents were on strike…..what to do now? Their bikes are with us now and we will take them back to Holland for them – this will make their travel so much easier in case they fly now. Karen, John K and Adrian are the only ones left behind when we leave at 9:30 – they fly out at 3:00.
We hit the road, thankful to have Adrian’s “TomTom” with us – this way we don’t have to consult maps at all. Milan is known as the fashion capital of the world – we did see this in how the people were dressed - both ends of the spectrum in regards to the rich and the poor. We were not in the most desirable area of the city in other respects – a little rough to say the least – our windows have to stay open in our rooms because of the heat and all night long there is noise. One of our group had his wallet lifted right out of a front pocket. Good thing it was the last day but still not nice. Getting out of Milan was a bit of a chore but once we got on the freeway, it was clear sailing. We left the freeway after a while so that we could go through the Tuscany region of Italy. Words or pictures will never describe the scenery that we saw. One thing was too bad, the sunflowers were all bloomed out….so sad for me as I was really hoping to see them in bloom yet. Scenes from “Under the Tuscan Sun” show sunflowers so that is why I wanted to see them. I have other sunflower shots so maybe I can transpose them over……olive groves and vineyards are in abundance.
We have picked up a book on Italy and it tells us the places to see in Tuscany so we have planned our route accordingly. We stopped for lunch in a quaint old town…….tourist season is over here so it does become difficult at times to find places to eat. The need for some Italian ice cream in the afternoon led us to places where we weren’t sure we should be. We saw 3 empty tour buses at one spot so we thought there should be something to see in this other town so we kept on driving – well we were the only vehicle on this one particular street filled with pedestrians…..we just had to keep on going even though “Betsy” told us to turn around as soon as possible. Nobody gave us dirty looks – we were all tourists……parking places are very difficult to find in these small towns so you just take your chances – we did finally find some real Italian ice cream and it was worth it.
The plan was to find a place to sleep along the coast of the Mediterranean and we did – mind you we were the only guests in this hotel – and also at supper. We decided to eat there as well and had the local fish for supper. There was a little difficulty in making ourselves understood about what kind of fish we wanted or how it was prepared so each of us got a plate of fish – head and tail still attached. I soon get rid of the head – don’t like eyes looking at me while I eat. It was delicious – served with grilled vegetables and a basket of bread. Every restaurant in Italy has a bottle of olive oil and balsamic vinegar on it and this is how they eat the bread, dipped in this mixture.
All the windows and doors of our room were left open so we could hear the waves hitting the shore – we slept well and woke up to the sound of the crashing waves. It’s a bit overcast this morning……don’t know what the weather will do today but we had a good day yesterday.
We hit the road, thankful to have Adrian’s “TomTom” with us – this way we don’t have to consult maps at all. Milan is known as the fashion capital of the world – we did see this in how the people were dressed - both ends of the spectrum in regards to the rich and the poor. We were not in the most desirable area of the city in other respects – a little rough to say the least – our windows have to stay open in our rooms because of the heat and all night long there is noise. One of our group had his wallet lifted right out of a front pocket. Good thing it was the last day but still not nice. Getting out of Milan was a bit of a chore but once we got on the freeway, it was clear sailing. We left the freeway after a while so that we could go through the Tuscany region of Italy. Words or pictures will never describe the scenery that we saw. One thing was too bad, the sunflowers were all bloomed out….so sad for me as I was really hoping to see them in bloom yet. Scenes from “Under the Tuscan Sun” show sunflowers so that is why I wanted to see them. I have other sunflower shots so maybe I can transpose them over……olive groves and vineyards are in abundance.
We have picked up a book on Italy and it tells us the places to see in Tuscany so we have planned our route accordingly. We stopped for lunch in a quaint old town…….tourist season is over here so it does become difficult at times to find places to eat. The need for some Italian ice cream in the afternoon led us to places where we weren’t sure we should be. We saw 3 empty tour buses at one spot so we thought there should be something to see in this other town so we kept on driving – well we were the only vehicle on this one particular street filled with pedestrians…..we just had to keep on going even though “Betsy” told us to turn around as soon as possible. Nobody gave us dirty looks – we were all tourists……parking places are very difficult to find in these small towns so you just take your chances – we did finally find some real Italian ice cream and it was worth it.
The plan was to find a place to sleep along the coast of the Mediterranean and we did – mind you we were the only guests in this hotel – and also at supper. We decided to eat there as well and had the local fish for supper. There was a little difficulty in making ourselves understood about what kind of fish we wanted or how it was prepared so each of us got a plate of fish – head and tail still attached. I soon get rid of the head – don’t like eyes looking at me while I eat. It was delicious – served with grilled vegetables and a basket of bread. Every restaurant in Italy has a bottle of olive oil and balsamic vinegar on it and this is how they eat the bread, dipped in this mixture.
All the windows and doors of our room were left open so we could hear the waves hitting the shore – we slept well and woke up to the sound of the crashing waves. It’s a bit overcast this morning……don’t know what the weather will do today but we had a good day yesterday.
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