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.
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Farewell to family.....
Monday afternoon we arrived in Peize at cousin Tjerkje's place. After supper we took a walk and surprised my aunt who lives in a nursing home here. She doesn't see well and we walked into her room and said hello. She knew right away who we were from our voices....she was thrilled that we had stopped by. Tuesday morning, Tjerkje and her friend, Jan went cycling with us and we stopped in at another aunt's place for coffee and then we cycled the surrounding area. Wonderful lush green farm land. The bike paths in Holland are so well laid out and make cycling easy. We stopped in Norg for "patat met" at lunch - delicous french fries with mayo for those who do not know what patat is. In the afternoon another cousin and her husband stopped by in Peize for tea so by now we have met up with all the relatives who are home. All that was left to do now in this area is check out my roots so Joe and I got up early on Wednesday morning and were on our bikes by 8:30 to make the trip to stad Groningen via Hoogkerk. Had to check out the house where I was born. It's still there, only it's a lawyer's office now. From there we went to Groningen - had to see the "Martini Tooren" and get a picture. It is so much easier to get to the "centrum" of any city by bike than car....By now it's coffee time and we do "koffie met appel tart" a la McDonalds. It tastes good no matter where you buy it. We cycle back to Peize in time to have lunch with Tjerkje and to pack up our bags and make our way back to the airport - a 2 hour drive. Along the way we make one last stop in Vries for a quick cup of tea with a cousin of Joe's. Bernie and Anna are already checked in at the IBIS where we are staying as well on Wednesday night. They are off to bed early since they have just arrived that day. We have acclimatized after spending 10 days in Holland. Thursday morning we are up early - the weather forecast was not good - rain and more rain. The forecasters were not wrong.
Let me suggest you follow the other blog that I will be posting on for most of the time. We are disappointed that WiFi is not as readily available as we had hoped. Most places charge outrageous prices for the use of it and time gets away on us as well. When we get into a motel/hotel in time for supper, it's a rush to try to get to a computer as well.
The other site is: http://cyclingeurope2010.blogspot.com -
Today it's Sunday already - most of the group left to go to church in Utrecht but there was not room in the 9 passenger van for 12 people so a few of us had to stay back so Joe, Peter and I volunteered. This gave me a chance to get caught up with the blogs.....
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Trip down memory lane......
Well, we have had our weekend with Joe's relatives - on Sunday we were together with 20 of us at Jacob & Hillie's place in Dwingeloo - the birth place of Joe. There were 10 cousins there with their spouses....lots of good food, drink, and fellowship. We spent two days cycling in this area - one with Jacob and Hillie and one day with just the 2 of us. Tomorrow morning we will do a short trip by bike along with Joe's brother and sister in law from BC - Jake and Jenny - to visit the area where Joe's father was born. Cycling is just such a way of life here - ladies at least 20 years my senior are still biking, getting their groceries, going to church, etc. Bikes are parked everywhere and the electric bike has taken over here for those who have some health issues. You see some hard core cyclists here as well - they are decked out in cycling gear and are the only ones that wear helmets. Can't imagine seniors over 80 cycling where we live in Canada. The bike paths make it very easy to go everywhere without being on the busy roads. Mind you there are still bikes on the roads as well - we made a trip yesterday to the place where Joe's mom was from and we had competition on the road(s) with the vintage cars that were going there too. It did get a bit too busy for my liking. Sometimes the bike paths are on the roads so we have to share. Couples cycle along holding hands or holding an umbrella - I haven't mastered that yet. I told Joe to please not get too close - I love him but do not need to hold his hand while cycling. We did get caught in a rain shower yesterday again - t'was time for coffee so we stopped.
We took the scenic route yesterday so we could cycle "op the groote, stille heide" - once I get my camera cord organized, I will post some pictures. The heide has just started blooming...didn't come across the shepherd with his sheep but we did see a shepherd with his flock. Jake & Jenny arrived in Dwingeloo yesterday so we made arrangements to meet for a drink last evening just for the opportunity to talk English....it's tiring to speak Dutch when it's not your first language. I guess it is our first language but because we don't do it regularly, it's not the easiest for us.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Rain gear testing....
Well the "weather radar" this morning said there would be a shower at noon and for the rest the weather would be fine. We left at 11:00 on a route mapped out by cousin Jaap that would be about 60 km long - through the bush and we should be at a coffee shop (aka Tim Hortons)by noon so we should be able to stay dry. Needless to say, it took a bit to figure out the number system of all the bike routes and we were not at said coffee shop by noon so out came the rain gear - it works well and we looked like drowned rats when we stopped at a motel/hotel in Ede for a long awaited cup of coffee. Prices at Tim Hortons are cheap compared to what coffee costs here in Holland. Mind you it does come with a "free"cookie...to eat with the 3 swallows of coffee that you get....
We cycled through lots of beautiful countryside in the Bennekom area - lots to see and not enough time to see it all. We arrived back in Bennekom around 3:30 not having gone the 60 km. because we had another rain shower and had to get out the rain gear once again. I will admit that cycling in the rain is not much fun. Small towns in Holland are neat places to be in...the "vis maart" caravan shows up and parks in the middle of town and those loving fish can buy to their heart's content. Joe bought himself a "lekker bekkje" - he said it was delicious....I will try one later this week - I'm sure we will see more of this when the whole group arrives. Tomorrow we leave Bennekom to travel to the northern part of Holland - both Joe and I come from that area so we will check out our roots and visit with family there. A week tomorrow the whole group will be here...
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Arrived....
We arrived at Schiphol just after noon on Monday - good flight from Toronto - slept quite a bit on the plane so were not too tired when we got there. Luggage was all there even though we had to wait quite a while for the bikes, Joe was getting a little worried that they were not coming. We got our rental car and were on the road by 2:00 arriving in Bennekom just after 3:00. By 8:00 p.m. we could hardly keep our eyes open so we headed off to bed - hit the pillow and we were gone. By 1:00 a.m. we were both awake, read a while and fell back to sleep - Joe was up by 8:00 and I slept right through until 9:00. It's a bit overcast today - the bikes have been put together but we are not going out today. Tomorrow it promises to be better cycling weather so we will head out then.
We did a walking tour earlier today and will take a car ride in the countryside this afternoon.....the top picture is at a war cemetery in Grebbeberg where there are many Canadian soldiers buried. The picture with cows is one that Jacob took and put into a steel window case that came from the old family (deWeerd) homestead in Dwingeloo. The bottom two photos show some of the many figures that grace the downtown Bennekom area.
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