Paris, A New Year

28/12/2015

After arriving at our Paris accommodation we met one of our hosts, Christian. We spoke for around half an hour and he offered us some advice for restaurants and getting around the area. He also showed us around the apartment including how to unlock the front door which would become a nuisance at a later stage. We had dinner and a cruise booked this evening to get accustomed to the time in Europe. We walked from our apartment to the Seine river floating restaurant and enjoyed a 3 course meal with a view of the Eiffel Tower. Seated next to none other than an Australian on holiday, we had a good chat to he and his friend and we shared a bottle of wine as we were too tired to drink it ourselves. The food wasn’t fantastic, nor bad. Ellie ate broccoli soup, Salmon and Chocolate Mille Feuille. While I had Pumpkin Soup, Pork Belly and something else for dessert. We then went on our cruise at 8:30pm along the Seine, passing many grand buildings and large mansions, including the Louvre, the Grand Palais, other museums and the Notre Dame Cathedral. The cruise lasted an hour taking us to 9:30pm and by this stage Ellie and I enjoyed laughing at each fighting to stay awake on the boat. We slumped almost to our knees before catching ourselves and not being able to do anything about it. As soon as the cruise ended we went home and went straight to sleep.

 

29/12/2015

After a good sleep we woke and headed to a market st called Rue Cler. Ellie had researched the area prior to leaving Australia and it was a great place to find. As we found most markets in France have everything you need, and it’s all fresh. We ate a delicious baguette (ham and cheese - jambon and fromage) and a quiche. Following breakfast we headed to the Eiffel Tower with a scheduled visit to the top of the tower at 11am. Lines for tickets were enormous but Ellie had pre purchased our tickets so we just lined up for a security check before ascending to the 2nd platform (skipping the restaurant on the 1st). The views were as imagined - very impressive. We made our way around both levels on the 2nd platform, eating a macaroon from a store inside. Soon after this we lined up for the lift to the top platform which again offered amazing views of the city from both and open level and glass windowed room. We took a lot of photos and took in the city before heading down to the bottom. We were fortunate to see the last few days of the Christmas stalls, which were located just near the base of the Eiffel Tower. The food here looked great and we would return another time to try it.

 

Following the Eiffel Tower tour we headed to the Champs Elysees, a famous area that includes a large shopping street and the Arc De Triomphe. By now we had gotten the hang of the Metro and had made it here quite easily. WE decided to get lunch first and made our way along the street, observing some shops as we went. These included famous brands, normals shops and even some promotional shops for car brands that were pretty cool. I purchased some sunglasses along the famous street in case it was really sunny in London when we arrived. Before walking back to the Arc De Triomphe we  encountered more Christmas stalls and Ellie enjoyed her first Crepe with Nutella and Strawberries. It was quite tricky finding an entrance to get under the busy road and visit the famous Arc. Eventually, we got there and marvelled at the age, size and detail combination of the grand structure. Ellie and I decided against the larges queues and cost of visiting the top of the structure and instead returned home to get a nap in before dinner and a late show to come. We ate dinner at a restaurant near our apartment and shared an entree of Snails which we both enjoyed (Ellie not so much with the bigger ones). For dinner Ellie ate Fish and I had a Caesar Salad to be safe after the snails. We ran late for a 9:30pm show at the Crazy Horse. Fortunately we missed very little as we were both disappointed in the show. The cabaret show was just not our scene and we found it quite dull and slow. The highlight of the show was when a member of the audience was removed from the venue for being too intoxicated and proceeded to resist removal from the show both physically and verbally. Again we were tired and ventured home after the late show. Bed soon followed after a recap conversation about our day with our host Christian.

 

30/12/2015

We woke on Wednesday and had some fresh fruit and a quiche for breakfast before heading to the Louvre Museum. Upon arriving at the museum we noticed a line well over 2km long and considered returning another day with tickets purchased online. First we decided to look around the large areas outside the museum said to be 700m long, again very grand and encompassing great detail everywhere you look. WE were unsure what to do from here and decided to look for free wifi to search other attractions. We found a tourist shop with exactly that and upon entering the shop Ellie noticed Louvre tickets which would allow us to skip the massive queue. We purchased without hesitation despite them being 2 Euro more than  those in the 2km long line. Following our good luck we entered the Louvre after another for security checks. It is as large as stated and there is art that would take months to take in properly and a full day to see each piece within the museum. As most would, we headed directly to the Mona Lisa, coming across some amazing art works along the way. The history of some that we did take in was simply amazing and there were many religious (Catholic) works in the halls we passed through. We followed the signs and mostly the crowds to find the famous art work surrounded by a posse of people lining up for photos of, and with the Mona Lisa. We participated in this tradition also being the tourist we are. Afterwards we changed sides of the three story building going through the busy main foyer to find another hall with a favourite piece of art for Ellie. She made me take a silly photo with these two famous women in the painting that really showed her maturity but was all for a laugh. Needless to say a few other patrons of the museum had a laugh at us either way.

 

Soon after the visit at the museum we headed to the Hotel de Ville which Ellie informed me was once considered the city centre and usually had a large square and a famous leader or person lived in the building adjacent to the square. These are to be found in each French city according to my tour guide :). Here we ate street food (hotdogs) and watched some street performers dancing before visiting the Notre Dame Cathedral. Another large, historic building with yet more queues to enter, although, this one did move quickly. Inside was beautiful with amazing stained glass windows and extremely high ceilings. Soon after we headed to the Catacombs of Paris. This was by far the worst organised tourist attraction that Ellie and I had been to but we eventually filtered through the mess of people scrambling to get in with no lines or order at all. The initial stage of the tour included a lot of stairs winding underground and information on the mining that led to the discovery of the Catacombs and consolidation of the underground tunnel systems in Paris. Eventually we passed through the short ceilings in the underground tunnels to come across the Catacombs. The amount of bones in the first room was unimaginable, from the ground to at least 6ft high the bones are stacked in near perfect order, considered to be a ceremonious burial practice after once being dumped in piles below ground. After the initial shock wore off we followed the winding path to the conclusion of the tour for around 20 minutes of rooms and corridors with the same stacks of bones until it becomes something you can fathom only until again you consider the the amount of people it would take to fill such a space for such a long time. The stacks of bones at times offered differences in their presentation with skulls being the feature in symbols such as a religious cross. It was an experience we both enjoyed and would recommend to others.

 

We had eaten a snack prior to the tour so prolonged dinner as it was around 6:15pm to head to a Whisky Bar. Ellie had located it and maintained it as a surprise for some time. The bar was easy enough to find and we settled in to look at the whisky and wine collection in the bar. Ellie had a glass of wine while I participated in a whisky degustation. This included four drinks, explained briefly by the friendly owner. I selected whiskies from Scotland, France, Japan and Ireland. Drinking whisky or alcohol straight in general is not something I enjoy greatly but 2 out of the 4 where very smooth, while 1 was smokey and the other too strong that it burned. I enjoyed the experience and endeavour to surprise Ellie with something she loves sometime soon. Although it’s difficult to find something she hasn’t already planned or have in mind.

 

After the Whisky Bar we caught the Metro home and ventured to the Christmas markets at the Eiffel Tower again to get some dinner. I had a potato bake style dish and Ellie decided against the festival food. When we returned home we met our second host Celine and chatted, ate some cheese, drank tea and some wine for a few hours. Celine enlightened us to Comte Cheese, our new favourite cheese according to Ellie. Bed followed when the treats ran out.

 

31/12/2015

Thursday was our final day in Paris and coincided with New Year's Eve. We had a late start leaving home at 10:30 after I grabbed some bakery treats from around the corner while Ellie got ready. We went to the Sacre Coeur and Montmartre, a very hilly area with a lot of steps to reach the famous Sacre Coeur Basilica. The climb was worth it with another grand and beautiful church along with a fantastic view of the city of Paris. We made our way from here to a shopping area and to  a Japanese street full of restaurants. We had a nice lunch before looking for shops to buy new gloves as I had lost mine and a beanie on the train that same morning. We had no luck and just added kilometers to those we had walked in Paris. We returned to Rue Cler in preparation for New Year's Celebrations. We purchased wine X 2, flowers to thank Celine, bread, cheese and some sundried tomatoes (very expensive we learnt soon after). Then we went home and had showers, drank a bottle of wine and ate all our appetizers all before Celine returned from work around 8pm. Soon after this we headed to the Eiffel Tower with our wine and some desserts purchased from Rue Cler earlier. We walked the area full of people and eventually found a space of grass to the side away from the crowds.We walked the area full of people and eventually found a space of grass to the side away from the crowds. We found it comical that the illegal street vendors who had previously sold replicas, merchandise and Paris memorabilia were now selling champagne at a ‘good price’. Anything that sells, they have it, and consistently offer it to you despite our own wine sitting in front of us. We had a rug, cups and our desert, unfortunately, we forgot a bottle opener so decided against the wine in the end. We lent our cups to another couple as we retreated to our blanket to avoid the cold. 2.5 hours went quick and it was soon midnight. Cheers erupted before the tower sparkled to signal 12:00pm. It does this on the hour every night, so it didn’t seem to spectacular. It was still a memorable occasion for us in the end. Again we were tired, so not long after we went home and found Celine and her friend in the lounge, we chatted, shared cheese, wine and dessert until 2am before heading to bed and ending a fantastic experience in Paris.

 

• Christian and Celine were extremely nice and helpful. Christian is a sports events organiser, including work on the Tour De France.Celine works in Aviation Finance. Their apartment is over 120 years old. They were pregnant with their first child during our stay.

• There have been soldiers throughout various monuments and areas in Paris carrying heavy machine guns, likely due to the recent attacks in Paris (in late 2015).

 

Lyon, The City That Sleeps

 

01/01/2016

After a late night on New Year's Eve, we started 2016 off early with a two hour train ride to Lyon. This was a seemingly short trip by our recent travel standards. We arrived around midday and caught two more metro trains to reach our hotel. After some trouble finding which exit to take us to the hotel we decided it was the most confusing train station in the world. We effectively did a lap of the station before walking down a winding bus lane to find our hotel. It took all of two days to find the actual entrance to the station itself. Despite our delay our room was not ready so we left our bags and headed off to the city center. It was New Year's Day and there was barely anything open.There was very few people to be seen and compared to Paris which never stopped, Lyon seemed to be stuck in bed. We looked at some sights including the Hotel De Ville, among other churches, museums and theatres - all old and historic. We stopped for lunch at a grill style restaurant. We both had a decent steak with tangy (not nice) sauce, fries and lettuce (salad). After lunch we continued our city tour, eventually walking up a large hillside to come across some amazing viewpoints. Besides the cloudy weather that had bothered us all day the city was as clears as the eyes could see and the photos didn’t do it justice. We caught the Metro home and prepared ourselves  for dinner. We ate at a Brasserie 50m from our hotel as we were still quite tired and we wanted traditional food. Ellie ate veal with vegetables and I had pork belly with bacon, sauerkraut and sausage in what seem a very German dish. We were seated next to a nice, middle aged Welsh couple who lived in France and travel to a ski village each year with friends from their home town. Each year they stopped for one night at Lyon’s famous brasserie which happened to be the one we were out. We spoke for a good while as I became very tired and needed the pillow. Soon after we headed to be after sharing travel stories and receiving tips for Lyon and London to come.

 

02/01/2016

On Saturday we woke to rainy weather. A day that involved a lot of walking, we prepared as best as we could as we headed out without breakfast to an ancient amphitheatre that was maintained and still used today for various events and performances. The site dates back to the Roman EMpire stretching as far west as Lyon. We continued further up hill to reach the Basilica Notre Dame of Lyon. Another grand old building with grand old building with great views of the Lyon city area. Within this grand old building was two levels with the main cathedral on top and crypt (an underground room or vault beneath a church, used as a chapel or burial place) below. Additionally, there were offices, confessional boxes, rooms and even another small chapel. \CHurches here are not simple structures - they draw you in with awe and thought from the detailed imagery on the walls and ceilings. Looking closely to the ceiling you notice the mosaic tile design that covers hundreds of square meters with only 1cm squared tiles. After yet another historic building we went down the hill to Vieux Lyon or Old Lyon and had breakfast and a quick look around. Following this we headed to the Rue de la Republique, the shopping street in Lyon which we had wandered through the previous day. I had to purchase new gloves after losing mine in Paris and a new beanie as I had lost a 2nd in a hotel somewhere along the way. The area had woken up with more people than the previous day, yet still not as many as Paris. As our ideas for Lyon dwindled we went to Starbucks for free wi-fi and researched some things to do. We settled with a trip to Les Halles, a restaurant and market precinct with a large hall. Here we purchased a range of items from specialty stores that would later make a cozy, in room cheese and wine dinner possible. We also had a snack outside Les Halles where we had to sit on the floor due to lack of seating inside the hall and surrounding areas. We ate a deep fried potato hash brown like thing (not nice) and I had a creamy potato bake dish that was not as good as mums or Colleens. The wine we purchased was poor and we didn’t drink it when we returned home that evening, the sun dried tomatoes I desired tasted like rocks to those in Paris. One of the goats cheese we got was also left on the plate as it was too strong for us. We did however enjoy two other cheeses, one similar to our favourite - Compte. Ellie had some olives and we shared some bread with it all. In addition to these we had some strawberries and mulberries with the latter not tasting as good as the Australian version. After this hit and miss feast in Lyon we packed our bags and went to bed for our last night in Lyon.

 

• Overcast weather and a public holiday made Lyon less enjoyable. Not many people around, not many shops open.

• Again there were soldiers around, mostly in the city. We seen a side of street blocked off to pedestrians by soldiers to one apartment building which was being raided and made for interesting viewing, but we didn’t hang around to see the result.

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The French Riviera

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03/01/2016

Sunday marked seven days to go on our French holiday. We took the speed train at 7am from Lyon after a 5am start. It was a five hour journey that Ellie took full advantage of to make up the sleep we lost from the early start. I, wrote for the majority of the journey about our experiences in Paris. The five hour trip took us south to the French Riviera or also known as the Cote’ d’Azur for the next seven days. The first stop was to Nice, a nice town with beautiful views from Castel Hill, a pebble beach and a lot of tourist. The weather wasn’t fantastic particularly for photos but we took this in our stride. After arriving in Nice we walked with all our luggage in tow, to our hotel. A 15 minute walk if we hadn’t got a little lost, my fault. Once we arrived we found we had an old but fantastic hotel and received an upgrade to the top floor with ocean views. This was a welcomed reward after a small room in Lyon. We soon after arriving here made our way along the waterfront and headed for Castel Hill stopping to look at some of the street artist using spray paint to create fantastic images. We also stopped off for lunch on the other side of the road and both ate pizzas. I would have had one and a half as they were too big for Ellie. We ventured back along the water before heading up the hill to the many viewpoints including the one you see every photo of Nice from a tourist perspective. The views from this hill were fantastic in every direction you looked. One way was the pebbled beach, another over the city and another of the port and Mediterranean Sea. The clouds didn’t allow for great viewing but the sights were amazing and photos again didn’t do them justice. We decided to head home and possibly return the next day with better weather. After getting ready we headed to the roof top bar at our hotel for a drink and later went to a small casino only to be turned away because we didn’t have our passports with us. This lead to us having an early dinner and after walking down and around a few streets and lanes we found an Italian restaurant. Ellie had a five cheese ravioli which she liked and I had a nice carbonara. We then gathered our passports and returned to the casino only to find a very small establishment with one or two tables and mostly pokie machines. We thought we would put a Euro or two in each until finding there was a 10 Euro minimum and the machines didn’t take coins. This led to an early night as we headed home for bed upon this realisation.

 

 

04/01/2016

Monday morning came and we woke around 8am and went to the bakery after walking around for quite a while. Confusion followed us and we tried to catch our first bus of the trip. Despite what Google said, others helped us catch ‘the better bus’ for the airport, despite the other being called the airport bus - we did get there in the end. At the airport was our hire car, to be a small automatic left hand drive car. We got the left hand drive, but definitely didn’t get the ‘small car’ as we got an upgrade according to Hertz. We received a Peugeot 5008, a 7 seat family car that makes the widest of French streets seem like the hallways of a house. I put my gloves on the roof of the car as I searched the car for scratches before leaving to head back up Castel Hill for some more photos with better lighting. Soon after this venture driving on the wrong side of the road for the first time we headed to Monaco, with my gloves still in France, Nice. The Second country for the trip was a forty minute drive along the coast. I concentrated hard and do so when driving on the opposite side of the road each time but it seemed fairly easy and didn’t take long to feel reasonably comfortable with. Upon entering Monaco we were stopped by Police and had our details taken down from my passport and international drivers and regular license. The officer was impressed with the international license and another officer seemed interested in Ellie more so. Not long after we entered Monte Carlo and were amazed by the amount and size of the boats in the marina. Along with this, the views were again fantastic as we found a park near the Monte Carlo Casino. We looked at the fancy cars outside the casino and hotel and also went inside for a quick look before making our way to the part. We ate a small serving of lunch at an expensive Planet Sushi restaurant. I followed up my entree with a slice of pizza from up the road a little, while Ellie had her favourite dessert - strawberry tartlet. We went up a hill on the other side of the marina for a different view before parading through the docks in awe of the size of the boats and the likely price tag that goes with them. After dreaming about owning our own for a few minutes we went to our family car and realised we would never afford it and moved on, driving for an hour to our next destination - Antibes. It was around 6 when we arrived and after checking into a hotel with a kitchen we decided to eat in on a budget. We found a ‘Casino’ (supermarket) and got pumpkin soup and a bread stick for dinner, as well as some fruit and breakfast for the next day. After cooking and eating we went to bed and continued to dream of these big boats in Monte Carlo.

 

 

05/01/2016

On our second day with the car we left the hotel in Antibes and had a look around the city. We tried to locate a mountain climb recommended by Trip Advisor but didn’t have any luck. After looking around the coastal town we headed further along the coast, stopping for the occasional photo overlooking the sea from the shoreline or the mountain side. The journey proved to be just as amazing as the Great Ocean Road in Australia. What was impressive was the length of the coastal road and the towns and houses along it. Houses or in some cases mansions with some of the most spectacular views you could imagine. Along with each coastal town was a port, which hosted a large number of boats of varying sizes and usually inclusive of 3 and up to 10 superyachts that remind you of those in Monaco. On the road we also came across a war memorial dedicated to French and U.S soldiers who stormed the same beach to reclaim France from Germany’s grasp in 1944 or around the Second World War. It was here that Ellie’s two hour requirement to find a toilet ended as she parked herself in a bush and had a wee. In her defense we hadn’t seen a bathroom in some time. No photos that were taken of this funny event were kept. We had lunch in a town called Sainte Raphael at the port overlooking the boats. I had a delicious and very large burger while Ellie had a bruschetta that was more like a pizza. We continued the drive on the way to Toulon, stopping again for photos along the way. We went to a ‘Cap’ (Cape/Point) around sunset and found some windsurfers: there were about 15 on the water. We hung around for the sunset on a mountain top on the Cap only to be let down by the sun fading behind some overcast sky and clouds in the distance.  We then drove the remaining part of the journey to Toulon, checked into our very cheap and therefore, not very nice hotel. The place had to be over 150 years old and didn’t have a lift - conveniently, we were on the 4th floor with a fairly heavy luggage haul but not the full load as some stayed in the car. Not long after we went for dinner, where else but the port. We ate Italian with Ellie enjoying a salad and a very strong cocktail and I had a lasagna before walking home through our derelict area full of shady bars, tobacco shops and some red light district themed venues. Maybe not so cheap for our accommodation next time we thought.

 

 

06/01/2016

Wednesday was the third day of driving the beautiful coast along the south of France. We ventured around Toulon to try go up a mountainside via cable car only to find out it was closed until March or closer to summer. We found this to be the case for the large fort we visited too. On the plus side, we ate a great breakfast in the car, we were sitting on the coastline with nice views so it was very romantic. We shared a quiche and a fresh ham and cheese baguette before hitting the road again. On this day we went through La Seyne, Six Fours les Plages, Sanary, Bandal, St Cyr, La Coltat and Casis before arriving in Marseille. Again we stopped for the amazing views, took photos and took it all in. We had mostly clear and sunny weather as we drove the coast and into Marseille, which was another pretty city with a large port, a big fort and a huge basilica on top of a hill. Unfortunately, when we get up the smaller hill to the large fort we again found it to be closed. As the day was gone and not much planned we took the chance to head to the hotel and gather our dirty clothes for a trip to the laundromat (Laverie in French). We met a nice man who welcomed us to his city and went on his way. Ellie and I started our washing and headed out for a bite to eat, opting for another baguette each, eating them at the Laverie. While we were waiting an old French man, who couldn’t speak any English tried to give us a bag of what we thought was to give to the gentleman we met earlier. With much confusion he took it back and carried on with standing around. Not long after the man we met earlier returned and the confusion subsided we were gifted with 6 little French treats from a Patisserie. He said he wanted to welcome us to Marseille and to enjoy our stay. It was a lovely gesture and reaffirmed with us that French people get a bad rap as being rude and snobby. Evidenced by our dealings on this trip so far and in particular with our dealings with Christian and Celine and now this nice man. The sweets were delicious and we ate them all at the Laverie before finishing up and heading back to the hotel. This was the end of another long day as we decided to have an early night and get up early to go to the Basilica in the morning before setting off for Montpellier.

 

 

07/01/2016

When we woke up in Marseille early on Thursday morning we were greeted with some lousy weather with dark, overcast skies and some drizzling rain on and off for most of the morning. Despite this, we walked to another fort on the edge of the port, then took the car up the hill to the Basilica to have a look at the views and head inside the church as well. The views were dampened by the poor weather but the church was nothing short of spectacular, inside and out. The Basilica was 4 stories on top of the hill with the main hall hosting extremely high ceilings with perfectly mosaicked images plastered all over them. After visiting this site we hit the road for Montpellier reaching the following towns along the way; Le Rove, Ensues la Redonne, Carryle Rovet, Sausset Les Pins, La Couronne, Martigues, Port de  Bouc, La Dynamite, St Martin de Crow, Caphan, Port de Grau, Arles, St Gilles and Vouvert. Each township was small but had the essentials, pubs, cafes, and supermarket and so on. However, many places seemed to be uninhabited by people with our conclusion being that they were very summer towns to visit. Along this drive we stopped in to Arles to observe the Amphitheatre, which was maintained and used for bull fights and other events in what other time of the year than summer. Nothing seemed to be open, but the coastal road was still beautiful and made for less traffic on the roads so there were positives. The structure and history of these remains was very impressive and I would have liked to have seen a bullfight if the chance came about. We ate lunch nearby at creperie, Ellie had a ham, cheese and mushroom crepe, while I had a ham and cheese savoury crepe. Ellie loved hers, but mine had a little too much cheese for me. When we arrived in Montpellier we went to the main area to visit a structure similar to the Arc de Triumphe called the Porta du Peyrou, we also visited the Montpellier Cathedral St Pierre and saw the Aqueduct Saint Clement. As we walked a long way, we decided to stay in the vibrant shopping, dining and drinking area we found ourselves in. I had decided to treat Ellie to a wine and cheese diner as a surprise and took her there at 5:15pm, however, the menu stated they didn’t open until 6pm. We again waited in the area and even sat down for twenty minutes outside waiting for it to open. Finally, when the staff arrived we went in to be turned around and told they didn’t serve food until 7pm. Heartbroken, as we had waited so long, been so cold and were getting hungry. This was disappointing so we went off to find other food only to walk around for 40 minutes without finding something we liked. A decision was made to go back to the cheese restaurant and it would be a great decision by nights end. Ellie and I shared a bottle of white wine and ate from a selection of cheeses with fresh bread. It was also served with olives, salami, hams, duck or chicken liver paste and more before finally some goat’s milk ice cream. The meal was fantastic and the host lovely as we headed home full as if we had eaten a cow, except all in dairy. Montpellier had been one of our favourite coastal towns and this was one of the reasons why.

 

 

08/01/2016

After a nice sleep at our IBIS hotel still full of cheese we arose fairly early to hit the road again. We headed through Le Cries, Vendargrues, Nimes, Beglaude Rochefort, Avignon, Saint Andiol, Plan D’Organ and onto Aix en Provence as our final destination. Although, there was a slight (large) detour before we would get there. As we had experienced Montpellier with good light and weather the previous day we wasted no time in getting to Nimes o have some brekkie before enjoying the nice city. In Nimes we visited and ancient Roman Pantheon and another amphitheater along with the usual city sites before hitting the road again. As this drive was back towards Nice on the inland highways there were less stops than usual for photos of nice beaches. The speed limit was 130km/h which made the drive interesting along with the green countryside we don’t have in Townsville at the moment. When we got to Avignon it was lunchtime and we looked desperately for a car park, effectively doing a tour of half the city before eventually securing one underground. We ate at a salad cafe as Ellie was craving something healthy and salad-y, at the same time we were researching the area of Avignon. |There was little that interested us apart from the fact that the town center was enclosed by medieval walls that appeared to belong to an extremely large castle grounds at some point or another. After a quick walk and driving tour we left Avignon en route to Provence when Ellie had the idea to return to Marseille as she discovered there was good weather and enough time to return to the tip of the hill for some better views and better photos. This was an extra 75km or so but we decided to do it. It was worth it as the phone weather app was accurate and we secured much better photos than previously. After snapping some pics we went to Provence, checked in to the hotel and soon after headed into the city center. We looked around for an hour or so before heading home knowing our hotel room had kitchen facilities. We picked up some soup and fresh bread and cooked our own dinner for the night, saving some Euros. This then was time for bed and would lead to our last full day in France the next day.

 

 

09/01/2016

On Saturday, we arose from our slumber in preparation for our final full day in France. We wasted little time getting on the road to Cannes, home of the famous film festival. We stopped at a location near our hotel to check the GPS and work out where to go. After finding the place relatively easily we checked in and began unloading our luggage in the hotel. Ellie and I received a tourist map of the area and set off on foot along the promenade on a not so glorious day. Not much sun was visible on a drowsy, wet day. A local pointed out to us that this was the coldest and worst weather of the year, or past 12 months given it was only nine days into the year. We carried on regardless as we found the marina boasting some very nice yachts and boats. Alongside the marina was the famous location in Cannes where the annual film festival is held. While it was hard to find an entertainment center exciting from the outside, we still took some photos on the front steps and checked it off the tourist list. We located some of the film industries famous people’s hand prints along the pavement. Sylvester Stallone, my pick of the bunch, while Ellie liked Meryl Streep, Nicole Kidman among others that we recognised. We continued the walking tour to a museum and an old church on top of a small hill which boasted some impressive views of the marina and inland areas. Here Ellie posed with a European seagull, which double the size of the ones found in Australia. The church also boasted an impressive nativity scene that spanned an entire chapel on the side of the church. The organ here was also very impressive for a smaller church. The walking tour went through some winding, narrow streets with many restaurants that Ellie observed with great detail, every menu was searched and bookmarked as we decided to have a nice dinner. The tour also identified many shops and market streets of which we didn’t wish to spend the money, nor did we have the room to transport it onwards to London. We finished the walk and rested a little in the hotel before heading out for some pre dinner drinks and on to dinner at a well-researched (by me) option that produced a three course meal. Over a nice bottle of local wine, Ellie had a seafood salad entree, spaghetti with seafood salad and the tartlette for main and dessert. I loved my ravioli with pesto entree, my beef steak with pepper sauce main and crème Brule dessert, which were the best three selections in my opinion. It was a great meal to finish off the trip in the south of France in a lovely French restaurant. We walked along the promenade all the way home and with full stomachs and went to bed.

 

 

10/01/2016

Sunday. We woke fairly early to make the most of the sun being out in Cannes. We checked out and drove back up the small hill with the church for some photos from the viewpoints. We also went down the boulevard towards Frejus to soak up the sun and coastline while enjoying, once again, baguettes for breakfast. Soon after this we headed to Saint Paul de Vence as recommended by Celine, our Paris Airbnb host. This location offered some great coastal views from a mountainside, while we also popped into a modern art location with some interesting pieces on the lawns. However, it wasn’t open and we had to get to the airport to return the car and check in to our flight to London. The return process was simple and we were at the airport swiftly. The end of a great time spent in France and the beginning of the next phase of the adventure abroad.

 

 

French words learnt

Hello - Bonjour

Good evening - Bonsoir

Good bye - Au Revoir

Thank you - Merci

Exit - Sortie

Entrance - Entree

Eifel Tower -Tour Eiffel

Snail - Escargot

Cheese - Fromage

Wine - du Vin