Saturday, July 31, 2010

And in keeping with the theme of the blog.


That's all, folks!

Lourdes: the last stop.

I know, most of you are thinking to yourself, “Holy cow, how long can he makes this damn travelogue last? This is worse than that time Cousin Ferdinand and his wife, Magnolia came over and made us look at all 500 of their slides from their vacation to the Great Plains.” Well folk, I’m pretty much thinking the same thing. So in the interest of ending this thing in a timely manner, lets take a quick look at Lourdes.

The sanctuaries, including the grotto where Ste. Bernadette had the apparitions of Our Lady of Lourdes.

Boulevard de la Grotte. True DisneyCatholique!

But in truth, Lourdes is actually a very cute small town, at the foot of the Pyrénées.

And the Pyrénées are drop-dead gorgeous. I would love to have a few days to explore the mountains.

Friday, July 30, 2010

Coincidence? Or a sign from the powers that be?

We had been home one week. Richard got his monthly old-person magazine put out by the Association of Ancient Rinkled People. (They keep sending stuff to Dad at our address, too!) Anyway, it had an article of the 5 best places to retire abroad. And there, in black and white, listed as a totally awesome place to spend your golden years, was the region of Languedoc-Roussillon, France: as in Nîmes, Uzès and Le Grau du Roi.

Well, you think that didn’t raise some interest around the old homestead! We did stop at every realtor in the south of France and look at the pictures in the windows. We did grab 4 or 5 publications listing real estate for sale in the départments of Ardèche, Vaucluse, Gard, Drôme, Hérault, Landes, Pyrénées-Atlantiques and Hautes-Pyrénées, but we did not put a down payment on any property. I am regretting that caution at this moment.

I’ve always said that I was going to buy a villa in the south of France… you never know!

Mer Méditerranée – Le Grau du Roi

Technically speaking, we are still in the south of France, I just felt it was time to mix it up a little.

Le Grau du Roi is an amazing little town on the Mediterranean Sea. It is too far west to be considered part of the French Riviera (Côte d’Azur), but who cares? Both Richard and I fell in love immediately.




The Mediterranean Sea is pretty amazing. I could get used to that lifestyle!

Look! Mes pieds sont dans le Mer Méditerranée!

Thursday, July 29, 2010

Le Sud de France – Nîmes.

When you think of Nîmes, you should automatically think of denim. Denim was first made in Nîmes. So Richard and I wore our Levi’s when we traveled there. It was hot; we were foolish. Fortunately, Nîmes is shaded.

It also has the most amazing coliseum, said to be the best preserved of the Roman era, but not the largest. It, like the theatre in Orange, is still in use. They are setting up for a rock concert.

Le Sud de France – Uzès.

I have already mentioned Uzès and how much I liked it. I’ll post just a handful of pictures to show the beauty of the town.

The tower at St. Théodorit:

Rue St. Théodorit, billed as the most picturesque street in Uzès.

The Uzège was the first Duchy of France. I offer no explanation. The Duke and Duchess of Uzège live here. Parts date back to the 11th century.

And the Place aux Herbes, Uzès’ quaint main square.

Le Sud de France – Orange.

Orange is a small city (population about 30,000) about 20km north of Avignon. It has the distinction of being the warmest city in France (average annual temperature). It also has this amazing theatre from Roman times.


So, we came, we saw, we touristoed; at full speed. I’ll explain the rail system to Orange later. (This is a view looking over the rooftops of Orange.)


One truly amazing thing about the theatre; it is still in use.

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

A brief respite from the travelog

If you aren’t outraged, you aren’t paying attention.

Two news articles I read today.

“In the Gulf, where beaches and livelihoods have been marred by oil for three months, the joke among unemployed fishermen was the estimated $18 million in exit compensation BP CEO Tony Hayward was expected to receive.” USA Today.

“BP said Tuesday that it plans to cut its U.S. tax bill by $9.9 billion, or about half the amount pledged to aid victims of the disaster, by deducting costs related to the oil spill.” Washington Post.

I don’t believe there is any polite way to say it.

FUCK YOU, BP!!!

Le Sud de France – Le Pont d’Avignon

Le Pont d’Avignon (the bridge of Avignon) is a really old bridge made famous by an old folk song. (L'on y danse, l'on y danse… there they dance, there they dance.)

While it is really picturesque and quite cute, some of you may have noticed a problem with the bridge. Despite the 4€50 toll, the bridge never quite makes it to the other side of the Rhône River. It is a commuter’s nightmare.


So to all of you Washingtonian’s who complain about paying 75¢ to cross the Hood River Bridge, quit your whining. At least you get to the other side of the river!

And I think it is fairly obvious why they felt they could dance on the bridge. If nothing else, it killed the time.

Le Sud de France – Avignon

The old city of Avignon is absolutely amazing.

Le Palais des Papes – the Palace of the Popes. Avignon was the seat of the Catholic Church during the 15th century. Le Palais des Papes is the best preserved gothic castles in Europe (which I am pretty sure would make it the best preserved gothic castle in the world.) The elephant statue is a bit newer. For me, it was probably the single most amazing sight I saw.

Barbed wire in the middle ages was pretty neat.

Avignon’s old town is still completely walled in. This stretch appears to be pretty much unscathed by the years. (Other parts had quite obviously been repaired.)
And yes, I was there. This picture is taken from the other side of the Rhône River facing Avignon.

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Jardin du Luxembourg.


A High School band from New Mexico: it made me think of my sister. Did the Tyee High School band play a concert at the Jardin du Luxembourg? Did the Jardin du Luxembourg even exist back then? Did Trudy meet Marie de Medicis?

So many questions!

Les Chats de France.

Or “Les Chats de la France.” I’ve never known exactly what the French do with those little words like “the” and “of”.

Anyway, that is neither here nor there. These are pictures that only Max could love.







He is now expecting a monument to built in his honor. Please send your donations. Do it now, he is getting grumpy. Do it because no one likes a grumpy Max!

Monday, July 26, 2010

Versailles.

There are a number of adjectives that could be used to describe the Château de Versailles. “Subtle”, “understated” and “modest” are not among those adjectives.

Whether it is the view of the estate as a whole, with its gilded roof jumping up to greet you,

Or visiting the Hall of Mirrors with thousands of your closest friend,

Or the basic gold-crusted fencing,

Or a visit to Marie-Antoinette’s simple country hovel,


Versailles will remind you that you are poor as hell and will never live a lifestyle even close to that of Louis!

Sunday, July 25, 2010

Reims

Sadly, Reims was under construction while we were there.

I’ve been told that the main drag is really quite lovely, when the barricades are down.

Of course, Reims has its obligatory Roman ruins. But I love what they did with the multiple style road blocks.

And the cathedral. This is where all the French kings were crowned.

Saint-Dénis.

Saint-Dénis is a banlieue (suburb) on the northern edge of Paris, but it has a long, rich history.

Today, it has a lively market. This picture was taken after Richard and I broke free from the crowds. There were times we literally couldn’t move.

This is the only picture that I took of a stained glass window that actually came out pretty good. One out of many dozens of pictures of the seemingly unending list of cathédrals, églises and basiliques that I was in; not a very good percentage ratio.

The Cathédral of Saint-Dénis is where all the French kings and queens and dukes and dutchesses and marquis and (ad naseum)…are buried.

Paris

What can be said about Paris?

Yeah, it’s got a couple of halfway decent museums.

The Seine is kind of picturesque, if you squint your eyes.

The gardens are above average.

There are odd little pieces of marble all over the place.



Okay, second trip to Paris and I am still madly in love!

J'aime Paris!

My new Icelandic friend


Hey, at least he isn't imaginary, unlike most of my other friends.

Saturday, July 24, 2010

Nature Day In Iceland.

It wasn’t Richard’s favorite day. Rain, gloomy skies, 55 degrees and a tour guide comparing Iceland to Siberia soured him on the island nation as a top vacation spot. I however, loved it.

Geysir: the grand-daddy of them all. (And by the way, Geysir is his name, just like Old Faithful.)

Gullfoss: the amazing waterfall. Pictures don’t do it justice, so I will post a couple to bore the peewaddens out of you.



Thingvellir: where the North American and European plates are splitting apart. The place isn’t spelled with a “Th”, but a letter that is otherwise non-existent and I can’t find on the internet. It’s kind of like a “P” at half mast.