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Skiing Chamonix, France and Zermatt, Switzerland – February 2016

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ADVENTURE IS OUT THERE!

We decided we wanted a new adventure.  We love skiing, and being in the backcountry with white snow and blue skies.  We planned our trip to go ski the Valle Blanche (off piste) and then head over the beautiful ski town of Zermatt.

We rented a car in Geneva, and drove to Chamonix.

CHAMONIX-MONT BLANC, FRANCE

We are at a hotel right at the base of the tram to the Aqui Du Midi, so we can jump on if the day is clear.

The day was perfect.  Sunshine and a few feet of new snow.  We hired a guide to ski the Valle Blanche from the top of the Agui du Midi.  This is true backcountry skiing.  There are crevasses, so you need to wear a harness, and it is an all day run down the mountain, hopefully through beautiful powder.

Scott, with the top of the Agui du Midi behind him.

At the top of the tram.

We took the tram to the top, put on harnesses, (in case you ski into a crevasse), hiked down the steep ridge carrying our skis on our backs, and then skied all day.

The Tram also stops halfway up the mountain for skiers.  We are going to the top!

Barb in the Tram with our guide.

At the top, you walk through a tunnel.

Putting on our harnesses.

From the top, you carry your skis along a ridge, and hike down to the ski starting point.

Cravasses, that you don’t want to ski into.

 

This is the ridge you hike down, before you drop into the valley.

The exhilaration of that first drop in.

Scott pointing back up to the Agui du Midi.

We stopped for lunch.  There is one restaurant up on the mountain.

We ended at the Mont Vers Train Station, after skiing over the glacier, Mer du Glace.

Twenty years ago when we hiked up to the Mont Vers Train, the glacier was near the top of the stairs.  The glacier has receded so much, they have had to build these stairs.

Hiking up to the train.

Mid Station on the Agui du Midi.

We had an amazing day!

 

Our tracks.

What a bluebird day!!!!!

The following day we skied at the Brevant Resort on the opposite side of the valley.  It was another beautiful day.

After skiing we had dinner at our favorite Italian restaurant in Chamonix,  Casa Valerio.

 

ZERMATT

We left Chamonix and drove to Zermatt.  Leaving our car at Tasch, (no cars are allowed in the town of Zermatt), we took the train to Zermatt.  We then caught the Gronergat train up to Hotel Rifelalf, at the base of the Matterhorn.  (2222 Meters).   The hotel is beautiful and we had a room with an amazing view of the Matterhorn.

Hotel Riffelalp.  You can only arrive by train.

Our Room.

Out the back of the Hotel.  Jump on your skis and go!

The first morning dawned sunny and we awoke to an amazing view right out our window.

We skied the Swiss side of the mountain with a guide.

Our guide, Scott and Barb

Day 2 we skied alone, had afternoon tea, and went bowling in the basement.

The top of the Gronergat Train.

Lunch on the Swiss side.

On day 3 it was cloudy and we took the train down the mountain to shop in Zermatt.  Scott found an ice axe at the antique store and Barb bought a new ski outfit at the Mammut store.

Barb’s new outfit.

Antique skis.

The last day was beautiful again and we skied the our guide over to the Italian side of the mountain.  It’s good to have a guide because you can get lost, ski into Italy, and not be able to get back to the Swiss side before the lifts close.  (It’s a 4 hour taxi drive back around the mountain.)

The back side of the Matterhorn.

Amazing, beautiful fun!

Now we are sending all of our ski equipment home and flying to Morocco and doing a self drive into the desert.  Adventure still awaits!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

London, England September 27-28, 2016

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London, England
September 27-28, 2016

London Town
 
Even though London is a very big city it only feels big when you are stuck in traffic when you are late for a play.  When you walk into a pub to get some lunch you are treated as if you are neighbors around the corner in a small town.  London always feels like home.
View from our Hotel room at Marriott County Hall
Front of our hotel
Twinings-The Queens Tea
Selfie along the river
From our hotel balcony, looking at Westminster and the London Eye
London Town
Big Ben
Guards
Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey
Looking across the river at our hotel
Guards
An old church
Marble Arch
London by night
We took a tour of London on the Big B bus system.  You can hop on and off at all the major sites.  We stopped at St. Paul’s Cathedral and got our exercise by climbing to the top.  
On the bus
St. Paul’s Cathedral
St. Paul’s Cathedral
Hiking to the top
Keep going
From near the top, looking down through glass to the main floor
View from near the top
Barb halfway up
St. Paul’s Cathedral
Next stop-The Tower of London.
Even though we have been to London many times it was fun to take the guided tour at the Tower of London provided free of charge by a Beefeater Guard who is a resident of the Tower grounds.  He was able to mix history lessons with humor.  It is not easy to mix in humor with the tales of all the queens, nobleman and peasants that were beheaded at the Tower over the centuries.  We walked through the Crown Jewels.

Tower of London
Tower Bridge
Crown Jewels
Tower Bridge
The London Eye

When stopping in London, it’s nice to catch a play.  Barb wanted to see the show “Beautiful” about the life of Carole King and all of the music she wrote and performed.  It was quite good.  For the evening show we went to see Aladdin.

The play about Carole King
Barb loved it!

Day 2 we hopped on and off the Big B again.  The changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace was going on, so we stopped to watch and see the beautiful horses.

Beautiful tall elegant horses
Bands played
Buckingham Palace
Barb at Buckingham Palace
Watching the horse parade
Through the Gates
Scott at the palace
Buckingham Fountain
Having fish and chips at a pub
Barb using the obsolete phone
River walk
Scott at the Tower of London
When there is a crown on the lamp post, the Queen owns the street
London

In the afternoon we had tea at Sketch.  We were definitely the oldest people in there, but it is a cute place.  After we walked along Regent Street and back to our hotel.

Afternoon Tea at Sketch
Inside Sketch
The bathrooms at Sketch-like a toilet in a bod pod
Very cute tea sets
Another tea room at Sketch
Barb enjoying all the snacks at Sketch

Santorini, Greece September 21-26, 2016

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Santorini 
September 21-26, 2016
 

We flew Aegean Air from Budapest through Athens and on to Santorini

 Santorini was a large round island until about 1600 BC when a massive volcano erupted and blew most of the island away and caused a tsunami that was catastrophic for Minoans on the Island of Crete more than 80 miles away.  Now the island of Santorini is shaped more like a sea horse than a ball.  Beautiful white and bright blue accented houses and churches are now built on the rim of the ancient volcano. 

View of Fira

 

Our Hotel at Oia was Mystique…Tons of steps!

From our private deck at Mystique

I don’t know how the workers carry heavy baggage to your room!

The Minoan civilization at Akrotiri on the south end of the island was an advanced and strategic seaport in the years just before the 1600 BC volcanic eruption.  The ruins of that civilization are only preserved because thick layers of ash from the volcano poured down and covered their homes to protect them from deterioration.  Beautiful frescoes in their homes show that they were well traveled and had leisure time to create beautiful art. 
Fresco from the room of the ladies

Beautiful frescos remained because they were covered with mud

Amazing pottery

The monkey fresco

Inside the Akrotiri prehistoric town


Large pottery vessels show that they had an abundance of wheat and barley, which they cultivated on the island using step farming. 
Pottery and shards

They are still uncovering many ruins

Our first two nights on the island we stayed on the south end of the island in the village of Megalochori at Vedema Resort. 
 
Inside the resort

Going to dinner

Checking in

Pool at Vedema
Barb having a Greek lunch

Inside Vedema check in lobby

Driving down to the beach

 We enjoyed riding horses down to the Aegean Sea through the vineyards and into the water on the black sand beach. 
 

We passed a church

Through the water

The sand at the beach is very rocky

Black sand beach

We stopped at a winery


At sunset we drove our rental car to the southwest tip of the island and enjoyed the sunset under a lighthouse.

Beautiful sunset

The lighthouse was built in 1892

The magic and calm of this island is starting to affect us.  The people are fun to be with and are calm and satisfied.  What is there to complain about?  This is a unique and beautiful place. 
Red sand beach

Donkey’s are available for hire to bring you from the water up to Fira.  They also use them to carry loads.

Barb in Fira

Next morning we put our luggage into our mini-Fiat Cabriolet (luggage barely fits) (we barely fit) and drive to the village of Oia (ee ahh) on the north side of the island.  The trip took about 50 minutes because we took a long detour along the east coastline of the island and ran into more than one dead end.  Getting lost helps you discover alternatives.
It looks like a Flintstone car!

Oia is a beautiful village with a spectacular view of the caldera filled with water with land jutting out of the water on the opposite rims of the ancient volcano.  It makes for spectacular scenery.
Oia by night

Breakfast at Mystique

Barb at breakfast

View out our window

Scott

Donkey’s

Oia has beautiful marble walkways, as opposed to Fira, which has very rocky paths.  Don’t wear high heels!

Oia


One of the best ways to enjoy the views is from the water.  We booked a semi-private cruise (up to 21 people) on a 45-foot catamaran and discovered that we were the only two guests that day!  We enjoyed a 5 hour private cruise and tour of the caldera lazing in the sun, snorkeling near the white sand beach, swimming in the thermal waters above a hot water volcanic vent at Palia Kameni, and enjoying a wonderful fresh fish and Greek salad lunch prepared on the boat by our crew of three sailors.

The name of our boat was Carpe Diem

We snorkeled near the white sand beach

On the boat

Our lunch is ready to barbeque

View of the white rock

Time spent window-shopping at Fira, swimming and tanning at the black sand beach at Perissa, and a lazy stroll up the ancient village alleyways of Pyrgos round out our days. 

 

Black sand beach near Perissa

Scott took a swim

Our funny little car

Pyrgos is a hidden jewel.  We drove there late in the afternoon and the pre-sunset lighting seemed to add magic to our climb in a maze of white alleyways past homes with antique doors (with character), and Byzantine churches where bells were ringing and Sunday services were being sung by locals welcoming you to come inside. 
 
Churches and bells

Inside one of the churches

View in Pygros

The bells were ringing

Small alleys

Barb

Beautiful old wood doors

Inside another church

The beauty and charm of Santorini is apparent and is reflected in the calm, easy going and happy demeanor of its people.

Inside our room at Mystique

More Donkey’s

Having a welcome drink

Fira

Gelato in Fira

A beautiful painting

Our bedroom at Mystique

We were surprised to see that a gondola system replaced a long hike up stairs or a donkey ride to the city of Fira on the ridge.

When we came 30 years ago, you had to either walk to the top or take a donkey.  (We walked)
We are still having an amazing time!

Romania-Transylvania September 18-19, 2016

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Romania-Transylvania  September 18-19, 2016

ROMANIA and TRANSLYVANIA

The most convenient way for us to get to the old walled cities and castles in Transylvania, Romania is to drive.  The freeways in Hungary are wide open and fast.  We drove an average of 150 kilometers per hour.  Once we crossed into Romania the freeways disappeared and we were driving an average of 60 kilometers per hour.  It took us 8 hours to reach our destination of Brasov but we broke up the journey by visiting Sibiu.

We walked through the center of the old walled city of Sibiu with its cobblestone streets and multiple towers and bastions built by the Saxons to ward off enemies.

Walking through Sibiu

Beautiful church in Sibiu

Inside the church

Inside another church

Brasov is a beautiful walled city and was also built by the Saxons.  It is home of the largest gothic church in Europe called the Black Church.  It seems they built large churches in order to discourage challenge from enemies.  The Soviets re-named Brasov the City of Stalin.  The Romanians do not have pleasant memories of the Soviet occupation of their country.

The black church

Buttress on the church
The walking street in Brasov

Brasov

We stayed at Casa Albert Bed and Bistro, on the main walking street.

Entrance

Courtyard
Inside the Bistro

Breakfast in the Bistro

The lookout towers and gates to the city were impressive.  The Saxons would charge a tax for anyone wishing to come into the walled city.  There was a festival going on and there was a band playing on the main square and locals and tourists were having fun.

One of the entrances into the walled city.

View from the lookout tower

Lookout tower view at dusk

Bran Castle is about a 30 minute drive from Brasov.  It is known as Dracula’s Castle.  The legend began when Vlad the Impaler (he was known to impale his enemies on long sticks) was held in prison at this castle.  The castle is actually very attractive with warm wood floors and white wash exterior and interior.  The Saxons from Brasov built the castle in 1382.  Hungary’s Queen Marie lived here from 1920 and it was a summer residence for King Michael of Hungary until he was forced to abdicate after World War II when the Soviet Army occupation of Hungary and Romania began.  The last of the Soviets did not leave until 1992.

Portrait of Vlad the Impaler (Dracula)

Courtyard of the castle

Weapons

View of the castle

It rained hard while we were there.

Inside secret passages

Torturing devices

We drove up to Sighisaura.  This is another fairy tale walled city with old buildings, churches and cobblestone streets.  It is also the birthplace of Vlad the Impaler (Dracula).

The church had a glockenspiel clock

The glockenspiel

Main square

Birthplace of Vlad the Impaler

He still lives!

Driving back to Hungary, we passed local Romanian women in their traditional costume.

Having a Blast!!!!!

Budapest, Hungary September 16-18, 20, 2016

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Budapest, Hungary 

September 16-18, 20, 2016

Rome to Budapest, Hungary is a 90 minute flight.  We rented a nice car since we plan to drive into Transylvania, Romania for a few days.
Our Car

Barb at the airport

We are staying at the Gresham Palace Hotel (Four Seasons), which is in Pest and has a beautiful view across the Danube River and the Buda side of the city.   

Gresham Palace Hotel
Beautiful iron work inside the lobby.

Our room.

We hired a guide to take us to the main sights of Budapest.
The Central Market Hall has a colorful food market, along with floors of clothing and tourist items to buy.  It is in a beautiful architectural building.
Marketplace building.
All kinds of fruits, vegetables and meats are sold.

Paprika…..for which they are famous.

Handmade items to buy

Budapest has many thermal spas.  We looked at the Gellert Spa and walked up to a Catholic Church that was built in a cave and was used by the Hungarian Catholics to shelter and protect fugitives during the war.  When the Soviets occupied the City they closed the Church and sealed off the entrance.
Gellert Spa

 The outdoor pool.  There are thermal pools, a swimming pool, saunas, steamers, and places for massages.
The concrete around the edges are where the Soviets sealed it off.
Gellert Cave Church
We saw St. Stephens Basilica and drove through the old Jewish Quarter where the Nazis walled off the area and made it a ghetto, locking in the Jewish people where they survived until near the end of World War II when they were sent to concentration camps.  The Parliament building is also on the Pest side of the river.

St. Stephens
Jewish Synagogue
 A shoe memorial for the Jews that were killed by the river.

Parliament Building.
Square where the US Embassy is located, along with a statue of Ronald Reagan.
Statue of Ronald Reagan


After walking across the bridge we hiked up Buda Castle Hill.  It has nice views of the city and the Royal Palace is now the home of the National Gallery.

View from the top.
Barb on the bridge.
The National Gallery.

Coming back from Romania, we again stayed for one night at the Gresham Palace Hotel.  We went to the Gellert Spa for a massage and for soaking in the thermal pools for which they are so famous.  It is like swimming in an old Roman Bath.

The lobby.
Barb in the pool.
Scott enjoying the spa.
Daytime view from our hotel window.
Nighttime view.
Of course we had afternoon tea at Gresham Palace!

Budapest was a beautiful city. 

Rome, Italy September 14-15, 2016

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Rome

Twenty-seven years ago we drove our rental car into Rome with the kids hanging out of the windows.  We had maps that were worthless.  To find our way to the Vatican we would ask the drivers stuck in traffic with us:  Vaticano???? And we would point in all directions.  They would respond by pointing and we would follow.  After multiple repeats of that technique we eventually drove down the Via that ran directly into the Piazza San Pietro the Basilica di San Pietro and the Cappella Sistina.

 This time we took a 20-minute taxi ride from our hotel.

Our Hotel:  The Gran Melia Hotel, which is on the Vatican side of the Tiber River.

 The history and treasures contained in and around the Vatican are amazing.  We hired a guide (Alessio),  for 3 hours.


For 14 years the Cappella Sistina had scaffolding inside while they cleaned and repaired the frescos of Michelangelo.  All renovation is complete and the colors and contrasts are bright.  They no longer allow photos to be taken inside the chapel, so no photos to show.

Michelangelo was first and foremost a sculptor.  His renderings of the human body wonderfully display his three dimensional understanding of the human form. 
The nude paintings offended many of his time and generations since.  During the 1800s the Pope had drapes covering the nudity.  All drapes were removed during the recent renovations.

At the time Michelangelo was painting the final judgement in the Sistine Chapel, an official of the Vatican complained loudly to the Pope about the nudity depicted.  It aggravated Michelangelo and as a result he got even with the official by painting the his face into the painting with him shown in hell with donkey ears.  The offended official complained to the Pope but the Pope reportedly replied that he had no authority to interfere in Hell and allowed the painting to remain as painted.

Photos in and around the Vatican City.  There seems to be a fountain in front of every important building and square.

 The Map room.

 Inside St. Peters Basilica.

 In the Museum.


In the evening we hired another guide, (Riccardo) to take us around the main attractions by night.  We went to a hilltop for a full view of Rome and then to the Pantheon, Forum, Coliseum, the Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, and by the Villa Borghesa.

 Drinking from fresh water fountains from the aquaducts.

 The Coliseum.

 View of Rome.

 Of course we stopped for Gelato.

Italy and the Dolomites August 27-29, 2012

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Dubrovnik to Milan was a two hour flight.  (EasyJet).  We rented a car in Milan and started our journey to the Dolomites.  We stopped near Verona to stay for a night.

Palazzo Arzaga is one of our favorite places to stay.  Scott took the boys there on a BMW driving and  golfing trip in 1999 when they first opened it to the public.  Scott and I went back in 2002.  It was an old private residence (palace)  built in the 1600’s and turned into a golf/spa/hotel in 1999.  There are amazing frescos on the walls and the architecture on the interior has thick walls with marble carvings.  We played 9 holes of golf the day we got there, then had a couple of great massages.

Beautiful Frescos on the walls and in some of the rooms

Lounging by the beautiful pool

Golfing on the Jack Nicklaus course

When we left home, at the last minute we switched luggage from wheeled duffles to just duffles because a lot of the small planes we will be on in Africa and Australia will only take duffles.  After only 10 days out, we decided that was a mistake!  It is too heavy to carry a large duffle and a backpack.!!  We decided to send some clothes home to make our bags lighter.  Hopefully they will get there.  After arranging all of the FedX logistics, we drove north to our destination of
Cortina d’ Ampezzo.  It is a ski town that held the Olympics in 1956.  The further north we drove, the homes became less Italian Stucco and more Tyrolian.  The border of Austria is very close, and there is a lot of Swiss, German, and Austrian influence.

The Mountains are amazing.  They are very jagged and shoot up into the sky.  It was a very pretty drive for a couple of hours.

On our drive in to Cortina d’ Ampezzo

Staying the first night at Sporting Hotel Villa Blu was convenient for hiking out the back door up onto the ski runs.

Sporting Hotel Villa Blu
Afternoon and evening hike up the ski run area

A private cabin on the way up the mountain

Looking down on the town of Cortina  d’ Ampezzo

 Our hike was beautiful and it felt good to walk and get the old heart rate going again.  Exploring the mountain and around town, we decided to try the Cristallo Hotel on the other side of the mountain.  Sporting Hotel Villa Blu was very quaint but the Cristallo is more updated and has a spa and we got a beautiful suite with a nice view.

Our room inside the Cristallo

The view from our room at Cristallo

The 1956 Olympics were held in Cortina d’ Ampezzo.  Riding 3 different funiculars to the very top of the ski area, the terrain became very moonscape.  We climbed to the top of a ridge and lay down on a rock and pretended to be rock lizards soaking up the sun.

Moonscape on top of the mountain

Having a snack

A rock lizard lying in the sun

An Iphone self portrait

The Dolomites

The trail from the top of the Funiculars

View from the top

The hike on the other side

Restaurant Chalet on our route

Dalmation Coast-Croatia August 24-26, 2012

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The Dalmation Coast in Croatia has hundreds of islands.  Only ten percent of them are inhabited.  It reminds me of the British Virgin Islands where sailing can be done by line of sight and no crossing takes more than a few hours.  We arranged for a 54 foot mono hull sailboat named Acustica (www.acusticayacht.com).   It is a Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 54 DS.  Our skipper named Alen picked us up at the Split, Croatia airport at 8:00 am. and we went directly to the boat and set sail.  His wife Natalega was the perfect hostess and a wonderful cook.  Alen is an accomplished Captain and has a lot of experience as the Captain of a 150 foot motor yacht based on the French Riviera.  He loves to sail and it was fun to learn from him.  We sailed to the Pakleni Islands.  There are many islands with many inlets and protected bays.  We stopped to swim at San Clemen Island in a bay where other boats were also anchored.  The first thing we noticed was that swim suits are optional on these islands!  We sailed from island to island and occasionally anchored the boat, jumped in the water and swam to shore to sun bathe on the rocks.  Hvar Island was our favorite.  A fortress guards the harbor.  We climbed to the top of the fort ramparts at sunset to take photos.  That evening Nata had prepared a wonderful dinner for us which we ate on the boat with the help of candlelight at anchor out in the harbor.  The fort was lit up and it was a beautiful view.  Barb thought it was a perfect romantic date.  Our dates just get better all of the time.

Alen and Natalega

City and Island of Hvar.

Scott enjoying some fresh fruit on the boat.
Barb on the boat, soaking up the sun and fun
Sails are up!
Scott at the helm.
Our Sailboat is the furthest out in the water.

From the top of the castle on Hvar.

Hvar

A

Hvar

After we said goodbye to Alen and Natalga, we visited the city of Split on our drive toward Dubrovnik.  The old town is beautiful.  


Old town of Split-Underneath the square

Split

Scott in the town of Split

Barb in Split

Trogir

Bosnia shares a border with Croatia.  We decided to visit a town called Mostar in Bosnia.    It is half Christian and half Muslim.  The Muslims live on one side of a river and the Christians live on the other side.  The area was heavily destroyed during the war first by the Serbian military and then by the Croatian military. Much of the city had to be rebuilt including the famous bridge that connected the Christians and the Muslims.  Unesco donated millions of dollars to rebuild the bridge deeming it an important symbol of peace and understanding between peoples with different cultural and religious backgrounds.  
Mostar, Bosnia

The famous bridge in Mostar.  It had to be completely rebuilt after the war.  Young boys jump off it into the river for money.
Mostar, Bosnia-from the famous bridge

Dubrovnik is an amazing City.  We stayed at the Imperial Palace Hilton Hotel right next to the Old City at the Pile Gate.    The area is often compared to Venice, it is right on the water and was an important trading zone for merchants.  It is a very clean city, and the worn polished limestone walkways are beautiful.  We took a ferry out to Lokrum Island.  There was a dramatic difference in temperature, (it was cooler) because of some dense vegetation.  It was like a big park, with lots of paths.  In the evening in the Old City they were practicing for an Opera at the Cathedral.  
Hilton Imperial Hotel in Dubrovnik

Dubrovnik, Croatia by night

Old city Dubrovnik-they were practicing for an Opera

Dubrovnik from the ramparts walk

The Ramparts walk around the Old City

Dubrovnik old city is built right on the water.

The Amalfi Coast, Italy August 21-22, 2012

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We took a direct flight from SLC to Paris, then caught a flight (that was delayed of course) to Rome, rented a car and drove 2 1/2 hours to Salerno on the Amalfi Coast. It is beautiful with homes built into the hillside alongside old castle ruins. There are no sandy beaches, just steep cliffs with some lounge chairs at the bottom of the cliffs.

Along the coast

A beach of lounge chairs

We stayed at the Raito Hotel. It is up on the cliff. We had a nice room with a view.
We decided to hire a private boat with a skipper. He took us all along the coast, past Amalfi and Positano over to the island of Capri. We took the funicular up to the town on top. There were lots of tourists. We stopped on the way back to Salerno at beautiful grottos and caves. The water was a beautiful blue color. Scott went swimming.

Swimming in a grotto

Caves and arch formations along the coast

We got back to the hotel at 4:00 and then drove up the coast 1/2 hour to the Pompeii ruins. It is a huge archeological site. We spent 2 hours wandering around. The ruins date back to 79 AD. After Mount Vesuvius erupted it buried the town in 3 meters of ash within about 10 minutes.  The site was discovered in the 1700’s. A Roman poet that witnessed the account wrote vivid letters that have been preserved.  The eruption lasted for 24 hours and the people thought to take cover.  Then the avalanche of hot ash and volcanic gas came and the people died first from the intense heat and suffocation.   There are bodies that were preserved, through the formations of the hot magma, plaster casts were made.  (much like a bronze cast is made).

The streets of Pompeii

The ceiling of a bath house
Many beautiful courts and baths, lots of marble and columns and bright Italian colors.

Amazing colors
A preserved body

The “Menu” in a brothel were paintings on the wall

Provence, France

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It was a 13 Hour flight from Buenos Aires to Paris.  We rented a car and stopped near Dijon and stayed in an old Abbaye de la Bussiere.  Beautiful.
The outside

Inside the Abbaye (Hotel)
Our Room

The grounds

We drove further down into Provence and decided to stay at a Castle that has a whole hillside of buildings with different styles of rooms and restaurants.  It is call Crillion de Brave.  It is on a hill in the town of Bedoin, which is at the bottom of Mount Ventoux, where we plan to bike.  You can rent really good Trek bikes, and reserve them ahead of time, right at the base of the mountain.  They were just like our bikes at home.  We brought our own bike shoes and clothes though.  
Crillion de Brave
Enjoying a little pool time and killing ourselves biking.
Crillion de Brave

For one of our bike excursions we hired a taxi to follow us to near the top of Mt. Ventoux, so that when we finished we didn’t have to ride back down.  (It turned out that it was a very good idea!)
We started at noon.  The first 2 kilometers are relatively easy.  The next 3 to St. Esteve are about 7% grade.  After that it is between 8 and 18% without any leveling out areas to try to rest your body, then up to Chalet Reynard, which is about 5 kilometers from the top.   The last 6 Kilometers are above the tree line and steep.  There was snow the last 6 kilometers.  It rained on us about halfway up, we got soaked, and then froze on the top.  It took us a total of 4 hours 33 minutes with our stops and 3 hours 18 minutes of actual bike time.  It is a total of 23 kilometers.   My AVERAGE heart rate was 140!  I burned 2862 total calories!  We gained 1600 meters (5,250 feet) of elevation  That was the hardest bike ride I have ever done!  The snickers bar we ate on the way down tasted mighty good.

Testing the last 6 kilometers the day before the big ride.
Yes, I am frozen.

I thought I might die.

If you think he looks miserable, you are right.  He just did 23 kilometers of 15% grade!

The summit is 1912 meters
That was the hardest bike ride we have done.  Riding back down for 5 miles, we nearly froze.  Our hands were so cold, it was hard to brake.

Notice that it says 23% grade.  They are not lying!

After a nice breakfast the next day we went on a 50 Kilometer bike ride thru some small towns and had a picnic.  We enjoyed lots of different bike rides around the area we were staying.  We also drove to other hilltop villages, went a market, and basically ate our way around.

Shopping at the Market in ‘Isle de Solange

Town of Gordes.  A beautiful town on the top of a hill.

Another bike ride.  There seems to be a lot of hills.

Town of Rousillon

French Pastries after a hard bike ride.  This is how we ate our way thru France. 

After loving all the biking and the place we stayed for 5 days, We turned in our bikes and drove over to Cannes.  We got a room at the Majestic Barrier right on the waterfront.  Cannes is a lot like La Jolla, but it has an old cobblestone city on the hillside, just above the waterfront. The waterfront is modern and glitzy.  We ate at a great restaurant called Avisio.

On the waterfront at Cannes
From the old city

Cannes waterfront

Barb

We drove over to Monte Carlo the next day to see 2 days of the Monte Carlo Tennis Tournament.  You’ve got to love the way the roads wind around the mountain.  We stayed at the Monte Carlo Beach Hotel right next to the tournament and on the water.  It is way too expensive for what it is, but it is right where we needed to be.  We bit the bullet.   The tournament was great.  The center court holds about 6000 so all the seats are great.  We saw Tsonga, Juan Monaco, and Murray all play.  The next day we saw Djokavich, Nadal and Ferrer.  After the tournament we drove back to Cannes and stayed at the JW Marriott.

Murray

Tsonga

And the best of all in my opinion-Scott

Our Hotel-Monte Carlo Beach Hotel (Photo taken from the top seats at the tennis tournament.)

Nadal

We left Cannes and drove to and old castle called Chateau Rochegard.  It is above Avignon and Orange off the Bolene exit.  We (Scott) put the wrong kind of gas in our car (not once, but twice) and we had to have the rental car company come and pick up the car.  (Ooops)

Chateau Rochegard

 Oh well, we took the train from Avignon to Paris, (which was okay, but we wouldn’t do it again, we prefer to drive).  In Paris we went to a dinner on a nice sightseeing boat.  We stayed at the Sheraton Hotel right inside the airport, which was easy for catching our flight the next day.

Dinner cruise

Barb in Paris

Paris by night on a dinner cruise

 It’s been a good adventure so far.  Now we are off to plan and enjoy a wedding.  Then our adventure continues on August 20, 2012.  See you then.