30 November 2006
France Deux
After leaving the Dordogne area; we headed east to the Auverne area of France, which is on an elevated plateau so very cold (snowy in places). Unfortunately the whole area, or at least anything outside large towns, seems to shut down over winter, including entire villages! This combined with the fact that it rained pretty much the 3 days we spent in this area meant that we were a bit concerned that we had made a dreary mistake being in France in November and December. Fortunately, on moving further north-west to the lovely Loire Valley, our faith was restored. All the fabulous attractions have remained open, including all the famous chateau, the museums, wine degustaçion (tasting) caves, and others. So we spent 6 days in this area, staying in the same "4 star" campsite at night and driving around each day to visit the villages and attractions. (Excuse the chateau-heavy photos in this update, but they are pretty amazing, and all very different.)
"The burning bush" - autumn colours in France
Chateau de Hautefort, Dordogne area
Chateau de Chambord, Loire Valley area
Chateau de Chenonceau, Loire, built over a river
Now we are to the west of the Loire, in the famous Burgundy (Bourgogne) area, specifically the Cote d'Or wine region. This has included Beaune, Dijon and small wine villages. Our friend Carrie's grandparents live in this area, so we are jealous that her and Colin and the girls regularly visit this region. This area has also been great for us. You cannot help but be swallowed up by the French and their joy of wine growing, making and especially drinking around here. Last night we stayed, for free, on a Cotes de Beaune winegrower's property, in amongst his pinot noir vines!
We've said "Dieter and Bruni's spirit and generosity is worth bottling" (Aussie saying), and here it is! Inside the Musee Hospice de Beaune
Ian and Gail tasting Burgundy's wines. This historic place in Beaune has a 2 hectare underground wine cellar with 5 km of passages containing between 4 and 5 MILLION bottles of wine for aging at any one time. For €10 each you can wander through the labrinth, taste 15 red and white Cote d'Or wines, and keep the special tastevin tasting cup
From here we'll travel north to Strasburg (still in France, near the German border) before heading back towards Frankfurt.
"The burning bush" - autumn colours in France
Chateau de Hautefort, Dordogne area
Chateau de Chambord, Loire Valley area
Chateau de Chenonceau, Loire, built over a river
Now we are to the west of the Loire, in the famous Burgundy (Bourgogne) area, specifically the Cote d'Or wine region. This has included Beaune, Dijon and small wine villages. Our friend Carrie's grandparents live in this area, so we are jealous that her and Colin and the girls regularly visit this region. This area has also been great for us. You cannot help but be swallowed up by the French and their joy of wine growing, making and especially drinking around here. Last night we stayed, for free, on a Cotes de Beaune winegrower's property, in amongst his pinot noir vines!
We've said "Dieter and Bruni's spirit and generosity is worth bottling" (Aussie saying), and here it is! Inside the Musee Hospice de Beaune
Ian and Gail tasting Burgundy's wines. This historic place in Beaune has a 2 hectare underground wine cellar with 5 km of passages containing between 4 and 5 MILLION bottles of wine for aging at any one time. For €10 each you can wander through the labrinth, taste 15 red and white Cote d'Or wines, and keep the special tastevin tasting cup
From here we'll travel north to Strasburg (still in France, near the German border) before heading back towards Frankfurt.
18 November 2006
France again...
Bonjour! Yes, we are back in France, and we love it. Probably our favourite country of the 12 (yes, 12) we have visited on this trip. We are travelling a bit differently now, trying to stay away from the larger cities and towns. Also many of the thousands of French campgrounds have closed for winter, so we sometimes have to be a bit more creative. Free camping is fun, though, especialy as we have membership access to the 600 or so France Passion free camping spots on vineyards or farms across France.
Had to throw this last one in from San Sebastien, Spain, with its great tapas bars
Autumn colours - St Emilion, Bordeaux
We have been to 3 or 4 of the world's most beatiful villages in France in the past week or so, including St Emilion in Bordeaux, and Perigueux, Sarlat-la-Caneda, La Roque Gageac and others here in the Dordogne valley. Just spending a few days zipping around on 'our' bikes through these villages, visiting extraordinary 12th century chateau (think "castle") and amazing gardens. This area is awash with these plqces; it must get packed in summer. We have also been lucky to experience our first colourful nothern hemisphere autumn too. Yesterday we took a drive through the hills and small villages, and the forest colours were so beautiful that we found it quite moving.
Our France Passion free campsite near St Emilion, on a Grand Crue Classè vineyard
Wine tasting, St Emilion
Free camping on the banks of the river in Perigueux, with the cathedral in the background (10 points for spotting Bluey)
The magnificent Jardins de Marqueyssac in the Dordogne
The 12th century Chateau de Beynac, which is lit inside by spluttering oil lamps - very authentic
This area in the Dordogne valley is also famed for its foie gras (force-fed duck or goose liver that's so fine it is like eating the finest patè) and truffles. We haven't experienced truffles yet, but have had plenty of foie gras and confit of duck, another regional specialty.
The vegetable, foie gras and truffle market in Perigueux
It's starting to get very cold at night now. Last night I (Ian) wore 3 pairs of socks plus thermal underwear to bed, under a feather doona (duvet) plus a blanket. Our bed in "Bluey" is up the top next to canvas, so we have expected it to get cold.
We will be moving north and east soon, criss-crossing our way across France as we head back towards Frankfurt, then on to Paris later.
Had to throw this last one in from San Sebastien, Spain, with its great tapas bars
Autumn colours - St Emilion, Bordeaux
We have been to 3 or 4 of the world's most beatiful villages in France in the past week or so, including St Emilion in Bordeaux, and Perigueux, Sarlat-la-Caneda, La Roque Gageac and others here in the Dordogne valley. Just spending a few days zipping around on 'our' bikes through these villages, visiting extraordinary 12th century chateau (think "castle") and amazing gardens. This area is awash with these plqces; it must get packed in summer. We have also been lucky to experience our first colourful nothern hemisphere autumn too. Yesterday we took a drive through the hills and small villages, and the forest colours were so beautiful that we found it quite moving.
Our France Passion free campsite near St Emilion, on a Grand Crue Classè vineyard
Wine tasting, St Emilion
Free camping on the banks of the river in Perigueux, with the cathedral in the background (10 points for spotting Bluey)
The magnificent Jardins de Marqueyssac in the Dordogne
The 12th century Chateau de Beynac, which is lit inside by spluttering oil lamps - very authentic
This area in the Dordogne valley is also famed for its foie gras (force-fed duck or goose liver that's so fine it is like eating the finest patè) and truffles. We haven't experienced truffles yet, but have had plenty of foie gras and confit of duck, another regional specialty.
The vegetable, foie gras and truffle market in Perigueux
It's starting to get very cold at night now. Last night I (Ian) wore 3 pairs of socks plus thermal underwear to bed, under a feather doona (duvet) plus a blanket. Our bed in "Bluey" is up the top next to canvas, so we have expected it to get cold.
We will be moving north and east soon, criss-crossing our way across France as we head back towards Frankfurt, then on to Paris later.
11 November 2006
Northern Spain
Not much more to report, your all probably getting as tired of reading this stuff as we are of posting (judging by the number of posts).
After Santaigo we headed to the north coast of Spain, and over the next few days we went through, and stayed in, small villages, away from the larger towns and cities. This included an amazing drive through the Asturian and Cantabrian mountains, squeezing our way along the narrow, windy roads and tiny stone villages huddled up there. We made some real unexpected finds, like the high arched intact Roman stone bridge over the river at one of the little villages (Cangas). Back to the coast another of our unexpected finds was a village with its 11th century church and the beautiful village huddled around it (Santillana de Mar). We again looked for our three AnFuCa themes (see 6 Nov post titled "Spain - Portugal - Spain" for an explanation), we got 2 out of 3. Further below is a photo of one of them.
Santillana del Mar, Spain
A gruesome murder: Models of the severed heads of two martyred Saints in the church museum at Santillana de Mar
Heading into Basque country towards San Sebastian, we first stopped off in Bilbao for a few hours to visit the famous Guggenheim Museum. Anyone with an interest in modern art and extreme architecture should come here. San Sebastian is a beautiful smallish city huddled around a gracefully arched bay and a lovely beach (by European standards). The weather (up until today that is) has been absolutely perfect: days and days of clear, blue, sunny skies. San Sebastian´s tapas bars are also unbeatable. There are doxens of bars in the old town area, all of which have a mouth watering array of tapas (snacks) lined up along the bars, usually at least 20 types. They are all as good as any large canape served at a good business or restaurant function. You order a drink, get a plate and help yourself. You pay at the end by the number you have, based on the hnour system (all the bars are extremely popular and crowded). We missed out on seeing an ETA (Basque separatist movement) demonstration here in San Sebastian last night by half an hour, with riot police out in force, we´re a bit disappointed about that!
Bilbao`s Guggenheim Museum from across the river
San Sebastian from Monte Urgull
Tomorrow we head back into France, and Gail and I are very excited about that...
After Santaigo we headed to the north coast of Spain, and over the next few days we went through, and stayed in, small villages, away from the larger towns and cities. This included an amazing drive through the Asturian and Cantabrian mountains, squeezing our way along the narrow, windy roads and tiny stone villages huddled up there. We made some real unexpected finds, like the high arched intact Roman stone bridge over the river at one of the little villages (Cangas). Back to the coast another of our unexpected finds was a village with its 11th century church and the beautiful village huddled around it (Santillana de Mar). We again looked for our three AnFuCa themes (see 6 Nov post titled "Spain - Portugal - Spain" for an explanation), we got 2 out of 3. Further below is a photo of one of them.
Santillana del Mar, Spain
A gruesome murder: Models of the severed heads of two martyred Saints in the church museum at Santillana de Mar
Heading into Basque country towards San Sebastian, we first stopped off in Bilbao for a few hours to visit the famous Guggenheim Museum. Anyone with an interest in modern art and extreme architecture should come here. San Sebastian is a beautiful smallish city huddled around a gracefully arched bay and a lovely beach (by European standards). The weather (up until today that is) has been absolutely perfect: days and days of clear, blue, sunny skies. San Sebastian´s tapas bars are also unbeatable. There are doxens of bars in the old town area, all of which have a mouth watering array of tapas (snacks) lined up along the bars, usually at least 20 types. They are all as good as any large canape served at a good business or restaurant function. You order a drink, get a plate and help yourself. You pay at the end by the number you have, based on the hnour system (all the bars are extremely popular and crowded). We missed out on seeing an ETA (Basque separatist movement) demonstration here in San Sebastian last night by half an hour, with riot police out in force, we´re a bit disappointed about that!
Bilbao`s Guggenheim Museum from across the river
San Sebastian from Monte Urgull
Tomorrow we head back into France, and Gail and I are very excited about that...
06 November 2006
Spain - Portugal - Spain
OK, after that scary interlude, its back to a holiday update.
After Granada, we moved westward to Andalucia´s capital, Seville (Sevilla, pronounced se-VI-ya). Although we got some more rain here, we enjoyed this large, bustling city. The cathedral was awe inspiring, even for us, who are pretty much "cathedraled out" by now. Also, the Alcazar, Sevilla´s beautiful palace complex is a wonderful place to spend a good half day exploring. The bario (district) of Santa Cruz surrounding here is a place full of narrow, winding streets, plazas and tapas bars. Gail and I got to see some live flamenco on the last night, in a big flamenco bar, for the price of a couple of drinks.
Inside Sevilla´s Alcazar palace complex
A remains of a lovely splurge lunch in Seville, with many dishes featuring the lucious sweet sherry called Pedro Ximinez
Sevilla´s cathedral
Live flamenco
We farewelled Ian´s parents on the 2nd, as they were flying to Rome for their tour around Italy. We then took off north through Portugal. This country is more different to Spain than we expected. The language sounds to our ears like someone speaking Spanish with a very strong Polish accent. The lovely town of Porto is another case in point. Is is georgeously ramshackle with a tonne of character, especially the waterfront area, and, the dozens of port makers where you can do tours and tastings.
Inside the grizly Cappela los Lobos (Chappel of Bones) in Evira, Portugal (click on it for detail)
The waterfront of Porto, Portugal
Mmmm, port...
Now we are back in Spain, in the lovely town of Santiago de Compostela, with its famous cathedral and medievil, windy streets. We said earlier we are "cathedraled out". So we have invented a game to keep us from going crazy everytime we visit a new one. The pious Catholics amongst you may want to tune out for the rest of this paragraph... We look for three images amongst the iconography and artworks: 1 - A brutal murder (crucifixion not counted). 2 - A curvaceous backside. 3 - Someone going the grope on someone else. You may be suprised how often you find all three themes. Here in the famous Santiago cathedral we found all three a number of times over.
Tomorrow we head north and east towards Basque country and back up into France.
After Granada, we moved westward to Andalucia´s capital, Seville (Sevilla, pronounced se-VI-ya). Although we got some more rain here, we enjoyed this large, bustling city. The cathedral was awe inspiring, even for us, who are pretty much "cathedraled out" by now. Also, the Alcazar, Sevilla´s beautiful palace complex is a wonderful place to spend a good half day exploring. The bario (district) of Santa Cruz surrounding here is a place full of narrow, winding streets, plazas and tapas bars. Gail and I got to see some live flamenco on the last night, in a big flamenco bar, for the price of a couple of drinks.
Inside Sevilla´s Alcazar palace complex
A remains of a lovely splurge lunch in Seville, with many dishes featuring the lucious sweet sherry called Pedro Ximinez
Sevilla´s cathedral
Live flamenco
We farewelled Ian´s parents on the 2nd, as they were flying to Rome for their tour around Italy. We then took off north through Portugal. This country is more different to Spain than we expected. The language sounds to our ears like someone speaking Spanish with a very strong Polish accent. The lovely town of Porto is another case in point. Is is georgeously ramshackle with a tonne of character, especially the waterfront area, and, the dozens of port makers where you can do tours and tastings.
Inside the grizly Cappela los Lobos (Chappel of Bones) in Evira, Portugal (click on it for detail)
The waterfront of Porto, Portugal
Mmmm, port...
Now we are back in Spain, in the lovely town of Santiago de Compostela, with its famous cathedral and medievil, windy streets. We said earlier we are "cathedraled out". So we have invented a game to keep us from going crazy everytime we visit a new one. The pious Catholics amongst you may want to tune out for the rest of this paragraph... We look for three images amongst the iconography and artworks: 1 - A brutal murder (crucifixion not counted). 2 - A curvaceous backside. 3 - Someone going the grope on someone else. You may be suprised how often you find all three themes. Here in the famous Santiago cathedral we found all three a number of times over.
Tomorrow we head north and east towards Basque country and back up into France.
05 November 2006
On Friday 3rd November we had a contact from our daughter Gemma telling us she was going to hospital for a check up, likely to be her appendix. By that night Perth time (Friday night) she was staying over night for observation, and Saturday morning Perth time she was wheeled in for the operation.
It was very scary for us over here in Portugal, we felt so helpless, with all sorts of irrational scenarios running through our minds as we tried to sleep Friday night. By Saturday morning our time, we got a call from Blake´s phone; it was Gemma, she was out of surgery minus one inflamed appendix, but all went well. Today (Sunday 5th) she has gone home. Blake was with her a lot of the time and made sure we were kept fully up to date. Other friends, Bill & Gina and Cheryl, were also really good. This was important as Ian´s parents and also his brother Steven and wife Rachel are all away in various parts of Europe at the moment, and none of Gail's family are in Perth. Gemma sounds fine and is in good spirits. Interestingly, Gemma´s appendix was removed 10 years TO THE DAY that her brother Blake's was. P.S. Happy Birthday, Blake!
So, a real scare, but all is well. We will update the blog properly with photos etc soon. We are currently in Porto, Portugal, and are off to the port wine lodges for tasting soon.
It was very scary for us over here in Portugal, we felt so helpless, with all sorts of irrational scenarios running through our minds as we tried to sleep Friday night. By Saturday morning our time, we got a call from Blake´s phone; it was Gemma, she was out of surgery minus one inflamed appendix, but all went well. Today (Sunday 5th) she has gone home. Blake was with her a lot of the time and made sure we were kept fully up to date. Other friends, Bill & Gina and Cheryl, were also really good. This was important as Ian´s parents and also his brother Steven and wife Rachel are all away in various parts of Europe at the moment, and none of Gail's family are in Perth. Gemma sounds fine and is in good spirits. Interestingly, Gemma´s appendix was removed 10 years TO THE DAY that her brother Blake's was. P.S. Happy Birthday, Blake!
So, a real scare, but all is well. We will update the blog properly with photos etc soon. We are currently in Porto, Portugal, and are off to the port wine lodges for tasting soon.
