May 4, 2009 - Annecy to Switzerland to Avignon

This morning we packed up and departed our little hotel room in Annecy. Mum and Dad changed their mind on our itinery and headed south for Barcelona , but first we wanted to go to Geneve, switzerland. on the way we passed through tunnel after tunnel and across the border line within seconds no stamps nothing. drove arond the lake front for a while. very beautiful. then headed for Avignon. stopped for lunch in a grassy picnic area off the motorway. then continued on our journey. arrived in Avignon at 5pm and found a hotel room right by the...

Oct 7, 2008 - Avignon and Provence

Another early start (sleep does not feature prominently in our agenda!) and we are off to the Gare Lyon for the TGV to Avignon. Since it is early the normal train ticket counters to validate our rail pass are not yet open and a mad run through the station reveals another counter far from the tracks. Running through the station with luggage provides amusement for the French (we Americans aim to please!), and we make the train with minutes to spare. As we jump onto the train, Alnoor just turns to me and says in a dry tone of voice “ Well, I...

Sep 17, 2008 - Cannes and Avignon

Well; of course up early again to leave Nice... boo hooooooooo!!!!! I would come back here in a minute. We stop in Cannes on the way out. Nothing to write home about; but we didn't get a lot of time. Went and had a photo at the Grande Theatre where the stars walk the red carpet during the festival. They asked me to put my handprints in the cement while I was there; but I didn't want to get the bus dirty. They have a sand beach here; but it is all imported sand. Go figure! Not sure from where, but I make my way down to the beach for a sample...

Aug 6, 2008 - The French Riviera

Naomi writes: on Tuesday we travelled by train from Paris to Cannes, on the Southern Coast of France. We stopped in Avignon for four hours to see the sites. We were able to put all our luggage in a storage place at the local train station, and then wonder around that old city of Avignon. It is very old, with stone walls and narrow streets, kind of like the old city of Jersalem. At some point there was a split in the Papacy of the Catholic Church and some pope built a palace in Avignon. There is also a very old bridge that goes half way...

Aug 4, 2008 - Avignon - a walled city

so ill bust out a cuple short blurbs on where weve been since we last checked in. . . Avignon is the only city Ive ever visited where the old walls still stand all the way around it. Amazing! The food here is fressh ... here in Provance. Its beautiful surroundings and small town life charmed us and the short two days wasnt enough. But we had to move on.. . . .

Jul 30, 2008 - avignon tres bian!!

hahaaa!! ive finally arrived in avignon!! i thought i was not goping to stay long but it as incredubly beautiful town im very glad i came as i probably wouldnt have normally if it wzsnt for the theatre the city is alongside a river thats pretty wide but they kind of treat it more like a moat as there is an old crumbly wall around the outside of most of the village; ive finally met people from my side of the world but its really cool here so ill stay until the énd at least i met a few people on the train yesterday from barcelona so might...

Jul 29, 2008 - Bearing the heat in Avignon

On Monday morning, we caught the train for Avignon for a pleasant three hour trip. We enjoyed our last glimpses of the Mediterranean. One drawback of traveling by train is that we could not drop in on Lorraine's distant cousin Angelina Jolie to visit her, Brad and the twins who reside near here. But since they are only 8th cousins they have never been close. Inside the old city walls, Avignon is still abustle with the activity of its summer festival, which is very much like Edmonton's Fringe on steroids with a dose of buskers and ethnic...

Jul 19, 2008 - Provence

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Jul 18, 2008 - Summary of Provence

Well, things have been going great, but obviously there is a shortage of internet availability! Brian arrived in Paris safely and caught up on his jet lag sleep needs pretty quickly. It was very hard for the kids to say goodbye to their new friends from the tour and they are in culture shock now with no one for entertainment except their boring old parents. We took the TGV train down to Avignon in Provence and have been here for four nights now with one to go. Provence is very pretty and slow paced (too slow for Brian, we have discovered)...

Jun 2, 2008 - Chateau Neuf du Pape and Avignon

Bon Jour tout le monde! Today we are in Toulon, France. We were supposed to be in Marseilles, but because of the dock strike we are at this near by port. It is actually between Marseilles & Nice – but much closer to Marseille. It has reportedly rained here for the last 2 weeks, which is unusual in this arid climate. Today it is mostly sunny although we did get a small amount of rain with some (French) thunder – le BOOM! During WWII the German army occupied southern France, destroying much of Toulon. During the invasion, the French navy...

Oct 26, 2007 - Next hotel, next parking building, next double bed

We had a realively quiet night last night in Nice. Ian had a wee 'pee pee' problem and was worried his drinking days were over. Actually I was quite worried too, drinking on your own with someone, either sitting beside you trying to make out they are enjoying themself, or feeling guilty cos' they are back in the room watching tele. After a brilliant coffee in a very well set-up cafe we went looking for a bar/cafe. We found one not far away and I had a coupla beers while Ian had a coke with lemon. Geez, harden up man. Actually it's not that...

Oct 14, 2007 - Avignon and the Beaujolais region

On Saturday I went with Editha to Avignon for the day. Avignon was the second home for the Popes during the 1300's. We started the day with an early rush to the train station where we were about 5 minutes early - not too bad for 7:20am! After two hours on the train we went straight to the tourist office in Avignon where we joined a guided tour. Luckily the guide gave the tour in both french and english, so what I didn't understand in the french explanation, I got in the english. After a much needed food break, we visited the Palais des...