Provence Photos

Here's the last of the TravelGals photos of mine--Provence.

After two days in Arles, I broke of from the TravelGals and joined up with my husband, the Wise and Bearded One, for another week in France. You can follow our trip over here.

It was a great trip and I feel like I saw a lot of France and learned a bit about the French. However, I am ever so glad to be back home again in Portland where the nights are cool and the days are warm and the food is just as good (in my opinion).

Burgundy Photos

Burgundy photos are uploaded to Flickr.

I think that I actually had the most fun in Burgundy. First of all, the weather was FINALLY decent every day. Secondly, the Orangerie chambre d'hote where we stayed was simply lovely. Third, we had an amazing dinner at Aux Annees Vins--fois gras, escargot, the works. And last but now least (oh sweet serendipity) the Tour de France was passing less than 5 kilometers away from where we were staying.

Here's to sun and cycling!

Alsace Photos

My photos from the Alsace are now uploaded here.

I do think that the Alsace was my favorite region of France. In part I think that was due to the fact that when we were in Paris the weather was grey and gloomy but when we got to Strasbourg the sun popped out and all the bright and festive colors of Strasbourg popped out too.

We stayed in a bed n breakfast in a little town called Bleinshwiller (which I probably did not spell correctly) and enjoyed wandering up and down the Wine Road through little storybook villages and chateaus.

Paris Photos

Hello the few, the very few, who still check this blog, (hi, mom!)

After the rest of the TravelGals returned to the States, I stayed on in France for another week of travel with my husband. We returned this week and now we have that interminable pile of travel laundry to do and jetlag to conquer. We're still waking up at 4:30 in the morning. Oh dear.

Anyhow, I'm slowly uploading my pictures from the trip to Flickr. You can see my TravelGals-Paris pictures here.

My favorite things about our time in Paris were the gardens of Versailles, the Orangerie and Orsay Museums, the Rodin sculpture garden, and the amazing dinner Amy and I had at Camille one night. My least favorite things were my poor tired feet and the five flights of stairs to our hotel room.

Paris Memories

Here's a little collage I put together with some of my Paris pics. You can double-click on the collage to enlarge it. Several of the shots are of Versailles.

Our first "dinner" in Paris was a trip to the grocery store around the corner. We ate it in our room at the Hotel Wilson. Hotel Wilson was a great value -- and though it is in one of the outer arondisements (Asnieres Sur-Seine) the train and metro got you to the heart of the city in no time. They also serve a great breakfast -- especially the pain au raisin -- which all of us loved.
In case you were worried we'd gain weight from eating all those pastries, fear not -- we worked them off trekking up the stairs I began to call "Calf-killer-Asthma-Attack-Stairway-to-Hell" (it didn't actually go to hell, but after walking around Paris for 10 hours, you thought you might die on the 4th floor).



Though more reserved than West Coasters, we met lots of Parisians who were very willing to help us out with directions, etc... and some were up for conversation. There is so much to see in Paris... too much to pack into a few days. My favorite museum was the Rodin Museum, though the exhibit of avant-garde dance costumes at the Fashion and Textiles Museum at the Louvre was a close second. Favorite meal was at Cafe Camille, though this one wasn't too shabby either. Check out those huge raspberries!!! mmmm!

More memories to come... stay tuned!

Amy

CHAMPERS!

One of the things I really wanted to do while in France was have a toast with real French champagne. I’m sure that sounds kind of silly, but given how much French champagne costs in the U.S., it’s not something I do very often… or … pretty much, ever. On about day 14 of our 16-day trip I realized that we hadn't had any champagne and our time to have it was quickly running out. Stacey, Tristan and I decided we would have some in Vittroles – our last destination before leaving France.

If you have never heard of Vittroles, you wouldn’t be the only one. We left Arles with plenty of time to get there, check into the hotel, drop off the rental car, and then go exploring the town. Or so we thought…

Without the Michelin map book, we found our way to what we thought was Vittroles – only to find that about every 2 km. we had left it, then entered it, then left it again. Town boundaries and roads in France are like a pile of spaghetti someone threw on the floor. Finally, we pulled over to where we saw a sign for the Tourist Information office (except that there wasn’t one). I managed to get directions to our hotel at a medical clinic (thank god for IKEA – a landmark which translates in any language). We made it to the Campanille de Griffon, then raced to the airport and returned the car just in time. After an 18 Euro cab ride back to the Campanille, we found ourselves at what might be the French equivalent to Motel 6 – a sort of 70’s ranch style place with metal window shades on the outside that rolled up like cargo doors. I was somewhat thankful that the A7 freeway was practically inside the room, for the sound of speeding cars helped drown out the deafening buzz of cicadas. The Campanille was not exactly situated in a place that was very pedestrian friendly, and aside from a few office buildings, there really wasn’t much around to do. Not only that, but it appeared the place was completely deserted except for Pascal, who took time from running the front desk to water the grounds, and two other employees who seemed to be multitasking between cleaning rooms and running the kitchen.

We turned on the television, and got overly excited about what looked to be a Lifetime Channel movie with Michael J. Fox’s wife, only to realize it was completely dubbed in French. I watched it anyway while T and Stacey napped on and off. When it was over, we found ourselves wondering what to do to amuse ourselves on this – our very last day in France. Determined to find whatever fun we could have, we set off hunting “those damn cicadas” – who are phantom-like ventriloquists if you ask me. About then Stacey and T decided iced coffee would make everything a lot better, and I just happened to have some instant with me. You have never seen three women so excited about iced coffee – especially when you get actual ICE in France. A few moments later, the lawn sprinklers went on, so – buzzed on caffeine – the American girls ran through the sprinklers. We dragged chairs and a table over and played gin outside, I found a cicada shell (I think they molt), and imagined that the roar of the cars was really the ocean and that the Campanille was really the L’Orangerie.

With little other choice, we went to dinner at the hotel restaurant – wondering just what could be on the menu. To our surprise and delight they had… champagne! It was actually very good. We toasted to our time in France, to CHAMPERS, and shared our favorite moments of trip like:

~best meals,
~nicest surprises,
~the day of 5 desserts
~coming across wonderful things like festivals and shows
~Tristan’s bread “for strong personalities” – that brick she gnawed on for days telling us, “C’mon girls – chew it like it’s baby bread!”
~The L’Orangerie and our wonderful hosts, Nils and David
~meeting people from all over – the Germans, the Belgians, Maggie and Jer…
~the Alsace
~running into the Tour de France – what luck!
~Stacey and the roundabouts
~that fricken bus we almost got!
~fireworks on Bastille day,
~the spa in Baden Baden
~the beach at Arles
~road-tripping through France
~Foie gras! Foie gras!
~the best damn mashed potatoes in Paris
~Le Petit Paradis
~Jackie Osama -- Tristan's and my solution to hairstyle boredom
~the Birds
and…
~Sehr schöen!

It was the perfect ending to a wonderful adventure.

We are home now… Deb and Nate are following the Tour.

Pictures and more stories to come… stay tuned.

-- Amy

Sortie

We "sortie" France tomorrow morning -- that means "exit". Last night we picked up Nate from the airport and he and Deb went off for more adventures in France. T, Stacey and I wound up in Martigues in time for a sardine festival. It was a fun night and we made it back to Arles sans map. We are spending the morning in Arles and then heading over to Vittroles to await our departure.

This has, indeed, been a grand adventure.

More photos and memories when we return. We look forward to seeing you soon!

Amy

Blue sky, sand, sun

We went to the beach yesterday... a glorious day with perfect weather. We dipped our toes in the Mediterranean. Today we head off to Aix and another beach.

Even though we are 6,000 miles from home, I still find myself looking across the water, expecting to see you waving at us.

All for now,

Amy (logged in as T)

cheers to new things

I ate escargot... need I say more?

A bientot!
Stacey

Fireworks!

We arrived in Arles late yesterday afternoon -- thanks in great part to the masterful driving of Stacey, who navigated a claustrophobic maze of stone buildings to get us safely to our hotel (props to T as well for some awesome drivage). The south of France is completely different -- much more Mediterannean and HOT. I haven't wanted to mention weather much since I know all of you in Oregon are sweltering but it was cold and rainy from Paris through much of the Alsace!!!

We arrived in time for some Bastille Day fun. We met a nice young guy from Stockton (Tom) and invited him to join us for the rest of our dinner. We saw a beautiful display of fireworks and did a little "baillarin'" in the town square to an amazing steel drum band.

We are off to find a beach and some flamingos today. As we wind down our trip, all I can say is "SER SHUN!!!"

Life is good.

We miss and love you,
Amy

Pinch me... wait... don't.

We are living in a place out of a dream -- literally. We are staying at L'Orangerie -- a charming place in Burgundy (Moroges to be exact) that is out of this world. Today we went to a castle and also met a prince (for real). The prince and his partner are restoring the family chateau and need a little help in the garden -- so it's very possible I will be doing an exchange here next summer (quite seriously) as they have a lot of restoration to do.

I would love to write more about what we have seen and done in the past few days, but there is a queue (line) of people waiting at this internet cafe -- and Mr. Smoky in front of me is hogging the only other computer. I will say that I ate 5 -- count 'em -- FIVE sweets the other day!!! and The TOUR DE FRANCE is comin' our way -- we may even see it!!! Anyway, the Travelgals are all safe and well.

Much love,
Amy

Highlights:

castles
wine tasting
an authentic French dinner (many courses)
wonderful people
beautiful and varied landscapes
roundabouts
l'Orangerie

Alsace---the Route du Vins

Alsace....
...half-timbered houses
...narrow streets
...small country churches
...miles and miles of vineyards and fields
...signs in French and German
...castle ruins on the hilltops
...cheerful colors
...lots of flowers
...cheese, sauerkraut, potatoes, pork products, white wine

We love it here. It would be even better if it weren't cool and rainy.

P.S. We would like to put up more pictures but we're finding our internet time to be limited. Maybe when we're in Burgundy we'll have better access. Thanks for following our journey.

Love

Well, it's happened, I've fallen in love in France - with the Alsace (the land of my people). We spent two days in Strasbourg which was charming and cute == and now are in Blienschwiller. I am borrowing the host's computer, so I don't want to tie it up, but it is incredibly picturesque, and charming doesn't even begin to describe how charming it is. Went wine tasting and castle seeing today. Tomorrow we're off to Colmar.

All for now,
Amy

Exhausted...

The traveling duo almost missed their train because they were blogging and the 'fresh squeezed juice man' was was calling their names.
Why you ask? Freiburg is a college town with many festivals and happy wine drinkers. Does that say enough? We partook in the local festivities and made quite a night of it. Anywho...We made it to the train JUST in time, running to the train, in a sweat, entering a cabin with no air conditioning...awesome.

Baden Baden was quite a change from the 'young' feel of Freiburg, here we found an older crowd dressed smartly. We checked into our lovely B&B after a long hike up some very steep stairs. All is gut, now. There are two main attractions in BB, the casino and the spa. Though the casino was surrounded by festivities, music and food, the gambling part of the casino was too intimidating for us Americans.
Thus, we ate and then wandered the town which was pretty much closed on Sunday. Stacey and I were EXHAUSTED and wondering how to spend the evening. Stacey suggested we take a look at the spa, which at first site was a bit intimidating as well. European spa and all..nudity, a possibility. But what we discovered was something SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO fantastic and perfect. We thought two hours would be more than enough but we ended up staying three hours and loving every minute of it. Check out the website... http://www.carasana.de/home/de/caracalla.html
After spa we hunkered down in our lovely and cozy room for a night of reading and relaxation as it poured rain and thundered like mad over the hills of the Schwarzwald.

Forever Freiburg

Imagine a place such as this:

*easy to navigate
*welcoming
*not pretentious..."we love German men"
*comfortable
*beautiful, new and old
*ancient cobble stone streets
*forest mice and bunnies
*Hansel und Gretel
*sehr gut kirschkuchen
*large open air market
*a munster to die for
*patient people very willing to practice their english
*no museums to feel guilty about not seeing
*a weekend of local festivals of wine and bier
*good sausage
*beautiful linens
*perfect weather
*Bush jokes with German MEN
*bike riding through the city and its mountain...where there is no Schlossberg
*champagne with hot German men aus Stuttgart
*cookies that remind Stacey of grandma

...however we must depart this morning for Baden Baden...casinos and spas...ready for our next adventure, seriously. Tristan will be living here next summer...das ist sehr gut.

Tschuss!

Last day in Paris

The picture below would be me pulling weeds at Versailles. Deb and I hit Paris again for one last time. We went to the Rodin Museum == which I really loved. Today was pretty much a perfect day in Paris for me. After the Rodin, Deb went off to the Musee d'Orsay and I wandered around for a while before going to the Mode and Modern Textiles exhibit at the Louvre == which just happened to be a series of avant garde dance costumes, primarily designed by Gautier. It was really interesting. All of Paris (and France) is in extreme shopping mode as it is sale time. Apparently, by law, the stores are allowed only two sale times per year! Lucky for us, we are here at that time == but to be honest, it is a mad house at every store. I managed to find a wonderful, uncrowded boutique near Rue Cler and found a GREAT Paris dress for only 22.50 Euro (about 27 US dollars). I ended up wearing it out of the store, and must have picked a good one, because I actually got a few looks (and not in a bad way).

Deb had a great time at the d'0rsay and is upstairs enjoying her very fancy dessert from the patisserie across the street from where we ate dinner. Rue Cler is a great place for excellent food findings = I had some fantastic cheese and enormous raspberries for lunch from the shops there.

We depart tomorrow for Strasbourg == looking forward to a change of pace, but both of us really enjoyed Paris.

A bientot!

Amy

hmm....how do you get it to rotate a photo on a French Mac?

Vendredi == Friday

After coffee and pain au raisin, Stacey and Tristan took off for Germany via Switzerland. Deb and I hit the museums and the Jardin de Tuilleries (where Tristan spotted Rene Zellweger in a photo shoot yesterday). While my `star sighting' was limited to an unknown (to me, anyway) Asian singer and later a model == though, now that I think of it, it may have been the same girl. I found the best restroom in Paris (you may think that's a funny thing to say, but not after you've been hoofin' it all day long). Deb and I took Rick Steves advice and ate dinner at Camille = and really, it was a fantastic meal. Her mashed potatoes were the best I have ever had, and I ordered a side plate of them instead of dessert -- yes, they were that good!

Tomorrow, Deb and I have one more full day in Paris - we plan to hit the Rodin museum and do some shopping. By the way, we will need to blog about the craziest (and most brilliant idea) of a department store called BHV -- where you can get socks and sockets in the same aisle!!! Seriously! (or SERIEUUUUUUX!!!!)

Oh, and by the way -- last year I was the kid who stayed home and pulled weeds all summer -- this year, I was the kid who went to Versailles -- and pulled weeds! I couldn't help it.... :)

Bon Soir!
Amy

Addition to Amy's Last Entry

I just have to clarify that while Amy and Tristan were out whooping it up with some crazy Algerian-French police officers, Stacey and I were sedately enjoying dinner at Trocadero Square overlooking the Eiffel Tower. We walked along the Seine River and waited for the Eiffel Tower to light up. It lights up every hour after dark for five minutes and sparkles in the Paris sky night sky like a shimmering Christmas tree. Then we quietly rode the train back to our hotel and were in bed by 11:00. Long before our partying compatriots straggled in.

deb

a day of adventure

meeting @ notre dame did not happen, so we followed our -- je ne sais quoi and went off on our own -- for at least part of the day. amy ( or aimee) and tristan hit the local bar -- which just happened to be an algerian establishment -- for some local color (and boy did we find it!!!) the local police commandant is expecting amy to arrive at the station tomorrow AM @ 9:00 for an update and tour of the facility and to meet the chief who writes for television crime shows in france. because it is "no problem"... as he told her 15 times. t loves champagne and getting hit on by algerians, "because he respects girls, loves massage, but just wants to talk"???

!!!!!!!! herve is dying right now, i`m sure. tristan is making a very tired amy type all these things and also babysitting her because she is... under the influence.... of Paris, of course!!! this is what happens when you miss dinner because you forget which train gets you back to the hotel, think you`re lost in gay Pareeeeeeeeee and end up meeting Patricia Djali, who talks your ear off for half an hour and is going to call you in october!!! bien sur (of course) seriously!!!!

btw we have no idea how deb and stacey ended their evening but we`re sure it`s just as scintillating.

aujourd hui

nous sommes tres bien!

we are off to versailles and the rodin museum today. after some good food and rest, we are energized and ready for the day. tristan will hit the city and met up with us later today.

a bientot!
amy

nous sommes arrive!

we are here. the flights went well and despite the long journey i think we are mostly in good shape. the keyboards are quite different here so this will be short. we are all in desperate need of une cafe au lait et du pain chocolat.

a bientot?

amy

How to Plan a Trip to France

1. Meet often with your fellow travellers
2. At said meetings, eat stinky cheese
3. And drink red wine
4. And talk about the handsome French men you will meet (unless you are married, of course)
5. Occasionally actually consult travel guides and people who've been to France
6. Read Rick Steve's Guidebooks religiously
7. Drool over the charming B & B's in Karen Brown's book
8. Use these websites:
Trip Advisor
Venere
New York Times Travel Guide
AutoEurope
RailEurope
9. Eat croissants and dream....

The Travel Gals

Here we are: Deb, Tristan, Amy & Stacey. Four teachers ready to take advantage of the opportunity we have to travel in the summer. We leave tomorrow for France.