A SPECIAL VISIT

Just before we left England for our trip through France, we had a visit from Sarah who brought her friend Lisbet with her. Lisbet was a lovely Norwegian girl who had become a firm friend of Sarah's, and they both enjoyed creating Cards. One of their big objectives in visiting England (apart from a natural desire to see us) was their enthusiasm for card making and the opportunity to buy lots and lots and lots of materials to help them create all sorts of wonderful cards.

They had a day in London doing just that, and we also made a visit to Peter and Mary at Hartney Wintney. Sarah hadn't seen them since they visited Australia way back, and they were delighted to see her looking so well and happy. We had a super lunch at the Cricketers Arms where there is a super little French restaraunt.

They left from Heathrow to go home, and we drove them there and then came home to finish off ouor preparations for the trip to France. It was just great to see Sarah again and especially to meet Lisbet.

THE LAST FOUR WEEKS PART 3

We read about a famous Roman Aquaduct and Bridge not too far away so decided to drive out there. It was sensational, not only because the structure is simply mind boggling when considering that it was built almost 2000 years ago, but being a public holiday it was being prepared for a Sound and Light event that evening. Hundredds of people had gathered for the evnt, and we would dearly loved to have stayed but were daunted by the thought of driving back into Nimes and finding our way in the dark.

The two guys who ran the Hotel were extremely helpful, and pointed us to a super restaraunt for dinner that night. This was an experience of French cooking. I asked what type of fish was on the menu, and Madam trotted off to the kitchen and reurned with the fish which was almost still swimming! When it arrived she filleted it at the table and enriched it with the beautiful sauce for me.Wow oh Wow.

Next day we were up early and enjoyed a super breakfast and then took off to visit the Roman Amphitheatre. An audio guide was brilliant and went through the history of Gladiators and their exploits. We learnt that they seldom fought to the death, because when one of the two was overpowered, the final decision was made by the all powerful President.If he indicated that the loser should be finished off, then HE had to reimburse the Gladiator's trainer for costs! So most of them were spared. In between Gladiatorial bouts, prisoners of war, malcontents and criminals were led into the arena and wild animals loosed to kill them. Most of the audiences took themselves off during this slaughter and found some sustenance outside.

In the main City square there is a Roman Temple, in remarkable state of preservation, and now used as a Tourist centre with a 3D film depicting the history of Nimes which, again, was most interesting. The last day we were readying for departure when one of the Hotel managers (an Algerian I think) asked had we visited the Fountain Garden and Old Roman Tower. When we told we had not, he downed tools and walked with us to the starting point of the gardens so that we wouldn't miss it. As I said the two of them were extremely hospitable.

And so we drove off to Sigalous skirting Marseille on the way and sticking to the Autoroute despite the tolls. We arrived at Jeanette and Alain's late in the afternoon to be met by a suprised host who had misread the email and was expecting us the next! No sweat though.
We picked Sarah and Baard up from Nice Airport the next day having found the correct terminal and what I reckon was the last available car parking space!!

THE LAST FOUR WEEKS - PART TWO

On the way down to Meze we decided to visit Saint Cirq Lapopie. This Medieval village is perched on a cliff 330 feet above the river and was the main town of one of four viscountcies that made up Quercy. The Lapopie fortress was made up of a number of towers and castles overlooking the village. We stayed in a chateau here and the view from our room was fabulous- see top photo! Breakfast on the courtyard of the Chateau was to die for, and once again Carol's French made her the centre of attention -"An Australian who speaks French??" One night only and then it was off to Meze.

We had decided to visit Meze because Carol had stayed there when she was touring the world back in the 1970's. And we actually saw the flat she rented there (picture top left). It is a delightful little fishing town and we stayed in a great hotel (2 Star) with a corner room and a balcony.Had a great feast of sardines on our first night there with a pichet of wine all of which was very reasonably priced.

We spent a day driving around the large lagoon to Sete a true Mediterranean harbour with canals running through the city.Had a good cheap lunch there beside a canal and goggled at the canal traffic. Lovely old streets in the old town part and interesting wandering through them. We drove back along the coastline - miles and miles of sandy beach with hardly a parking spot to be had. While it was quite warm there was no temptation to strip off and go for a swim!

Back in Meze we bought a bottle of Rose and some cheese and biscuits and sat on our balcony with not a care in the world. Lovely spot.

The next day we drove a few miles alonog the lagoon to another small village, where we foudn the Maritime museum closed for the usual French lunch hour 12 -2.30. So that idea was abandoned and instead we indulged ourselves in a lovely open air restaraunt and gorged ourselves on seafood -plus a bottle of wine of course. Then we walked along the jetty and saw a ferry pull in. We enquired about it's routes and were told that they were picking up a party of school kids to take them out to the oyster beds and tell them about oyster farming. "Can we go along as well?" Oui monsieur, mais certainement"

It was most interesting because the ankle biters were well behaved and had question and answer sessions with the prize of being allowed to steer the ferry. Great fuun and very educational. The oyster tables are enormous and provide a considerable percentage of French oysters. I only eat Sydney rock oysters.

.The last day was spent visiting the Noilly Prat factory. This is the only place where the product is made in the world, and the extensive production has developed into a fully automated plant - so much so that the 100 employees who once worked to produce this unique product are now reduced to just 10 key people. Enjoyed a tasting of the products as part of the guided tour!


En route to Nimes we came across a medieval walled village called Aigues Mortes. This was absolutely stunning. The photo above gives some idea of the extent of the fortification and it was once an access to the Mediterranean and an important port for French defence against invaders. The village is quaint (and thoroughly tourist orientated) But a visit to the Round Tower and the terrific views from the top were well worth while. The name apparently translates as Dead Sea as the Med is no longer within navigable reach after silting up and erosion took place. And so it was on to Nimes.

This we found on Ascension Day - a public holiday. So the traffic was reasonably quiet and, joy of joy,there were nice clear signs for all the various hotels. Again our two star hotel The Kyriad, was excellent. Nimes is famoua for it's Roman history, and has the best preserved amphitheatre in the world.

THE LAST FOUR WEEKS-PART 1

Packed up the flat at Langdon Hills and drove down to Peter's place where we deposited some suitcases that we would not be needing while driving around France. Sold the trusty Vectra for 300 quid and got a taxi to Stanstead for our flight to Tours and the start of three weeks in France. Picked up a neat little Renault from Hertz and found our way to our Chambre D'Hote at Francueil where we were booked for four nigths.Very comfortable and delightful hosts who were delighted that Carol spoke French. This area of France is noted for it's fine Chateaus and we visited several over the next few days.Chenonceau (Above) is delightful and we viewed it from a boat travelling down the river.Cheverny,Blois,Amboise and finally the magnificent and enormous Chambord. The Chateaux are an anachronism from the past - each builder having seemed to be trying to outdo all existing buildings.

So finally, all "Chateauxed Out" - we drove down to the Dordogne where we has booked a cottage for a week at La Cave. En route we called in to see one of Carol's colleagues from Ramsey Jo Langworthy.She and her husband Rob own a beautifully restored cottage in the country near ? and we had an entertaining luncheon there with the two of them. Then it was on to La Cave a total distance of some 13o miles.

The cottage was lovely and contained every creature comfort (except a washing machine).The owner was an English doctor who lived nearby and knew the area intimately. She told us of the amusing visit by a helicopter to a beautiful chateau perched on the surrounding hill. It contained Brad Pitt who apparently thought he would drop in a buy the place!!

The nearest town was Souillac where we were able to get all our shopping needs. Nearby was Rocamadour the famous Abbey built into and on top of a sheer cliff. It is a breathtaking image when you drive around a corner and suddenly get faced with this enormous cliff and the buildings perched into and on it. The views from the top are extensive, but it was terribly crowded which detracted from our enjoyment there.

We also visited the Grottes at La Cave, an underground exploration of stalactites and stalagmites in profusion, and one cave where there was florescence.All very spectacular but poorly guided to the extent that we didn't know where the hell we were going half the time.
Made a trip to Gourdon, driving through some truly lovely country and lunched al fresco at a quite reasonable price. Also visited the Grotto de Cougnant which was a much better organised attraction and included some cave paintings from time immemorial.Fascinating.

The next day we hired a canoe at La Cave and paddled our way down the magnificent Dordogne River some 16 kms to Souillac where the canoe hirers gave us a ride back to LA Cave in a bus. The canoe trip was an absolute buzz. At times the current raced us along and as the river is mostly shallow and beautifully clear, the bottom raced past. At other places we lazily paddled and watched fish swimming along.

Next day Carol had her hair cut in Souillac and was most impressed with the skill of the cutter. It was great. A steam train trip took us along a cliff side with super views over the surrounding valleys and hills and a visit to the market at Souillac capped off a memorable few days.

Next stop was Meze on the Mediterranean

BACK HOME

There has been a lapse in Blogger activity due to (a) laziness and (b) lack of access to the internet during our travels in the last four weeks in Europe. However now that we are home again, the last entry for our wonderful two years will be completed as soon as we have got ourselves organised and are back in our own home and reconnected to the internet.

As I write this, looking out over the Australian landscape from son Ben's house I am surrounded by tissues to control a runny nose. Two years in UK without a single sniffle - three days back and I have a stinking cold. I really don't remember Toowoomba being this cold and miserable. At least there has been a little rain, and the paddocks are green.

Stay tuned.

BRUGES AND BRUSSELLS

No photographs! Why? The battery in the camera had run flat!!

We took the Eurostar from Ashford International which left at 6.58 am. Early start made worse by missing the M20 turnoff the M25 due to heavy truck traffic. Found ourselves 15 miles too far down the M25 and had to turn back and go like blazes once we got back to the M20. Managed the 40 miles in under half an hour thanks to the trusty Vectra racing along at 90 mph.

Arrived at Brussells and found a lack of information available as to how we were to find a train for Brugges - but finally managed and had an enjoyable one hour trip through lovely Belgium countryside.

Of course it was raining so we took a taxi to the Hotel where we were greeted by a most friendly lady and dropped our bags off.Following her directions we were in the Old City Square in no time and enchanted with the beautiful old buildings. Pity about the rain. We had an enjoyable lunch at a restaraunt on the square - Carol had a bowl of mussells you couldn't jump over. Then we wandered down to the tourist information centre through narrow winding streets and di some window shopping en route of course.

Back to the hotel feeling very weary and decided on a bottle of wine and cheese and ham rolls. The hotel gladly provided knives and plates for us. Early to bed.

Much refreshed and after a very nice breakfast we decided on an escorted bike ride through the town and country. We were the only two on the toour so we had the undevided attention of our guide which was super. The riding was quite easy and Len's fears of not being able to go the distance soon evaporated. We rode through the old city, out to the new part, and then onto the lane alongside the Napoleon Canal. We went 5 kms along the canal to the village of Damme, a historic place associated with the early royalty. It was here that Hilda told us about Napoleon's impact on the area. Firstly he had instigated a census requiring everyone to adopt a surname. They had previously only had one name. Some of the eople took this very lightheartedly and so there were several Fukkers/Shitters/Pissers registered!It was Napoleon who set France (and Europe generally) on the practice of driving on the right hand side of the road. This was because he used his left hand to hold a sword and defend himself and that allowed him room to engage his enemies - at least that is what Hilda told us!

Back in Bruggewe had a light lunch and then took a boat ride through the canals which gave a very interesting aspect to the City and its buildings.
We splashed out for a super dinner that night and decided that in the morning we would take the train back into Brussells to spend some time there before taking the Eurostar back to Ashford.

At the Brussells station we parked the luggage in a locker, and took a tram into the City centre.We got off at the Bourse and walked down a couple of streets until we were into the Grand Square which really does take the breath away. It is a large are with the four sides lines with magnificent building, all superbly maintained. Len went into the Brussells Museum while Carol did a walkabout. After a lunch of Kebabs (!) we took a city bus tour which was great value. It lasted for nearly two hours and visited just about every possible site of interest . The EEC presence is enormous.

And so back to Eurostar and Ashford, where we were surprised to find ourselves off the train and innto our car in no time at all and racing off back along the M20. Home by 10.30.

REFLECTIONS ON THE PAST TWO YEARS

It is almost time to go home. Hard to believe that nearly two years has passed, and even harder to recall all of the various places we have visited during that time.France/Austria/Czech Republic/Iceland/Norway/Egypt plus Cornwall/Yorkshire Dales/Isle of Mull/Isle of Wight and dozens of National Trust and English Heritage properties. I am so pleased that I took the time to record a lot of these visits in my Blogsite and it will be nostalgia gone mad when we view them in time to come.

I have caught up with some old friends. Mike Lebrocq in Bournemouth,John Shapiro in Greatham,Dick Lancaster in Dorset,Clive Bowring at Fritham and of course my brother Peter and his wife Mary plus family. We have made a few good friends also, in particular Ruth and Tim at Wansford who we will greatly miss.

The highlights are hard to pick. Dog sledding on a glacier in Iceland is one. Christmas in Norway with Baards parents and family. The week on the River Nile. Mrs Coates cottage in Yorkshire and the Cobblers Cottage in Cornwall. The week on the Isle of Mull and the hand dived scallops is right in there too.