CrossCountryChristina

Leaving Nice we went to another medieval town called St. Paul de Vence. This is another cobblestone walled town that is pretty much an artist community. I loved it here!!! Just loved it. Art and sculpture everywhere and the shops in this place were full of artists as well. (I bought a handcrafted leather purse here - the artisan was sewing them in the shop - if only I had room for more!!). I was so happy to have several hours here and I suppose if I had more I would have spent a lot of money. Lunch was overlooking the view of the countryside and the Mediterranean in the distance, a great salad and great wine. If you are ever in this area, I highly recommend a stop in to this town. On to Avignon. ... read more

Asti I spent time in the morning before leaving Venice, I walked by a glass sculpture about 5 times before I decided I just can’t justify the cost and the hassle of carrying it home. Sigh. I will forget about it some day… and then headed to the train station to be sure I was understanding my travel details. Without belaboring the point, I do not understand why they advised I take such a late train to Bologna (there were several that left earlier!) although there was a comment, if I understood it properly, about a train strike. I managed to get on the right train, transfer to the next correct train but had to share a tiny space with 5 people and one older gentleman who alternated between snoring or singing along to his iPod. ... read more

I had some internet connection issues and so this is all being summarized very late. But better late than never!! It also takes a long time to sort through the hundreds of pictures I end up taking. I have to say a netbook is nice because it is small and lightweight but it can be a real hassle to do any decent work on one. The high speed train (TGV) took me to Paris. My reception in Paris was pretty good - this taxi driver was super friendly, even teaching me how to speak some French on the way to hotel (and offered his services as a personal tour guide but lets not get in to that…) First night in Paris - well, there really isn’t that much to comment on except that it is a ... read more

We left Cape Sounion regretfully because it was just so nice. Off to Athens we went with a few stops to try to snap pictures and then the hassle of Athens and traffic. Our last day in Greece we walked around a bit again, some last minute purchases and decided to go back to the same restaurant where we had the most wonderful lamb dish at the start of the trip. It was "lamb in paper" which was (I believe) leg of lamb, or possibly shank? with potatoes, some onions and peppers (I think they were those light green bannana peppers) and feta cheese all wrapped up in parchment paper and baked. The lamb is so tender you don't really need a knife, and everything is flavored so well. Of course a plate of olives ... read more

We arrived in Delphi after driving over more beautiful mountains. It was a long drive from Kalambaka- about 4 hours - but the roads were all in good shape. Thankfully. The major road was mostly a two-lane road and for half of it snaked it's way over the mountain - twisty and turny hair-pin turns with plenty of cars, buses and trucks. Not wanting to make like a local and pass trucks and buses on blind curves, I happily puttered along behind slow vehicles until I could see plenty far ahead. One road-side stop had my first experience with the infamous squat toilet that is seen in many other places- for those of you reading this that are not familiar with this, it is essentially a hole in the floor... I think you can figure out ... read more