Blogs from Valence, Rhône-Alpes, France, Europe
August 2nd 2011
Well, it's our last day so we just spent the day close to home. Did some cleaning, mowed the lawn, ran. Went to a small lake nearby but when we got there, we found out it was closed. It was a private lake but you can go in for a small fee (if it had been open). So, we headed back to Valence and ended up finding a beautiful park called Parc de Jouvet. It was huge with lots of big old trees, a fountain (of course, every park has a fountain), and a little train that went around a track through the park. There were also lots of beautiful gardens. The kids played for a long time here and even made some French friends. We've enjoyed our holiday here so much and are sad to ... read more
July 30th 2011
Well, today we went into Valence and (surprise!) it was market day. Actually, this one we were expecting. There is a market in Valence every day but the biggest one is on Saturday. We found cheese, pre-moldy cheese, extra-moldy cheese, and mold with essence of cheese. Plus bread, olives, skinned rabbits (eyeballs and buck teeth intact), plucked duck and chicken with head still on, and other local specialties. We were looking for used novels in English (Lori is fresh out) and t-shirts in French (Nigel is fresh out...just kidding, we need souvenirs). Well, there were almost no English books (just Lord of the Flies and a used dictionary), and all the t-shirts were in English (see photo below). The t-shirts were either British themed or American themed strangely. That the English words were either randomly chosen ... read more
July 23rd 2011
After a long day yesterday (and we didn't even cycle 109km up a mountain...), we needed a day of rest. So, we got some laundry done and went into town (Valence) for a walk around the shops on the lovely pedestrian-only cobblestone paths. Then we drove to nearby Tournon sur Rhône and did another walk-about of the streets and took in some gorgeous scenery and history. It was very relaxing and nice to not be in the car for too long. Nigel mostly (I helped a little) enjoyed a bottle of Saint-Peray sparkling wine (champagne from St-Peray). We actually biked by the vineyard where the grapes come from. On our outing today, we saw some grapes growing on vines close up and later tried to buy wine from that vineyard (Paul Jaboulet Aine) but were not ... read more
July 16th 2011
Well, the journey was long as expected. The flights were good and we all managed to get a few hours sleep. Each seat had its own TV with a remote/controller and we could each choose to watch TV shows, movies, play games, etc. on our own screen. It was pretty cool! Needless to say, the flight went fast! Connected in Schipol and recognized the airport right away. Had a 3 hour stopover but got lucky and Nigel and I got bulkhead seats for that flight so were really able to stretch out our legs. Too bad we didn't get that for the long flight... Arrived in Lyon and found the car. Drove to St. Peray using the GPS. We must have done something wrong though near the house cuz we ended up driving up a small ... read more
July 11th 2011
It's that time of the year again. Our annual trip abroad. This year, we are swapping houses with the Quer family (Regis et Fabienne) from St-Peray, a small village outside of Valence in the Rhones-Alpes region of France. We're flying via Amsterdam to Lyon where we'll pick up the Quer's Opel Zafira (think Chevrolet HHR) and drive the hour to Valence and St-Peray. We'll be watching the Tour de France live, on the 18th stage (Alpes D'Huez) on July 22. I think it might be close to Grenoble on this map. Watch for us on TV. I will stick out at 6'4" with a bright orange Holland** baseball cap. (Plus I'll be the only qui ne fume pas des Gitanes ni Galoises). The travel blog software has changed this year. Looks like we'll be able to ... read more
Valence and Cruas – the mistral arrived...
Published: February 2nd 2011Europe » France » Rhône-Alpes » Valence
February 2nd 2011
We departed before 10am on an overcast and chilly morning after saying our goodbyes to Chris and Phil as we weren't sure we'd see them again. Phil told us with a big grin that he'd learnt more about drinking in the last 3 days than he had in 40 years at Whitbread. He had been introduced to Mike cocktails and Mike was pleased to hear this snippet! We were really pleased to have met them and had such good fun – we hoped we'd see them again. As we motored down river the sun made an appearance and we took the roof down, bundling up in jumpers to keep warm. Becky and I behaved like tourist geeks looking out for the 'sights' in the Rhone navicarte and photographing them as we passed. We saw the three ... read more
July 21st 2008
17.7. Lyonia korkealta ja matalalta Aamulla katseltiin Lyonin keskustaa, korkealta, uskaltauduttiin tosi isoon maailmanpyörään. Kaikkia taisi kaduttaa ensimmäisen nousun aikana - kiikkerän vekottimen varassa ylhäällä tuntui huteralta. Seuraavilla kierroksilla uskalsi jo katsella maisemia ja ihailla komeaa kaupunkia. Lare intoili, että pilviin asti mennään! Iina haikaili kenkäalennusmyyntien perään, mutta urheasti pysyi niistä poissa. Lare irroitteli leikkikentällä. Varmaan olisi kaupungissa paljon muutakin ollut, me jatkoimme kuitenkin matkaa. Lare antoi Ilelle Henkan-hoito-neuvoja: "sitä voi myös köröttää". Jokiosuudella viiniviljelmiä kasvoi rinteillä. Kanavaosuudet olivat tylympää teollisuusmaisemaa. Illan suussa saavuttiin Viennen kaupunkiin ja löydettiin laituripaikka. Liikenne joella oli melkoisen hiljaista, mutta proomut ja pitkät hotellilai... read more
The Benefits or Trans-Continental Golf and the French Countryside
Published: September 28th 2008Europe » France » Rhône-Alpes » Valence
April 28th 2008
The Fastest Way to Cross the Countryside I sat in my seat, filled with excitement of the extremely overwhelming kind, as they pulled in and out. I had heard of these majestic machines, these gigantic contraptions that move as quietly as a mouse (or, to remove all hyperbole, as quietly as tiptoeing elephants) and drift as though they are flying over the land at speeds significantly faster than I have ever drifted. There in the train station they seemed no more than regular trains, albeit sleekly designed for there is no other way to be seen in Paris, and yet I was still thrilled to be in their presence. The excitement had to wait a while though as I had somehow neglected to look too thoroughly at my booking (or, perhaps more likely, I had simply ... read more
December 25th 2007
25 décembre 2007 Pour ceux qui ne sont pas au courant je me suis lancé dans une exploration de 3 mois du continent Nord-Americain. Tout a commencé le 25 decembre 2007 vers 22h.Aprés une journée de Noël assez intense je me resouds à faire mes bagages...2h30 avant le depart! L'histoire est reglée en moins d'une heure.Mon frére Xavier passe me récupérer avec sa copine Caroline et ils nous restent une bonne heure pour se faire payer un thé nocturne chez mon grand ami Fabien qui habite à deux pas de la gare de Valence. 26 décembre 2007 00h50 train de nuit pour Paris-Austerlitz 06h45 RER pour Roissy-Charles de Gaulle 10h00 décollage de Paris 11h20 atterissage et escale a Zurich 12h50 décollage pour Montreal 15h15 (heure locale) atterissage à Montreal aprés 8h d'avion et quelques 6000km parcourus ... read more
