Blogs from Lower Normandy, France, Europe - page 34

Normandy Europe » France » Normandy By Kurt DiMay 25th 2007Kurt & Di.... read more

After saying goodbye to half of our California friends in Lisbon, Lindsay and I left for Paris. It was my first time in Paris and Lindsay hadn’t been there since her freshman year of college (before we even started dating, 8 years ago, wow). We stayed at a nice hotel called Grand Hotel Leveque about a 20 minute walk away from the Eiffel Tower, which was nice because we were right in the center of all of the major sights. The street our hotel was on was pedestrian only and made up of a mix of small grocery stores, restaurants, and cafes, so it was perfect for us. I think next time we go back we’ll probably stay there again. During our last trip to France in February, one of the highlights was food. I ... read more

Monday we took another trip to the Pig park; this time one of the mama pigs had had babies! They were so cute. Just as amusing and entertaining as the baby pigs was watching Gerald, the pig park ranger, interacting with the mama pig and her babies. It is incredible how comfortable he is with the pigs, and vice versa. There are significantly fewer pigs in the park now than there was when I first visited the park five weeks ago. They have been slowly selling the pigs to other parks, and selling some to people to be consumed. There are only about a dozen or so pigs left in the park, and soon the park will close because of the owner of the land does not want the pigs there anymore. Gerald is obviously ... read more

Our 61/2 week expedition to Portugal started when we left Birmingham at 7.40 and had a smooth trip to Dover to catch the Sea France ferry to Calais. We chose this route to France not because it was necessarily the most convenient but by far the cheapest, £85 return for the campervan and us. It was the first time we had crossed the channel by ferry since the tunnel was available and found it very relaxing, although the sea was calm! There followed an afternoon’s driving on the French motorways. The Morello performed very well maintaining the speed limit of 130km/hour most of the time although I did have to change down on some of the hills. We spent the night 30 km south west of Rouen on an excellent campsite outside a typical Brittany village ... read more

Wow. I just finished four of the most fun days of my life living waaaay above my general social class and income bracket thanks to the intense generosity of friends from highschool and their subsequent, equally kind, connections. I'm talking, of course, of my time in the ski resort village of Meribel. Not sure what Meribel is? Let me give you an intro: it's in the center of 3, interconnected, skiable valleys containing the biggest area of skiiable terrian in the world, it boasts 190 lifts, has FOUR Club Meds, was home to the alpine events of the 1992 Winter Olypics, and is currently home to Lindsay, Vicky, and Helen who are 2003 grads of Mount Doug Sr. Secondary in Victoria and amazing hostesses! I really don't know where to start, so I guess I'll ... read more