Blogs from Picardy, France, Europe - page 4

Thursday 14 May 2015 The planning for this wonderful holiday probably started while driving through the Loire four years ago. Today it was underway. The journey really started in Alexandra, Central Otago, New Zealand two days ago when we turned everything off, locked the doors and drove to Christchurch for our flight to Paris. Long haul flights are something to be endured, especially when you live so far from the places you want to visit on the other side of the world. With thirty one hours of travel behind us we landed at Charles de Galle Airport, bleary eyed but full of excitement. Ten out of ten to French Immigration. Our passports were stamped and returned in about thirty seconds. It's that honest Kiwi look, you know. Bags collected, phone call to Eurolease for a pick ... read more

Sunday. Today we had a return to warm, sunny weather, and we set off for a day touring the Loire Valley. First of all we visited the Château Chenonçeau, which bridges the Cher River, and is set in magnificent grounds which include formal and informal gardens, and forest. This château has an interesting history, and the grounds are very peaceful if one walks into the forest a bit. We then proceeded to Amboise for lunch, followed by a tour of the very impressive château/castle which overlooks and dominates the town. What remains is only a fraction of the original great fortress, but includes some amazing features, such as the chapel overhanging the walls, the broad spiral ramps inside the towers, built so that the king/nobles could ride their horses and bring carriages up from the entrances ... read more

France was kind of a last minute decision for me as I had planned to hit the German Christmas markets this year. However, I found out my friends were going and despite being extremely nervous about speaking only about 10 words in French, I decided to meet them in Paris! I took Emirates airline, the A380 (not business class this time) and the economy seats were surprisingly comfortable - usually Emirates seats have some weird bar that pushes out your lower back… I checked in online so was able to get aisle seats and since the line was so long at the baggage drop, I just took my huge backpack on board. I slept pretty well off and on during both flights, though from Doha I was rudely awakened repeatedly by the woman next to me ... read more

Said our goodbyes to Janet and Eric who were also leaving to get their ferry home. We had another full driving day across Normandy to get within spitting distance of our chunnel crossing tomorrow. Back the way we had come to Caen, heading East and then Bob managed to find a route over the Seine bypassing Rouen (a place we avoid when we can as we’ve had a couple of problems there in the past). A far more interesting drive today as we went through rather than round lots of pretty Normandy villages. Pont D’Eveque is always a pleasure to drive through, albeit very slowly today as Monday is market day. It was also tractor day on the roads and we found ourselves behind quite a few along the way. That time of year. We bypassed ... read more

Arrivederci Venice Already I miss the sounds of the gondoliers in the canal beneath our hotel window. In the morning we heard their easy banter as they prepared their gondolas for the day. Later in the day and in the evening, there was often the sound of a piano accordion playing and a tenor singing, “O Solo Mio” to rousing applause by the onlookers. There was always happy chatter and laughter from the constant flood of tourists being taken for their 40-minute ride around the canals. Our home for the past four nights has been the Hotel Lisbona, an old Venetian hotel with velvet wallpaper, tapestries and chandeliers. We were on the third floor and as these hotels don’t have lifts, it wasn’t easy getting the luggage, or ourselves up and down. This is definitely not ... read more