Blogs from Saint-Raphael, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France, Europe - page 4

Well for over 25 days we had been enjoying the high life-seeing the most beautiful places in Europe, eating delicious food, enjoying great accommodations. All of that came to a its-time-to-face-reality halt our 2nd day in Brugge. Our day started off great when we enjoyed a delicious and lavish breakfast at the B&B which include various types of breads, assortments of jams and jellys, boiled eggs, yogurt, cereal and so forth. They even had this spread this is the new hot item in Belgium which looks like peanut butter but tastes like cookies you eat during Christmas. And, of course, they had the nutella which is an essential part of breakfast in Europe. As Khyati nervously ate, paranoid of the house cat she caught a glance of, we were joined by a young couple, who we ... read more

A quick train trip from Amsterdam and we are in Brugge, Bruges. Next to the train station is an Etap Hotel, a typical Etap, similar to our Formula 1 or Ibis Hotels and only a fraction of the price of the other hotels in Brugge. Brugge, like Venice and Amsterdam is a canal based city and at one time was considered the commercial hub of the world. Historically, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, there doesn’t appear to be any evidence of mankind prior to the fortification of the Old City in the first century. This took place just after Julius Caesar’s victories of the Menapii. Since then a myriad of conquers have lined up to claim Brugge as their own, from the Franks, Napoleon and the Germans used the port, during the First World War for ... read more

Geo: 43.4233, 6.7735 GÜN 38 ,GÜNLERDEN PAZARTESİ: Sabah nasılsa aydınlık ve St Tropez körfezi pırıl pırıl parlıyor… Keyfim yerinde … Rüzgar püfürdek … Masama kuruldum… Notlarımı yazdım… Sonra güneş altında, plajda pinekleme moduna geçtim.. Ne var ki buraların denizi, bizi fazla açmıyor.. Girilmez değil, ama fazla bir heyecan yaratmıyor doğrusu… Nerede benim denizlerim? … nerede burası? … Fakat bu pineklemeye hasret kalmışım…aküyü şarj ettik tekrar… Öğlen, güzel bir salata yedim.. Saat 15:00 gibi yola çıktık. Bugün programda Körfezin güney yakası var.. Bu yakada ,Ste Maxine ,St Raphael,Aygulf,Frejus gibi yerler var.. En uzaktan başlayıp geri dönelim dedik ve doğruca St Raphael'e uzandık. II dünya savaşındaki bombardımanlarda villa ve yalılarını yitiren ST Raphael, Cote D'Azur'un en inn ve en pahalı yeri haline gelmiş. St ... read more

This morning we managed to arrive at the Belfort by 9.20am. There was still a queue, but it wasn't as long as it was at 10.30am yesterday!!! Once the tower opened at 9.30am the queue started to move along reasonably steadily and before long we were climbing the 366 steps to see the bell in the Belfort. Because of the cramped conditions we didn't have to climb the 366 steps all at once - every so often we had to wedge ourselves into a corner to allow people on their way back down to get past! There were also some interesting rooms, for example the old treasury room, to explore at a couple of levels so the 366 steps didn't end up being as strenuous as might have been anticipated. At 83 metres tall, the Belfort ... read more

After the ceremony – to Maastricht Saturday, May 28th, evening After leaving the cemetery, we drove to Maastricht, Netherlands, only about a 40 minute drive. We arrived around 6:30 and checked into our hotel, the Kasteel Vaeshartelt. This was probably the nicest place we stayed on this trip, a three star hotel in an old castle on the outskirts of Maastricht. The rooms are in a new section that has been added and are large by European standards, including the bathroom. After checking in, we went to the bar where I sampled a couple of more beers, Anne was able to get a Bloody Mary, and we ordered a bite to eat. As it turned out, lots of bites. Anne doesn't eat much meat anymore, and there was an appetizer on the menu that listed an ... read more