England and France - Three

Southern France  July 13-24, 2013

Just south of Cannes

In only a few hours of driving you can go from the middle of the Alps to the Riviera. We drove south    through the Italian countryside. Once along the Mediterranean your driving choices are crowded freeway with limited views and culture, or seaside road with manic traffic, motorcycles and scooters passing left, right and sideways, plus maze-like transits through small towns. It was kind of fun and terrible at the same time. We did a little of both routes hoping that France would be less hectic than Italy.  We stopped for a much needed break in Monte Carlo, Monaco, and had a snack while people and yacht watching. Further down the French coast we found red rocks that looked just like Sedona!

The town of Vence

Our home base for these two days was a very nice B&B with a pool near Vence.  Our only issue was the last few miles of narrow winding road to get to and from it each day. We spent a day at the beach and I got to swim in the Mediterranean. The women in France all wear two-piece suits. Mary was usually the only one on every beach in a one piece, except for two ladies in their 80s! (and of course there were a few with only the bottom portion of their bikinis on).

Our B&B host suggested we take a small mountain road through the Gorge du Verdon on our way to Provence.  After the winding and crowded waterfront road we weren’t excited about a winding mountain road, but we are sure glad we took their suggestion.  The Gorge itself was not so wide but it was deep and the rock formations on the way reminded us of the Sierras. In fact, France reminded us of California in a lot of places. It was WAY more mountainous than we expected. Not too far from the gorge, we discovered a small medieval town tucked into a hillside called Moustiers des Saint Marie.  It was a fantastic setting with a chapel tucked high into the rock-cliff and a spring-fed stream running right through the middle of town. We really liked this place which is known for it’s ceramics. Beyond the gorge the river flowed into beautiful lake.

In Provence, we stayed in Greoux les Bains, a cute little town with lots of cafes.  Nice small hotel, narrow stairway to third floor, no-air conditioning, but a very large un-heated pool that I appreciated very much. We had a wonderful drive through the blooming lavender and sunflower fields but we missed the baths. We were also happy to see a wide variety of crops in France, but still no wildlife. Our only sightings were two foxes.

I love the small towns that look like they haven’t changed in a few hundred years.  The economy of these places is very interesting.  I realize that new development and large cities keep the countries going, but there is something very satisfying about being in a small town of maybe 500 people where the stores, houses and small businesses have been in their same location and operated at essentially the same volume of business for hundreds of years.

Rennes les Bains

Speaking of small towns our next stop was a hot springs hang out during the hippie days.  Rennes Les Bains is a very small town in the foothills of the Pyrenees.  The natural hot spring is still accessible just outside town, but there is a developed warm pool in town where most people go.  While we were there, remnants of the hippie heyday were everywhere - a small open-air market, young nomadic singles and couples with kids, etc.  Mt Bugarash is nearby and has some of the same legends and aura as Mt Shasta. Mary and I hiked about half way up.  It is a very cool place.  

Carcassonne is a fully restored medieval town complete with towers and moat.  It is very   We stayed overnight just outside the walls of the ancient city so we were able to hang around into the night and enjoy a lovely meal.  I liked Carcassonne very much.

Carcassonne

touristy but also very great.

After a long drive on the wonderful and expensive French highway system, we arrived in Chartres, home to the wonderful and magical Cathedral of Chartres.  Our hotel room had a good view of the front the Cathedral that dominates the town and surrounding area.  The Cathedral dates from the 11^th century, has a labyrinth in the floor and some of the most amazing stained glass and flying buttresses.  At night during summer they project a laser light show on three sides of the cathedral and a few other buildings in town.  On TV or the web the show looks pretty hokey, but in-person it is really spectacular.  Since the sun sets so late, the shows go late into the night. We were able to see it lit up from our bed.

Chartres Cathedral

Speaking of late sunsets…I had always thought that Paris was at about the same latitude as San Francisco, but it is more like Minneapolis. Almost all of the major cities in northern and central Europe are in the higher latitudes. Florida actually lines up with Saudi Arabia!

Our last stop was Paris.  We got to Paris the day the Tour De France was ending there. We watched the finale from our hotel room rather than fight the crowds on the Champs Elysees. Our last two days in Paris were very hot - 95 degrees!  We toured around the city and caught all the major sights, but it was very crowded in late July so we only got into one Museum, the Rodin, which is one of my favorites.

After a wonderful flight to Atlanta on an Air France Boeing 777, and a short hop on Delta to Sarasota (SRQ) we were very glad to be back in our new home.  By the way, Air France had great meals, fservice, free drinks and smiling happy flight attendants in economy - what a pleasant surprise.   

Logistical Suggestions:  If you drive in Europe, we highly recommend a GPS. They aren’t perfect but they are great for roundabout directions and if you make a wrong turn they just pick-up from wherever you are. The French freeways are expensive, but worth it for the time saving and they have great and plentiful rest and service areas. It was not any fun driving in England! Being on the wrong side of the road, on the wrong side of the car is a challenge. Add tiny roads with hedges or walls right up to the asphalt and you’ll find Mary hyperventilating.

Thoughts on Food:  We were thankful not to see a lot of American fast food places.  We saw none in the smaller towns and only MacDonald’s, Burger King and KFC in the larger cities. England had very little vegetables on most menus (only peas), and almost no salads.  France had great salads, but they were expensive relative to other items on the menus. France, of course, had generally very good food, one surprising thing was that pizza and pasta were everywhere in France. We never thought we could get tired of wine, bread and cheese, but I think we did it on this trip. A glass of wine in France was often as cheap as a cup of tea, so how can you turn that down?