Oct 24, 2018 - Eze & Monaco

I took another tour. My friend Martha insisted I must see Eze while in France, and I have to admit it was the best of the hilltop cities I saw here. Not quite so commercialized, however there were some shops and I did buy a ring and a larimar carved turtle. But the highlight was making my way up all the steps to the cacti garden at the very top and the beautiful views of the Mediterranean. The castle, like many others in the area was destroyed by King Lous XIV to make sure the area would not use it as a defense against him. At the top I...

Oct 23, 2018 - Plumbing, Beach, And The Little White Train

After a busy day with the tour group and all the nearby cities we visited, and my evening walkabout. There are so many interesting streets and little shops tempting a tourist to stop and browse. I left the hotel late and slowly made my way down to the waterfront where I found the little white train that took me to iscover the oldest settled section of Nice. The train is the best way to see it as it is quite a way up, and up to the top of a hill that interestingly sits in the middle of Nice. First settled 3 BC by Celtic/ligurians. A...

Oct 22, 2018 - Tour From Nice: Cannes, Grasse, Gordon, and St. Paul de Vance

Like all multi destination tours, part I liked and part was disappointing. I lucked into a great group on my tour. A jolly family fivesome from Scotland and a mother/daughter from NY City. Cannes without the film festival was a little dull. Unexpectedly Grasse and the visit to the famous Fragonard Parfumeur was really enjoyable. We learned more then I ever thought possible about how perfumes are made, and the combinations used. We had smelling contests to try to recognized the different scents. And best of all was 40% reduction in...

Oct 21, 2018 - Sweet and Bitter Traveling Experiences

Several days ago I learned my brother was sick with pneumonia in NY City. Today I learned he has passed away. Nothing can be more frustrating and sad then to be off enjoying yourself to learn of a horrible family crisis. I had at least been able to FaceTime him, but not able to hold his hand. My first time in France and I was immolized with sadness. It was only in the late afternoon I got myself together to take a walk. I ended up near the port where there is an hour boat cruise around the Nice Harbour that I decided to take. I overheard...

Oct 20, 2018 - Nice, France: My First Adventure in France

For me solo traveling in a country I don’t speak the language very well (or not at all), transportation from place to place is a scary feeling. I started worrying last night about getting from Diano Marina to Nice. I read some scary blogs about the boarder town, Ventimglia, where passengers often have to change trains going to or from Italy and France. Many immigrants trying to get into France, and few trains laste at night. Weekends usually means no ticket agents present and having to deal with the machine. In fact I offered my taxi driver...

Oct 17, 2018 - Vieux Port. [weather; wet, really rainy and partly cloudy]. My last day :-(, :-(

Good almost trying to dry out before the next rains hit - morning. My last day is always hard. Saying goodbye to Milena, and her unbelievable life, brings tears of happiness first, because I will always be thankful and that she is so much a part of my life for so many years — like 40 years to be precise. Grateful, always, because I can always return as long as she is sailing the Mediterranean with Jacques, and his lovely Marina. So rather than crying because I am saying goodbye for this year..... I choose to be happy and celebrate her being...

Oct 17, 2018 - Saint-Sever

Saint-Sever was a great little village with a fantastic atmosphere. Friendly, colourful and quaint. Our hotel was modest but with a 'big heart'. It was nice just to relax with drinks and dinner on the kerbside among medieval buildings and very little traffic. This was a great stopover before heading for the Spanish border the following morning.

Oct 16, 2018 - Vieux Port. [weather: Beaufort 7: ugly, wet, raining and lots of wind]

Ok.... I thought yesterday’s rains were bad, but it is nothing like the soggy, deluging gallons of water that are being dumped on Cannes today! According to the weather, this dark, dismal wetness with be here until 8:00pm tonight. Going outside is frightful —- noplace for man nor beast. (pic) With all that said, Marina turned the heater on in the salon, and I was set up for the day. Marina, braving the elements, had to go out to grab some food for Nelson, and drop the laundry off at the cleaners....they had the benefit of having a drier....

Oct 16, 2018 - Oradour-sur-Glane

A stop at Oradour-sur-Glane provided us with a stark reminder of the horrors of war. The largest massacre on French soil occurred there in June 1944 when Nazi SS troops shot and burned 642 men, women and children in revenge for the killing of a German officer. The whole village was then torched with the remains now a memorial and testament to the atrocities committed during WWII. Walking through the ghost town with scorched sewing machines, pots, pans, bikes and cars scattered amongst the ruins of homes, shops, garages and cafes definitely...

Oct 15, 2018 - Angers

Further down the coast we called in to Mont-Saint-Michel before heading inland to our next stop at Angers. The 13thC Mont-St-Michel still remains spectacular although we preferred the way it was ten years ago without all the paths and roads crossing the causeway. It has become far too commercialised. Angers was a great town with a gorgeous fortress dominating everything, even church steeples for a nice change. Originally a palace for the Plantagenet dynasty in the 10thC it was transformed into a castle-fortress in 1230 and remains in...

Oct 15, 2018 - Vieux Port. [weather: the rains, wind and cold weather returns!] Dr. Jan & husband are dinner guests

Good morning, from below deck on Milena again. The rains are predicting to return intermittently today, and be continuous tomorrow. At least today it is shattered, hopefully and not constant. By comparing to two ...’Millie lamas’, we are in/out of green to red: Beaufort 5 to 6. (pic) Marina is trying so desperately to get all the laundry caught up and dried, before the rains descend on us again. With a little luck, I can get my stuff washed and line dried outside, before it is too late. The morning escaped all three of us, on our separate...

Oct 14, 2018 - Cherbourg

To complete our exploration of Normandy's WWII sites we stopped at the German batteries at Longues-sur-Mer, Maisy and d'Azeville while on the way to Cherbourg. All were fascinating but the expansive one at Longues was amazing. The visual remains of Germany's Atlantic Wall defence system is remarkable. Cherbourg was more memorable for blustering wind. By jutting out into the Atlantic it was vulnerable and we could only imagine the conditions during a winter storm. Sailors must love the situation because the harbour areas were full of their...