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Apr 14, 2018 - By plane, bus, and Metro - but No Upgrade
I started on the United upgrade list at position 4, moved to 10 by bedtime Thursday night, and ended in the unlucky 13 spot. By a few hours before our flight, all 36 fully paying Polaris class passengers had checked in, dashing the hopes of all of us on the ugrade list. I'm glad I at least had purchased Economy Plus seating when I bought my ticket in January. As is usual these days, every seat on the plane was assigned. The flight was uneventful, except for the announcement just as we were over the Atlantic asking if there was a "licensed...
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Apr 4, 2018 - Our time in Bordeaux come to an end
The morning brings once again rain …. Today the agenda is to go back into Libourne and the local market which is considered one of if not the best in Europe. Here in the square in front of the Hotel de Ville are stalls of food and wares. Some are covered by a walkway that goes around the circumference of the square. In addition, there is a permanent Marche Couvert or covered market with many meat, fish and cheese vendors. This is as usual was once a fortified town but as it was also so a port a great place to tax merchants. They were taxed...
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Apr 3, 2018 - Sunshine and the wonderful Saint Emilioi
Hoorah … we awake to sun and blue sky. Fantastic as this is one of the days we have been looking forward to … Saint Emilion. Our day begins with a walking tour and wine taste, of course, and then a free afternoon. In this glorious sunshine it is going to be awesome. We are now on the right bank with different soil and the weather cooler and wetter, a perfect climate for Merlot. Unlike the other appellations that were granted the 1855 classification this area rerates the wineries every 10 years. Some move up some move down. However a few...
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Apr 1, 2018 - Granada to St Jean Pied de Port via Madrid and Pamplona
This morning we said goodbye to our tour group and had a couple of hours to kill before our transfer to Granada Airport. We visited the Monasterio de San Jerónimo.A 16th Century monastery. It was enormous are quite beautiful inside and out. Then it was a day of transfers - cab to Granada Airport, flights to Madrid and Pamplona and taxi shuttle to St Jean Pied de Port. Oscar, our driver, pointed out areas on the Camino that we'll pass through in the next few days during the drive and gave us a few tips which put my mind at ease about...
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Mar 30, 2018 - Up the Estuary
This morning we sail up the Garonne north of Bordeaux toward the Atlantic. Our stop will be just past the Confluence or point where the Garonne and Dordogne meet and become the Girone Estuary. As we are sailing all morning we have a talk on the rest of the itinerary by Sharon our Cruise Director and then one on the Estuary itself by Sarah one of our guides who is from Ireland. This is the Aquitaine region which is one of 13 regions of France and the largest with over 6 million people. The Garonne River is the largest in SW France over 350...
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Mar 29, 2018 - Sailing the Garonne
A glass of wine, time to do the blog all in the comfort of the boats lounge. The rain subsides a bit but not so much that we are tempted to head outside. There are still people from last week’s cruise on board for lunch which apparently we can do next week as our flight is not till 3 pm. So after a while we wander down to the dining room for lunch until our rooms are ready. The rooms are very nice but not as large as the Emerald but still lots of space to unpack and then shove your suitcases under the beds. With the narrower boat our beds...
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Mar 26, 2018 - We are here now can you turn up the heat please
After the usual last minute running around worried about what we have forgotten we are off to the airport with our chauffeur Eddie and arrive in plenty of time. We upgraded to Option plus at the last minute for the long leg and will be glad we did. Priority check-in, dinner, drinks, wide seats and extra leg room. A light lunch and we are off to Calgary a bit early. There is a new International terminal in Calgary and they shuttle us to it … the one flaw is there is only one choice for food other than fast food. Having said that the one...
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Mar 25, 2018 - Winter Break with my Parents
After my visit to Cambridge (see the previous post), I returned to France, where I was able to spend the rest of the week with my parents. (and to try to impress them with my French-speaking abilities!) Despite worries about strikes, we got through our travels just fine in the end and it was a delight to be able to see them on the other side of the Atlantic. I spent a day with each of them separately in Aix (they came and left on different days due to work schedules), and in between, while we were all together, we visited Marseille and...
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Feb 27, 2018 - My soccer tour of Southern France
In many ways, soccer can explain the world. It’s just a game, but indeed it’s a game played in every country by all manner of people. A soccer team can reflect its city’s politics, its history, and its soul. I could go on further, but I would perhaps risk belaboring the point - and besides, you probably already understand what I’m trying to say. I have an obsession with life, and thus, I have an obsession with soccer. In France, of course, that latter obsession extends to much of the country. In every little town there’s some kind of local...
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Feb 25, 2018 - Bonifacio:Corsica
The drive south to our new lodgings was also full of surprises. We may have started off in 8 degree temperatures but by the time we had travelled the 3 hour route we were down to -1 to +3 for much of the trip. None of this concerned us because we happily travelled through unexpected snow flurries which created a gorgeous landscape. Road conditions were a little dicey but no real problem. We were starting to wonder if and when we would ever encounter real sunshine like home then, as if on cue, unexpected sightings of gum trees and wattles...
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Feb 21, 2018 - Bastia: Corsica
The short drive to Livorno went effortlessly and allowed time for coffee and pastries in the town centro. A walk around was next during which we checked out the local ancient fort and some local streets. Being a Saturday it was market day and the place was buzzing. Stalls covered numerous streets which was a little overwhelming until we came across the main attraction. A massive building incorporating even more stalls. No matter the overall size the markets were packed with shoppers so we took off. After some minor confusion we finally...
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Feb 15, 2018 - On Through France
Another good day up into France. Changed our ferry booking to 6am on Saturday morning so only a day late overall returning to the UK. Did use a couple of French toll roads to speed things up around Biarritz & Bordeaux. Mileage today - 383 Mileage to date - 5,015
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