PROVENCE AND THE CÔTE D’AZUR

FRANCE BLOG 06

Monday Sept 18, 2016

Wow! This all-too-short Mad Midlife romp through La Belle France has gone by far too fast. And today, our second-to-last-day in this truly lovely country, is going by even faster. Fasten your seatbelts, folks, because we’re currently enjoying a high-speed, 975km ride on a TGV bullet-train … due to arrive in Paris less than six hours from now!

We’ve been packing it in, these past few days, seeing as much as we can of stunning Provence with its Côte d’Azur (azure coast) … its balmy Mediterranean climate … its magic seascapes, celebrity playgrounds and medieval villages. Forgive me if I just list the highlights:

THURSDAY: We cried “Au revoir!” to the Amadeus Symphony in Lyon, and travelled south by coach, stopping first in the picturesque village of St Remy de Provence – its Roman interior encircled by what’s left of a 14th century wall. This is where Van Gogh painted Starry Night, Nostradamus was born and Dr Albert Schweitzer was held prisoner. Our second stop, in the afternoon, was the magnificent hilltop village of Les Baux de Provence – with dinner and bed that night at another beautifully restored old villa, in woodlands outside the lively feudal village of Noves.

FRIDAY: Our sightseeing kicked off in an impressive Cistercian abbey, the Notre-Dame de Senanque, snuggled into a nearby valley and surrounded (in season) by vast fields of purple lavender. Next on our to-do list was Gordes, the most beautiful hilltop village in all of France, with its white-stone houses, its labyrinth of ‘calades’ (narrow cobblestone streets), and its famous-name artists. Last but not least was the picturesque village of Isle sur La Sorgue – built on islands in the middle of the Sorgue River, and famous for its huge waterwheels and its untold antiques shops.

SATURDAY: We grabbed a morning stop in the quaint French town of Aix en Provence (aix pronounced like our letter x) – birthplace of painter Paul Cezanne – to wander down the Cours Mirabeau (a wide avenue built on top of the town’s medieval ramparts) and ogle the leafy boulevards, gurgling fountains, public squares and weekend markets. Later, we found ourselves in Cannes (film-festival capital of the world) and, finally, the resort city of Nice, with its spectacular coastline … its elegant palm-laced Promenade des Anglais … and its Old Town mansions painted pink, ochre, tangerine and lemon.

SUNDAY: Continuing along the French Riviera, we took a ziggy-zaggy road up the cliff-face to Eze – an isolated village that clings to a rocky spike towering above the sea. There, we huffed-&-puffed up the narrow cobblestone streets, browsed the dinky little shops, and soaked up the heart-stopping views. One final visit awaited us that afternoon: the glitzy harbour of Monte Carlo in the tiny principality of Monaco – famous for its super yachts, Formula One racing and Casino. We checked out the royal palace, wandered the royal gardens, and followed a little of the Grand Prix Circuit in our fast-revving coach.

For our last leisurely evening in Nice, we roamed the crowded Promenade, dined at local bistros, and witnessed the sobering memorial to those killed by that mad truck-driver a couple of months ago.

SADLY, ALL GOOD THINGS COME TO AN END … and our Mad Midlife adventure in France is almost over. We’ll sit down tonight to a Farewell Dinner at Paris’ famous Chez Jenny restaurant – and tomorrow we’ll part company. Those staying on in Europe will head in different directions … and the rest of us will transfer to Charles de Gaulle Airport for our midday departure on Singapore Airlines.

New Zealand here we come!

Is everybody happy? You bet your life we are!

PEOPLE-NEWS: Feathers are flying and quackers are quacking as the last three Yellow Duck are handed out …

• Bev hobbled off with our ‘Face-Plant’ Award – after tripping as she entered a small shop in Eze, and going flat on her face. Ouch! If you ask Bev nicely, she might show you her bruises …
• Trisha swam away with our ‘Surf’s Up’ Award – after bravely taking a dip in the mighty Med. The first wave flipped her onto her back on the slippery stones … and the second wave rolled her over, adding insult to injury, before she could crawl ashore …
• Jillian sailed away with our ‘Noah’s Ark’ Award – after failing to note the direction of her shower-nozzle and successfully flooding their bathroom, their corridor, and, in fact, the entire hotel in ankle-deep water. (Okay, maybe it wasn’t the entire hotel. And maybe it wasn’t ankle-deep. But there was a lot of water sloshing around on their carpet …)
• Derek picked up a nomination for our ‘Swinging Shingles’ Award – for partying hard to the very end (including being seen skipping down the streets of Paris in his socks!), despite suffering from a dose of painful shingles  …

Yours bloggedly – JOHN

P.S. If you’d like to read earlier chapters in this Travel Blog, just click on ‘PREVIOUS’ or ‘OLDER POSTS’ – either at the start or finish of this entry. If you want to receive future Mad Midlife Travel Blogs in your INBOX, just sign-up (top-right) for your free Email Subscription!

CRUISING #2: ON THE RIVER RHONE

(Apology: I have been trying for three days to upload this blog post with its pix – but weak internet reception on the ship and in the remote part of Provence where we’re now staying, has made that just about impossible. Sorry ‘bout dat, folks! John)

FRANCE BLOG 05

Wednesday Sept 14, 2016

Today’s our last full day aboard the Amadeus Symphony, and we’re motoring northwards (upriver) on the Rhone, heading back towards Lyon. We had a three-course lunch a few hours ago. We’ve just been scoffing afternoon tea in the ship’s Panorama Bar: hot waffles, ice-cream, plus chocolate or red-cherry-sauce. And look, I’ve gotta tell you, this river-cruising is ohhh-sooo-luverly.

Try to picture us gliding almost silently along vast stretches of blue-green waterway … at times surrounded by dark wooded hills, at other times by late-summer fields of greens and yellows, and, more often than not, with vineyards carpeting the dusty slopes further back. Try to picture countless towns and villages slipping past … nice-on-the-eye in a French kind of way, mostly old-with-pockets-of-new, a required church-plus-steeple or bell-tower in the foreground, and bits of a ruined old castle blending into the hilly background.

Try to picture other shipping – an occasional barge or tanker, plus cruise ships of all shapes and sizes – passing us both ways on this busy channel … and the endless locks (30 or 40 of them on this cruise alone) that we’ve had to check in and out of as we’ve made our way upstream or down. And try to picture people waving at us from both banks … people walking their dogs, riding their bikes, fishing, tending their gardens, and just standing there … making us feel welcome.

Last time we spoke, we’d just spent Saturday on the River Saone in the stunning Beaujolais Region. By Sunday, we were back in Lyon, then cruising south on the Rhone. And by Monday, we’d reached St Etienne des Sorts. From there, we drove out to a superbly-preserved Roman aqueduct – Pont du Gard – which, for more than 2000 years, supplied water to vast tracts of southern France. And we followed that up with a visit to a picturesque little medieval town – Uzes – famous for its fetching towers, tiled roofs and narrow lanes.

That same afternoon, we found ourselves in Avignon. This name may do nothing for you, but it reminded lots of us Kiwis of the folksong we learned in primary school – ‘Sur le pont d’Avignon’ – about the old stone bridge which spans the river. We saw that self-same bridge, ogled the city’s superbly preserved medieval walls and explored its majestic Palais des Papes (Palace of the Popes).

The ship was swept by toe-tapping hand-clapping ‘Gypsy Fever’ that night – in the form of a talented trio, two of whom were unbelievably fast on their Spanish guitars.

Tuesday’s sightseeing took us to the picturesque Camargue region (near the Mediterranean Coast), where nature seems to reign – including wild white horses, handsome fighting-bulls and beautiful pink flamingos. Then on to the medieval old town of Arles, that boasts a superb Roman arena plus a tonne of other old stuff.

Which brings me to today, when we plunged ashore at the riverside town of Viviers, and enjoyed a countryside-drive through acre after acre of lavender bushes (past flowering, sadly) to one of France’s most spectacular geographical wonders: the Ardeche Gorge. Our coach followed the river as it winds its way through this stunning 30km canyon – carved by waterpower through limestone rock. One of several photo-op-stops was at the famous Pont d’Arc – an amazing natural stone bridge that spans the river.

We rejoined the ship at Le Pouzin, and are now (as I’ve already hinted) eating our way back to Lyon. Tonight is the captain’s Gala Dinner, following which we will pack our bulging bags and snore the night away!

STILL TO COME: We say a sad “Au revoir!” to the Amadeus Symphony and travel by coach to … well … I’m not gonna tell you. See if you can guess? It’s where Van Gogh painted Starry Night, Nostradamus was born and Dr Albert Schweitzer was held prisoner. Watch this space for the answer …

PEOPLE-NEWS: Bollards have featured high, lately, as two more hand-picked quacky Yellow Ducks move on …

• Betty scrambled into our record books with the ‘Little Miss Muffet’ Award. You know those big round silver bollard-things that they sometimes install in roadways and town-squares to keep cars out? The things that can be raised or lowered as necessary with some kind of electronic code? Well, Little Miss Muffet planted her weary ‘tuffet’ on one of those the other day and, instead of staying upright, it promptly sank to road-level, depositing Betty (in a very undignified fashion) on her bottom, legs in the air. She (every bit a lady) crawled to the edge of the road and hauled herself up on a pole, hoping like crazy that her wee drama had not been observed by anyone else. However, as always, the truth comes out …
• Julie suffered a similar bollard-embarrassment, except hers happened the other way around, and earned her our ‘Rise & Fall of Little Ms Miller’ Award. While in a different town square, listening attentively to our guide, Julie happened to be standing, quite unawares, over another bollard, which was in the ‘down’ position, flush with the road. However, it didn’t stay down – but, instead, it began to rise between Julie’s legs, giving her the fright of her life.

Yours bloggedly – JOHN

P.S. If you’d like to read earlier chapters in this Travel Blog, just click on ‘PREVIOUS’ or ‘OLDER POSTS’ – either at the start or finish of this entry. If you want to receive future Mad Midlife Travel Blogs in your INBOX, just sign-up (top-right) for your free Email Subscription! And if you’d like to leave a message for someone in our group, just click on the little speech bubble at the top of this entry, and add your comments! (Make sure you say who it’s for and who it’s from – and keep it brief.)

CRUISING #1: ON THE RIVER SAONE

FRANCE BLOG 04

Sunday Sept 11, 2016

I’m sitting at a small table on the sundeck of the Amadeus Symphony – the long, slender, stylish cruiseship that’s been our floating hotel for the past three-and-a-bit days. Sometime during the night we docked in Lyon, France’s third-largest city. Across the river from where we’re tied up is the charming Old Quarter, the waterfront lined with ancient trees and elegant old buildings (white with orange roofs, most of them) and a skyline that’s riddled with chimneys and spires, turrets and towers.

It’s been way too long since I last reported in, and I’m sorry about that. But it’s been a busy few days. (We’re not just sitting around twiddling our thumbs, you know – this touring-business is really hard work!) And some of us, including moi, have been functioning a little below par. A dratted ‘kennel-cough’ (that’s what we’ve called it) has gone through our Kiwi group like the dreaded Black Plague in the Middle Ages. Not sure why. It’s not for want of good food – that’s for sure! And we certainly can’t blame the weather – we’ve had sunshine every day and temps up in the mid-30s. By today’s count we’ve still got a group of 31 … and, last time I checked, “Is everybody happy?” the answer came back, “You bet your life we are!” But it’s easier to count the people that haven’t been barking, honking and sneezing than those who have.

Ahh, yes, the joys of travel!

La Belle France has, of course, continued to woo us, bewitch us and beguile us. And this luxury cruise on the country’s great waterways (with wall-to-wall pampering and well-appointed cabins, plus non-stop vistas of French countryside/villages/campers/fishermen scrolling past our big picture-windows) has gotta be one of the nicest ways to explore the place.

Anyway, let me retrace our steps …

Leaving the Loire Valley (where you last heard from us), we spent a day driving through the endless croplands and woodlands of France’s Central Plateau – with a lunch-break in Vichy en route. Then, entering Lyon, we overnighted in the oldest and arguably the most atmospheric/mysterious hotel we’ve encountered on this tour: the five-star (of course) Cour des Loges – comprising four restored Renaissance buildings, narrow 15^th century stone staircases and archways, gorgeous antique furnishings, and (in our room, at least) a spacious olde-worlde four-poster bed!

The Amadeus Symphony cast off next day with us Mad Midlifers on board. And, if you check out our map, you’ll see that we’ve so far ventured north on the scenic River Saone (pronounced ‘Sawn’) – into the world-famous Burgundy region, epicentre of France’s vast wine-trade, where vineyards stretch to the horizon in every direction.

We woke up on Friday in Chalon-sur-Saone … and promptly headed off on a grape-escape to the city of Beaune, where we visited the Hotel Dieu (originally a 15th century almshouse or hospice) before going underground into the Cellier de la Cabiote – to get to the bottom of viniculture and sample the highly-rated results.

Recharged by a yummy shipboard lunch, we then drove to the medieval villages of Brancion and Cormatin to explore the ancient streets, stretch our ancient legs, check out an ancient castle or two, and take some ancient photos.

Saturday was more of the same … with a guided tour that took us along roads that wound past more castles, vineyards and romantic Beaujolais scenery to a dedicated ‘weinmuseum’ (tasting included, of course). And on our afternoon agenda? A countryside drive to Cluny Abbey, Europe’s most influential monastery during the early Middle Ages, and the world’s largest Christian structure until the Pope-of-the-day decided to go one better, and had St Peter’s built in Rome. Most of the Abbey’s 12th century stonework was wrecked and carted away following the French Revolution, when most of its priests got the chop (courtesy of the brutal guillotine) – and, today, only one towering section of Cluny’s magnificence survives …

STILL TO COME: We tie-up overnight in Avignon – which may bring to mind that old folksong about an even older stone bridge which has made this city’s name familiar for people all over the world. Wanna know more? Of course you do! Just stay on this channel …

PEOPLE-NEWS: It took a bit of chasing around, but another quacky Yellow Duck has changed hands …

• Wayne scored our first-ever ‘Gone Walkabout’ Award – for wandering off into the French never-never and getting himself not-quite-lost but several-times-late.
• Robyn nominated herself for the ‘Looking Glass’ Award – by spotting two identical women at another table during dinner tonight and asking, “Hey, those two women over there with the short hair – are they twins, or something?” Except there weren’t two women at all. There was only one, and behind her was a mirror, and … well … you can work it out from there. Right?

Yours bloggedly – JOHN

P.S. If you’d like to read earlier chapters in this Travel Blog, just click on ‘PREVIOUS’ or ‘OLDER POSTS’ – either at the start or finish of this entry. If you want to receive future Mad Midlife Travel Blogs in your INBOX, just sign-up (top-right) for your free Email Subscription! And if you’d like to leave a message for someone in our group, just click on the little speech bubble at the top of this entry, and add your comments! (Make sure you say who it’s for and who it’s from – and keep it brief.)

THE LOIRE VALLEY CHÂTEAUX

FRANCE BLOG 03

Tuesday Sept 6, 2016

As I hinted in my last posting, these past three days in the French countryside have been a traveller’s feast – in more ways than one! Our accommodation (the Hotel Auberge du Bon Laboureur) in the quaint little hamlet of Chenonceaux has been ooh-la-la-luverly … and the four-course dinners we’ve enjoyed in the hotel’s Michelin-Star restaurant have been out of this world.

And then, of course, there are the châteaux …

Way back in the 16^th century, competing French kings, queens, nobles and hotshots chose the lush green Loire Valley (a couple of hours to the west of Paris) as their royal battleground-cum-playground – filling it with extravagant forts, castles or ‘châteaux’. And okay, while there aren’t 1000 (like the ads say), there are more than 300!

We Kiwis managed to inspect five of the best. They’ve all been magnificent, all several hundred years old (or more), and all very different. I won’t bore you with blow-by-blow descriptions (you really have to BE here to eyeball their respective features, sample their histories and roam their gardens), but our pix will hopefully give you the general idea.

First up (on Sunday) was the massive, chunky, multi-turreted Château de Chaumont with its sumptuous interiors, glorious paintings and tapestries, and expansive gardens …

Next up (Monday) was the famous Château de Chenonceau (without an x) … straddling a river … built, loved and looked after by a succession of extraordinary women!

Third on our list: the smaller Château du Clos Lucé … stately home of Leonardo da Vinci, his art and his endless inventions for the final three years of his life.

Then, today, you could’ve found us in the Château de Villandry … ogling one of the most photographed gardens in Europe – six gardens, in fact, featuring an artistic maze of decorative box-hedges.

The fifth and last château on our short list: the Château Azay le Rideau … half-smothered in scaffolding, but still an architectural jewel, built during the Renaissance on an island in the middle of the Indre River.

STILL TO COME: Leaving the Loire Valley, we travel cross-country to France’s third-largest city, Lyon, where the Amadeus Symphony waits to take us on a week-long river-cruise. Don your lifejackets and don’t change channels …

PEOPLE-NEWS: Another lusted-after Yellow Duck has found a new home …

• Trisha scored our very French ‘Oui, Oui, Monsieur’ Award – when she was spotted sneaking out of the men’s loo at an autobahn café today. (We’ve all done it, one time or another, but poor Trisha got caught!)

Yours bloggedly – JOHN

P.S. If you’d like to read earlier chapters in this Travel Blog, just click on ‘PREVIOUS’ or ‘OLDER POSTS’ – either at the start or finish of this entry. If you want to receive future Mad Midlife Travel Blogs in your INBOX, just sign-up (top-right) for your free Email Subscription! And if you’d like to leave a message for someone in our group, just click on the little speech bubble at the top of this entry, and add your comments! (Make sure you say who it’s for and who it’s from – and keep it brief.)