greondastravels

We have now arrived in Italy, but we spent a wonderful 4 days on the French Riviera.

Our lovely apartment was high on a hill between Nice and Cannes, and about 5 kms from the beach.

We stayed near the medieval village of Biot, notorious for its glass blowing, and at one stage was inhabited by the Knights Templar!

 

The walk up to the village was a work out in itself, and a good test for Greg’s knees!

 

 

 

 

Our”local” actually made quite good coffee which we were quite pleased about! We have worked out now , that in France, a cappuccino is not made with Chantilly cream piped on the top anymore…yuk….. but it is a latte with liquid hot chocolate poured into it! Still yuk! The cafe cremes actually went down quite nicely!

Our landlord, Corinne was extremely helpful with recommending some day trips and lunch spots for us.

We ventured into Antibes , and the Old Town was lovely.

We arrived at the same time as the opening of the Cannes Film Festival, and the boats , or should we say the rather large boats in the harbour were amazing.

 

 

We “did lunch” at a great little restaurant on the coast, and we were both “in heaven”. Rhonda had her first sea bass which was sensational, and Greg enjoyed his pork ribs.

 

 

 

 

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After lunch we had to walk off the calories, so we ventured around the coastline , and it was pretty spectacular.

 

The private beaches are quite amazing and the restaurants associated with the hotels are very upmarket…..we were not dressed appropriately for those!

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We did another drive around the “French” version of the Great Ocean Road, or the Corniche de L’Esteral.

 

 

There were more private beaches galore, stunning coastline, and we found a retirement villa,below, that we are asking donations for, to fund. Of course any donations will be granted some “free accommodation” , so any takers???????

 

We partook of another loooong lunch which was again fantastic.

Rhonda’s sea bass was again great , and the Grand Manier souffle ……..well what can one say…..it was bloody awesome!

 

 

 

The next day we headed away from the coastline, and headed up The Gorges De Loup

We stopped at the pretty little hill top village of Gourdon, one of the Most Beautiful Villages of France, and we could see why!

 

 

We thought we should at least see the beach at Nice……pebbles no sand…..but Greg still did his usual of “sand castle” building,. The water however was a spectacular colour, and the view along the coastline was great.

So it’s that time again

Arrivederci!

Ciao

Love The Roberts

xxxxxx

 

We have spent the past 5 days enjoying Lyon, but first a backtrack on the previous week.We left Champagne and headed to Sully Sur Loire for an overnight stop.

We went via Provins, a UNESCO listed Medieval walled village. It had a charming little town square and the coffee was not too bad either!

 

 

Rhonda is disappointed that it is too early for the sunflowers , however the canola (or rape seed as it is known here) is still pretty colourful.

Sully Sur Loire has a magnificent 14th Century Chateau which we spent a couple of hours meandering through.Greg would like to purchase one but he thought that the upkeep may be a tad high, and one would get their feet wet mowing the lawns!

We then spent 3 days eating and drinking with our French family. As per usual we had a great time, and it was lovely to meet all our French Grandchildren! Of course it was no where near as good as our own little Abigail, who we miss terribly! Then we arrived in Lyon, the gastronomic capital of France!

We are staying in the district of Monplaisir-Lumiere, the birthplace of cinematography, and a 4 Metro stop ride from the middle of town!

 

This villa , around the corner from us, was the home of Antoine Lumiere who made the first film. It dominates Monplaisir Square.

 

 

The Square is our “local” where of course , we partake in aperitifs MOST nights! No both those drinks are not for Greg!

 

 

We spend the days wandering around Vieux Lyon, the old Medieval part of town with its lovely cobbled streets , and the traboules , which are passageways between streets dating back to the 4th Century.

 

The traboules were originally used by the Silk Merchants to transport their silk , and keep it dry. Most now serve as entrances to apartments.

 

 

The Lawyers House dates back to the 15th Century and was influenced by architecture from Florence. It looks very Italian!

 

More ABC’s……….We have visited the 2 main churches in Lyon.

The Basilica sits on top of the Fouviere Hill. It is  relatively new….built between 1872 and 1884. It is dedicated to the Virgin Mary for saving Lyon from the Bubonic Plague, cholera and the Prussian Army!

When you see the inside you understand that she must have done a good job! It is very ornate with stunning mosaic work , and in our opinion , a little over the top!

 

 

We also visited the Cathedral of Saint Jean the Baptiste , completed in 1476, and decorated with 260 stone figures. it was quite plain on the inside compared to the Basilica.

The view from from the top of Fouviere Hill is quite spectacular and well worth the climb up……we actually took the funicular to save Greg’s knees! We cannot lie!

Two rivers run through Lyon, the Rhone and the Saone. The views along them are very pretty.

 

 

The Hotel De Ville, or Town Hall is rather spectacular, built in 1665.

 

 

Walking the newer part of town is totally different from the old with large boulevards and Squares with stunning buildings.

 

We made a visit to Les Halles De Paul Bocouse, a very stylist indoor market.

 

 

Rhonda’s birthday lunch was bought there! Three year old Compte cheese…….sensational, Roquefort cheese as well and the best bread we have tasted. Sweets were yummy macrons and it was all washed down with a bottle…..or maybe 2 of great champers!

 

 

The food is fantastic but not good for the waistline or hips, but of course one must try!

 

Lyon is full of Bouchons which is a restaurant that only serves Lyonaisse cuisine.

We have tried some, but others……NO WAY! The andouillettes, which was described to us as a tripe sausage which smells like 3day old urine , was definitely not something that we were going to put in mouths! However the saucisson in red wine , and the fish quenelles were delicious.

We leave Lyon tomorrow and head to a little village called Biot, which is about 15 kilometres up a hill from Cannes! Although the weather the past few days has been a little showery, the temperatures are up around 22 degrees so it’s not cold!

It is now 5pm , so yep, it’s that time!

See ya later!

Gros bisous a tous!

Greg and Rhonda

xxxxxxxxxxxx

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

April 21st saw us at the airport early, heading to Honk Kong for a short stopover on our way to France! Imagine our surprise when our tickets were upgraded to Business Class!

We did the “touristy” things in HK. We traveled to The Peak , even though the weather was not the best, and we caught the Star Ferry to Hong Kong Island for dinner and checked out the Harbour lights.

 

 

We came across some technology in the city that has not come to Australia yet (we think). It is an automated coffee machine , where you pre order through an Ap. What next!

 

 

 

Imagine our surprise at Hong Kong Airport to get ANOTHER upgrade to Business Class heading to Paris! It must have been our charm at Check In!

 

AGAIN imagine our surprise when we picked up our car! In Greg’s words…….Shit , its bloody purple! For obvious reasons, we have named him Purple Pierre!

 

 

We drove straight to Amiens, and the weather has been unseasonably cold!

 

The French people still remember and respect what the Anzacs did for them. There are lots of  signs and Aussie flags everywhere! Loads of Aussies too.

 

Anzac Day began with a 2am wake up call, to get ourselves on the bus to Villers Bretonneux.It was extremely cold, 0 degrees , and although there was additional airport style security, the organisation was spot on!

Armed with a” Cafe et croissant”, we made our way to our seats. To be at the Service was extremely moving. Although we were freezing, it was nothing to what the Diggers had to endure! It would appear to us that the crowd was way down on last year, probably due to the threat of terrorists attacks.

Next we were back on the bus , heading to the village of Villers Bretonneux , to their much smaller service.

 

 

Peter Cosgrove , and his wife also attended the French service. It was something we had always wanted to do, so now it has been ticked off the bucket list! It was a very memorable morning.

 

 

We liked the town of Amiens, and very early on , in our tour, the “usual” has started! ABC……..another bloody church/cathedral/chateau……take your pick!

 

 

We left Amiens and headed to a little village in the Champagne region called Saint Imoges.

We are staying in a “petite maison”, which is very cute and luckily has great heating as the weather is still bloody cold.

We have driven around the “Touristique Route de Champagne”, and seen loads of Champagne Houses and of course bought and drunk a few bottles, as one does!

 

 

In Hautvillers, one of the very pretty villages, we came across the resting place of the legendary Dom Perignon, the wonderful man who first made champagne!

We spent a day in Epernay, and another in Riems (more ABCs). We are stuggling to find a decent coffee as we usually do in France, however the baguettes, cheese and food has been fantastic.

 

 

Tomorrow we are heading south , and hopefully to warmer weather , to spend some time with our French family.

So for the first time, and by no means the last time……

It is that time again!

Gros Bisous

Greg et Rhonda.

xxxooooo

 

We have just listened to the Cats smash the Suns on the radio on the I Pad…..certainly beats French TV!