Vienne and Chamaret on the way to Vaucluse

This is the medieval village of Chamaret where we stopped the following day before dropping Barry off in Vaucluse for his cycling tour. It was amazing countryside with acres upon acre of Olive groves, sunflowers and grapes with grapes, of course, being the dominant feature... well it is Provence after all.

Yes indeed this is a Roman Pyramide. We stopped in the small town of Vienne in Provence after a 6 hour drive and went out to visit the sights.
And this is Coraleen and Barry at the Baby Pyramide and of course we had a coffee at the Coffee Bar and I bought a lotto ticket.. but didnt win anything.. par for the course I guess.
The Rhone River ran through the west of the town with the rural area in the background
and a Cathedral.. of course .. after all it is France or should I say Europe

And the next stop was Chamaret which was only for photos as it was so beautiful . I guess I still havent come to terms with the medieval walled towns which are a dime a dozen over here.

Vienne was a smallish town although not appearing terribly old they did have a 15thC church and an ancient Roman Pyramide ... never heard of that before but will look it up on the net when I get a chance ... unusual

I must say most of the little towns are lovely with cathedrals, bell towers, ancient churches and in many cases they are walled towns and of course its a wine growing area with olive groves, sunflower fields and grapes for miles... yes all very lovely and took us longer than intended as we stopped now and again to take pics of some magnificent scenery and the French countryside.

Chateau de Versailles on a Monday... yes it is closed on a Monday!!

The Palace of Versailles from the outside walking up towards it.
Me at the top of a long walkway down to the gardens, lakes etc
The Palace of Versailles itself.. as close as I could get to capture it all
One of the many 'lakes' outside Versailles with the Palace in the background.
See how much land it incorporates.. in the days of Louis XIV that circular 'pool' was used for exercising the horses

Unfortunately we left Paris for Provence to drop Barry off for his 6 day cycling tour on a Monday and stopped off at Versailles on the way. It's always our luck but I guess you cant see everything and The Palace of Versailles is closed on a Monday but we did spend a couple of hours just walking around the magnificent grounds. All the statues are made from marble and the grounds are immaculate.

and just in case you are interested...

The grounds of Versailles contain one of the largest formal gardens ever created, with extensive parterres, fountains and canals, designed by André Le Nôtre. Le Nôtre modified the original gardens by expanding them and giving them a sense of openness and scale. He also liked to enjoy sunbathing in his wonderful work of art. He created a plan centered around the central axis of the Grand Canal. The gardens are centered on the south front of the palace, which is set on a long terrace to give a grand view of the gardens. At the foot of the steps the Fountain of Latona is located. This fountain tells a story taken from Ovid's poem Metamorphoses and served — and still serves — as an allegory of the Fronde. Next, is the Royal Avenue or the Tapis Vert. Surrounding this to the sides are the formal gardens. Beyond this is the Fountain of Apollo. This fountain symbolizes the regime of Louis XIV, or, the "Sun King". Beyond the Fountain lies the massive Grand Canal. The wide central axis rises on the far side. Even farther into the distance lie the dense woods of the King's hunting grounds.

Dijon to Paris .. and a long driving day

Me at the Eiffel Tower.. too many people to go up but it still looked magnificent from the ground
Notre Dame .. and another one with lots of people.. I guess thats just Paris in August
The view from the Grand Arc in La Defence with both the Eiffel Tower (on the right) and the Arc de Triomph (on the left) amazing views from up there.
Me on the Seine... and not a wine in sight!
and me on the Seine again.. at night.. and still not a wine in sight.. well I had it hidden this time

Barry arriving after his 31 hour ordeal... Sydney, Bangkok, Dubai and finally Paris!! One of the monuments in Notre Dame.
And the Catacoombs... 1.7km of bones and skulls and other horrid bits exhumed from 18thC Paris cemeteriesThe Eiffel Tower on a very windy Paris evening
Coraleen and Barry with the Eiffel Tower

... and me on a wet Paris night in the Champs Elysees
and me again.. in front of the Eiffel Tower
and again.. at a fish market this time.. a shoppers delight on Saturday morning
The two of us at the Lady Dianna tribute.. we just came across it in our strolls and it was very sad... brought a tear to my eyes.

I must say while there is a lot to see in Paris it doesnt really inspire me.. for me its a cold impersonal place despite the beautiful buildings and the Seine.

Our campground is on the Seine and its huge, by far the biggest to date but believe it or not its not that noisy or perhaps after the runway in Venice it just doesnt seem that noisy! We spent yesterday walking and walking to see as much as we could. Walking along the Seine to Notre Damn we came across the Diana tunnel which was sad as there were photos of her and flowers ... just a few but sad nevertheless.

There were crowds for everything so we didnt walk up to the top of the Arc de Triomph or the Eiffel Tower or even get in to Notre Dame as to do those things we would need another 3 or 4 days for the queues. However we did see most of the main sights during our walk and then later we took a night tour and drove around to see mst of the others. The night tour also included a trip down the Seine by night which was lovely and then home just before 1am! late night for us indeed!! I guess for me I like the Champs Elyseess as its really vibrant and always busy with the inspiring Eiffel Tower coming in a close second. We certainly wont be doing anything exciting at night as its just so expensive .. a Starbucks coffee is NZ$8 and a cheap McD is about NZ4 .. so just seeing the sights.

And ... after 24 hours of rain and cold it has cleared up and the past two days have been glorious with lots of sun and the wamth is back.

Dijon in France

A beautiful ancient round building in the middle of the Centre Ville which is the middle of the historial town .. and the only part we ventured into.
Another gorgeous old building...
Our 15th Century hotel from the balcony.. see all the grapes on the trellising
And another view of our hotel from the cobblestone courtyard... it was divine

The Arc de Triomph in Dijon just a baby in comparison to Paris but just as attractive
Dijon cathedral
mmmm ... I took this one cause I just seemed to like it!
And in the Republic Square.. very green and full of flowers and gardens
and the statue was in the Republic Square too

The greater Dijon area is home to about 230,000 people. Dijon is a university town and site of the Court of Appeals, and more than two-thirds of the jobs in the area are in the service sector. Industries have settled around the outskirts of the city, mainly mechanical and automotive, but also electric, food(mustard!), and chemical industries.

On first glance Dijon looks definitely worth exploring and the hotel we are staying in was built in the 15thC with a gorgeous cobblestoned courtyard outside .. and Molly has her own hotel room .. locked up in a garage!! We are right in the middle of the old town with 11thC Cathedrals and Monastries all around ... a busy day ahead tomorrow but at least there is no driving.. these 4 and 5 hour driving days drive a gal to drink.. so I am off for another red wine... or two...

from Bern via Lausanne to Dijon

Not sure what this sign is all about but it looked so amusing we couldnt go past it!!

A cute little skiing village high up in the Jura mountains almost on the Swiss French border.

We left Bern in much cooler temperatures than we had experienced so far on our trip which was, to say the least, very pleasant.

I must confess to not liking much in Lausanne and I guess Lausanne knew this as I managed to delete the few photos I did take from my camera.. don't even ask!!! it's the second time and now I download them every two days!!! It's the blonde in case you didnt know.

Absolutely fantastic scenery the past few days.. we followed Lake Geneva eastwards from Lausanne and the scenery was just stunning.. through the Jura Mountains into France which is their skiing area.. where we stopped to take so,e photos and then on through the wine growing area of Dordogne into Dijon. The dramatic scenery of Switzerland gave way to the flat plains of the Dordogne and acres and acres of Sunflower fields.. all of them dead and waiting to be harvested for their oil I guess

Bern and more of Switzerland

We visited the Bear Pits in the centre of the old town of Bern (but couldnt get a pic with one of us in it or I guess one of them would have eaten us!) and legend has it that the founder of Bern, Berchtold V von Zähringen, killed a bear on the Aare peninsula and this led to the town being called Bern (from German "Bär") and explains why the city's coat of arms features a bear. The existing Bear Pits have been in the same location since 1857. In 1995/96 most areas of the Bear Pits underwent renovation with the aim of providing the bears with a habitat more naturally suited to them. Nowadays the Bear Pits house two Pyrenean brown bears (Pedro and Tana) ... and they are so cute they beg for food and get fed quite well.. the downside of course is there are lots of kids around...
Me .. you can almost see me at the top of the steps of The Town Hall which was built between 1406 and 1416. In its long existence it has survived the Burgundian Wars, Reformation and Revolution. To this day it is the seat of the cantonal government, where the Bernese Cantonal Council convenes five times a year.
Me on the bridge with the famous church tower in the background. This church which was built between 1270 to 1285 is now the city's oldest church and was part of the Dominican Monastery founded in 1269. From 1623the church was used by French-speaking Protestants and after 1685 it became a centre for Huguenot refugees
and me again with the Cathedral in the background...

The Cathedral is the most impressive example of Late Gothic architecture in Bern. The basilica has three naves towers which indeed tower above the roofs of Bern's old town.
This Cathedral is Switzerland's largest ecclesiastical building with construction beginning in 1421 and for generations thereafter work on this masterpiece continued under a series of different builders. It took until 1893 for the spire to be completed. The portal with its depiction of the Last Judgment is an outstanding feature. The vantage point of this masterpiece is located 344 steps above the entrance in the 100-meter-high cathedral spire.
From Switzerland's highest church tower we could enjoy magnificent views across the city into the depths of the Bernese Mittelland and of the snow-capped mountains of the Bernese Oberland although of course there was no snow when we we were there.

me 'playing' Chess in the town centre...

Our next stop was Bern. Another Swiss city we hadn't planned on and this time it was absolutely gorgeous. It's a UNESCO World Heritage Site which, I guess, says it all .. and another couple of hundred photos. Once again, though, it was expensive and McD's came to rescue!

And the best news of all.. the temperatures have remained 'normal' .. it is down to 18 today and rather cool but I am making the most of it 'cause it sure beats the mid 40's of the past 6 weeks in Greece!!

... and some more useless information as Bern is a UNESCO world Heritage site... as is Verona in Italy by the way....

The capital of Switzerland has many charms. Its quaint old town is framed by the Aare Riverand offers spectacular views of the Alps. With its 6 km of limestone buildings andmedieval arcades,its Renaissance fountainswith colourful figures and its beautiful cathedral surrounded by picturesque rooftops. Bern was founded in 1191 and is truly a gem of medieval architecture in Europe.

Lucerne in Switzerland

As you can see the drive from Lake Como through to Lucerne was not uneventful as there was some sort of holdup... long weekend traffic.. we never did find out despite being given info on the radio every 2 minutes. We discovered this route, whilst the most direct, involved driving through a 17km tunner and the quues were horrendous... we waited 3 hours. The upside was it wasnt hot AND we pulled off at a Service Area and used the cash flow which meant we actually had Swiss Francs. I took this photo as I got out for a cigarette and walked beside the van for about 10 minutes.. and I walked faster that Molly drove!
and another one.. just so you can see the dramatic scenery as well as the queues. In fact driving along the road we must have seen about half a dozen chair lifts to the higher altitude villages.. a novel form of public transport.

The two of us with Lake Lucerne in the background... pity about the telltale ciggy!!
and me on the Lake front with a great view of the mountains in the background.. Mt Titless to be exact where there is snow all year.
Coraleen and I in front of one of their famous water fountains.. there are lots through Switzerland, not just Lucerne and all very ornate and colourful.
Us again down at the Lake where the cruises go from.. we opted not to take a boat trip having done a few in Greece and then again in Como
and last but not least.. me on the boardwalk with the lake and gorgeous scenery in the background.

George and Lake Como

Our Hostel where we shared a dorm with 12 others... fun fun fun!! Actually it wasnt too bad as the women were very considerate
and another view of the Hostel.. Villa Olmo which according to the information is an ancient old Villa

A view of the Lake from the town of Torno which is about 5km up the north east side of the Lake from Como .. yes we did a cruise on the Lake just to view the amazine (aka expensive) villas
Us near the 'port' which was really only where the boat docked.. very small and ancient .. not much bigger than the boat ramp in Te Atatu actually
A view of the waterfront of Cernobbio which is on the east side of the Lake; very beautiful but we didnt stop there just admired the views
A view of Lake Como from Como itself with the less imposing boats.
Another photo in Torno .. and as you can see its no different to the rest of the world despite its old warm charm and beauty they still have a grafitti problem

Lake Como was just as amazing too! Its just georgous.. the scenery is amazing. We couldn't find anywhere to stay though.. George was out.. no room at any hotel.. so we bit the bullet and spent the night in a 12 room dorm at a Hostel!! It was the first time .. and not that bad. Bloody good value for money that's for sure. For about NZ$40 we got dinner, bed, hot showers, internet and breakfast.. and of course clean sheets and towels - definitely worth it and I slept like a log. The girl in the bed next to our bunks was a bit of a pain.. young.. teddy bear on her pillow (that says it all I guess) turned the lights off about 9 and when we came back from dinner and opened the windows she sighed and put a duvet on.. silly girl.. she threw it off in the night. Even in the morning when some of the others left early she slept on.. and no one turned the light on for a while.. I guess travellers are very considerate people.

The next morning it was a boat trip on the lake.. and it just got better. The small 'towns' we stopped of it were beautiful.. clock towers, 18th Century Villas, cobblestoned streets.. the list goes on. And then it was off on the road to Switzerland.