Britain & Ireland Tour - August 2012

Well it's that time again!  I am about to embark on another European adventure.  This time I will jaunting around Britain and Ireland alongside a large group of Bluegreen Vacation Club owners.  We'll be starting our adventure this Sunday in London for a couple of nights.  We'll then make our way west through Wales and will hop over to Ireland.  From there we will head north into Scotland and then back around to London.  Along the way, I am hoping to experience the best of Britain and Ireland including Buckingham Palace, Stonehenge, the Ring of Kerry, and maybe I will even get to kiss the Blarney Stone! :) 

I fly out on Saturday and will be blogging as often as time and internet access allow.  Check back soon for updates of my journey!

Our Globus Highlights of Britain & Ireland Tour

France - Days 11 – 14 – Paris, France…and next up?

Wednesday, August 1, 2012 – Paris, France

This morning we woke up early in Paris and joined the group from our cruise for a panoramic bus tour of the city of Paris.  Our bus took us by the major sights including the Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, the Louvre, Notre Dame and Luxembourg Gardens.  After lunch, Dad and I ventured out on our own to get a more detailed look at the Arc de Triomphe and the Place de la Concorde.  We also took a nice stroll along the Champs Elysees and popped into a few shops.  Afterward we visited the l’Orangerie museum to check out some impressionist paintings including the famous Water Lilies paintings by Monet.  This is an easily forgotten museum that should not be missed!

We were pretty worn out tonight after such a long day of walking and enjoyed a convenience store dinner back at the hotel. J

Arc de Triomphe

Me by the Eiffel Tower in the Champ de Mars

Luxembourg Gardens

Cleopatra's Needle - Place de la Concorde

Place de la Concorde

Thursday, August 2, 2012 – Paris, France

Today is the first of our two days of fully independent sightseeing.  We slept in a bit and then decided to make our way by metro (subway) up to the Montmartre area of town on the right bank to visit the beautiful Sacre-Coeur Basilica and check out the artist markets.  If you’re looking for a great place to get a view across the city of Paris and don’t feel like waiting in line at the Eiffel Tower, this is the place to go.  From atop the hill you can see all of the major sights in Paris.

After finishing up in Montmartre, we made our way to the Ile de la Cite island on the Seine River to explore Notre Dame Cathedral.  Having already had my fill of old churches, I thought that my visit to Notre Dame may have been ruined, but I was mistaken.  The grandeur of the high ceilings, stained-glass windows and flying buttresses still amazed me after everything else I had already seen. 

We then moved back over to the right bank and explored the Louvre museum.  Along the way, we ran across one of three "Paris Plaige" spots where the city has transformed the banks of the Seine into a beach.  A person could really spend an entire day or more exploring the Louvre.  We decided to focus on seeing the pieces that we were most interested in only to save time.  We explored the Egyptian antiquities first, and then made our way around to see the Mona Lisa, the Venus de Milo, the Winged Victory, and many others.

After the Louvre, we had a quick lunch in a café and then moved on to the Musee d’Orsay to see some more impressionist and post-impressionist masterpieces.  Here the main highlights were Van Gogh’s Starry Night Over the Rhone (which we’d seen the site of in Arles earlier in the trip) as well as a number of familiar works from Delacroix, Renoir, Manet and Cezanne.

By the time we finished up at the d’Orsay we were exhausted again and headed back to the hotel to rest.  This evening we cleaned up and went out for a nice dinner at a café in the Montparnasse district where our hotel was located. 

View from Montmartre

Sacre-Coeur

Notre Dame

Inside Notre Dame

Dad at Notre Dame

Paris Plaige

The Louvre

Mona Lisa at The Louvre

Friday, August 3, 2012 – Paris, France

Today was our last full day in Paris and our most important task was to make our way out of town by train to visit Louis XIV’s Palace at Versailles.  This was an amazing site.  With the ornate golden gates, excessively decorated interiors, and enormous gardens, we were blown away.  Check out some of the pictures to get a better idea of what I mean!

After finishing up at Versailles, we travelled back to Paris and made a quick stop to visit the Pompidou Centre which houses the largest museum of modern art in Europe.  The building itself was a sight to see with its “high-tech” architecture and we also enjoyed the nearby Stravinsky Fountain.  Inside we saw fabulous works from modern artists including Kandinsky, Matisse, Picasso, Mondrian, Dali and Andy Warhol, just to name a few.  I think this museum was my favorite of all that we visited.  After our visit to the Pompidou Centre, we stopped to enjoy a quick drink at a nearby Starbucks and then made our way back to the hotel to rest for a bit.

This evening, we took the metro over to the Eiffel Tower to enjoy the evening light show.  We enjoyed viewing the tower from both the Champs de Mars and the Trocadero points of view.  We found a wonderful restaurant, the Café du Trocadero, on the nearby square and enjoyed a very nice dinner together for our final evening.  From the restaurant, we were able to see the Eiffel Tower light show which was a nice experience.  After we finished eating, we made our way back toward the tower to enjoy the second light show in full view to finish off our evening and grab some pictures. 

Versailles

Versailles

Versailles

Dad in the gardens at Versailles

One of many fountains at Versailles

Pompidou Centre

Eiffel Tower

Eiffel Tower

Saturday, August 4, 2012 – Paris, France

The end! L  It’s time to head back home.  We were sad to leave to ready to get home and relax for a bit before going back to work.  It was a very long travel day. 

It was great to explore a country in such detail alongside my Dad.  We had a wonderful time and I am already looking forward to my next trip back to explore more of France!

Next up is Britain and Ireland coming up here in a couple of weeks.  I’ll be taking a bus tour with Globus and will be hosting a large group of our clients from work.   I will again share some of my experiences and pictures here on that trip.  Here is a preview of the overall trip to get everyone excited.  J  Thank you for reading!

Highlights of Britain and Ireland Tour - Aug/Sep 2012

France - Days 6 - 10: Viviers to Paris

Time for another update!

Friday, July 27, 2012 – Viviers, France

Today we started off with a relaxing morning sailing alone the Rhone from Avignon to our next destination, Viviers.  In the afternoon, I took the included tour and explored the quiet town of Viviers while Dad relaxed on the ship.  Here we had great views of the French countryside and visited the smallest cathedral in France.  At the cathedral, we were treated to a private organ recital by a local musician. 

After returning to the ship, we were treated to a tasting of local sausages, cheeses, and other treats from the town of Viviers.  In the evening we had a great dinner and then enjoyed a variety show put on by the crew of the Avalon Scenery.

Town of Viviers

Saint Michael statue on the hill above Viviers

Me in Viviers

Saturday, July 28, 2012 – Tournon – Vienne, France

This morning we arrived into the town of Tournon, where we strolled in the rain through the local food and flower markets and visited their 16^th century castle.  Then we returned to the ship for a leisurely cruising and sightseeing on our way to Vienne.  Along the way, we saw some beautiful vineyards on the hillsides and a beautiful “modern” chateau.  I also took a quick tour of the ship galley (kitchen).  It’s amazing to see the small and simple spaces from which the Chefs creates such wonderful meals.  Also this afternoon, our cruise director Jean Loup treated us to a delicious gourmet chocolate tasting. 

In the late afternoon we arrived into the sizable town of Vienne where we took a quick city tour and visited another beautiful cathedral, did some window shopping and took a train up to the hilltop to check out the view of the city from above. 

Tonight was movie night and as I guessed, the featured film was Chocolat.  I have seen the movie a number of time so we instead enjoyed 2 for 1 happy hour and then relaxed for the rest of the night.

Modern Chateau

Tournon

Cathedral in Vienne

Vienne, France

Sunday, July 29, 2012 – Lyon, France

Today was a busy day!  In the morning we arrived into the large city of Lyon where we took a city tour highlighting must see Lyon.  Our tour included a visit to the hill of Fourviere and it’s beautiful Notre Dame de la Fourviere church and a stroll through the Old Town with its variety of shops and “Traboules” (hidden passageways between blocks). 

After lunch we joined an option tour took a short drive to the Beaujolais region for a vineyard tour and wine tasting.  Afterward, our tour made a quick stop in the town of Oingt.  This was my favorite town on the entire trip as it was extremely clean with beautiful cobblestone streets and wonderful countryside views.

As we sailed away from Lyon, we left the Rhone river and turned on the Saone for the rest of our journey.  On our way out of Lyon we say some interesting modern buildings and enjoyed the experience of going under our lowest bridge.  This was quite a sight!  Everything on the sundeck had to be taken down and the wheelhouse (the bridge) had to be lowered to its limit.  This left us with about 6 inches of clearance.  Check out the pics!  This evening we enjoyed happy hour again as well as a wonderful dinner on the ship and then crashed for the evening.

Notre Dame de la Fourviere

 

Me in Oingt, France

Lowest Bridge - Note the water bottle, it gets knocked over

Monday, July 30, 2012 – Macon – Tournus, France

It’s a magical day today!  We were in Macon this morning and joined an option excursion to visit the Chateau Cormatin.  The chateau is like something from a fairytale with majestic gardens, a moat and extravagantly appointed rooms.  It is an all-around perfect setting aside from the moody caretakers that were breathing down our necks. 

While we visited the Chateau, our ship continued on to the town of Tournus where we met up with them after our tour.  We had some free time in the afternoon to explore Tournus but we instead elected to relax on the ship and enjoy a peaceful afternoon without any walking.

This evening, as sailed toward our final cruise destination of Chalon we got dressed up and enjoyed the Captain’s Cocktail reception and our Farewell dinner.  Toward the end up dinner, we enjoyed a Baked Alaska parade through the dining room and we had the opportunity to meet all of our service staff and thank them for a great cruise!

Chateau Cormatin

Gardens at Cormatin

Inside Chateau Cormatin

Tuesday, July 31, 2012 – Chalon-sur-Saone - Beaune – Paris, France

Well, we left the ship in Chalon early this morning.  We had a long bus ride today to Paris, but along the way we did make a stop in the wonderful town of Beaune in the Burgundy region.  Here we visited the fortified old town and took a tour of the Hotel Dieu, a late-medieval charity hospital.  Afterward we had some free time to explore the town on our own and a nice alfresco lunch at a local brasserie. 

After another 4 hours or so on the bus we arrived in the Paris, the City of Light!  We checked-in and got comfortable at our hotel, the Pullman Montparnasse. 

This evening we explored the Montparnasse neighborhood and a nice dinner at a local restaurant. 



Sunrise over Chalon



Beaune, France

Hotel Dieu - Beaune, France

Hotel Dieu - Beaune, France

It’s time to rest-up for some extreme sightseeing over the next few days!  I will be back shortly with an update on our experiences in Paris!