The crew of
Dream Catcher took a two week hiatus from the sea and traveled across the ocean via airplane to France! It was a wonderful trip and went by in a flash. The overnight flight is akin to an overnight sea passage - we were wiped out when we arrived, and found ourselves needing to take a quick nap at the hotel. But we are getting ahead of ourselves.
Adventure is found everywhere when you travel! The trip to the airport from Sharon's sister, Pam's, in Pennsylvania, was delightful (of course, someone else was driving). We flew out of JFK, so that meant a trip around the tip of NYC, across the Verrazano Narrows Bridge, and then into the airport. It was fun to drive over this bridge that we have passed under a number of times onboard
Dream Catcher, on our way south these past four years. It was fun to see the NYC skyline, and the Statue of Liberty. Just being in JFK was almost like being in a foreign country. LOTS of people, from all over the world! NYC is truly a microcosm of the world.
The flight on Delta Airlines was very comfortable (although it would have been SO much MORE comfortable if we had flown first class!) and the staff are extremely professional and accommodating. We left JFK and arrived on time in France. Flying into Nice, one of the furthest east cities in France, put us in mind of flying into a Caribbean Island. Immigration officers were very casual; a quick stamp on the passport with no questions, a walk out of baggage claim with our bags and no customs check, and off we went to our rental car! It took longer to settle the rental car than it did to get out of the airport. This was because we needed a car that had a GPS. So rather than a sporty Renault or Citroen, we ended up with a Nissan. All the cars are standard shift - so if you young folks ever want to drive in another land, learn how to drive a standard! There was an upcharge for a GPS and we momentarily considered skipping it. We would still be driving around France finding our way home if we had!
Our first destination was
St Paul de Vence - a beautiful bastide city about a forty minute drive from the airport. Bastide towns are very old - often more than 1,000 years old - towns that formed on high hills for security, and usually surrounded by large, stone walls. One of the oldest medieval towns on the French Riviera, Saint Paul de Vence is well-known for its art galleries and museums. Everywhere we walked, we saw the sign
"Atelier" (workshop) and each one was filled with original and unique works. It was a beautiful way to begin our time in a beautiful country.
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| These walkways are not level, often a 30 degree incline all over town. |
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The streets all looked like this. Apparently, the river stone was
hand carried by the townspeople, many, many years ago |
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| We learned that the typical French home has shuttered windows, most are beautiful. |
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| Our hotel entrance |
It was a very charming place and we wished we could have stayed a few days. But, after a good night's rest, we headed down the mountainside and off to the Mediterranean coast. Our second destination was in the hills of Provence, an hour north of the sea. But, first we wanted to see a few seaside towns we've always read about. We drove through the seaside streets of Antibes, Cannes and St Tropez. The Mediterranean looked very intimidating that day. With high winds and chop, we were happy to be on land for now. It is truly a hangout for very large personal watercraft. Amazing how big those motor yachts are!
By mid-afternoon, after long hours waiting through serious traffic jams along the coast, we headed up into the hills towards our next destination. Winding, narrow roadways, steep drop-offs and a little construction made it an adventure. The further into the country we went, the more we were hopeful that we had entered the address properly into the GPS. Finally, we found our spot for the night at
Baumaniere, in the town of Les Baux de Provence. It is a beautiful spa-getaway location amidst olive groves, huge natural rock formations and fragrant lavender fields. Again, we were wishing we could stay a week! It is one of the most serene and peaceful places we have ever been. And the Michelin-starred restaurant did not disappoint. We definitely want to go back to this area!
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| Olive trees |
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| Sunflowers for miles! |
After a wonderful dinner, a restful night and a splendid breakfast by the pool, we headed off again. By now we were feeling very pampered. After driving through miles and miles of farmland, orchards, and a nuclear power plant, we climbed the hills to our next destination, a tiny town called
Puymirol where we found the hotel and chef,
Michel Trama. The town, another bastide, was very small and there was very little going on. Set at the top a hill, the views were amazing. The chateau itself was unique, and the Michelin-starred chef, who owned the establishment, was on his game. This time, he visited our table in the tiny dining area and shared a bit of his background with us. He had just finished filming a spot on Top Chef and had also just returned from China where he was on the jury for other Michelin chefs. It was great fun to meet him and we were delighted with his amazing creations. Greg sampled sweetbreads for the first time, which he says were wonderful. And the Granny Smith Apple desert was incredible. We still can't figure out how they assemble it without the ice cream melting.
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| View from the neighborhood. |
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| This is a fire hydrant that unlocks before use |
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| Side of a home with a funny scupture on it...and Greg |
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| Jasmine is everywhere in France |
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| The living room at Michel Trama |
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| The pool at Michel Trama, where we had lunch. |
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| The requisite church in the town of Puymirol |
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| The outdoor dining area |
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| Sweet Breads and "onion rings" |
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Dried Granny Smith Apple Slices stuck into an ice cream core
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Finally, after three days and nights our time in the car came to an end in the bustling city of Bordeaux. We dropped the car and our bags off and took the modern, clean and quiet tram to
La Cite du Vin - a museum of wine. There were many interactive exhibits on wine - the terroir, the grapes, the history. We finished our tour with a tasting up on the top floor overlooking the city. Good fun!
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| La Cite du Vin wine museum |
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| It seems most cities have a carousel |
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| Our hotel for a night, the Intercontinental. |
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| In the square by our hotel |
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| From the roof of our hotel |
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| A young artist sketching on the street |
After enjoying another lovely evening in this vibrant city (another place we wish we could have stayed longer!) we hooked up with friends Pat and Eric for a light breakfast, then headed to the train station to meet the group from
Backroads Cycling for the next phase of this fabulous adventure. This group will be our bike mates for the next week, visiting Chateau after Chateau in the Bordeaux wine region.
You'll get the details and photos on that in our next blog entry.
