Lyon
We landed in Lyon around 9am. We had planned to stay with Reynald's brother and his wife in Grenoble at this point in the trip, but hadn't yet reached them because of lack of email access. We also realized that we didn't have their phone number. After a tense and lengthy stay at the airport, where we paid a ridiculous amount of money to use the internet for 15 minutes to email them, we decided to stay the night in Lyon. The guidebook described Lyon as being the second largest financial district in France, and as being busier in the fall than the summer. So after calling a couple hotels, we considered ourselves lucky to find a room for the night. We jumped on the bus and headed into town.
It turned out that we had picked a wonderful little hotel near the river. The staff were incredibly friendly, and the room had really high ceilings and old wood floors (and it had a full bathroom). We were so exhausted when we arrived that we took a long nap, then went out to explore the area and find internet access. It took a while, but we finally managed to find an internet cafe and were relieved to see an email from Reynald's brother with the address and phone number. We later made contact with them and agreed to meet the next day in Lyon, before going to Grenoble. That night, to celebrate our return to France, we had our most extravagant meal yet. It was an amazing three course meal (with cheese) and was absolutely amazing. We were so stuffed we could barely move when we left.
The next day we met up with Reynald's brother and his wife and walked around Lyon. We went to see one of their famous churches, then walked to the site of some old Roman ruins. The weather was so cold, and windy, and it actually started hailing when we were at the ruins. This prompted the decision to go to Grenoble in the early afternoon. We took the train, which was incredibly busy. Within a couple of hours we were in Grenoble.
Grenoble
We went to Reynald's brother's apartment, which was in an old building, but was quite modern inside. The next day we decided to rent a car and see some of the French countryside. Grenoble, being near the Alps, is surrounded by mountains and is very pretty. We decided to drive up Alpe D'Huez, made famous by the Tour de France. It is a long winding climb with 21 switchbacks. In the winter, it's a ski resort, but it hadn't opened yet for the season. The drive up was very scenic, but there wasn't much to do in the village. We spent the rest of the day driving, and saw some beautiful old roman style bridges, some nearby lakes, and lots of incredible views. On the way back, we stopped in Vizille, and took a quick look at their castle.
The next day we took it easy and spent much of the day playing the board game "Settlers of Catan". That night we went out for a nice fondue dinner in a unique little restaurant called "A Confesse" that had a real confessional at the front door. The next day we went to a huge french grocery store to pick up a few goodies to take home. It was very fun, and we ended up buying too much chocolate, and had to borrow a bag to fit everything.
Then it was time to catch our train back to Paris, where we would catch our flight back home to Vancouver. We stayed in a hotel very near the Notre Dame Cathedral, and had a wonderful view of it from our window. We went out for one last nice dinner.
The next morning, we made our way to the airport to take our flight home. Our flight ended up being painfully long, as we had a stopover in Calgary, and were on the plane for more than 12 hours. Then we had a long wait for our luggage as they had problems opening the cargo doors. It was with very great relief that we finally met up with my mother, who kindly picked us up at the airport. We arrived home around 8pm (around 6am in France), and were greeted by a couple of happy cats.
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Madrid, Spain
After a short two nights in Lisbon, we flew to Madrid, Spain. It was considerably colder than Portugal but seemed a huge bustling city compared to Lisbon. I don't speak much Spanish, but Reynald understood a little, so it was slightly easier than Portugal to figure things out. We relied again on the guidebook, and found a couple excellent restaurants. One restaurant we went to twice was run by cooking students and was incredibly reasonably priced. As in Portugal, there was a tendency to eat late and dishes were very meat heavy, with a focus on pork.
We were getting quite tired by the time we reached Madrid and took it a bit easier while we were there. The only major site that we saw was the Prado Museum, which is huge and has a focus on Spanish Art (naturally). One of the things I liked best about this museum is that they sold little guides for one Euro on major artists (quite a deal). We bought a little book on Bosch and on Goya.
We were only in Madrid for two nights (only one full day), so I don't feel like we experienced much of the city. It did feel very cosmopolitan and was full of all kinds of shops and restaurants. We had a very early flight when we left and had to check out of our hotel at 5:30am and walk to the metro, which didn't open until 6am. We managed to get two stops on the metro before the train stopped and everybody had to get off. We weren't sure exactly what the problem was, but it became clear that the train was not going to make it to the airport (it's pretty scary to listen to all the announcements with absolutely no idea of what they are saying). There were many other passengers trying to get to the airport, and once we left the station, there was serious competition for taxis. Reynald was determined though and we managed to walk far enough ahead of everyone else and eventually got one. Which was lucky, because we didn't check in with much time to spare. Our next stop was Lyon, France.
We were getting quite tired by the time we reached Madrid and took it a bit easier while we were there. The only major site that we saw was the Prado Museum, which is huge and has a focus on Spanish Art (naturally). One of the things I liked best about this museum is that they sold little guides for one Euro on major artists (quite a deal). We bought a little book on Bosch and on Goya.
We were only in Madrid for two nights (only one full day), so I don't feel like we experienced much of the city. It did feel very cosmopolitan and was full of all kinds of shops and restaurants. We had a very early flight when we left and had to check out of our hotel at 5:30am and walk to the metro, which didn't open until 6am. We managed to get two stops on the metro before the train stopped and everybody had to get off. We weren't sure exactly what the problem was, but it became clear that the train was not going to make it to the airport (it's pretty scary to listen to all the announcements with absolutely no idea of what they are saying). There were many other passengers trying to get to the airport, and once we left the station, there was serious competition for taxis. Reynald was determined though and we managed to walk far enough ahead of everyone else and eventually got one. Which was lucky, because we didn't check in with much time to spare. Our next stop was Lyon, France.
Portugal
We flew from Paris to Porto, Portugal. Several people have asked me why I wanted to go to Portugal, and all I can say, is that I felt drawn there and thought if I didn't go now, I would probably never go. And I can say that it was certainly one of the highlights of the trip.
Porto was warm and sunny and gorgeous. It is very hilly and filled with windy cobblestone streets crowded by old buildings with laundry suspended on the lines above. Despite the feeling of age in the city, they had an extremely modern metro line that ran from the airport right into the city. Reynald had booked a hotel for us, and because Portugal is so much cheaper than France or Britain, we splurged and stayed in a 5 star hotel. The rooms were lovely, but there was quite a bit of construction around, so it was not as tranquil as it might have been. But the breakfast was one of the most beautiful I've ever seen, with fresh fruit, croissants, meats, cheeses, eggs, bacon, yoghurt, and wonderful coffee, tea and juices. It was completely luxurious, especially after staying in hostels where you were lucky to get toast.
We realized quickly that not understanding any Portuguese at all, would be a bit of a problem. Luckily English is relatively common in the tourist areas and we managed to get a good map and some recommendations. I wanted to see the local market, which was full of stalls selling vegetables, flowers and meats. The Portuguese diet is also very meat heavy, but emphasizes fish and seafood far more than France. After that we walked down to the river Douro, which was sunny and beautiful. It was so warm (mid 20's Celcius), that we regretted not bringing more lighter clothes. On the other side of the river were all the Port cellars that we decided to tour in the afternoon.
But before we did that, we decided to have lunch. Eating, when you don't know the language, can be a very daunting task. We finally found a small cafe to have lunch that had English translations on the menu but Reynald decided to be brave and ordered a mysterious daily special that was only listed in Portuguese. We were a bit shocked when it arrived, and turned out to be two whole small fish, deep fried, and presented on a plate. Reynald, ever the brave eater, dove in, and found the fish very tender and tasty (we never did find out what they were), as long as you didn't look them in the eye, or stare at their mouth full of teeth. Alcohol in Portugal is also very inexpensive, and a regional specialty is Vinho Verdes, a light sparkling white wine, which is really refreshing.
After lunch, we crossed the river to go tour some of the Port cellars. There are about a dozen cellars that offer tours that describe the process of making Port, and offer samples at the end. It was getting late in the afternoon, but we managed to buy tickets for one tour that didn't start for 45 minutes, and decided to go to another one while we waited. The first tour we did was of one of the smaller independent cellars. They gave an interesting tour describing how Port was made of grapes specific to the Douro region, and was different than wine because Brandy was added only 3 days after the fermentation process starts, which stops the fermentation and makes it sweeter with a higher alcohol content. After the tour, we were given a generous amount of samples, before we headed off to our next tour. The second tour was of the Sandeman Port Cellars, which is a well known brand and one that is even sold in Canada. Their tour was very polished and even included a short film describing the port making process with some wonderful footage of the Douro region which is famous for its man-made terraces used for growing grapes.
We stayed only two nights in Porto, before taking the train to Lisbon. Again we were impressed with their modern and quick metro system.
Lisbon
There were several times on this trip, when I questioned the value of taking a backpack instead of a nice little rolling suitcase...but then I came to Lisbon and it all became clear. Lisbon is one of the hilliest cities I have ever seen, even more so than Porto. Our hotel was pretty much at the top of the hill, and required walking up several flights of stairs and hills. It was a tough trip, but very rewarding when you got to the top. Our hotel had an absolutely incredible view of the red roof-studded city. We got there late afternoon, and went in search of food only to find that the custom was to eat dinner late, around 8 or 9pm. We walked around and saw a bit of the city before we finally found a restaurant that was open.
One of the customs of restaurants in Portugal is to serve plates of appetizers to you when you sit down, but everything costs extra (though you are only supposed to be charged if you actually eat it). We had learned this in Porto, and were careful during our first meal in Lisbon not to eat from the plates of ham, cheese, and shrimp that they set down, and eventually took away. We had a good dinner of fish, but were frustrated when the bill came and they had charged us for all the appetizers that we had been so careful not to eat. Luckily one of the waiters spoke English and eventually corrected the bill.
The next day, we decided to buy all day transit tickets and spent much of the day riding up and down Lisbon's hilly streets in their wonderful little street cars. Much like San Francisco, these little trams ran on tracks all through the city. We had a wonderful tour around the city for a fraction of the price of the tourist buses.
One last thing about Portugal, they had amazing pastries. There were little cafes everywhere, and each of them had long bars filled with a huge assortment of pastries. Everyone that we tried was excellent, and they were so cheap. After a day or so, we realized that you were supposed to eat at the bar standing up, as they charged more to eat at the tables. We made sure we brought some to go when we left for Madrid.
Porto was warm and sunny and gorgeous. It is very hilly and filled with windy cobblestone streets crowded by old buildings with laundry suspended on the lines above. Despite the feeling of age in the city, they had an extremely modern metro line that ran from the airport right into the city. Reynald had booked a hotel for us, and because Portugal is so much cheaper than France or Britain, we splurged and stayed in a 5 star hotel. The rooms were lovely, but there was quite a bit of construction around, so it was not as tranquil as it might have been. But the breakfast was one of the most beautiful I've ever seen, with fresh fruit, croissants, meats, cheeses, eggs, bacon, yoghurt, and wonderful coffee, tea and juices. It was completely luxurious, especially after staying in hostels where you were lucky to get toast.
We realized quickly that not understanding any Portuguese at all, would be a bit of a problem. Luckily English is relatively common in the tourist areas and we managed to get a good map and some recommendations. I wanted to see the local market, which was full of stalls selling vegetables, flowers and meats. The Portuguese diet is also very meat heavy, but emphasizes fish and seafood far more than France. After that we walked down to the river Douro, which was sunny and beautiful. It was so warm (mid 20's Celcius), that we regretted not bringing more lighter clothes. On the other side of the river were all the Port cellars that we decided to tour in the afternoon.
But before we did that, we decided to have lunch. Eating, when you don't know the language, can be a very daunting task. We finally found a small cafe to have lunch that had English translations on the menu but Reynald decided to be brave and ordered a mysterious daily special that was only listed in Portuguese. We were a bit shocked when it arrived, and turned out to be two whole small fish, deep fried, and presented on a plate. Reynald, ever the brave eater, dove in, and found the fish very tender and tasty (we never did find out what they were), as long as you didn't look them in the eye, or stare at their mouth full of teeth. Alcohol in Portugal is also very inexpensive, and a regional specialty is Vinho Verdes, a light sparkling white wine, which is really refreshing.
After lunch, we crossed the river to go tour some of the Port cellars. There are about a dozen cellars that offer tours that describe the process of making Port, and offer samples at the end. It was getting late in the afternoon, but we managed to buy tickets for one tour that didn't start for 45 minutes, and decided to go to another one while we waited. The first tour we did was of one of the smaller independent cellars. They gave an interesting tour describing how Port was made of grapes specific to the Douro region, and was different than wine because Brandy was added only 3 days after the fermentation process starts, which stops the fermentation and makes it sweeter with a higher alcohol content. After the tour, we were given a generous amount of samples, before we headed off to our next tour. The second tour was of the Sandeman Port Cellars, which is a well known brand and one that is even sold in Canada. Their tour was very polished and even included a short film describing the port making process with some wonderful footage of the Douro region which is famous for its man-made terraces used for growing grapes.
We stayed only two nights in Porto, before taking the train to Lisbon. Again we were impressed with their modern and quick metro system.
Lisbon
There were several times on this trip, when I questioned the value of taking a backpack instead of a nice little rolling suitcase...but then I came to Lisbon and it all became clear. Lisbon is one of the hilliest cities I have ever seen, even more so than Porto. Our hotel was pretty much at the top of the hill, and required walking up several flights of stairs and hills. It was a tough trip, but very rewarding when you got to the top. Our hotel had an absolutely incredible view of the red roof-studded city. We got there late afternoon, and went in search of food only to find that the custom was to eat dinner late, around 8 or 9pm. We walked around and saw a bit of the city before we finally found a restaurant that was open.
One of the customs of restaurants in Portugal is to serve plates of appetizers to you when you sit down, but everything costs extra (though you are only supposed to be charged if you actually eat it). We had learned this in Porto, and were careful during our first meal in Lisbon not to eat from the plates of ham, cheese, and shrimp that they set down, and eventually took away. We had a good dinner of fish, but were frustrated when the bill came and they had charged us for all the appetizers that we had been so careful not to eat. Luckily one of the waiters spoke English and eventually corrected the bill.
The next day, we decided to buy all day transit tickets and spent much of the day riding up and down Lisbon's hilly streets in their wonderful little street cars. Much like San Francisco, these little trams ran on tracks all through the city. We had a wonderful tour around the city for a fraction of the price of the tourist buses.
One last thing about Portugal, they had amazing pastries. There were little cafes everywhere, and each of them had long bars filled with a huge assortment of pastries. Everyone that we tried was excellent, and they were so cheap. After a day or so, we realized that you were supposed to eat at the bar standing up, as they charged more to eat at the tables. We made sure we brought some to go when we left for Madrid.
Monday, November 19, 2007
Map of trip
I covered a lot of ground in 5 weeks. Here's an interactive map that shows where I traveled. You can change the map location by clicking and dragging the mouse (you will need to do this to see where I traveled in Europe). The blue arrows show places I stopped, and the lines show approximate routes. If you click on the arrows you will get a short description of the place. You can zoom in by clicking the '+' button, or zoom out with the "-" button, or use the arrows to move around instead of dragging.
You can also click "View larger map" to see the full map with descriptions.
View Larger Map
You can also click "View larger map" to see the full map with descriptions.
View Larger Map
Friday, November 16, 2007
Paris
Once again, I departed London by ferry and bus to arrive at Paris. Several people I met before I left were shocked, since almost everyone goes by fast train from London to Paris. But I saved about $200 by taking the bus and ferry, and it was incredibly scenic, so I have no regrets even though I didn't go through the famous chunnel. The ferry left from Dover, and once I saw the area, remembered that the Cliffs of Dover are famous, and for good reason. It was an amazingly beautiful area, the cliffs are white and high. I wished I could have spent some time there, but we were on a tight schedule. The ferry trip was very fast and relaxing and went to Calais, France. The bus ride to Paris took about 4 hours.
The first thing I noticed about Paris was how much traffic there was. It was so so busy. We arrived at the main bus terminal which connected with the metro and I took the metro over to my hotel. It took a bit of adjusting to get used to the language, even though I studied French for years. Even when visiting Quebec, I was never quite as immersed in French as I was in France. But luckily, my French held up rather well, and most people understood me without any problems.
The next morning, I had the day to myself before I met up with Reynald, who would arrive from Vancouver that afternoon. I spent the day walking around and walked by the Louvre (it was closed, but you could still walk on the grounds), the Jardins des Tuilleries (the ornate palace gardens full of amazing sculptures), the Place de la Concorde (with a beautiful Greek fountain and a huge Egyptian obelisk), and the Champs Elysees (the long boulevard). Everything in Paris is so ornate and beautiful, I felt like you could take a million pictures and you still couldn't capture it all. There is work by famous artists in every park, the bridges are all unique and ornamented, and there are so many unusual and wonderful buildings, it's hard to take it all in. I walked by the Grand Palais (now an art gallery) and went by Notre Dame and took pictures of its famous Rose Windows.
After that I headed towards the hotel where I was supposed to meet Reynald. I was surprised on checking in that he wasn't there, and went to find somewhere to check my email. I found out that his flight had been delayed and that he likely wouldn't arrive until the next morning. He asked me to phone the hotel he had booked for the next night, and when I did, I found out they had canceled our reservation. So I went back to the internet cafe to try to book another hotel, which proved extremely difficult because the next night was Halloween, and the following day November 1st was a holiday in France (All Saint's Day). But I finally found something, and sent the information to him, hoping that he would get the info if he arrived late.
The next morning, I was very happy to see an exhausted but happy Reynald at my hotel room door. We checked out and went to the next hotel to check in. After that we decided it was time for lunch and got recommendations from the hotel for a nearby brasserie. Now, French food is famous for being tasty, but until you get there, it's hard to believe that you can literally walk into any restaurant and have fantastic food. We learned that the French simply do not compromise on food. The place we had for lunch was typical, a small cafe that served fresh food and had only one waitress and served a two course 'formule' that included an appetizer and main or a main and dessert. The waitress was nice but harried and had to come back several times before we got our order in. The food is very meat heavy, with steaks or sausages being common mains. It would be hard to eat vegetarian there. The only thing I didn't like about French restaurants was that they all allow smoking, which has been banned in Vancouver restaurants for a while, and you were always engulfed in smoke.
The other thing I loved about France was the Patisseries. French bakeries that can be found everywhere with fresh bread, croissants, and pastries. The bread is cheap and always fresh. I wish we had bakeries like this at home. Anyone who knows me, knows what a soft spot I have for baking, so I ate my fair share of baked things before I left.
Paris has recently started a bike rental program, and has bikes set up at various spots in the city, that you can rent for a 1 Euro fee/day, then by the half hour. If you use only 30 minutes, you don't pay extra, but if you use them for longer, it costs around 2 Euros. It seemed like a romantic and relaxing way to get around the city, but it turned out that it wasn't. As I mentioned earlier, there is a tremendous amount of traffic in Paris. Despite this, it is probably one of the most bike friendly cities I've seen, because cycling is so common. However, biking around the city requires some knowledge of where you are going, because many Paris streets tend to be one way, and the city is fully of round abouts (and lanes are not usually marked).
Our first trip on the bikes was reasonably fun, but we got quite lost, because it's very hard to look at a map when you're riding a bike. However, our second try was a complete disaster. It was evening, and we were near the Pompidou Centre, which is full of traffic and pedestrians. We thought we had mapped out our route, only to find that many of the streets were one way in the wrong direction, and after spending 30 minutes weaving around pedestrians and going in circles, we gave up and took the metro.
Before we left Paris, we visited the Louvre. The building itself is a work of art, and just looking at all the paintings on the ceilings could occupy a whole visit, never mind all the art on the walls. It has always been a dream of mine to go to the Louvre, and I was not disappointed. I saw some incredible pieces, and was allowed to take pictures of them. The Mona Lisa is underwhelming, but draws a huge crowd and is flanked by security guards and velvet ropes. Some of the paintings are enormous, and completely awe-inspiring. After a couple hours, we were so exhausted, we speed-walked through several galleries to get to the exit. We also stopped by the Eiffel Tower, but it was so incredibly busy that we couldn't afford to wait an hour or more in line to go up top, so we took some pictures then walked around.
I felt like we barely scratched the surface of what there is to see in Paris, but we ate lots of wonderful food. Before we knew it, it was time to head to the airport to go to Portugal.
The first thing I noticed about Paris was how much traffic there was. It was so so busy. We arrived at the main bus terminal which connected with the metro and I took the metro over to my hotel. It took a bit of adjusting to get used to the language, even though I studied French for years. Even when visiting Quebec, I was never quite as immersed in French as I was in France. But luckily, my French held up rather well, and most people understood me without any problems.
The next morning, I had the day to myself before I met up with Reynald, who would arrive from Vancouver that afternoon. I spent the day walking around and walked by the Louvre (it was closed, but you could still walk on the grounds), the Jardins des Tuilleries (the ornate palace gardens full of amazing sculptures), the Place de la Concorde (with a beautiful Greek fountain and a huge Egyptian obelisk), and the Champs Elysees (the long boulevard). Everything in Paris is so ornate and beautiful, I felt like you could take a million pictures and you still couldn't capture it all. There is work by famous artists in every park, the bridges are all unique and ornamented, and there are so many unusual and wonderful buildings, it's hard to take it all in. I walked by the Grand Palais (now an art gallery) and went by Notre Dame and took pictures of its famous Rose Windows.
After that I headed towards the hotel where I was supposed to meet Reynald. I was surprised on checking in that he wasn't there, and went to find somewhere to check my email. I found out that his flight had been delayed and that he likely wouldn't arrive until the next morning. He asked me to phone the hotel he had booked for the next night, and when I did, I found out they had canceled our reservation. So I went back to the internet cafe to try to book another hotel, which proved extremely difficult because the next night was Halloween, and the following day November 1st was a holiday in France (All Saint's Day). But I finally found something, and sent the information to him, hoping that he would get the info if he arrived late.
The next morning, I was very happy to see an exhausted but happy Reynald at my hotel room door. We checked out and went to the next hotel to check in. After that we decided it was time for lunch and got recommendations from the hotel for a nearby brasserie. Now, French food is famous for being tasty, but until you get there, it's hard to believe that you can literally walk into any restaurant and have fantastic food. We learned that the French simply do not compromise on food. The place we had for lunch was typical, a small cafe that served fresh food and had only one waitress and served a two course 'formule' that included an appetizer and main or a main and dessert. The waitress was nice but harried and had to come back several times before we got our order in. The food is very meat heavy, with steaks or sausages being common mains. It would be hard to eat vegetarian there. The only thing I didn't like about French restaurants was that they all allow smoking, which has been banned in Vancouver restaurants for a while, and you were always engulfed in smoke.
The other thing I loved about France was the Patisseries. French bakeries that can be found everywhere with fresh bread, croissants, and pastries. The bread is cheap and always fresh. I wish we had bakeries like this at home. Anyone who knows me, knows what a soft spot I have for baking, so I ate my fair share of baked things before I left.
Paris has recently started a bike rental program, and has bikes set up at various spots in the city, that you can rent for a 1 Euro fee/day, then by the half hour. If you use only 30 minutes, you don't pay extra, but if you use them for longer, it costs around 2 Euros. It seemed like a romantic and relaxing way to get around the city, but it turned out that it wasn't. As I mentioned earlier, there is a tremendous amount of traffic in Paris. Despite this, it is probably one of the most bike friendly cities I've seen, because cycling is so common. However, biking around the city requires some knowledge of where you are going, because many Paris streets tend to be one way, and the city is fully of round abouts (and lanes are not usually marked).
Our first trip on the bikes was reasonably fun, but we got quite lost, because it's very hard to look at a map when you're riding a bike. However, our second try was a complete disaster. It was evening, and we were near the Pompidou Centre, which is full of traffic and pedestrians. We thought we had mapped out our route, only to find that many of the streets were one way in the wrong direction, and after spending 30 minutes weaving around pedestrians and going in circles, we gave up and took the metro.
Before we left Paris, we visited the Louvre. The building itself is a work of art, and just looking at all the paintings on the ceilings could occupy a whole visit, never mind all the art on the walls. It has always been a dream of mine to go to the Louvre, and I was not disappointed. I saw some incredible pieces, and was allowed to take pictures of them. The Mona Lisa is underwhelming, but draws a huge crowd and is flanked by security guards and velvet ropes. Some of the paintings are enormous, and completely awe-inspiring. After a couple hours, we were so exhausted, we speed-walked through several galleries to get to the exit. We also stopped by the Eiffel Tower, but it was so incredibly busy that we couldn't afford to wait an hour or more in line to go up top, so we took some pictures then walked around.
I felt like we barely scratched the surface of what there is to see in Paris, but we ate lots of wonderful food. Before we knew it, it was time to head to the airport to go to Portugal.
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