Chall's Travel Escapades

PROVENCE - La Fontaine de Vaucluse

2010-06-17T19:09:00.005+02:00

Of all the places we visited in Provence, La Fontaine de Vaucluse was by far and away my favourite, and I’ll be back there like a shot if and when the opportunity presents itself!

The village sits on the banks of the river, with a weir and a mill. The river was one of the most beautiful I have ever seen. The colours were simply amazing – bright vibrant greens that seem almost unnatural.

The colour comes from the reeds under the water which I suspect are as a result of the weir which helps to channel the water to power the paper mill.

The mill itself is open to the public with free entry. They still make paper here in the traditional way and it was great to not only see that for myself, but also to see the group of kids who were allowed to join in. Each one made their own sheet of paper by sieving the mixture from the vat, and then made their handprint that they could take away when it had all dried out. What a great experience!

The upper part is predominantly calm and flat, so it’s no surprise to find the banks sprinkled with bars and restaurants where people were just chilling out. The lower part couldn’t have been more of a contrast and we were treated to a couple of adrenaline junkies in a canoe!

It wasn’t long before they realised we were there, and put on a bit of a show for us. The photos were amazing and looked almost like I’d been in the middle of the river, so I was well chuffed!

There is a promenade style path leading up from the village to the source pool approximately 20 minutes away. The path is lined on one side by the bars and restaurants on the riverbank, and on the other by an interesting collection of tourist shops.

I was seriously freaked out by the ‘Santons’ in one of the shops. According to Wikipedia, Santons (little saints) are small hand-painted figurines. In a traditional Provençal scene, there are 55 figures representing various characters from Provençal village life such as the scissor grinder, the fishwife, the blind man, and the chestnut seller.

Unfortunately, all I could think of was Chucky, the doll from the horror film ‘Child’s Play’. I was convinced that they were staring me out, so we backed out of the shop (literally – I wasn’t turning my back on them!), and continued on up.

The river seemed to get ever more interesting, and it was almost a disappointment to finally reach the source pool. This spring comes from deep underground and in the 1950s, Jacques Cousteau explored the depths with a submersible but could not find the bottom. Since then a probe has made it to a sandy bed at a depth of 308 metres but the spring itself comes from somewhere even deeper

With so many restaurants, it was difficult to chose, but we’d both been tempted by the reasonable prices and nice setting of ‘La Merinda’. There was only a handful of tables, but the service was friendly and quick.

We made a token effort on the diet front and chose salads, but sadly that was ruined when I ‘decorated’ mine with bacon bits and goats cheese. Not exactly low fat, but absolutely delicious!

So reluctantly we started our slow walk back to the car, and I could feel my feet dragging. We’d explored the other side of the river which is criss-crossed with walking paths and a museum, so last on the list was the church.

I was so busy taking photos of the outside, I forgot to look inside – what a wally!!

PROVENCE - Saint-Rémy-de-Provence

2010-06-17T19:01:00.005+02:00

Think of a window, with sun-bleached shutters that must have once been bright blue, plastered walls in faded Mediterranean hues and plants tumbling out of the obligatory window boxes, and you’ve got Saint-Rémy-de-Provence

I suspect that Saint-Rémy-de-Provence is the Provençal town of most people’s imagination and we were determined to fit in a quick visit, on the way back to the port. Of course what we hadn’t taken into account is that even in Spring, the world and his wife want to do the same thing, so the parking is a nightmare!

The old centre of the town is mostly pedestrianised which is great (tourists – myself included – don’t tend to take account of road users when they are exploring!). We eventually found a free spot opposite the bakery, and headed into the narrow cobbled streets.

We managed to buy yet more soap – it turned into a bit of a running joke – as well as a few postcards for my collection. I rarely send them because postcards can be such miniature works of art, but I am full of good intentions when I buy them!

This was another town where we could have spent a fortune on all the local produce, from the wines of the Rhone to the jams, candied fruits, mustards and pates. I was even tempted by the coffee but slightly worried that the customs men would think I was smuggling something rather more unsavoury if I arrived with 15 packets in the boot!

What was nice about Saint-Rémy was that every turn of a corner seemed to reveal something pretty; an unusual pavement display, a charming old house or even a random water fountain attached to the wall of a house.

Everywhere we wandered, the narrow cobbled streets were filled with boutiques and interesting little shops selling all manner of lavender themed souvenirs, tablecloths covered with olives and sunflowers, artisanal pottery and of course the singing cicadas which seem to be the main export of the region.

Time was getting on, and I can’t say that cobbles do much for my feet when I am wearing my trusty flipflops, so we decided to head back towards the car and find a café on the way. Fortunately, they also sold ice cream…

PROVENCE - Les Grottes de Thouzon

2010-06-17T18:57:00.002+02:00

After completing our tour of the Colorado de Provence in almost record time, and a spot of lunch in Apt, we decided to consult my sometimes rather stroppy GPS lady for places of interest in the area, and this time she came up trumps!

I love caves, and whenever I’m on the mainland, I always try and visit one. France has a fabulous network of subterranean places to explore and Thouzon was no exception.

Whilst it wasn’t the size/depth of Aven d’Orgnac (Ardeche), and not as unusual as the Gouffre de Padirac (Dordogne), Les Grottes de Thouzon did offer something that neither of those did, which was the right to take photos – HURRAH!

The walls and ceiling looked almost as though they were melting, and offered a nice combination of ‘drapeau’ style stalactites and ‘fistuleuses’ which are also known as macaroni stalactites as they are only about 3mm in diameter and often hollow. In fact, there were so many of these ‘macaronis’ that in some places it looked almost like the cave had hair!

We were told off a couple of times for lagging behind because although you’re allowed to take photos, you’re not allowed to delay the group, and I did manage to headbut another visitor while offering to take a snap of them together (he was rather tanned and it was dark!), but unlike most of my other cave visits, this one passed off relatively uneventfully…

PROVENCE - Apt

2010-06-17T18:53:00.003+02:00

Years ago, we stopped off for lunch in Apt on the way back from a visit to the Gorges du Verdun, but it was November, so we didn’t spend long exploring. This time it was different.

First stop was an interesting looking shop filled with all sorts of typical Provençal bits and bobs such as bundles of heavenly smelling dried lavender, scents, local delicacies and singing cicadas.

OK, so the singing cicadas lost their charm after the first few minutes and if I’d had a spade in my handbag (scarily, that’s not outside the realms of possibility!), I probably would have smashed them to bits if I’d worked there!

The beautiful church was attached to the old walled area of the town where we noticed that unusually the bell tower was no enclosed, and so the bells were open to elements, protected only by some ornate iron framework. As our tour continues, we realised that actually this is peculiar to this region.

Eventually we found ourselves in the People’s museum in one of the side streets. I have to confess that this was mainly due to the need of a loo rather than any real curiosity on our part, but I was intrigued by the dyes and colourants.

Apt has been known for its basket- and wicker-work and hat industries since the 17th century, but the area was, and is, very important for the ochre industry, and many of the colours are naturally produced in the surrounding villages such as Roussillon and Rustrel.

PROVENCE - Rustrel & the Colorado de Provence

2010-06-17T18:44:00.009+02:00

The Colorado de Provence is actually what prompted this trip to Provence because I’d seen Florence’s fabulous photos from their trip in November and thought to myself ‘I want some of that!’

First stop was the village of Rustrel because in true travel professional style, I hadn’t bothered to print directions to the site – ho-hum! On the plus side, the market was on which gave us the chance to indulge in a spot of soap buying, and a quick coffee on the square and a chat with the proprietor (who was not dissimilar to René from ‘Allo ‘Allo) confirmed we were on the right track.

Basically, this is an area of enormous earth pillars, quarries and amazing colours in all shades from white and ochre through to deep blood reds. One of the most surprising things is that the site is free, yes FREE! We paid just 3 euros to park the car and could then have happily spent the whole day there.

There are three different marked trails which take anything from just under an hour on the shorted route, to about 3 hours for the longest route which incorporates the two shorter trails as well as a few extra bits and bobs

We’re both keen walkers, so we decided to follow the longer path. I was glad I’d put on my fab new walking boots rather than trainers, as there were a few sections at the beginning with loose stones, but essentially this is one for all the family.

For me, the best bit – well, the most unusual – was the area known as the ‘Sahara’. This is where the earth was deepest in colour. You can climb up to the cliffs and walk along which was an amazing experience. You don’t realise how high they are until you look down and see people as the barren landscape doesn’t give much perspective.

My top tip is don’t try to talk up on the cliffs as you’ll end up eating a mouthful of dust if it’s windy! It was almost like being in a sandstorm, and I was glad I’d though to put my glasses on, even though it wasn’t particularly sunny.

There were a couple of curiosities along the way including a little mud man that someone had carved into the rock. On the one hand amusing and I’m sure the kids liked it, but at the same time a shame to spoil such an amazing site.

All in all, we managed to do the full circuit in just over 2 hours. We didn’t dawdle and we are both keen walkers so we probably did it quicker than most, but equally we had to allow time for my OCD photo taking, so they probably over-estimate the times of the walks a bit in the pamphlet

PROVENCE - l’Abbaye de Sénanque

2010-06-17T18:39:00.003+02:00

Just a few minutes from Gordes is the l’Abbaye Notre-Dame de Sénanque. I’d seen photos of this abbey surrounded by fields of lavender so that, coupled with my unnatural obsession with monks, meant that this was our first stop of the day.

We hadn’t realised that to visit the abbey you have to join a guided tour and that these only go at certain times of the day, so we were faced with a decision of waiting 40 minutes and joining two coach loads of tourists, or conducting our own visit of the outside.

We decided to have a mooch around the gift shop while we made up our minds. After a short contre-temps with a grumpy French man who wouldn’t let us in (he thought we were part of his coach party wandering off!), we had a flick through the souvenir books and discovered that the inside was relatively bare.

As we were debating, one of the monks made an appearance and I was in hogs heaven! I’m not sure what it is about them, but I was completely fascinated and almost asked to have my photo taken with him, but in the end I was worried that someone (mentioning no names) might not approve!

In the end, we decided to conduct our own tour of the outside and have a nosy at the monkery (I’m pretty sure that’s the right word, but I can’t remember what they call the places that monks live!). At the very back, we found a tree that was completely split in half but somehow still living. Perhaps a touch of divine intervention?

On the way back to the car, we both got an attack of Tourettes. What is it about religious places that make you just want to spout all manner of blasphemous words and phrases?? I just couldn’t help myself, and even when I switched to French I managed to come out with ‘Milles Tonneres’ which is roughly translated as ‘Hell and Damnation’ – there is no hope really…

PROVENCE - Gordes

2010-06-17T18:30:00.003+02:00

I’ve been to Gordes before on a trip to the Alpes Maritime and it was beautiful, so I was keen to go back again on this visit to Provence.

The village itself is very Provençal in flavour and has a huge imposing castle at the centre, but the mistake most visitors make is to think that that’s it. Wrong! For me, the most interesting parts are tucked away behind the chateau where is a beautiful little ‘piazza’ with a fountain and a few restaurants.

We’d managed to find a typical Provençal style hotel which – perhaps rather unsurprisingly – was called ‘Le Provençal’. Won’t forget that one!! The room was fairly simple but scrupulously clean with a few nice extra touches like the miniature bath/shower gels and body lotions.

As well as being superbly situated at the very heart of the village with a restaurant, the other big advantage of this hotel is the view over the castle which dates back to 1031. These days, it is home to the Pol Para museum (Flemish contemporary painter), but we were more interested in the natural works of art such as the stunning panoramic view over valley and mountains of Luberon.

Sadly, the pathway around the edge of the village dips and climbs quite alarmingly for someone wearing flipflops and the wind was amazingly strong so I was slightly concerned that I might get blown over the edge, but fortunately I had eaten enough at dinner to weight me down even during a force 10 gale!

The afternoon had been a bit cloudy which was slightly disappointing as I know how beautiful Gordes is when the sun shines, but as night fell, we were treated to a beautiful sight as the castle was lit up below, which gave us a only a tiny insight into how imposing it must have been in times gone by.

We didn’t have time to visit the ‘Village des Bories’ which is a collection of small dwellings constructed in drystone walls of limestone. The village is fascinating, and worthy of half a day, but as we had so much else to see and do, we just couldn’t spare the time…

SNCM FERRIES – The Scandola and the Danielle Casanova

2010-06-17T18:24:00.001+02:00

Whenever possible, I always try to catch the ferry from Propriano because the port is only five minutes down the road, but as this was such a short trip, I found myself leaving on the Scandola from Propriano, and returning from Ajaccio on the Danielle Casanova.

I’d been at the quay a bit late as I still hadn’t finished packing when the boat arrived, and I should have been at the port by then, but we were a bit delayed, so even once I’d boarded there was still time to admire the view.

It’s easy to forget how close the mountains are to the sea in Corsica, and although we only have relatively small hills backing the Valinco Gulf, the landscape was still impressive as we sailed out into the open water.

Coming back, it was the ferry rather than the view that was more impressive. The Danielle Casanova is one of two ‘cruise’ ferries operated by SNCM and you can’t fail to be impressed if only by their sheer size!

Danielle Casanova (born 1909 - Auschwitz, May 9, 1943) was a communist activist and a member of the resistance, died while being deported to Auschwitz. He was responsible for the Young Communist League, before founding the Union of Young girls in France. A heroine of the Resistance, she has lent her name to streets, schools, and colleges throughout Corsica. However, she was actually born Vincentelli Perini and only began calling herself Danielle after she met her husband Laurent Casanova, a French politician.

UK - The Cricketers’ Arms & Berwick Church

2010-05-20T21:04:00.000+02:00

One of the first questions everyone asks me in Corsica when they realise that I’m English, is ‘is England really like it is on Midsomer Murders?’ and on days like today when I have been sitting in the garden on the Cricketers’ Arms, I can honest say that it is (with perhaps slightly fewer deaths!).

The Cricketers’ Arms is the English country pub of most people’s imaginations. The pub itself is a traditional flint stone cottage pub close to the South Downs. The gardens are particularly pretty; Buddleias attracting butterflies, cherry blossom trees and all sorts of spring flowers.

We sat in the garden with glasses of chilled cider mulling over the menu, and in the end we plumped for two of their speciality platters. We took a cheese platter with mature cheddar, stilton and brie, served with real ale chutney and a Spanish platter with Serrano ham, Gran Vera chorizo, Salchichon sausage, Manchego cheese, olives and sun-blushed tomatoes which we shared.

They were absolutely delicious, so after lunch we decided to be good again and walk up to the church. I didn’t know there was a church close to the pub as they are a little way out of the main part of the village, but it was great as we got to see beautiful thatched houses and an amazing clematis clinging to an old wall

We wandered through the graveyard which sounds a bit morbid, but with wild flowers all over the place, you couldn’t help but feel uplifted.

The church is small but perfectly formed as the saying goes, and Kerry’s dad who had visited before gave us a top tip because otherwise we’d never have known that you can light up the inside to illuminate the colourful 20th century frescos, some of which were painted by the Bloomsbury group.

Kerry sat for ages reading all about them, but I have to confess that I was more interested in the stone windows as architecture is more my thing, and the view was just beautiful…

UK - Herstmonceux Castle and grounds

2010-05-20T20:48:00.001+02:00

Herstmonceux castle is tucked away in the leafy lanes close to the village of the same name, but even though I lived in the area for yonks, I have somehow never visited. So, as I had a couple of spare hours, today was the day!

The first surprise was the Canadian lady at the gate and it reminded me of the war memorial at Vimy which is actually Canadian soil in France – very weird set up. Anyway, it turns out that the castle is privately owned and today is a working university.

It was a bit strange to see all the students milling about and sitting on walls that must have seen bloody battles over the years, and it’s a great shame that there isn’t much of note inside – as the lady on the gate said, antique furniture and students just don’t mix! - but the best thing about Herstmonceux is that because it’s privately owned, you can wander wherever you want through the grounds.

The first thing I noticed was the walled garden behind the castle, with ancient brick built archways and little gates leading to further themed gardens. I particularly liked the Shakespeare garden where all the plants have featured in the work of the Bard, and there are quotations from his various works.

It was here that I managed to corner one of the peacocks that roam freely through the grounds. I have never heard such a racket in my life and a couple of peacocks in your garden would be much more effective that a burglar alarm I am sure!

I was actually trying to step on the very end of his tail to bag myself one of their gorgeous feathers, but he obviously rumbled me, as he ran off at quite a pace, but it was whilst chasing him that I happened across the Elizabethan garden by accident, and was thrilled to discover an exhibition of sculptures dotted amongst the flower beds.

Beyond these structured gardens are huge fields of what must have previously been boggy marshland (mind your ankles), leading to some enormous Rhododendron bushes and super pretty apple blossoms. At the end of this field is the 1930’s folly with little garden of its own and another short woodland walk by the side of the stream.

At this time of year, one of the main attractions of the castle and grounds are the bluebells. They were absolutely everywhere and the density of flowers made them look more purple than blue. There are miles and miles of trails through the woods and as usual I was so busy taking photos that it wasn’t long before I realized that I didn’t know where I was!

I knew that sooner or later I would end up back at the castle, so I kept going and came across a clearing with information panels telling me about ‘Herst Henge’. Apparently, this is a ring of tree stumps into which various symbols have been carved. I suppose it’s the same idea as Stonehenge, but on a much smaller scale.

So, after a lovely woodland walk I found myself back at the castle gardens and an area that has been planted with impressive red maples – not surprising when you consider that the castle is Canadian owned! Below these trees, a stumpery has been created.

I’d never heard of a stumpery, but they are similar to rockeries but made from parts of dead trees instead of rocks. This can take the form of whole stumps, logs, pieces of bark or even worked timber such as railway sleepers or floorboards. The pieces are arranged artistically and plants, typically ferns, mosses and lichens are encouraged to grow around or on them.

I spotted another gate almost hidden behind the purple Magnolia, so I wandered in and found some amazing rhododendrons and azaleas in all shades from bright yellows, fiery oranges and deep reds and pinks.

Tucked away in a corner was an Asian style area with a budda statue and round the corner a really peaceful/tranquil area when you can sit and meditate in front of the fountain. Of course, I hadn’t read the blurb that the lady at the gate gave me, otherwise I would have known all this was here, but it was quite nice to discover it all as a surprise!

So, how did Herstmonceux Castle become a Canadian University? Well, in the 12th century a saxon lady, Idonea de Herst married a Norman nobleman, Ingelram de Monceux, to give the place it's name. The name of the owners changed through marriage to Fiennes, and the family increased in wealth and power. James Fiennes distinguished himself fighting for King Henry V at the Battle of Agincourt and later became sheriff of Surrey and Sussex.

The family fortunes are interesting and varied, but by 1700 the last Lord Dacre, Earl of Sussex, was forced to sell Herstmonceux Castle. Over the years the castle saw good times and bad times, first falling into ruin before being bought in the 1900’s by Lt. Col. Claude Lowther who started the renovations that would continue for many decades to come.

In 1993 Herstmonceux Castle was acquired by Queen's University of Canada through the generosity of Drs Alfred and Isabel Bader, and is now an International Study Centre attracting students from around the world.

UK - Bluebell Walk and Farm Trail, Sussex

2010-05-20T19:44:00.000+02:00

When I woke up this morning and saw the gorgeous blue skies, I knew that a bit of fresh air and exercise would help to assuage my guilt at all the naughty things I have eaten recently! So the only question was where to go.

Fortunately, my lovely friend Kerry had the situation firmly in hand, and had planned a whole day of excitement starting with a stroll along the bluebell walk and farm trail, lunch at a fabulous country pub and then a visit to the unusual church at Berwick.

The bluebell walk is only open for a few weeks each year, obviously when the bluebells are out, so we were very lucky really that the spring has been quite late this year because otherwise we would have missed them.

Entry is £4 which all goes to charity, and included in that are all sorts of extras such as a small petting zoo, farmers market stall, book stall, plants for sale and even a café selling homemade scrummy cakes and lunches.

The trails cover several different routes that can be done individually or joined together to make a huge trail even passing through the working area of the farm. They have a herd of Fresian dairy cows that are absolutely HUGE but I wasn’t quite so scared of them as I am of the Corsican cows as they don’t have horns. Phew!

There are also areas of wild garlic that smelt divine, so it was lucky we were almost at the end of the trail as our thoughts were turning to a yum pub lunch. I’m not sure that we managed to work off as much as we ate to reward ourselves afterwards, but who cares!

THE ALPS - Chamonix

2010-04-21T10:14:00.002+02:00

We’d been to Mont Blanc, so as Chamonix is the nearest town, we decided to pop into the centre, have a wander and grab a coffee in the sunshine.

I’d been told that because it sits in the shadow of Mont Blanc, Chamonix is often colder than other resorts, but today the rays were shining onto all the old fashioned buildings and pavement cafés, and it was easy to see why Chamonix is so popular.

Loved by skiers and by mountain athletes of all types, Chamonix really became known after it hosted the very first winter Olympics in 1924. These days with the fibreglass skis and colourful lycra/gortex clothing, it is hard to imagine the basic wooden skis and suits worn by the competitors of yester-year!

16 January 1924

The town was much bigger than I’d thought at first sight, and whilst we’d planned a quick stop-off, we found ourselves wandering through the wide streets full of chic (expensive) boutiques interspersed with winter sports shops.

Perhaps the strangest sight of the day was a rather portly French chap, dressed as a Russian which his huge horse and cart. Goodness knows what sort of horse it was, but it was enormous and very solidly built, so I kept my distance!

A quick coffee for which we paid through the nose, and we were on our way again which was a shame as I felt we’d barely scratched the surface of the this lovely Alpine town. I will certainly be back...

THE ALPS - Mont Blanc and l'Aiguille du Midi Cable car

2010-04-21T10:13:00.001+02:00

Today was one of the most thrilling/terrifying of my life. I am scared of heights, so whatever possessed me to go to up the Aiguille du Midi, just 1000m below the summit of Mont Blanc, the highest mountain in the Alps (and Western Europe) at 4810m high, I will never know!

I don’t know what was more horrifying; the thought of climbing to an altitude of 3842m but a cable car suspended on what looked like a bit of string (perhaps a slight over-simplification!) or the price of the return ticket at 41 euros – eek!

I wasn’t inspired by the notice board at the boarding gate either which announced fine weather, but temperatures of -13˚ and a 3/5 risk of avalanche. The doors to the cable car opened and we surged forward which was probably just as well as I might have turned to flee otherwise.

These cable cars look tiny but can hold between 60-70 people. Our group were mainly skiers off to do the Vallee Blanche (white Valley) which is seriously dangerous off-piste skiing with no marked runs and no surveillance. There are signs everywhere to warn of the risks and these are quite blunt almost to the point of ‘if you do this and die, it’s not our fault’.

The scenery was absolutely stunning, and I would have taken some photos if I’d been able to prise my hands off the handrail, and to be honest, we were only saved from me lying face down on the floor and praying because it was so packed!

The ascent is too high and steep to do in one go – it was the world’s higest cable car for about 20 years, and still holds the record as the highest vertical ascent cable car in the world – I am making myself feel woozy just writing about it!! At the Plan de l’Aiguille (2317m high) you have to get out and then take another cable car to the top.

The views from the summit are something I will never forget, and I was glad that I’d braved it. The other thing that I’ll remember for a very long time was the cold. I have never felt temperatures as low as -13 degrees before and it is a very strange sensation, because it’s a really dry cold.

Fortunately as I am always cold, I’d dressed for the occasion in thermals, fleecy tracksuit trousers, jumper, fleecy thermal top, coat, scarf, gloves, ski socks and snow boats, and I was still freezing to the extent that my breath was freezing my sunglasses!

The altitude is another killer and I am sure that I have abnormally small lungs because even the effort of climbing the steps up to the panoramic terrace at the top was almost too much for me, and I had to sit down to catch my breath. How on earth they ever worked up there to build the cable car is beyond me…

We found the ice tunnel and the start of the Alpine track to where you can ski the Vallee Blanche (mad fools), but because it is so steep and dangerous, only skiers are allowed to descend, even if you have snow boots with crampons.

Although I could have stayed all day and taken photos from all around, it was just too cold, so we decided to go back down to the Plan de l’Aiguille where there is a little snack bar/café. Even though it is still very high here, the sun was beating down and I am ashamed to say that I managed to get a nice set of panda eyes without even sitting directly in the sun!

All in all, this is a trip I will probably never do again (mainly because cable car or helicopter are the only ways to get there), but it was one of the most thrilling experiences of my life so I am so pleased that I did it despite the fear!

THE ALPS - Samoëns

2010-04-21T10:12:00.001+02:00

After a short contre-temps with a mad French bloke in the car park at the edge of the village, we finally wandered into the village of Samoëns to find it was market day – what luck!

It was difficult to fully appreciate all the beautiful buildings as we were far too busy darting from one stall to another to see what bargains we could find, but all that changed when we arrived in the centre.

The village has been classified by UNESCO and it is easy to see why. There is a huge Linden tree in the centre that dates back to the 14th century, and must measure about a metre in diameter, a beautiful church, what was presumably once a watering hole for the horses and all manner of little towers and turrets as well as the ornately carved wooden balconies of more recent times.

I love exploring new places on foot because you see so much more than from a car or bus, plus you can just stop wherever the fancy takes you. Ours took us to one of the many shops selling local Savoyard specialities such as saucisson, cured hams, cheeses and jams. Quelle surprise!

Luckily, lunch was still a fair way off because I am convinced that if we’d have been hungry, we would have left with a whole ham in our handbags!

Talking of hams, the strangest moment of the day came when I petted a piglet in the market! The guys on the stall had clearly hit upon a fabulous marketing gimmick as virtually everyone stopped to stoke the brillo-pad heads of the baby pigs or to let them lick their hands, and their opening gambit was ‘do you like animals’, from which they then tried to sell you a box of sweeties. Bizarre, but it seemed to work 9 times out of 10.

It wasn’t long before we found the food market down by the ice skating rink and a scary looking gyroscope type thing that had a small child strapped into it. It could have been a medieval torture device but she seemed to be enjoying herself so we decided to ignore the screams.

The fruits and vegetables looked so inviting, but it was the colours of the flowers that caught my eye – who would have thought it was mid April with snow all over the mountains.

Tucked away unobtrusively in one of the little side streets is the Botanical garden. We’d read in the Michelin that there is a little chapel at the top with fabulous views, so we climbed up the steep path, stopping now and then to take photos of the little flowers.

I am sure that the gardens would be absolutely spectacular in the summer, but as it is still quite cool for mid-April, we didn’t see it at its best when all the flowers come into bloom and the ground is a riot of colour.

We’d intended to visit the main church in the village square too, but completely forgot on the first day, and by the time we remembered the next day, it was after 7pm so the church was shut. Milles Tonneres! Luckily that gave me a good excuse to just sit and enjoy a glass of mulled wine at ‘La Cheminée’ before our thoughts turned to supper.

The first night we had eaten so well at the Restaurant ‘La Clarine’ that although we looked at all the other menus, we found ourselves back at the same place to try yet another speciality dish ‘Fondue Savoyard’ which is a cheese fondue served with salad, cured meats and a particularly good local wine. My gym membership form is already half completed...

THE ALPS - Lac de Montriond

2010-04-21T10:11:00.002+02:00

We’d planned to head up to the Gorges de Diablo (Devil’s Gorge) for a little excursion after our meetings in Morzine, but luckily we had the foresight to call ahead and discovered they were closed. Drats!

Fortunately the car is well equipped with such diverse items as knives and forks, walking boots, wet wipes, a 70’s disco music CD, about 15 saucissons and various guide books, because you never know! We found that just a few kilometres north was the Lac de Montriond and the Cascade d’Ardent, so off we went.

As we were only at 1065m altitude it was really shocking to discover that most of the lake was still frozen and the path surrounding it was not only covered in snow, but had been compacted to thick ice that was absolutely treacherous.

In the end it was too hazardous to continue round the lake on the path as the chances of slipping and falling into the freezing/frozen water were too high, so we jumped into the car and drove to the other end where there was an aptly named little restaurant ‘Au Bout du Lac’.

This end of the lake obviously catches the sun as it was mostly fluid and the colours were amazing. At its deepest point, the lake plunges to depths of 19 metres and according to the sign seems to be a popular swimming spot in the summer, but I was slightly more concerned with the other sign...

Disappointingly, the sun was hidden by the clouds for most of the day so we couldn’t see the scenery in it’s full glory which was a real shame, but the water was so flat and calm that the reflections of the snow-capped mountains in the water were actually clearer that the view when we looked at them the right way up. Weird.

We wanted a photo taken, so we asked a passerby who had a camera around his neck (normally a safe bet), if he’d take one of us with the lake and mountain behind. I was slightly worried when he asked if we were sure we wanted it take portrait rather than landscape because we’d have to look at the screen sideways!! How on earth do we find these people?

THE ALPS - Les Gets

2010-04-21T10:10:00.001+02:00

We’d passed Les Gets on our way to Morzine and I can’t say that I’d been impressed, but I was glad that we made the effort to come back and visit properly, as we’d managed to by-pass the whole town!

The resort itself is really quite small – one main road through the centre and walking distance from one end of the village to the other. The ESF school and main piste is right in the centre, so you can’t miss it (or the tanned ski instructors swaggering their way to their favourite watering hole), and there is another lift at just at the far edge of the village.

The whole place has a feel of the ski resorts in the Rockies on a much smaller scale.

There was still a fair amount of snow, and a surprising amount of people on the slopes considering that it’s not school holidays or the weekend, but I couldn’t help wondering how many of them would make it down safely as I’d heard on the radio this morning that Thursday is statistically the day for most injuries.

Apparently it is a combination of dehydration and the thoughts of returning to work that cause most people to lose their concentration, but our lot seemed to be doing fine, thank goodness. We explored the town for a while on foot, but as the weather wasn’t great for sightseeing (although fabulous ski conditions), we decided to call it a day.

THE ALPS - Morzine

2010-04-21T10:09:00.001+02:00

After being stuck behind a logging truck for the best part of 10km and then attempting a daring overtaking manoeuvre on the mountains roads after watching him nearly knock over a signpost, I was glad we’d managed to make it to Morzine at all!

Being the slick travel industry professionals that I am, I tend to assume that I’ll be able to find anywhere without proper directions, so it was a bit of a shock to find that Morzine is in fact much larger than the other resorts we’d visited, and covers a huge area.

Luckily we spotted a fit looking ESF ski instructor in his distinctive red uniform so it seemed a good excuse to call him over and ask for directions J. We finally managed to find the Hotel le Petit Dru where we had our first meeting of the morning, and the lovely owner offered us a coffee which was great as we’d missed out on a café breakfast thanks to the lumber truck.

We explored on foot and soon found ourselves in the Patisserie for the tarts for our picnic lunch, but I wasn’t as thrilled by the selection as I had been in Saint Gervais. We settled on a Myrtille soufflé and a Myrtille crumble – can you see a theme here??

After a few false starts and trips round the one way system on the centre (I now know the back streets like the back of my hand!), we were off again for lunch at the little Chappelle des Mouilles.

Luckily we are both comfortable with ‘the great outdoors’ as there are hardly any public loos anywhere, but I did get a little shock when I thought there was a Marmotte (Gopher) sitting on top of the car. Fortunately on closer inspection it turned out to be a suede handbag. Really must get my eyes tested again...

While I was waiting, I noticed that there was a hole right through the trunk of the tree opposite the chapel, so as I couldn’t see in (another reason to call the optician), I thought I’d take a photo. When we got back in the car, we compared photos and realised that we’d both taken picture of the hole in the trunk, but it seems they weren’t the same holes. I think maybe we were on a sugar high from the tarts!!

THE ALPS - Restaurant La Clarine, Samoëns

2010-04-21T10:08:00.001+02:00

As usual, we were on the look out for a typical Savoyard restaurant serving good local specialities for as little money as possible, and I felt sure that Samoëns wouldn’t disappoint! We found a couple of places that seemed to fit the bill, but in the end we settled on the Restaurant ‘La Clarine’.

At first I was a bit dubious because it looked like it was attached to a rowdy après-ski bar, but it turned out to be a real gem; wooden furniture with typically cosy red and green decorations. We chose a creamy of cows milk cheese which is bakes with charcuterie and warm potatos, and a gratin served with cured meats and a green salad.

As usual we decided to share which is lucky because I knew we’d have to count the salad as one our our ‘5-a-day’ fruit and vegetables. Counting the cornichons, that makes a sum total of 2 today then. Oh dear...

THE ALPS - Sixt Fer à Cheval

2010-04-21T10:07:00.002+02:00

As we didn’t have any decent coffee at the apartment, we decided to start our day at the Café La Grange in Saint Gervais les Bains. I was delighted with the old fashioned blue ceramic cups and miniature milk jug that looked like it had come from a dolls house, but not as excited as I was when we got to the Patisserie!

With rows and rows of sticky, delicious-looking, calorie-laden offerings, it was difficult to choose, but in the end we plumped for a Linzer Framboise (raspberry tart) and a local speciality that looked like a triangle of puff pastry with toasted almonds on one side and sandwiched with Myrtille – yum!

We’d planned a little excursion to Sixt Fer à Cheval and the Cirque de Fer à Cheval, which had two snow flakes in the guide Michelin (I didn’t know they gave snowflakes instead of stars for the mountain regions – how cool is that!). The village of Sixt Fer à Cheval came first and it wasn’t long before I was out of the car snapping away.

The old hotel in front of the abbey was clearly disused, but was still an impressive building in the shabby-chic sort of way that I love about little French villages. We ignored the barriers and sneaked through the grounds to get to the abbey behind where there was a fab view of the mountains, but as the church itself was closed, it wasn’t long before we were off again heading for the ‘cirque’.

I wasn’t entirely sure what the Cirque Fer à Cheval was, so another quick squint at the Michelin guide told me that it is an impressive semi-circular mountain range – it wasn’t wrong! without realising it, we’d stopped a number of times to take photos of various sections from a distance without knowing that that was exactly where we were heading. We also saw some ‘Chamois’ which are extremely rare wild goats clinging precariously to the mountainside.

When we finally arrived, it was absolutely amazing. We took some photos of the huge cross in front of the enormous high peaks. Apparently in June there are about 30 waterfalls here, but as there isstill lots of snow, it looks like the mountain range is covered with runny icing!

We settled on some big boulders to eat our picnic of Mortadella, fresh bread, and cornichons before sharing the scrummy tarts. We both admitted that we’d had to resist strong temptation not to eat them at breakfast time and my suggestion that we could have shared one at breakfast and the other after lunch was met with ‘or just bought more of them’. Good point!

It was whilst we were finishing lunch that we heard (and felt) the huge roar of an avalanche. Having been unlucky enough to feel the effects of a bomb, this was almost exactly the same and the sound echoed right across the valley. Sadly I wasn’t quick enough with the camera to catch even the huge clouds of powder where the snow had fallen, but we were just grateful it wasn’t anywhere near us.

Near to the village of Sixt Fer à Cheval is another natural wonder which also has two snowflakes, so as we had to pass through the village anyway, we decided to take a little detour.

The Cascades de Rouget is an enormous double waterfall. In true Corsican style, we decided to ignore the obligatory parking area at the top and drive as far as we could. I was adamant that it was because we didn’t have huge amounts of time, but I think we all know that it was to save my lungs from exploding!

We managed to park about 10m from the edge of the waterfall and felt quite smug that many of the other visitors had had to walk up a steep incline for 20-30 minutes. Aren’t we mean! It was a shame that the sun was in the wrong place for any decent shots, and the spray was soaking the camera so we were forced to be quick.

We walked down a little way below the bridge and found a series of smaller waterfalls and rock pools. The sun this side was amazing warm and having had to dress for the arctic at the foot of the main waterfall, we now found ourselves shedding layers at an alarming rate.

On the way down we spotted a tiny chapel typical of the region that dated back to the beginning of the 17th century. There was nowhere nearby that we could reasonably park except for a space in front of a no parking sign, so we decided to become very English and pretend we couldn’t understand the sign.

I think I can safely say that with a couple of notable exceptions, the village of Sixt Fer à Cheval could be had up under the trades descriptions act for their claim to being ‘one of the most beautiful villages in France’ (there really isn’t much there), the two curiosities more than deserve their snowflakes!!

THE ALPS - Saint Gervais les Bains

2010-04-21T10:06:00.001+02:00

It’s only a hop, skip and a jump from Megève to Saint Gervais les Bains where we were staying tonight, so we had plenty of time to explore the little spa town. Unlike most of the places we’d seen so far, Saint Gervais offers 300 free parking spaces in the centre – hurrah.

It was whilst we were going round in circles (literally) looking for the car park that we found the old spa building. What a beautiful edifice. The old lady sitting on the opposite side of the road must have thought we were mad when I stopped in the road and put my hazard lights on so that I could get out and take photos, but it was well worth it!

The centre is pretty compact with really only 2-3 main streets forming a little one way system. The church and pretty town hall are probably the main attractions, but unlike the ski stations, Saint Gervais really feels ‘lived in’ and it was great to see people out and about enjoying the sunshine.

We spotted a scrummy looking Patisserie selling local pastries such as Delices de Niege and Linzer tarts, so it would have been rude to pass by without giving them a try! We ate them in the sunshine on the steps of the Parochial house next to the church – bliss.

We’d spotted a sign for the Pont du Diablo (devils bridge) which sounded interesting, so as we had some time before our next meeting we decided to have a peek. The lane down was narrow and VERY steep and I knew I’d need to do some serious motivational complaining and perhaps even breathing exercises to get back up again!

The bridge itself wasn’t all that impressive once we found it, and I was already grumbling about the benefit v. effort, but the colour of the water was amazing. We did spot a little suspended walkway like they have in the Gorges of the Ardèche, but it was all closed off to I think it was just for the people looking after the dam.

We were booked into the Residence les Arolles, which turned out to be about 1.3km out of the village centre. The apartment itself was great – not as super impressive as the Alpages de Champagny, but we’d been spoilt there. We also had a fab view of the mountains which surprisingly still had loads of snow.

It did have a sauna and Jacuzzi which would have been great had we remembered our swimming cozzies as it started to snow not long after we arrived. After the freezing temperatures outside, it was great when we opened the door and the warm air hit us – bliss!

We asked at reception for restaurant recommendations and Virginie, our receptionist, suggested the Restaurant 4 Epices which served a range of different options as well as local specialities. As it was snowing and I was the only one with a hood, I reversed the car under the porch – probably not one of my better ideas as I was so busy watching one side that I nearly rammed the column the other side. I suspect if I’d knocked their building down with my car, the working relationship may have soured somewhat...

Dinner was delicious; tartiflette with salad and locally cured meats with a jug of local wine. I have managed to get a full blown cold since leaving Corsica which has resulted in much sniffing and sneezing throughout the day, but no a single sniffle in the restaurant so we had to assume that the wine was having a medicinal effect – what great luck!!

THE ALPS - Megève

2010-04-21T10:05:00.002+02:00

As we approached Megève I was so busy looking at the huge white peaks of Mont Blanc that I managed to miss the view of the village in the distance – slightly worrying as I was driving!

Fortunately after a couple of highway code infringements, we found ourselves a relatively cheap parking sport close to the pedestrianised centre.

We wandered through the cobbled streets looking at the pretty shops and buildings, and discovered that Megève clearly attracts a discerning clientele if the prices in the windows were anything to go by.

I have to admit that I was sorely tempted to abandon the scrummy make-shift picnic we’d brought with us in favour of the calorific delights in the window of the old fashioned patisserie, but fortunately after our gastronomic feast at the restaurant in Champagny-en-Vanoise last night, common sense took over.

We sat on the steps opposite the church to eat our lunch. The sun was beating down which was a bit of a shock after the temperatures in Courchevel which were into the minus numbers – eek! After a while we followed the path round the church and came across a beautiful square

It is here that the horse drawn carriage rides take place and visitors can feel their presence everywhere from the ironwork ‘caleches’ on the buildings to the horse manure in the cracks between the cobbles

A short walk to the tourist office confirmed that it was closed but we couldn’t really complain as it was lunchtime outside of season. We did spot some gorgeous shops selling solid looking wooden furniture and other bits and bobs for the home, so it wasn’t long before we had our noses (and our cameras!) pressed against the window!

The combination of reds and greens with the wooden interiors made me feel like Christmas had come early, so it was probably lucky that we had to leave before they re-opened for the afternoon at 4pm.

THE ALPS - Courchevel 1650 & 1850

2010-04-21T10:04:00.005+02:00

A slight misunderstanding over numbers meant that we started the morning bright and early at Courchevel 1650 instead of Courchevel 1850, but I was pleased because it meant that we got to drive further up the snow capped mountain.

I was almost beside myself when I spotted a small frozen late in the middle of the Forêt de Saint Bon, but little did I know what delights were to come. Of course, it would be easier if the villages didn’t have the same name, but there you go!

Luckily we’d arrived early for our meeting so as the temperature was -4 degrees despite the sunshine(!) we decided to thaw ourselves out with a cup of hot choccie at the local café and check out the ski instructors.

I didn’t think I’d ever been so cold, but then we arrived at Courchevel 1850 – 200m higher – and I decided that no matter how unflattering they are, next time I will put my thermal long johns on underneath my trousers.

Unlike La Tania which is a purpose built resort and really feels like it, I was completely enchanted by the ornate timber buildings of Courchevel which to me was a real ski resort rather than a town you can ski from or just a modern ski station.

I stood for ages watching the cable cars making their way up the mountains and considering it is mi-April, I was amazed by the amount of snow there was even on the low pistes and how many people were in resort.

On the way back to the car we spotted a grey granite bell tower clinging to the rock, so we decided to hack our way through the pine trees ‘Indiana Jones’ style to get a photo from the other side so that the sun was in the right position

Of course, I paid little attention to where I was walking and what looked like snow covered grass soon revealed itself to be a big snow covered hole. Fortunately given the freezing temperatures, the snow was solid enough that I didn’t come to any real harm. Phew!

THE ALPS - Restaurant Les Rochers, Champagny

2010-04-21T10:03:00.002+02:00

We weren’t sure where to try for dinner, so we decided to check with the receptionist at the Alpages de Champagny where we were staying. We discovered that a couple of the local restaurants offered a free pick up and drop off service – how is that for going the extra mile!

We chose the Restaurant Les Rochers which seemed to offer a good range of local specialities at a reasonable price. We chose a Fondue Savoyard (3 cheese fondue) and a Tartichevre with salad which we’d planned to share so that we could try both things.

The portions were enormous, and honestly just one meal between two would have been sufficient even with our healthy appetites! We washed it all down with a small bottle of Apremont (and excellent local white wine) and a Génépi digestive (no idea what that is but it was very tasty), and the whole bill came to just 41€!

What an absolute bargain...

THE ALPS - Champagny-en-Vanoise

2010-04-21T10:02:00.005+02:00

We arrived at Champagny-en-Vanoise in a light snow flurry, and accidentally visited the village after a wrong turn on our way to Les Alpages de Champagny, where we would be spending the night.

Les Alpages are the ski chalets of my imagination; huge timber beams, open log fire, fabulous views across the valley and solid timber furnishings. They are actually apartments in a group, but such care and attention has been lavished on them that each one feels like a miniature chalet!

We were lucky enough to be allocated A11 which as amazing chalet style apartment; a lovely master suite with en-suite shower and huge terrace where you can relax in the sun and admire the views, twin room with views of the little church, spacious living dining room a kitchenette I would have been proud of in my own home as well as a mezzanine and family bathroom. Phew!

We knew there was a free indoor heated pool for guests use, but helpfully I had forgotten to page my swimming gear – temperatures of 2-3 degrees and swimming cozzies are not generally two things that go together in my mind!

We decided to go and explore anyway, and found that basically it was a small but well equipped leisure centre! Not only was there the pool, but also a well equipped gym (no chance), relaxation area with what sounded like whale music, sauna and hammam and a section where a local beautician offers a range of treatments.

Of course many of the services are extra and we really didn’t have time to make the most of them which was a shame, because we both agreed that we’d have quite happily have spent two or three weeks here if it wasn’t for the small matter of work...

THE ALPS - Medieval Cité de Conflans

2010-04-21T10:01:00.000+02:00

We’d been in the car for hours on our way from Toulon to La Tania, so we decided to stop at the medieval Cité de Conflans to stretch our legs and grab a bite to eat.

The weather has been a bit dodgy, but amazingly as we walked up towards the old walled city, the clouds parted and the sun made a welcome appearance for the first time. The colourful houses lining the little narrow streets lit up, and I knew that this may be my first visit but it certainly wouldn’t be my last!

The church seemed enormous for the size of the tiny village, and had been covered in beautiful frescos, whilst opposite, each of the artisanal shops displayed an amazing array of old fashioned signs to hawk their wares.

We were really tempted by the ‘plat du jour’ at the Vieux Bourg restaurant but as we’d decided to make the most of the sunshine and wander up to the public gardens where there are some magnificent magnolia trees before settling down to eat, they had sold out. Drats!

Fortunately ‘Le Conflarian’ opposite was offering a planche de charcuterie for the same bargain price of 8€! What we’d hoped would be a simple plate of cured meats turned out to be a huge pile of hams and all sorts of Savoyard speciality cuts, so we were stuffed by the time we wandered back down to the fountain.

Luckily this is a sort of wishing well where you through your penny in and make a wish. I wished that I didn’t feel so stuffed and wasn’t going to have to hike for miles to work off all the calories!!

UK & FRANCE - Driving to Corsica & the CGT

2010-03-04T20:20:00.000+01:00

Surprisingly, the journey home this time was relatively uneventful - no near death experiences, no people dressed as cows (see Beaune), just hundreds of French army vehicles heading north - presumably in an attempt to liberate Calais from the British (anyone who has visited recently will know exactly what I mean!) and three van loads of CRS who, with their wild psychotic staring eyes, could have been taken for a contingent of Millwall supporters if their silly cardboard hats didn't make them look like they work at McDonalds in their spare time!!

The thing about French motorways is that they are compratively quiet and you can easily find your mind wandering. This time, my attention was focused on the extraordinary amount of random shoes littering the carriageway. How does that happen? I for one have never come across someone who said ' you never guess what happened to me today. I was driving along when all of a sudden my shoe came off and blew away!'. Doesn't really sound plausible does it? And I'm not talking 2 or 3 random shoes here people - there were easily enough in the stretch from Villefranche sur Soane down to Marseille to be considered a small but well stocked branch of Stead & Simpsons! Recently I discovered that one of Che Guevara's jobs before he became a raving revolutionary was to collect odd shoes and try to sell those that most resembled a pair. He should have moved to France instead of Cuba - he could have made a killing!!

It was as I approached the port d'Arenc in Marseille that I was reminded of my recent panic over the CGT strikes and port blockages. The CGT stands for Confédération Générale du Travail, basically the General Workers Union, but the word 'workers' has obviously been used in it's loosest sense as they should really be called the CGG - General Union of Strikers. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not against unions per se, but what I am against are selfish lazy toads who are onto a serious cushy number with lots of perks and very little actual work, who don’t want anyone rocking the boat, if you’ll pardon the pun. This time, not only did they call an indefinite strike during the school holidays, but they illegally blocked all ports on the island so no one could get in or out, including freight (such as food and petrol), and even the other ferry companies from France and Italy. What better way to hold the government hostage as the island is practically crippled within a week.

Now the reason for the strike sounds fairly noble; they are protesting the cut to the budget for maritime links between Corsica and the mainland. OK, fair enough, but when you consider that Corsica Ferries also offers this link (with no strikes) and manages to turn a profit using half the workforce, I think you’ll see where the problem lies.

As I arrived at the port, there were 3 blokes idling in a little shelter, ostensibly to direct people to their ferries. However, as there are huge boards and arrows for each route, and as they never bother to speak until spoken to (and then they don’t bother to get up), it’s a pretty useless role. From here it’s 2 minutes to the CMN waiting area where you park and check-in. Five workers here chatting with each other, and one bloke to deal with the single file traffic directing them to the correct queue. Hhhmm, I see a pattern forming. On to the boat and a queue for the reception to collect cabin keys. Two people behind the desk, one to highlight the cabin number, the other to hand him the key that is within arms reach behind him. Disembarkation the next morning was no different – one bloke to wave the cars off and at least 10 at the doors chatting. I don’t think it’s hard to see why this nationalized company has yet to turn a profit and is supported by the tax payers – the same tax payers stuck at the ports each time they strike.

So what to do? Well as French union workers are paid full salary whilst striking(!) there seems little incentive for them not to. Plus the perks are fab, as anyone who has tried to eat in the restaurant of the Scandola will tell you when they manage to run out of meat and fish with only 20-odd cars on board (guess where the stock for some of the restaurants in Propriano comes from). I for one have chosen the cheery yellow boats of Corsica Ferries for my next trip onto the mainland. Cheaper, more efficient and never on strike, so up the yellows and two fingers up to the CGT!

UK - London & Chinese New Year

2010-03-04T20:19:00.008+01:00

The day didn’t get off to a fantastic start, what with needing a defribulator to revive me when the ticket office told me how much it was going to cost to get to London by train, but I knew that my smiley Italiana friend from Sardinia would soon cheer me up!

It’s been a toss up between Sfizio, an authentic Caffe' Bar Paticceria in Holborn or Princi just off Oxford Street. We both indulged ourselves with scrummy Italian pizzas with a crispy thin base and melt in the mouth toppings of Quattro formaggi and parma ham. Stella got so carried away with the taste that she actually forgot the Italian for chilli oil. Luckily the waiter was a fake Italian so he was happy for her to order in English!

After an espresso so strong that it was more of a brush stroke of coffee paste in the bottom of my cup than a drink, we thought we ought to be a bit virtuous and walk off some of the delicious lunch. It wasn’t long before we found ourselves at the tea shop where you can but basically anything connected with tea; leaves, canisters, pots, beautiful cups.

I was seduced by some mulled wine mix that is tucked away amongst the rest of the packing as I speak – hope the sniffer dogs don’t get a whiff of the suspicious looking package...

From here it is just a hop, skip and a jump to Covent Garden. I love Covent Garden and to be honest, I’m not really sure why! I do like the old fashioned market stalls on wheels and I do like the live music, and on this occasion rather dodgy escapologist, but I don’t like inflated prices specifically for the tourists, and the rows of tat surrounding the old market place.

We wandered around the Apple Market and found some fab t-shirts at a not-so-fab price and some tempting Thornton’s Champagne Truffles at twice the normal price so we went off to look at the Disney store too as we are both big kids are heart. The assistant spoke to Stella in Italian and she was really shocked because she thought she’d become quite English – no chance! The hand gestures alone would have alerted a fellow countryman!

It was starting to drizzle, so we decided that high tea was in order and headed through Soho.

I’d forgotten that it was Chinese New Year and the coloured lanterns and intricate dragons adorning all the buildings were really impressive. I have never seen so many Chinese tourists in my life and it was fascinating listening to the mix of languages all mingling together.

We soon found ourselves close to Oxford Street which – as luck would have it – is close to Princi which was our second choice for lunch. Princi is a chain of bakeries from Milan (in fact I am sure I’ve been to that one) that do a whole range of squidgy cakes, delicious savoury breads, salads and pastas to eat in or take away.

It would have been rude to have just tea without at least trying one of the pasticcerie, so we indulged just a little to give us courage for the packed train journey home

UK - Sussex

2010-02-12T18:01:00.002+01:00

Sunshine and snow is one of my favourite combinations and recently we’ve had both – in abundance!!

I am such a tourist (as one of friends recently pointed out!) so it didn’t take long before I’d found an excuse to get out and about. I headed over to Bodiam which is a lovely old village, but for those who don’t know, the main attraction is the castle.

I knew that the castle would be closed, but as it’s a ruin anyway I was determined to enjoy the walk. The car park charges £2 so I’d prepared myself with the ‘I only have a £20 note’ ploy that has worked so successfully in the past in getting me waved straight past the window!

The snow was REALLY deep and the problem at Bodiam is that there are lots of ponds and the river runs through it (to coin a phrase) so I was mildly terrified I might either drown or freeze to death.

I tried to stick to the tractor treads, but the temptation to walk across crunchy fresh snow was just to great and I found myself criss-crossing the hills and dips to get the photos I wanted. It was amazing to see all the animal foot prints; deer and ducks mostly.

In fact, I’d been cursing the noisy ducks since I arrived – I can quite see why the estate houses are so far away as some of them seemed to be auditioning for the next round of ‘pop star to opera star’ and they were making a hell of a din. I did feel mean that I hadn’t remembered to bring any bread for them.

I was quite surprised that the moat wasn’t frozen, but I hadn’t realised that the façade was in full sun, so as I wandered round to the entrance at the back, the castle took on an altogether more sinister air, the sandstone coloured stones taking on a dark grey hue and great hunks of ice floating by. Bbrrr!

The day before, I am sure Sarah thought I was deranged when I called her at during a snow blizzard 10am to see if she was still able to make it for lunch. We’d had about 10cm of snow overnight and I’d had to dig the car out of the driveway.

Apparently Chichester was all blue skies and sunshine, so kitted out with my non-standard-issue survival kit of choccie, flask and a tat-mag to keep me entertained if I got stuck, I headed off. After a scrummy lunch, I headed back passing by the castle at Arundel.

Tempted again by the blue skies (and the camera in my handbag!), I decided to stop off for a quick wander. Of course, I managed to completely miss the castle, despite the fact that you can see it from miles around, and ended up at the bird sanctuary. Fortunately, my French habits kicked in, so I just held up the traffic and did a u-turn.

Another one that doesn’t open to the public in the winter – ggrr! – and I can’t say the ruins of Blackfriar's Abbey really did it for me, but I’d caught a glimpse of some olde worlde shops in the highstreet.

Despite the sunshine, it was bitterly cold and I wasn’t sure how far I could go before needing to amputate frost-bite affected limbs, so after a quick wander, I decided to head back to the car

Of course, by now I’d well and truly given myself the shopping bug, so as the temperature had risen to 3 degrees – woo-hoo! – it would have been rude not to take a teensy weensy detour to Brighton on the way home…

Believe it or not, I have never actually seen the Royal Pavillion before, and this time I came across it quite by chance. I’d been looking for the bead shop, but was slightly hampered by a) not remembering the name of the shop, and b) having no idea where it was(!), so in the end I just explored for a bit.

I am a great fan of Terry Garoghan, the ‘unofficial mayor of Brighton’ who used to do ‘The Last Bus to Whitehawk’ radio show, and I found myself humming ‘Brighton the Anthem’ as I wandered through the streets (to the Brighteyes theme tune);

♪♪ There’s a building shaped like an onion
A seagull eating a condom
A man and a woman completely nude ...
... for all to see.
Oh lord, where can it be?

Brighton, dead handy for London
Brighton, Gatwick’s not that far
Where everyone sleeps with everyone else…
… but there’s nowhere to park your car
Bri-ighton! ♪♪

Yup, there’s the onion!!

It wasn’t long before I found myself in The Lanes, a higgledy piggledy rabbit warren (here’s the Bright Eyes link!!) of tiny shops specializing in all sorts of things, as well as pavement cafés and arty farty bohemian type shops.

Still no sign of the bead shop though :-(

UK - Bexhill-on-Snow (Sea)

2010-01-09T19:19:00.001+01:00

When I looked out of the window this morning and saw that the garden had turned into Narnia, I knew it wouldn’t be long before I was out there on my tea tray tobogganing down the downs with the other kids...

It’s when it snows, that I remember how pretty it is living opposite the downs. It looked like a winter wonderland and was so quiet that you’d never believe it was a Saturday afternoon. That was until I arrived at the ‘pistes’...

There were about 30 people or varying abilities hurling themselves down the hill on tea trays, bits of cardboard and even – shockingly enough – toboggans!!

Apparently, there were two ‘runs’ – to the side where the kids are was considered the ‘black run’ and you have basically no chance of stopping at the bottom until you hit the trees. The adults were gingerly trying to slow themselves down on the ‘nursery slopes’ but I think gravity was against them in many cases!!

So as you can see from Frosty (above), anyone can make a snowman but there seems to still be a fair amount of one-up-man-ship that goes on. Holly can suddenly be transformed into a bouffant hair-do and a smile for Mrs Frosty.

However, the people opposite were clearly on a mission not only to keep up with the Jones’ but to overtake them at 100mph. For a while, we couldn’t work out what they were doing as it looked like they were making breeze blocks wall out of snow, but it wasn’t long before we worked it out.

Despite the heavy snow, it really wasn’t that cold so I decided to pop over and see how they were getting on. I could see hands over the top so I knew someone was inside and I was praying they’d remembered to leave a door – PHEW!!

It was so nice to see everyone out and about having fun, and it wasn’t long before they had an army of helpers of all ages and even a BBQ on the go to feed the workers and warm the water for the tea. Now that’s dedication!!

I don’t think that there has been so much snow in the south east in my living memory, so as it’s such a novelty living in such a hot place, we decided to take a walk down to the sea front.

Once we’d waded through the snow at the bottom of the driveway and through the foot path at the back, I realised that there was going to be a problem on our walk – there is so much snow that you can’t see where the pavement starts and the road begins!

With the number for the local A&E on speed dial, we set off to break in my new hiking boots. First stop was Egerton Park where there was a nutter out feeding the ducks.

The swans were starting to get quite aggressive in their fight for the bread, so knowing that ‘they can have your arm off’ according to my mum, we carried on down to the seafront. We saw a slightly odd snowman family including what looked like a duck(!) and an igloo, but it wasn’t a patch on the one we’d already seen.

It was really weird to see the pebbles all covered in snow, and I had the feeling that if I changed the colour of the snow to yellow, it’d look just like sand. I was busy contemplating this when my eye was caught by someone in the distance who was clearly deranged...

Yes, he was surfing! A bloke stopped to watch with us and said that the surfer had been out there about 2 hours.

He was worried that he might get hypothermia and drown because as he told us ‘that’s why they died on the Titanic you know’. Yes, but a) we’re not in the arctic and b) the passengers on the Titanic probably weren’t wearing wet/drysuits!!

All of sudden it seemed to be getting dark, so we headed back home to see how they were getting on with the igloo. When we left, I thought they were making a snowman at the front door but it turned out they’d made one of those proper little entrance tunnels.

How amazing is that! Within what seemed like just a few minutes it was fully dark and the snow was once again falling heavily which meant that I could get this great photo of a tree in the garden which looks like it is covered in candles – ahh!

UK - St. Marys in the Snow!

2010-01-07T20:01:00.004+01:00

UK - Hastings Old Town, New Years Day

2010-01-01T19:29:00.001+01:00

Today was a day of 2’s – 2 degrees at 2pm this afternoon which went down to -2 as I was coming back along the Ridge this evening. Despite the cold, it’s been a glorious couple of days with bright blue skies and sunshine, so as it was New Years Day, I decided to make the effort and pop out to Hastings.

Of course, what I hadn’t realised was that the world and his wife had had the same idea, so parking was a bit of a nightmare and I ended up in the same car park where I’d previously been attacked by a mutant seagull – eek.

When you live somewhere, it’s often easy to forget the benefits until you leave and come back to visit. Once I’d neatly side-stepped the freakishly large seagulls, I started snapping away at St. Mary in the Castle.

This magnificent Georgian church, with its unique circular auditorium sits in the middle of a Regency style building which is built into the rock. The auditorium here is famous for its acoustics, and its much under-rated place in my opinion. What is strange is that all the houses look like they have been recently painted a lovely cream colour except for one grey one. One question - why??

I continued towards the castle and my attention was soon diverted by drumming. Was it the effects of a wild and rampant New Years Eve I hear you ask? Sadly not! On the plus side, it was something more exciting than a hangover, as I soon came across a group of madly dressed Pirate type people waving a skull and cross bones and banging various drums rhythmically.

I have no idea who they were or what they were doing, but it was really entertaining nonetheless. They were all dressed in black and red with feathers and skull in their hats, and weird and wonderful shapes painted on their faces. I watched for a while but the wind was bitterly cold so despite the several layers of clothes, I needed to keep moving to save myself from freezing to death!

I’d forgotten how old and interesting the old town is, if you don’t take much notice of the local loonies. For an architecture junkie like me, it was great to wander along and just check out all the different styles arranged in a higgledy piggledy fashion next to one another.

All the shops, restaurants and pubs seem to have names like ‘The Seagull’ and ‘The Mermaid’, and even on a day like today when it was freezing, there were a good variety of accents amongst what were clearly day trippers. It’s a shame that not more of the attractions were open such as the old Customs House.

Smuggling was a huge problem in Hastings like in many coastal towns
'No business carried on in Hastings was more popular and extensive as that of smuggling. Defrauding the revenue, so far from being considered a crime, was looked upon as a laudable pursuit, and the most successful 'runners' were heroes. Nearly the whole of the inhabitants, old and young and of every station in life, were, to some extent, engaged in it.'

The caves (Smugglers Adventure) are definitely worth a visit, but as they were also closed, I had to contend myself with the lifeboat house.

What was interesting about the lifeboat house was that it was a fair distance from the sea – OK, so it was just beach between, but surely it’s not a good idea to that far from the water if time is of the essence. Then again, Hasting Council made the strange decision to build a boating lake between the old lifeboat house and the sea before realizing this would hinder launches – d’Oh!

One of the most famous landmarks of Hastings are the huge black Fishermen’s huts which are officially called ‘Net Shops’. There are about 45 of these huts still standing including one that is actually half a boat planted in the ground! Many years ago, the council restricted how many of these huts could be built on the Stade, so for added space, the fishermen simply built them taller – as high as 25 ft.

I’d walked along to see the net shops but got slightly side tracked by the huge old galleon style boats nestled on the pebbles, so I was surprised when I suddenly found myself in the outside bit of the Fishermen’s Museum which is housed in the little Church of St. Nicholas.

The museum relies on donations so it’s free to visit and is decorated with old nets and artefacts as well as a huge galleon inside. It was quite busy but I suspect that was because it was so cold and the aquarium was closed, so I carried on to the cliffs the other side where there were people on the beach trying to out-run the waves. Wallies.

I love this part of the old town and the houses at Rock-a-nore are particularly pretty. They are all slightly different in terms of design and also colour, but I like the blue one close to the East Hill railway.

The smell of fish and chips was wafting gently on the air, so I followed my nose to the Blue Dolphin fish bar at the edge of George Street where there were queues of expectant customers all licking their lips. For once, I was good and didn’t stop (although I was sorely tempted) but as it’s New Years Day I thought it was a bit early to break all my resolutions, so I carried on up the high Street.

It was weird because within just a few minutes, it felt like I was in one of the country towns like Tenterden or at the very least the set of Miss Marple.

I found a beautiful church tucked away amongst the little whiteboard houses as well as the Fishermen’s garden where you can see all sorts of things they have dredged up including a propeller from a WWI plane, but my attention was caught by the sign for the caves & castle one the side of one of the old houses.

I followed the pathway than very quickly narrowed to just steeps steps and was soon regretting my decision – this was harder going than the Chemin de Fozzano and I had to stop more than once to ‘admire the view’ which is a euphemism for stopping my lungs from exploding!

When I finally got to the top, the view was incredible and given the height, it was no surprise that there was still snow on the ground. I also remembered why they have the East & West Hill funicular railway, so that people don’t have to kill themselves getting up here!! The smugglers caves were closed so after a wander round, I decided to take the easy way down.

£2 for a round trip, even though I only wanted to go one way was a bargain according to my legs, and the railway deposited me right at the heat of George Street, so I was able to justify a look at all the shops on the way back to the car.

This street is so narrow that it is almost always in shade which is a shame because it’s so pretty, but it’s impossible to get a decent photo. What I like about George Street is the eclectic mix; tattoo parlours, old fashioned sweet shops, cafes and haunted pubs as well as old fashioned iron mongers and shops selling all sorts of spiritual things – phew!!

There was enough here to keep me entertained for a month of Sundays!

EGYPT – Nile Cruise, Day 1

2009-12-24T23:12:00.002+01:00

As regular readers of the blog will know, I don’t like long flights or boats so a cruise along the Nile complete with felucca rides and the dodgy Egyptian ferries doesn’t seem the obvious choice, but what a fabulous trip!

The long flight on a Monarch charter (just under 6 hours) was just about as hideous as I’d imagined, but as we came in to land over Luxor, we were treated to a fabulous sunset through the clouds, with a view of the Nile below, and I knew we’d made the right choice.

After a scrummy buffet breakfast onboard, we set off for our first visit which was Karnak Temple. It’s difficult to describe the sheer size of the monuments in Egypt and I’m sure I would have been struck with awe if my attention hasn’t been caught by the group of men comparing machine guns from four random armchairs in front of the temple. EEK in capitals.

Karnak is a vast open-air museum and the largest ancient religious site in the world. Apparently it is also the second most visited historical site in Egypt, but we’d already realised that our guide was a bit of a cretin, so who knows!

All the temples in Egypt follow the same general layout; the pylon which is basically the exterior of the temple and which is nearly always covered with scenes of battle between the Pharoah and his enemies and the God that protects him. Inside is an open courtyard and the Hypostyle Hall which is one of the most impressive we saw of all the temples.

The Hypostyle Hall is a collection of 134 columns arranged in 16 rows, all of which have been decorated with Hieroglyphics and colourful designs. Beyond this is the Sanctuary, but it looked like it’d been built by Corsican builders so I was very wary of standing inside just in case!!

After out guided tour, we had free time to wander about and just drink in the atmosphere. Like in France, these are living monuments so you can touch them and walk amongst them which makes the whole thing seem somehow more real.

As we left, we past the line of Cryospinx which I must have noticed when we went in, but I suspect my attention was diverted elsewhere. We learnt that statues are only referred to as Sphinx when they have the body of a lion and the head of a human, so as these had lion bodies but sheep’s heads, they are called Cryosphinx.

Back on the coach, we saw our first glimpse of the sunset over the Nile on our way to the Luxor Temple. We’d seen this temple on our way to Karnak earlier in the day, but hadn’t been overly impressed. However, in the evening when the whole place was lit up it was something else, and although it is vastly smaller than Karnak, the Luxor Temple proved to be one of my favourites.

The temple was built by Ramses II and like Karnak, there is a decorated exterior, open courtyard lined with identical columns and immense colossi (statues of the pharaoh). The place was really busy and I got told off by the guide for lagging behind to take photos which weren’t full of lemmings (other tourists).

Opposite the temple is the Avenue des Sphinx which originally connected the Luxor Temple and Karnak some 3km away and would have included approximately two thousand sphinx. These days, the avenue only runs for a few hundred metres but is still impressive, and I managed to get a really moody shot of one of the statues.

Of course, in front of the temple were the sellers who accost you at any given opportunity. Years ago, I noticed that every item in Monsoon costs £55 no matter what it is, and the same principle applies in Egypt where everything seems to cost 10 Egyptian pounds!

Although it wasn’t late when we left Luxor, we were all shattered after all the travelling the day before and the early start for Karnak, so we were looking forward to dinner and the entertainment which we were told would be a Whirling Dervish.

Two blokes - one rather too portly to be prancing about - started with some strange Tommy Cooper ‘Just like that’ style dancing by two blokes in Fez hats who kept popping off to change clothes. I was starting to get a bit bored, but eventually one of them returned in his whirling dervish outfit and put on an impressive show.

EGYPT – Nile Cruise, Day 2

2009-12-24T23:07:00.001+01:00

Luckily, my common sense kicked in and I realised that because of the heat, all our excursions would be either early (and I mean EARLY) departures, or in the evening, so after a relatively early night, we were off to the Valley of the Kings.

Unfortunately, the Valley of the Kings and the Valley of the Queens are two of the few places that photos are not allowed – even of the outside – and I had to leave my camera on the bus. The Valley of the Kings is also one of the most terrifying places I have ever been.

We congregated for out guided tour in the shade and because Yahya our guide was droning on a bit too long, my mind and my attention started to wander to the group/gang of demin-clad men being rather furtive in the corner. The more you watch someone trying to be discreet, the more suspicious they become, and once they took out machine guns and several ammunition clips from what looked like a Tescos carrier bag, I was mildly petrified. When they then tucked them into their jeans and disappeared into the crowds, I decided to ask the guide about them, and he replied that they were there for our security. Well, that’s OK then – I feel much safer now!! As we were leaving, I was insulted by two sellers who shouted after me 'probably German' because I wouldn't buy their postcards - seems a of an assumption to me.

It was at the Valley of the Queens that we came across the most ingenious beggars. When visiting the tombs they normally stamp your ticket but one guy gave me a piece of a cereal box. I thought it was a bit weird but as it was hot and a tad claustrophobic, I used it to fan myself. It was only when we left that they demanded payment for the ‘fans’ – cheeky whatsits!

We crossed the desert again heading towards the Colossi of Memnon on the way back to Luxor. I had time to study the settlements out of the window and it’s truly amazing how some people live; mud huts with no electricity and no running water. Apparently, the government offered them brand new flats in Luxor with all mod cons, but they don’t want to leave as they are all convinced they will find the equivalent of Tutankhamun’s tomb in their garden so they spend most of their time digging…

Perhaps the Valley of the Kings had been over-hyped for me because although there was no doubt that the place was impressive, it just didn’t live up to my expectations. The Hieroglyphics were much more colourful than we’d seen before at Karnak and the Luxor Temple, but for me the highlight of the day were the Colossi of Memnon.

These massive statues are 18 metres (approx. 60 ft) in height and weigh an estimated 700 tons each – blimey!

The Legend of Memnon
The Memnon legend was attached to the northern of the two statues by the Greeks. A fissure ran through the statue and when the ancient stone was warmed by the early morning rays of the sun it was heard to give an eerie moan. The Ancient Greeks thought that the statue represented King Memnon, and the sound was him greeting his mother Eos. Unfortunately attempts were made to repair the statue by the Romans, and since this time the Colossi have been silent.

After lunch we settled on the sun deck for an afternoon of cruising from Luxor to Edfu via Esna. It was fascinating to just sit and watch the world go by as well as the ‘Sudan’ an old paddle steamer which was the setting for Agatha Christie's ‘Death on the Nile’. One of our fellow passengers ran down the deck in a bikini (not a good look for her) to snap a photo whilst screaming 'don't look at me'. Don't worry love, we won't!

All too soon the sun was setting behind the palms and I was looking forward to getting to Esna lock just after 6pm. It may not be the most exciting sounding place, but we’d been told that if we had to queue to get through the lock, sellers would approach on boats and try to sell us stuff from the water!

I’d been having a sneaky snooze when I was woken to the sound of ‘halllooo, halloooo’. Outside the window was one of the smallest fishing boats I have seen with two blokes in it – one desperately rowing against the current to keep alongside us and the other doing the hard sell whilst balancing precariously on the back!

The idea is that he throws stuff up to you and if you like it you chuck the money back down in a weighted plastic bag. The haggling really takes a different turn when the buyers have the upper hand i.e. holding the goods on top of a cruise boat and not throwing them back until a sensible prices has been agreed, and the air was filled with cries of ‘You crazy man’ and ‘I give you carpet for your wife’ – not entirely sure what sort of deal that one was!

EGYPT – Nile Cruise, Day 3

2009-12-24T22:58:00.001+01:00

We’d sailed on during the night and arrived at Edfu whilst I was soundly snoring, so I was delighted when I threw back the curtains and caught a glimpse of Edfu with it’s bazaar style shops and horse drawn carriages. I was slightly less delighted when I realised that there were loads of Egyptian men ogling me in my pyjamas! Ho-hum.

After breakfast, we set off again to visit the Edfu Temple. This is the Temple of Horus, the Falcon God and son of Isis. It was certainly a beautiful place and the the colours against the blue skies were amazing.

By now, I was already getting a little bit temple’d-out, so my attention turned to more modern interests and I decided to stalk a few locals for some real life photos

It was whilst I was sneaking around to get these photos without being asked for money as an appearance fee that I was approached by a bloke in an unfeasibly shiny suit (complete with gun) and lead off behind one of the smaller structures where the colourful decorations where still visible.

He seemed to be telling me that this was the birth house of a horse’s son, but I suppose it could also have been Horus’s son – it was a bit tricky to hear properly with his thick accent and my selective deafness.

I’d already had one marriage proposal on the boat so after getting dragged off at the temple, we still had to run the gauntlet of the sellers when we left – what joy. They are held back by barriers with armed police to enforce their confinement but it just means that they are even more pushy whilst you are trying to escape.

One of the highlights of my trip was actually just watching the world pass by whilst we were on the coach between the boat and various visits. We saw pavement cafes with patrons in a mix of traditional galabeyas sitting next to men in tracksuits and donkey carts travelling alongside sleek people carriers with blacked out windows.

The strangest sight was probably a bloke on a donkey cart with no shoes, chatting on his mobile phone. I think there is something wrong with his priorities there!

After an afternoon slowly drifting down the Nile, it was time for another illuminated night-time temple visit. This time it was Kom Ombo, which is unique because its 'double' design meant that there were courts, halls, sanctuaries and rooms duplicated for two sets of gods; Sobek & Horus.

For once, Yahya held my attention when he explained the healing powers of Horus and the use of his symbol as an indicator of measurements. Apparently, the rudimentary lines of the symbol of the eye are what lead to the modern Rx symbol used on prescriptions.

We were once again given free time to explore after our guided visit and as we were just a short walk from the quai, told to make out own way back to the boat so that those who wanted to do a spot of haggling with the sellers could indulge themselves.

Because there is never enough space for all the boats to park, they are often lined up 4 or 5 deep and you have to walk through to other boats to get to the shore. I was busy chatting as we crossed over the gang plank and through the first couple of boats, and it was only once we tried to cross from the last boat to ours that I realised it wasn’t there! Luckily I stopped short of walking straight into the Nile, but it was a close thing. Our boat had moved further down whilst we were our exploring and we’d missed the little bloke with the sign where we’d been chatting – d’Oh!

EGYPT – Nile Cruise, Day 4

2009-12-24T22:24:00.001+01:00

Anther day and another early start – yawn – this time from Aswan. This morning we were off on a ferry ride to the Philae Temple, and the Egypt of my imagination.

Philae is actually on an island, so after some cunning evasion tactics to avoid the sellers (shaking my head instead of saying ‘no’ so they don’t know what nationality I am), we hopped onto some seriously dodgy looking ferries to take us over the island.

Unfortunately, two of the sellers were allowed to ride with us so we were a captive audience, but we did bag the bargain of the day with 12 colourful bracelets for £1 (or 10 Egyptian pounds – what a surprise!).

After our guided tour, we had free time to wander about and I was off and running to get as many fabulous shots as I could. What was nice about this temple was the surrounding scenery that made a fabulous backdrop; bright white and vibrant pink bouganvillia, and the water behind as well as the odd flea-bitten moggy sunbathing on the warm stones.

Apparently Philae is one of the islands that was flooded when the Aswan Dam was made and the temple now stands on the island of Agilika just opposite. I’d wandered down to look across to the original site when one of the policemen beckoned me to one side. He lead me off behind one of the old ruins and seemed to be heading into the bushes so I decided that I was much more interested in the main temple in the other direction and made a quick getaway!

The other curiosity at Philae is Trajans Kiosk which is a separate temple within the grounds. Yahya told us that it used to be submerged almost entirely and when he was a boy (a very long while ago!) they used to row boats in between the capitals of the columns because the water was so high – what a fabulous memory to have.

As we arrived back on the mainland, we spotted a group of tourists in high viz lifejackets. All became clear when we saw the Saga flag waving at the front of the group so we all laughed smugly to ourselves, but devine retribution wasn’t far away that evening…

We pushed our way through the sellers who clammering for our attention within the fenced area, but these were a lot less persistent than the others we’d encountered so far. There were loads of them including small kids who ran after us shouting ‘Luvly Jubbly’ and ‘See you later alligator’. Everything they had was 10 Egyptian pounds!

Without further ado it was off to the Aswan High Dam which was responsible for flooding the original site of Philae as well as Abu Simbel and other temples in it’s path. I suppose this is an amazing achievement of modern science but honestly, I was more interested in the yellow flowers.

After lunch we set off for our felucca ride - did I mention I don’t like boats?? We walked along the quay and down towards what looked like a few bits of wood with a sail – eek! Even the colourful ferries moored next to us started to look more robust and I was seriously concerned as we set off with way more people than I’m sure is strictly legal!

Actually, despite my initial reservations, it turned out to be one of the highlights of our trip. We bobbed along gently in the breeze taking in all the wildlife and the sights such as the Nubian island in the middle of the Nile. Of course it wasn’t long before one of the crew got out his collection of bracelets and beads for us to buy as well as wooden crocodiles. I’d forgotten about those…

We’d chosen one of the optional excursions to the botanical gardens and then Mango island. The botanical gardens weren’t as interesting or colourful as I’d imagined, but they were worth a look if only for the gorgeous little kittens which seem to have taken over the island.

There was a huge collection of trees including one that looked like it was made of curtains, but not many flowers which I prefer. We did also see a strange looking bird that had a long thin beak like a woodpecker. One of our group suggested we tempt over one of the cats so we could get a photo of it in flight – how mean!

We only stayed 45 minutes or so at the Botanical gardens but that was long enough for me, but it wasn’t until we were leaving that I realised there was a huge section we’d missed – what a pair of wallies.

Mango Island was our next stop where we were to be greeted with a glass of Mango juice and then have some have traditional Nubian coffee and cake overlooking the Nile.

We had a few minutes free time and although it wasn’t long enough to wander far, I did come across a superb water pitcher that might have been in my handbag if it hadn’t been so enormous!

We were also allowed to help ourselves to citrus fruit from the trees, but as fresh fruit was one of the mainstays of the buffet onboard, I didn’t bother. However, the highlight of my afternoon was passing the camel caravan.

I wish I wasn’t such a cowardy custard as there was an optional excursion later in the week of a camel ride with a visit to a traditional family house. Unfortunately, I am terrified of the beasts – even more so when I realised they were fully grown Arabian camels rather than the babies we’d seen in Morocco. Eek to say the least.

When we got back to the quay just beside our boat, the MS Fleurette, there was a rather heated exchange between our guide and the policeman who pushed us back out on the water and wouldn’t let us dock. Fortunately, a quick call to the boat and we found ourselves climbing up onto the roof of our ferry and making a daring leap onto the wrong side of the boat like something out of Pirates of the Caribbean (our tour leader even had the Jack Sparrow style teeth)!

Darkness comes early in Egypt in the winter, so it was only 5pm as we made our way back to Philae for the sound and light show. The white boats looked stunning against the inky black background, and lent the ride across to the island a thrilling quality.

The temple at night was beautiful with all the etchings and columns lit up in shades of red, gold and blue, but I can’t say I was that enthralled by the storytelling. The (vocal) acting was of a quality last seen in Crossroads and just wasn’t gripping. Perhaps we were disappointed because we’d only visited that morning and heard virtually the same things, but this is one to miss in my book.

It was on the way back that we were to all pay penance for laughing at the Saga group earlier in the day when our boat started to cough and splutter only a few minutes into the journey back to the mainland. All sorts of nightmare scenarios involving crocodiles, sea creatures (mythical and geographically impossible) and the diseases likely to be caused by drinking untreated Nile water were discussed before we finally limped back to port. PHEW.

At dinner, we somehow got onto the subject of the most common time to die which apparently is 3:33am. As we were due for a 3am wake up call the next morning for our trip to Abu Simbel, we were quite relieved that the early start might save our lives. Rick thought that when the call came through, we should 'choose life' which just goes to show which era we grew up in!

EGYPT – Nile Cruise, Day 5

2009-12-24T22:02:00.001+01:00

After a late’ish night at Philae, the last thing I wanted to do was get up at 3am for breakfast and an early start to Abu Simbel, but it was too late to back out now.

We’d been told that the journey would take about 2½ hours but that before that, we had to go to the meeting point for the convoy as we’d all travel together with an armed guard on each coach ‘for our security’. Er, OK then… It was really quite disconcerting to see them checking the buses with sniffer dogs and anti-explosives wands, and even more worrying when a bloke with a machine gun got on, but it was 4am so I soon forgot them and went to sleep.

The night before, we’d been a bit worried about the threat of attack in the convoy so we’d formulated two plans; a) declare ourselves to be the son of God or b) announce that we had Stockholm syndrome and start speaking like we’d had one too many ‘I bloody love you I do’. I wasn’t sure either would work so I was relieved when Yahya woke us to see the sunrise over the desert, and it wasn’t long before we arrived at Abu Simbel.

This is truly one of the most amazing places I have ever seen and an absolute ‘must see’ for anyone going to Egypt. Apparently, if you wanted to be king in ancient Egypt, all you had to do was declare yourself to be the son of God (even if you were a woman), and they would say ‘Oh alright then’ and hand over the kingdom.

Ramses II went one step further and declared himself to be not only the son of a God, but a God as well which is why the colossal statues of himself are on the outside. This is a priviledge normally reserved for Gods, so he just declared himself to be one!

It’s just impossible to describe the sheer size of the main temple and even when you are there, it seems almost like a film set. Photos aren’t allowed inside – drats – but like most places in Egypt, a few Egyptian pounds (10?) goes a long way to getting the rules relaxed when there aren’t too many people around. Unfortunately for us, it was pretty busy so I had to content myself with outside photos.

One of the amazing things about Abu Simbel is that the ancient Egyptian architects positioned the temple in such a way that twice a year the rays of the sun would shine through the temple to the sanctuary and illuminate three of the four Gods on the back wall (excluding the statue of the God Ptah, the god of darkness and the underworld who always remains in the dark). These dates were allegedly the king's birthday and coronation day. The temple had to be moved to avoid being flooded by the Aswan Dam and apparently the light now shines through one day later than it did originally. They were a clever lot these Egyptians!

The second temple is dedicated to two of his wives and some of his sons, but he had so many – it is alleged that he had over 200 - it's not surprising that I can’t remember their names!!

It was on the way out that I was touched up and ripped off in the same transaction; 2 for the price of 1 (the price of course being 10 Egyptian pounds). We set off again in our convoy passing some amazing sights such as the lone fire truck, and a street market that seemed to be taking place in the middle of nowhere.

We were still all super sleepy after our 3am start, so we settled in for a snooze on the way home only to be disturbed by Yahya so that we could look at the Mirage. It did look for all the world like a lake in the middle of the desert but try as we might, it wouldn’t come out on the photos.

On the journey back, we stopped at a perfume factory where we watched the bloke making the hand-blown glass perfume bottles before we were invited inside to try and obviously buy. The tiny bottles were absolutely gorgeous and each one a little work of art.

They let us try lots of different perfumes which form the basis of many famous names and makes which they had cunning disguised so they can’t be caught out; Chanel 5 became 5 secrets, Nina Ricci became Nefertiti and so on. I would have been quite tempted to buy if they’d started at 10 Egyptian Pounds, but sadly the essential oils and perfumes started at a whopping 150 EGP which sounds a lot but is actually only about 20 squid.

Saturday night was ‘Egyptian Night’ on the boat so we all duly dressed up in our Galabeyas which is the name for the traditional Egyptian dresses. The bloke on the boat selling these has a right little goldmine as nearly everyone got into the spirit of the thing although the beautiful cotton dresses did cost more than 10 Egyptian pounds!

They even offered a make up service for the men and women, which I sensibly declined.

EGYPT – Nile Cruise, Day 6

2009-12-24T21:53:00.001+01:00

Today was a day of rest which was just as well. We were all shattered after Abu Simble and the fun and games of our Egyptian night, so my plan was to plonk myself on the sundeck and indulge in a spot of people watching.

I was thrilled to discover that when we’d docked in Esna, we were just opposite a small shop, café and stall selling what looked like bread so it was fascinating to watch the locals go about their business.

For me, the best bit were the Donkeys. I’d been offered 50 donkeys for my aunt by one of the sellers at the Valley of the Kings but they looked quite malnourished so it didn’t seem like a very good deal to me. The ones pulling the carts of grass and milk churns didn’t look much better, but they were amazingly speedy.

The afternoon was spent cruising down the Nile back to Luxor. It was really interesting to see how the locals lived and Yahya told us that the reason there are so many unfinished houses in Egypt is because you only start paying tax once the building is complete. What a cunning plan! He also told us that the average wage is 400 Egyptian Pounds a month - about £55.

There was a bit of wind on the sun deck so after spying on the natives for a while, we headed down to the lounge bar for a spot of tea and a look at the DVD that had been filmed of our cruise. It was weird because I hadn’t even really noticed them filming but they’d managed to capture most of the trip including Jane wearing her Dumbledore cloak!

The sunset over the Nile that night was one of the best we’d had and I was really pleased that we were stationary so that I can snap away and be sure of a decent photo. The tiny fishing boats in the foreground really made it for me.

EGYPT – Nile Cruise, Day 7

2009-12-24T21:49:00.001+01:00

Our last day and we’d seen so many fantastic sights that we were already regretting that we’d booked for just one week.

We’d had consistently good weather throughout the week with temperatures up in the late 20’s and 30’s and sunshine every day. Today was no exception, so after a quick visit to the tiny onboard ‘shop’ for last minute souvenirs, we settled ourselves on the sundeck for a few hours of R&R.

The transfer to the airport takes only 25-30 minutes but that was plenty long enough for me to snoop through the window of the coach and catch another glimpse into the local way of life. No wonder everything costs 10 Egyptian pounds – these people have literally nothing.

Check-in at Luxor was relatively painless, which is more than can be said for the Monarch charter flight which was full, and incredibly cramped and uncomfortable. However, it was when we got to Gatwick that the fun and games really started.

There was a lot of snow on the runway as we landed and the ground staff were quick to blame the bad weather when our cases took 5+ hours to make it to the baggage carousel. In fact, Swissport (the handling agent for Monarch) had sacked 50 staff the week before so the rest were working to rule and went home at midnight leaving 6 managed to load and unload all the flights into both terminals. Talk about useless – this lot had the organisational skills of a bunch of rotten tomatoes which is a shame as it really put a dampner on the end of the holiday. Humpf.

EDINBURGH, Scotland

2009-12-06T01:17:00.014+01:00

I think I must have had a brainstorm when I booked to go to Edinburgh in December. At the time, it was lovely and sunny in Corsica and for some reason it just didn’t occur to me that it might be cold in Scotland – d’oh!

The Airlink bus goes directly from the terminal to the heart of the city centre and for £6 return it was great value. I thought it was even better value when I got off and found the little information men that help you find where you’re going, until it was pointed out to me that he was just a kindly bus inspector waiting for us to get off so that he could get on!!

I was thrilled with my first glimpse of Edinburgh from our arrival point of Waverley Bridge, so after checking into our hotel to leave the overnight bags, we headed up to the High Street which is part of The Royal Mile. I immediately started snapping away at the beautiful houses and roofs which were a really distinctive ‘step’ design.

We wandered along looking in all the nice shops which seemed to be a good mix of boutique style shops (selling tartan of course!), souvenir shops, cafés and restaurants.

I’d picked up one of the Berlitz pop-out maps – if you’re visiting a city, get yourself one! I always use them and the only slight hiccough was when we accidentally walked to the Vatican city from the centre of Rome because it was only about an inch on the map. It's actually flipping miles away!

Anyway, in Edinburgh there were no such disasters as everything is super compact and we actually passed a couple of the things I wanted to see without realising. The first was the Mercat Cross (above). ‘Mercat’ is the Scottish word meaning ‘Market’ and this octagonal monument did not only signify the market, but also the site of public torture and punishment at the hands of the Edinburgh mob for any miscreants.

Just next to the Mercat Cross is St. Giles Cathedral. From the outside, I never expected such a beautiful interior, and it looked like it could easily have been part of the set for Cadfael (not that I will embarrass myself by admitting that I used to watch that).

I am such a fan of Gothic style architecture that I was in hog’s heaven. It was even better when one of the volunteers accompanied me to explain all about the church and the stunning thistle chapel whilst I was snapping away.

I was so determined not to blurt out ‘Oh my God’ in front of this nice old boy, that I ended up accidentally saying ‘oh damn it’ instead when the batteries ran out in the camera – not the best way to secure your place in heaven!!

From here we wandered down towards Princes Street which is the main shopping street. We’d been on the on the Oh-my-God o’clock flight out of Gatwick but as soon as we saw that not only was the sun was shining, but there was also a Christmas market on, I immediately forgot how tired I was.

This was a real ‘Christkindelmarkt’ which is a German Christmas Market in little shed type cabins. We wandered round for a while looking at all the nice things and drinking in the heavenly smells of mulled wine and sizzling German sausages – yum!

However, I was disappointed that all the prices were much higher than the Xmas markets I’d seen recently in France so before I had time to start making my protest placards, we wandered back past the Scott Monument where I took this fab photo that makes it look like a space ship.

Just next door is the little portacabin where they sell the hop-on / hop-off bus tickets so we decided to take a tour of the city to get out bearings.

Our live commentator Les was really knowledgeable and it was so much better having a live guide. He told us why lots of houses including the Town Hall have shells imbedded into the concrete. Apparently, it was to ward off witches and in the case of the Town Hall to ensure that any decisions made were free from curses.

Being December, there were only a few of us on the bus and he did spend a lot of time talking about the anti-terrorism measures put in place at the new Scottish Parliament when we got to that part of the tour. We weren’t sure if that was part of his usual spiel or whether it was more for the benefit of our three Middle Eastern friends sitting just in front...

We were tempted to stop off at the castle, but were worried we wouldn’t have enough time to do it justice, so as it was getting dark we decided to make out way back to the hotel for a well earned rest before our ghost tour.

On the way back we came across a random bagpiper in full regalia who was about 100 if he was a day. He was a lovely chap and let me take his photo in return for a donation to the ovarian cancer charity he was collecting for, so it was a win-win situation as far as I was concerned.

The view from our bedroom was over the St. Andrews district of the city to one side and over towards Princes street in the other – beautiful in the day time, but even more impressive at night when the coloured lights twinkle in the inky blackness.

Edinburgh by night is beautiful, but I wanted to be scared to death in the underground vaults. We’d booked to do the ‘Ghosts & Ghouls’ with Mercat tours which sells itself as ‘the most terrifying, the most gory, and the only Company with a 5-Star scare factor’ but the only thing to scare me was my overwhelming desire to murder the guide. We spent a lot of time above ground listening to non-scary ghost stories and trying desperately to keep up with the guide who kept shooting off at the speed of light across the city.

When we finally got down into the vaults, I was expecting to become Derek Acorah from 'Most Haunted' or at least Yvette fielding and screaming the place down, but after visiting just two chambers, our guide told us that we were nearing the end of the tour. Really? I thought we’d only just got down there. Basically this was a bit of a damp squib, so we headed to Bella Italia to cheer ourselves up.

After showing off by ordering my dinner in Italian, I then amused myself by listening to the three girls at the next table struggling with the pronunciation. Aren’t I mean!

Day two started in a decadent manner with coffee in bed and a bit of Jeremy Kyle before heading out for what was one of the highlights of my visit – Jim Garrahy’s Fudge Kitchen. I’m actually not a big fan of fudge, but I am a glutton for demonstrations so off we went to see the fudge being made.

The fudge comes in an amazing 20 different flavours and having tried a bit of the freshly made batch, it wasn’t long before I was ordering a box! Apparently, it's traditionally produced from a recipe dating from 1830. It was lucky I hadn’t had my breakfast because I could have really pigged myself, especially as the nice man gave me a free slice for ordering a box. Yum!

After a full Scottish breakfast including haggis, we headed up to the castle in the rain. It was here that I decided to adopt the castle motto as my own ‘Nemo Me Impune Lacessit’ which roughly translates as ‘No one crosses me without punishment’ – pretty much says it all don’t you think?

We also studied the statues outside and it was here that I realised that it was probably just as well my new glasses were on order because I couldn’t work out why they had a huge statue commemorating a bloke called Fred Brick. It was only once I got closer that I saw that it was actually ‘Frederick’, the Duke of York. That probably makes more sense thinking about it!

Inside, the castle is still very much connected to the military which for some reason I wasn’t really expecting. Photos are restricted in lots of areas, including the ‘Honours of Scotland’ exhibition which was really disappointing because it was as beautiful as it was fascinating. Another case for my new specs as I was convinced that there was a monarch called King Hairpin in the 800’s. Seems unlikely, but I’m still not sure what it really should be. This exhibition leads onto the Scottish Crown jewels which were simply stunning.

From here we visited the Great Hall (above) and the Royal apartments before heading down to the Prisoner of war exhibits.

It sounds quite macabre but it was really interesting. There are artifacts, original hammocks and hair mattresses as well as a sound and light to show what life would have been like for the men kept here.

Conditions were cramped and some prisoners even tried to pass themselves off as other nationalities for better treatment – the Americans were considered pirates so they got less bread that the others! They also have some of the original doors with carvings by prisoners dating back hundreds of years depicting social protest as well as just aimless graffiti.

After a delicious scone with clotted cream and jam that we shared with a hot drink to warm ourselves up, we also visited the Scottish National War Memorial (absolutely NO photos in there) and the more modern War Museum.

No one in their right mind would chose a kilt as battle dress – think of all the bits left unprotected!!

The castle is amazingly close to the historic centre, so we wandered down the Royal Mile for a bit of last minute souvenir shopping. Tartan is obviously one of the most popular purchases and it was starting to get incredibly cold so we were tempted by the cashmere scarves until we spent all out money on shortbread biscuits instead.

Last on the list visits is another one that was a real highlight for me; The Real Mary Kings Close. Hidden beneath the Royal Mile is a warren of hidden ‘closes’ where real people lived and worked but which for centuries have been covered over and forgotten.

The guide who is dressed as someone who actually lived on the close, leads you underground and tells a series of stories and ghostly tales in surroundings that date back to the 1600s. This was one of my favourite attractions and much better that the ghost tour the previous night.

So what do you need to know about Edinburgh? Well, it’s flipping cold in December; tights, socks, thermals, gloves and scarf and I was still cold. Everyone in the Historic centre was super friendly – a workman even stopped what he was doing and went to close his van door so it didn’t obstruct the pavement when we approached. It’s really compact so you can do everything on foot (unless you have a gammy back/knee) and it’s fab – GO!

REIMS, Champagne Region of France

2009-11-27T19:35:00.007+01:00

Reims – pronounced ‘Raance’ – is about two thirds of the way between Marseille and Calais, and is also at the heart of the Champagne region, so it seemed a good place to stop off on my way back this time.

After the stunning November in Corsica, it was a bit of a shock to arrive in the cold and the rain, so as I decided to visit one of the Champagne houses.

If I’d been going on taste alone I would have opted for Veuve Cliquot, but my interest was actually more about the architecture of the caves (wine cellars) so chose Taittinger.

Taittinger is also an excellent brand, and one of the few houses still operated by the family of the founder, Pierre-Charles Taittinger. Most interestingly (to me anyway!), the caves are built in chalk pits dating back to the 4th century which later became the foundations of the Saint-Nicaise Basilica.

The cellars in their current form were created in the 13th century by the monks and the gothic influence is clear. Amazingly, there were no restrictions on photos (even with a flash) and the guide was happy to wait while we all snapped away to our hearts content.

These cellars are now home to the most prestigious of the Taittinger champagnes, the Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs Cuvée. We saw literally hundreds of thousands of bottles of this vintage where they mature for almost 10 years.

Apparently they don't get their proper corks until they are ready for sale so they can continue to remove the sediment during maturing. This is also why some bottles are stored flat and others pointing downwards because it depends on what stage of the process they are at.

Apparently, the unusual shape of these bottles is based on the design originally used by the monks that were hidden away before the revolution. Each bottle is worth hundreds of euros and several of our fellow visitors felt that with such quantities the odd bottle wouldn’t be missed, but luckily their pockets just weren’t large enough!

So, by 5pm the champagne visit was over and in a slightly elated mood, I headed towards the centre of Reims and my hotel for the night. The distance of 1.2km should have taken just a few minutes but helpfully no one had mentioned the fact that Reims is having a tramway built so the roads that are not already closed and dug up, are either one way (and not the way I wanted to go), for buses only or pedestrianised. After nearly two hours, even the GPS lady was metaphorically throwing her hands up in the air and had rightly judged that if she told me to do a U-turn once more, she might be out on her ear in the rain – via the window!

Once I finally managed to get into the parking d’Erlon, I realised that without all the dramas of the road works, the Hotel Bristol is ideal for visiting Reims. It’s right in the centre of a nice pedestrianised square with underground parking virtually right outside. There is also a very chic bistrot type restaurant on site.

After my stressful journey, I’d decided to head up to my room, but once I saw that there was a Christmas market on, I was lured out again by all the sparkling lights and yummy smells. I wandered around admiring all the stalls. I love Christmas markets and have often picked up some bargains in previous years.

I quickly discovered that I was just too worn out to shop properly so I just wandered about being nosy. I came across an 18th century Venetian manège (merry-go-round), a living nativity scene complete with donkeys, an old fashioned hot chestnut stall and even a sign for the Canadian village and ice rink.

I’d chosen the Hotel Bristol for a bit of character and I wasn’t disappointed. The best thing for me was the old fashioned cage lift which gave me pangs of nostalgia from visiting Arding and Hobbs goodness knows how many times as a child. I think we thought of it like a huge amusement park instead of a department store!

The room was simple but nice, so after a decent nights sleep I headed out again. I specifically wanted to see the Cathedral. The Reims Cathedral is almost a replica of Notre Dame in Paris, so I wasn’t as wowed by it as I thought I would be. That said, the exterior is extraordinarily detailed.

I was impressed by the gargoyles and stone work, and inside it was a stunning example of gothic architecture.

One of the things that I really liked about this Cathedral were the ancient stone carvings inside the church. I have never seen anything quite like these before as the carvings were unlike normal statues which stand out from their background and instead they sit back into the rock. Difficult to explain, but beautiful to look at!

It was still quite early and although I was tempted to visit the art exhibition at the Palais du Tau just next door, it wasn’t open – don’t plan to sightsee before 10am in Reims, folks! Like the Cathedral, the Palais du Tau is a UNESCO World Heritage site and previous royal residence which is now home to numerous works of art.

It was quite cold and windy, but I was lucky that it wasn’t raining, so I wandered through the streets looking at the old houses that looked like they could have come straight out of a London street, and the mix of interesting speciality shops and restaurants.

I was expecting it to take ages to get out of the city after the dramas of getting in, but after just a couple of botched attempts, I was on the autoroute for Calais ahead of schedule so I decided to stop off at Cité Europe. I visited my favourite shop ‘Andiamo’ and then ‘Carrefour’ before discovering the Cite Gourmand which is a whole section I have never visited before!

The Cite Gourmand is where all the restaurants and specialist food shops are located, and has been built to look like an indoor village complete with fountain. To me, it looked for all the world like the film set of Mamma Mia and all that was missing was someone leaping out from behind one of the columns and launching into a dodgy rendition of ‘Voulez Vous’!

SNCM - Le Jean Nicoli

2009-11-27T19:32:00.001+01:00

After the warmest November since 1985, today the weather turned just as I was about to set foot on the ferry back to the mainland! I don’t like boats at the best of times, but when it’s rough, I’m a wreck (whilst hoping that I won’t become one – literally!).

The only thing that helped to divert me was the fact that I would be travelling on the Jean Nicoli, the new SNCM ferry. I say ‘new’ because this was the first time it had made the crossing from Propriano to Marseille and also because it had a spanking new pain job, but I’d been told that it was actually an old Greek boat that SNCM had bought and tarted up. This didn’t help to allay my fears...

The ship had quite a Greek feel still – most of the paintings and prints are of Greek villages and scenery, and even the signs are in Greek as well as French which was probably just as well because Greek is all Greek to me!

Actually, the boat was pretty swish and has a nice bar area and seating areas that reminded me of river cruise ships. The restaurant was nice if a little pricey and there was a shop which was more like an airport shop with magazines, souvenirs and most importantly, chocolate!

There is also a mini-Casino, self service restaurant, snack bar, kids play area and an internet corner (closed) which were all closed, but to be fair there were only about 9 cars on board so there really wasn’t much call for the extra facilities.

LAKE COMO - Varenna

2009-10-10T21:14:00.006+02:00

I love lakes, and when I realised that Como – one of the most beautiful in Italy – was just an hour or so from Bergamo airport, we decided we just had to visit.

Higgledy piggledy houses huddled together on the banks of the lake and surrounded by the Italian alps, Varenna is just gorgeous and I was glad we’d chosen it as our base. We arrived just in time for a picnic lunch on a bench overlooking the lake, before exploring our new ‘home.

Villa Elena is a beautiful Palazzo type house on the square in front of the Chiesa di San Giorgio, and next to the tiny church of San Giovanni Battista – one of the first to be built on the shores of Lake Como. We wanted something authentic for our stay at the lake, and the
Villa Elena fitted the bill perfectly.

It was a little cloudy, but when our host threw open the shutters and we saw the view over the lake, we couldn’t contain our excitement. We settled in and then headed down to the lake where we discovered some pretty cafés and restaurants as well as some little souvenir shops.

Once again we were tempted by the delicious ice creams when we came across the Gelateria La Giazzera which is the only ice cream shop in Varenna that offers artigianale (home made) ice cream made on the premises. I was determined to resist until I spotted the Rum and Raisin – oh dear!

We walked round as far as the boat terminal which was much larger and nowhere near as pretty as the one at Mandello del Lario, but obviously gets more use. This side of the village seemed dedicated to restaurants specialising in lake fish and we spotted a few menus that looked interesting for dinner.

There are two ‘villas’ of note in Varenna; Villa Cipressi which is now a hotel with beautiful gardens, and the Villa Monastero, an ancient Cistercian convent at the edge of Lake Como with fabulous gardens.

Everywhere you look there was a picture postcard view and we probably could have spent longer there if we didn’t still have the blisters from Milan. Apparently, part of the house is now also open as a museum, but we never found that! This was still one of the highlights of the visit for me though.

There was just time for a quick spot of shopping. I’d already decided that this would not be the last time I visited Lake Como so I was delighted to find a thick guide book listing all the lakeside towns and villages, and some old fashioned postcards.

The lovely old lady in the shop mistook me for Italian (possibly because of my dark colouring and tan as my Italian is distinctly ropey) and we had a lively exchange. She popped next door for a chat and to get some change because she’d run out, leaving the till wide open in a shop full of tourists with bank notes spilling out. Obviously crime isn’t too much of a problem here!

Another evening and time for another apero before dinner, but this time the setting couldn’t have been better. We chose the bar Il Molo which had a pretty candlelit terrace overlooking the lake and watched as the sun set behind the alps – what a fabulous way to end the day.

So would I come back to Varenna? Absolutely, but I’d make sure that I had a couple of weeks so that I could make the most of the lake and see as many of the pretty towns and villages as possible as I feel that this trip gave us just a taste of the delights on offer...

LAKE COMO - Mandello del Lario

2009-10-10T21:10:00.002+02:00

Lake Como is the third largest lake in Italy and is shaped like an inverted Y with Como on the south west point, Lecco on the south east point and Colico at the top.

From central Milan, trains run to Como and from there it is easy to use the water taxis to towns and villages all over the lake, but as we were approaching from Orio al Serio (the Ryanair hub) which is about an hour east of Milan, we decided to follow the eastern prong.

Mandello del Lario was the lake village of my imagination – faded painted houses, vibrant red begonias and pretty blue creepers, and even the odd fresco on the outside of a house! It also had an old fashioned boat dock off a little piazza which was like stepping back in time.

The other side of the village is a large park which was much better maintained than the public gardens in Milan. From here visitors can access the lake from a little ‘beach’ of shingle surrounded by palm trees.

Lake Como is also known as Lago del Lario from which the town takes it’s name, and I could have happily spent a few more days here wandering through the little cobbled streets and just drinking in the peaceful atmosphere.

it wasn’t until I bought a more detailed guide book that I realised we’d missed the church and the remote sanctuary of Santa Maria with a bell tower and beautiful cloister – maybe next time!

MILAN - day 1

2009-10-10T20:57:00.005+02:00

It’s amazing how low cost airlines have changed the way we travel. I really had no intention of going to Milan until I saw that Ryanair had started a new flight direct from Figari and we managed to get two returns for 55 euros including a suitcase – what a bargain!

What we hadn’t realised was that hotel rooms in Milan weren’t such a bargain and even a one star near the centre will set you back the best part of 100 euros a night without breakfast. We found the Hotel Del Sole on the internet and it turned out to be ideal – just a few metres from two metro stations and walking distance to the Duomo (if you don’t mind a few blisters!).

The only monument that most people can name in Milan is the Duomo, and justifiably so. The Gothic cathedral took five centuries to complete and is the fourth-largest church in the world. The exterior is even more impressive than Notre Dame in Paris which is one of my favourite cathedrals, and we were lucky that the sun peeped through the clouds for a few minutes so we had a little bit of blue sky for the photos – hurrah!

We’d planned to spend the whole afternoon in the Duomo, but the inside didn’t live up to the exterior. Below the main part of the church is the crypt which is worth a visit, and the treasury which costs 1€, but don’t bother as you can see better elsewhere.

There were a number of statues and tombs of note, but what stood out for me was the gory statue of St. Bartholomew, who was flayed alive. You can see all the veins and muscles, and he seems to be wearing his skin as a robe – very horror-movie’ish.

The roof is the crowning glory of the Duomo. There are more than 3000 statues on the roof alone and the stonework is so intricate it’s like lace. You can climb the stairs for 5€ but it’s better to take the lift for 8€ because there is so much to see, you’ll do enough walking when you’re up there. I am a cowardy custard with heights so I stayed on the ground but I was super jealous when I saw the fab photos and if we’d had clear blue sky I would have had to brave it.

Just across from the Duomo is the Gallerie Vittorio Emanuele II. Here we saw just a taste of Milan’s hugely expensive designer shops; Prada, Louis Vitton and Yves Saint Laurent to name just a few. A quick look in the window at the price of handbags and I quickly decided that I wouldn’t be taking any souvenirs of that nature home with me!

The gallerie itself is really impressive. Huge stone buildings linked together by a glass roof and mosaic floors. We decided to treat ourselves to a ‘gelato’ while we were wandering aimlessly because after all, you can’t come to Italy and not eat the ice cream – it’d be rude! The flavours were incredible and in particular, the ‘cioccolata noir’ tasted just like melted dark chocolate.

It was while we were staring at the roof and lapping up the scrummy ice cream that I got kidnapped by a mad smiling Italian man. I wouldn’t have minded, but he wasn’t the handsome Italian of my imagination! In the end we worked out that he was taking me to the mosaic of the bull that symbolises Milan. Apparently, the Milanese believe that if you stomp over the bulls testicles, it brings luck (presumably not for the bull!).

The other side of Gallerie Vittorio Emanuele II brings you to the Piazza della Scala where the opera house is. La Scala is perhaps the world’s greatest opera house and we spent ages trying to find it until we realised it was housed in a very boring looking building right in front of our noses!

We really wanted to see an opera or ballet here, but there was nothing interesting on the program, so instead saw that you could visit the theatre during the day. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but this was definitely a highlight of the trip.

We visited the boxes and got told off for taking photos, then we visited the huge galleries and theatrical museum where we saw portraits of opera singers of a bygone era and costumes as well as the old fashioned posters advertising the shows. What a treat.

From here we headed down the via Mercanti where there were shops, cafés and restaurants lining both sides of this wide pedestrianised street, but all too soon it was time to find somewhere to eat and head back to the hotel via the Via della Spiga, one of Milan’s most elite shopping streets where you can find D&G, Juicy Couture, Roberto Cavalli, Bulgari – the list is almost endless.

MILAN - day 2

2009-10-10T20:34:00.013+02:00

Day two saw us up at the crack of dawn in search of cappuccino and pastries – la dolce vita! We already had blisters and as we’d seen quite a few of the sights on the open top bus tour, we decided to get a one day travel card for the metro to save our aching feet.

First stop was Sant’Ambrogio, which I loved even in the cloud. We’d arrived so early that the priest was still giving mass, so we waited patiently until he’d finished before exploring inside. Unfortunately, we didn’t realise that he was going to turn out all the lights, so our photos didn’t come out as well as we’d hoped. Drats! The cloud outside meant that we weren’t going to get any decent photos there either, so we decided to press on.

One metro stop later and we were at Cadorna, just a short walk from the entrance of the Castello Sforzesca . I’d seen this in the guide book and been tempted by the huge castle buildings, but even I was surprised by the sheer scale of the complex.

Four separate entrances lead onto the central cobbled courtyard – thank goodness I’d worn my comfy sightseeing shoes – and a number of museums such as art and sculpture from the middle ages through to the 18th century, frescoed walls and ceilings, stone masonry.

We’d been told off for taking photos before we’d made it past the second room, but there were just so many beautiful things that it was impossible to take it all in. I particularly loved the enormous tapestries and brightly coloured frescos – amazing to think that they are so old but seem to have lost none of their vibrancy.

One of the ceilings is an enormously detailed fresco by Leonardo da Vinci, but as with many of the more precious works, there were staff on hand to make sure that there is no flash photography.

The other masterpiece is Michelangelo’s Rondanini Pietà which is stunning, but the grey concrete background really does it no justice at all. There is also a fine art collection ‘Pinacoteca’, a musical instrument museum, an armoury and bizarrely an exhibition dedicated to Madame Butterfly. It was here that we came across our first Chinese wedding before heading into the gardens.

The Parco Sempione was really quite a disappointment. There were huge green spaces, but really nothing else apart from another Chinese wedding party, and another, and another! We began to wonder if it was the 8th as I know that is the luckiest number in the Chinese culture (thanks HSBC for the informative TV adverts), but as it was the 6th, we couldn’t understand it. We passed the Arco della Pace at the back of the park which is similar to the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, and headed up the Corso Sempione for lunch.

Dish of the day was noodles with fresh vegetables but I was also tempted by the Bresaola (dried salted beef) with parmesan, rocket and lemon. It was just too difficult to choose so in the end we ordered one of each so we could share!

After lunch we made our way back skirting the Parco Sempione which is when I spotted the aquarium. I absolutely love aquariums, even if they are fairly naff, so I was delighted to find that not only was this one free, but there was a friendly octopus who came to say hello!

Fortunately we’d had the sense to book ahead to see ‘The Last Supper’. The whole rigmarole seemed a bit OTT to me, but then I’m not a real art freak so perhaps that’s why. They only allow 25 people through at a time and you’re allowed to stay a maximum of 15 minutes. There are a series of automatic doors and security is tighter than most Italian airports!!

As we weren’t allowed to take photos (and we couldn’t cheat!), we decided to buy a postcard as a souvenir but the price in the gift shop and the silly doors that trapped me half in and half out, put us off. Just outside is a street trader which was less than half the price, but we spotted a stationary shop almost opposite in the via Ruffini where we ended up paying just 0.20€ per card!

Our guide books told us that most visitors see the Cenacola Vinciana (The Last Supper) and completely miss the church of Santa Maria delle Grazie just next door – what a shame as this was another highlight of my trip.

What I really loved about this church were the decorations. I’m not a big art fan, but I do love frescos and arches, so I was in hog’s heaven. This was another one where we were there on the dot of 2:30pm when the church opened, and just in time for them to turn off the lights!!

This church did have an added attraction in my view which was a priest all dressed in white who greeted us with a warm smile and sat himself down in the centre of the church so that people sat and chatted with him. Sadly, he spoilt the moment by picking his nose, but I guess they are only human after all...

Having grown up in the UK and now living in France, crossing the road is a constant trial as I never know which way to look. Trams complicate this problem further, but I was fascinated by the old fashioned orange and yellow contraptions. We tried for ages to get a decent photo and eventually I shouted out ‘I see something orange’ which prompted the woman next to me to smooth down her badly dyed orange hair self consciously – oh dear.

There was just time for a spot of shopping in the non-designer Corso Buenos Aires before we settled at a table at the bar Cin Cin for an aperitif. OK, so the setting wasn’t the best, but it was a good spot for people watching and I was glad to rest my feet. Our drinks arrived with some crisps and olives to nibble on, but we also discovered that there was a buffet inside that was included with the cost of the drinks, so the 7€ per drink didn’t seem so bad after all.

We’d spotted a traditional style osteria just opposite Sant’Ambrogio so we headed back there for dinner. They were fully booked so this is one to book in advance, but we must have looked quite sad as they managed to squeeze us in if we were happy to eat quickly before the next guests arrived.

We chose the gnocchi al Gorgonzola (little potato dumplings with a cheese sauce - a personal favourite) and the tagliatelli al funghi porcini (pasta with Porcini mushrooms). Both dishes were so delicious but after trying a few bits and bobs from the buffet and then eating pasta, we were well and truly stuffed!

MILAN - day 3

2009-10-10T20:21:00.010+02:00

The next day saw us out again bright and early, heading towards the Cimiterio Monumentale. For some reason, I wasn’t all that enthusiastic about visiting the cemetery, but as soon as I got there, I was amazed at the huge russet red and white building.

Inside, there were colonnades and arches each filled with the tombs of notable Milanese, and views over the grounds. The central atrium was more like a cathedral than a cemetery and was decorated in rich blues and golds. The more important statues are here protected from the weather, and there are also plaques for famous people like Leonardo da Vinci.

Below, the graves have been arranged more along the lines of a garden than a cemetery, and there are even information posts to show where you can find the tombs and statues of note. Some of the funerary statues were amazingly detailed and really beautiful – there was even one depicting the Last Supper in bronze

Unfortunately, the cloud overhead made decent photos impossible, so we wandered back to the crypt where all the war memorials are. It’s impossible for people of my age to fully comprehend the atrocities of the first and second world war, but it really brought home to me how young these boys were who were sent off to fight for their county.

We’d managed to spend a whole morning exploring the cemetery, so we decided to have a spot of lunch before our next visit, and settled into a table outside the Caffé Litta where we could watch the world go by whilst we tucked into vegetable risotto, cannelloni and cheesecake to follow – yum!

From here we had a view of the Palazzo Litta, but it was the less conventional sites that held our attention. First was a bloke dressed as Jesus (underpants, sandals and even a wooden laurel) who wandered past, hardly raising comment from the locals. Next was a woman in what looked like fancy dress but was probably a very expensive haute couture dress and heels so high that as she was riding her bike along the cobbles (!) her heels were scraping the stones.

Just along from here is the little known Monastero Maggiore di San Maurizo.

There is no entry fee here and guides are on hand to talk to you about the monastery and the history of its frescos. I was surprised that photos were allowed (without flash) in most places in Milan, and they came out surprisingly well.

We had two guide books with us; Michelin Guide in French and a DK Top 10 of Milan but neither gave this rave reviews because this church is truly a work of art. Even if it wasn’t really my cup of tea, you can’t help but appreciate the work and dedication to complete something like this.

From here, we headed to San Lorenzo Maggiore. I’d read about the row of 16 free standing Corinthian columns but to be honest, the back drop of graffiti covered buildings did nothing to enhance setting and I really wasn’t impressed. It was only 2pm and like most places in Italy, the church itself was closed until 2:30pm, so we decided to press on to the Basilica and Museum of Sant’Eustorgio.

We were surprised to find that the entrance fee was 6€ for what looked like just a normal sized church, but actually it was well worth it. Behind the church was a series of rooms containing frescos and excavated columns, a vaulted room with views over the courtyard and a treasury room.

This is much more impressive than the treasury at the Duomo. OK, so the glass fronts are alarmed, but you can’t help thinking that otherwise, it is probably pretty much presented as it would have been when the monks were here.

The Sacristy (treasury room) leads to two inter-linked chapels, one of which is the Cappella Portinari

This is where the intricately carved marble sarcophagus for the bones of St. Peter the Martyr is kept. The frescos depict scenes from the life of the saint and the Virgin Mary. You can also visit the underground area of the church where they have excavated a Paleo-Christian cemetery. It was quite claustrophobic so not for scaredy cats like me – I couldn’t wait to get out!

Today was turning into a church tour as we headed back to San Lorenzo Maggiore to see the frescos from the 4th and 5th century. Entry to the mosaics was just 2€, but after the amazing artwork we had see already today, we’d become a bit blasé so we didn’t linger long.

We headed back towards the hotel via the Via Dante which is another pedestrianised shopping street filled with café tables and parasols, sun bleached stone buildings and old fashioned shops.

As we meandered towards the metro, we came across a little man sitting on the pavement carving beautiful animals and flowers from vegetables! They were so lifelike it was incredible, so we dropped a couple of euros in the pot and chose a carrot goldfish on a stick.

We were so excited until reality kicked in and we wondered what we’d actually do with it tomorrow when we had to get back to the airport for our visit to Lake Como, so we gave it back and asked if we could take a few extra close-up photos instead.

We’d stuffed ourselves so much at lunchtime that I really couldn’t face another filling pasta meal, so instead we opted for an aperitif and the buffet at our favourite bar Cin Cin in the Corso Buenos Aires before an early night.

MILAN - highlights + hints & tips

2009-10-10T20:15:00.004+02:00

For me, it would be hard to choose one thing that I loved about Milan, so here is my top 5;

1. Visit to La Scala
2. The church of Santa Maria delle Grazie (next to the last supper)
3. Duomo & the roof
4. Castello Sforzesca and the museums
5. Food! Pastas and ice cream just aren’t the same outside Italy

Sights you won’t see in the guidebook;
1. Bloke walking down the street in central Milan dressed as Jesus (in his underpants) and no one batting an eyelid
2. Women in couture dresses and high heels riding bicycles over cobbles
3. Men wearing their sunglasses on the back of their heads – why??
4. Androgynous Men buying high heeled leopard skin print shoes in the women’s department of H&M
5. Policemen wearing uniforms that look like fancy dress costumes
6. Drivers reversing down tramlines at the speed of light
7. Priests picking their noses in church
8. Old ladies leaving the till open in a shop full of tourists and popping out for 10 minutes to find some change!

Top tips;
1. Buy the return bus ticket from Bergamo airport to Milan centre on the plane – it’s cheaper and will save you time
2. Italian churches expect you to dress properly – bare shoulders and mini-skirts/shorts for women aren’t allowed
3. Aperitifs/cocktails may seem expensive, but often you get little snack or a buffet too, so do check
4. If you’re staying longer than a couple of days and you’re on a budget, cafés will normally sell you an ‘abbonnemente’ of 10 drinks and 10 pastries which is cheaper – ideal for breakfast!
5. If you want to see the last supper, go to the office in person on your first day to make your booking. You MUST reserve in advance and can’t just turn up and see it even out of season.
6. Travelling by metro is easy – get a day ticket (Giornaliero Urbano) which will give you unlimited free travel all day for just 3€
7. Take Mosquito repellent. I got bitten even in October which is surprising for a city.

BERGAMO

2009-10-10T20:10:00.003+02:00

We’d seen the ancient walled city of Bergamo (Città Alta) from the airport so although this wasn’t on our itinerary, it was only 2km away so we thought ‘why not?’.

Sadly, we never made it to the old town. Although it’s only 2km away, the traffic was impossible so after 15 minutes, we were still only in the lower town! We decided to stop off and have breakfast before heading up to the lakes.

The cappuccino was delicious and just the thing we needed to kick start the day. Parking was horrendously expensive – 3€ for the first 2 hours and 1.40€ for each consecutive hour, so I was glad we didn’t stay long!

The lower town was quite pretty with banks occupying some of the most impressive buildings including the Bank of Italy. We could just make out the upper town on the hillside above and discovered that there is a funicular bus that takes you up, but we didn’t have time to do that.

Although a busy town, Bergamo didn’t have anywhere near the noise and pollution of Milan so it would be worth another visit when we have more time.

NICE, Cote d'Azur

2009-09-21T01:33:00.008+02:00

Everyone said how much I’d love Nice, but I’d resisted after our NDE on the way back from Corsica about 8 years ago, but I’d recently I’d started to forget what I was worried about. That was until I stepped onto the tarmac and saw our plane which was not much bigger than a model aeroplane and had propellers to match – eek!

Deep breaths and think of all the lovely sights to see...

When I said I was looking forward to paddling my feet in the water at Nice, I was thinking more of the sea than the water in the streets, so I was understandably disappointed!

I’d booked the Hotel Villa de la Tour in the old town and when I arrived at 9am to drop off my bag, the nice lady on reception took pity on me looking like a drowned rat and gave me my room straight away so I could change. How’s that for service!

Fortunately, I have never been put off my sightseeing by a spot of rain (as those who have seen the pink poncho photos in Pisa can tell you), so I zipped up my waterproof and started off for the open bus tour of the city. In for a penny, in for a pound...

♪ What a difference a day makes, 24 little hours ♪

When I woke up this morning and saw the sun peeping through the curtains, I knew that breakfast was going to be a quick affair so that I could get out in the sunshine and finish my sightseeing. I soon found myself on the promenade again heading down to the Hotel Negresco.

The Negresco dates back to 1912 and is one of the few remaining privately owned palaces still existing in the world. The current owner Jeanne Augier has created a unique living museum where guests can share her passion for art and artifacts from epic periods throughout history dating from the renaissance to the 3rd Millennium, so it is no surprise that it was classified a National Historic Monument in 1974. Sadly, my budget couldn’t run to staying here.

So what surprised me about the Promenade des Anglais? Well, firstly the colour of the water. In Corsica, we are used to clear shallow blue water with hardly a ripple, and soft golden sand, but the sea of the Cote d’Azur certainly lived up to its name and was an amazing opaque azur blue.

I was also surprised that the beach was predominantly grey pebbles with the odd section of sand here and there that had obviously arrived by bulldozer! The third thing was the disabled sections of beaches, complete with blue wheelchair sign. Is it me, or are there places more deserving of disabled areas, but perhaps that sums up the priorities of the Cote d’Azur!

At the other end of the Promenade des Anglais is the port. I’d seen this briefly the day before from under my hood on the open bus tour and I knew I wanted to take a longer look in the sun. The port looked more like a pleasure port than a commercial dock, but in fact these are one and the same.

Surrounded by colourful ‘belle époque’ style buildings, it was here that I decided that I could probably get used to boats after all when I spotted ‘SIREN’. This was absolutely the biggest yacht I have ever seen in my life – according to Google 73.5m long, 20 million euros to buy and between 440,000 & 550,000 euros per week to hire. Might as well have two weeks at that price...

It was tempting to linger a while and see who I could engage in conversation, but I soon realised that only the crew were on the yachts, not the owners – damn! I also realised that the current economic crisis was just something that was happening to other people as it was clearly not touching the Italian yacht industry, or the occupants of these magnificent vessels.

I walked back past the war memorial, and considered walking up the many hundreds of steps to the Ancien château. I considered it for all of 30 seconds until I spotted the sign for the lift. At 1.20€ return, it would have been rude not to make use of it! The Devils pit as it is known was dug originally to bring water up to the old castle, but now forms the lift shaft. This did not fill me with confidence, but I looked at the stairs again and quickly made up my mind that I had to be brave.

Apparently people spend hours looking for the chateau at the top of Castle Hill without realising that it no longer exists. I’d done my homework so instead I spent ages looking for the huge manmade waterfall which sadly was turned off, so I headed back down to the Cours Saleya.

It’s here that the flower market is held each day. When I first explored in the rain I was a little disappointed because I hadn’t realised that the flower market is only on in the mornings, and by 1pm the stalls of colourful fragrant blooms are replaced by tables for the restaurants lining either side of the pedestrianised area.

The next day I made sure I was there early enough and was rewarded not only with the flowers, but also spices, olives, fruit and vegetables as well as artists selling oil paintings and other craft wares.

At the far end of the Cours Saleya is the house where Matisse lived and from here I decided to follow the medieval walking tour from my guide book. I soon found myself at the Palais Lascrais and amazingly, entry was free. Although it was small, it’s well worth a visit. On the ground floor is the old apothecary. The staircase of honour leads up to the state rooms on the first floor, but it was the ornate carvings and decoration of the staircase itself that tempted me to break the rules and take a photo.

It said in the guide book that I should have an ice cream at Fenocchios ice cream parlour on the Place Rossetti and it would have been rude to refuse! They have 96 different flavours including Rose, Jasmine, Coca Cola, Pina Colada, Chilli and all the old favourites. I finally decided on coffee which was just delicious.

I wandered through the old town admiring the colourful old buildings and beautiful old fashioned shops that seemed to date back a couple of hundred years. This area is home to a whole host of boutiques and little cafes and eateries, so I was spoilt for choice at both lunch and dinner. I love just wandering aimlessly when I am exploring a city and that’s how I discovered the Jardin Albert I and the peaceful green spaces with various art works and fountains.

Beyond the gardens is the Place Massena and the Avenue Jean Medecin, the main shopping areas of Nice. I loved the Place Massena with its black and white chequered ‘floor’ and galleried buildings lining three sides. It was here that I’d amused myself in the Galleries Lafayette on the first day when I wanted to escape the rain, but it was so much prettier in the sun.

One of my regrets was that I’d taken the open top bus ride on the first day in the rain (just me and two Japanese tourists were mad enough to do it!), but on the other hand it was a great introduction to Nice and also gave me the opportunity to visit a couple of places that were further out of the centre and I probably wouldn’t have seen otherwise.

The first was one that I desperately wanted to see which was the Monastère de Cimiez. The Monastery dates back to the 15th century and is absolutely stunning inside. I’d accidentally visited on the one day of the week (Wednesday) when it’s given over to silent prayer and photos are not allowed inside. Drats! I don’t normally mind breaking the rules, but even I draw the line at upsetting monks!!

The museum attached was closed as it was lunchtime but I was nosing around and found a beautiful cloister tucked away behind the administration office. There were ancient stone arches with peeling paint, old prints and gorgeous red geraniums which all added to the charm of the place and I had it all to myself which was even better!

Outside was the Monastery gardens and a cemetery but as it was drizzling, I did just a quick tour of the gardens and decided to leave the cemetery for another time.

Just ‘next door’ in the gardens of the Arènes de Cimiez is the former home of the artist Matisse which now houses a permanent exhibition of his works as well as temporary exhibitions that change from time to time. I was lucky that at the moment it was Rodin. The difference between the two sculptors for me was really marked and although I’m not a fan of Matisse, it did remind me that I do love Rodin’s work. This was another bargain as it was free...

Back on the bus, and a quick visit to Russian Orthodox Church. Nice has a big Russian population which dates back to the days of the white Russians. This was the first church outside Russia to be designated Cathedral status, and to date is still the largest church of this type outside of Russia – pretty impressive. It’s a shame the colours just haven’t come out as vibrantly as I’d hoped.

On my way to the bus station, I spotted a superb building decorated in bright mosaics and framed with palms trees that turned out to be the Lycee Massena (college). When I think what my college looked like, it was quite a contrast!

So after two days, goodness knows how many kilometres on foot, a ride on an open top bus in the rain with some Japanese tourists and scrummy ice cream, I was on my way back to the airport with firm plans to return next spring. I can’t wait...

PARIS

2009-07-23T21:51:00.015+02:00

When we discovered that not only had EasyJet started a direct flight from Ajaccio to Paris, but that the prices started at 35 euros including tax, there really wasn’t any doubt that Paris had to be our next excursion. We could only spare 48 hours, but I knew we’d manage to pack in a huge amount of sightseeing in that time.

From the airport, we’d decided to go straight to the Musée Rodin as the guide book had said it would close at 17h45 and we wanted to make sure we had enough time to explore properly. Unfortunately in our excitement, we managed to get off at the wrong tube station and ended up at the Tuilerie Gardens instead of Les Invalides, but as with all our trips, this turned out to be a very fortunate mistake.

The grounds were full of Parisiens taking in the afternoon sun, and as well as the gardens and beautiful views of the Louvre just next door, there was an old fashioned fun fair with a huge Ferris wheel, merry-go-round and even candyfloss sellers on bicycles.

We wandered through and stopped at the boating lake where children had hired little brightly coloured sailing boats that looked like they dates back to the 19th century. The effect was amazing as I could almost imagine that it really was still the 1800’s.

We decided that wandering around without a map (or a sense of direction) probably wasn’t a good plan, so in the end we asked a policeman who told us Les Invalides was at least 20 minutes by foot. As we were running a bit short of time, we hopped back on the metro – this time on the right line but in the wrong direction. No one would ever guess we are experienced travel professionals!! We finally arrived to find that the Museum was already closed, but that the gardens were still open so we decided to take a look anyway.

The actual Musée Rodin is housed within the old Hotel Biron, which in itself is a beautiful building of the stately home variety, surrounded by landscaped grounds filled with some of Rodin’s best known works. We saw ‘The Thinker’ amongst others, but I was more impressed with the bronze sculptures tucked away amongst the trees.

For me, ‘The Gates of Hell’ was the most intriguing piece, and I could have happily studied it for hours and probably never seen the same thing twice. The detail and work involved to produce something like is just incredible and I couldn’t help thinking of the doors in the film ‘The Haunting’ – this is obviously where they got their inspiration…

All too soon it was time to make out way to the hotel and check out the restaurant possibilities for dinner. We’d chosen a hotel in the Latin quarter as we wanted to be able to explore on foot as much as possible (probably a good idea given our metro experiences so far), so we headed up in the direction of Montparnasse and found so many that we realised we’d find it difficult to choose! We’d been hankering for a Chinese (Chintok in French slang), but when we came across Le Bar à Huîtres – The Oyster Bar – we both knew that there was no point in looking any further.

What a stunning place! Inside was really stylish and decorated with shells and what looked like drawings and explanations of various fishes from an ancient biology book. The food was excellent, and we had oysters (yuk) and a smoked salmon salad (yum) to start, followed by two different main courses so we could share and see what they were both like.

We choose the baked salmon and pasta which was cooked perfectly and delicately flavoured, but could have done with a bit of salt or lemon to pep it up a bit, and filets of Grondin Rouge which was a delicious little fish served with rice and a tomato and vegetable sauce. Dessert was out of the question as we’d stuffed ourselves silly with dinner, but it was washed down with a delicious white wine, and I’m sure the walk back to the hotel did us good! On the way, we discovered a really quaint, old fashioned station so of course we just had to stop for a photo. I am sure the commuters thought we were mad…

The next morning we were up and about nice an early to pack in as much sightseeing as possible. The plan was to do the Panthéon first, but after a delicious café breakfast of tartine with jam, croissant and a few espressos between us, we discovered that the guide book had led us astray and it didn’t open until 10am. As it was still before 9am, we decided to head down to the Jardin du Luxembourg first.

The gardens at that time of the morning were really peaceful with only a handful of people and the odd office worker catching a few rays. The gardens are again packed with statues, this time mostly of former queens, which are arranged in the gardens surrounding the Palais du Luxembourg. Apparently, this is largest public park in Paris and covers a whopping 22.5 hectares or grounds.

We didn’t have time to explore properly, so we just did the formal gardens in front of the palace, but apparently there is a puppet theatre, duck ponds where children can sail model boats, fountains, enclosed childrens play area, café, open air music and even an orchard! What really struck me about both the Tuilerie Gardens and the Jardins du Luxembourg were the amounts of chairs provided which is enormous. Not only that, but they are not fixed benches, so people can move them round to enjoy their preferred view or even to do a spot of impromptu sunbathing.

We made our way back to the Panthéon and were treated to the perfect blue sky background without a cloud to be seen in our photos – hurrah! We wandered around the outside admiring the pretty flowered window boxes of the neighbouring hours before heading inside. Once again, I was amazed that you are allowed to take photographs inside – even of the paintings and tapestries. We saw some stunning statues and tableaux of Jean of Arc amongst others, as well as the famous Faucoult Pendulum which was used in 1851 to demonstrate the rotation of the Earth.

Below the Panthéon is the crypt which is absolutely enormous, and the burial place for a number of intellectuals such as Voltaire, Rousseau, Victor Hugo, Marie Curie and Louis Braile.

The tombs themselves are much simpler than others I have visited and seemed almost an anticlimax given their historical importance, but it was a fascinating visit nonetheless.

Just next door to the Panthéon is the Eglise de Saint Etienne du Mont. Small by comparison with the Panthéon, this little church is an absolute must. We’d seen it in the guide Michelin where it’s ‘Jube’ was rated as 2*, but as neither of us had any idea what a Jube was, we weren’t sure if we’d find it! This turned out to be the intricately carved staircase and passageway above the congregation. The detail was incredible and from a distance it looked almost like lace.

We took a moment to sit and read the guide book, and I was glad we did because we discovered that there was also some beautiful stained glass windows in the cloister. This was in itself a curiosity as it was an indoor cloister leading onto what looked like (and smelt like) and old fashioned school hall.

Astonishingly, we still had plenty of time before lunchtime, so our plan of campaign was to wander up to the church of Saint Severin where there was some interesting twisted looking stone masonry and modern stained glass windows which we weren’t keen on, and then on to the Place Saint-Michel where there is a huge fountain with two dragons.

Unfortunately, it had started to cloud over, so after a quick and expensive Guinness in the Irish pub where they didn’t speak French, we decided it was time to find our Chinese restaurant that we’d been fancying since we arrived. We’d seen one listed in the guide Michelin called the Mirama, but sadly we realised that our sense of direction was no better on foot than it was on the metro, so it took a bit of time to locate it. It did indeed look delicious, but very pricey, so we wandered a bit further through the Quartier Latin (bum pinching territory).

This is a fascinating area of Paris and worth wandering through the narrow streets just for the atmosphere. There were huge numbers of themed restaurants; Mexican, Thai, Japonese, Italian and so many Greek restaurants and kebab shops that I lost count! We also saw souvenir shops and a delicious looking bakery before stumbling across the ‘Petit Hongkong’. This was a bizarre restaurant but we had a lovely table overlooking the square below and the famous ‘Chez Clement’ restaurant.

Lunch consisted of nems, special fried rice, chicken and mushrooms in a scrummy sauce, a selection of steamed delicacies, all for the princely sum of 15.50€ including drinks – for 2!! What a feast. I know it seems strange to go to Paris and eat Chinese, but when you live in Corsica you rarely get the opportunity to try foreign foods as they just aren’t available here, so it was a real treat.

After lunch we decided to do a boat trip along the Seine. My comfy flippy shoes turned out to be no match for my trusty old flipflops (RIP) and I already have two blisters so it seemed like a plan. Within 10 minutes, we’d bought tickets and managed to push our way to the seats we wanted despite them already having occupants! It’s a good job I am not easily embarrassed.

We picked a BATOBUS as opposed to a Bateau Mouche as the Batobus work on the same principle as the hop-on, hop-off bus, so your ticket is valid all day and it’s a great way to see the city. We’d jumped on at Notre Dame, and within an hour we’d seen the Hotel de Ville, the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower, and the Musée d’Orsay to name just a few.

One of the strangest sights was the ‘Paris Plage’. Apparently, every year since 2002, roadways on the right bank are blocked off in July and August, and host various activities, including sandy beaches and palm trees – did someone really think this through? We saw people sunbathing on imported sand, old fashioned ice cream sellers and brightly coloured beach huts. It was the most bizarre experience until Micheal Jackson got on the batobus and sat opposite us. Yes, complete with red ‘Thriller’ Jacket, tight black trousers, glove and Michael Jackson haircut it is clear that Michael lives on…

As we still had a few hours to spare, we decided to pop into the Conciergerie. This was something I’d wanted to do since our last visit to Paris but we ran out of time. This also had a star in the Guide Michelin, but whereas the other places exceeded our expectations, this disappointed a little.

OK, so the medieval halls were impressive, but it was difficult to really appreciate them as a temporary exhibition had been set up between the columns. We weren’t expecting to see baubles and opulent decorations because, after all, this was a prison in times gone by, but we did expect a little more for our money.

Three prison cells had been arranged to show how life would have been for the those incarcerated here, and also the difference. Paupers were expected to sleep on straw on the floor, whilst the rich could pay for a bed. Famous people could ‘buy’ a private room with a desk and camp bed where they would work or read. Although the building is enormous, it is still difficult to imagine that up to 1200 people at a time were imprisoned here.

One of the star attractions – OK, I’m pushing it a bit there – is the cell of Marie-Antoinette where she spent 76 days before being taken to the Guillotine. Between 1793 & 1795, nearly 2600 people were tried at La Conciergerie and subsequently Guillotined. Trials during ‘The Terror’ (French Revolution had only two outcomes – a declaration of innocence or a death sentence – very few were found innocent. After a quick walk down rue Rivoli for a spot of last minute bargain hunting, and we were on our way back to the airport.

As we set foot in the terminal building, the heavens opened and we watched as the torrential rain was joined by lightning. As we were on such a short stopover, we had no choice but to return by the last flight back to Ajaccio which happened to be Air France. What a difference to our EasyJet experience – miserable and unhelpful ground staff that looked like trout, delayed arrival, delayed departure and incorrect information. We were sitting just next to the desk and the bloke who announced the delay felt obliged to come and apologise personally – do you think he’d noticed the tight-lipped, daggers-drawn glare he’d been given…

UK - War of the Worlds in St. Leonards?

2009-07-14T15:31:00.005+02:00

I just had to share this story from my friend Sue - it really made me smile...

'There's a fashion down here for sending out Chinese mini air balloons, which are basically paper lanterns with candles in them. They can travel for miles and have been known to set places alight. We saw about 20 of them 2 weekends ago when my friend was down - we were convinced it was the war of the worlds! It was Robin's fault really - he said they must be aliens (didn't realise it was tongue in cheek). I actually wasn't convinced and thought they were a type of firework, but my friend (who's very excitable) kept stopping people in the street to say had they seen the aliens and eventually somebody said what they were.

It was slightly embarrassing actually, but luckily everyone here is odd so people were just mildly amused, especially a young West Indian couple - I could see they thought we were absolutely barking. Well, it was partly Robin's fault really because he said that strange lights had been sighted and it was in the Observer (which was true) so he half believed it too. I'm the one who is terrified at the idea that they might even be possible, but I wasn't really convinced.'

They’re out there…

UK - Bexhill & Alfriston, East Sussex

2009-07-12T17:22:00.009+02:00

With record temperatures in the UK last week, I was hoping I wouldn’t have to repeat the events of my last visit when I arrived at Gatwick in a spaghetti strap t-shirt and my trusty flipflops, and had to drive straight to ASDA to buy a jumper! Sadly, it was not to be, and my quick trip back to Bexhill was destined to be mainly under cloud.

Bexhill beach - not quite the same as where I live in Corsica...

The De La Warr Pavillion on the sea front

I wanted to catch up with Kerry as we don’t see each other as often as I’d like. We weren’t sure what we wanted to do because the weather had been so iffy, which is a shame as there are so many beautiful places in Susesx, so we decided to rendez-vous at her place for 9:30 and decide from there. Alfriston is a gorgeous little village nearby which is the English village of my imagination (or whichever Agatha Christie novel I happen to be reading that week!).

Being slightly obsessed by food, neither Kerry or I could help ourselves visiting the village stores which were amazing – really quaint with nice smiley ladies serving behind the counter where there were old fashioned jars of sweets and scales. There was a Delicatessen at the back and we found lots of delicious sounding local specialities such as pickles and chutneys. I could have spent a fortune if I’d thought I could have got it back to Corsica unscathed by the EasyJet baggage handlers.

We wandered round the miniature art gallery and were tempted by a few oils depicting the local scenery such as the Sussex downs and stunning cliffs, before heading past the other intriguing shops such as the Bat’s Wing Apothocary (herbal medicine), the Steamer Trading Co. where we agreed we’d like to have the money to completely refurbish out houses with oyster knife kits to the Tye.

The Tye is basically the village green and even during the week there were pensioners sitting on the grass in their fold up deckchairs waiting for a cricket match that I suspected might be a long time coming! We wandered round the graveyard and looked at some of the headstones dating back hundreds of years, including one that looked like it was made of wood in the style of an anchor.

We were keen to be nosy and visit the church but sounds from inside made us weary that there may be a function going on, but I’m far to French these days to be put off by social niceties. All that noise turned out to be two old biddies inside running the ‘shop’ so having got past her nervousness, Kerry then got brave and started directing the photography session of the beautiful stained glass windows!

Just next to the church is the Clergy House, a pretty 14th-century Wealden 'hall house' was the first building to be acquired by the National Trust in 1896 for £10! The thatched, timber-framed house is surrounded by a delightful, tranquil cottage garden featuring a magnificent Judas tree, and views over the river Cuckmere.

Once again I was thwarted on the photography stakes as it was forbidden inside the house, but I managed to sneak in a few shots of the ground floor rooms. The medieval hall has a traditional chalk and sour milk floor with explanations of the processes. It was strange as some areas had a green mould which apparently is caused by the sunlight. It was also damp to the touch and very soft so could easily be damaged by high heels – luckily I had my comfy shoes on.

It was soon time for lunch and a quick magical mystery tour through the leafy lane brought us into the garden of The George Inn. This is another stunning timber building adorned with flowers and a mouth-watering menu – yum! It was a bit overcast so we decided to sit inside. The bar is the oldest part of the Inn, has an impressive inglenook fireplace with a huge copper hood, oak floors and Sussex hop bines decorating the walls. The foundations date back to 1250, and there are is network of smuggler’s tunnels leading from its cellars – eek!

The food was delicious. I’d had trouble deciding what to have as it all sounded just so tempting, but in the end we both went for the Salmon and prawn salad with a bowl of chips between us to naughty it up a bit. It was huge! I must admit I was surprised at how nicely it was presented; little towers of prawns wrapped in smoked salmon sitting on a bed of mixed salad with peppers, cucumber, celery and tomatos. After a quick swap of my tomatoes for Kerry’s peppers, we tucked in.

After lunch we checked out a few more of the shops such as ‘Not Just Chocolate’ (won’t bother then!) and a weeny gift shop tucked away amongst the white timber framed houses where we smelt all the candles and bought some cast iron insects – a bit bizarre perhaps, but we liked them. It was lucky we were so stuffed from lunch because otherwise the homemade cakes in the old fashioned tea rooms would have been too much to resist!

All too soon it was time to pick the kids up from school and on the way home we were reminded how kids minds work when Sam told us his polo shirt was called that because it is white and the same colour as ‘polo’ bears! Bless him.

LOT & DORDOGNE - Cahors

2009-06-28T15:13:00.003+02:00

Marseille to Sarlat in one go is about 6 hours, so I knew I’d want to break my journey en-route. My first stop was for coffee and a croissant at about 10h30, and then I pushed on through to Cahors which had been recommended to me by Florence. At first sight, I wasn’t that impressed, but once I’d parked, I quickly realised that I’d skirted the edge of the town which was lovely.

Cahors is one of those places that really changes as soon as the sun shines, so it was a shame that the weather was a bit iffy – warm but cloudy spots. The main sights are well but discreetly marked, so I managed quite happily without a map. My first port of call was the Cathedral, which was beautiful, but unremarkable except for two things. The first was the cloister which was one of the most beautiful I have seen.

The second was the garden at the back of the cathedral where there is even a wicker nun to illustrate how the gardens would have been tended in times gone by. It was whilst reading the sign about the cathedral garden that I realised that it was actually just one of many gardens on show this weekend in and around the town.

I discovered a nice little tableau close by – I’m still not sure if the blue motorbike was part of the props or just someone inconsiderately parked!

One of the things I enjoyed most was just wandering through the streets which were full of people and interesting little boutiques. There was an indoor market for fruit, vegetables, artisanal bakers, butchers and cheese, and this is obviously a popular wine area as there were also ‘Maison des Vins’ everywhere.

By pure chance my visit coincided not only with the garden exhibition, but also with market day where you could find almost anything, and also a day of song and dance at one of the bars/cafés tucked away in a side street off the main square. The street was filled with balloons, people singing and families enjoying the show – what a treat!

I still had a way to go, so at 17h, I decided to press on. Little did I know that there was still more to see and do even in the car park!! I’d parked in the underground car park at the site of the old amphitheatre, which had joined in the garden celebration by decorating the exposed remains in the style of a Roman garden. From here my plan was to head straight to Sarlat, but when I saw the sign for the Pont Valentré, I couldn’t help myself, so ignoring the very insistent GPS lady, I headed out to the bridge.

The sun was in just the wrong position to get the shot I really wanted, but I managed to make do and get something I was happy with. The bridge itself is seriously impressive and it is worth taking the time to walk across. The views over the river are superb and I found myself imagining the sound of horses hooves racing over the cobbles.

My one regret is that nearly all my photos now feature other people also taking photos!

DORDOGNE - La Boiseraie, my gite!

2009-06-28T15:11:00.003+02:00

When I first saw ‘La Boiseraie’ on the internet, I really liked the look of it; wooden beams and floors, exposed brickwork and in a nice quiet area just a few minutes from the medieval town of Sarlat-la-Canèda – what more could I ask for!

I arrived early evening after a long day driving and sightseeing, and was welcomed by my new friend Holly, a spaniel that looked like she’d had her hair highlighted! While Holly lay on the floor to have her belly rubbed, David showed me to my new ‘home’ which was even better that I’d hoped. There was the small matter of having to climb up the ladder onto the terrace to get in when the lock jammed, but coming from Corsica I am used to life’s little inconveniences!

I’d forgotten to ask at the time of booking about any outside space as this is something I am used to at home and would really miss on holiday, but I was delighted to find a nice big terrace overlooking the garden. It was while eating dinner here on the first night that I met my second new friend of the day – Cooper the ginger cat!

On Friday evening, David invited me to a BBQ with Francoise, Magda, Francoise’s son Nicolas and two of his friends. We had homemade tapenade and fois gras to start, followed by a delicious leg of lamb and superbly cooked potatoes dauphinoise – yum! After dinner, they went for a stroll in Sarlat, but as I had an early start to catch my ferry I decided to pass. What a fabulous end to my stay in this beautiful area.

DORDOGNE - Les Eyzies-de-Tayac

2009-06-28T15:10:00.001+02:00

After a very comfortable first night at ‘La Boiseraie’, I was up and out at the crack of dawn – well 9am anyway! I had allowed plenty of time to get to my first stop of Les Eyzies-de-Tayac, as I hadn’t realised how close everything is in this area – I had obviously chosen my base well. This little town like many in the area is built into the overhanging rock which adds to its charm.

Sadly, the day had started out a little on the cloudy side and typically the sun was in completely the wrong place for the photo I wanted, but I wandered down to the river and discovered a very ornamental town hall instead!

There is a little path than runs along the river here and I bumped into a couple out on their Sunday morning bike ride, but had to smile because all I could hear as they passed was the lady puffing and complaining about the hill (it was completely flat as far as I could see!) and the man following behind saying ‘oui mon cherie, t’as raison’ (yes darling, you’re absolutely right!). A quick pain aux raisons from the bakers and I was on my way again.

DORDOGNE - La Madeleine, troglodyte village

2009-06-28T15:08:00.004+02:00

My first real site was to be La Madeleine, one of the many troglodyte dwellings in the area. As I arrived, the forested parking area gave me the impression of something out of Lord of the Rings.

I could see the remains of the château from here and I was glad that this came towards the end of the visit as I felt sure it would be one of the highlights, but in fact it was the chapel that captured my imagination.

Most of the site is now in ruins except for the church whish seems to somehow have survived intact, including the stained glass window!

The view of the river from here was also gorgeous, and I was lucky that for the time being the cloud had shifted. I suspect that the rock must be particularly porous/soft as the whole valley is dotted with 22 similar sites which mainly take advantage of the ‘abri’ or huge natural ledges in the rock face.