Europe In 30 Days - Surprise! Bologna Italy - Part 1

The time has come for the surprise trip that Stijn had planned for me during my stay here in Brussels. So now after a few days of being back in Brussels from our trip to France it is now time to go to Bologna Italy! That's right, Stijn planned a trip to Bologna as a surprise for me because he knows how much I love Italy and he wanted to take me there. Sorry ladies, he's already taken.

It's January 22 and we land in Bologna in the early evening and hop on the bus to our hotel. We are staying at the Hotel Mercure which is part of the Ibis Hotel chain (Stijn is racking up those points!) and it is perfectly located across the street from the train station and bus stop. We walk across the street, check in, get freshened up and head out onto the streets of Bologna for some dinner.

First we pick up a free map at the hotel desk and decide in which direction we are going to head. The first thing that I am absolutely amazed with is the covered porticoes as we walk down the streets in search of the perfect restaurant. In fact there are 25 miles of them throughout the city, all different in their color and frescoes on the ceilings.

We come upon Ristorante Nino on Via Volturno and decide that it looks the perfect place to have dinner. This was a great traditional restaurant with it's several separate dining areas and we are seated at a table by the window. Neither Stijn or I know too much Italian but the waiters were very friendly and helpful and we got our point across about wanting some vino. We also order some parma ham with buffala mozzarella as an appetizer and we each order ourselves a pizza. That's how you do it here in Italy, you order your own pizza, for you, and then you eat it yourself.......whew!

After dinner we take a different way back and we get a glimpse of what's in store for us tomorrow in Bologna!

If you would like to see more pictures just go to Where's Debbie and click on the album "Bologna"

Europe In 30 Days - Deauville and Honfluer France

On our way to Honfluer our route takes us through the seaside town of Deauville and we decide that we must stop here and take a walk on the beach. The street we park on is lined with beautiful Victorian style homes facing the ocean. I must say this is the widest beach I have ever seen and It's my understanding that you probably still wouldn't be able to find a spot to lay out during the hectic 100-day summer season here. Deauville is a playground of resorts, casinos, watersports, sunshine, shopping, horse racing and sandy beaches backed by wooded hills. So lucky for us we are here in January bundled up and enjoying the solitude that is rare in Deauville.

As we come into Honfluer the sun is just setting and as we drive past the picturesque harbour "Le Vieux Bassin", lights from the restaurants circling the harbour are reflecting off of the water. We find our hotel which is the Ibis Hotel once again. This is a very inexpensive chain of hotels throughout Europe, however they are not short on room size or amenities. In fact we have another great view. It's not the ocean mind you but it is beautiful!

We start our day walking around the harbour on cobbled streets and past half-timbered or slate-fronted buildings, popping in and out of little shops. I even find a great little vase with an etching of Honfluer.

Of course I am taking pictures of every one of these great buildings on our way to a lighthouse we spotted in the distance. Gotta have a picture of that to add to my collection.

Normandy is one of the few regions in France that does not produce wine, so what does one have when in Normandy? They have Calvados. Calvados is a cider brandy with many subtle variations. So the greatest find of the day was when we stumbled upon a little shop selling all types of Calvados.

And then there was that great little sign "Degustation Gratuite", that's free samples! So we try a few ranging from very smooth to a "I can't swallow this stuff, I think I'll buy one for my son-in-law". So I buy a smoother apertif for me and a stronger digestif for Sid, along with some others that Stijn purchased also.

Well sadley it is time to head back to Brussels. Our week in France has come to an end and I can't believe all the wonderful places we were able to visit while on this trip thanks to a home exchange in Provence and to Stijn for my wonderful birthday gift of Brittany and Normandy.

You can go to Where's Debbie to see the pictures of Deauville and Honfluer.

Europe In 30 Days - Mont St Michel

Today we are heading to the Normandy region of France, destination Honfluer. On our way we will stop to see a monument that challenges the Eiffel tower as the most beloved attraction in France. Mont St. Michel.

But first I must have one more look out our window and enjoy the view of the ocean before we leave St. Malo this morning. I open the curtains and within a few seconds a seagull is sitting on the ledge just outside the window. Camera, I need my camera! Mr. Gull seems to be enjoying his photo shoot and I feel as if I must reward him somehow. Just so happens we have some bread with us, so I hand the camera to Stijn, open the window and start hand feeding him. Cool!

On our way we stop to pick up a few things, the most important being some new batteries for my camera. Yes I took extras but they are the ones that are about ready to die now. We also decide to pick up some bread and cheese for a snack later on today.

We are just about there and I spot a windmill just to our right in the distance and we make a detour to take some pictures. Little did we know that we would have this magnificent view of Mont St. Michel from here looking over tree lined green pastures.

As we drive closer, surrounded by water, this astonishing sight of Mont St. Michel appears like some fabulous mirage out of the flat landscape, I have Stijn stop the car several times so that I can take pictures.

We walk along the Grand Rue which was the route once taken by pilgrims during the 12th and 13th centuries as they made their way to the abbey, but is now filled with tourists and souvenir shops. We spent about 2 hours walking through the narrow cobblestone ramparts heading up to the Abbey and enjoying the views out over the Couesnon estuary.

This is another great site in France that is FREE to explore. However, if you do want to see the inside of the abbey tours cost 6.20 euros (about $8 or $9 US) but is free the first Sunday of the month.

We are a bit hungry now so we decide to take a drive back to the windmill we saw earlier and have our lunch there. No, not because there were any restaurants or drive thru's nearby. Remember there is a great view of Mont St. Michel from here and we thought it would be really romantic to have some of the bread and cheese we bought earlier along with some chorizo sausage and wine that we still had with us from Provence.

We finish up our "French Take Out" lunch, take a deep sigh in disbelief of what we just experienced and continue our drive onto Honfluer.

There are plenty of pictures to see at Where's Debbie. Just click on the album "Mont St. Michel"

Europe In 30 Days - St Malo and Cancale France - Part 2

It's late in the afternoon and there is a light drizzle of rain, but Cancale is only about a 15 minute drive from St Malo so we head in that direction.

When we arrive in Cancale we park in the town square in front of a church and walk down to La Houle. Here fishermen's houses have been converted into restaurants, cafes and shops. We stop here to take pictures of the Tour a Feux lighthouse, and since the tide was out we sat for awhile and looked out over the oyster beds. When the cod-fishing industry collapsed in the 19th century, Cancale's fishermen turned to oyster-farming. The flat oysters (belons) are farmed here for their large size.

The rain is coming down a little bit harder now and we seem to be the only people silly enough to still be out in the rain. So we head into one the restaurants looking out over the harbour and I order something hot to drink and it's NOT an Irish coffee! I decided on a Vin chaud. That's right, I'm having a hot wine! Life is good in France! After we dry out a little bit we head back up the hill to the car.

Stijn has had his heart set on having Fruit de Mer (frwee duh MEHR) while we are on the coast of France, and the clerk at our hotel has recommended Les Embruns. So on our way back from Cancale we find Les Embruns and head inside. The restaurant is very elegant with linens on the tables, candles lit and we have a nice table for two in a corner by the window. We order a bottle of wine along with Fruits de Mer for Stijn and I decide on grilled Langostines. When our meal arrives and I see the platter of seafood that is set down in front of Stijn, I now know why this dish is called "Fruits of the Sea". Crab, lobster, oysters, clams, mussels, two types of snails, langostines, my gosh!

Before we start to indulge on this magnificent meal, we make a toast and reflect on another amazing day in France.

If you would like to see pictures of our evening just go to Wheres Debbie and click on the "Cancale" album.

Europe In 30 Days - St. Malo and Cancale France - Part 1

What an amazing home exchange experience this has been, 5 days in Provence! The location of this exchange was, I think, the best possible advantage to see so much of Provence. We never traveled more than 30 miles in one direction and we were able to spend time in eight different towns, not to mention the ones we drove through or past. And all of this for the cost of only some vehicle fuel and our meals that we either had at a restaurant or prepared at home ourselves.

After we finish cleaning everything up and put clean linens on the bed we say good-bye to Venterol and head out for our next adventure in France.

A little background story I think you must know before I go on though. This past October while on a home exchange in Indian Rocks Beach Florida, Stijn presented me with a certificate for my birthday that he had hand written himself. It was redeemable for a 2 night stay in the Normandy region of France. So, it is now January 15th and we are on our way!

We actually spend our first two nights in the Brittany region and it is just starting to drizzle a little bit as we arrive in St Malo this evening. We are staying at the Ibis Hotel which happens to be in what I think is the best possible location. We are on the 2nd floor and our room has a view of the ocean!

Now you know I'm a happy girl! After we settle in, we walk next door to Chez Jean-Pierre, a pizzeria, and we order ourselves up a pizza before calling it a day.

We wake up this morning to the sound of the waves crashing against the seawall just outside our window. This coast line has one of the most dramatic differences between high and low tide, as much as 30 feet or more. We have some breakfast in the hotel restaurant while watching the water come up over the seawall during high tide.

We are happy to learn that we are within walking distance of the walled medieval city of St Malo and we head that way making sure not to get wet from the waves. On the way we can see Fort National sitting out on an island just past the fortified city of St Malo.

We enter the city through Port St Vincent, built in 1709. Now you must know something, to visit this magnificent site is absolutely FREE! After we enter we notice that there is a stairway that leads up to the rampart walk, from which we have some wonderful views of the city. I thought how cool is this that we are walking along the wall that encloses this fortification. About halfway we decide to come down and walk out to a point where a lighthouse sits. From here the view looking back at St Malo is magnificent! After taking some pictures we head back up to the rampart walk and finish our "loop".

Well it's time for a bite to eat and something warm to drink. We find Cafe Licorne situated where we started our day, in front of Port St Vincent and most importantly has an outdoor heated terrace. Bet you can guess what I had to drink to warm me up. That's right, an Irish Coffee. After taking a look at the menu I am set on having the Buckwheat crepe. It wasn't what I was quite expecting, but definitely a nice surprise. It was very large and a bit on the crunchy side and had a thick sweet sauce settled in the middle.

After we finished our little warm up we now decide to take a walk through the actual streets of St Malo. Now it is evident that current times have given way to tourism. These ancient tiny cobbled streets are full of pubs, cafes and some fascinating shops along with some more well known retail stores.

As we are walking back to our hotel we can see now how far the tide has gone out. It was amazing to see such a calmness now when only a few hours early the waves were so violent. Back at the hotel we get in the car and take a drive over to Cancale.

Come back soon to read about how we ended our day in the Brittany region of France.

If you would like to see pictures of our day in St Malo, please visit Where's Debbie and click on the album "On our way to St Malo" and "St Malo"

Europe In 30 Days - Avignon and Chateauneuf-du-Pape - Part 2

We leave Avignon and head towards our next destination of the day. As we arrive closer to Chateauneuf-du-Pape we see that this medieval fortified village is surrounded by vineyards, all neatly tended. Little did I know that this is also a very famous wine region that produces some of the best wines in the world. Lucky me!

We find a place to park and head out to see the ruins of this village, whose name means "the Pope's new castle", and was a summer hideaway of the 14th century Avignon popes. This leads us through narrow cobbled streets, curving around the hillside and climbing up and down between the houses. The buildings are old, but everything is thoroughly restored, and it becomes apparent that this is a tourist town.

We make it to the top and there we see the magnificent ruins of the castle. Not much is left of the papal fortress , that was blown up by the Germans in 1944. From here we also have some great views of the Rhone Valley with vineyards as far as the eye can see.

After exploring the ruins and of course taking pictures from every angle possible, we decide it's time to head back to the car before it gets too dark. On our way we pass by the barrel again with the bottles of wine on top. We decide to take a peek inside this "cave" and discover that it is a wine tasting room. Right On!! During our tasting the "sommeliere" was very informative not only about the wines we tasted but also the wineries throughout the Chateauneuf-du-Pape region. We were able to sample some of the full-bodied reds that are one of the most renowned through France as well as the lesser known whites which were also exquisite.

We both picked our favorites and purchased a couple of bottles. You will know when you are buying an authentic bottle of Chateauneuf-du-Pape by the crossed keys of the chateau embossed on each bottle.

Well, sad but true, this magnificent day has come to an end. But we are excited about our departure tomorrow for the Brittany and Normandy regions of France!

If you would like to see more pictures just go to Wheres Debbie and click on the album "Chateauneuf-du-Pape.

Europe In 30 Days - Avignon and Chateauneuf-du-Pape - Part 1

It's January 14th and the last day of our home exchange in Provence. Today is exceptionally chilly as the Mistral Winds had been blowing in the very early morning hours. But I say "Hey, what is a trip to Provence without experiencing the fierce Mistral Winds?" Lucky for us though the winds had died down by the time we were ready to head out to Avignon.

We spent most of our day in Avignon within the historic central area starting with the indoor market "Les Halles".

This was an amazing indoor market filled with vendors selling fresh fruits and vegetables,

along with meats and cheeses and fresh seafood.

Of course we couldn't leave here without some fresh pastries to start our day. We decide to head for "The Palace of the Popes" (Palais des Papes). This Palace was built during the Pontificates of three popes and took about 30 years to complete. The entire complex is actually made up of two buildings: the Old Palace, built between 1334 and 1342, and the New Palace, built between 1342 and 1352.

Across from the Palace on the Place du Palais was another impressive building, the 17th century Hotel de Monnaies (the old mint), with a facade of griffons, cherubs, eagles and swathes of fruit.

We then head just north of the Palace of the Popes to see (and of course take pictures) the Cathedrale Notre-Dame des Doms.

From here we have a fabulous view of Pont St Benezet, a bridge that does not go completely across the Rhone River. The bridge originally went all the way across the Rhone to Villeneuve-les-Avignon, but in 1668 the Rhone flooded and washed away a large part of the bridge, leaving only what we are looking at today.

We then follow a path leading up to the Rocher des Doms park and see a water feature, a sort of "grotto" and of course we must climb to the top. Afterwards we took a little break and sat and enjoyed the views over the Rhone river to Villeneuve and beyond.

It's time to start walking again so we head down in the direction of Pont St Benezet to get a closer look. From here we continue walking through the great cobblestone streets towards the area of the place de l'Horge, the city's imposing 19th century Hotel de Ville with its Gothic clock tower. We find a little cafe and decide to have a bite to eat. The cafe is more of a sandwich shop and we order some pannini's.

We have just about walked ourselves to death now and decide we should probably get to our next destination today before dark. As we are walking back to our car we see the funniest thing. This man walking down the street with his cat behind him....on a leash. I have never seen someone taking a cat for a walk on a leash before. However, I don't think the cat really wanted to go for a walk today.

Check back soon for Part 2 and read about what we did in Chateauneuf du Pape.

To see more pictures go to Wheres Debbie and click on the album "Avignon"

Europe In 30 Days - Pernes-Les-Fountains and L'Isle-Sur-la-Sorgue

Well I'm sure you are thinking by now "Boy that Stijn and Debbie sure don't let any grass grow under their feet". True.

Today we decide to see two more places that we read about in our Provence books that look very interesting. Our first stop is Pernes-Les-Fountains. We read that this village has a total of 36 fountains and I am very intrigued by this and feel it is a must see. On our way we need to stop and fuel up the car and I see the most amazing thing! Wine being sold from a little stand at the gas station. That's right people! Wine bottles lined up on shelves in a little stand situated right next to the propane cylinders! God love France!

We arrive in Pernes-Les-Fountaines and park to the side of Bar de la Paroisse and walk over the bridge of the 16th century Porte Notre-Dame which takes us over the Nesque River and we immediately see a fountain. We spot a clock tower and of course must head in that direction. This 13th century Tour de l'Horloge (clock tower) is a last remnant of the chateau of the Counts of Toulouse. We follow the path to the top and again we are in awe of the view of the medieval village below and the snow capped Mt. Ventoux. After some picture taking we head back down to stroll through the narrow cobbled streets and squares, discovering the many fountains.

We then come to a bakery and I must have a pastry! So we go in and I pick something out that looks like nothing I've ever seen and Stijn picks one that he loves. We sit just outside the bakery on a ledge and enjoy our pastries in front of yet another fountain. We decide to head back to the car and Stijn has a grand idea! "How about we stop in at Bar de la Paroisse and have a drink before we go onto our next destination"? You see why I just love this guy?

Now this was definitely a "Man's" hang out. Besides the lady behind the bar, I was the only other female in the place. I of course have my favorite drink on a chilly day, Irish coffee and Stijn has a beer. We notice that there is a card game going on at a couple of the tables and Stijn says that they are playing a game called "Belote" I watched for a little bit to see if I could figure out the strategy of the game, but a round went really quick and I just couldn't figure it out. More men continued to come in and the place was becoming quite crowded. So we figured we better get going and let them have a table because it seemed a tournament was about to begin.

So on to L'Isle -Sur-La-Sorge. From the moment we drive into this town and see a mossy covered water-wheel at the first intersection, we know immediately that we have made a very good choice in making this one of our destinations while in Provence. We park in the middle of town on a street that just so happens to be lined with antique shops and pop inside one of them while on our way to get some pictures of the water-wheels. We walk through a park and find some men playing a game with small metal balls and Stijn tells me that the game is Jeu de boules. We continue walking through town along the canal and I am taking several pictures of the water wheels and then we see this great big yellow building with writing all over it indicating that they sell olive oil, olives, honey.....Oh my gosh!!!

So we go inside "Les Delices Du Luberon" and I see a small table with a sign that says "Degustation Gratuite"! That means free samples people! I am having the time of my life sampling all of the different tapenades!

After I had my fill of samples I picked out a couple of tapenades to purchase along with some lavender honey and olive oil for myself and my daughter Crystal.

It's now time for a hot toddy.....yep, Irish coffee for me and beer for Stijn. We pick a little cafe with seating on a terrace facing the canal and a water-wheel. We then decide to walk along "place de la Liberte" to take a look at the shops that line this cobblestone street. This narrow street opens onto a small square and there we see the 17th century church, Notre-Dame-des-Anges.

Satisfied with our day we decide to head home. Stijn prepares a platter of meats, cheese, olives and bread and we settle in with a glass of wine by the fire and reminisce about our day.

If you would like to see more pictures of our day please go to Wheres Debbie and click on the albums Pernes Les Fountains and L'Isle Sur La Sorge.

Europe In 30 Days - Nyons and Vaison-la-Romaine

It's hard to imagine that it is January 12 and the weather in Provence is absolutely amazing. We are blessed with clear blue skies and just a little wind today. So where are we going today? Well we are ready to do just a little bit more driving then yesterday and since Nyons is only 5 miles away and then another 25 to Vaison-la-Romaine these places win our vote.

We discovered last night while looking through our books on Provence that Nyons has an outdoor market every Monday. Cool! So Nyons is our first stop of the day and we will pick up some fresh fruit and vegetables and than whatever else my little heart might desire. So off we go! We arrive in this quaint little square lined with cafe's, bakeries and shops, but we're not seeing a market. Stijn stops a man walking by and asks where the market is located. Well come to find out we are in France during a French Holiday and the market is not happening today. Rats!

Since we are in the center of the village we decide to take a walk around and do a little sightseeing. Of course there is this great intricate structure with the Virgin Mary overlooking Nyons and we must go see what that might be.


This leads us to another square, Place de la Liberation and from there we are walking on the Rue des Grands Forts that leads us into a web of cobbled alleyways, covered passages and steep stairways which is called "Calvery Path".

We make it to the top to see the Randonne Tower. The tower was built around 1280 and was used at the time as a military prison for the castle. In the 19th century it was converted into a chapel and renamed "Notre-Dame de Bon-Secours". This was well worth the climb!

Now off to Vaison-la-Romaine. There are 37 acres of excavated remains here of two Roman districts where exceptional ruins of the Roman period have been uncovered. However, because of the time of year we are here, they are not open to the public. Rats! So we head to the town's medieval quarter, "Haute Ville". I see another climb in store for today! Our purpose is because we can see the ruins of a castle which stands high above "Haute Ville". As we walk through cobblestone lanes and alleys, we stop to admire old photographs of people depicting an era gone by which have been reproduced and hung on the walls of buildings throughout the village.

One last cobbled stairway to climb...............

and we are at the top! Here we see the ruins of a castle built in the 12th century and that had been partly reconstructed in the 15th century.

Happy once again with our unexpected twists and turns of the day we sit and enjoy the view looking down on Vaison-la-Romaine thinking, we are two very lucky people.

You can see more pictures of our day at Wheres Debbie and click on the albums "Nyons" and "Vaison-la-Romaine".

Europe In 30 Days - Our First Day In Provence

Because yesterday was such an exhilarating yet exhausting day we decide that today we would take it easy and stay close to home with as little driving as possible.

Home for the next 4 days is Venterol France and it is an absolutely beautiful little village nestled on a foothill just above a vineyard. The sun is shining and the temperature is perfect.

The house is also perfect! The 3 floors consist of a living/dining area, a full bath and a bedroom on the main floor, the kitchen, a small bathroom and an eating area with french doors leading onto a terrace on the second floor and a huge bedroom on the third floor.

After a little breakfast we enjoy the sunshine from the terrace and get our first glimpse of what we will be experiencing over the next few days. Breathtaking! Well believe it or not we are ready to take a little drive! We take a look at the books on Provence that we have and decide to visit Valreas. It wins our vote because it is only about 10 miles away! So away we go, but of course we spot a little village on our way to Valreas and we must explore. Right? This little village is called St. Pantaleon-les-Vignes and is surrounded by vineyards. We park at the Town Hall and start to walk towards a little square. We come upon this bridge that is crossing over a river and the view is amazing, so we stop to take pictures.
We spot a bell tower and start to walk towards it through the cobblestone streets, passing Provencal homes that are surrounded by low stone walls. After seeing the church we decide to head back to the car but on the way Stijn spots a sign and informs me that it reads "Wineries". Cool! I'm in France and I'm going to get the chance to do some wine tasting! Then I am reminded that today is Sunday. You see in Europe pretty much everything is closed on Sundays and I do remember this from my previous travels to Europe. But hey, doesn't hurt to go check it out, right? So back to the car we go and we drive in the direction of a winery. The first one we see is Domaine Gigondan so we pull in and park. I want to at least take some pictures of the winery and the vineyard and the added bonus of a lavender field, even though I'm not going to get to do any wine tasting. There is a dog barking in the yard of this magnificent villa and when I turn my attention in that direction I see a man standing on the balcony. So I wave hello and he waves back and goes inside and within a few seconds he comes and greets us. Of course now Stijn must do all the talking because I don't know a lick of French. Well I can say Bonjour! So they are chatting and I said to Stijn, "ask him if we can do a wine tasting". Stijn asks, and we are walking through the doors of a winery in France!!! I am a happy girl!
The tasting room was a little part of the whole operation tucked in one corner along with gifts to purchase while cases of wine covered the floor in the center of the building and the production was at the back. Our host, the vintner was magnificent and answered all our questions. After spending about an hour tasting all the great wines we decide we better head out to our original destination.

We arrive in Valreas and follow the signs to the historic city center, park and start our next walk through some more cobblestone streets. As we walk along the Grand Rue we pass several beautiful homes built in the 17th and 18th centuries. We are impressed with the Norte-Dame-de Nazareth built in the 12th century and the Chateau des Simiane built in 1640 which now houses the Town Hall.

The sun is setting and it is getting a bit chilly so we decide to head back to Venterol. But not before stopping at a little bakery, which by the way will become the first stop of many bakeries during our time here in Provence.

So what do we get? A great looking meringue dotted with some strawberries. This thing was huge. I think this was a good choice.

We head home, start a fire, pour some wine and plan for our next adventure tomorrow.

Click on the albums St Pantaleon and Valreas at Wheres Debbie to see more pictures of our day.