The French Riviera

Our last stop before Italy was a few days on The French Riviera. With numerous options on where we could spend our time, something about “The French Riviera” sounded too good to pass up. For one thing, after spending a lot of time on the Mediterranean during the last trip, this time we had not stayed on the water yet. Technically we’ve visited the sea in Ireland and Normandy, but that’s just not the same. Our plan was to visit Nice and Monaco, but we ended up finding the best deal on an apartment in Cannes. While it was probably the least interesting of the three towns, it was a great choice when it comes to beaches. Nice is famous for its rocky shores, but they turn to sand near Cannes and westward. So after checking in, it was straight to the beach. Another thing this area is famous for is the topless sunbathing. Luckily the kids are still at the age where they think it’s disgusting and are happy to look the other way. After our fill of sun and sand it was time to head into town for a stroll. Famous for the big Cannes Film Festival, the main convention center takes up a good bit of coastline in town. While there's not much to really see, the kids thought they were big shots on the red carpet.

Outside of Cannes we also made our planned visit to Nice and Monaco and even added Antibes. Nice is a much bigger town (actually France’s fifth largest) than I envisioned, with a huge promenade along the water that stretches several miles. It is a very quaint town though, and a bit more Italian feeling than French (other than the language). Our next stop was Monaco. You can just feel the money pulsing through the streets here. With less than a square mile of land, it’s loaded with heavy hitters from all over the world. The casino is beautiful with millions of dollars of cars lined up out front. In fact all over Monaco, I’ve never seen so many Ferrari’s in one place. We even drove a bit of the Grand Prix circuit through town, but our Renault clocked in a bit slow. The harbor is another place to gawk, as the kids were just amazed walking by the yachts. They asked, “Why don’t we get one?” Maybe we’ll look into that option instead of a house when we return to the states?

Part of the convention center is covered in glass, giving a different perspective of the beach.

A happy onlooker.

The town of Eze sits on a hill between Nice and Monaco.

This fountain is in front of the Monte Carlo Casino, which you can see reflecting in the ball.

This is just one of umpteen rows of yachts in Monaco, although it looks pretty much the same in Nice and Cannes.

And finally, here's a few shots from the Antibes market. (just in case you're hungry)

Carcassonne

Our next stop would be a quick one, with one night scheduled in the town of Carcassonne. Located in the Languedoc region of France, Carcassonne is a 13^th-century fortress. Not one, but two city walls encircle the town. Almost 2 miles around, these walls still include 52 of the original towers.

When we got to town it was too early to check into the hotel, so we hiked around the walls and visited the city sights. Since our weather in the Dordogne was mostly wet and chilly, the kids didn't get much use of our pool. Luckily this hotel had an indoor pool so the kids were looking forward to retiring to the hotel early and swimming all night. So after our walk, we picked up dinner and headed straight for the hotel. One car ride from Sarlat to Carcassonne, one town crossed off the to-do list, and some pool time with the kids…another full day!

One big difference we find in Europe is the relaxed attitude towards potentially dangerous situations. In Europe, very unlike the U.S., people aren't afraid of getting sued and this walk along the city wall is a perfect example. A 3-foot wide walkway and a 20-foot drop with no railing. If something is too dangerous don't do it, if something is too hot don't drink it, and if you fall off a city wall it's your own fault. Easy as that!

The Dordogne

The Dordogne River Valley was next on the docket as we worked our way south towards Italy. Sarlat would be home for the next three nights as we found a quaint little cabin just outside of town. One of the things we planned on here was a canoe trip down the river, but all the canoes were beached during our stay thanks to excessive rain upstream. Instead we had to visit the river towns and castles with the car. At the market in town we filled up on some area specialties, including truffles, native cheeses, and anything with walnuts. But the food this area is best known for sent everyone running. Foie gras (aka goose liver) is made by force-feeding the geese, which quickly fattens their liver. After a taste of pure goose liver, Cole was taste-testing anything else he could get his hands on to rid the taste.

Another big attraction here is the Cro-Magnon Caves. Famous all over the world, these caves contain paintings dating back as far as 18,000 BC (back when saber-toothed cats and wooly mammoths roamed the earth). Driven south by the Second Ice Age, the Magdalenians lived in this region from about 18,000 to 10,000 BC. The paintings are often very large and elaborate, with some running hundreds of feet long. They usually painted the animals they hunted (namely bisons, horses and mammoths), using the contours of the caves to create a 3-D effect with the animals’ body. We chose to visit Grotte de Font-de-Gaume, famous for its multi-colored paintings. To help preserve the art only 180 people are allowed to enter the caves per day. Everyone in our group spoke English, but the tour guide only spoke French. While the paintings spoke for themselves, we had to brush up on the details later with the internet.

After three rather wet days it was on to Carcassonne.

Notice the stairs on the dock leading down into the water. There are supposed to be four steps here leading down to a loading platform for the boats.

The kids were quick to take over the tree house at our apartment.

Grotte de Font-de-Gaume

I'll finish with a few blooms from the Dordogne.

A Church and Chateau

Our next leg started at Mont St. Michel, an important Christian pilgrimage center since the year 708 AD. The abbey sits high on an island, connected to the mainland by a 2-mile causeway. Interestingly the tide here rises a scary 50 feet, 2^nd highest in the world after the Bay of Fundy in Canada. Tides are listed in the parking lots so that you don’t return to a car that’s floated out to sea. As we climbed to the top we came across rescue crews watching the bay for anyone getting trapped by the rising tides. From here it was on to the Loire Valley, home to more than a thousand French castles, palaces, and chateaus. We based ourselves in Amboise, which straddles the Loire River. Home to numerous French Kings, this was also the city Leonardo da Vinci chose to retire. With only one night to spend, we focused on one big chateau to visit. Chateau de Chenonceau is a grand 16^th-century Renaissance palace built over the Cher River. We chose to visit it at night for a little added ambiance. Classical music filled the gardens and we all felt right at home.

Look close and you can see a couple in front of the tower with their shadows even bigger.

Leaving the chateau, you were left with this colorful walk out of the forest.

A couple of shots from one of the many markets we encounter.

Farm Stays in Normandy

Our farm stays in Normandy were a good diversion from the battle fields. Our first host grew apples and produced a variety of apple products, from jelly to liquor. He spoke no English, and when Angie tried a little Italian, he responded that he doesn't "speak spaghetti" either. His fresh apple cider and jams though, spoke for themselves. The next farm raised chickens and had a barn of over 1,200 hens. With a horse and goats next door and a cat looking for cuddles, the kids were in animal heaven. They didn't even mind being put to work the next morning, collecting eggs.

They had some big (and loud) roosters on patrol.

Believe it or not, they were quiet until we arrived.

Time to go to work!