The trains in France are a little different than the German ones. They seemed a bit crowded.
The line to the bathroom was ridiculous.
And the bartender looked familiar, but we couldn't place him.
It was one strong drink.
After a surprisingly good night sleep on board, we awoke to a wonderful view of the Mediterranean Sea.
Many sailboats enjoying the breeze.
We made our way through the town of Nice to the beach and got our first look at the Med. The weather was perfect 64 degrees and sunny. We sat on a bench and enjoyed a breakfast of cheese stuffed red peppers in olive oil and hot coffee. Feeling refreshed we walked to the top of a cliff near the beach and had a beautiful view of the city.
Nice in the morning.
The blue was unbelievable
On the quay wall.
James doing his Rocky Balboa imitation.
After strolling through the outdoor markets, taking in the smells of spices and fresh baked bread, we made our way back to the train station so we could continue on to Avignon. I must say that cruising along at 160 mph does leave you breathless. We reached Avignon early in the afternoon and found our way to our hotel. The hotel was in the center of town surrounded by cafes, shops, and plenty of moped traffic. You took your life in your hands by just going across the street. Our room was a very nice affair with a balcony and an outdoor shower. I thought that was rather interesting until I found out that the outdoor shower was a cold shower only. Yikes!!
Hotel de l'horloge is in the middle
The view from our fifth floor balcony.
We did the tourist thing and scouted the town. Apparently the Pope stopped by a couple of hundred years ago to avoid being killed in Italy. Since it looked like he needed to stay for awhile, he decided to build himself a little place to live. Being the Pope, he was used to a certain standard of living so the Palais des Papes (Popes Palace) was constructed. The next ten Popes lived here until it was safe to return to Italy.
Just what a Pope dreams of
.
After 3 days in Avignon, we boarded yet another train bound for the city of lights, Paris. We arrived at our hotel just a stones throw from the Eiffel tower. The room was a little run down, but twice the size of a normal room in Paris. The elevator was another story. Apparently a small closet had given its life to make way for the "elevator". Imagine stepping into a coffin standing on its side and listening to the wires squeak as it pulls you up at the speed of glue running down hill. Ya, something like that. We had to take it one person at a time to keep from going into a claustrophobic fit.
After breakfast we once again assumed the tourist stance. With umbrellas in hand we went in search of art and headed for the Louvre. It was a rainy day so everyone else in Paris was doing the same thing. Every language on earth was represented. We did catch some interesting pictures.
Shhhh....Mary Magdalene. Don't tell anybody.
Those taggers are out of hand in Paris
.
And finally someone came up with a grave marker that I would be proud to have as my own.
Just a little marker for prosperity
.
After leaving the Louvre, we strolled down by the Seine to the Pont Neuf and kissed in the rain. The last time we were here James asked me to marry him, so it brought back wonderful memories.
.
As we wandered along the sidewalks and looked through the shops James came upon a terrible sight. Gnome Prison. That's right Gnome rights activist everywhere must be alerted of this travesty of Gnomes justice. I plan to start a letter writing campaign.
Just need to pick this lock and let the revolution begin
.
After the great "Gnome Jail Break" we were hungry so we had lunch at a great little place called Le Pre Verre. With our sad attempt at speaking french we ended up with the special; grilled pork salad and a fillet of perch with a mango, ginger chutney. It was delicious.
Great place to eat.
See any hunchbacks?
Again with the Rocky Balboa thing
.
We have intentionally left out our trip to EuroDisney so we could do it all in one post, so stay tuned. With our stay in Paris concluded it was time to once again return home. After a quick cab, subway, bus and moving sidewalk trip we boarded our flight for the good old US of A. We were looking forward to getting back to menus written in English, bacon and eggs for breakfast and lawyers battling over where to bury the latest celebrity casualty. There really is no place like home.
After conducting our small search of Europe we came to the conclusion that Elvis is really doing a great job of keeping out of sight.
Enjoy
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