Day Ten - Nice - Paris

Today we had the opportunity to live like the locals & ride the French 'Bullet Train' - the TGV. En route from Nice to Paris, we saw some of the most spectacular scenery: Incredible coastal & mountain views. This is really the best way to travel the great distance from Nice to Paris! The TGV (Train a Grand Vitesse / High speed train) travels at an astonishing rate of 180 miles an hour!

After arriving in Paris, we travelled to our four star hotel (with the most comfortable beds EVER!) and had time to freshen up before our farewell dinner in beautiful, bohemian Montmartre. Escargots, french onion soup, duck l'orange & beef bourguignone were just a few of the delicious options for dinner. Oh and who can forget the incredible entertainment!? A cross between an aging Ozzy Osbourne and Rod Stewart, this wrinkly rocker was a real crowd pleaser and helped us to have one of the best nights of the whole trip! All in all a great way to spend our last night in the City of Lights. Au revoir Paris!

Day Nine - Nice Orientation & Monte Carlo Excursion

After breakfast today, we enjoyed a petit train ride through the city of Nice. Highlights included the Promenade des Anglais, the Place Massena and the Old Town, Vieux Nice. The train also climbed the large hills in Nice to take us to the Chateau Park where we had awe-inspiring views of the city, the Bay of Angels and the Alps in the distance.

Later today, we drove to the Principality of Monaco to visit Monte Carlo and its famous casinos! Congratulations to Pauline who was our biggest winner!

Day Eight - Aix-en-Provence - St Maximin - Cannes

Look closely in the middle square at the top - Could this be the skull of St Mary Magdalene?

Julie Andrew's handprints out front of the Film Festival Centre in Cannes

Enjoying a spectacular, sunny day in Cannes...

After spending a final night in Aix-en-Provence, this morning we made our way to Saint Maximin-la-Ste-Baume, which, according to legend, houses the skull of St Mary Magdalene in the Basilica. There was an eery fascination in seeing the tiny skull behind the safety of the glass enclosure in which it is kept.

Next, it was on to sophisticated Cannes where we saw the Film Festival Centre (a modern eye-sore on the landscape of traditional Cannes, to be honest!) and the sidewalk of famous handprints. We then had time at leisure to wander around the beautiful streets, walk down to the sandy beach and enjoy a spot of lunch along the seaside. From here, we made our way to jet-set Nice, situated on the glittering shores of the Cote d'Azur where we enjoyed a dinner of local specialties, including a delicious Salade Nicoise.

Day Seven – Winery & Lourmarin Excursion

Today we had the opportunity to explore one of the prettiest villages in France – truly a hidden gem! The tiny village of Lourmarin is off the beaten trail and charmed us immediately with its sandstone castle and many art galleries. Many of us indulged in some one of a kind art – which we will hang in our homes and look back at with incredible memories of our time together in France. For such a tiny village, the ammenities in Lourmarin are vast – Incredible art galleries, tasty restaurants & stylish boutiques all awaited us. After an introduction to the town and some time for shopping, we took part in a delicious wine tasting, where we tasted this year’s Beaujolais Noveau – among many others. Once again, I’m not sure if the wine was just ‘That Good’ or if it was the beautiful Bruno with his dimples and broken English that charmed us into opening up our pocketbooks! Either way – it was a wonderful morning.

Later, we travelled a few short minutes outside of Lourmarin to a traditional family-run restaurant with a blazing fire and the most friendly staff I’ve ever encountered in France. We were made to feel like family, as we enjoyed a lunch of local specialties: Warm goat’s cheese salad to start, Pork with les herbes provencal as the main course and a choice of 4 mouth-watering desserts. Unlimited home-made wine rounded out this delicious meal and memorable day.

Day Six – Aix-en-Provence Sighseeing & Optional Marseilles Excursion

This morning we enjoyed a city tour of our homebase, Aix-en-Provence, with our local guide Chantelle. Aix-en-Provence is a young and lively city filled with innumerable options for eating and shopping. On our tour, we explored the Cours Mirabeau and Place de la Rotande as well as the local fruit and vegetable market, the Hotel de Ville (City Hall), and the cathedral. Chantelle also gave us the inside scoop on all the best places to shop for specific items. We’ve all be shopping a fair bit…not surehow we’ll get it all home!

Later this afternoon, many of us took an optional excursion to the coastal city of Marseilles – a truly magical city with a strong North African influence. After a bit of sightseeing, we also had time to enjoy a drink along the waterfront. Although it’s nearly the end of October, we’ve been blessed with summer-like weather with temperatures around 24 degrees! Absolute bliss.

Day Five – Aix-en-Provence, Provencal Culinary Experience in Peter Mayle’s “Menerbes”

After a harrowing drive through the Provencal countryside – which included some serious hairpin turns – our driver, Vito, got us to our destination safe and sound. Menerbes is the most charming town, made famous by Peter Mayle’s book, ‘A Year in Provence.’ Upon arrival in the picturesque Luberon village of Menerbes, we enjoyed steaming hot coffee and warm, fresh croissants before taking a tour of the village with our eccentric and charming guide Amir – who gave us the inside scoop on the who’s who of Menerbes society. Truly fascinating stuff! Next, it was into the kitchen with Laurent – a renowned professional chef – who gave us a lesson in Provencal culinary traditions. Together, we learned to prepare a delicious three course meal and later we enjoyed the fruits of our labour when we sat down to another wonderful lunch. This truly is the ‘Flavours of France’ tour!

Later tonight we had time at leisure to explore the city of Aix-en-Provence where we stayed for four nights. From out city-centre hotel, we were ideally located to explore the hundreds of great shops & restaurants that were literally only footsteps away.

Day Four – Beaune, Montelimar, Avignon, Aix-en-Provence

Shopping in Avignon

Another success!! Hope you've all be keeping track of how much Mary Anne's been buying!!

In front of the papal Palace in Avignon

'Sur le pont d'Avignon...dah dah dah dah dah dah dah...'

At the nougat factory in Montelimar...

With the wonderful Harvey (pronounce Arvay)

Today we travelled past the vineyards of Macon & Beaujolais and the valley of the river Rhone to Montelimar, famous for its delicious nougat. Here, we stopped to visit a nougat factory and enjoyed a wonderful introduction to the art of nougat making, courtesy of our charming host, Harvey. We’re still not sure if anyone actually likes nougat or if they just couldn’t resist buying some goods from the equally delectable Harvey! Unfortunately they didn’t have a bag large enough to take him with us!

Afterward, we headed south to the papal city of Avignon, where we had the opportunity to see the papal Palace and the broken bridge made famous by the popular French song… “Sur le pont d’Avignon…” A few days later, we’re still having trouble getting that our of our heads!

I know you were wondering about these...

After I posted the comments about the French restrooms being a surprising source of amusement, I got flooded with requests for proof! Here's a little G-rated demo of how these things work - and proof that they do indeed still exist. I give you free reign to laugh at my expense - but just this once! :)

More random pictures from the road!

Here's our whole group before our dinner at the top of the Eiffel Tower!

(Note: You can click on each of the pictures below to enlarge them)

And during...

Incredible views...

What a night to remember....

Sante!

Day Three - Epernay (Champagne Region) & Beaune

(Wine tasting in the Beaune wine caves)

(Could our friend Rollande Mercier be one of THE famous Champagne Merciers?)

Indulgent: The best word to describe our third day in France. Today we travelled through Brie country to Epernay in the hear t of Champagne, where we stopped to visit the Mercier champagne cellars and taste some of this celebratory drink.

Later, we travelled via Dijon through the Burgundy vineyards (several dozen champagne bottles clanking all the way!) to the quaint, medieval town of Beaune – the uncontested wine capital of Burgundy and one of the most exquisite litle french towns. Since it had been at least a couple of hours since our last drink, we were all feeling rather parched & decided it was about time for another glass of wine. Luckily, we had pre-arranged a Burgundy wine tasting so no one had to go thirsty – what a relief!

After a stroll through the charming town and some major power shopping, we returned to our hotel and enjoyed a dinner of local specialities: Beef Bourgignon and you guessed it: more Burgundy wines.

Champagne before noon, wine before AND during dinner along with authentic French cuisine…not a bad way to pass the day!


Side note: One unexpected source of humour continues to be the French restrooms. Although the ‘hole in the ground’ style of toilets aren’t as widespread as they once were – to our amazement, amusement and dismay (after all…you actually have to use them!!) – they’re still pretty popular!

Views of the Right Bank from the Eiffel Tower

The Eiffel Tower

The Moulin Rouge!

We made it!!

Bienvenue a Paris!

Well, I’m happy to report that the entire group made it to Paris safe and sound – and with all their luggage! (Well….except for Susan… but let’s face it, if you’re going to lose your luggage, there couldn’t be a better city than Paris in which to pick up a few new pieces!!)

After checking into our lovely modern hotel and taking a bit of time to freshen up, the BH ladies put on their finest glad rags and enjoyed an unforgettable evening at the Eiffel Tower! Sumptuous food and delicious wine were only out-done by the great conversation, as old friends caught up on the latest news and new friendships were quickly discovered.

Day two in Paris was action-packed and saw us enjoying a guided city tour where we saw such highlights as ‘Les Invalides’ (the current site of Napoleon’s Tomb), the Arc de Triomphe, Place de la Concorde, Avenue des Champs Elysees, The Ritz Hotel, The Alma Tunnel, The Grand Palais and of course the Louis Vuitton flagship store! (Just to name a few…) Many of us also enjoyed an optional guided visit to the Musee du Louvre before boarding a bateau for a sightseeing cruise down the River Siene. After a quick costume change at our hotel, many of us then went on to experience what was perhaps the biggest highlight of the day: A dinner & cabaret show at the infamous Moulin Rouge! What an amazing experience to sit amongst friends, sipping champagne and enjoying such an authentic Parisian experience. As you can see from the pictures, it was also just the thing to bring any mild wallflowers out of their shell! It’s only day two…and the fun has just begun!

Until next time…stay tuned!

PS – It’s 1:20 a.m. and we have to be up in only a few short hours…so I promise to write more about the great times we’ve been having once we get out of the busy city and into the beautiful, peaceful countryside. Tomorrow’s first stop: The Champagne Region!

Paris! (October 11, 2007)

Hello everyone!

After a great Air Canada flight, we made it safe and sound to beautiful Paris! We were a bit early getting in, so our hotel room wasn’t quite ready when we first arrived. Being the crafty travellers that we are, however, we asked them to direct us to the fitness centre where we found a room filled with soft chaise loungers – just the thing to rest our weary bodies. Although we tried to fight it, we just couldn’t combat the fatigue and ended up taking a quick nap right there! An hour later, we were checked into our beautiful hotel room, where we had time to freshen up a bit before hitting the stylish Parisian streets. Our first stop was the infamous Rue de Champs Elysees and the impressive Arc de Triomphe, where we witnessed an unexpected memorial service at the site of the unknown soldier.

We spent the rest of our first day strolling the Champs Elysees, doing a bit of shopping (it goes without saying right!?) and digging in to our first delicious French meal – complimented by a refreshing glass of Bordeaux – which, for the record, is cheaper than buying a Coke!
Today we’re off to the Musee du Louvre and a bit of sightseeing (and more shopping! )in Le Marais. Tomorrow, the rest of the group will be flying over and we are so looking forward to seeing everyone on Sunday! Safe journey ladies – see you soon!

-Meredith & Natasha

Paris! (October 11, 2007)

Paris! (October 11, 2007)

Flavours of France - We're off!!

Hello everyone!

Well, it won't be long now til we're all in France! I'm flying over a few days early to get the lay of the land and make sure everything is just perfect for your arrival! I can't wait to see you all!

In the meantime, you might want to share the link to our blog with your families and friends. (http://broadhorizonsnetwork.blogspot.com/) For the first time ever, we'll be posting pictures and updates 'from the road' - so your friends and family back home can feel a part of your journey!

Also, each entry will be archived (by month) so you can re-live the good times we shared once the trip is over.

I'm afraid I have to keep this entry short because I'm just on my way to the airport! I wish you all a safe and enjoyable flight to Paris and look forward to welcoming you there!

A bientot!

Meredith

PS - That's Mary Anne and Susan in front of the Arc de Triomphe, the last time we were in Paris!