27 hours from now

And so our wonderful holiday has come to an end, packing all the dirty clothes, wearing our last clean clothes home, going to brunch before catching a cab to the airport with Bill and Leonie. We have had a great time and seen some wonderful sites, all the better because it has been shared with friends.

Here our our Best's from our experience ...

The best beds are in Norway.
The best trains are in Norway.
The best experience was our cruise in Norway.
The best beer is in Belgium
The best bar was in Belgium
The best Boutique hotel 'Main Street' was in Ypres, Belgium
The best hotel was in Bruges in Belgium, the Orangerie
The best tour was the battle field tour in France and Belgium
The best bread and croissants ... France of course
The best food and restaurants ... France.
The best fun we had was on our canal boat in France Canal du Midi
The best coffee in Barcelona Catalonia (Spain)
The best cathedral was in Barcelona.

I am sure I can add to this list as I reflect In the coming days.

27 hours from now we will be home if all our travels go well. I am sitting in Barcelona Airport and it is just like any other really, people shopping, spending their last Euros, drinking and eating overpriced food, carrying every kind of bag imaginable and wearing outfits from those fit for the ballet to clothes you would wear in the garden. I can see every colour of skin, hair , outfit, luggage and I am surrounded by several different languages.  All of these things add to the tapestry of a holiday, and as I soak them up I wonder if I will ever travel to Europe again.

Palm Sunday

We farewelled Di and Bruce as they are off to Salamanca to meet up with Bruce's son Jordan who lives here.

It is Palm Sunday, and in such a catholic country as Spain that means street parades and music and dance. The gothic cathedral is just around the corner and a large band set up on the steps and people came from everywhere carrying their palms, and formed small circles to dance to the music. It really made me feel I was somewhere else, as the cultural expressions of religion are so different to those at home.

We walked to the Petite Place another of Gaudis creations, stunning in its ornate style so totally different from everything around it.

We walked to the gardens on Montjuic and climbed the hillside to have lunch in a restaurant with a magic view over Barcelona. We rode the cable car back to the water front and strolled through the crowds, people on segways, motorised pushbikes, in rickshaws, past multi-million dollar yachts and bustling restaurants, around men selling sunglasses on sheets laid out in the street which are very quickly wrapped up as they run away at the approach of any police.  There were markets and music ... The town is vibrant and colourful and so alive.  We stopped for a drink in a restaurant to rest our tired limbs, wandered further to a little square and found a restaurant for dinner, and then home through alleyways of chocolate shops and sweet shops.

We must have walked at least 6 k today, and our feet are a little sore.  We have done quite a lot of walking here in Barcelona which is, of course, a fantastic way to see the city.

We loved Barcelona, it is clean, friendly, bustling and entertaining, and as long as you gaurd your personal property very carefully, you should have a great time here.

Hop On - Hop Off

What an easy way to see so much of a big strange city, and to get your bearings. But before we could get the bus I had an unhappy start to my day. I broke my glasses which I depend on completely, only to find the case containing my sunglasses and spare glasses has been stolen from my handbag ... It must have happened yesterday afternoon on our walk home.  Luckily a very helpful lady at the optometrist nearby found the cheapest frames she could to pop my lenses into and I am able to see.  I sure hope my travel insurance will come to the party for my sunglasses, they were good ones.

Once on the bus we drove along the marina and old port, the vast sandy beaches and then turned towards the highlight of the tour La Sagrada Familia, the great unfinished cathedral of  Gaudi. It has to be one of the wonders of the world, and I sure hope I am alive to see the finished result in all its glory, because the unfinished temple is extraordinary. If possible, the interior is more awe inspiring than the exterior, and you can see the magnificent interpretation of nature in stone and light.  We spent our time there wandering around with an audio guide and marvelling at the foresight and ingenuity of the design, and of the skills of all the sculptors and trades that have put this unique and beautiful building together.

The rest of the bus trip served to also reinforce what an insignificant cog in the human wheel we each are.  Streets after street, mile after mile was filled with shops and people, a moving tide of people in every direction calmly going about their shopping and sight seeing. It is so hard to describe the scene of so many people hour after hour street after street, especially to someone from our own country where we are privileged with so much space for our population.

We lunched in a cafe on La Rambla and were served the biggest  jugs of beer and sangria I have ever seen. Tapas and pasta and a stroll around the waterfront before ending our day back in the quiet sanctuary of our hotel room. Another tiring but amazing day.

La Rambla

Not too far from our hotel, down a myriad of shop filled alleyways, is the famous street La Rambla. It is a wide tree lined street for walking in the centre with a narrow lane on eir side for traffic. It is filled with flowers and souvenirs stalls and cafes and buskers and thousands of people. It leads to the marina at one end which is the way we walked. Markets and shops and Orange tree filled squares and churches and monuments until finally the grand monument at the end towering over everything. Christopher Columbus adorns the top, and various figures and objects are depicts telling the story of Spain's maritime history.

The sun was shining on us warmly which we so enjoyed after the past week of cold weather, and we stopped for breakfast outside a little cafe at a table in the filtered sunlight under an orange tree before going to the Maritime Museum.  We thought we would see the rich history of the Spanish Galleon, but no, maybe that is eleswhere, it was more a storytelling place of Spain's relationship with the sea over the ages, and with only replicas there to tell the story, but it was interesting and we enjoyed it.

As we wandered back along La Rambla in the afternoon we spied a market but the press of people there was too much for us, we'll have to go back when we are fresh and it is not so busy.

Barcelona

Our luck with Le Boat didn't improve overnight as when we woke we discovered two of the large reclining cushions from the top deck had been blown overboard with the strong wind.  Bill went searching and found them about 100m away in the water on the opposite side of the canal. He fished them out and returned them, crazy to think they hadn't been tied down. Of course the forecast for the next 10 days along the canal is for fantastic, sunny, warm, calm weather. .... Oh well, you can't win them all.

So on this lovely sunny day we caught the train to Spain. A beautiful, clean, quiet fast train. We reached 299km per hour and arrived just 2 hours later in Barcelona.  The trip was scenic with snow covered mountains on one side and lakes, wetlands and then the sea on the other. Barcelona is huge. The entire 15 minutes from the train station by taxi was through the city, shops, shops, shops, businesses, traffic, pedestrians... So busy.  But also appears a clean city, and we have only seen one beggar in our walk around the streets near the hotel, which is not what we were expecting. The narrow alley ways, a gothic cathedral at one end of our laneway, beautiful restaurants and an antique market at the end of the street made for great first impressions.

We were all pretty tired so we decided to have room service and an early night. Food was not so good so I think we will make the effort to stay up late tomorrow and go out for dinner, no restaurant opens before 8pm, and those of you who know Max know that is his bedtime ;)

Homps at last

Our destination on our canal voyage is the small town of Homps. We went under our last small, nerve-wracking bridge and our last lock and were blown here by 34kph winds. It certainly made steering a challenge for Bill, but we are safely tied up in the Le Boat yard in the middle of town and about to go to the pub for lunch and a drink.

So the end of this part of our trip, from Castelnaudary to Homps along the canal, a taxi to Narbonne and then we hop onto a train to Barcelona. But another night of frivolity has seen us each write a verse ... I know it is bad, but it gave us a laugh...

Canal du Midi

As we sailed along the Canal du Midi

We all felt a little bit weirdy,

We took on the first lock

And all got a shock

We Made It!

And it wasn't that easy.

We cruised to our first bridge,

My bowels were a squidge,

Once through....

I regained composure,

And looked forward to my next Adventure.

True to form, Di cooked up a storm

Cacciatore, schnitzel and gravy,

Great for our men from the Navy,

And brought happiness to all until morn.

We manned the ropes,

Threw them, looped them, held them tight.

As the water drained out

We were locked in for the night.

But each evening we moored,

Ate, drank and thanked the lord. 

Three tarts from Le Bugue,

Thought the adventure was huge.

The weather was shit,

But we did not quit.

We just got stuck into the booze.

Bill skippered Le Boat from beginning to end,

On his skills (or lack of) the crew did depend.

Our destination Homps,

Was reached before stumps

And so my friends, this is ... 

The End

Blocked in France

We woke to another problem this morning, a boat alarm sounded when we started the engine, we waited until 9.00 to ring the office and a short while later a rather handsome young mechanic turned up. It turns out that the constant holding in the lock yesterday evening saw us suck some objects into the engine pipes and we have a blockage. He tried to fix it but needed an impellar. He returned with another mechanic, fixed one problem and found another. So here we sit, it seems we may not get away for an hour or two yet and it is already 10.30am.

While we were waiting Di and Leonie rode into Trebes, a village about 3k away and bought some fresh baguettes and quiche.

We motored off at 1230 but had to stop in Trebes a few Km downstream to replace an engine pipe. Another hour and half lost.  All this wouldn't have mattered if we had not been on a short time schedule and so we now have no time to visit the little villages along the way. I am pretty annoyed about that.

Our bad-lock-day continued with another unattended lock and fairly uncaring man who eventally turned up and took all the time he liked to let us through. We eventually tied  for the night in La Redorte, wet, cold and unimpressed.  Our night did not improve things with the strong winds constantly bumping us against the dock.

Today, 13 locks and 22km

Locked in France

A cold, wintry start to our day today. Max, Leonie and Di walked into the village and returned with lovely fresh baguettes and croissants. We may never taste such beautiful bread again I am afraid.

We are stuck in a lock again, this time because the lock keeper is nowhere to be seen. We rang Le Boat and they contacted the navigation people, they have rung the lock keeper and apparently he operates between two locks and now has to drive here from the other. What a system! An hour later he turned up and we were on our way.

We were heading for Carcassonne today to see the old city but the next series of locks were taken up by two boats and by the time we finished getting through another hour had passed. At last the skies cleared and a weak sun broke through as we ducked and weaved under low bridges into Carcassonne. We found a grocery shop and bought supplies for the next few days and had a quick look around before we had to leave without a chance to visit the Old Cite.

The sun shone and we enjoyed the next hour or so until the last two locks of the day. The
Lock keeper was so drunk he fell out his door and then forgot the key. He leant on the control box and was still swaying and staggering around but we got through safely. The next lock was only 700m away and when we arrived he came barreling down the road in his car. He staggered out and began the operation. Things were not going well when another operator turned up and saw we were not going anywhere and came and took charge. He seemed to be telling the drunk guy off and apologised to us and a 10 minute operation became a 30 minute one, thank God he turned up. We have tied up to the bank just outside the lock, we had had enough adventure for the day. Di has once again prepared a culinary masterpiece for our dinner, and all is well. Today 11 locks and 25km

Canal du Midi

The great technical feat of the Canal du Midi was achieved by Pierre-Paul Riquet and involved transporting the water from the Black Mountain down to the foot of the Naurouze (189 m), the highest point in the course and connecting the Mediterranean to the Atlantic. 42,000 plane trees line the canal, each spaced 7 to 8 metres apart to form a colonnade. It was and is a marvel of engineering.  The banks have not changed much in all that time and it is easy to imagine the people and vessels of the past using these waterways

We woke to a grey day but it barely rained and was very pleasant mooring quietly along the Canal. We started with a scrape under a tiny arched bridge for which we all had to duck our heads and headed for the first set of locks. It turned out to be easier than we thought, but still requires attention. As you throw the rope over the bollard and hold it firm the lock keeper closes one gate and opens the next, the water level drops and you with it, keeping the rope firm but allowing it to slip down with the boat, eventually were given the go ahead and we slip the rope and head off between extremely narrow stone gateways and into the canal. Sometimes there is a series of locks and you proceed from one to the next dropping over 60 feet or so before once again sailing off along the canal.
.

We found a quite bank near an old arched bridge on the edge of a village and settled in for the night. We enjoyed a few laughs over gin, beer and red wine trying to guess the names of songs and artist....we were pretty hopeless at that, and off we went to bed.

25k and 19 locks today!

Too tight in Toulouse

Today was a very stressful day. The drive to Toulouse was good, but once in the city the blood pressure rose. We had an address in the GPS but we kept going in circles with no Europcar in site. Traffic everywhere, one way streets, gypsies trying to extract money at traffic lights. Finally Bill jumped out and found the office inside a building with no signage at all on the outside. We had to take the car up the equivalent of q spiral staircase and we were so glad to drop off those keys.

Next we found the Toulouse train station to be full of gypsies either begging or watching you very closely, we did not feel safe at all. Up and down stairs with our baggage, onto the graffiti encrusted train and off we went, heading for Castelnaudary where we are to pick up our canal boat. It went very well, the girls kept the taxi and went to buy groceries, we had a briefing about the operation of our canal boat, and off we went.

We asked where we could go to somewhere close by for the night as it was already late afternoon, and Leon told us we should not head stream as there was nothing there but nature.  Of course that is the way we went. You are allowed to pitch a stake anywhere along the bank and tie up for the night. Many people choose to tie up in towns or villages with services, but we chose a vineyard and farmland and enjoyed an evening of birdsong and the peace of the countryside.

Rose Rhummerie to finish our week in Le Bugue

Today we wandered the streets of Le Bugue for the last time, enjoyed a fabulous pastry at our favourite patisserie and packed our bags, cleaned the house and went out for dinner. We went to a restaurant where no one spoke English. We had such a laugh with young Benjamin our waiter as we resorted to drawing pictures to identify the food we wanted to order. I will upload  photos when I can. Dinner was delicious and we tried local delicacies including Foie Gras, scallops, Creme brûlée and rose petal distiller rhum!  We strolled home along the Les Vezere river in the cool evening air feeling no pain at all.

Dordogne Valley

Troglodytes are people who lived in homes built into cliff faces. The rock was soft enough to dig rooms back into the cliff and put a timber and rock front wall. In some places large chateau were built, in others a village for 1000 people complete with barnyards, butchery, footpaths extending over the edge of the cliff, a church and all the usual requirements for village life. It was amazing to see and to think that there are still places where people live like this, but then again, we have people in Lightening Ridge who have built their homes in the same way, except they are underground

We came upon Beynac and Le Roque Gagerac, two beautiful stone villages built against steep hillsides that run down to the Dordogne River. We enjoyed lunch in a restaurant on the banks of the wide, clear, willow lined Dordogne that was the means of invasion by Vikings in times past. huge chateau line the river to ward off the enemy, and in one place the two chateau on each side of the valley  saw men facing off in the 100 year war between England and France.

The highlight of the day for me was the Marquessac Gardens ... 6km walking tracks through boxwood hedges and  topiary of all size, shape and description. The most amazing garden I have seen and set high on a hillside in the grounds of a chateau.

Once again we have been blessed with sunshine and a great day.

Rocamadour

In 2004 I walked into Rocamadour through a forest along with my sister and two friends. We were awe struck at the sight, and it was no less impressive today driving in. We stopped at a creperie on the hillside adjacent to this holy city and took in the sights and we drank coffee.

Max dropped us at the base and then drove to the top and we walked up the narrow streets, I found the windows for the bedroom Denise and I shared , we walked the hundreds of steep stone steps through to the church that houses the Black Madonna, a wooden statue dcredited with miracles, and continued up the steep ramps that housed one of the 14 stations of the cross at every turn. We also were able to see the cave that began the whole city, a place where a vision of the Madonna caused this to be a place of pilgrimage..  We walked out onto the battlements above the valley for an awesom view.

We were tired and hungry by then, so found a small restaurant and enjoyed lunch before our journey home along the twisting, narrow but pretty roads through the French countryside.

Market Day

Le Bugue Markets

By Max Crowther

(With apologies to every poet there ever was ...)

Pepito the prune man was rather sly

He Had his eye on Lady Di,

Bernard the basket vendor

Took a fancy to the lovely Glenda,

Andre sold pizza - pepperoni

And fell in love with dear Leonie.

Bill, Max and Bruce

Thought their women very loose!

What a laugh we had today at the markets. These are not the big, flashy, professional markets where people roll into town with refrigerated trucks, these are regional people who bring their products to town, and you buy what is fresh depending  upon the season. The streets were filled with vegetable stalls, fabulous bread, small goods, home preserves, local honeys and oils, biscuits, oysters, meats etc etc etc. we wandered, bought supplies for dinner, and posed with a few vendors from whom we had purchased our supplies. One introduced Di to his neighbour as his fiancé, another we had not bought anything from and had seen us taking a photograph gestured that he wanted his photo taken as well, we laughed so much ... Best shopping trip I've had. 

Grotte de Font de Gaume

A cave hidden in a rocky hillside amongst farmland and villages just 30km or so from Le Bugue,  shelters artworks 20000 years old. Only 12 people at a time and 180 people a day are allowed to view the works as the perspiration and humidity from our breath has had a devastating effect on other such caves and they wish to preserve this one for as long as possible.

This is the last cave with multicoloured prehistoric paintings that is open to the public. This narrow cave was discovered in 1901 and the paintings and etchings depict bison, mammoths, horses and other animals. The lifelike representations are enhanced through the clever use of the shape of the rock on which they are painted to give an almost 3D effect.

To think you are standing where people stood 20000 years ago and gaze on the paintings, some as fresh as if they had just been completed makes you feel very insignificant in the scheme of all things.

Once again our day was spent driving along narrow  roads through forests and idyllic countryside, and intriguingly, also through areas where people carved homes into the cliff faces. These we hope to visit while we are here.

Back to the villa and a big night in watching the only English speaking TV we can get here that is not a religious program, Bonanza, Gunsmoke, McGyver and Star Trek!

French sunshine, A glass of wine and Thou ...

Our villa has a terrace. The morning mists cleared and the sun shone warmly just in time for lunch. We had fresh baguettes and cheese and ham, a beautiful red wine, and the boys had decided that a few drinks were in order before lunch and had broached finished the rum, so it was a delightful hour or so we spent out there, with lots of laughs and enjoying the day. A huge white swan swam up the river to complete the idyllic setting, and then suddenly the boys were tired and headed off for 'la sieste' for an hour or two. 

Last night was eventful for us as the bed was so small I ended up coming to sleep on the couch, and just as well. Max says not long after I left he felt something crawling on him and flicked on the light to see a mouse which took off and ran up  the wall and disappeared. I would have freaked out if I had been there.

Having said that, it is clean and very comfortable in the other bedrooms, 2 large lounges and dining room and good kitchen, large laundry and beautiful little garden and tbe terrace, and almost all rooms look out on a beautiful view of the river..

Le Bugue is a town of 18th century architecture and a beautiful setting surrounded by wooded hills, built on the right bank of a bend in the river Vezere, and with 3000 inhabitants it is one of the main localities in the Perigord Noir. It is situated at the crossroads of the Perigord and dominates the entrance to the Vezere Valley.

au revoir Amboise

Yesterday we spent a cold rainy day relaxing in our beautiful old hotel in front of a log fire. We tried our hand at dominoes and cards, or just read and chatted and finished the day with a delicious meal in the hotel restaurant. We would heartily recommend the 'cite royal de Amboise' ... it has charm, beauty and a wonderful location near shopping, historic sites and lots of good restaurants.  But it was time to leave and head further south, so we were all packed and in the car by 8.15 on this cold sunny morning.

The 'D' roads are pretty good here, usually wide enough for comfortable passing but still with the occasional small village and narrow streets to be negotiated. We drove through farmland and orchards and vineyards, crossed wide and small rivers, ancient and modern bridges and arrived at about 4.00pm in the Perigord, the gastronomic and pre-historic heart of France.

Our Villa is right on the river, a view from evry window in a little village called Le Bugue. It is comfortable, and would be warm of we hadn't fiddled with the heaters!!!

We have a week to explore the region which is ideal, just hoping at tomorrow gets above 8deg C

Chateaux in the Loire Valley

The Loire Valley is lush and green and served by several large rivers. It is not too far from Paris and so the aristocracy and the wealthy of the past built fabulous castles here. We had a bright warm sunny day to visit 2 of them.

Firstly we drove to Chambord at the heart of Europe's largest enclosed wooded park, the dream of a young king, it is the largest château in the Loire Valley. It boasts a pleasure garden and a hunting park both listed as Historical Monuments. It's incredible size and detail overwhelms as you approach, and it is famous for the elliptical staircase designed by Leonardo da Vinci. Two intertwining staircases that never meet!

The colossal size of Chambord, beyond all human scale, displays a unique silhouette with its 156 metre façade, 426 rooms, 77 staircases and 282 fireplaces. The geometric layout, proportions and the imaginativeness of the rooftops spiked with turrets, chimneys and skylights fill you with wonder.  What a hunting lodge! And what a waste, reportedly the king spent only 72 days here in over 40 years or so.

Next we went to my favourite, Chenonceau, so much smaller but exceptionally beautiful, and with lovely gardens and fully furnished rooms, you truly have a glimpse into the wealth, excesses and lifestyle of past occupants. One standout feature amongst the opulence of this chateau is the floral decoration. Every room has an enormous, unique, fresh bouquet to match the decor. The scent of the flowers fill the chateau and add the the opulence and experience.

Amboise

Holidays seem to go so quickly. We have packed so much into just one day today, walking the shops, exploring the backstreets admiring the gardens and stories that are told by the timber and stone buildings, visiting the last home of Leonardo Da Vinci, and his garden, afternoon drinks in the sunshine of the hotel garden and dinner in the little restaurant across the road.

Leonardo da Vinci, he would have to be someone you would invite to dinner if you could invite anyone at all from past and present.  What a fascinating man, and to think we stood in the house he spent the last years of his life, the bedroom where he died, looked out of the window that held his favourite view of Amboise Chateau, and gazed at the desk where he wrote and sketched many things, including his will and last words. Incredible.

Also incredible is the fact that people have made working models of some of his inventions from his drawings. A device for drawing water up hill, the first shifting spanner, ball bearings, a tank that could fire automatically, a machine gun, a bicycle and the first automated car, all be it without an engine, the parachute, water wheels, a device for accurately measuring distance, etc etc etc, and all this between sketching, painting, sculpting and architecture of famous town and palaces. What a man.  The garden around his home has also been restored and a section added to display the working models.

We have had an early night as Max has come down with a cold and we need our energy for another exciting day tomorrow.