Categories
- Church of the Day (8)
- Smell the Roses (63)
- Stravaficionados (2)
- Travel Journal (93)
- Travel Tips (1)
Category Archives: Travel Journal
Rocky Mountain High in Aspen
We’re on the road again after a summer hiatus–if hiatus is the right word for the wedding of the season, five triathlons (four for Michael, one for Nancy), and countless paddle board competitions around the Pietropaoli raft. This year our plan … Continue reading
The Italian Riviera, with pastel homes and pink meerkats
When you get to Monaco it’s a short hop, skip, and jump to Italy, so we did!* First stop Genoa, birthplace of Christopher Columbus, home of our favorite salami, and once the site of Kodak’s European digital center. Nancy visited … Continue reading
Posted in Travel Journal
Tagged Aperol, Cinque Terre, Genoa, Italy, Portofino, Sanremo
Leave a comment
Monaco, a city, a country, a principality, and a way of life
Monaco is already setting up for the big Grand Prix Formula One car race in late May. The course runs right through the town, with hairpin turns on narrow European streets. And then there is the port itself, with LOTS … Continue reading
Gorges du Verdon, a very grand canyon in France
Les Gorges du Verdon is France’s version of the Grand Canyon. There are a number of similarities. In both cases, a relatively small river has etched its way through several thousand feet of limestone, leaving a wide gorge with walls of … Continue reading
Posted in Smell the Roses, Travel Journal
Tagged France, Gorges du Verdon, Isidore Blanc, Lac de Sainte-Croix, mountains, river, Rougon
1 Comment
Nice is nice. Cannes can be too. Loving the Cote d’Azur…
Things are warming up on the French Riviera. We moved a bit east of Saint-Tropez to some of the other resort cities. Nice has a large, beautiful pedestrian plaza named Place Massena. It is, however, cut through with an electric … Continue reading
Grasse, the city of flowers and perfumes
Grasse is another town in southern France with buildings washed in pastel orange and pink under roofs of terracotta tiles. Streets are narrow and winding. Mountains loom in the distance beyond the bell towers. It looks a bit like Menerbes or … Continue reading
Antibes, with Picasso and purple jellyfish
We visited Antibes, another beautiful old town on the Cote d’Azur. It was an important port and fortification during Greek and Roman days and later a home to bishops, but it was eventually seized by barbarians. Now it is seized only by … Continue reading
Villefranche-sur-Mer, a nice town near Nice
Just east of the very large city of Nice is the harbor and smaller town of Villefranche-sur-Mer, named “Free City on the Sea” when it was declared a free port in the 13th century by the Count of Provence. It … Continue reading
Posted in Travel Journal
Tagged Auguste Maicon, Fort Mont Alban, fortress, France, Glenn Curtis, Nice, Villefranche-sur-Mer
1 Comment
The perfect little town of Saint-Rémy-de-Provence
We love the little town of Saint-Rémy-de-Provence. The name is almost bigger than the village! It has an old town center with narrow streets, lovely little shops, flowers, and statues. We are definitely in France. Many people here do speak English … Continue reading
Avignon, where popes once reigned
For 68 years during the 1300s, Avignon was the center of the Catholic world. Seven popes reigned from this Provencal location, nearly 600 miles from Rome…and they were French, not Italian. The Palais des Papes, papal palace, still stands as a glorious … Continue reading
Posted in Travel Journal
Tagged Avignon, France, Palais des Papes, Pont Benezet, Pont d'Avignon
2 Comments
Finger Lakes to Lavender Fields 