Category Archives: Travel Journal

Ménerbes and l’Isle-sur-le-Sorgue, truffles and treasures

Posted on April 10, 2015 by noconbach

Ménerbes is the small village nearest the spot where Peter Mayle (and his wife!) spent A Year in Provence. We read the book and wanted to see what the appeal was. It’s a beautiful old walled city high on a hill. This area … Continue reading →

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Roussillon, a very colorful town!

Posted on April 9, 2015 by noconbach

Roussillon is north of our home base of Saint-Remy-de-Provence in the Luberon region of Provence. It’s another small town, but it has a unique and colorful history. For many year’s, this was one of the main sources of “ocre,” the red or … Continue reading →

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La Corrida d’Arles, definitely NOT a rodeo

Posted on April 7, 2015 by noconbach

We happened to visit Arles at Easter weekend, just in time to experience the festivities of La Feria, the fair, with a highlight being La Corrida, the bullfight. Each day of La Féria de Pâques, Arles has a running of the bulls before and … Continue reading →

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Touring the Côte d’Azur

Posted on April 5, 2015 by noconbach

Postcard for friends and family: “Enjoying our travels along the south of France. Wish you were here.” Our home base is Saint-Tropez. The town has a very well-known name, especially surprising considering it has a population of just over 5,000. Google Maps led us … Continue reading →

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Hydra: donkeys and cats and goats, oh my!

Posted on April 4, 2015 by noconbach

We wanted to visit at least one of “the Greek Isles” so we went to Hydra, an island off the southeastern fingers of the Peloponnese peninsula. The town at Hydra port has old buildings made of stone, plaster and stucco, all … Continue reading →

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Nafplio and the Peleponnese

Posted on April 2, 2015 by noconbach

Our next stop in Greece was Cape Sounion, where we caught a sunset over the Aegean. Here on a headland surrounded by the sea on three sides is the Temple of Poseidon, built in 440 B.C. Legend says Aegeus, a king … Continue reading →

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Toga Anyone? We’re in Athens!

Posted on April 2, 2015 by noconbach

Welcome to Greece, the land of beautiful sunny beaches… except in March, when there is a lot of rain. That just meant that we would spend less time at beaches and more time at ruins…and there are plenty of them. Our … Continue reading →

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Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque – March 2015

Posted on March 29, 2015 by noconbach

The highlight of any trip to Abu Dhabi, and maybe to U.A.E. in total, is the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque. This is the largest mosque in the world. It is larger and perhaps more impressive than either St. Peter’s Basilica or the Taj … Continue reading →

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1001 Arabian Minutes

Posted on March 28, 2015 by noconbach

Actually it was more like 1,920 if you count just the minutes we were awake on our very short layover in the U.A.E. We visited Abu Dhabi and Dubai. The country has lots of sand! Our main focus in Dubai … Continue reading →

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Two Australian Zoos – March 2015

Posted on March 27, 2015 by noconbach

Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary Our old Hong Kong friend Cindy Hamilton recommended the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary in Brisbane. We hadn’t seen a koala yet, so we said sure, even though we aren’t usually zoo people. What a great recommendation! We spent the … Continue reading →

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