A Short Summary of my trip to France and Italy
Oct 26th, 2009, 08:06 PM
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A Short Summary of my trip to France and Italy
We had a great time in Europe but it was quite expensive also..The dollar lost its luster and the Euros was around1:49.
This was the first trip that I rely more taking planes than taking the trains. It was expensive but it was worth the time that I saved going from one city to another
Also we had to change our itinerary and instead of staying 34 days as originally planned, we stayed 23.
Of course I had to cancel our trip to Cinque Terre ,we were supposed to stay there for 6 days and also had to cancel our reservations for Assisi.
We arrived in Paris and instead staying overnight as usually we do, we took the TGV to Avignon.It was only a 3 hours ride..
I remember that when I was a teenager, that train ride took almost all day.
Everyone on the train were dressed in winter clothings, heavy jackets, pullovers, despite that it wasn't that cold.
My forever Young Cousins, Fabienne and Julien met us at the train's station in Avignon.
We spent the night there and at 11 AM Jean Claude my BIL, came to Pick us up and we drove the 70 kms to Mejannes.. The village is very picturesque ,is located in the gard region, 30 kms from Uzes and Pont du Gard.
We were able to go to the open air market and shopped for awhile.
We stayed with my sister until Saturday morning.
My cousins came over and took us at Grau du Roi, a charming fishing village a La Camarque.They rented a house for a week.
The house was big and was located in the middle of town, near the Port and the beach.This region is quite beautiful..is famous for theiy wild horses( you see them in many posters) and also for their many Bulls(Toros).
Because of the locations, people could buy fresh fish just taken few hours earlier and I had my share of fresh Mussels..Just loved eating them.
.
------------------------
"Mejannes Le Clap", my sister has lived in this small village for the last 30 years.It is a touristic village famous for its various sports camps..Young people come from all over France to spend some times there playing various types of sports.Tennis, equastrians, soccers,golf etc..,
Many Belgians and people from Holland bought their vacation's homes there..Unfortunately many Parisians are starting to buy their homes there also..However, because the new Mayor is a Parisian also, wants to change the relaxed ways of life that this village has known for years, and his dream is to make Mejannes more popular by advertising it nationally.
---------------------------
"Grau du Roi," years ago when Brooke was 9 years old,we rented a small apartment in this charming village.Steven,my son, cames also with us and we had a marvelous times.I was very happy when my sister told me that Fabienne had rented a very nice house for a week.
The house was very comfortable and the location was perfect.We walked around the canal, ate at nice restaurants, shopped at the small open market and just took it easy.Brooke enjoyed buying few things and
bought cute tops and some necklaces.They were on sales.
The weather was perfect.The highligts of the day was at 5PM..when the fishermen with their large boats returned t home after their day spent at sea.The Seagulls followed them and the bridge opens it up to let the caravans of boats passing by.
We stayed there until Tuesday late afternoon and with sadness we said goodby to Grau
du Roi and returned to Avignon.
The next morning my cousins took us to the train station, we said Goodbye to my most loveable cousins and I hope that we will be able to see them again..
They are both 81. Fabienne is my favourite cousin and I have spent many summers when I was a teen, at her home in Avignon.
After taking us to the TGV station,they went back to the village to finish their vacation.
We overnight to Nice and played the tourists .We know Nice quite well but it was fun to do it again.We enjoyed taking the little tourist train at the Boulevard Des Anglais ,we rode to the old Port, and up the hills overlooking the city.
In the morning we took a taxi to the airport and flew to Rome with the BlueExpress ..The flight was only for one hour..Cant believe it..It would have been a very long, tiring voyage if we took the train..It was quite expensive but was worth it.
Alessandra,my vivacious,pretty niece ,the perfect combination of beauty and brains,has a Doctorate in Architecture, Ugo,her husband,also an Architect and Leo their cute Pup came to pick us up at FCO and took us to Pescara.
The Abbruzzi is a truly a gorgeous region, not popular yet with the tourists..Thanks heaven..
We spent 4 days with Augusto and family..It was nice to just sit, watch tv, talks and eat the fabulous meals that Ivana,mySIL, a Martha Stewart looks alike, very proficient,perfect housekeeper , marvelous cook,prepared for us.
We went shopping and took long walks around the boardwalk.In Pescara you will not able to find any antiquity,no Romans or others Archeologic ruins.
The city being a busy Port overlooking the Adriatic,was heavily bombarded during WWII by the Allied,therefore the city was completly rebuilt.
Augusto,my older brother, has been fighting for the last three years Colon Cancer..A horrible C, that has already killed my Adorable Mom and Luciano, my other older brother, must go to Chemo every two weeks and every other week must do his blood works..
Unfortunately he has new spots on his liver, and becausealready had two operations on that organ cannot have another one.
We just hope and pray,he has a great attitude, eat and sleep well and said that he does not think about his cancer and wants to enjoy the time that he has left without worrying about the future.
He is retired now, after spending over 30 years in the Armed Forces of the Carabinieri.
He went to their Accademy when he was 18 years old.Because of his job and also because many times faced death, his outlooks in life is just great.
The evening before leaving for Rome I made a reservation with the limo service..It was a great idea because the traffic from Tiburtina Station to Via dei Coronari, near Piazza navona was BAD..It would have cost me more than the 30 Euros that I paid for the service.
-----------------
Rome..What can I say about my beautiful city? It was great to Walk where I used to Run..
.I took Brooke to Rome when she was around Seven years old and since then she has been back many times.
Brooke adores Rome and Loves Italians men..We saw so many cute Carabinieri ..and other handsome guys..She kept saying: I love Italians Men..they are so full of life,the opposite of the taciturn french guys that she saw in France.
We stayed at a gem of a hotel..Residenza Canali ai Coronari, very close to Piazza Navona and the Pantheon.
We walked every night after dinner to the Pantheon, watching people go by and listening to various musicals groups that played in the square.
We had Gelato every night at the famous Giolitti..It was very good..
We spent the afternoon at the Colosseum and the Romans forums, walked around the city and watched the people passing by.Of course we had to visit Trevi Fountain, Piazza di Spagna and Villa Borghese..I have many fantastic remembrances of that beautiful park..
We took our ritual tour of San Giovanni Basilica, the Mother of All Churches in Rome.My siblings and I were baptized there, and told Brooke that even her Mom and Uncle Steven had the honour to be baptized there
We played the tourists and even took the hop on and off Bus, the ticket was good for 24 hours..Our excuse was that we were tired because the day before we walked so much..
Rome was full of Germans tourists and school children or college students from many countries.,the line to enter Saint Peter, were the longest that I ever had seen.
We stayed at the Coronari for 4 days and spent the last three days at Ostia with Pina,my childhood Best friend..We were inseparable. we were .Always together and have fond memories of our happy childhood.
I made reservations with the same limo service because my friend does not have a car and 55 minutes after we were at her house.
She has a cute Condo, with a large terrace overlooking the sea.
We had fun going to the open markets, having dinner at her sister house and just visited,talked about the fun that we had when we were both very young, of course we talked also about our ex boyfriends and wondered what has happened to them.
The next day we left Rome and took Vueling Airline for our two hours flight to Paris.
We arrived at Orly and took a cab to the Bonaparte.That was our third times that we stayed there.
The location is good and the price is fair.This time we had only two days to spend in Paris before taking our flight back home.
Paris was cold and damp,luckily that my sister, when I visited her,gave me a leather jacket that she never used , otherwise I would have frozen or would have to buy a jacket..
We spent the morning at Montmartre and the Sacre Coeur, had lunch there, bought few souvenirs and went back to Notre Dame for awhile.
Because was so cold and windy, even the Parisians wearing their winters outfits were shivering, we decided to take the tourists boat..at least we were warm for one hour.
Brooke knows Paris,I took her there many times,also is not her favourite's city,therefore we did not need to go to many places especially with the damp cold weather.
Both nights we went to Leon a restaurant that specialized In Mussels and frites..I have eaten so many mussels in this trip.. and Loved it every Bite..
I made the reservation with the limo service to take us to CDG..The traffic at 8 AM was horrible.
.If I took a taxi instead of the limo service, I would have been a nervous wreck because the meter would have been on and on and probably I would have paid more than the 55 Euros .
Usually I leave Paris on Saturday and I always paid between 45 to 50 Euros anyway considering that the traffic on Saturday is not that bad.
It was fun to have Brooke with me knowing that perhaps it may be awhile before we will be able to take a trip together ..Once that she starts her studies or works ,she may not be able to come with me for a long lenght of time, usually I stay a month or in Europe.
The flight back home was quite long,I couldn't make the reservation for the Paris/Dallas flight..instead was Paris/Chicago and we waited 4 hours for our flight to Texas..
Finally we arrived at my home around 10:50PM..
I was very tired but happy to be back..Of course the day after I was missing already my beautiful Rome and wanted so much to go back again.
This was the first trip that I rely more taking planes than taking the trains. It was expensive but it was worth the time that I saved going from one city to another
Also we had to change our itinerary and instead of staying 34 days as originally planned, we stayed 23.
Of course I had to cancel our trip to Cinque Terre ,we were supposed to stay there for 6 days and also had to cancel our reservations for Assisi.
We arrived in Paris and instead staying overnight as usually we do, we took the TGV to Avignon.It was only a 3 hours ride..
I remember that when I was a teenager, that train ride took almost all day.
Everyone on the train were dressed in winter clothings, heavy jackets, pullovers, despite that it wasn't that cold.
My forever Young Cousins, Fabienne and Julien met us at the train's station in Avignon.
We spent the night there and at 11 AM Jean Claude my BIL, came to Pick us up and we drove the 70 kms to Mejannes.. The village is very picturesque ,is located in the gard region, 30 kms from Uzes and Pont du Gard.
We were able to go to the open air market and shopped for awhile.
We stayed with my sister until Saturday morning.
My cousins came over and took us at Grau du Roi, a charming fishing village a La Camarque.They rented a house for a week.
The house was big and was located in the middle of town, near the Port and the beach.This region is quite beautiful..is famous for theiy wild horses( you see them in many posters) and also for their many Bulls(Toros).
Because of the locations, people could buy fresh fish just taken few hours earlier and I had my share of fresh Mussels..Just loved eating them.
.
------------------------
"Mejannes Le Clap", my sister has lived in this small village for the last 30 years.It is a touristic village famous for its various sports camps..Young people come from all over France to spend some times there playing various types of sports.Tennis, equastrians, soccers,golf etc..,
Many Belgians and people from Holland bought their vacation's homes there..Unfortunately many Parisians are starting to buy their homes there also..However, because the new Mayor is a Parisian also, wants to change the relaxed ways of life that this village has known for years, and his dream is to make Mejannes more popular by advertising it nationally.
---------------------------
"Grau du Roi," years ago when Brooke was 9 years old,we rented a small apartment in this charming village.Steven,my son, cames also with us and we had a marvelous times.I was very happy when my sister told me that Fabienne had rented a very nice house for a week.
The house was very comfortable and the location was perfect.We walked around the canal, ate at nice restaurants, shopped at the small open market and just took it easy.Brooke enjoyed buying few things and
bought cute tops and some necklaces.They were on sales.
The weather was perfect.The highligts of the day was at 5PM..when the fishermen with their large boats returned t home after their day spent at sea.The Seagulls followed them and the bridge opens it up to let the caravans of boats passing by.
We stayed there until Tuesday late afternoon and with sadness we said goodby to Grau
du Roi and returned to Avignon.
The next morning my cousins took us to the train station, we said Goodbye to my most loveable cousins and I hope that we will be able to see them again..
They are both 81. Fabienne is my favourite cousin and I have spent many summers when I was a teen, at her home in Avignon.
After taking us to the TGV station,they went back to the village to finish their vacation.
We overnight to Nice and played the tourists .We know Nice quite well but it was fun to do it again.We enjoyed taking the little tourist train at the Boulevard Des Anglais ,we rode to the old Port, and up the hills overlooking the city.
In the morning we took a taxi to the airport and flew to Rome with the BlueExpress ..The flight was only for one hour..Cant believe it..It would have been a very long, tiring voyage if we took the train..It was quite expensive but was worth it.
Alessandra,my vivacious,pretty niece ,the perfect combination of beauty and brains,has a Doctorate in Architecture, Ugo,her husband,also an Architect and Leo their cute Pup came to pick us up at FCO and took us to Pescara.
The Abbruzzi is a truly a gorgeous region, not popular yet with the tourists..Thanks heaven..
We spent 4 days with Augusto and family..It was nice to just sit, watch tv, talks and eat the fabulous meals that Ivana,mySIL, a Martha Stewart looks alike, very proficient,perfect housekeeper , marvelous cook,prepared for us.
We went shopping and took long walks around the boardwalk.In Pescara you will not able to find any antiquity,no Romans or others Archeologic ruins.
The city being a busy Port overlooking the Adriatic,was heavily bombarded during WWII by the Allied,therefore the city was completly rebuilt.
Augusto,my older brother, has been fighting for the last three years Colon Cancer..A horrible C, that has already killed my Adorable Mom and Luciano, my other older brother, must go to Chemo every two weeks and every other week must do his blood works..
Unfortunately he has new spots on his liver, and becausealready had two operations on that organ cannot have another one.
We just hope and pray,he has a great attitude, eat and sleep well and said that he does not think about his cancer and wants to enjoy the time that he has left without worrying about the future.
He is retired now, after spending over 30 years in the Armed Forces of the Carabinieri.
He went to their Accademy when he was 18 years old.Because of his job and also because many times faced death, his outlooks in life is just great.
The evening before leaving for Rome I made a reservation with the limo service..It was a great idea because the traffic from Tiburtina Station to Via dei Coronari, near Piazza navona was BAD..It would have cost me more than the 30 Euros that I paid for the service.
-----------------
Rome..What can I say about my beautiful city? It was great to Walk where I used to Run..
.I took Brooke to Rome when she was around Seven years old and since then she has been back many times.
Brooke adores Rome and Loves Italians men..We saw so many cute Carabinieri ..and other handsome guys..She kept saying: I love Italians Men..they are so full of life,the opposite of the taciturn french guys that she saw in France.
We stayed at a gem of a hotel..Residenza Canali ai Coronari, very close to Piazza Navona and the Pantheon.
We walked every night after dinner to the Pantheon, watching people go by and listening to various musicals groups that played in the square.
We had Gelato every night at the famous Giolitti..It was very good..
We spent the afternoon at the Colosseum and the Romans forums, walked around the city and watched the people passing by.Of course we had to visit Trevi Fountain, Piazza di Spagna and Villa Borghese..I have many fantastic remembrances of that beautiful park..
We took our ritual tour of San Giovanni Basilica, the Mother of All Churches in Rome.My siblings and I were baptized there, and told Brooke that even her Mom and Uncle Steven had the honour to be baptized there
We played the tourists and even took the hop on and off Bus, the ticket was good for 24 hours..Our excuse was that we were tired because the day before we walked so much..
Rome was full of Germans tourists and school children or college students from many countries.,the line to enter Saint Peter, were the longest that I ever had seen.
We stayed at the Coronari for 4 days and spent the last three days at Ostia with Pina,my childhood Best friend..We were inseparable. we were .Always together and have fond memories of our happy childhood.
I made reservations with the same limo service because my friend does not have a car and 55 minutes after we were at her house.
She has a cute Condo, with a large terrace overlooking the sea.
We had fun going to the open markets, having dinner at her sister house and just visited,talked about the fun that we had when we were both very young, of course we talked also about our ex boyfriends and wondered what has happened to them.
The next day we left Rome and took Vueling Airline for our two hours flight to Paris.
We arrived at Orly and took a cab to the Bonaparte.That was our third times that we stayed there.
The location is good and the price is fair.This time we had only two days to spend in Paris before taking our flight back home.
Paris was cold and damp,luckily that my sister, when I visited her,gave me a leather jacket that she never used , otherwise I would have frozen or would have to buy a jacket..
We spent the morning at Montmartre and the Sacre Coeur, had lunch there, bought few souvenirs and went back to Notre Dame for awhile.
Because was so cold and windy, even the Parisians wearing their winters outfits were shivering, we decided to take the tourists boat..at least we were warm for one hour.
Brooke knows Paris,I took her there many times,also is not her favourite's city,therefore we did not need to go to many places especially with the damp cold weather.
Both nights we went to Leon a restaurant that specialized In Mussels and frites..I have eaten so many mussels in this trip.. and Loved it every Bite..
I made the reservation with the limo service to take us to CDG..The traffic at 8 AM was horrible.
.If I took a taxi instead of the limo service, I would have been a nervous wreck because the meter would have been on and on and probably I would have paid more than the 55 Euros .
Usually I leave Paris on Saturday and I always paid between 45 to 50 Euros anyway considering that the traffic on Saturday is not that bad.
It was fun to have Brooke with me knowing that perhaps it may be awhile before we will be able to take a trip together ..Once that she starts her studies or works ,she may not be able to come with me for a long lenght of time, usually I stay a month or in Europe.
The flight back home was quite long,I couldn't make the reservation for the Paris/Dallas flight..instead was Paris/Chicago and we waited 4 hours for our flight to Texas..
Finally we arrived at my home around 10:50PM..
I was very tired but happy to be back..Of course the day after I was missing already my beautiful Rome and wanted so much to go back again.
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Lynn_Gibson
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Oct 17th, 2007 06:26 PM
