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First leg of the France/Italy journey
Well, we're back!! Let me start off by re-activating the "paper map vs GPS" discussion. After landing at CDG, we picked up our car from Renault/ATT without a hitch (more on that later). As planned, we immediately drove to the Loire Valley to begin our sauternes/chateaux "research". Getting to Ambiose is pretty straightforward using the car's GPS. Next day, went to Tours, drove directly to the FNAC, and found the 2023 Edition of the Michelin road atlas. Due to the length of our itinerary (over six weeks driving through France and Italy) the size of the guide was never an issue. Its 490 spiral-bound pages of detailed, very legible, well-organized information was worth every bit of its 18 Euro price tag. We carried the standard AAA planning maps of France and Italy for the overall view of our TENTATIVE plans, and the Michelin proved invaluable again and again for providing immediate overview of more specific areas, and of course, options for routes which were more widely varied (read "interesting") than those supplied by the GPS. WE often picked small towns NOT in a direct line from point A to point B and used the MAP to follow along on the tiny roads which were not even identified on the GPS. MANY TIMES the GPS tried to lead us the wrong way down one-way streets, onto pedestrian only roadways, down alleys that were STAIRCASES, etc., etc. And by not putting a destination in the GPS, we didn't have to constantly listen to "Recalculating"....enough about maps.
The chateaux were, as always, lovely, and everything is SO much more enjoyable w/o all the crowds. Amboise was a little disappointing due to the renovations being done to Leonardo's tomb (closed) and they have stopped doing the public feeding of the hounds at Cheverny. This was done, like so many other things, due to COVID, but I was told they don't see reinstating the feedings any time soon. Versailles was tranquil in early November, and the Hotel Versailles is more than adequate with its proximity to the palace (only one block away!) and with parking included, it was a no brainer. Now, about Paris... I need not have worried about having one of the Crit'Air stickers on our car. We arrived the day the Metro was on strike!! The traffic was so bad that the 30-minute drive from Versailles to our Airbnb (at the Strausbourg/St Denis Metro) took 3-1/2 hours!! The last thing the police were interested in was whether I had a sticker in the windshield. The car stayed parked in our private garage for the rest of the stay. We did walk the few blocks to the Pass. Brady and had a wonderful meal at La Reine du Kashmir. Thanks for the suggestion! From Paris , it was east to Champagne. Reims is such a fun place. The cathedral, mind boggling in its splendor, is undergoing extensive repairs, so the scaffolding is a bit of a distraction, but well worth another visit. If you are willing to just drive around a bit (again, it's really why we love having a car) you can always find a few champagne houses that are amenable to drop-in tastings that don't cost an arm and a leg. Just stay away from the big names, and you will discover VERY good bubbly at very reasonable prices. I have always preferred those cute little places in Bouzy or Ay-Champagne area...Yum! We then took side roads through Saint-Dizier and Chaumont, down to Beaune. With the inimitable puffed-out cheeks and exhalation of air, I was told that, "Bah, oui! It DOES now cost 11 Euro just to see the famous roof of the Hotel de Ville". Ah, well. Best to spend the money on a fine pinot noir :) This is getting longer than I originally planned...I'll continue tomorrow. Onward to PROVENCE! |
Looking forward to reading more. Our trips to France are ten weeks, so we find the Michelin road atlas fine. We also love travelling on the country roads. We had a gite in Bouzy for a week several years ago and also bought our champagne from a small producer at prices that better suited our budget.
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Originally Posted by worldwidewinetours
(Post 17421884)
Well, we're back!! Let me start off by re-activating the "paper map vs GPS" discussion. After landing at CDG, we picked up our car from Renault/ATT without a hitch (more on that later). As planned, we immediately drove to the Loire Valley to begin our sauternes/chateaux "research". Getting to Ambiose is pretty straightforward using the car's GPS. Next day, went to Tours, drove directly to the FNAC, and found the 2023 Edition of the Michelin road atlas. Due to the length of our itinerary (over six weeks driving through France and Italy) the size of the guide was never an issue. Its 490 spiral-bound pages of detailed, very legible, well-organized information was worth every bit of its 18 Euro price tag. We carried the standard AAA planning maps of France and Italy for the overall view of our TENTATIVE plans, and the Michelin proved invaluable again and again for providing immediate overview of more specific areas, and of course, options for routes which were more widely varied (read "interesting") than those supplied by the GPS. WE often picked small towns NOT in a direct line from point A to point B and used the MAP to follow along on the tiny roads which were not even identified on the GPS. MANY TIMES the GPS tried to lead us the wrong way down one-way streets, onto pedestrian only roadways, down alleys that were STAIRCASES, etc., etc. And by not putting a destination in the GPS, we didn't have to constantly listen to "Recalculating"....enough about maps.
The chateaux were, as always, lovely, and everything is SO much more enjoyable w/o all the crowds. Amboise was a little disappointing due to the renovations being done to Leonardo's tomb (closed) and they have stopped doing the public feeding of the hounds at Cheverny. This was done, like so many other things, due to COVID, but I was told they don't see reinstating the feedings any time soon. Versailles was tranquil in early November, and the Hotel Versailles is more than adequate with its proximity to the palace (only one block away!) and with parking included, it was a no brainer. Now, about Paris... I need not have worried about having one of the Crit'Air stickers on our car. We arrived the day the Metro was on strike!! The traffic was so bad that the 30-minute drive from Versailles to our Airbnb (at the Strausbourg/St Denis Metro) took 3-1/2 hours!! The last thing the police were interested in was whether I had a sticker in the windshield. The car stayed parked in our private garage for the rest of the stay. We did walk the few blocks to the Pass. Brady and had a wonderful meal at La Reine du Kashmir. Thanks for the suggestion! From Paris , it was east to Champagne. Reims is such a fun place. The cathedral, mind boggling in its splendor, is undergoing extensive repairs, so the scaffolding is a bit of a distraction, but well worth another visit. If you are willing to just drive around a bit (again, it's really why we love having a car) you can always find a few champagne houses that are amenable to drop-in tastings that don't cost an arm and a leg. Just stay away from the big names, and you will discover VERY good bubbly at very reasonable prices. I have always preferred those cute little places in Bouzy or Ay-Champagne area...Yum! We then took side roads through Saint-Dizier and Chaumont, down to Beaune. With the inimitable puffed-out cheeks and exhalation of air, I was told that, "Bah, oui! It DOES now cost 11 Euro just to see the famous roof of the Hotel de Ville". Ah, well. Best to spend the money on a fine pinot noir, n'est-ce pas? This is getting longer than I originally planned...I'll continue tomorrow. Onward to PROVENCE! We spent some time zig-zagging to the east of the A6 and ALMOST went into Switzerland, but they were getting snow in Geneve and I didn't want to chance it. I am always amazed at how very similar the Burgundian countryside is - rolling hills, mountains on both sides - reminds me of both the Napa and Sonoma Valleys...but the similarities stop there! We went back across the A6 avoiding Lyon, and approached Arles from the direction of Nimes. I just had a blast at the HUGE marche in Arles! Every time I go there, it impresses. It certainly wasn't as extensive as it is during the summer, but it is still an extravaganza. Our Airbnb was right on Blvd des Lices - the main drag for the market. We just stepped out the front door, and Voila! There is, however, one caveat; parking is at a premium ANY TIME OF THE YEAR. We found a public parking structure that was relatively secure about 100 meters from the Airbnb. We parked the car there for 3 nights, and the total was 73 EURO!!! Ouch. A really cool thing happened in Arles, too. Since I knew that our time in France was limited - we would be hitting the Italian Riviera within a couple days - I happened to stop in at a small cafe/tabac/news stand, and I found a brand new 2022 Edition of the Michelin Guide to Italy (spiral bound, as well) for 17 Euro. Hah! What luck! It is easily as functional as the France map, and it saved us from many potential headaches. I LOVE having the maps!! So, we continued southeast through the Luberon with stops in Aix and Grasse. Just east of Grasse, following one of those VERY small roads up in the mountains above Nice, we spotted a small, hand-painted sign that merely said "Chevre" with an arrow pointing up a dirt road. Well, let me tell you - it took about 20 minutes (and a lot of cajoling on my part telling my wife not to give up) but we found this FABULOUS little farm with about 50 goats roaming around, and the place has a STUNNING view of the entire Cannes - Nice coast! We tasted fresh cheese, and bought way more than we would ever be able to eat ourselves. Lovely couple, just living the life. Ahhhh. Our next stop was in San Remo, on the Italian coast, so I'll sign off here and continue the saga in another thread under "Italy". Au revoir.... |
This is fascinating to read. It sounds like your trip was well planned, but not so tightly planned that you couldn't make time to follow up on things that intrigued you. Sometimes the most memorable things on a trip are serendipitous, not the things everyone told you you had to do or see.
Looking forward to the next installment. |
loving it so far
"sanremo", there ain't no Saint Remo in Italy ;-) |
I am always happy when people confirm that paper maps can be much superior to GPS the moment you leave the main roads.
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I love your chevre detour.
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Originally Posted by bilboburgler
(Post 17422301)
loving it so far
"sanremo", there ain't no Saint Remo in Italy ;-) |
I forgot to mention one important aspect of having a car. I realize that not everyone wants, or can afford - to have a car for six weeks. But one of the fun things that we did was to drive around until we found a cool spot - such as a beautiful view of the Loire from a nearby hillside - and have a picnic! I packed a lunch-size cooler (16"W X 10"D X 14"H) with one of those blue ice reuseable ice packs, inside my large checked bag. When we arrived, the ice pack went into the freezer at our first Airbnb, and we were able to keep it frozen for the duration of the trip. Thus, we had cold champagne and fresh cheeses and other perishables where ever we went. One of the days in Champagne, I drove up about 350 meters elevation into the vineyards where the workers were pruning the vines. I had a lovely chat with several of the guys, then we laid out a blanket and had a picnic with a spectacular view overlooking the valley below, and the vines changing color....wow. It was cool that time of year, but definitely not prohibitive. And since they had already harvested all the grapes they wanted, I was able to pick several bunches that were still hanging, and we had fresh champagne grapes with our lunch!! This is the type of adventure we so enjoy. Take our time, meet the locals, let each day present itself and see where it leads us.
By the way, inside the cooler, I was able to pack 6 bottles of wine (the hard-sided cooler being excellent protection for the bottles, with socks and undies stuffed around them) and several other bottles in our other checked bag. I took some of my favorite California cabernet sauvignon, pinot noir, and syrah, and traded those bottles for some fabulous Burgundy, Amarone, Brunello di Montalcino, and Vino Nobile di Montepulciano. I look forward to enjoying those with my friends back here. So little time... WWWT |
Looking forward to hearing more about your travels in Italy.
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great whistle stop tour round what was clearly a much slower trip. Good work with the maps.
looking forward to Italy! |
Hi, enjoying your report immensely! We take a packable freezer bag when travelling also, but for me the must is a thermos for hot drinks :)
Don't re-start a new thread for Italy, just tag this one for both France and Italy (the mods can help you do this). Lavandula |
Great so far. Thank you as we will be doing a very similar driving trip in April (81 days) and will pick up the current Michelin in Tours.
We are currently researching toll and monthly car parking passes. |
OK, so LET'S GO TO ITALY! Who among you remembers the "Let's Go" travel guides? On a previous trip I drove down to the Ligurian Coast from Milan, via Cuneo on SS 20/E 74 into Ventimiglia. So this time, our first stop in Italy was actually a little farther east, in a tiny village above the main road called Cipressa - between San Remo and Imperia. This location allowed us to do a day trip inland from Imperia on Hwy SS 28. About 20k from the sea, around a little town called Caravonica, there are some spectacular, vertigo-inducing trails which provide a stunning view of the Gulf of Genova. Again, lovely picnic stop, and I was able to fortify myself with some of the black bread and cheeses we had purchased in France two days earlier. We continued along SS 28 to Garessio, where we headed back down the mountain on the challenging SP 582 - the "SP" labeled roads being much smaller and, well, "interesting" than the "SS" roadways.
We next followed the coast, bypassing Genova, to Portofino. We had originally planned to go all the way to Riomaggiore, along the Cinque Terre coast. But I found out that several of the trails are closed - again - due to landslides, and since we had both previously visited that area, we opted to stay in Portofino instead....darn. I was pleasantly surprised by the really nice hotel we stayed in, the Piccolo, because of the great view from the room, great restaurant, private beach, and super price (only $125). It was only a short drive to Florence from there, and we were able to check in early at our Airbnb. This place also has a private garage directly below the apartment, so we were able to park the car for the entire time in Florence, parking included in the price! And the apartment is only one block away from the awe-inspiring Basilica di Santa Croce. Another bonus: there was a large Christmas craft/food fair set up in the plaza in front of the church, so we got to shop, eat, and listen to local musicians, all within 100 meters of our apartment. The hackers in front of the Accademia (where Michelangelo's "David" is located) tried their best to get us to pay the "convenience fee" for having a reservation for our entrance time. Don't bother! We just walked up to the line for "no reservation" and were able to enter immediately. It MIGHT be worth the extra cost in July or August, but it's really better to just go there early, and be one of the first ones in. There is so much more than David at this venue. Coffee break...be back later. |
Originally Posted by worldwidewinetours
(Post 17422877)
I just re-read my earlier post....I DID write "San Remo", not "Saint Remo". Am I missing something?
My point is the name is one word. Sanremo. A bit like Chicago is not Chic Ago ;-). Merry Christmas. |
But, but, but.....how about "Los Angeles"?? Just kidding. So NOW we have a legitimate argument for the "map vs GPS" folks; In my recently purchased (as mentioned above) Michelin Road Atlas for Italy, it CLEARLY shows "San Remo" as two words. However, on my Old Faithful AAA map of Italy, AND on Google, it indicates Sanremo as one word. Shame on you, Mr. Michelin man!! I hope I don't need a re-do on "Cinque Terre" :)
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don't worry on American wiki they use both, just in Italy they use the one name
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WWWT, since you're writing in English, using two separate words is fine. Encyclopedia Britannica also uses San Remo.
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Originally Posted by lavandula
(Post 17422983)
Hi, enjoying your report immensely! We take a packable freezer bag when travelling also, but for me the must is a thermos for hot drinks :)
Don't re-start a new thread for Italy, just tag this one for both France and Italy (the mods can help you do this). Lavandula |
Having been in the wine world for so many years, of course I'm still interested in the wine "hot spots". I'm still involved in wine, only now it's from the consumer end of the business... Siena was our next stop for obvious reasons. We stayed in a cute apartment which is owned by a local wine shop owner. The apartment is decorated in a "wine shop" motif, with large format bottles strategically placed, and the bed is made from wooden display boxes from the best Brunello wineries. It is pretty cool! We took day trips to the outlying areas and relied on our same MO; picnics in beautiful locations. Another tip for the GPS users: I made the mistake of not typing in the complete name of my intended destination - more than once. When we left Florence, I wanted to go to San Gimignano en route to Siena. As I started typing the name, the "autofill" program filled in the destination for me. I hit "OK". Only after I had been driving for a while and it didn't seem quite right, did I take a look at THE MAP to see exactly where I was. Several years ago I lived outside of Sinalunga, about 20k north of Montepulciano, so I just didn't feel like I was headed in the right direction. Come to find out I was driving toward SAN GIMIGNANELLO, not San Gimingnano. OOPS. So, we ended up going to Montepulciano for the day, and went to San Gimignano on another day trip. It's all good. I made the same type of mistake one other time and caught it in much the same way; it just didn't feel right (the sun was to my left when it should have been to my right).
Our day trip to Montalcino included hiking through the main shopping area, which is well worth the effort. At the top of the hill, the fortress provides a nice diversion, and we happened on a special treat; there was a small "car rally" of sorts, and about a dozen VERY high-end sports cars met to do what those car owners do - gawk at the other cars and compare notes. We saw Maserati, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Alfa Romeo, a Bugatti, McLaren, and a Porche 918 Spyder. If you own a car like that, the roads leading up to Montalcino certainly provide ample opportunity to test your driving skills! Because we were going to spend our last week in Rome, our longest driving day followed our stay in Siena. We bypassed Rome (and Naples) and went to Castellammare di Stabia, across the Gulf of Naples. Now THAT Airbnb provided a wonderful view of the entire bay, as well as some unexpected "challenges". More later.... |
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