aussiedreamer

Well we're off on a 'little' xmas road trip. Driving to Melbourne (from Brisbane) via Sydney. Will be back the first week of January. I'm taking my laptop & journal and hope to do some more of this report.

If not, have a wonderful xmas one and all and happy traveling,
Deidre xo

eigasuki

Please do, I've only just caught up with the latest episodes but most interested to read your adventures. I'm heading off next July so keen to hear the highlights - and pitfalls.

cathies

aussiedreamer, we ate ourselves silly on baguettes when we were in France. I always felt that it was a pretty healthy lunch and I don't like to spend time stopping in a restaurant for lunch. There's nothing like a lovely baguettes, and perhaps a little chocolate eclair to follow?

Now, if you go to Versailles again some day there is a ticket office on the left hand side of the little avenue that leads to Versailles. The one where you get that amazing front on view of it. You can pop in there and buy tickets and then walk straight to the security line at Versailles. Wish I'd thought to mention it before you went. The interior of Versailles is one of the few places in my life where I've thought that I couldn't wait to get out as it was SO crowded. Having said that though I've worked out that by 3pm the tour groups have gone and it would be much nicer. Maybe next time...... I love the gardens though and have the best part of a couple of days exploring them and Marie Antoinette's little folly.

Still loving your report and very appreciative of you taking the time to write it at this very busy time of the year. Well done, you, having the Christmas gifts already wrapped and under the tree! I'm about 3/4 of the way there but still have a few more to buy this weekend.

cathies

Oops, forgot to say that when we arrived in Rome a few years ago, my HB was gobsmacked when at the airport I whipped out my printed instructions from generous Fodor's contributors and got us on a train and easily found our way to our accommodation. He had been teasing me relentlessly (nicknamed me Fodette) in the months before the trip but had to eat his words.

aussiedreamer

Thanks Cathies, that was the ticket office we line up at!!!!! It was so busy, I too was happy to get out into the gardens.

cathies

Wow aussiedreamer, there was hardly anyone at that ticket office, we just wandered in and bought our tickets and that was in June.

tobyo

hi aussiedreamer, I too am really enjoying your report. makes me want to go back to Paris again. actually was considering going there for our 20th anniversary, alas, chose to go back to Spain (we were just there this past May) for what will surely be a short week next March. I can't wait to hear about the rest of your adventures! such fun

hausfrau

Just found your TR and will enjoy reading it over the holidays! I've just skimmed it so will go back for details, but I have to agree with your opinion of Versailles...the gardens and Marie Antoinette's estate are definitely the best part.

And yes, do keep going on this thread so we can find it easily.

aussiedreamer

Ok, so we are nearly in Melbourne, staying in country NSW tonight and DH is glued to the cricket, so I thought I should use my time wisely. Got a nice glass of wine & I'm ready to go.

So we decided we were close enough to go and visit the two main Aussie war memorial sites in France. The first one was Villers-Bretonneux. Woh, what a beautifuly maintened memorial site, very moving. We meandered around for ages reading some of the very moving headstones. Climbed the tower with sweeping views of the graves and beyond. Of course we weren't surprised when we heard a lovely "Gidday" from some fellow visiting aussies.

Short drive there to Fromelles. A lovely small cemetary & just down the road is VC Corner. This one really got us. Theres a lovely memorial statue telling the story of how as the battle raged on during the day, they would mark the spots of the wounded, then by the cover of darkness they would sneak out and rescue the wounded. On one trip back they walked past a soldier they thought was dead, only to hear him say "Don't forget me Cobber". Cobbers to us Aussies is mate or friend, not used so much these days.

Quote.........<i>"and I could not lift him on my back; but I managed to get him into an old trench and told him to lie quiet while I got a stretcher. Then another man … sang out ‘Don’t forget me cobber’. I went in and got four volunteers with stretchers and we got both men in safely."</i>

Very moving. (sorry, but its such a lovely story)

Drove on to Calais that night, stayed in one of the newish chain hotels right by the ferry terminal, Novetel I think. Believe it or not we had a lovely Steak & Frites dinner in there restaurant c/w a nice bottle of wine.

Next day we headed towards Honfleur. What a lovely place, we spent hours just walking around the marina area & the old town. Even managed to see a religious parade through town c/w priest carry a really large cross. We saw so many places with signs for Moules Frites that we were finally convinced that they must be a local specialty. I've never really been a fan of mussels until that night. YUM. Moules Frites Provencale, let me set the scene.............

A beautiful balmy late summer evening, the table was on the waters edge, with the water gently lapping the sides of the boats. While sharing a lovely bottle of wine our Moules were bought to our table in a beautiful big cast iron pot, steaming full of mussels in a wine, garlic & tomato broth. Just delightful, we ate and ate and ate. So delicious.

Stayed the night in an ok Kiriad that night.

Next we head to Mont St Michel.

farrermog

Great stuff AD. Keep it up and the rest of us won't have to leave home.

aussiedreamer

ha ha ha farrermog, that’s lovely..............sometimes think 'I go on a bit' ;-)

We arrived in Mont St Michel and fortunately we were turning left to our B&B, the traffic toward it was horrendous. It still took us ages to get there. It was ordinary at best and for the life of me I can't think what it was called. The only good thing was it backed right onto the river/stream that went to the Mont, the view was great.

We took a walk around and waited 'till 4pm before we braved it. So many people...............but we walked over under & through it. Mostly UP. Well worth it though, what an amazing place. We did St Michael's Mount in Cornwall two years ago & I think to be honest we 'liked' it more. But I think the crowds had something to do with that. It took us over an hour to get back to our hotel, which was 2.8kms.

We had dinner in a lovely little bistro, me warm salad & Tanjine of chicken. Him Duck & Foie Gras salad. And shared crepes. c/w bottle of Chablis. YUM YUM

We took a drive back down to the Mont after dinner. Much more pleasant, still a lot of people, but not crazy.

Next we head to the Loire Valley & discover the prettiest village I've ever seen

surfmom

thanks for all the fun details!

I love the details with 'aunty' - she sounds like an amazing lady and what a fun addition to your trip.

We also loved Etretat and Honfleur...

keep going... you have an audience!

annhig

not going on "a bit" at all. I'm enjoying every minute.

keep it coming!

KayF

This is great aussiedreamer. Love the 'vegemite baguette', it's such an easy yum lunch when you're travelling and either in a hurry or on a budget. Looking forward to hearing more.

Kay

eigasuki

Wow, that's dedication to the trip report writing, updating from a motel on the Brisbane-Melbourne trip.

A little tube of Vegemite has provided sustenance for many a jaded budget traveller I suspect, spread on all sorts of bread products I'm sure. I've done panini and bagels maybe we should start a thread!

Awaiting the next instalment but will understand if it's a while coming at this time. Safe driving and Merry Christmas.

aussiedreamer

Happy New Year one and all. Yet another rainy day here in Brisbane, a good time to 'get moving' on this report. I have been 'very busy' creating a photo book of our trip. Hopefully the link below will take you to it. (could someone let me know if it worked? ;-) )

http://www.momento.com.au/gallery?ca...657c0.01058550

love_travel_Aus

Happy New Year aussiedreamer.
Managed to open the link and the album looks great- but rather small - and my IT support here is still asleep!
Looking forward to viewing it slowly later in the day.

Poor you with all that rain up there - and the flooding is a huge tragedy for the people further north.

Love this photo book and might look at ways of doing some of our last few trips like this.

May you dry out soon.

aussiedreamer

So, we headed for Tours, about a 3 hour drive from Mont St Michel. As always we headed straight for the TI office, got a bunch of brochures etc. there’s lots of chateau’s to explore. For the first time ever we asked them about somewhere to stay. We didn't really want to stay in the city. They were so helpful and found us a great hotel in the most beautiful village we were to encounter.

Charming Azay-le-Rideau, about 15 minutes outside Tours.

http://bestwestern.worldexecutive.co...zay-le-rideau/

We booked and paid for 1 night with the TI but on arrival we quickly booked two more. Checked in and went for a walk around the village, there is a Chateau there, but we decided against going in. We wandered across this beautiful little bridge and noticed there was a small 'bar' beside the river. It looked like a makeshift sort of place. There were people canoeing, some playing bocce and most just relaxing. Who were we to ague, found ourselves a picnic table and ordered un Bire & un vin Blanc and settled in.

A fabulous way to see in the evening, everyone was so friendly and relaxed.

Dinner was in one of the many outdoor cafes there, it was getting really warm, and so sitting outside under a tree was perfect. We shared a 'country terrine', I had Roast Chicken c/w veg he had a steak. It was all just perfect.

The next day we used one of the 'Pretty Villages of the Loire Valley' maps and went driving. Had another fantastic picnic by the river. Our picnics were now becoming awesome, wine glasses, thermos of coffee etc.

Headed back into Tours old town for drinks and dinner. Had a very ordinary meal in one of the pubs in the square, but the people watching was great.

The next day we headed off to Château de Chenonceau, this is the one we decided we would go into. Just lovely, but again the crowds were a bit annoying. But we enjoyed wandering around the grounds. They have some lovely picnic table set up alongside the river, which was great for our picnic lunch. Would you believe we actually had some people stop by and tell us how fantastic our lunch looked? Sure beat expensive yucky takeaway.

On returning to Azay-le-Rideau we headed straight back to the river for our afternoon drinks. We were so happy that the man remembered us and said "ahh 1 bire & 1 vin blanc". On the way back to the hotel we passed a lovely looking restaurant. Although it was closed the window was open, so we stuck our heads in and with my 3 French phrases and some charades we booked a table. When we returned in the evening he greeted us like long lost friends and gave us a fantastic table. And when I pulled out my little dictionary he was thrilled, thought it was great and helped me order our meal all in French. Just the loveliest evening.

Me, Duck Terrine, lamb, cheese & profiteroles with ice cream. Him, Escargot, steak, cheese & an apple tart. A perfect perfect day.

jmct714

Your photo book is fabulous! Thanks for sharing.

aussiedreamer

love travel aus, thanks for the kind thoughts. We're okay here in Brisbane but we have lots of family/friends who still can't 'get home' after xmas.

No IT help for you but maybe even just zooming the page, ya know % wise? Just a thought. Glad it worked though.