Nov 26 Thanksgiving in Rouen

We arrived in Rouen last night.  The ship docked about 5 blocks from the historic center of the city, which is remarkably close.  This is famous as being the city where Joan of Arc was burned at the stake by the British. In the am Marge and I walked the city center, then while Marge visited a museum featuring impressionist artists, I explored more.   After lunch at the ship, we had a guided walking tour of the city. I liked Rouen because it is historic, fairly compact and not nearly as crowded as Paris.

For dinner, one choice was roasted turkey with all the trimmings. It was good, but we missed Thanksgiving dinner with the family.

 Our ship  with 1 of Rouen's cathedrals in the background

  An interesting old building

Thanksgiving dinner entre

 

Tour of local food market led by the Viking chef

Nov 25 Van Gough's final studio

Today we visited Auvers-sur-Oise, the town where Vincent Van Gough spent his last 70 days while painting 75 paintings.  During his life, he only sold 1 of his paintings, receiving only enough to reimburse his brother for his living expenses for 3 days. What a tragedy considering that now his paintings sell for over $100 milion each.   At various places in town there are copies of his paintings next to the scene that inspired it, and our guide explained the relationship between the scene and the painting.  He and his brother are buried next to each other in a cemetery across from a wheat field that inspired many of his paintings.  

His paintings weren't selling, so his brother was his sole means of support. His brother had recently married and had just had a baby.   Van Gogh got depressed because he thought he was a financial burden on his brother, so he committed suicide by shooting himself.

The graves of the Van Gogh brothers

The field that inspired several of Van Gogh's last paintings.  It is across from the cemetery where he is buried.

Impressions of Viking

Food: Although there have been some dishes that were disappointing, the food was very good. I also like the fact that beer and wines are complimentary with meals. The drawback is that I know I'm going to gain weight during the cruise, not a good way to start the holiday season. 

Docking locations: Most times, Viking docks in walking distance from an attractive town.  For some reason, the starting and ending locations for this cruise was moved from a dock in Paris to a dock about 30 min by car from Paris, in a town with few good places to walk. 

Impact of Terrorism: one of the other passengers said that 80 out of 200 passengers cancelled, so Viking upgraded some of the passengers to bigger cabins.  Although we weren't upgraded, we enjoyed our luxurious suite.

Bus rides: The visit to the Normandy beaches was a 2 hour bus ride each way.  The buses were comfortable and had a toilet so the trip was ok.  Another tour was a1 hour ride each way, same comfy buses.

Nov 23 Starting our Viking River cruise

We thoroughly enjoyed our stay at Hotel Champ de Mars. Our room had 2 windows looking out to a quiet street, had a small table and 2 chairs (to eat our treats from the bakery), and had a small but functional bathroom.  Best of all, it's mere steps from my new favorite patisserie.  Perhaps we should stay there when we come back in June.

Although our cruise is named Paris to Normandy, it starts outside of Paris, and getting to the ship was a hassle, but we managed by metro then taxi to the ship.  Tried Uber but no cars were available.

Stepping into the ship was like stepping into Wonderland where every wish is granted.  Since we booked the cruise late, the only cabin available was a 2 room suite.  It was larger than our room at Champ de Mars, with a sitting room, balcony (useless in winter), bedroom and spacious bathroom with a heated floor, even in the shower. It also has 2 large screen tvs, a bottle of champagne and a refrigerator.  Here are some photos of our room:

Nov 21 Cold & Rainy but wonderful Paris

We have assortmentassortment ofseveral friemoonds who have been to Paris in December and said it was great, however we weren't so sure. We can verify that if you bring the proper clothes, it is a great time to see this wonderful city, without the crowds. Today it was in the low forties with rain off and on, & frequently windy, but we are prepared with waterproof calf length down coats and therefore can enjoy the sights and restaurants without crowds.

We started our morning with breakfast at a brasserie just steps from the hotel.  I had the 11 euro menu breakfast: a mocha, orange juice, croissant , French bread, butter lettuce salad and an omelet with ham and cheese. It was much more than I normally eat for breakfast but I figured we would be walking a lot today.

After breakfast we walked about a mile to the recently renovated Rodin Museum and Gardens. I'm not a museum lover, but I do like good sculpture, peaceful gardens and nicely restored old buildings, so this was manageable.

Lunch was at Pasco restaurant, on the way from the museum to our hotel, which was recommended by my sister Pat who had eaten there a couple of months ago. Photo attached.

After resting at the hotel, we braved wind & rain to the Eric Bompard store were Marge bought happiness - a cashmere scarf.  I could have bought a lifetime supply of burgers for the price of the scarf, but making my dearly beloved happy was worth it.

Dinner was bought at the bakery on Rue Cler, mere steps from our hotel: a mushroom quiche and the best Napoleon I have ever eaten.  The filling of the Napoleon was so rich thatit had the consistency of cream cheese so the layer didn't collapse when I stuck my fork in the crust.

After dinner, I wanted to get more steps, so we walked past the Eiffel Tower to the Trocadero across the Seine river to take photos of the Eiffel from an iconic location.  On the way we saw a Tesla taxi!

We were tired at the end of the day, having walked over 27000 steps, about 12 miles.

Thinking 

Marge's assortment of scallops and my skate fish

Nov 22 Vuitton / Gehry museum

After breakfast we went to the Louis Vuitton/ Frank Gehry museum, located in the Bois de Boulogne botanic park.  The museum isn't as memorable as his stainless steel clad Guggenheim museum in Bilbao, but more striking than the designs of his buildings in Los Angeles or Seattle. This building is concrete with huge curved plastic panels attached to "Gheryize“ it.

Nov 20 Rue Cler, Paris

We arrived safely at Hotel Champ de Mars, just off Rue Clair in Paris just before dinner.  This 2 blocks of Rue Cler is a food lovers paradise, almost entirely devoted to food: patisseries, bistros, high quality delis, cheese shop, butcher, fish shop, groceries and produce.  After dinner at a nearby bistro, we walked several blocks to take photos of the Eiffel Tower.  Because of the terror last week, there was a noticeable lack of tour groups, ideal conditions for photos.

Off to Paris, hopefully very safe

Our flight was scheduled for a 4:15 pm departure yesterday from SFO. We were ready by noon so brother in law Joe picked us up then.  Traffic jam at the other end of the bridge -no problem.  British Air desk didn't open for 45 minutes-no problem.  30 minutes to get through business class security-no problem.  Before the Paris attacks the security line was much faster.  It was nice to relax in the British Air lounge, with plentiful libations, brie, finger sandwiches and free WiFi.

I'm writing this at Heathrow airport in the BA lounge.  I could take a shower, but since I got about 3 hours of sleep on the flight, just waking my face with warm water will do.  Had oatmeal with Kahlua and Baileys-yumm!

3-14-15 Grazalema

This morning we drove to our next town, Grazalema,  about 45 minutes from Ronda. This town is situated in a park which is characterized by mostly rolling hills dotted with cork trees.  It dates back to Roman times, and still has remnants of a Roman road.  The town sprawls down a hillside, and our hotel sits high in the town. Our room has a balcony which has a view of the town and the surrounding countryside. The town is popular with hikers, because of the many trails around the town. It is also popular with bicyclists, and we saw many of them riding the twisty roads around the town, which made me yearn to be riding with them.   As with the other white towns in the area,  the streets are narrow and irregular, but fun to explore. 

Our balcony view

Roman road

T

Grazalema

3-12-15 Exploring White Towns around Ronda

Today we explored 2 of the white villages around Rhonda. The first town we visited was Setenil. We parked at the bottom of the town, then walked up. Like many of the other white towns,  it too was the site of fighting between the Spaniards and the Moors. It is built straddling a river and features many old homes and other buildings built into the wall of the cliff that lines one side of the river.  We navigated the town by walking up  steep, narrow streets and stairs,  and eventually found the remains of the old Moorish fortress and the church at the top of the town. The way up is dotted with bars and restaurants.

Our second white town to visit was Zahara de la Sierra.  Fortunately, just as we entered the town we pulled over and happened to be right next to a police officer. Marge asked him where we might eat lunch, and also where we might park our car to walk into town. We did not want to navigate narrow, twisty streets in our rental car.  The police officer recommended a restaurant right at the bottom of the town with a view of the nearby Lake. We had a wonderful lunch consisting of a salad of grilled artichoke hearts and wild mushrooms with lettuce. Our second course was a grilled salmon with prawns in a delicious romesco sauce over slices of baked potatoes.

After lunch we worked off at least some of the calories by walking up the steep narrow streets and stairs to see the town.

Setenil -

houses built Into cliff

appetizer - Iberian ham, artichoke hearts & wild mushrooms

i

Entre - salmon & prawns

  Zahara - steps 

Zahara - tiled roofs cascading down the town

3-9-25 Arcos de la Frontera & Rick Steves

We picked up our one weis oursek car rental at the Seville train station and drove to one of the white towns of Andalusia, Arcos de la Frontera. We first visited this town about 25 years ago based on a recommendation by tour book writer Rick Steves. In this area there are a number of towns on hilltops and all of the buildings are white washed to keep up the heat during the summer. This particular town was fortified for centuries because it was on the frontier in the war between the Spanish and the Moors for control of Andalusia.

As we were having lunch in a plaza we both remarked the town reminded us of the Greek Island town of Mykonos, because it was so warm, the streets are narrow and winding and the buildings are almost blindingly white. 

The first time we came here,  as we drove to the hotel,  the streets got narrower and narrower.  At one point,  Marge had to get out of the car before the narrowest part to guide me ahead, and we folded the side mirrors flat against the car, but we still managed to knock the right side mirror off. This time we parked outside the old part of town and took a mini bus to the hotel. 

We had reserved a room with a view and a terrace  in a small hotel that was formerly a convent in the old part of town.  We had stayed at El Convento hotel during our first stay, again based on the recommendation in Rick Steves tour book.  When we were shown to our room we found a nice spacious room with a terrace that had a terrific view of the valley below. We had heard that they had named one of the rooms after Rick Steves, and asked where that room was. Much to our surprise and delight,  the hotel clerk told us that we were staying in the Rick Steves room and pointed out the plaque in front of the room that had his name on it.

Lunch in Arcos de la Frontera

The Rick Steves Room is ours

Our Terrace w view

3-11-15 Ronda

This morning we drove from Arcos de la Frontera to Ronda, the most famous of the white towns of Andalucia. We are staying at the Parador de Ronda, where we had reserved a room with a view and a terrace.  We were rewarded with a terrace that has a spectacular view of the deep gorge which the hotel borders.  

Paradors are luxury (4 star) hotels run by the Spanish government. Frequently they are restored Castles, monasteries fortresses etc.  The Parador in Ronda , while not historic, is at the most ideal location in the town. The town is situated on top of a hill which is split by a very deep gorge . There is a bridge that connects the two parts of the town across the gorge and the Parador sits right next to the bridge and the gorge. Most pictures of Ronda show the gorge and the Parador.

Our room Is in the upper right corner of the building to the left of the bridge

3-7-15 Seville - Flamenco Show

This evening we went to the Flamenco Museum and were fortunate to get there just in time to see a very nice show of flamenco guitar music and dance. 

3-6-15 Great time to be in Europe

Euro: The Euro just dropped below $1.09, to an 11 rear low.  We were in France when the Euro was first introduced at around $.80, which allowed us to eat at a famous Paris restaurant for an affordable price, but since then the exchange rate has more typically been about $1.35.  When we started making reservations for this trip 4 months ago, the exchange rate was about $1.27, so now we are enjoying Europe on sale. 

Hotels: We have had very good luck with our hotels so far. Marge did a great job of finding the right hotels for us. All of them have been in very good locations. Our hotel in Madrid was within walking distance of the Madrid train station and crawling distance to many tapas bars. Our hotel in Cordoba was a boutique hotel with about 10 rooms, and located right in the old section of town, just blocks from the city's major attractions.  Our hotel in Granada was another boutique hotel, and our room had a view of the Alhambra palace.   Our hotel here in Seville is a block away from the cathedral and right in the middle of many tourist attractions, tapas bars and restaurants. Our room here in Seville is very quiet despite the fact that we are located right across the street from a busy tapas bar, which Marge thinks is a pickup bar.

The photos below are from lunch today at a nearby Italian restaurant,  the best meal we've had so far.   Our appetizer was a salad of avocado and prawns, although the photo was terrible so it isn't shown.  Our entree was parpadelle pasta with carbonara sauce. Our dessert was a really good set of 4 cream puffs covered with chocolate sauce with a dollop of whipped cream. 

3-5-15 Granada Palace

The weather has been much warmer than we anticipated.  When we planned this trip,  we thought it would be mostly cool and sometimes cold,  but with fewer tourists.   In actuality,  the temps have been very moderate and we have rarely had to wear more than light jackets and frequently wore short sleeves. 

We visited Alhambra palace and gardens. Fortunately we were able to get a reservation for an early morning start, and arrived at the entry gate by 9 a.m. This allowed us to see much of the attraction before the big tour groups started.

Built when the Moors occupied the southern part of Spain.  Throughout the complex, there is running water used for landscaping,  cooling,  the calming sound,  and for consumption.  The other thing that  stood out for me were the intricate carvings in the walls and doors.  Although I cannot run, I'm glad that my knees are good enough to be able to go up and down many stairs, which came in very handy today, because the Alhambra has a  lot of them.

3-4-15 Together in a synagogue

We visited an ancient synagogue,  and one of the docents took this nice photo of us in a window.

3-4-215 Cordoba sightseeing

This am we visited the Mezquita a massive former mosque, built by the Moors in 784. Now it has a 16th century church in the middle.   Here are some photos:

3-3-15 The Maze that is Cordoba

Our hotel in Cordoba is located in the Old section of town.  The area has narrow cobblestone streets that seem like a maze because they are seldom straight,  intersect at different angles and it is difficult to see street names.  Walking from one place to the next is like walking in a maze.  We usually had to use Marge's new iPhone to navigate. 

Most of our lunches and dinners have been tapas,  which are small portions, like appetizers, sometimes small toasts with different toppings.  The tapa places we saw in Madrid displayed premade tapas and you can just point at what looks good and order.  In Cordoba,  you order tapas from a menu.  We prefer the Madrid style, but still had good meals in Cordoba.

Spanish tortilla: eggs, onions & potatoes

Dessert - pastry cream in a small canning jar, covered with chunks of brownies and walnuts - simple & yummy

3 - 2 - 15 Madrid breakfast hot chocolate and churros

I woke up early this morning and while waiting for Marge to wake, I used yelp for a place for breakfast. I found a cafe a couple blocks away which specializes in hot thick chocolate and handmade churros. We walked about 4 blocks through quiet local neighborhood and found the charming cafe on a corner. I had thick dark chocolate and churros. The chocolate was so thick that if I stuck a churro in it it would almost stand straight up.  Marge had a latte, a fresh squeezed orange juice and an egg and ham sandwich. Many of the other patrons in the cafe were obviously locals who seem to be very well acquainted with the shop, each other,  and the servers.

3-1-15 Beer, wine & tapas in Madrid

As we age, traveling is more difficult and arduous. I only got about 2 to 3 hours of sleep during our trip from San Francisco to London and then to Madrid. We took the train into central Madrid, then walked a half mile to our hotel, arriving about 7 pm.  After unpacking, we asked  receptionist about tapas bars. She said just a block or two away there are many of them.  She was right - starting a block away,  we must have passed a dozen tapas bars on traffic free streets.  We picked one that looked particularly inviting and had a wonderful experience.  Enclosed are a couple of photos from our Tapas Bar night. The drinks and 2 really good Tapas helped dim the memory of the day long trip. The meal cost a very reasonable 10 Euros, which is about $13.