European vacations

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Provence
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France
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Europe

Last weekend on Memorial day, as I watched for the upteenth time the movie, The Longest Day, I couldn’t help but be reminded of the time we spent in Normandy following the paths of the soldiers who lived and died in the towns and on the landing beaches of those immortalized places, Omaha, Gold and Juno Beaches, Arromanches, St Mere Eglise, all the other beaches, villages and towns on the coast, along with the city of Caen, which was our base for our stay.

Hear ye, hear ye, as my contribution to this latest write-off, hosted by our esteemed wench, drdevience, (one in which we are to write about something featuring a Medieval theme), I thought I’d continue on with my series of reviews about some of the wonderful old medieval villages scattered thoughout the South of France, where I had been fortunate enough to spend some time during my trips through this incredibly beautiful, historic and fascinating part of the world..Each one is unique, each has it’s own particular charm.

Review Topic: Restaurants

When I had traveled to Aix En Provence ten years ago, my friend and I ate at this same restaurant and were introduced to salad nicoise, which we fell in love with, and ordered every chance we had on the rest of the trip.

We started visiting France in 1980, at which time it was far more affordable and exotic as cafes had zinc bars and lighting fixtures were covered with cloths. There was more of a mama/papa feel to neighborhood places though some, happily, still exist. Going to the same cafe in the morning for a “creme” (strong coffee with boiled milk)is part of the experience of feeling like a Parisian. And back then school children looked very different from their American counterparts. That’s no longer so true. But you’ll still find some quirks (lights that go on and off with sensors), so go sooner, rather than later.

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City
no city
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Region
Provence
Country
France
World Region
Europe

The Chateau d’If sits on at island near the mouth of the port of Marseille. It was used as a military outpost and prison for many years, and is now a popular tourist destination for both French and international tourists.

PRACTICALITIES

You can reach the Chateau d’If by boat — the ferry boats are stationed at the end of the old harbor. It is a short, pleasant 20-30 minute boat ride to the island dock.

You walk from the dock up a wide, twisty flight of stairs to the Chateau, where you purchase admission tickets and go on a tour of the fortress. The tour lasts about an hour.

Surrounded by fields of lavender, these two 12th century abbeys are beautiful in their austere simplicity. If you can only see one, which one should you go to? Both have an identical floorplan, but are located in different ares, are preserved to a different degree, and attract different numbers of tourists.

ABBAYE DE SENANQUE

This abbey is in a little valley along D 117. This abbey is the one in the famous photographs of the plain, gray stone building rising above the fields of lavender. It is still an active abbey, and you can go to services there.

I just came back from a two weeks vacation in France. I have spent one week in the South, near the Azur Coast, where my grand-parents live. I have been there a few times and I will here give you a little information about the little towns where I spent this year”s week.

Fréjus

Fréjus is the town where my grand-parents actually live. They have recently bought a little apartment closer to downtown. They used to live in a house far enough that you could not do anything without your car. Now it is much better, although they are still far from the town in my opinion!

We used At Home In France in Ashland, Oregon to rent a centuries-old stone hunting lodge in the Vézère Valley in the Périgord (I’m having fun with accents!), and we could not be happier.

Allyn Kaufmann & Bruce Dicoskey, the proprietors, were extremely friendly and helpful. We found them first through there website (http://www.athomeinfrance.com), ordered the catalog, and uttered sighs of joy at the descriptions and photos of the various houses. Of course, the Dordogne fills up quick in the summer, and Allyn worked hard to give us options regarding times, locations, and prices.