Cinque Terra

Left Nice on the train for Genoa, & an overnight stay. Found out that I'd been in Nice 3 days & not noticed that they are an hour behind the rest of France. Although I did think the locals ate late! However it was me eatng early, having not put back my watch.

Genoa didn't look too exciting on the train ride in. I knew it was a port, but it also seemed really industrial. Debated whether to keep going or stay the night as planned, but ended up staying. It was only a stopver night anyway, and I had a look around. The old city has ridiculously narrow streets, where the rooves almost touch. There were many churches, some of which were pretty elaborate. The white & black striped marble, & lions out the front, for example.

Have come to the Cinque Terra today. It's on the coastline, and there are 5 (cinque) villages that are linked by a coastal trail & a train. It's postcard-pretty! The villages cling to the cliffs, & as usual the houses are side by side with no space between. They're all painted pastels, particularly rose pinks & greens. I'm stayign in Manarola, town no 4 as you head south. It's the smallest one, but I felt the need for company so came to the hostel for 3 nights. It's pretty full, & tere are lots of people who speak english!

Will cover a few more of the walking trails between villages tomorrow, & then maybe do a day trip to Lucca/Pisa on Thursday. There are many walking trails around here but it seems that a lot of them are for serious hikers - I saw so many people with walking poles today!

There's a beach at Monterosso (No 1) that I lay on today. The sun went down too soon for me to have a swim, but I think it's on the cards.

The hostel has this internet point, so it's easy to blog. Will do so again soon.

Belle xxx

Nice is nice!

Today if my spellings off, it's because they've given me an english keyboards, which has thrown me completely! Amazing how auickly you get used to the french one...

Yesterday I caught the tourist train down the mountain to Nice. It follows the mountains, mainly along the river, past small towns. Took 3 & a half hours & stopped about 15 times at villages. Just one carriage! But for people living in those towns it would be the only public transport down to the big city. Some of the hillsides had turned completely orange & red. And Villages perch on ridges or hug the slopes. About half way down 2 girls got in who spoke English - ended up being a Kiwi & a Canadian who are perpetual travellers. You think I'm bad for going away twice in 2 years! They have plans to travel continuously for the next 3 or 4 years... do the summer Med thing hostessing on boats to earn money, spend a month in India, go home briefly to see the folks, back to Africa etc etc. Unbelievable!

Anyway, they showed me the way into the main part of the city. Found a hotel (actually Lyn recommended it) which is close to the beach & the old city. gave myself the afternoon off & pretty much lay on the "beach" for an hour or so, then walked along the main drag. The beach is made up of what look like riverstones. Not too comfortable to lie on, but one can't be picky. Put my feet in the water which felt great but it could be too cold for the rest of my body.

Nice reminds me a lot of Paris. I've been staying in smaller places where facades of buildings are dead flat when shutters are closed. Nice has ornate facades that are carved or decorated, and lots of little balconies with wrought iron lacework - like Paris. Buildings are quite colourful on the outside - they're painted bright yellows, oranges etc, with white shutters so it's quite striking. It's also a bigger place so the main city area is full of tall buildings.

Booked 2 nights to start with so today I could sleep in a bit - no point in rushing to see things as they don't open until 10am anyway. Caught the bus up to the Archeological Museum & Roman site (baths) which was great. They even had some milestones which were taller than me! And it spanned bronze age to roman to greek. There was even a temporary exhibition on the development of the various alphabets of the world, & even though it was all in french, I could make out a lot of it.

They have a bath complex within the museum grounds, which is mostly foundations & the walls of one building, and an Arena just outside that's open to the public. The nieghbouring Matisse Museum was closed for renovations (of course). Summer crowds have gone, so I guess all the work is starting.

So I got the bus down the hill to the Chagall Museum. Had never heard of this guy, but he was an artist. There wre mostly paintings & drawings, one huge woven mat with a wall mosaic thrown in for me. He does quite bright paintings that are a little naive in style, quite sweeping lines & fantasy like in a way - & yet they were all religiously based.

This afternoon I went to the Old Town. Was not really expecting it to be too different from other ones, but it was a bit more lively - lots of restaurants & shops & people. Walked up to the old chateau complex on top of the hill, sorry MOUNTAIN - about 150m up stairs & walkways. It's pretty much all gone now excecpt for a few old bits & pieces. Is mostly gardens & a playground. But there's a huge cascade, a lookout with the Bellanda Tower (which I think they just mispelled), an old cemetary where Garibaldi is buried (I skipped that one) & some foundations of a building. You get a fantastic view over the Old & new Towns, right back to the mountains, & also right along the coastline. Not bad!!!

Came back down (much easier descending stairs) & through different streets in the old town, had an hours rest & am back out for dinner. There are heaps of restaurants in there so I plan to find one on the main drag. Have decided to stay another night & leave Monday morning for Genoa. There aren't many trains Sunday & I figure there are worse places to spend another day. Will be nice to have had 3 nights in the one place. It gives me 4 nights to get to Venice & Kay, so will play it by ear whether I have 2 0r 3 nights in the Cinque Terra.

Anyway, some fashion tips for the girls. Shorts & stockings are in. Jeans with skirts over the top (? attached) are in. Mid calf or knee length boots are in - with anything: shorts, skirts, shorts & stockings!

Lol,

Belle xxx

Adit, Sunday... wrote that last night but it wouldn't publish onto the blogsite, so will just continue on. Wasn't quite sure what I wanted to do today, but decided to go to a nreaby township on the corniche (I'm still not sure what corniche means, but maybe landscape filled with headlands?). It was onlt a 15 minute bus trip towards Italy, but I wanted to walk on the Point (Cape Ferrat). Initially didn't think I'd make it because there were no buses there on Sundays, but the one that goes all the way along the coastline was frequent & turned out to be better anyway, because it went to Beaulieu on the coastline which was the best place to start the walk. Took a few hours, and there's a pathway along the coast. Fortunately it was pretty much flat for once. You could go down to lots of little beaches and then around the headlands. Great view of the mainland with Beaulieu & other villages on the caost framed by tall mountains & cliffs. Sailing boats & rich people's yachts in the water... not bad. Ended up back at the main beach & braved a swim. Cold, but I was quite hot so didn't care. It was just a quick swim!

So, am off to Genoa tomorrow, & then the Cinque Terra Tuesday. Will catch up then.

Belle xxx

Digne-Les-Bains

Made the early bus today & got to see a sunrise over the mounatins as we went on a 2 hour bus trip along the valley. Digne sits at the bottom of a range on a shallow river - quite spectacular. Was lucky enough to be able to put my bags in the hotel room I found as it was already free, rather than just leave them at reception. Did the walking tour of the old city outlined in the booklet I'd got at the Tourst Office, which gave a good orientation. Lots of interesting old streets, churches, fountains. After lunch I ventured to the one Fossil Museum within sight - was a few km along the main road out of town alongside the river, then across the bridge. Anyone who drives has to park at the bottom of the hill & walk up one of several fairly steep paths to the museum; which sits perched on the hillside. Had lots of fossils - notably a dragonfly with a wingspan of 70cm, some 100 million year old ants in amber, a skeleton of a relative of the dugong & many giant ammonites. These are the flat but spiral shells that look like coils, but if you hold you hands together 1 made a circle, they're qbout that big! No "digne-saurs" in this museum!

They also had a special exhibition looking at the history of bears in the region, including skeletons, pawprints etc. On the way back, just outside the main gate I noticed a signed pathway back to Digne, like the one I follwed yesterday It was along the river again, but shaded & I guessed prettier! Also different from the way I'd come. So off I went, occasionally cursing myself since of course it was much windie (& therefore longer) & hillier since it followed the mountain. However it was definitely prettier, as autumn colours have arrived & while most things are very green, there was a lot of yellow & intermittent oranges & reds. Took about an hour & I was very pleased to see the bridge ahead - my only means of crossing the river bck to Digne!

Feet are sore, but they'll recover. Am looking forward to the train trip tomorrow as I've looked forward to this for a long time. Its really the reason I'm in Digne - a narrow gauge railway that goes between here & Nice in 3 & a half hours, through tunnels & viaducts & with apprently great views of the countryside! yay!

Bye for now,
belle xxx

Apt

Let me start by enlightening you about the Zen Massage - a true experience! I started with a spa bath with jets that alternated on your feet, legs & back while you floated in this deep bath. That was fantastic! Then, I was called for my Zen Massage & fortunately was weraring my togs, as it was a wet massage! You start facing upwards with your togs down to your hips ( a tad uncomfortable at first but if you close your eyes it doesn't seem so bad!). There's a movable bar with 4 or 5 shower heads that she moves to the parts she's not massaging. And you do get to turn over in the middle of it. It wasn't as hard a massage as I would have liked (she's no Lee) however I think it did it's job because I felt better afterwards. Went & found a hle-in-the-wall restaurant afterwards & had a fantastic sea bream dinner.

After discovering there were only two buses a day from Aix (pronouinced Ex by the way) to Apt that left at 7am or 5.30pm, most of you will guess the one I chose. Partly because there was little chance of me getting to the 7am bus, but also because I hadn't been there that long, & wanted to see a bit more before leaving. It would have been a bit pointless going there otherwise. So yesterday morning I packed & left my bag at the reception; then went in search of Cézanne's studio. It's a simple double storey stone house where they've converted the downstairs into office space, but kept the room upstairs as it was when he worked there. A coat or two, & his beret still hang on hooks, and there's his easel, a huge ladder, a painted screen (the kind people used to dress behind) & a shelf along one wall with bottles & canisters. Strangely, there's also fruit lying around that looks as if it could have been there since he died! It was fresh fruit but some was shrivelling & some was just plain black!

Went to see the Carpet Museum, but it was closed on Tuesdays. So went to another museum & walked to the house where Cezanne was born. Decided since I'd be arriving in Apt in the dark, I'd feel better if I booked a hotel so used my trusty mobile for the first time. Wandered around the streets & into a free art exhibition then headed bck to the hotel & got my bags.

Had to change buses once, but apart from that the trip was uneventful. It went from little town to little town, but the last hour I couldn't see anything anyway. Was very pleased to be able to see my hotel from the bus station! Dropped my things, & found a place for dinner, where I was seated on a table for 4 with a guy who was alone. After hearing him talk with an English accent I spoke to him. He was riding around France for 4 days, & I couldn't believe he'd come from Aix as well. It took me 2 hours on a bus! & it's very hilly... some people have a strange sense of fun. Anyway, it was nice to have a company for a while & a conversation in english.

Today I woke up with the bells tolling 8am. Looked around Apt, which is known for making glacé fruit (it has to be made somewhere!), but it also has some fossils & some roman history. After lunch tried another museum, which was closed to the public for renovations. Luckily some things are open! Then went exploring on a local walk. In France the walks are really well marked. They tell you to go straight ahead or turn by marking trees/walls/electricity poles with lines/arrows. There are different levels of walks indicated with colours. What it means is you don't need a map, because at every turn it tells you where to go. So off I went, & pretty much climbed a mountain!!! That path just kept going up, up, up forever. The signs said the next town was 10km from Apt, but I decided I wasn't going that far. The path started off on roads, then went on unpaved roads & paths paved with local rocks, that went in between properties. It was nice to see houses set apart from each other, with yards & even a swimming pool. In the old cities you forget that not everyone has neighbours right up against each wall. There was little wildlife, just a bird, a dragonfly & a praying mantis, plus a few dogs & cats. I met no-one else on the way, but that was quite nice. Got spectacular views of the surrounding mountains & villages on the way up & back.

My evening plan is to do some laundry, eat & pack again, since I'm leaving on the 10 to 8am bus to Digne tomorrow morning. Surprising, yes, but I'm only about 100m from the bus station so it won't take me long to get there!

I think to see this area you really need a car. There are lots of villages & sights close by that are inaccessible with public transport. That will be like Digne - apparently there are 18 sites qround it that have fossils etc, but only 1 is within walking distance. Oh well, don't you always have to leave something for next time?

Bon soirée,

Belle xxx

Aix-en-Provence

Hi all,
firstly, thanks for all of the texts & comments I've been receiving - it's been great!

After blogging in Avignon, I had a quiet afternoon. Had been fighting a small cold so energy low. Took the opportunity to create a novel thing called clean clothes, as there was no washing machine at La Sabranenque. Found out info about buses & trains & pretty much read & went to bed!

Yesterday I went on a little expedition to Fontaine-de-Vaucluse for Marianne. She was after a piece of material to match one she'd bought there last year. It's not quite an hour on the bus from Avignon, and all I can say is thanks Marianne!!! I would probably never have gone there otherwise, but am really glad to have discovered that little gem of a village. It's small & centre around a river that's shallow by the township. Gets its name from the "fountain" or source of the river that comes from underground about a km up the river. Just looked like a cavern of water to me, but I heard someone say they'd seen it filled right up the bank we were standing on. Plus, info from my trusty guidebooks tell me many ways were tried to get to the bottom of the cavern, & it took a remote controlled robot to reach it in the last few years - 315m down! In summer it pours out about 90000l of water per second or something ridiculous like that. So; the water flows down a slight hill over some small rapids, where there are tubes hanging over the water for kayaks I think. There's a little bridge next to a waterwheel & houses or restuarants lining the main strip - which isn't big.

I located the shop Marianne had gone to from her very accurately hand drawn map & showed her the swatch of material, only to find the lady said they didn't sell it anymore. I told her the story of coming from Australia for it & she was very apologetic. As I walked out into the arcade she then chased me down, as she'd dug around somewhere & found one piece! I texted tracey & george to ring marianne as it wasn't the size she wanted, & then texted her a few times, with the final outcome of mission accomplished! Thanks Guorgis for being go-betweens!

I spent the rest of the day at the small but interesting Petrarch Museum, the Resistence Museum, a papermaking place that still makes it by hand, having lunch on the river & doing my first drawing of the trip, & then climbing up to the ruins of a 14th century castle. There were few buses on Sunday so left at 5, getting back to Avignon around 6pm. Fortunately I'd booked a hotel for a second night - different one from the night before but it was right across the road so in the morning I'd had to carry my pack a total of about 10m (as well as down 2 flights & then up 3 at the new one - no lifts!). Checked in when I got back from Fontaine, had a shower & went only 2 blocks for Dinner. Couldn't be bothered walking across the town to the internet place - sorry!

Got up today & decided I'd come to Aix. Was going to skip it since I couldn't find a way to get from here to Apt, but then discovered it is possible. Bus left late morning & it only took an hour on the motorway. Found a hotel & went straight to the Thermes Sextius - new spa built on old baths - & booked myself a jet spa bath followed by a zen massage (will get back to you on what exactly that is). They've displayed the remains of the old baths in glass at the entrance.

Aix is Cezanne's turf so there's many places to see that relate to him. And lots of paintings of Saint Vistor, the big white mountain behind the town. Have done half of the town this afternoon, including the Natural History Museum. There's been lots of ammonites, dinosaur bones & eggs, turtles shells & skeletons etc found in & around Aix. Who would have thought?

Will find the rest of the things 2moro & probably head to Apt. It's in the Luberon & apparently there are great walking tracks in a national park.

Forgot to mention that a guy took his dog on the bus with us to Fontaine yesterday! Obviously that's OK. Didn't hear anything from him, he just lay at his masters feet the whole time. Animals here are almost revered. They're even allowed in most restaurants.

Anyway, that's about all at the moment. Heard Lisa went tonight (thanks Gayelene) but I look forward to Ollie's indepth report.

luv
Belle-en-Provence xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

La Sabranenque - c'est déjà fini!

It's true - La Sabranenque is already over! I hardly know where to start - back leaving Paris I guess. Monday I just got up & went to the train station. The TGV, or very fast train, only took 2 hrs & 40 minutes down to Avignon. Must have Mum's genes because I was thinking the sheep were really white until there were some in closer fields & realised they were cows. Come on, how often do you see plain white or cream cows? The countryside was really pretty, lots of vineyards & hills. It became really misty through the middle of France but cleared up before we reached Avignon. I had 2 hours before being picked up so rather than wait at the TGV station which is out of town, caught the shuttle bus to the main train station - only 10 minutes away. They go to both stations to collect people so it didn't matter. In the end there was only about an hour, so I decided to gainfully use the time to try the local beer & read my book in the Irish Bar at the station. Well someone had to do it! Ollie are you, proud - I drank beer!!!

Must say that when I was safely picked up & on my way to St-Victor-La-Coste, the village where the restoration project is, it was a relief I'd made it! There was a dozen of us: 9 Americans, 2 Canadians, an english guy living in the US & me. We all got on really well together & spent each night at the local bar. The signs outside advertise it as a pizzeria, but there's no pizza to be found - it's just a bar.

We worked for half a day each day & visited something for the other half. We worked in 2 groups - one building a shed, & my group building a broken wall. I know, but that's what we were building! This involved no talk prior explaining how it was done, just 3 of them sort of showing us on the job, but mainly it was them doing it, asking us to find un beau pierre ( a beautiful stone) & then rejecting any stones we offered, followed by a long spiel in french explaining what they really wanted. The mortar was made on the ground down the hill a bit & had to be carted in buckets as required. Our wall went down a slope, & stairs had already been built on one side, but the other was just ground. As we built up, most of us couldn't see over the top!

Ginou (? spelling) is 65 & has been doing this for 40 years. He is very french & waffles on about many things during the working sessions. Pasquale is a little dreadlocked frenchman who's been there for 8 or so years, & Sarah is American & has been there for about a year. She'd translate things to us once she understood what Ginou wanted, as the plan seemed to be only in his head, & changed fairly frequently.

Tuesday afternoon we came in to Avignon & went to the Palace of the Popes. Kind of interesting but I got over it pretty quickly! Wednesday we went to a local farmer's market in a nearby town (Bagnol-sur-Cèze) & then to a little village that had a ruined 12th Century church on the top (Venezay). Thursday we went firstly to see some bories, or drystone structures that look like big beehives or giant igloos. This entailed walking, walking, walking through bushland - although of course we didn't know how far we were walking or anything like that - just followed Pasquale! I don't think they're big on telling anyone what's happening before it actually happens. Anyway, the bories & drystone walls came about when land was cleared for farming. That's where all the rocks from the fields went to get them out of the way. The bories then provided some shelter - you could stand up in them. After this we went to the Pont Du Gard. I never thought I'd see it again, I must say! Still looks just as good, but I'm glad I went last year as we didn't spend much time there. Just enough to walk across & up to the viewpoint on the other side.

There's a ruined castle at the top of the hill above the village we stayed in - a 15 or so minute climb. Yesterday afternoon we could go up & hear a talk about it or do whatever we liked. Kristen, my roommate & I had made the trek a few days before, as there's a bit of time outside of meals & work hours, so I didn't go again. I'd asked one of the staff about Roman Roads & he told me there was on about 4km away, so Karen & I decided to explore. We are still not sure if we found it or not! He said it was paved, gave us a map & it looked like it crossed the road at right angles so we theoretically couldn't miss it! However nothing is ever that easy, so while we walked for about 2 & a half hours in total, went through several vineyards, asked a frenchman on a bike directions (Karen's more elaborate description is an old french man who'd recently had a facelift - the stitches were still there - who had a really hairy stomach - scarily, his shirt WAS hoiked up - & who couldn't read the map because he didn't have his glasses!), & found what could have been an old roman road but could have been a riverbed, we really weren't sure. It was a nice walk though!

The old part of St Victor la C has been rebuilt with volunteers like us over the last 40 years. Our rooms were pretty spacious. Enough for 2 beds, a couple of little tables & cupboards etc. There were shared bathrooms & toilets downstairs. We ate in common room - the food was fabulous! Ginou's wife Simone is in chqrge of that with help from a couple of others. Lots of vegetables, pasta, & some beautiful stews/casseroles. With bread of course, & cheese for dessert.

So sadly, that part of my trip is over. I'm really pleased I did that first at it gave me a base for a week. Have slept well all along so that's made it easier. Am now sitting in an internet cafe in Avignon. Have found myself a hotel for the night & will plan my next moves. Am happy just wandering around at the moment (let's fqce it, there are worse things I could be doing!). Am not really buying any souvenirs as I would have to carry them, so food, wine & window shopping is the way to go so far.

Must warn everyone that I'm not doing presents this trip & am unlikely to even do postcards. Just so you know!!!

Thanks for the comments everyone! And the Aus Idol updates Gayelene & Ollie. Good to know what's happening back home. Weather here is pretty WARM, bugger it! Only need one layer most of the time & a jacket at night. Might be posting my thermals back I think.

That's about all for now. Will keep you all updated as I can. Should be easier in the next few weeks.

One piece of trivia: there's no word for wilderness in French, as there's no such thing - all land has at some time been cultivated.

Bye! Lol
Belle xxx
PS hope you made it home safely Kristen :-)

Another day in Par(ad)is(e)

Thanks for your comments Gqyelene, M&D! It's great to hear from you - and pretty amazing we can do it when you think about it.

My plan for a sleep in apparently worked well. Couldn't hold my eyes open past 9pm (went out at 6 for dinner to keep myself awake) so stopped trying. Woke up a few times this morning before cursing noise coming from adjacent rooms - until I realised it was probably the cleaners as it was 10am! Got myself ready by 11 so that was pretty good. Suzanna I have used the element last night for a cup of tea & this morning for a coffee after visiting the supermarket last night. No fridges in rooms of course! Have had to use the windowsill again for milk but it's the best thing available & will suffice, although the weather isn't that cold.

So the supermarket was shut today (? Sunday) but this made me notice the local produce market opposite which was great. Full of seafood, meat, deli, fruit & veg as well as some hot food joints & a jewellery stall or two! Took lots of photos, bought some fruit & went down a nearby street which is pretty famous in this area - Rue Mouffetard. It's a narrow street winding down a slight hill & full of bakeries, seafood shops, cheese shops, tearooms & street stalls. Walked down & back then couldn't resist some quiche lorrqine & lemon tart takeaway for lunch.

Went to the Pqris Observatory by train & stopped in the gardens to have that lunch. Man, they can make lemon tart but I'd forgotten that quiche must be mqde on pure cream - very rich! And I think it was the nutmeg that kept repeating on me most of the qfternoon.

Unfortunately, the Observqtory is temporarily closed, only hqving a small exhibition open. So I walked the length of the Luxembourg Gardens to find the next thing on my list - the only surviving marble metre rule in situ in France! Recently I read a book & discovered that it was the French who "invented" the metric system & measured the metre. 2 guys spent a decade of their lives measuring the length of the meridien that passes through Paris, & from this the length was calculated. Anyway, at one stage the New Metres were distributed & this one's in a wall opposite the Luxembourg Palace. The book told me so! Well, it was interesting to me...

Spent an hour lounging on a chair reading around the fountain of the L. Gardens. Checked my list of Must Do's & Like To Do's in Paris, to discover The Pantheon was all I had left. So thumbed through the guide book & found some Old Galleries/ Arcades in an area I haven't been to that's still fairly central. Trained it there & with the help of an inadequate map, found my way by local signage. They were set up in the early 19th century to entice windowshoppers - with a new concept of covering the walkways with vaulted ceilings of panes of glass held up with lightweight metal. Unfortunately theshops were all closed (Sundays!!!) but made nice windowshopping material! Sarah, I thought of you when there was a whole window full of Johnny Depp posters.

Came back via the Royal Palace which had formal gardens & an outdoor sandpit. Stopped for a cup of tea (nanna) & walked back past the Louvre to the Latin Quarter & this internet cafe along the Seine. Planned to have dinner here so it worked out well.

May not be able to blog for the rest of the week as I think I'll be out of range. M&D, got both your texts. Also left a msg on your home phone tonight but I think I went the wrong way adjusting time so it's lucky you didn't answer. In fact I think you're up the coast. Would have been ungodly hour of the morning...

Bye for now,
Belle xxx

PS have already taken over 2 films. Good for scrapbooking I guess!

Paree (phonetically)

I'm in Paree!!!

Well I made it safely here without any hitches. Once again I will apologise in advance for unintentionql mistakes due to the french keyboqrd being different. Numbers need the shift key & there are 3 options on those keys, not just 2. & of course the q is where the a is usuqlly so there'll be lots of funny spellings.

Anyway, it's a hell of a long flight(s) here & i was very pleqsed to get off the plane - arrived in the dark but the sun started rising when catching the train in from the airport. This means it doesn't rise until about 8am Yay. Sleep in tomorrow.

Have hit the ground running today. After those flights I could only find the hotel & leave my backpack there since check-in isnùt until épm (for future reference that's 2pm). So walked down the street to Les Arènes de Lutèce, one of the reasons I chose that hotel, being proximity to them! Strangely a group was making a video or something & guys were dressed up in Roman skirty things with pretend swords so there was unexpected entertainment that suited the venue. Decided to get my ticket to Avignon so went to the station where it leaves & did that, then trained it to the Orangerie Museum which is within the Tuileries Gardens. I,ve tried to get there before but they were shut for renovations. Big lines today so I'd hate to be here in summer!

Well worth it, since it houses a) 8 massive Monet waterlily paintings (my estimate 10 x 2 m each) curved around 2 circular rooms. All completely different in colour shades & composition. Didn't bother with the audioguide so can't tell you any more about that!
&b) a permanent collection of paintings from Renoir, Matisse, Cézanne, Gaugin & a few others! oh yes only 1 Sisley. But I really liked this other guy I,d never heard of Chaim Sautine. Quite vivid but warped proportions of everything.

Then my feet got really sore so I sat in front of the fountain in the Tuileries Gardens & read for an hour before coming here. Didn,t find an internet cafe on my travels today so just came back to the one we used last year. Some advantages!

I,m now going to check in & have a shower for the first time in nearly 2 days & change my clothes. Treat! Then I,ll have dinner, drop into the supermarket I found near the hotel & have an "early" night Paris time - don't want to think about what time it is in Aus.

Tomorrow I'm having a look around Luxembourg Gardens & the Observqtory - but will probably come back & let you know what I've been up to.

bye for now,

luv Belle xxx

PS happy anniversary Sal & Grant
Happy birthdat Paul
Happy Anniversary Penny & Luke

all for during the week

10 sleeps to go

All is on track! I've booked my flight back from Venice to Paris, & will have a day there before flying home. Not much else to do before I leave - except maybe book the train from Paris to Avignon so I know I'll make it to La Sabranenque, but trains leave every half hour or so, which means it won't be much of an issue to book when I arrive if I want to.

Anyway, that's about all the news!

Belle xxx