I am a bit behind in keeping you up to date with my adventures but the truth is that I am just plain tired! By the time Top Gear and I finish our days we are falling into bed and sleeping like logs, then up and go again the next day. Normally I am an excellent traveller, walking and sightseeing, but not this time! I have little energy to post anything, let alone string some coherent thought together.
So a quick catch up.........
We had a lovely week in our little house in St Thibery, in the Languedoc region. It wasn't quite as lazy as planned as we found there was too much to see around the area. It was nice though to make our own breakfast and come home each night to an easy dinner!



- The house was "rustic" but had all the mod cons. Three floors with an uneven stone spiral staircase that ended in a rooftop terrace...... perfect for afternoon drinks.



We had days exploring, wining and dining on the Mediterranean coast. Some places were busy and touristy but others were quiet little ports.












Nothing beats our beaches at home!
Other days were spent exploring the vineyards and villages in every direction. My favourite was St Guillame L'Desert, a very peaceful hillside village.



Another day was spent visiting the Canal Du Midi, another must see on Top Gear's list of great engineering achievements. This canal was built to provide a link between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean and is still used today by small boats to cross France.



The medieval city of Carcassonne was also a day outing. We explored the old city from top to bottom, not my favourite place as I found it all a bit touristy but still fun. I much preferred the "real" town of Carcassonne.



The day provided a treasure for me. We found an old antique shop that had a stack of old bed linen for sale. She had quilts, sheets and pillow cases. Underneath it all I found an old "Pique Du Marseilles" bedspread, edged in hand made lace. The lady said she had bought it all from a chateau near Tours and believes the linen had come from a wedding trousseau circa mid-late 1800's! It is in perfect condition and is now coming hone with me....... not sure how I am going to carry it! I wanted to buy the sheets and pillow cases too, all edged in the same lace, but sanity prevailed!!!!!!







So, you can see it was a big week, meant to be a quiet week, but we did leave our little house feeling ready for the next leg.......heading north, through the Dordogne and Loire valley, to Nantes! Quilt show is now in sight!!!!
Happy stitching!




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Yes, I love Provence!

Last time I wrote we were just beginning to move into the Provence region of France. I have to give Top Gear his due credit here...... He is proving to be a tour guide extraordinaire. He spends a lot of his spare time seeking out "off the tourist radar" places and while sometimes I worry we are going to end up sleeping in the car, or broken down on a one way dirt road in a vineyard, so far he has done very well.
Leaving Annecy, we headed to Sisteron. Never heard of it? Nor had I ! Apparently we were roughly following the route Napoleon Bonaparte took on his way to his final battle in Waterloo.....and we all know how that ended!
Sisteron is also touted as the unofficial gateway to Provence......yep, that's a gateway alright! Just what you expect to see round the next bend!



He had booked us into the best hotel in town nestled just outside the walls of this citadel in the centre of the town....... I suspect it was the only hotel in town but it turned out to be a delight. It was old school in every way but tres' elegant, and run by the most delightful family and their staff.
We spent a morning exploring the fortress. Napoleon passed through here in 1815 but it's foundations go back to the 9th century! It was amazing and the views from the top were breathtaking.




We still had plenty of day left so we headed out in the car explore. The receptionist at the hotel had told us about some beautiful hill top villages so we headed that way.
This part of Provence was such a surprise. I knew it was going to be beautiful but I was not prepared for the hills and valleys. At one point we were switch backing up the side of a mountain for ages to come out at the top on a huge plateau covered in endless acres of lavender feilds. Unfortunately we were little too early for the full blown blossoms but it was easy to see the spectacle it would become.




Our target for lunch was a little village called Moustiers St Marie, a village clinging to a mountainside, built around a waterfall........simply stunning!



A little sneaky shopping may have been done....... Busted!


The rain cleared so we decided to take the long way home via the Gorges of Verdon. A steep ravine, with a goat track road clinging to the edges, but overlooking a gushing river of a blue that seemed unnatural!




We finished the day, back at our lovely hotel with dinner and a lovely wine!
Are you sick of my travelogue yet? But wait there is more.........
The next day we wound our way across Provence......following a drive that took us through some of the Beaux d' Villages (beautiful villages) of Provence. Some we stopped at, some we didn't, all were lovely!
We were heading for the Pont Du Gard. Top Gear is endlessly fascinated with any feats of engineering and this one had been on his bucket list. A huge triple bridge, built by the Romans to carry water into the city of Nimes, circa 19 BC. Even I was impressed!



Now we had finally reached our pit stop destination.......a house, rented for a week, on the border of the Provence and Languedoc region. Time to sleep in, read, wash clothes, sew and cook our own food...... so ready for it! I can smell the Med sea air........nearly!
More to come soon.
Happy stitching!
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From Essen to ....... Pick a spot!

Well, we have been footsore and weary but it has been truly fabulous!
Next stop after Essen was the picture postcard town of Quedlinburg in Germany. This town is listed as one of Germany's top ten towns to see and I have to say I agree! The whole town and surrounds are untouched, dating back to the 9th century, and all is world heritage listed so will remain untouched! It is a living town where real people still live, work and go about their daily lives so everything is used.



This is the view from the little apartment we rented between the 13th century town hall and the 14th century cathedral! It was lovely but the bells started clanging on both sides at 6 am so no sleep ins!


We were on the third floor of this circa 1660 building. The lady who owned it was a local guide so gave us really good advice about what to see and where to eat etc! We explored the town from the schloss at the top, to the basement of the town hall!






After Quedlinburg we headed for an overnight stop in Regensberg. It is still old and UNESCO rated but as more of a city with a busy shopping district and university we felt it lacked charm. We didn't linger.
Still heading south we took a day drive over the Austrian Alps into Switzerland. It was exciting to still see snow on the mountains and great to feel the nip in the air!



We took our time and made lots of stops to take in the spectacular views.



Our next stop for a few nights was Luzern (Lucerne). It is a beautiful city!



Top Gear and I have visited here a few times before. We had come back for a lake cruise and for Top Gear to visit an old apothecary (pharmacy) we knew about it. I can report that we ticked both boxes! The cruise was relaxing and we got to see the upper reaches of the lake.


Some of the villas looked like movie sets!



The only negative thing I can say is that it is a horribly expensive city to visit but I am glad we had our couple of days.
Leaving Luzern, Top Gear was on a mission! He had earmarked several towns where ancient apothecaries still exist in tact, usually in old monasteries or hospitals, and dating back to the 13th and 14th centuries. As a pharmacist and collector of old pharmacy bits he was in his element. So, finally in to France and our first stop was Bouge-en-Bresse to an old monastery now a hospital/ aged care home to see rooms and rooms of this..........



He loved it! The whole thing was to be repeated in Besancon, just under an hour down the road but here he was thwarted because the history part of the hospital was not being re-opened till May........NOT ON THE WEBSITE!!!!!!! Nevermind as Besancon turned out to be a gem of a town. It was ancient but lived in. No tourists and no English spoken but smiley, helpful people. It was built on a river, with city walls and a citadel, Roman ruins and is famous as the best watch making city in France. Why is this place NOT in the Lonely Planet .......secretly we are glad it is not!!!!






















We could have stayed longer but we are on a time line to reach the house we have rented near Carcassone and we still have to explore Provence!
Tonight we are resting our heads in Annecy.......as we start to head south and west across Provence! Not sure I will want to leave after what we spied on our walk this afternoon. Another ancient town, built around a mountain lake, narrow cobbled streets, flower pot lined canals, stone bridges etc etc blah, blah, blah!



















We finished our day today, watching the sun set, with rose' and crepes......Bon Apetit!


Next stop......somewhere in Provence!
Happy Stitching!
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From Amsterdam to Essen!

Thought it was about time I bought everyone up to date! This is an epic blog so grab a cuppa before reading! It is sometimes hard to get the internet connections and time, together in one place to write a blog!
After a lovely visit to Amsterdam we caught the fast train to Paris to pick up our hire car. We only spent one night in Paris as we are coming back at the end of our trip. It was a beautiful evening. We had dinner in a traditional French restaurant and then a walk by the Seine ....... not bad just to pick up a car!



The next morning it was hard to resist another quick taste of Paris so we headed out again for a coffee and another stroll.



Paris was magic in the spring sunshine but our car beckoned!

Where to, I said? I dunno, he said. Well, we have to go north, I said. Yes, he said? Belgium, I said? Been there, he said. Luxembourg,I said? Good idea, he said. Got the Tom Tom, I said? Yep, but it's not charged, he said. Uuuuuuuurrrrrrggggghhhhh, I said.

Heading out of an underground car park in the middle of Paris, without a working sat nav and driving on the right side (wrong for us) in an unfamiliar car was not our best moment! We only caused a minor traffic jam when the car stalled on the wrong side of the road, blocking a major entrance to the Gare Du Nord! After lots of tooting and hand waving, a not very nice French man, muttering under his breath, begrudgingly helped us start the car and we were away!

Luxembourg was the perfect destination. I had not been there for over 30 years and the beauty of the unchanged city hit me again as we drove in. Now world heritage listed, it is spectacular! Built around the rock gorge of the Petrusse Valley, it is a unique and truly elegant city!



That's me, standing on the Chemin del a Corniche, translated as "Europe's most beautiful balcony". Have to say I agree!



We decided to spend a day just wandering! The 2.5 hour self guided walking tour took us over 6 hours by the time we deviated down every little alleyway, window shopped and stopped for coffee.






Such a lovely place!
Our goal was to get to Essen in Germany, so off we went again! Next stop Bacharach!
Situated on the "Mittelrhein" (Middle Rhine) it is a lovely little German gem! It is a small walled town, right on the River Rhine, that boasts spectacular views of the river from it's castle, has it's own church ruins, hillsides of vineyards and a market platz with local cafés and pubs. We stayed in a pensione for two nights and the local couple who owned it welcomed us! Not quite open for summer (most places open at Easter), they cooked just for us and pointed us in the right direction for good coffee, local wine and food, and sightseeing .
This area of the Rhine is gorgeous and the cruise boats sail right past to stop at the bigger centres!















Castles abound at every turn along this part of the Rhine!
















Sorry about the quality of the pictures but I was taking them from a moving car as we made our way up the Rhine heading to Essen!
Hmmmmm Essen, modern, commercial, not very picture postcard but we are here for a very good reason. Top Gear is going to the biggest car show in Europe.......for three days and yes, he has bought me a ticket!
Day one, he went off by himself to get an overview. Left me at a loose end, so what is a girl to do! I shopped! Essen doesn't have much else to do and I have to say the shopping was excellent! Good quality German-made shoes on end of winter sales, coats and scarves......perfect for heading back to an Aussie winter! I was a happy camper!



Next day I felt I needed to be the "good wife" so headed off to the car show with Top Gear! Big mistake! Twelve convention halls filled with cars of every make and model, car bits, car posters, car clothes, car museum displays, on and on and on! Five hours in this was me!



Notice only men in the background!!!!

I have new respect for Top Gear when he trails around with me at these quilt shows I go to! I think I might release him when we get to Nantes!
Still in Essen,today is a day of rest.......time to write this blog, read and sew a bit......I think we deserve it!
Stay tuned for the next part of the adventure! Only two weeks in, five to go!
Happy stitching!

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