Oct 17
Introduction Visit to San Jose was mostly a diversion from going into San Francisco, but also and to have a look around the other cities in the SF area, and to appease Kim’s curiosity – she was here 28 years ago. It is obvious that the Silicon Valley companies have bought great riches to San …
Oct 11
Ottawa? Why Ottawa? As some of you might well know I have a younger brother who has been living in Canada. He is a any of very few words, so I when the invitation to his wedding came earlier this year, I was very happy, as it ended up dove-tailing quite neatly with the rest …
Oct 05
Carcassonne The site of the current medieval city has been inhabited and fortified since at least 100BC or so. Since that time it was occupied by Romans, Visigoths, (most famously) the Cathars, and after a crusade, since 1247 – the kings of France. Unfortunately it was raining so we are unable to give you pretty …
Oct 02
Vienne Hotel – B&B Au Bois de Massier Today we woke up in a lovely B&B called Au Bois de Massier, in the hills above the little town of Vienne. The hotel deserves a separate write-up, so stay tuned for that. Ville de Vienne Our hosts tols us that city of Vienne has the 3rd …
Sep 30
Gex Weather has been threatening to close in for a few days now. It rained the day before and today looked like it might do it again. Despite that we asked out hosts to show us around, and they suggested that we go for a drive along the northern shore of Lac Leman (Lake Geneva), …
Sep 02
Wurzburg on Main welcomed us with cloudy skies and a cold wind. Unfortunately I do not have any good photos of the main attraction for the day, the Residenz Palace, because of the mass of cars parked in the front, and the fact that there was no photography permitted inside. However as a consolation prize …
Aug 31
Heidelberg Heidelberg is located on the Neckar river, which is a major tributary of the Rhine. It is generally agreed that there has been a Roman fort and a relaed settlement in this area as far back as 40AD. The modern city was founded 1169. In 1386, Heidelberg University was founded by Rupert I, Elector …
Aug 30
Koblentz Koblenz lies at the confluence of the Rhine, Moselle and the Lahn rives. This is where the Romans took over an ancient hill fort on the Festung Ehrenbreitstein hill which overlooks the confluence of the Rhine and Moselle from the eastern bank of the river. A stone Roman bridge over the Rhine was also located …
Aug 28
Morning – Transit The morning is the transfer to the river cruise ship. She is waiting for us in Trier. So the group was taken by but about 4oo-ish or so KM east from Paris to Trier (Treves). The route took us through the Champangne region countryside, skirting around Riems, Verdun, Metz and finally heading …
Aug 26
Sunny again. This means we made another walking tour of Paris: A quick trip by metro to Hotel de Ville and then a nice tour of Ille-de-Cite, including the Notre Dame de Paris Cathedral, and a visit to the Latin quarter on the left bank of the Siene. We has some lunch in Latin Quarter. …