On our way home
We were up at 4:15 for our 7:30 flight. We found our way to the airport perfectly but then had some trouble figuring out how to get from the terminal where the rental car return was to the other terminal where the check-in takes place. There was nobody at the rental car place until 6:00 but we figured out that we could just leave the car there and put the keys in a drop box. Before dropping the keys we drove to the check-in terminal and asked about how to get there from the other terminal after dropping off the car. They told us there was a shuttle bus. So we drove back, dropped the car and found the shuttle bus. Of course, there were no signs anywhere for any of this and there weren't many people around at this time of day.
So after a stressful morning, our flight from Nice to London went just fine. We had 3 hours to kill in London. The flight back to Chicago was long and uneventful and there waiting for us was our personal airport shuttle driver. A slow ride around Chicago during rush hour and a stop for dinner was all it took for us to be back at the old homestead.
Sunday, July 15, 2007
11 July 2007
Our last full day in Europe
It was another wonderfully clear and warm day. We drove to Nice to check out the beach scene and it was a mad house. It was stop and go traffic for miles. We passed up the beach and drove north away from the water a bit on a road that overlooked the ocean. We headed back toward Nice to try and find a beach in one of the smaller villages. We only saw one and it was private, so we went back to Nice, parked in a parking lot and walked. We were surprised that the beach wasn't a sand beach but covered in stones - not very comfortable on the feet, but it was crowded. We swam twice in the Mediteranean which was colder than we expected, but the water in the beach area was an incredible light blue.
We went back to the house and waited and waited for Franck to get home from work. Finally at about 9:30 one of his roommates told us that Franck called him and said he had a bicycle accident. He had to go to the hospital for stitches to his forehead. His roommate made us dinner and we enjoyed the dessert that we bought to share. We finished up our last minute packing and didn't get to bed until after 11:00.
It was another wonderfully clear and warm day. We drove to Nice to check out the beach scene and it was a mad house. It was stop and go traffic for miles. We passed up the beach and drove north away from the water a bit on a road that overlooked the ocean. We headed back toward Nice to try and find a beach in one of the smaller villages. We only saw one and it was private, so we went back to Nice, parked in a parking lot and walked. We were surprised that the beach wasn't a sand beach but covered in stones - not very comfortable on the feet, but it was crowded. We swam twice in the Mediteranean which was colder than we expected, but the water in the beach area was an incredible light blue.
We went back to the house and waited and waited for Franck to get home from work. Finally at about 9:30 one of his roommates told us that Franck called him and said he had a bicycle accident. He had to go to the hospital for stitches to his forehead. His roommate made us dinner and we enjoyed the dessert that we bought to share. We finished up our last minute packing and didn't get to bed until after 11:00.
10 July 2007
Packing day in Le Rouret
It was a beautiful southern France day, warm with nothing but sunshine. We slept until 9:00 and then drove into Grasse to buy some tape needed for packing. We got started at about 11:00 and didn't finish until about 3:30 but everything except the last minute things were packed and ready to go.
Franck came home from work about 7:30 and we drove with him into Antibes, a waterfront town which proved to be quite an intense drive, winding roads and massive crowds of vacationers in this tourist town. Parking was a bit of a nightmare. We were going to go to an Irish pub that Franck likes, but they didn't have food there, so we got some kebabs and fries and brought them back to the pub, washing them down with Beamishs for the boys and a Coke for Marie. It was a beautiful night at the beach. The sea was calm and the sky was clear.
It was a beautiful southern France day, warm with nothing but sunshine. We slept until 9:00 and then drove into Grasse to buy some tape needed for packing. We got started at about 11:00 and didn't finish until about 3:30 but everything except the last minute things were packed and ready to go.
Franck came home from work about 7:30 and we drove with him into Antibes, a waterfront town which proved to be quite an intense drive, winding roads and massive crowds of vacationers in this tourist town. Parking was a bit of a nightmare. We were going to go to an Irish pub that Franck likes, but they didn't have food there, so we got some kebabs and fries and brought them back to the pub, washing them down with Beamishs for the boys and a Coke for Marie. It was a beautiful night at the beach. The sea was calm and the sky was clear.
9 July 2007
Driving to Nice
It rained and stormed all night for our last night in the tent. The mountain tops were not visible until mid morning. The mountain scenery was still spectacular and in addition to seeing the Alps, we also saw the other 2 things on Marie's "must see before we leave" list, the lavender fields and the Chutes de xxxx or what is known as the Grand Canyon of France. Both were truly enjoyable to see and we hope to return some day to see more.
We met Franck, our warm showers list host, by the old church in Le Rouret at about 6:30. He was on his bike riding home from work. We followed him to his house about 1.5 kms away. It is a typical French-looking home with a nice view of the cities and Mediterranean Sea below. He shares the house with 4 roommates while completing his PHD work. We chatted and a little later his roommate prepared a nice dinner and we all sat outside on a beautiful evening enjoying good food and company.
It rained and stormed all night for our last night in the tent. The mountain tops were not visible until mid morning. The mountain scenery was still spectacular and in addition to seeing the Alps, we also saw the other 2 things on Marie's "must see before we leave" list, the lavender fields and the Chutes de xxxx or what is known as the Grand Canyon of France. Both were truly enjoyable to see and we hope to return some day to see more.
We met Franck, our warm showers list host, by the old church in Le Rouret at about 6:30. He was on his bike riding home from work. We followed him to his house about 1.5 kms away. It is a typical French-looking home with a nice view of the cities and Mediterranean Sea below. He shares the house with 4 roommates while completing his PHD work. We chatted and a little later his roommate prepared a nice dinner and we all sat outside on a beautiful evening enjoying good food and company.
8 July 2007
Still driving toward Nice
Shortly after we finished packing up the car, some strong thunderstorms came through. It rained hard for a couple of hours and continued off and on all day. This was really a shame since we drove to Mount Blanc, the highest peak in the Alps, with the hope that it might clear a little by the time we got there, but 32 euros later (the price to drive through the tunnel to get there) and we couldn't see a thing. The clouds lifted a bit as we continued on into a little of Italy and then back to France. The mountains were incredibly beautiful and the roads were amazing, the windiest, narrowest mountain roads we have ever driven. We went very slowly, but we climbed to some of the famous Tour de France passes and saw plenty of crazy cyclists climbing and descending in the rain. After a long day of exhausting driving, we set up camp in Briancon and enjoyed a nice dinner.
Shortly after we finished packing up the car, some strong thunderstorms came through. It rained hard for a couple of hours and continued off and on all day. This was really a shame since we drove to Mount Blanc, the highest peak in the Alps, with the hope that it might clear a little by the time we got there, but 32 euros later (the price to drive through the tunnel to get there) and we couldn't see a thing. The clouds lifted a bit as we continued on into a little of Italy and then back to France. The mountains were incredibly beautiful and the roads were amazing, the windiest, narrowest mountain roads we have ever driven. We went very slowly, but we climbed to some of the famous Tour de France passes and saw plenty of crazy cyclists climbing and descending in the rain. After a long day of exhausting driving, we set up camp in Briancon and enjoyed a nice dinner.
7 July 2007
Driving to Nice
We picked up our black Skoda Octavia station wagon a little after 8:00 and drove back to Benny's to load her up. Then we hit the motorway and headed south. Again it was a nice, sunny day. We had a little curve thrown at us when we reached Switzerland, a 30 Euro toll or what they called a highway tax. Ouch!! And we only drove in Switzerland for about a half an hour. And for icing on the cake, they gave as Swiss Francs for change from our 50 euro bill, so now we had to get rid of that or get ripped off exchanging it. We were able to spend it all later on gas. We didn't stop for a whole lot of anything until late afternoon when we were descending a long hill and got our first glimpse of the Alps range. There were a few clouds blocking the highest ones, but it looked pretty spectacular. We drove on just a bit and camped in xxx.
We picked up our black Skoda Octavia station wagon a little after 8:00 and drove back to Benny's to load her up. Then we hit the motorway and headed south. Again it was a nice, sunny day. We had a little curve thrown at us when we reached Switzerland, a 30 Euro toll or what they called a highway tax. Ouch!! And we only drove in Switzerland for about a half an hour. And for icing on the cake, they gave as Swiss Francs for change from our 50 euro bill, so now we had to get rid of that or get ripped off exchanging it. We were able to spend it all later on gas. We didn't stop for a whole lot of anything until late afternoon when we were descending a long hill and got our first glimpse of the Alps range. There were a few clouds blocking the highest ones, but it looked pretty spectacular. We drove on just a bit and camped in xxx.
6 July 2007
A second day off in Mannheim
At 3:00 A.M. Benny's doorbell rang. It was the person he had been expecting sometime from the Hospitality Club. This is an organization similar to the Warm Showers List but for all types of travelers, not just cyclists. The young woman put her big bag down in the hallway by our stuff, talked to Benny for a few minutes and then hopped into his bed with him right next to her. This is Europe afterall.
We spent most of the day working out our arrangements for changing our flights and renting a car to get down to Nice with the bikes and gear. Today, of course, was a very nice day, no rain and plenty of sun. We walked to the car rental place to be sure we knew where it was for our pickup tomorrow and to check on the size of the station wagon we had rented. On the way back we picked up some bread and ingredients for a big salad and we threw together a dinner for Benny and Anna, the young woman who came in the wee hours of the morning. She is from somewhere in East Germany. She was gone all day at the university taking an exam to try to get into their music school. She plays the saxophone. After dinner we walked to Mannheim's castle where a group of music performers all from Mannheim were putting on a concert. We stayed outside the castle where there was no charge to listen to this loud rock music while John taught Anna how to juggle. She wasn't very interested at fir!
st but once she got the hang of it, which was pretty quick, she was very into it. We took a short walk around town, had some ice cream at Benny's and hit the sack.
At 3:00 A.M. Benny's doorbell rang. It was the person he had been expecting sometime from the Hospitality Club. This is an organization similar to the Warm Showers List but for all types of travelers, not just cyclists. The young woman put her big bag down in the hallway by our stuff, talked to Benny for a few minutes and then hopped into his bed with him right next to her. This is Europe afterall.
We spent most of the day working out our arrangements for changing our flights and renting a car to get down to Nice with the bikes and gear. Today, of course, was a very nice day, no rain and plenty of sun. We walked to the car rental place to be sure we knew where it was for our pickup tomorrow and to check on the size of the station wagon we had rented. On the way back we picked up some bread and ingredients for a big salad and we threw together a dinner for Benny and Anna, the young woman who came in the wee hours of the morning. She is from somewhere in East Germany. She was gone all day at the university taking an exam to try to get into their music school. She plays the saxophone. After dinner we walked to Mannheim's castle where a group of music performers all from Mannheim were putting on a concert. We stayed outside the castle where there was no charge to listen to this loud rock music while John taught Anna how to juggle. She wasn't very interested at fir!
st but once she got the hang of it, which was pretty quick, she was very into it. We took a short walk around town, had some ice cream at Benny's and hit the sack.
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