Last night was ridiculous, cheesy and fun. A local performing arts theater here in Avignon hosted a Back to the 80s Dance Party concert, featuring a small band, an outrageous wig, and a French singer belting out some familiar lyrics. Sledgehammer, Final Countdown, Sweet Dreams, If You Don't
About 20 miles south of Avignon, Alpilles Natural Regional Park is a large nature preserve, described on google maps as full of "marked trails for hiking, biking and horse riding," and featuring "expansive olive groves stretching across the limestone hills." No fees or passes of any
Greetings from Avignon, where it's raining today – perfect for writing a long post. Technically, Avignon is the prefecture of the Vaucluse department in a region of southern France. That's the equivalent of being a county seat in the U.S. Situated on the left bank of
Today was the first ever marathon race in Avignon, France. No, we didn't run in it, but we did watch a good bit, as an early part of the route passed within a block of our Airbnb, and we (along with many others) followed the route across the
While our stay in Lyon was brief, it felt like a nonstop highlight reel. The Saône and the Rhône Rivers run through the older part of Lyon before merging as the Rhône at the southwest corner of the city. If you've had Côtes du Rhône wine, you'
One space in which many well-to-do Americans are rather spoiled is in our bathrooms. In our Lyon Airbnb, I've estimated the bathroom at somewhere between 25 and 30 square feet. Probably closer to 25. This was pretty easy, as I have about a six foot wingspan.
There is a Burger King across the parking lot from our hotel here in Dijon. They do not put Dijon mustard on their whoppers. The word burger comes from the city of Hamburg, Germany, whose immigrants were called "Hamburgers" and brought over the Hamburg steak, a popular 19th
We arrived in Paris yesterday, after a walk to Utrecht Centraal, a train to Schiphol Amsterdam Airport, a walk to our gate, a flight to Aéroport de Paris-Charles de Gaulle, a walk to one of several train stations there, a train into the city, a walk to the wrong
So far we haven't withdrawn, used or even touched any Euro coins or currency. We use credit cards for everything and almost exclusively rely on public transportation. The last time I didn't own a car was in 1979, and I don't speak French or
When we took off on our "retired couple international travelers" lifestyle last December (Phase 1 was South America), one motivation was a desire to see more of the world. Another was to seek peace. While peace for many starts with the physical security that is the opposite of
About 12 miles from Utrecht, the imposing Kasteel (Castle) de Haar is the largest castle in The Netherlands. We checked it out yesterday. Originally built in the 1300s, it passed to the Van Zuylen family in 1440 when the last male de Haar heir died childless. After approximately 250 years
Today we took a short train ride from Utrecht to Amsterdam. And let me just say "Damn!" What a city. We enjoyed "An Irreverent Amsterdam" walking tour as well as a boat tour of the city's intricate canals, Dutch pancakes, a pass through the