Best Western Hotel d'Angleterre Bourges

... by chance about 60 wineries came to the town for an annual wine tasting festival. Marvelous!

We then worked our way up north and got to spend 4 nights in Paris. J'adore! Another super-packed big city tour - up the Eiffel Tower (668 steps to the 2nd level where you have to take the elevator to the top), up the Arc de Triomphe (268 more stairs), down the Champs Elysees, 5 hours in the Louvre ...

Paulo Coelho was notthe first one to mention contemplation this year; my very best friend has shared a lot of thoughts coming from contemplation. I guess it is the main difference between her and me that she can, at least mentally,
hide herself from the world she involves while I am too attentive. She
will be a real saint; for the great spirit of withdrawing from
trivialities and seeking some personal meaning of her own life. Indeed,
I have thought ...

... les échanges avec les pays voisins non communistes.

Durant cette période le pays va aussi se doter d'une devise: Unidade-Disciplina-Trabalho (Unitée-Discipline-Travail) et de son drapeau national.

Ce n'est que lors des élections de 1991 que le multi-partisme va être autorisé et Miguel Trovoada sera à son tour élu.

En 2001 un changement s'annonce ...

L'histoire de Sao-Tome est assez restreinte.
L'archipelle à été découvert au 15th siécle par les portugais Joao de Santarem and Pero Escobar. Ainsi sous domination portugiase ST devient un point de passage important pour le commerce du sucre du canne ainsi que pour la traite des esclaves
Entre1641 - 1648 les hollandais occupent le port de Sao-Tome et les francais attaquent la ville en 1709 par la suite on va assister à une deuxi ...

... s les Seychelles.

Chose a noter Sao-Tome est le pays le plus proche du "centre du monde": le croisement entre l'équateur et le méridien de Greenwich. L'équateur passe en effet par sur l'ilhéu das Rolas . (petite iles composant l'archipel au Sud du pays) et le méridien de greenwich n'est qu'a 6° de la capitale.

Le climat sur place est donc ...

... Composition: archipel composé de deux iles principales (Sao-Tome et Principe :) ainsi que de quelques ilots. Localisation: à 300 km a l'ouest de côtes du Gabon, au milieu de l'atlantique. Pour trouver l'ile sur une carte suivez la ligne de l'équateur et vous tomberez dessus!! Langue: Portugais. Sao-Tome est une ancienne ...

Nicer than Birmingham.

Left Blois in the rain and drove south, past Chartres with the cathedral really impressive over the plain. Tried La Motte Beuvron put not nice so onward. Weather hot as we moored by canal with mad fisherman. Cycles out and into town for pression and a bit of shopping.

... putting up the tent somewhere discrete but I'm not sure how this will work out. Also actually getting the bike and luggage up on a train would be pretty difficult. Bourges is quite pretty with lots of medieval buildings and a huge cathedral. However come the lunch (2) hours it is almost deserted as the shops all shut for lunch. Incredoyible! Except Burtons! eventually they reopened and I bought an atlas; maps for the whole of france. At the hostel entrance road I was accosted ...

... go out in Bourges for a city tour and doing silly by watching the different hidden 'asses' sculpted on the cathedral, We enjoyed the time being and kept on touring the city. Our lunch time has been taken over by enjoying a fine french cuisine, having a great great meal cooked by his flatmate which consisted of salmon with remoulade and lots of wine really fine french cuisine! It was really tasty but ...