Hotel l'Ours Blanc Allos

Leave from nice on the Chemins de fer de Province (diesel train) to Touet-sur-Var. And then the steam train to Entrevaux, city with amazing views. On the way back a quick stop in Puget-Théniers.

My camera battery died once we hit Entrevaux so no photos :(

... they finally saw them they were greeted with running hugs and kisses. The boys were so thrilled to see them after counting down the days for what seemed like forever. Their arrival also made us realize that our trip was almost over and that soon we were going to be on our way home. We are preparing for reality to strike as we head back to our normal lives after 7 months of holidays.

We took Luke and Amanda along the Mediterranean ...

... our plane so we had a snack and the boys enjoyed the biggest juice box they had ever seen.

We were picked up by a friend of the family who we are exchanging with and brought to the house where we are staying in Biot. Biot is a beautiful town, wonderfully located in the French Riveira. It is in between Cannes and Nice and just north of Antibes. We are a 5 min. drive to the Mediterranean Sea. It’s always ...

... the worst homesickness I had ever known.

As the first week drew to a close, however, I ultimately accepted the situation. Actually, I had once read an article which used research from recent disasters and crises (an example used was being stranded at sea) to deduce the common qualities in the people who managed to survive. One such quality in these people was their acceptance of the gravity of their particular situation, acknowledging that yes, they were stuck ...

... dan toch persé voor deze canyon kiezen... Het is een canyon die ligt in een gebied met een speciale rode steen. Rode schiefer (of ook wel schist).

Eenmaal aangekomen op de vertrekplaats, merken we al dat het vrij koud is op deze hoogte en dat er toch wel wat sneeuw te zien is.

Na een tochtje waarbij we redelijk wat sneeuw aantreffen, moeten we volledig in de ...

... with only a two foot wall to hold us back. It was a good thing that all of the cars in France are tiny or we wouldn't have been able to pass them on the narrow roads. When we finally got to our hotel we were happily surprised to find that we had a good size, apartment style rooms with a bunk bed, a two person sofa pull-out, a large bed and a kitchen. My roommate Lina and I shared the big bed which was very comfortable. Food was included in the trip price so we got a bag and ...

... of Plein Voir, le Pavillon (1624 m), la cime de Barbin (1560 m) and le Mourre de Chanier (1930 m), and the Saint-Croix reservoir. The "Sentier de l'Imbut" hike begins from this side of the gorge. When the road passes through the Tunnel du Fayet, there are openings cut into the tunnel to afford a view. The road then crosses the Artuby River over a bridge known either as Pont de l'Artuby or Pont de Chaulière ...

... this lot) but we were generally able to get past and make good progress. Then we got to the Verdon Gorge. Stunning place, beautiful weather, but too much traffic. The road itself became secondary to the views as around almost every corner was a camper van or ...

... beds to save our botbots from the huge pebbles the beach is made up of. Very opulent and we fancied ourselves quite the French riviera types as we walked around. The next day when it rained we sulked and ran from bar to cafe to restaurant for the day, and patted a wet dog which was a highlight...for me anyway... We then took the night train to Venice!

... my debut of this common courtousey. From there, we took his car to his house where he made us a quick simple meal of spaghetti and meat sauce before we headed out of town to the party. It took us a good hour to get to the party as Romain has a habit of getting lost, which, considering my nature, makes us a terrible team, but we always seem to unlose ourselves eventually and have a good time while we are at it. The party we attended was a small, but enjoyable ...