Le Carre Daix Aix-les-Bains

... the
combination is difficult to beat. Paris, the south of France, wine
regions, Normandy and many others I have yet to visit have slowly
changed my view of France.

I think I can still answer that
Switzerland is still my favorite, although France is tugging at my
sleeve and is a very close second.

Thanks for traveling and thanks for the
comments that some of you have sent me. I will answer each of them
as I get settled in back home.

... ouvre le chauffe-eau), et on avait pas de bouffe fourni(sa veut dire, pas de bouffe, pas de cuisine, pas de casserole, pas d'assiette, donc NIET!!! nada!!! ****all, esti!!!). Donc on faisait des feux improviser, pis on est aller volé une casserole a l'auberge de jeunesse de Bordeaux, pour pouvoir au moins faire chauffer notre eau pour nos nouilles(plats qu'on mangeait tout les jours qui avait pas de bouffe servi). Donc de ce point de vue la, c'etait la grosse marde parce ...

... Preciosa, un aperitivo de lo que nos íbamos a encontrar...
En la desembocadura del lago de su mismo nombre se encuentra la ciudad medieval, con el Palacio de la Isla controlando el acceso. En lo alto el castillo domina la ciudad y el lago.
Dormimos en el Hi Hostel Annecy, a 10 minutos dle centro.

We sadly left Chamonix and vowed to return there in the winter, and drove to Annecy. Annecy was kind of a repeat of Prague, beautiful old city, on the water, with canals... we were kind of sick of that scene by then. They are applying to have the 2018 Olympics there, with the ski events at Mont Blanc. It would be a nice venue for sure.

... br>
8.08.09 Chateauneuf Du Pape N44 03'30"E4 49'44""
Intense heat - by our standards. The fete is in full swing and the little village is heaving. Stalls everywhere, many offering wine, others wit all sorts of delicacies. The idea is to buy a special glass for 3.5eu and a neck cord if so inclined with a device to hold said glass whilst suspended round your neck for anothe 2eu. So armed, one can then (semi)confidently ...

... that I will have one crazy day of trains and then by the 1st of August I will be in Venice! I will be in Venice for 3 days and then we will be in Rome for 2 days and then Florence for 2 days and then Paris for 2 days! I am so excited to see Italy and then to see Paris again! Classes have gone very well here but I am definitley ready to come home! I am starting to miss home pretty hard core. But today I proved to myself that my French ...

... you appreciate how fit the tour riders are in order to ride hard in the mountains. Over the last few days we climbed a few of the mountains used in previous tours. On Wednesday after watching the start of stage 17 we had a chance to climb Col d'Iseran which in 2007 was used in the Tour de France and is the highest pass the Tour goes over in the French Alps at ...

I always wanted to see a stage in The Tour the France. A couple of years ago they had a Stage ending in Ghent. A few km. from my home. But What do you see? In a few seconds a peloton passes and that's it. So I decided to combine two loves at once. My ...

... and tons of stuff, awesome, I was now wearing a white skoda hat, a yellow ICL cap on top, and a polka dot champion cyclists cap on top of that, the full kit next we saw the helicopters approaching slowly, that means the riders are close, exciteent builds and then the cheers and shouts go off, the first rider is on our patch of mountain, we see him and the heart pumps wildly, its close to the most exciting moment in sport I have ever ...

... best but oh well.

For dessert we had Galette des rois, it is a pastry that the French eat the first weekend in January. It has these little statues in it, there are two. Whoever gets them with there slice is a King for the night, and he chooses a Queen. A little French tradition for you, the pastry has almond paste inside and it is delicious.

Until Paris.