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While most of you are freezing during January, we’ve chosen to fly across the world to spend our January in BALI.  A 3,500 square mile island, that is a province of Indonesia, Bali is home to most of Indonesia’s Hindu minority.  We are staying in Ubud, the cultural and artistic center of Bali. The weather is, indeed, warm (most days mid to high 80s) and quite humid (70-80%).

Our home is a co-living community called Roam, housed in a former boutique hotel with 24 rooms that surround the courtyard swimming pool,

a community kitchen,

and lots of very interesting, mostly young, people. The majority of our fellow Roamies have jobs that allow them to work remotely – one is writing a book, one is doing web development, one is researching world religions and leads tour groups to experience these, another is a graphic designer.
Our ‘house mother’ or facility manager, Fenny, plans outings

and community dinners at interesting restaurants.  And, using the community WhatsApp, we let each other know about other happenings around town and around the island.  This is a very different experience than we’ve had before, when we stayed in Airbnbs and had varying degrees of contact with people in the community (sometimes, the only people we conversed with were each other for weeks at a time!) .

Backing up a bit, we had a wonderful three weeks in the US, spent mostly with family, during the holidays.  We spent a week in Baltimore where we saw a lot of Beverly and Ginny & her family.

The Wine & Food Society held their Holiday Dinner during our short time in Baltimore, allowing us to catch up with many old friends.
Then it was on to Oregon, where we spent Christmas in Portland with Julie & her family. This is Owen’s first ‘aware’ Christmas (he’s almost 2) and it was a joy to share it.

We then flew to Bend and spent a week, including a great New Years Eve party with Andy and his wife, Nicole.

Our final US stop was LA, where we saw two of my sisters, Terry & Chris, who live in California and took time out of their busy lives to get together with us before we flew to Bali.

So……..back to Bali……We have enjoyed exploring the area around Ubud. These ventures have included an early morning walk along a ridge that was lush and very beautiful,

visits to many Hindu temples, which are covered with stone carvings instead of the gilt of Buddhist temples.

Along with some of our fellow Roamies, we took a day trip to Lempuyang Temple, a 2-hour drive from Ubud.  This is the second most important temple in Bali (the first is closed because it is very close to Mt Agung, the volcano that recently erupted). Here we witnessed a ‘family ceremony’ that was very interesting and quite moving.

On the way back from this trip, we saw Mt Agung spewing smoke, which it apparently does almost every day.

Another morning, we took a guided walk through the rice fields. It is remarkable how beautiful it is wherever you go on this island!

We rented a motor scooter the day after we arrived. For 800,000 IRP (about $60) we have the use of a 110cc Honda and 2 helmets for a month!  It truly is the best way to get around; we make our own breeze on a hot day when it truly is too warm to walk.  As always, Rick drives and I ride.  He is a very confident and competent scooter driver, which is important on the roads here where there are more scooters than cars and they drive on the left side.

A visit to the Monkey Forest is a must while in Ubud. There are about 600 long-tailed Balinese monkeys, or macaques, living in this 27 acre forest of more than 100 different species of trees. The forest itself is amazing, and at least 10 degrees cooler than in town.

The monkeys are cute but aggressive. You are warned as you enter not to feed them but, of course, people do…and that any loose items – cameras, purses, jewelry, etc. – might be snatched.  We went in carrying nothing and were able to visit the monkeys in peace.

Hinduism is an integral part of life here in Bali. They say there are more temples than homes, and I believe it.  We have our own small temple here at Roam.

Every day, offerings are placed at this small temple and at various places around, even at the edge of the swimming pool!

This temple in central Ubud has the most amazing lotus pond!

Balinese dancing is well-known, but we didn’t realize that there are many different kinds of performances.  Based on recommendations, we attended a Kechak Fire Dance.  There were no musical instruments used, only a chorus of human voices, to accompany the dancers.  The primary chorus was made up of men (ages ranging from 20-80!) who chanted, sang, and mimicked with their voices sounds like wind and water.

During the second act, there was also a small women’s chorus accompanying two young girls who dance as if in a trance (Sangryang Dedari) to drive out evil spirits.

The FOOD in Bali is truly amazing! There is an abundance of healthy choices, including vegan/vegetarian restaurants.  Ordinarily this would not be our go-to, but we’ve been pleasantly surprised how tasty and well-seasoned this food is.  You don’t need meat or salt (!) to enjoy the flavor of a meal!
But, don’t worry, we’re not going completely over to the other side…We found a place that specializes in suckling pig (Babi Guling) that was quite delicious.  Since Bali is the only non-Muslim part of Indonesia, this is a dish that is only found here.
Pacha Mama is a close-by restaurant where you fell like you’re in the jungle.  The food and cocktails are great and the staff always remembers our names! Can’t beat that…

Our favorite bar, Divine Bar at Bridges, is perched over a river, three stories down from the street.  Best afternoon cocktails in a beautiful setting…

It was here one afternoon that we tasted five Pinot Noirs from different countries (including Indonesia!) side by side.  The French was our fave (of course), we liked the California the least, and we were pleasantly surprised by the Indonesian entry.

We had a very special meal at Locavore, a restaurant in central Ubud that has received acclaim around the world.  The two set menus included seven courses (either vegetarian or non) and paired beverages (mini-cocktails, not wines). Even the drinks were artfully presented (and delicious).
       
The food was Indonesian and very creative. Each dish was a work of art AND tasty!

Here we come to the end of the Bali Blog.  I am heading back to the States tonight to be with Julie as she births her second baby.  Rick is staying in Bali for two more weeks, and then going on to Bangkok and Hoi An, Vietnam.  He won’t be blogging, but he promises to post pictures regularly to Instagram (a much simpler process…). Follow him (rick.funkhouser) and follow along.  We’ll be traveling together again in March.

 

As we wind down this chapter of our adventure, we have two final stops – six days in Lisbon and four in Madeira. I must say that being able to unpack and stay in one place for more than 2-3 days is a pleasure.

LISBON is a beautiful city, built on 7 hills so there is a lot of up and down walking.  Many of the streets are just stairs!
  a la MC Escher…
The center of the city was leveled by an earthquake in 1755. When it was rebuilt, city planners created lovely squares and buildings,

and straight, wide streets that gleam! Today, they are sumptuously decorated for Christmas.

We are staying in the Bairro Alto neighborhood with easy access, on foot or by public transportation, to all of the rest of the city.  One of the most charming modes of transport are the old trams.

But, along with the charm come some disadvantages.  Because the trams run on fixed tracks, if there happens to be a delivery truck stopped ahead, the driver must wait until the truck moves on before s/he can take the tram forward.  One night, our driver encountered a car that had parked very close to the track – so close that the driver didn’t feel she could pass without scraping the car. After sounding her bell repeatedly, and several passengers trying to physically move the car (no luck…), she gave up and called the police.  We all got off and caught the next bus to come by.

We took a day trip to SINTRA by train. The Lisboa-Rossio train station was as pretty as some of the palaces we were headed out to see.

In Sintra, a 40 minute train ride away, we took in three primary sights. The Palácio Nacional in the center of the old town, which has impressive stone work and two massive conical chimneys, over the kitchen, on the outside

and lots of intricate tile work on the inside.

The Quinta da Regaleira consists of a palace

and extensive gardens.

Lastly, on top of a mountain is the Pena Palace, an enormous structure evidencing a lot of Moorish influence.

The mountaintop perch provided a pretty, late afternoon view of Sintra.

Everyone talks about how beautiful Sintra is, and they are certainly right.  But I have to say that, even in low season, it is almost cloying in its focus on tourism. When we got off the train we were met by forty or fifty people aggressively trying to sell us a tour of some kind.  It was rather off-putting and put me in a rather negative frame of mind as we started.  But once, we found our own rhythm there, we could appreciate the palaces and gardens.  We made a midday stop at Palacio de Seteais, once a palace but now a hotel, where we stayed with the Wine & Food Society 15 years ago.  It was nice to wander around and then to have a Caipirinha on the terrace.


Fado is a music genre that is unique to Portugal. Variations exist in different regions of the country.  We decided that we needed to experience this at least once while in the country. The recommended ‘Fado House’ near where we were staying – Sr Vinho – turned out to be a good choice.  Dinner is included and is served in between sets.  The food was typical Portuguese fare – I had green cabbage soup and grilled octopus; Rick had seafood soup and grilled cod. The music consists of mournful tunes and lyrics, sung by women with earthy alto voices or men with rich baritones.  They are accompanied by guitarists (there were 3 at our show), at least one of which plays the Portuguese 12-string guitar that looks like a large mandolin (played by the fellow on the left in this picture…). The music is haunting and lovely.

Something I love about Portugal is the sidewalks.  They are made of small (roughly 2″x 2″) blocks of glazed black and/or white stone that are fitted into place by craftsmen who somehow fit the pieces into a bed of sand and make it level and lovely.  We encountered this fellow working on a new sidewalk.

First he digs a little, and then he places the piece,

and taps it into place with his hammer.  When he is finished with a section, he will pour more sand over the whole section and use a broom to push it into the spaces between the blocks.  So much prettier that a concrete slab!

BELEM is almost a suburb of Lisbon – 30 minutes by tram. The reasons to visit include the magnificent Monasterio Jerónimos. We arrived early and had the place virtually to ourselves for about 45 minutes.

There we saw a most interesting exhibition showing, on three parallel rows, the history of the world, the history of Portugal, and the history of the monastery (i.e. religion in Portugal) from the early 1400s until 2010.  So many of the historical events with which we’ve become more familiar during our travels were put in clear context. We found it fascinating.
Our next two stops exhibited modes of transport, The Royal Coach Museum

and the Maritime Museum, filled with models of ships used during the heyday of Portugal’s ‘discovery era’ through to more recent days of the Portuguese navy.

In the car, during our >4000km drive (October-December), we have been listening to an audio book – James Clavell’s Shogun. It is set in Japan in 1600, when many European nations were building empires, and Portugal was the most powerful among them in Asia. The map below shows just how far Portugal’s influence stretched…

Of course, we had to indulge in Belem’s most famous pastry before heading back to Lisbon. Pastéis de Belem are little custard tarts that, when serve warm, are wonderful!  Add to that a cup of rich hot chocolate and we didn’t need lunch.

While in Lisbon, we took advantage of two Airbnb Experiences. First was a wonderful dinner of traditional foods and wines hosted by an expert in the
wines of Portugal.       
And, on our last night, we attended an informal concert in an interesting venue, a ‘palace’ that had little furniture except wine crates for seats. The music was traditional Portuguese, including a little Fado, and we enjoyed it.

Final stop was MADEIRA.  We flew from Lisbon to Funchal and immediately gained 10 degrees in temperature!  We relished this brief time to wear short-sleeved shirts and shorts before coming back to winter in the US.
The town of Funchal has more Christmas lights than any place we have been in the last two years…and we’ve seen a LOT of towns dressed up for the holiday!

The place is a wonderland at night AND its warm enough to walk around and enjoy it!
This photo is my favorite – taken from inside a huge lighted ‘tree’ looking up!

Of course, we had to learn about the local wine. So we took a tour of Blandy’s.  We were taken to the private cellar where some of the oldest vintage Madeiras are stored.

and we finished with a taste.  We’ve determined that our preference is for the medium dry.
Madeira island is very mountainous.  Taking a cable car to the top of the mountain nearest Funchal – Monte – provided a great view of some of the town

and a chance to visit the Botanical Gardens, filled with tropical plants

but with only a few flowers at this time of year.
      

Rick and I have struck a bargain on this adventure – he drives and I cook.  It plays to our strengths, but I sometimes tire of staying home at night.  We turned in the car in Lisbon, and I haven’t cooked dinner since!  Our kitchen in Lisbon consisted of 2 burners and no oven, and there were many fine restaurants from which to choose within a walk or a bus ride, so eating out was a no-brainer there.  In Madeira, though the kitchen is a bit better equipped, we have found several wonderful restaurants.  Our favorite – Armazém Do Sal – in a former salt warehouse, was so good that we ate there twice in four days! They have live music every night and the staff was the among the happiest bunch that we’ve encountered.

MERRY CHRISTMAS to all of you!! We will be back in the USA tomorrow through New Years (east and west coasts). More posts in January…

In the Spring of 2002, we came to Portugal with the Baltimore Wine & Food Society. We have fond memories of that trip and of the friends with whom we traveled.  We are revisiting a few of the places that were part of that trip and adding a couple more.

Our first stop was PORTO, home of the famous Port wine.  I never before appreciated the topography of this city.  On the banks of the Duoro River, it rises steeply from the water on both banks (although the other side is technically not Porto, but Gaia). Several of the highest bridges I’ve ever seen link the two sides.
The old city, Ribeira-the riverfront up to the Cathedral – is a UNESCO World Heritage site, which requires facades to be preserved. This keeps the character of the city even though it presents something of a financial burden to those who are redeveloping the lovely old buildings.
The riverfront is colorful and lively,

lined with cafes from which you can watch the busy river traffic…mostly tourist boats like the one we took for an hour-long tour of the 6 closest bridges. The boats that used to carry barrels of Port from the vineyards to the facilities in Gaia where they are aged have long ago been replaced by trucks…

The São Bento railway station in Porto is a showpiece of handprinted tiles.  The blue and white scenes on the lower walls depict important historical events, while the colored tiles above trace the development of transportation up to the time of the railroad.

We had a wonderful tour and tasting at Taylor Fladgate where we learned more about Port, and enjoyed trying several varieties.
The view of the Ponte Dom Luis I from the funicular on our last night was spectacular!

Next stop was COIMBRA, the home of Portugal’s largest University, set high on the hill above the river.

The University students all seem to be musicians (even though music education is not offered), no matter their course of study.  We encountered a group of Pharmacy students (you can tell by the purple ribbons they are sporting) entertaining on the street, with their characteristic black cape spread out to receive donations.

The Law School, with its beautiful Library (no photos allowed) and chapel is housed in the former Palace.

We drove out of town to the Buçaco Forest, a 250-acre tract planted with over 700 species of trees, many of which are exotic. It was begun by monks in the 16th century and preserved after that by the kings and then the local government. We reflected that this would be a most enjoyable place to explore on foot in warmer weather…

November 29 gave us a lovely sunset

followed by a celebratory dinner for our 15th anniversary (I forgot to take a picture of this cake provided by the restaurant until after I’d tasted it!).

The churches we’ve encountered in Portugal are different than in other countries. Many were built to double as fortresses, so there is little stained glass; the main altars are heavily gilded and look like wedding cakes, meant to represent ‘a stairway to heaven.’ But the best parts are the walls covered in hand-painted tiles.

From Coimbra, we drove south, bypassing Lisbon (for now) to the Algarve, on the southern coast of Portugal.  We are staying in FARO, which we chose because we thought it would be a good base for exploring the region.  We arrived on a Thursday, only to find that Friday was a bank holiday.  They take these holidays seriously here…so nothing was open, including churches! But we did walk around the old town.

Faro’s sidewalks are one of its most notable features. Each street in the pedestrian area of downtown sports a different pattern.

There are a number of beachy tourist spots along the coast that seem to cater to British visitors…telltale signs are “English Breakfast” and lots of loud conversations in the cafés. We visited ALBUFEIRA and LAGOS.  The white-washed buildings rising up the cliffs reminded us of Greece.

We met an old salt on the beach and admired his sand sculpture

before taking the escalator(!) to the upper town in Albufeira.
The marina in Lagos in the afternoon light was pretty.
We explored as much of the coast as we could, and what a dramatic coastline!

We learned that Henry the Navigator founded a school of navigation in SAGRES in the 15th century to train Portuguese sailors who went on to ‘discover’ (and colonize) much of Africa, Asia and the Americas.

Here we visited a fort built in the 16th century. Walking out to the headland on which it is situated provided great views of the coast where we saw fishermen with long poles and longer lines fishing from atop the cliffs.

A 6km drive further, in Cabo de São Vicente, is a lighthouse that sits on the southwestern promontory in the North Atlantic and guides ships with its powerful beam that has a range of 95 kilometers!

Stay tuned for more from Lisbon and Madeira before we head back to the States for Christmas.

Once we left the flat gray surrounds of Zaragoza, our drive to BILBAO
was quite scenic – through Rioja and two small mountain ranges. We are now in the Basque region of Spain, which has its own language that coexists with Spanish (as does Catalan in eastern Spain), and a definite regional cuisine. One of our favorite things was Pintxos (pin-chos),

small bites of food (ham, cheese, salad, croquettes, meats) on a slice of bread dressed with various sauces and held together by a toothpick. We found a collection of Pintxo Bars at the Mercato de la Ribera…sort of a Basque ‘food court’ that we liked so much we went for lunch twice!

One of Bilbao’s claims to fame is the Guggenheim Museum, designed by Frank Gehry (we seem to be on a Gehry trail…).

The building is spectacular from every angle

and, according to our guide, sparked a renaissance in Bilbao when it opened 20 years ago.  Since then, there has be a surge of housing, infrastructure, green space, and novel architectural projects that contribute to making this a favorite of ours among cities in Spain.
We also used the 100-year-old Funicular to get to the top of the summit of Artxanda (pronounced: ar-chan-da)

for some awesome late afternoon views of the city.

We chose to spend two nights in GIJON (pronounced khi-hon, which sort of sounds to me like hee-haw…)

to break up the drive from Bilbao to Santiago de Compostela. The drive through mountains and valleys along the coast was lovely, and we’ve enjoyed exploring the town.
Gijon is the capital of the region of Asturia. One of the things for which this region is known is Sidra Natural  (apple cider).  The stuff is bone dry and delicious. But the real art is in the pouring. When you go into a Sidreria, your waiter pours you a shot from a bottle held high overhead.

As you drain your shot (about two ounces), he pours again.  Our bottle cost only 2.50⍷ and, sadly, we couldn’t even finish it!

SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA is the terminus for pilgrims/hikers who traverse the Camino de Santiago (Way of St. James). One of the 12 apostles, St. James preached extensively here in Galicia. After he was martyred, his body was brought back here for burial. The grave was rediscovered in 820AD and pilgrims began to flock here, coming by multiple routes across Spain, France, Portugal and even England. Today, more than 250,000 pilgrims travel here annually  and  many describe it as a very meaningful journey. We learned more about the pilgrimage tradition around the world in the Museo das Peregrinacións e de Santiago,

and picked up a map of the routes at the International Pilgrimage Center for future reference…

The major sight here is, of course, the Cathedral. Sadly, the outside was covered in scaffolding, but it was still an impressive place. We arrived during the noon ‘Pilgrim’s Mass,’ which really brought the church to life. The centerpiece of the main altar is a gold statue of (you guessed it!) St. James…hard to get close enough for a great photo, but I did my best…

Pilgrims (including us) climb behind the altar and touch the back of the statue. This reverent act is supposed to bring blessings.
The town surrounding the cathedral is a warren of lively narrow streets, all reserved for pedestrians. 
Many of the sidewalks are arcaded since, apparently, it rains a lot here.

Our last day here was Thanksgiving.  We celebrated by having lunch at Pedro Roca, a Michelin starred restaurant, where I had sweetbreads and Rick had lobster.

Not exactly turkey and stuffing, but we’ll have that another year…

Tomorrow we head for Portugal, our last country on this leg of the adventure.

After a brief stop in PARAZA (Languedoc) to visit our friends Marie-Jose & Harry, at their chambre d’hôte, Domaine Méditerranée, we’ve now moved on to Spain.  Our last few days in France were extremely windy (25-35mph!). Even the picturesque plane trees were swaying!

But, as soon as we crossed into Spain, on the other side of the Pyrenees, the wind was gone!

First stop, GIRONA. About an hour north of Barcelona, we are in the heart of Catalonia.  This was brought starkly to our attention when, on our first full day in town, the government called a general strike and everything was closed…museums, historic sites, most shops and grocery stores, all shuttered.  We didn’t observe any demonstrations, but saw a number of flag-draped people walking around – presumably coming from these gatherings.  The politics of Catalonian independence are on full display here with flags and banners on most buildings.

On a guided walking tour (the day following the strike),

we climbed to the top of the old Roman city walls,

and crossed a bridge designed by Gustave Eiffel, some years before he built his eponymous tower in Paris,

for a view of the colorful riverside houses that distinguish Girona.

We then headed south, past Barcelona along a dramatic Mediterranean coastline,

to TARRAGONA.  This coastal city is home to a wealth of Roman ruins.  I don’t think I ever appreciated how much of Western Europe was occupied (and developed) by the Roman Empire!  This Roman circus,

a well-preserved amphitheater,

and an aqueduct (about 10 minutes outside of town)

are among the best.
A tradition in Tarragona is, in September during the feast time of Santa Tecla (the city’s patron saint), teams of people (mostly young men) stand on each other’s shoulders to form ‘human castles.’ This monument depicts this unusual activity.

we are still in Catalonia, but we see many fewer flags and protest signs here in Tarragona.

ZARAGOZA was one of the least scenic we have experienced.  The land was flat and gray without mountains or many trees.  And the wind has returned! Wind speeds of 25mph can blow our little car around on the highway.  But, once we got to our destination, we found the town to be quite interesting.  It is the largest city (except Paris) that we’ve visited thus far on this leg of our travels (pop. 800,000). Our host thoughtfully provided bus passes, which we found very useful getting into the central city.
One of the city’s main attractions, the Basilica de Nuestra Señora del Pilar, seemed to glow in the late afternoon light.

The legend of this church is that, in 40AD, the Virgin Mary appeared to St. James (Santiago) atop a marble pillar on this spot.  A small chapel was built around the remaining pillar, followed by a series of bigger and grander churches and, finally, this enormous basilica.
On a walking tour we saw the remains of the Roman amphitheater…these guys were everywhere!

and the Islamic influence in the architecture of churches.

The Goya Museum showcases the work of a native son. and in the Aljaferia  Palace, we saw an Islamic palace on top of which was built a Catholic palace, which is now the site of the Aragon Parliament.

More Spain to come…

In December of 2016, we stopped in ARLES on our way from the Languedoc to Colmar.  We lucked into a lovely Airbnb with an awesome host and vowed to return and make this our home base for exploring Provence.  So here we are, settled in one place for a MONTH!! The house and the host are as great as we remember and we are so glad to completely unpack our suitcases and settle in.
This place is a smaller version of our old house on Patterson Park – wine cellar in the basement (stocked…pay as you consume), wonderful kitchen on the ground floor, master bedroom and bath on the second floor, and bonus room with a nice outdoor porch (and a half bath) on the top floor. But unlike PP, we have a garage!!
         

ARLES is an ancient city that was a Roman capital over 2000 years ago.  Among the Roman ruins are an Arena with a capacity of 20,000 (a stone’s throw from our house),

where, a few days after our arrival, we watched a ‘Bull Game,’ where some 20 young men dash by the bull trying to grab a ribbon from between the bull’s horns.  The bull is clearly in charge in this ‘fight’ and, though he might get tired, he doesn’t get hurt.

The Musée Départemental Arles Antique (Arles’ Ancient History Museum), built on the site of the Roman chariot racecourse, provides a wonderful historical overview of ancient Arles. A recent addition to the museum is a painstakingly restored Gallo-Roman boat that was discovered in 2006 buried in the silt of the Rhone River.

Arles is a comfortable sized town; easily walkable and, though not as polished as its bigger neighbors like Avignon & Marseille, is a great base for exploring the region.

The area closest to Arles is the ALPILLES REGION.  A short drive outside of town is the Abbey of Montmajour (AD 950) where A Lion in Winter was filmed,

and the ruins of a Roman aqueduct that once provided Arles and the surrounding farms with fresh water.

A bit farther on is the hilltop town of LES-BAUX-DE-PROVENCE. Arriving in the lower town, the walk up to the castle ruins seems intimidating. But the gradual uphill climb through a pleasant town made it easier. There are many ancient armaments (like catapults) on display

and the views are spectacular!

SAINT RÉMY-DE-PROVENCE is pretty, tidy town where the primary draw seems to be shopping (?!). It is apparently quite popular with tourists and we did find some delicious (and expensive) chocolates there. Just outside Saint Rémy, the ruins of the Roman town of Glanum, dating from the first century BC.  It was a cold and windy day, but a very interesting site to see.

Adjacent to Glanum is the St. Paul Monastery & Hospital, a mental hospital where VanGogh spent a year (1889-1890) near the end of his life. During that time, he produced 143 paintings and 100 drawings, most of which depict the hospital and its surrounding fields and flowers.  Copies of many of these are on display here near the scene memorialized in the painting. It is a very peaceful place that is still in operation.

Art therapy is used here and the gift shop sells some impressive items created by patients.

We made a day trip to AVIGNON by train (20 minutes!).  There we toured the Palais des Papes, where the Popes lived for a little more than 100 years beginning in 1305. The structure itself is like a cross between a fortress and a monastery.

Its empty rooms were made more interesting by an exhibit of sculptures by African artists.

The Pont Saint-Bénezet was once one of the longest bridges in France, spanning two arms of the Rhone and is the subject of a familiar children’s song…Sur le pont d’Avignon… Only 4 of its original 22 arches remain, but it is still a sight to see.

Our visit to CAMARGUE began in Les Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, a typical beach town filled with cafes, shops, mini-golf, and a lovely beachside promenade.
We also stopped at the Musée de Camargue, where we got a better idea of the importance of this region at the delta of the Rhone as it enters the Mediterranean. Most of the rice consumed in France is grown here; the Fleur de Sea de Camarge is a highly prized salt; and the marshes provide a spring and summer breeding ground for herons and flamingos. Sadly, most of the birds had flown to their winter homes in the south…

We made two trips to MARSEILLE, one on our own and one with our host, Bernard. We took a boat ride out to islands, Port Frioul & Chateau d’If (of Count of Monte Cristo fame).

When Bernard and his wife, Jo, took us to Marseille, it was great to have a knowledgeable guide.

Bernard drove us into the city along the coast, along the Corniche Président Kennedy (very ritzy waterfront homes) to Callelongue – a fishing village at, literally, the end of the road

before doubling back up to the top of the town to see Notre Dame de la Garde, a basilica that is the city’s landmark site. The church itself is impressive,

but the 360º views from its terrace is why most people venture up here.

We had lunch at Etienne, a pizza restaurant crowded with locals (not a tourist in sight…) where we had the specials – anchovy & cheese pizza and grilled seiche (cuttlefish) washed down with the house red wine.
On the walls were photos of celebrities who frequent the place including a very young Michael Caine and Anthony Quinn.  This place has been around for some time!!

We explored the Le Panier District, one of the oldest neighborhoods in Marseille that has a chic patina

and contains one of the largest and coolest hardware stores I’ve ever been in.

One last look at the Vieux Port in the late afternoon light before heading back to our home in Arles.

Of all of the aqueducts we’ve seen, the Pont de Gard is certainly the highlight.  It is huge, perfectly preserved and has a museum that makes the construction and use of aqueducts very clear (and even more impressive!). Most of the water was carried underground in lead pipes…those Romans were awesome plumbers!

Only when they got to a valley (remember this was all gravity flow) did they need to build a structure to carry the pipe. Wow!

Now from the sublime to the ridiculous…between the Pont du Gard and Uzes (another forgettable, cute shopping town), we came across the Musée de Bonbon, which was really just a huge Haribo gummy bear store. Since these are my favorite candies, we just had to stop…

NIMES was the destination for all of the water from the Pont de Gard aqueduct. A wealthy Roman city that gained prestige because of the plentiful water. Since the Middle Ages, Nimes has exported denim (de Nimes = from Nimes). The major sites here are a well-preserved arena,
the Maison Carrée, a stunning Roman temple reminiscent of the Pantheon,

and a first-century Temple of Diana, most likely in reality a Roman library.

We couldn’t be in this area without visiting the CÔTES DU RHONE. It is really quite a scenic drive between towns with familiar names…Vaqueras, Beaumes-de-Venise, Gigondas.

And the wines we tasted were delicious!

Rick had a birthday this month which we celebrated at L’atelier de Jean Luc Rabanel, a Michelin 2-star restaurant in Arles.

The Train de la Côte Bleue is a slow train along a beautiful southwestern Mediterranean coastline from Marseille to Mirimas.  I’m a fan of trains, and was eager to do this trip. The first half of the trip (out of Marseille) was incredibly scenic; the rest not so much. And it would have been better to have done this in the morning, when the sun would have been on the non-scenic side of the train.

Our last four days in Arles were graced by a visit from my son, Andy, who traveled here from his home in Bend, OR. We all took a day trip to Aix-en-Provence, but the best times were Mom & Andy wanderings around the old city of Arles…hugs, conversation (!) and just quality together time.

We are off to wandering again…this time Spain and Portugal…for the next 6 weeks or so before coming back to the States for the holidays.

When we left Paris, we picked up our zippy little red Peugeot 208 (which had only 2km on it…)!  Through a long-term lease through AutoEurope, this will be ours until we turn it in Dec 4 in Lisbon. Love that new car smell…

Our first base in the Dordogne was Sarlat-la-Canéda, a pedestrian-only town that attracts a lot of tourists, but doesn’t feel overrun (except, perhaps, in July & August) where everything was walkable from our 500-year-old building right in the middle of town.
This is a Medieval town that was gussied up in the 15th century with a lot of Italian Renaissance-style  buildings constructed of limestone and situated on cobblestone lanes.

Everywhere you look you see a cacophony of rooftops,

many made of stones fitted into a strong wooden frame with small openings to encourage the lichen to grow and seal up the spaces between stones.

There is a wonderful Market on Saturday and Wednesday (smaller) featuring fresh produce, walnuts & hazelnuts, local cheeses – Cabécou (goat medallions), St Nectaire, and EVERYTHING goose or duck – magret (breasts), confit (usually legs & thighs), and , of course, foie gras!

From our base, we explored several nearby towns. Montfort has a castle that you can’t tour…rumored to belong to the brother of the emir of Kuwait. Domme, situated atop a cliff above the river, has killer views and an underwhelming cave.  We hope to find cave paintings at one of the nearby Cro-Magnon caves as we move on.

La Roque-Gageac is a charming one-street town right on the Dordogne River. Apparently, it often floods in the winter and early spring so the ground floor of every building is designed to be emptied after the tourist season, and everyone moves upstairs.

Another way to see the Dordogne is by canoe.  The 9-mile trip Vitrac to Beynac on a nice sunny day was an energetic end enjoyable paddle

with some spectacular scenery.

We were happy to turn in our paddles in Beynac and then had about an hour to explore the village.  This entailed hiking uphill to the castle, giving our legs some equality of exercise with our arms. We climbed to the ramparts and looked down at the river that had brought us there…

One thing for which the Dordogne region, also know as Perigord, is famous is Foie Gras.  In some places we’ve visited, we tour the vineyards.  Here we went to a Goose Farm, specifically Elevage du Bouyssou. Nathalie Mazet explained how they raise the geese from chicks, and the process of feeding them so they will produce both excellent meat and tasty livers. We saw the younger geese out in the field

and watched the evening gavage, which, honestly, the geese didn’t seem to mind.  We have also enjoyed consuming foie gras frequently during our stay in the area.

Our second base of operation in the Dordogne, Beaulieu-sur-Dordogne, is about 90 minutes east of Sarlat.  We chose this village, in part, because our friends, Julie & Alain Tavé, live here when they are not in Saint-Germain-en-Laye outside Paris.  We were happy to reconnect with them at lunch in Meyronne and again at their home for dinner.

Our Airbnb here is also in an ancient (1400s) half timber building.  Our host, Laura, has not only restored the building…pretty much by herself (!), but has constructed 3 modern apartments inside while preserving as much of the interior charm (beams, stonework, etc.) as possible.

From Beaulieu, we ventured out to Rocamadour and several places in the Lot River Valley.  Rocamadour is a town built right into the rock face. The bottom level is a small medieval village that, from the 12th to the 14th century, served the needs of the many pilgrims (by some accounts, 20,000/day!) who came to visit its Sanctuary.

The Sanctuary, 223 steps above the town, is a series of chapels that look as if they are growing out of the rock.

Walking up from the Sanctuary along a switchback trail, you pass 14 Stations of the Cross before reaching a chateau/castle on a level above that was built to protect the valuable relics in the sanctuary.

I mentioned earlier that the cave in Domme was a disappointment.  Our next cave experience was a definite upgrade! On our visit to Grotte du Peche Merle,

we saw some remarkably preserved prehistoric cave paintings

Our French guide, who spoke no English, made certain to pull us aside to point out the sights that he had explained in French, and we were given an very good written English explanation.

We know Cahors as a place that produces some excellent Malbec wines.  But we didn’t know until we went there that it also has the oldest (intact) fortified bridge in Europe.

Visiting Martel and Carennac was made much more enjoyable and interesting by helpful walking-tour pamphlets provided by the Tourist Information Office in each town.  In Martel, we discovered a door-knocker that was placed at a level where it could be easily reached by a man on horseback…it was a stretch for me!

In Carennac we found an old home that reminded us of a fairy-tale castle.

Two villages that compete for the prettiest town in France are Loubressac and Autoire.  We vote for Loubressac, a well-maintained and prosperous looking village that is perched on top of a ridge with some of the best views in the area.

Our next stop is Arles, where we’ll really settle in.  We’re planning to be there for a month and look forward to welcoming Andy during the first week of November.

We are so happy to be back in Paris, with its wrought iron balconies

and sidewalk cafes.

There are endless neighborhoods to explore, markets to shop, and delicious food to eat. And, since we are here for 16 days – not long enough, but so much better than our last month of moving every two days – we can take some down time to just chill!

Often, in talking about our grand adventure, we are asked the question, “So, what is your favorite place?” The answer is always the same…Paris. For years, before we became Nomads, we tried to begin or end any trip abroad in Paris. We’ve been here often enough to have determined our favorite neighborhood (Le Marias) although, every time we come, we find new places to explore.

During this stay, we found more art to see, including a huge David Hockney exhibit at the Pompidou Centre, and a lovely collection of impressionist paintings (“The Hansen’s Secret Garden”) at the Musée Jacquemart Andre. We also went with our friends Anne & Jeff to an interesting exhibit at the Musée d’Art Moderne which showed how three artists – Derain, Balthus and Giacometti – influenced each other.  But my favorite sight at this museum was a large room with a huge fresco – La Fee Electricité – created by Raoul Dufy for the 1937 International Exhibition in Paris, that depicts the story of electricity.  It is colorful, full of details and simply wonderful!

We learned how to use the Velib, the Paris bike-share system, and took a long ride with a guide and one other couple finding hidden corners of neighborhoods both familiar and new.

We had a cheese tasting lesson with the charming Fabrice,
            
with whom we sampled six different cheeses, learned how to taste a cheese, and much about the specific regions from which particular cheeses come.  The rules about cheese naming are as strict as those that govern wines.  You can’t call a cheese ‘Roquefort,’for example, unless it comes from the town of Roquefort and is made following clearly spelled out rules.

We made a day trip by train to Chartres.  The famous cathedral is the main draw. We arrived in time for the daily tour by Malcolm Miller, who has been conducting tours of this cathedral for 60 years!  It seems, though, that he needed a day off, so we went with one of his understudies.  She took us into the crypt where there were some well-preserved frescoes,

and explained the stories contained in the remarkable stained glass windows.

Chartres has long been a stop for pilgrims on the Camino de Santiago.  There is a tile outside the cathedral that points the way.

Although the cathedral is the main draw, we also enjoyed exploring the town of  Chartres. Situated on the Eure River,

it is a charming place.

Père Lachaise Cemetery is an interesting place on the outskirts of Paris to walk and discover graves of a wide range of famous people from Moliere (reburied here to provide prestige when the cemetery opened), Oscar Wilde (whose grave is now behind glass since it became covered in lipstick ‘kisses’) and Gertrude Stein (and Alice B. Toklas…)

to Jim Morisson (whose grave is fenced off since the graffiti was cleaned off his and several adjacent stones)

to the founder of the Paris Metro (people leave Metro tickets on his grave)

to one of the cartoonists who was killed in the Charlie Hebdo shooting in 2015.

Besides all there is to see, it is just a lovely place to walk…

I’m fascinated by the proliferation of flea markets throughout Paris.  They call them ‘Vide Greniers’ or ‘Brocantes.’ Here you can find some of the strangest pieces of furniture,

more silver than anyone needs,

and some reasonable nice paintings.

I enjoy browsing the booths and not really buying anything.  After all, where would I fit it in my single small suitcase??  I also remember that my friend Gary Hill, who lived in Paris for many years, used to find all sorts of things with which to furnish his apartment at the Paris Brocantes…

We had one last look at the Eiffel Tower – it is magical at night! – before leaving Paris to explore more of France.

Driving on the left side of the road from what we think of as the ‘shotgun seat’ has taken some getting used to. Rick Steves suggests in his travel guide that it takes a few hours to get acclimated. I wish!  Actually the driving, and even the roundabouts, is fairly easy to adjust to. You are fed into the roundabouts angled in the proper direction. The difficulty for me has been judging where the front left wheel of our small Vauxhall is tracking. I adjusted the passenger (left) side mirror downward so that I could see the white line or curb–with which I’ve become well acquainted, both visually and tactilely.  Another benefit of this mirror position is that it gives Kathy something to look at (before she gasps) when she perceives me to be too close on the left.

I even taped a one square inch piece of paper to the dash, positioned so that when it reflected onto the windshield I could line up that reflection with the center line on the road! Then I was centered on the narrow roads we were negotiating.  It was four or five days before I was confident (at least somewhat) that I could judge the position of the car on the road.

A totally new experience is driving for extended periods on single lane two way roads.  Yep, that’s not a typo.  The ‘single track’ roads are interspaced with turnouts, usually fairly often but not always, allowing one car (hope it’s  not a bus) to  pull over while the other passes.  (“Kathy, you can open your eyes now.”)

About the time I became totally comfortable with the small Vauxhall, we flew to Dublin and when leaving, picked up not the expected VW Golf, but the considerably larger Passat for touring Ireland.  Thus, a whole new acclimation period.  Thankfully, the roads in Ireland are an upgrade from those in Scotland–even some divided highways, and very few single lane roads.

I’m thinking that I might have adapted more quickly to driving on the left thirty or forty years ago, but I am glad that we (and the cars) escaped unscathed.  Now arriving in Paris for two+ weeks, I’ll have a chance to reset my driving instincts to driving on the right side of the road before we head to the Dordogne.

 

We planned a clockwise two-week driving tour of Ireland – an overview to be sure, but we’ve tried to make the most of our limited time.

We began with 4 days in Dublin, and there was plenty to keep us occupied. We had an Airbnb in the newly developed (and still developing) Docklands area that was an easy walk to everything we wanted to see in the city.  (We’ll pick up the car as we leave Dublin…)
We did a lot of walking, first taking our own (Rick Steves) tour up O’Connell Street, appreciating the old part of Dublin north of the River,

and then signing on for a Historical Walk led by Grace, a PhD historian from Trinity College.

She covered everything from the Vikings (whose ancient village has been cemented over to make way for a City Council building) to the Temple Bar pub scene (which is very much alive!) 
The Book of Kells, a 1200-year-old manuscript of the four gospels, meticulously written & illustrated by monks, is a must see in Dublin…long lines unless you book ahead on line (we did). It’s actually quite difficult to see the actual manuscript – it’s under glass in a case with lots of people crowding around it – but there are good explanations, illustrations and even videos demonstrating the process of making the vellum, writing the manuscript and binding it together in an exhibit before you get to the real thing.

After viewing the Book, you’re led upstairs to the Trinity College Library.  This was, to me, the real treat!

The stacks were reminiscent of those in the Peabody Library in Baltimore.  Just look at how they are are alphabetized…

There were lots of water sports on the Docklands canal, which we could view from our window…standup paddleboards, kayaks, skulls, and a clever setup where a skier or wake boarder was propelled along a zip line over jumps between two piers. Fun!

Dublin boasts a mix of traditional and very modern architecture.

and sculptures like “The Linesman” that evoke an earlier era of ships in this once-busy harbor.

We read and heard a lot about the Irish Civil War. One moving visit was to the Garden of Remembrance

where there is a fountain with mosaics depicting weapons thrown into the water (in keeping with a Viking post-conflict tradition).

On our last full day in Dublin, we visited Epic: The Irish Emigration Museum.  The tag line here is “Discover how the Irish influenced and shaped the world.”  This fascinating, high tech, interactive museum traces why so many Irish left Ireland (famine, religion, politics, opportunity) and the contributions they made around the world after they left. What an exhibit!

The museum is housed in a reclaimed warehouse, the old CHQ (Custom House Quay) building – that once provided storage for whiskey, wine & tobacco.

We picked up our rental car, a diesel VW Passat with a navigation system and sensors around ALL parts of the car, and headed south to Kinsale (County Cork).  On the way, we stopped at Charles Fort, Britain’s largest star-shaped fort which became the model for many other forts in Europe and elsewhere (including Fort McHenry in Baltimore). We got there just in time for the last guided tour of the day.

Kinsale is a charming and colorful town

that was once a very important trading port for Ireland.

We learned much about the town’s history from a tour guide named Barry who, with his partner, Don, leads Don and Barry’s Historic Stroll. In addition to the history lesson, we were treated to lots of Irish humor.

There is a really pretty harbor here, which is now filled mostly with pleasure boats.

We’re staying in a B&B (I had trouble finding Airbnb accommodations in much of Ireland), a small room at the top of the town with many steps. Fortunately, our hosts were very helpful getting suitcases up and down.

Our next stop was Kenmare (County Kerry). In this lively town, our room was above a bar on one of the town’s two main streets.

Irish music wafted up the stairs, and it was easy to stop by after dinner for a pint and some music.
As we left Kenmare on our way to Dingle, we drove the Ring of Kerry, which is one of the must-do scenic drives in Ireland. Unfortunately, our drive was done in fog and rain, which didn’t allow for much scenic viewing, or picture-taking…

We arrived in Dingle (County Kerry) in the rain and were distressed to find that our B&B was a 15 minute walk outside of town, but it did have a lovely view out the back.

By dinnertime, the weather had cleared and we made the walk to a very nice restaurant.
I’ve decided, though, that B&Bs don’t suit us. I want a kitchen of my own, and more space, the privacy of having the place to ourselves, and the freedom to have breakfast whenever we please! (There, I got that off my chest!)
On our second day in Dingle, we went on a Scuird (Gaelic for ‘excursion’) Archeology Tour. Our guide, Michael Collins

drove a group of 12 (all Americans, and all from the Northeast!) around the Dingle Peninsula in a minivan, stopping at key archeological sites. The area is filled with stones that have been used for centuries to build fences

and ‘beehive huts’ that were both lived in and used to house animals and store food. This tour was especially enjoyable for Rick because he was able to really appreciate the surroundings since he wasn’t driving!The Dingle loop was a good consolation prize for having missed the Ring of Kerry.We’d been advised to seek out O’Sullivan’s Courthouse Pub, while in Dingle.So, after dinner on our second night, we did just that.  We were not disappointed. Tommy O’Sullivan, on accordion, and a lovely lass on fiddle played wonderful Irish music to a packed house.

We loved our time Galway. It is a lively city with more street musicians (some accompanied by step dancers) than we’ve seen anywhere.

Sunday, Sept 3, is the All Ireland Hurling final and the Galway team is playing. Flags in the team colors are everywhere in town and the locals are very excited.  This is like the Super Bowl for the GAA (Gaelic Athletic Association)!

One of our recent tour guides described the sport of hurling as “a combination of field hockey, ballet and murder.” And I’ve heard it referred to as the ‘national sport of Ireland.’
NOTE: It’s now Sunday afternoon, and I’m happy to report that Galway won the match, taking the title for the first time since 1998!! If you want to read about the game, click here.  It’s worth a read just to note the names of the players and the technical descriptions of a sport that I don’t really understand, but that ignites such passion in its fans…

Derry to the Nationalists (Catholics/loyal to Ireland) or Londonderry (to the Unionists (Protestants/loyal to Britain) was much contested during the ‘Troubles’ in Northern Ireland. The British sent loyalists – mostly Scots, and Protestant – decades ago to this historically Catholic town to establish British primacy. They moved into the high ground and relegated the local Catholics to the boggy low ground.  Then they built a wall around the British part of the town. Derry is one of few cities whose 17th century walls are still completely intact, although the city extends well outside the walls today. It is easy to walk the walls (20 feet high and nearly as thick)

to get a birds-eye view of the city.

Our Airbnb was in Bogside, the Catholic neighborhood that was a tinderbox during the Troubles in Northern Ireland. There we viewed more than a dozen murals, painted on the ends of buildings,

that depict people and scenes from the difficult times here 45 years ago.

There is also a Bloody Sunday memorial to the 13 men murdered by British paratroopers on January 30, 1972.

It was not until 2010, after a 12-year investigation, that Britain apologized to the people of Derry and admitted that the killings were unjustifiable. While all seems peaceful now, and most people agree that Derry has come together, especially since 2010, there is still evidence of distrust of Britain and a sense of unrest that lingers.

We seem to have a propensity for ‘happening onto’ festivals and events of which we were unaware when we planned our trip.  Portrush, on the Antrim Coast (northeastern) of Ireland, was another of these.  It turns out that Sept 2-3 is the annual Portrush Airshow! Who knew? Our first clue was the almost standstill traffic we encountered as we approached our destination B&B. Fortunately, it’s a bit out of town so, once we got there, we parked and then walked 25 minutes into town.  What a scene!

Thousands of people, lots of families, lined the beach and anywhere in town with a clear view of the sky to watch all sorts of aircraft do arial acrobatics and formation flying.

Portrush reminds me of an East Coast ocean town – arcades, beaches, fast food, and lots of people out for a summer holiday.
The Antrim Coast provided us with more dramatic Irish scenery.

Most notable is the Giant’s Causeway, a geologic wonder with over 40,000 hexagonal basalt columns, formed by successive lava flows 60 million years ago!
Legend has it that a giant named Finn McCool built the causeway to reach another giant’s territory in Scotland…the Irish have lots of great stories…

On the walk down to the Causeway, we encountered a rock-strewn cove that we were told is the windiest place in all of Ireland.  I believe it!

We were only overnight in Belfast before flying to Paris, where we’ll settle in for 16 days (what a relief after a month of frantic travel!). We dropped our stuff at the Airbnb apartment around 11, then returned our rental car and set out to explore the city. After getting a good map at the TI, we went across the street to City Hall, an impressive building for this modest-sized city.

There we went through an exhibit on the history of Belfast. My greatest take-away from this is that this country has been in turmoil for millennia! We remember the Troubles best because they were within our lifetime, but that certainly was not the beginning of sectarian conflict.
We then signed onto a walking tour of the city led by Lyn, an enthusiastic and knowledgeable guide.

She took us to many quarters of the city and showed us historic buildings,

classic bars,

and interesting alleys.

Although we’ve enjoyed our time in Scotland & Ireland, we’re happily off to Paris! Can’t wait to be back in familiar surroundings where we can settle in and not feel like tourists.