2026 – Europe

Drove to Nice. While Scott and Ron went to pick a device to give us wi-fi at the villa, Karen and Nancy had a nice walk along the beautiful Promenade du Paillon. It’s a recently developed green space over a former river bed/bus station/parking lot. We met back up at the Place Garibaldi for a…

Met up with our guide, Cyril, and (just for the day) travel companions, Brenda and Scott, for a train trip up into the French Alps. The weather was perfect, the views stunning, and the commentary excellent. Passed by picturesque Peillon, L’Escarène and Sospel before disembarking and taking a bus to Saorge-Village. Toured the charming town…

Breathtaking drive way up to hill town of Gourdon, reputedly the prettiest of France’s Plus Beaux Villages (Most Beautiful Villages). It was extremely pretty and the views were amazing. Grabbed a shady table and had a great lunch on the terrace at La Taverne Provençale (best hot goat cheese salad ever!). Had a little trouble…

Drive to Èze. Very picturesque but very crowded with tourists. Great views to the Mediterranean. Crazy drive to Monaco. One week try before the Grand Prix, so the racecourse is laid out and all the grandstands have been built. Grabbed a quick lunch and then walked over to look at the yachts in the boat…

Best laid plans… buy picnic supplies, gas, drive to Provence via France’s “Grand Canyon”, the Gorge du Verdun with a picnic at a picturesque stop along the way. A trip of about 4 hours without stops. Drove to marché in Vence for picnic stuff. Gorgeous, narrow, winding drive up Col de Vence and down the…

Another gorgeous day, blue sky and a high of 78. Had a leisurely morning and picnic lunch at our inn. Drove to the unusual village of Roussillon. “Roussillon is a stunning hilltop village in the Luberon region of Provence, France, renowned for its vibrant red and orange cliffs—the world’s largest ochre deposit. Listed among the…

Spent most of the day in Avignon. First on the agenda was a self-guided (with the world’s most annoying electronic iPad-like device) tour of the Palace of the Popes. Its massive rooms were built to house a second papacy during a schism in the Catholic Church back in the 1400s. Good lunch outside at the…

Why come to the French Riviera and Provence in April? The weather is gorgeous, cool crisp mornings with high in the 70s. In bloom are chestnut, black locust and fruit trees, roses, lilacs, irises, red poppies and more! No notes, would highly recommend! Today, despite all agreeing we had seen enough Roman ruins to last…

One last, lovely meal at La Ferme before heading north towards Lyon. The weather there was forecasted to be great so we pack up our rain gear and Scott puts on shorts. What we neglected to do was check the weather at our planned interim stop, the Plus Beau Village of Balazuc. It was a…

Long before our day ended, my Apple Watch gave up from exhaustion after it registered almost 17,000 steps. But, they were beautiful steps – a long ways on the quai beside the Rhône river and to the Parc de la Tête d’Or. It’s gorgeous and huge with a lake, a rose garden (Nancy and I…