Sue took me to Paris for my 60th - it's her 60th next year so I gave her the choice, diamonds or Paris.
You guessed it, we will celebrate Sue's 60th at a Paris restaurant.
Not much happened in "Melbourne - our Home by the Bay" this weekend. Well we did start the weekend with Friday night at a local restaurant, then a Saturday morning ride on Beach road - the normal "belt em up" ride. I'm really getting a bit too old for this stuff....But the coffee and chit-chat afterwards makes it worth while.
Anyway back to our planned trip next year.
After two nights in Paris and Sue's birthday dinner, we jump on the TGV to Marseilles for two nights before picking up a hire car.
Then we go to Frejus on the Cote d' Azure for a night before moving on to Vence in the hills behind Nice.
I've always wanted to travel through the Canyon Verdon so we stay a night at Castellane before experiencing something we will remember for a lifetime.
We make our way to Aix on the Friday night before arriving in Saint Remy de la Provence. We stayed at the same villa in 2008. The owners, Josianne and Louie are perfect hosts and we have recommended many friends to stay there.
My daughter Carly and her partner Sharn will join us for the week so that we can share the sights and experiences from 2008. This time I hope to finally drive to the top of Mont Ventoux as opposed to riding there!!!
After our week in Saint Remy in Provence, Carly and Sharn follow there own travels as we drive to the Loire via St Etienne, Moulins, Bellac for a night each. We stay in Chinon for two nights in the same B and B that we currently have been posting on "Wednesdays in France". Looking forward to meeting Helene and Jean Michel again.
After Chinon we are catching up with up with Carol and Michael, an expat couple from the UK who have a lovely cottage in Thenay not far from Pontlevoy. More about that experience in a future post on our 2009 Wednesdays in France. There are others we hope to catch up with in the Loire (you most likely read their Blogs - we do) before we head back to Paris for 5 days in an apartment to cook, eat and drink fine wine. We have friends in Paris that we owe dinner so that will also be an experience of seeing old friends.
Do you think this trip may be a time to meet and greet - we hope so.
Now we must ask you to offer us any advice on the "must see" things along the way. Be it sights, eateries, wines to taste, we will welcome your comments please.
You guessed it, we will celebrate Sue's 60th at a Paris restaurant.
 |
| Yes, that's us on my 60th birthday dinner delight in 2010. |
Anyway back to our planned trip next year.
After two nights in Paris and Sue's birthday dinner, we jump on the TGV to Marseilles for two nights before picking up a hire car.
Then we go to Frejus on the Cote d' Azure for a night before moving on to Vence in the hills behind Nice.
 |
| A painting by Paul Cezanne of Marseilles |
 |
| The ruins of a Roman aqueduct near Frejus. |
 |
| The village of Castellane where we spend a night before travelling through the Canyon Verdon. |
We make our way to Aix on the Friday night before arriving in Saint Remy de la Provence. We stayed at the same villa in 2008. The owners, Josianne and Louie are perfect hosts and we have recommended many friends to stay there.
 |
| A street in Aix. |
 |
| Sue looks out the window of the cottage in Saint Remy. Can't wait to say hello to our hosts from 2008. |
After Chinon we are catching up with up with Carol and Michael, an expat couple from the UK who have a lovely cottage in Thenay not far from Pontlevoy. More about that experience in a future post on our 2009 Wednesdays in France. There are others we hope to catch up with in the Loire (you most likely read their Blogs - we do) before we head back to Paris for 5 days in an apartment to cook, eat and drink fine wine. We have friends in Paris that we owe dinner so that will also be an experience of seeing old friends.
Do you think this trip may be a time to meet and greet - we hope so.
Now we must ask you to offer us any advice on the "must see" things along the way. Be it sights, eateries, wines to taste, we will welcome your comments please.
What a great way to celebrate Sue's 60th. It is mine in December - an awkward time of year to have a birthday as everywhere we might normally want to go will be knee-deep in Christmas cheer and cheap tinsel. We're still pondering on how to mark the occasion.
ReplyDeleteIt would be nice if we could meet up on your whistlestop tour of France - Le Grand-Pressigny might not be one of the most well known tourist destinations but if you want to see a slice of ordinary rural France going about it's everyday business it's the place to be !!
Jean - we passed by your village in 2010 before visiting Susan and Simon. It would be great to share a bottle of wine if our timing suits you.
ReplyDeleteWhen will this 'adventure' take place? Just curious as it may, just may fit in with my stay in the Loire Valley. We missed out on your 60th birthday; maybe Sue's will the occasion to finally meet. Martine
ReplyDeleteA trip a little lower down from the Loire?? Jean said it did not take them long!! I know fitting everyone will not be easy but it would be great to see you. We will both be in France when you visit. Maybe we could all meet up somewhere? Just a thought. Diane
ReplyDeleteJean - do you mean your 60th
ReplyDeleteMartine - I will email you privately on our specific dates and maybe we can meet somewhere in the middle.
ReplyDeleteAlthough this will be our 5th adventure to France, it will hopefully not be our last.
Diane - we hope to pass by the village you wrote about that was destroyed by the Germans near Limoge - maybe we could say hello.
ReplyDeleteLike Martine, we will send out a private email.
I'm afraid so !!
ReplyDelete