VIENNE & PEROUGES

I lost my post an hour ago. So rather than get more frustrated, I will simply write a sub-title and post photos....and pray!

Roman ruins from centuries ago. The cobblestone path is from early Roman times, 2000 years ago. The lines on a few stones are from Roman chariots!!?!  Incredible!

LES BAUX & CHATEAU DE VOGUE & ARDECHE

Voila!!! Let's see if these 3 photos post. 

Today is Saturday, the Last full and disembarking tomorrow morning. Today I did not want to do either excursion, I am a bit warn out and they didn't appeal to me. In stead I walked into Lyon with new friends from New York. A couple that lives in Manhattan, upper west side, near the Hudson River! 

We had a leisurely walk, (4 miles) photographing, talking, eating, and shopping. Lyon is a beautiful city only a few hours from Paris. Lyon is the overlooked city, but some say it outshines Paris in many ways. It has Roman antiquities dating back many centuries. If you visit Paris, Lyon is a must see city. The center of Lyon reflects 2,000 years of history from the Roman amphitheater, to beautiful churches and statues, and much more.

My next post, hopefully tonight, will be from Friday's 2 excursions. Perhaps my favorite day. Now off to dinner...Bon appetit!  Merci,  Aleta

DANCING!

It's Thursday night, we had a delicious dinner and then a special time of dancing in the lounge. DANCING......!!! I was thrilled to hear this. It was wonderful. As I was going into the lounge when someone said hello Aleta, and I turned around shocked to hear my name, and barely remembered them. It was a couple I met earlier that day on an excursion to Vienne. Another couple I met were also there and we all sat together. Two Daves and heir wives and we had so much fun together. They kept trying to fix me up with a guide we met today, and also the piano player who was entertaining us with fabulous music. 

The program director who joined our table for dinner started the dancing asking for someone to join him.  Yours truly joined him and I was in heaven. It was fabulous dancing. There was one gentleman who was amazing, Janek. He is  the head engineer and was the life of the party. We danced 3 times together and it was the best!! I stayed for 2 hours and made 4 new friends, it was great.

I will post tomorrow about Vienne and Lyon.

Thank you and God bless!  Aleta

ARDECHE AND CHATEAU DE VOGUE

Two apps and no photos....oh well. Yesterday was a full day of lavender fields and seeing the beautiful Provence region. With two days to write about, I will probably go back and forth. We visited two working lavender farms, calling themselves lavender museums. We saw a short video on the process of distilling the lavender. I won't bore you with those details, mostly because I didn't pay attention!

Lavender has been grown here since the 18th century, used to combine with other herbs against the plague. Lavender can be called the little bottle of medicine. The best lavender is called fine lavender (or pure essential oil) and is only grown in high altitudes. This is the lavender we want for pure essential oil. Lavendin is a man-made plant, sterile and grown in lower altitudes. This lavender plant is in some detergents and chemicals (to disguise odors) and no doubt used for inferior essential oils. And yes I came away with lots of lavender oil and lavender items!

We stopped, for a wonderful lunch in Monieux (Tuesday).  Every lunch and dinner wine has been served, and I haven't  turned it down, but always followed it with dessert and espresso! Espresso is in such a tiny cup, it doesn't seem to keep me up. 

Today we visited Vogue, one of the most beautiful villages in France. We walked around this historic village, and the Chateau de Vogue, owned by one family for over 500 years. I was able to get some gorgeous photos and hope to post them. Perhaps eventually given my persistence. My favorite scenes are narrow cobblestone streets with colourful shutters, flowers in full bloom, and green lush shrubs on the edge of quaint homes. Laundry hanging on clothes lines is a close second.

This afternoon was a highlight, visiting the gorge of Ardeche in Vallon Pont d 'Arc. And no, I don't remember how to spell these French names. I have to look them up! At the foot of the gorge is a river  filled with beach goers, colourful canoes, and tourists marvelling at the beauty. The gorge is like a wall of stone, with an oval doorway in the middle, maybe 50 feet wide. At the bottom is a serene river filled with red, blue, green, yellow, orange, purple....the contrast is so beautiful against nature. 

We arrived at the boat in time to freshen up for a drink in the lounge and dinner. There are usually 3 choices of apptizer, main course and dessert. Tonight's dinner was the chefs choice: beef bourginoine, French onion soup, and creme brûlée. Exquisite!!  

Merci and bonne nuit!  God bless, Aleta 

LAVENDER....JE TAIME!

A quick post to see if I can post photos. Voila! Slept very well last night. I'll be back. It's time to go to the dining room for an exquisite meal. Fingers crossed the photos appear.

It's a miracle I was able to post tonight, I struggled with the new app...and all text within blogger is in French....naturally! Perhaps I will figure out how to add photos but at this post I am very grateful I could write at all, goodnight my dear friends and family!  

With love and gratitude for your love and friendship, Aleta  xoxoxoxo!

ARLES & LES BAUX

ARLES & LES BAUX

Monday- our first day. This morning we had a guided walking tour of Arle...a city of ancient Roman ruins. We saw beautiful architecture and many prints by Van Gogh. Van Gogh lived and died here. One of his paintings 'The Yellow House' 1888, was his last known residence,in the center of town. It was destroyed in one of the many wars. Arles has an amphitheater still standing, built 2,000 years ago, in 80AD. (I am hoping my photos will post, as I am using a new app.) My afternoon tour was Les Baux and Carriers de Lumieres (Quarry of Lights). I will attempt to describe this phenomenon. "The building is a former quarry with art based multimedia shows, projecting images of famous paintings set to music." Factual yet too simplistic. In reality, you walk into this limestone structure and can't even grasp what you are seeing for at least 10 minutes. The ceiling must be 50 feet high and there are walls and corners, but no distinct rooms. Gorgeous classical music is playing...beautiful accoustics...and every five seconds or so the art changes, even arms and legs move, creatures fly, on otherwise still photos. The music matches the art themes. Sometimes classical music is played with Rennaisance paintings, or the last supper, or 70's rock with avant garde pieces. The genius minds that did the techy work is mind boggling. It was 'breath taking'...!!! Dinner with cocktails before- wine, dessert and a very welcoming staff. I look forward to a full nights sleep and Fields of Lavender tomorrow, in Provence! Thank you and God bless, Aleta

MY 6 HOUR LAYOVER IN ROME

Today's  6 hour layover became a private tour of Rome. (Thank you Terri) Arriving at 9am, I met Davide and off we went in his air conditioned van. It's hot in August and July, 85-95, and humid. Four hours of driving around Rome, he graciously gave me history and showed me places of interest. I took photos and even written notes, but sad to say it's difficult for me to piece the photos with the notes. In my defense, I don't sleep well on airplanes, my energy came from my excitement and love of italy. We made a stop at a cafe and I had an espresso- espresso always helps! 

I have tried over the years to duplicate Italian espresso and haven't succeeded. However I am definitely a coffee snob. Italy has a cafe on every corner and they all make great espresso. The problem is with the 2 sips you get in an espresso cup, you need about 30 cups over the day! Haha! That's what my Italian teacher once told me. It's the most fascinating phenomena. The cost is 1-2 euro per cup, you stand or sit, and in two minutes you're done. Unless you eat something with it. 

I was in a cafe in Naples 3 years ago, and the shop was standing room only and mostly standing for counter space. People would order coffee and pastry and take their time eating, drinking and talking, while a mob was behind them waiting to do the same!! All this for 5 or 10 minutes and people wait patiently. I love it! 

I digressed. Back to the sights. We saw the French consulate, the top of the Spanish Steps, Villa Borghese, President of Italy, Sergio Martarella's home, Via Veneto (famous upscale area for restaurants and shops), colosseum, pantheon and others now forgotten.

Pizza in Italy is also delicious. On the way to the airport, Davide stopped so I could have some before leaving....marguerite pizza, a simple, pure bliss, culinary delight! Making my flight to my gate wasn't a problem. However, Alitalia had a system failure and we were delayed 2 hours. Not all that bad considering we could have been stuck in Rome all night. 

Once in Marseilles, we were driven to Avignon (1hour) and our Viking boat, the Buri. The cabins are lovely, everything is first class, and I feel very spoiled. I showered quickly to wash off the tiredness my body felt, powdered my nose, put on a dress and headed for dinner.

My choice was salmon, veggies, caesar salad and a red wine that was superb! I just don't understand white wine. 

It's midnight and I am going to sleep. I should say 'bonne nuit' (good night), after all I am in France. But my heart wants to say buona notte!!  Thank you and God bless, Aleta.

Ciao amici! We have landed in Roma! The flight was 8 hours and very nice ,actually decent food and good red wine with pasta, of course. This is just a quick first chapter to let everyone know I am safe in Italia. I sat next to an Italian young man, and got to practice my italian. The best part was he asked if I was italian and I got to respond yes, half Sicilian and I'm sure I beamed up a big smile!

I'll post next when I settle on the boat this evening on France.

Buon giorno!  Aleta

MY FIRST RIVER CRUISE

The app on my phone kept closing, so I'm using my iPad  instead. It's Thursday, July 13th and I'm starting to be anxious about everything I have to do. Yes, I am going on a Viking River Boat Cruise. A friend found a 2 for 1 special and then she couldn't go. I asked a half dozen friends and no one was able. My plans were dashed. Then the Viking salesman called and said they reduced the singles price. Always the optimist and adventurer I said "I am going"!!

I started a List and that always makes me feel better. Tomorrow I will go to the library and print out my Viking docs and itinerary for the kids. My phone is staying home and if there is an emergency, they can reach me on the boat.

My iPad mini is a must for blogging so that's decided. (Thank you Jo!) I already own a small passport holder that can be worn around my neck or on a belt, either way, on my person it's less likely to be stollen. I also bought a backpack purse (it can be worn on my back or front) that has steel cables in the straps. Being a victim never interested me.

Next task is to pack, start with all my travel essentials. I am high maintenance these days and that means putting all my skin care items and cosmetics in travel friendly bottles. I love doing this and have for years. For an expressive I sound pretty anal...it's true but I like my analytical side. That means I can be the life of the party and still be organized...LOL!!

I'm done, don't want to bore anyone. My purpose is to start writing to get back into the habit and make sure my blog gets posted. I haven't blogged in over a year. Traveling is a good reason to start.

Next post - France the Provence Region and Paris. And I am turning a 6 hour lay-over into a quick tour of Rome. Details to follow.

Thank you and God Bless!  Aleta

"Be yourself, who else is better qualified!" Quote - anonymous but a favorite of mine

TEST AGAIN

Testing again...I had trouble for months 

THIS IS A TEST

A test to see if my blogger account is working. I am actually going to France in 9 days and I can't wait. Lots to do and this I so e of them! See you in cyberspace.