Biding Our Time and ... Octoberfest, Sept 14 to 24

Our trip itinerary took some twists and turns to accommodate a stay in Germany during Octoberfest.  As a result, we spent some delightful time watching the countryside roll by on scenic train trips to three-day stays at each of the following:  Arles (Provence), Annecy (French Alps), medieval Bern (Switzerland) and Augsburg (Germany).  Augsburg was our home base for getting to and from Munich for Octoberfest.   

Some reflections:

Train ride from Spain towards Provence was spectacular, especially between Narbonne and Beziers – hilly little farms… Fred & I shared a colorful salad Nicoise with a cold glass of beer  for lunch at a stopover in Nimes.

Arles in Provence – wonderful Roman ruins to be seen in this sleepy little town.  Would visit again.  Hotel was right on the Rhone.  Easy to explore the town center with its narrow streets – lots of shops, more pizza and baguettes.

The train ride from Anncey to Bern was beautiful – Lake Geneva, the Alps, Lausanne.

Annecy (French Alps) another town with a quaint old town center.  More shopping and cafes and pizza and baguettes.

Bern.  We had been told that the Swiss people can be cold and stand-offish, but we didn’t find them so.  Maybe because therewere so many university students all over the place.  Our first full day was very cold and rainy.  Fred and I were both nursing colds, so took refuge in a pub with some Irish coffees.

Loved Augsburg.Our hotel was just off a large, historic square with lots of shopping, restaurants, cafes.  (Also, right behind a church with loud, tolling bells -- thank goodness the bells took a rest from 11pm to 7am!)  The food in Germany was good and reasonably priced.  Had a memorable pork schnitzel with cranberry sauce.  Just a half hour train ride to Munich and Octoberfest.

Octoberfest was so much fun!  I couldn't talk Fred into donning the traditional garb (dirndl for me, leiderhosen for him) that most everyone else was wearing, but we managed to join in all the requisite eating and drinking festivities.  We partook of beers (the steins were huge, so we shared), roasted chicken, sausages, pretzels and gherkins at FOUR beer gardens!!!  Of course the toasts and the music were raucous.   I am glad we visited early in the day -- people were still upright, including us, when we left to catch a train back to Augsburg.  

Nuremberg – would love to spend more time here – it was a quick layover on our way to Prague.  Cute craftsman lane – toy, doll, chocolate, Christmas shops, as well as a beer garden.

Sunny Barcelona, Sept 10 to14

Calella, a beach town east of Barcelona, was our home base for time in Spain.  It was a pleasant place to dip our feet in the Mediterranean, shop, eat (evermore pizza and ham baguettes!) and spend time utilizing sign language with the mostly Slovenian and German tourists.  The weather during our stay in  Spain was very hot and humid – high 80s. 

We took a bus tour of Barcelona ,enjoyed a leisurely stroll along the Ramblas and explored the winding streets of the medieval Bari Gotic. 

3. Gay Paree (Paris), Sept 5 to 10

Fred and I traveled via the chunnel from England to Paris on the Eurostar. We caught a cab at the train station and after a quick taxi ride through busy Paris neighborhoods made it to our hotel in the Latin Quarter.  From our hotel window, which looked down into the Sorbonne, there was a view of the Eiffel tower off in the distance—nice!

First day – walked the Champs Elysees down to the Arc de Triomphe.  You can’t help but be struck by just how monumental the sites are – the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, Notre Dame.  On the other hand, as Fred repeatedly noted, everything else is so small and close – the chairs, the hotel rooms, the coffees, the restaurant spaces – all so tiny.  Food was expensive – our best options seemed to be pizza, baguettes with ham or pommes frites – we really got tired of eating these – to the point that we couldn’t stand the thought of another pizza, baguette or french fries.  We had a couple of dinners at a little café/bar near the restaurant and some tasty pastries out of a Viennese bakery next to our hotel. 

We used the metro and train system extensively to get around Paris and environs.  Had a likeable and informative English-speaking guide – Christian – for walking tours of the Latin Quarter and Montmartre.  Took a day trip to Versailles – the palace and the grounds were amazing! We ended our sojourn in Paris with a romantic night cruise down the Seine.

Travel advice:  Tourists should beware of nuns stealing money.  Fred was short-changed 10 euros getting into Notre Dame’s audio tour. Notre Dame, by the way, was also our least favorite tourist opportunity; Do take advantage of the free toilettes to-be-found in any Starbucks and McDonalds. (Starbucks is a godsend if you are craving a full-sized and decently priced coffee.  Don’t let it bother you that you are not going local, all the Parisian students drink there, too!)

Unfortunately for me, my Kindle bit the dust while in Paris.  This will surely limit my upcoming (at least until we reach Australia) reading options in English.  Anyways, my favorite series set in Paris: Aimee Leduc series by C Black.  Each book features a murder in one of the Paris neighborhoods, such the Basille, Marais, Sentier, Latin Quarter, etc.

Photos will be added soon.  We had to buy a new netbook and are dealing with adding software/transfering files and learning our way around a control panel in Italian...