Wine in Western France and Sun Bathing in Basque Country.

We left Paris in need of some down time and headed to the quiet town Nantes.  We stayed in a small studio with a much needed kitchen.  We explored the city, planned out a general  route for the next few weeks, and made some healthy meals (we have been eating a lot of Baguettes and not very many vegetables) and jumped on a train to Southwest France.

Bordeaux is the second largest wine producing region in the world, producing 800 million gallons of wine a year.  Of course we did our best to sample an array of regional wine, from cheap to only kind of cheap.   We spent an afternoon wandering through the city’s pedestrian streets lined with shops , cafes and bars.  After two nights in Bordeaux we boarded an early morning train (we are loving our Eurorail Passes!) headed towards San Sebastian, Spain.

We happened to be in San Sebastian for a big cultural heritage festival , where food, dancing, drinking and music were abundant. Graham’s Uncle Harry saw a show featuring San Sebastian’s culinary specialties on the Food Network and recommended that we check it out and we are so glad we did.  Only about 10 miles from the French border, San Sebastian has a mix of gastronomic influences from the French, Spanish and the Basque.  We spent our few days in San Sebastian sun bathing on the beach, wandering the streets and hopping from one tapas bar to the next.

  

Castle of the Dukes of Brittany (region of France) from the 15th century. 

           A motor powered larger than life Elephant that you could pay to ride, which we did not.  Really odd.

A lush park just across from the train station in Nantes

A meal we made in our little studio

At a wine bar in Bordeaux

The beautiful beaches in San Sebastian where going topless was the norm

A flamenco dance competition being held in the harbor

There were little boys (but no little girls) playing soccer everywhere in the city

Some little ones dressed up for the festival and dancing. So, so cute

Outdoor stalls at the festival full of locally made cheeses, pastries and cured meat

Tapas bars- little rich bites of heaven

We are now headed to the capital of Spain- more to come from the big city! Also, check out the new link "Where in the World are Sue and Graham?"  (located just above the "about me section") it will take you to a page where you can follow us via GPS tracking for the last 7 days (when we have it turned on).

Paris- 3 Nights in the City of Lights and Love

What can we say about Paris that hasn't already been said? It’s beautiful, fun, rich with history and full of snooty Parisians. While we only stayed for two days/ three nights, we still packed a lot in: two city walking tours in one day, the Louvre, Notre Dame, the Eiffel tower,  Arc De Triumph, and 3 baguettes (also in one day)  we were pleased with our accomplishments. We did manage to soak up some of Paris street café scene, with frequent stops for espresso & croissants or beer & crepes.   

The fountain of St. Michel

Notre Dame Cathedral 

One of the Rose windows from inside Notre Dame

Sue matching some artwork near the Louvre

View from Gardens of Tuileries

Looking down the Avenue des Champs Élysée at the Arc De Triumph. The Obelisk you can see was a "gift" from Egypt to Napoleon...aka he stole it.

Les Invalides, where some France's most famous are entombed, including Napoleon Bonaparte.

Smooches at the Eiffel

Moulin Rouge. Apparently the worst seat in the house costs about €90, so no, we did not see the show. 

Crepe with two scoops of vanilla ice cream, baked pear and chocolate sauce. Then wash it down with a beer=French health food.

The "invisible" pyramids of the Louvre.

One of the sculpture gardens at the Louvre. The museum was absolutely massive.

The Mona Lisa and her many, many admirers. I did manage to get closer for a better look, but this pic set the scene. The ridiculous part is there are literally thousands of other master pieces hanging everywhere and this was the only one with this sort of crowd. Da Vinci would be proud (maybe)

Sue with a Baguette (the first of the day) from the bakery voted "best Baguette in Paris" in 2010 (2011 winner hadn't been announced yet). It was seriously good and the best one we've ever had....so far.

Baguette and Brie break on the Seine river.

The last vineyard in Paris. Apparently the wine is terrible and expensive, but they keep it around just for the nostalgic history.

Basilique du Sacré-Cœur (sacred heart)

An artist's market where dozen's of live portraits were being done.

Arc De Triumph at sun set.

And of course the tower at night

Weary from our constant walking and picture snapping we boarded a train to Nantes, a quitter town to the west, where we were able to cook some homemade meals, do laundry and finally update the blog. More to come from Bordeaux, capital of French wine country!

London- Yes!- We speak the language!....sort of.

    We spent 3 nights in London at a great hostel we found for £10 a night!  Loved the city, the tube (subway) was fantastic and we spent about 12 hours a day wandering the streets. Every corner you turned there was some 300-500 year old building, just sitting there, maybe with a little plaque, maybe not, like no big deal. Literally bumping into history everywhere. We made all the usual stops: Buckingham palace, 10 downing street, St. Paul's Cathedral, Westminster, London bridge, several museums, and a few markets. We met up for sushi and drinks with some London locals we'd met in Brazil and got a tour Soho and the red light district (sorry no pictures of that).

St. Paul's Cathedral. There's been a Cathedral on this spot since 604 AD.(when London was called Lundenwic) This one has been here since 1677. 

The dome of St. Paul's (we had to sneak this picture, no pictures allowed inside, so enjoy :)

The view from the top of the dome. 

The view from Trafalgar Square and our choice of lunch picnic spot.

Trafalgar Square 

The London Eye above the Queen's Household Cavalry  building.

Westminster and Big Ben.

Marching Guard of Buckingham Palace 

The Museum of Natural History. Huge, free and a gorgeous building.

The Brontosaurus in the lobby.

One of the many, many stalls of Borough Market, home to fine foods and lots of samples! Legend has it that a market has been in this area since Roman times.

One piece at the Tate Modern Museum. The ceiling of the entire room was draped in a life size 3-D recreation of a staircase made from silk.

Tower Bridge (not London bridge, but much more scenic)

Standing on the Meridian Line at Greenwich Mean Time (GMT)

The time ball on the roof of the royal observatory. Since 1833 it's dropped at exactly 1:00 PM-GMT to allow passing sailors to calibrate their sea-chronographs (very important for navigation in those days).

Westminster Abbey and Palace of Westminster behind. 

Piccadilly Circus (Time Square of London).

It was a busy 3 days, our feet were sore from the non stop walking, but we couldn't rest yet, less than three hours by train and we were in Paris. More to come from the city of lights and love.