Carcassonne, France. The Old City

Sunday, October 31, 2010

Happy Halloween!

We got up early and went for breakfast. It was going to be a full day of walking and I didn't want to get tired too soon so we called a taxi to take us to the old town.

Carcassonne, is famous for being the best surviving example of a medieval military city in Europe. The city was next on the hit list for the Christian Crusaders after the sacking of Beziers. 

Carcassonne, France Arrival

Saturday October 30, 2010

Today we are taking it easy because tomorrow will be a full day of walking in the old city of Carcassonne. We  took a short walk around to scout out where we want to shoot tomorrow to get the wide shots of the old city.

Le Petit Montmartre, Beziers France

Thursday, October 28, 2010

We asked the staff at our hotel desk to recommend a restaurant and it was  suggested we visit Le Petit Montmartre. Since we now weren't going to be visiting Montmartre in Paris, due to the strikes in the city, we decided to check it out.

Beziers, France

We arrived in Beziers and checked in to our hotel. It is a mid-sized city and looks much like others in the area.

Beziers if famous for three things; The first is it's four day bull fighting festival in August of each year; Feria en Aout. That may soon end, as it has in nearby Spain. Animal rights activists are trying to have the grotesque 'sport' banned. We did not attend a bull fight.

Lyon Layover

Our 'high speed' train turned out to be a low-speed train, but we made it to Lyon and are killing time here by wandering around the big mall near the train station and having a bite to eat.

 

Mall food is mall food everywhere and the 'service' (I use the term loosely) at this restaurant was terrible and so was the food. At least they are consistent. 

I am happy to see that Lyon has a great bike sharing program with more than 300 locations! Lyon saw a 500% increase in bicycle ridership following the unveiling of the system in 2005.

 

Later the same day...

We have arrived in Montpellier. Our hotel room is small and spartan, but it is all we need. It is late and we are just sleeping here tonight and catching a train to Beziers  in the morning.

We went for a walk to get some juice and beer. I have never seen so much dog shit on the streets of a city in all my life. There is much more to Montpellier than the few streets I saw, and I'm sure some of the attractions are nice. But my current opinion, based on what I saw is that this place is disgusting and I will not be rushing to visit again.

Just google; dog, shit and France and see what comes up!

Goodbye Switzerland. Hello France.

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

We have left Brig and are on our way to France. First stop Geneva, Switzerland where we will swtich trains and get on the French high speed train the TGV (which I love). We then continue on to Lyon where we have a stopover of several hours. We may take in a museum or some sights if we can find a luggage storage at the train station.

New HIV strain discovered

A new strain of the virus that causes AIDS has been discovered in a woman from the African nation of Cameroon.

It differs from the three known strains of human immunodeficiency virus and appears to be closely related to a form of simian virus recently discovered in wild gorillas, researchers report in Monday's edition of the journal Nature Medicine.

The finding "highlights the continuing need to watch closely for the emergence for new HIV variants, particularly in western central Africa," said the researchers, led by Jean-Christophe Plantier of the University of Rouen, France.

The three previously known HIV strains are related to the simian virus that occurs in chimpanzees.

The most likely explanation for the new find is gorilla-to-human transmission, Plantier's team said. But they added they cannot rule out the possibility that the new strain started in chimpanzees and moved into gorillas and then humans, or moved directly from chimpanzees to both gorillas and humans.

Full Story at thestar.com

65th Anniversary of D-Day

On the 65th anniversary of D-Day I thought it would be a good time to share these pictures I took last year in Brittany, not far from the Normandy landing.  These are German bunkers on the beach in Brittany, or what is left of them.  Some were quite high up overlooking the beach and it was easy to see what a nightmare the allies faced in Normandy. For more information click here.

Canadians In Rennes

 

Arc De Triomphe

Arc De Triomph

The Arc de Triomphe de l'Etoile {ahrk duh tree-ohmf' duh lay-twahl'}, the world's largest triumphal arch, forms the backdrop for an impressive urban ensemble in Paris. The monument surmounts the hill of Chaillot at the center of a star-shaped configuration of 12 radiating avenues. It is the climax of a vista seen the length of the Champs Elysées from the smaller Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel in the Tuileries gardens, and from the Obélisque de Luxor in the place de la Concorde. Click here for more from Discover France.net.

David & Marks European Vacation

It is Friday night and this will be my first official entry in my 2008 European Vacation diary. David and I just voted at the advance poll today. This was the first available, and I'm happy it was today as we will be leaving on Sunday for Paris, and the first part of our trip.

Officially the vacation is now on.  

I just picked up a bottle of sparkling wine (Spain), and I don't want to offend our first host country, France, before we even leave by calling it champagne).  It is chilling at the moment and as soon as it reaches the optimum temperature we will have a toast. 

David had the day all to himself as his last day of work was yesterday. This is a good thing as he had the day to compose himself and go through his mental checklist. 

I will of course think of at least six things I should have brought just as the landing gear is being pulled into the fuselage of our plane, and I am flagging the flight atttendant for my first bevy.

We don't actually leave for France until Sunday, however, we are going to Brockville tomorrow as I need to see my son and my Mom before I go (just in case we pull a Steve Fossett) and coming back to Toronto on Sunday and catching our flight to Paris on Sunday evening. 

Thats all for now. I hope you all get out and vote, if you are undecided vote Green. If you are smart and care about the world, human rights, and all the good stuff, vote Green. Your comments are always welcome here too so don't be shy.

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