Bordeaux and beyond .

This time we saw the flamingos as we neared Narbonne and I had the camera ready - not a very good shot as it is out of the train window but it is better than no photo at all!



The trains ran and our only problem was they we couldn’t complete the middle section as planned so we had a 4 hour break in Narbonne. Fortunately there was a bar/restaurant at the station so we had a very slow drink and lunch and sat at their tables until it was time to board. Bordeaux was a very interesting city. It has an extensive tram network with trams running every few minutes and we purchased a day ticket at a very reasonable price. After we finished sight seeing for the day and our feet were tired we decided to spend time riding the trams to fill in the gaps. Our mid afternoon had been disrupted by a protest march which caused these trams to stop and it was a bit irritating as the marchers were going around the centre of the city and we were somewhat encircled. Quite safe really as there were lots of police with guns!!!!!.

The Garonne River (crossed by The Pont de Pierre) runs through the centre of the city and provides a good and safe harbour. It is a city of solid stone construction with some parts of the buildings dating back 1000 years. Shops by the dozen and many multicultural businesses line the streets – I saw some lovely boots….but……they are still there. Exploring the architecture took us a long time as usual.

Gross Cloche Eglise St Eloi




Pont de Pierre



The Cathedral


The food in the restaurants was excellent and we dined in the Frog and Rostbif. Here we learned that we were only the second couple of Australians our waitress had encountered in Bordeaux – it seems that we are off the Aussie tourist trail. We were very entertained by the fact that they thought we were English and that we were served a bottle of Hardy’s white wine. As we were leaving, purely by chance, I Come From a Land Down Under started to play on the sound system. We had a good laugh with our Scottish waitress.


That red shoe is made from chocolate - what a shop!





This was our first experience of the Campanile chain of hotels – a good price and very pleasant service. This chain has added a jug to its rooms – very revolutionary but a nice touch.

Autumn colours have come to the countryside. As I write we are heading though very beautiful and neat rural areas on our way to Paris.

Hola from Barcelona

Ah……the French train system. According to the web site the trains were not running – we went to the station anyway and our train arrived on time. It was an interesting trip and the track hugged the coast for quite a distance. We were lucky enough to see some of the famous flamingos in the coastal lakes but sadly have no photos. The French guard was very serious and told Tony that he thought that the dates had been changed on our Eurail Pass. They hadn’t, of course, as this means the pass can be automatically and immediately taken from you and you are fined as well as losing all your ticket money. Fortunately he didn’t take it and we were much relieved when the Spanish guard just glanced at it and handed it back.

Our Barcelona Hotel is only 1 year old and it has all sorts of remote controlled lights and air conditioning. We even have a touch screen – I am impressed by little luxury touches. It has hot pink and bright yellow walls and crisp white linen, a big screen TV and a microwave for making drinks. That is a real treat in Europe. We can even see the Mediterranean Sea from our opening window (I like that about European hotels). The city is amazing. I think that one of the first things you notice is the cleanliness both on the streets and in the Metro. All the water in the fountains and troughs is also clean and I have seen many city employees sweeping, raking and cleaning. The new buildings are very innovative and not rectangular shapes at all. There are lots of triangular shapes and buildings with sections of floors missing. Given the architectural history of this city that probably shouldn’t surprise me. Decoration, innovation and style would probably be key words in a text book description.



We have walked miles after deciding that 70 euros for a hop on/off bus ticket was too much for 2 days and we have used the metro and Shank’s pony instead……and we have seen and enjoyed lots of wonderful sights. The Sagrada Familia was fantastic, as were all of the other creations designed by Gaudi. Sadly photos don’t really do them justice as they are so big and it is difficult to get a clear uninterrupted shot. We have done our best! One of the other problems with the photography is the contrast between light and shadow. There are also some big hills in Barcelona and we were a little puffed when we arrived at The Parc Guell – just as well there were escalators to take you up part of the way. It makes you smile – Gaudi’s House, pavilions, a wonderful long mosaiced seat, wonderful gardens (lots of prickly pears and other xerophytic plants), a giant mosaiced iguana, and little fancy bits everywhere. We sat and had a very late lunch and I had a very large sangria!











The port area is also a great place to visit and we have learned a fair bit of Spanish history. We had to look up Columbus and see where he actually sailed from and I was never really sure where Aragon was. Shame shame shame! La Rambla is the Barcelona equivalent of the Champs Elysee (but with lots more pet stalls) and we have explored it reasonably well. Today we wandered the street of the Barri Gotic, visited the park, the Barcelona Cathedral, various palace buildings and the archive centre and strolled through the markets and seen all sorts of yummy food.

Lots of wondrous food to buy in the market

Siesta time and everything (well not quite everything) closes

The streets in the Gothic Zone are really narrow and it is very difficult to get good photos here.







I now have a poster and a print of an old map to carry!

We have eaten some good things here including some very expensive tapas. It was surprising as the variety wasn’t as good as I have seen in Sydney and, while it was quite tasty, I expected more. I think we ate at the wrong place. In contrast today for lunch I had the best paella I have ever eaten! We have also dined at the local shopping centre which is just nearby as we get hungry early and many of the restaurants don’t open till 8. That makes for a late night if you don’t order until after 8, wait for your food, eat it and then get back.

Tomorrow we return to France. We have a booked ticket from here to Narbonne. Then we have trouble – you cannot book your seat on line if you have a Eurail Pass, you cannot book a French seat from Spain and you are not allowed on the TGVs unless you have a booked seat. We have 18 minutes at Narbonne between trains so we possibly won’t make it. Some of the train reservation queues in France are very long and slow. We are of course crossing our fingers and hoping the trains actually run. Bordeaux is our intended destination.

Strikes can’t stop us.

Thursday saw us packed early and heading for Nice Railway Station. ……shame that the trains were not heading in the same direction. A rapid discussion in the near empty entrance and we were off to Hertz where we hired a car, attached our trusty GPS and drove off. And whoosh – we whizzed across France through all sorts of fascinating countryside and places I had only ever heard about. It cost us 260 euros to hire the car and over 50 euros in tolls plus the fuel. Thank you strikers!

Crossing France in style - but not in a train!

Our bed and breakfast in Lezignan-Corbieres was in a little lane and was locked up tightly until opening time at 4. Marea and Michael were stuck in Carcasonne so Tony left me on the footpath with all the baggage while he set off to collect them and their luggage. Eventually we were all reunited after a pretty hectic day.


Recovering at Maison Helene.

That left new problems for the morning – we now had a car! So we collected all our gear together and headed for the canal boat using the car for transport. Marea and I stayed at the dock while the men returned the car and caught an expensive taxi back…….Our voyage could begin.

The canal was fantastic and taking our boat through the locks was a great experience. The most dramatic was the 6 basin lock which takes about 45 minutes to do the up hill way and 30 to go down hill. On the way downhill it was blowing a gale which added to the fun – the boat was difficult to manoeuvre and there was dirt in the wind. (needless to say I thought it was great).






The canal is tree lined most of the way and it is beautifully relaxing and calming to just potter along. There are lots of villages but, unlike the brochures indicated, many businesses and restaurants were closed for the season. So it was a case of stock up when and where you could.




We had a couple of memorable meals along the way and some very enjoyable French wine. Exploring the architecture of the villages and churches and the shops (where open) provided a real insight into this fascinating part of the world. One open attraction was a hat museum - all sorts of head gear from all around the world and a good span of history.







We crossed bridges and aqueducts, visited art galleries and craft shops, went through a tunnel (Tunnel de Malpas) and climbed to the top of a hill to visit a Gallic village called Enserune – shame it closed to visitors an hour before lunch!



Our bikes looked very nice on top of the boat. I have basically not ridden since we left Karratha so I am very rusty and the first trip saw me wobbling along and bouncing up and down. The weather was a bit against us after that as the wind was very strong so we didn’t ride again until near the end of the trip. Later we could see snow on the hills. We did a wonderful 10 km ride along the tow path, through the village of Homps and out to a Lake where Tony and I had lunch and our first taste of real fois gras.












Returning to port was a rather sad experience but it was to be the beginning of the next adventure. We all piled into a taxi and set off for Lezignans-Corbieres where we planned to catch the train. Oops. We arrived at the station to find that the station assistant was just posting the strike notice. Fortunately our driver was still getting back into her car so we all did a scramble, climbed back aboard and headed off through the countryside again. All a bit like a bad French farce really.

And so we arrived in Carcasonne. What a city. There are 2 parts – the old Medieval Walled City and the newer town. A photographic delight and we took enough pictures to prove it. We have continued to sample local fare – French onion soup, soufflé, and cassoulet have been added to the list. The Canal du Midi is very close to our hotel and there are lots of places to walk and wander.







Marea and Michael have now returned to London (unless the airport was on strike) and we are planning a quiet Sunday afternoon sorting photos, uploading blogs, charging batteries and packing our bags….we have our seats booked on the train……Espagna is just over those hills!!!!