We are home again, in Umbertide. While we were on vacation we missed our big annual fest Otto Cento. We used to live up above the piazza so we were in the midst of it all. Now we would have to walk into the Centro. Our new neighborhood has an annual street fair. Piazza Carlo Marx in front of our apartment is closed as well as surrounding streets and they built booths on one side and allowed trucks and tents to be erected on the other side. This is our first year here for this so we will see how it shakes out!
It was loud last night. They have bands for the three nights. It’s down the street but we could hear it just fine. The people fill the street, strolling and looking, seeing friends and chatting. Many strollers and children. Old people, young people. They have fun.
Today, Saturday, we went out to check it out. We had attended one of these Fiere a number of years ago and it was much the same as I remembered it. Most of the booths have clothing, shoes, purses, pots and pans, foods of all sorts, lots of sweet nuts and popcorn. I was amused at the one that sold only liquorice. There were also ones that sold big stuff like, wood stoves, pizza ovens, mattresses, vacuums, easy chairs, lawnmowers, backhoes. I could go on. All the regular stores along the way also get into the act with tents outside and merchandise for sale. Anyway, it was a nice day, we went in the morning before it got too hot and I took some pictures. There will be captions.
It was probably 6 or7 city blocks. Lawn mowersBarca loungersOne of my favorites. Note the sign on the right. Cervicale is a disease unique to Italy. They believe sleeping wrong or using AC or a fan or going out when the wind can hit your neck will give this to you. it is deadly serious to them. Grills and pizza ovensVacuumsDance school booth Wood stoves, ovens and furnaces.Arancini – Italian rice balls, a Sicilian culinary staple. Very delicious.This stand sold rugs and mats. We thought this was cute.There were several cheese and salami booths.
So, this is what our new neighborhood does for fun! It was fun to walk around and see what was happening.
Sunday & Monday September 3 and 4 Sunday was our last day aboard. I hate the final day. It is hard to think it is over. At the same time, I am always anxious to get home after about 2 weeks. Sadly, they lay a mat on the bed that protects it from dirty luggage so now the reality of repacking all the clothes hits home.
The ship sailed down the Gironde river for several hours. It was peaceful. I got up early because I wanted to see us enter the river. So I got the sunrise. Just before we arrived in Bordeaux we had to go under a drawbridge. It was very unusual. The section of the highway actually lifted up. It slid on four big pylons. Picture below. The last picture is of the place we docked. There were several riverboat cruisers parked there too.At least it wasn’t a gravel pit like the last one. This one was pretty and had a bikeway along the river. It was quite the show for everyone to watch us dock.
We had 2 full days in Bordeaux; one while on board, and one after we debarked on Monday. We had booked a tour of the Medoc wine country for after our arrival. We booked a night in a small hotel in the city center called Yndō.
The wine tour was not so good. Our guide felt the need to talk the entire trip. We got more random information about all kinds of random things about Bordeaux. He was amusing…sort of. We spent a lot of time in a bus which stopped in front of some beautiful Chateaux so we could take pictures. Then we went to a winery to take a tour and have a tasting of two of their wines. The tour was kind of kitschy with projectors showing what looked like a cutaway of one of the big vats and what happens inside. Then a projection of the wine-maker giving her talk. Sadly most of the wineries in the Medoc are owned by insurance companies and banks now, having been sold by the families who used to own them. Now it is merely business. Takes all the romance out of it for me. Medoc pictures with subtitles.
Beautiful grapes ready to harvest
Lynch Bages. Very famous
They call all wineries chateaux but not all have an actual chateau as this one did.This is the Chateau where we stopped for a tasting and tour – Lamothe Bergeron.Ancient Sycamores on the property.This is a pine planted in gardens all over. It lives long and grows huge. I cannot remember its name but I think it’s something biblical. If you know please tell me. [EDIT – Cypress of Lebanon]
We barely made it back for the on deck BBQ which they postponed until the last night. We went straight there after arriving back from the tour. The food was good. They always have a huge variety. We headed down to our rooms and showered and then packed up our things. The suitcases had to be in the hall the next morning before 6:30am. After all our hard work we went to the Star Bar for a last glass of wine.
We had a sad and quick breakfast. The last morning is not the fun of the prior days. We went down to say goodbye to our room attendant whose name was Edi. He was Indonesian. He told us today was his last day on ship and he was going home for his shore leave. They work something like nine months onboard and then get five or six months off to go home. He told us he was getting married in December. He was a nice guy. He sing-songed his greetings and best wishes for a good day every morning and evening.
We had ordered a taxi for 8:30 pickup. Things didn’t work out as planned. Our hotel told us that getting a taxi in Bordeaux was not easy. There is a shortage. After waiting an hour the hotel called me to tell me they had found a cab. So we finally made it to our hotel. Entrance to the hotel.
Yndō has only 12 rooms and is in a beautiful old building. Our rooms were both nice but the one we got was super quirky, or “crazy” as the woman said. Our crazy room.
We decided to take a walk right away because the temperature was supposed to get to 98 degrees today. We went to the so-called golden triangle. A shopping area of pedestrian streets. We visited the biggest plaza in Europe (according to our guide to the wine country) with a tall tower holding lady Liberty on top and a great fountain at the bottom.
Our hotel recommended a traditional Brasserie for lunch called la Noailles. It was a perfect last lunch and we splurged and had fun. Here are pictures with subtitles.
Our waiter. We thought he was perfect in every way. Then we found out he was Argentinian! Hahaha.Our good Bordeaux wineMy gazpacho. Deliciously cool on a hot day.Grilled turbotLuther’s duck breast.
We all had a great time and walked back to our hotel to escape the heat. We ordered a light dinner to end the trip together. It was simple and fun. A couple more delicious wines later we were ready for bed. It was great to spend time with my sister 🥰
On our way home Luther and I both commented on how much more friendly the French were on this trip. I wonder if this is a result of Covid? They missed us and our money and now are happier to see us than before? What do you think?
The trip is done. I’m traveling on the train towards home finishing this post as I go. I am looking forward to being back and with my two kitties who were well cared for by our house sitters. Au revoir to France!
Saturday September 2 We docked in a really ugly dock area. Sand, gravel, tall silos, belts carrying stuff hither and yon. The weather looked bad – gray and cold. But the forecast was for it to lighten and brighten and be nice, around 77F.
After breakfast we headed out on a shuttle bus which ran every half hour. It took about 20 minutes or so to get to the center of town. By now it was sunny with blue skies and we all shed our jackets.
The city of La Rochelle has around 80,000 people. It is on the Bay of Biscay and has a deep water harbor. It is where the film Das Boot was filmed and still has a big U-Boat “hanger”, unused today. It was the German submarine headquarters during the war. It was under Allied siege from September 1944 to May 1945 when the Germans finally surrendered. La Rochelle was the last French city to be liberated. The Vieux Port, or old port, is well preserved. They used to have a huge, heavy chain with which they closed the entrance to the small old harbor. It was strung between two towers. La Rochelle has the 6th largest marina in France with over 5,000 boats. We went first to the morning market which is both outside and inside. This area is famous for their potatoes. There were piles of them. The fruit was jewel-like, and the heirloom tomatoes were gorgeous. Finally the bread was to die for. I ached to buy some.
These were tiny. About the size of a large grape.
Inside the building were the cheeses, meats, fish, prepared foods and more.
Spreading out around the food market were stands selling clothing and other items. These baskets caught my eye. There were more types than I have ever seen.
Then we walked around town. There were long colonnades lined with shops. Mostly small independent places with small specialities. For instance, there was a shop selling only socks. My favorite kind of shopping, not a chain store in sight! The city is constructed of limestone. The geological area was an ocean so limestone is common.
The vieux port area was very busy with lots of people. Pictures with subtitles.
The inner harbor. The chain closing it off was strung between these two towers.One of the gates.A colorful corner just next to the harbor.
We decided to wind our way back through more of the small streets. Then find a place for lunch. Surprisingly, to me anyway, France is a big beer region. Lots and lots of artisanal micro-brews.
We were looking for just a light lunch because this evening we had reserved the Candles restaurant which is on deck, weather permitting. So we stopped in a sidewalk place with lots of cheeses and cured meats served on planches. My sister and I got the focaccia sandwich. Luther and Bill the croque-monsieurs. They both came with a beautiful salad with fresh peaches, tomatoes, and lots of nuts and seeds. It was just right.
Candles was wonderful. The evening couldn’t have been more perfect. Warm. Not too much wind. Nice watching the sun go down and the sky darken. The food was only OK, but that wasn’t really the point. We were glad we waited until the end of the cruise hoping the weather would get warmer, and it did!
Tomorrow we dock in Bordeaux. It will be a hot day. We don’t arrive until 11:30 so we remain on board one more night, then the early debarkation on Tuesday.
Friday September 1 We docked at a very commercial pier which was just next to the small town of Lorient. Its claim to fame is that it was the main submarine base of the Germans during WWII. We were told there is not much to see in town. We decided to go for a walk and look around and maybe get lunch.
It took about 10-15 minutes to walk into town. We at first followed the tourist walking tour. Much of the old port was the East Indies Trading Company. All gone now. Buildings either bombed out of existence or repurposed. There was this great watch tower. And some pretty flowers along the way.
It was lunchtime so we stopped at a Brassiere. The day was amazingly perfect. Blue skies and perfect temperatures. We sat outside. I had moules frites. Luther had tuna, cindy a nice salad, and Bill a steak. Along with a couple bottles of Sancerre.
We walked back to the ship. Lorient is a real town. Not in the slightest bit touristy. Nice though. We enjoyed our nice walk and meal.
We went up on the top deck to watch the sail-away at 5pm. The day was so fine we wanted to take advantage of it. Windstar always plays the Vangellis piece — “1492: Conquest of Paradise” during the signature sail-away. It is much more dramatic on the Windstar with its 4 big sails which they unfurl during the music. Here are some pictures of things we saw as we went down through the estuary to the ocean.
We had folk dancers on the pier along with bagpipes. This region is Galic settled by the Celts.The Pilot boat. They always get us into, and out of, harbors.Those are German U-Boat bays from World War II.Port de Porh-Puns. A fortified site defending the Blavet estuary.
Tomorrow our penultimate port, La Rochelle. Let’s see if we luck out on the weather again. Crossing fingers.
Wednesday August 30 We arrived in St Malo at about 9am. This time we were at anchor so we had to take the ship tender across to the pier. We got the 10:30 tender, the first one. St Malo is a walled city right on the sea. Its history began in the first century BC. In World War II it was bombed by the allies and destroyed. Of course it was rebuilt. The buildings are all very similar. I would love to see pictures of it pre-bombing. The book “All The Things We Cannot See” took place here. It is a great read.
We walked all around the town. It is mostly a tourist destination and we had plenty of time before our planned lunch where we were meeting an on-line friend of my sister. The town had some nice shops. Many restaurants had the local specialties of the buckwheat crepes used to make sandwiches.
Our lunch was beside the embarkation pier in a restaurant called L’Amiral. We arrived first and Dominique arrived just after. She lives in Paris and loves to come to St Malo for breaks. She is very French and conversing was difficult but fun in it’s own way. The sailboat was outside in the harbor. They begin a single-handed sailboat race from here called the Route du Rhum, destination Guadeloupe. The Brittany coast is the land of the oyster. I used to gobble up oysters by the dozen. But in the last few years I get sick every time I eat one. I assume I am allergic. So sorry I can’t eat them. They look amazing. I had the fish, sea bass, on puréed parsnips all floating in a sea of butter. They DO like their butter around here.
We stayed in port in St Malo until 11 pm. I had terrible connectivity so I am just finishing this post now. In the meantime, we had an “At sea” day. We sailed all night, all day, and all night. They try to plan lots of activities to keep us busy, such as a Vive La France wine tasting. Champagne, Burgundy, Rhône and Bordeaux.
Bye-bye St Malo
I was just happy to have time to finish reading my book. I highly recommend it — “Beneath a Scarlet Sky”. Takes place in Milan during the end days of the Second World War. It is based on a true story and it was amazing. I’m always interested in what happened in Italy during the War.
At this time we have docked in a town called Loriente. Apparently there isn’t much to see here. But we will go out for a walk and find lunch maybe. The skies have just started clearing and the rain has stopped.
Tuesday 29 August Last night we dined up on the deck and saw a lovely sunset. And later the blue moon rising.
Yesterday we visited Caen and from there we booked a private tour of some of the D-day beaches and cemeteries. There was a slight mix-up. We arrived at the coast and navigated a lock. Then they debarked all those who had booked the Windstar tour. It was full or we would have done that. Since it was full we booked a private tour. But it goes out of the actual city of Caen. So we traveled up the canal which took 2 hours. This meant we met our driver a full hour later than planned. It was OK we would do what we could do. It was a perfect day. Sunny and cool.
All was not a waste though, sailing through the estuary was beautiful and we actually went through the Pegasus bridge draw bridge. It was cool. Lots of folks there waving at us and our captain blew his big ole whistle several times. Here are some photos along the way, and of Pegasus bridge.
Pegasus Bridge. Originally built in 1934 and replaced with a new design in 1994. It was one of the most important bridges during the invasion in Normandy during World War II.
We docked at precisely eleven and found our young and enthusiastic guide, Victor. We had a black Mercedes mini-van. Our first destination was Pointe du Hoc. This beachhead was between the two American landing sites of Utah and Omaha beaches. It was a German stronghold with six enormous guns which could spin 360 degrees and shoot 12 miles. Enough to reach either Omaha beach or Utah beach. About six hours before the main invasion a division of U.S. Rangers landed. There were 254 of them. Their job was to take out as many of the guns and Germans as they could. About 30% of them were wounded, killed, or MIA. I am impressed that the left this place just as it was at the end of the battle. Easy to picture what happened there. Here are pictures with subtitles.
One of the gun emplacementsAnother gun emplacement.A barracks where the German soldiers slept and also used as a bomb shelter.One of the craters from the shelling.Cliffs that had to be scaled to reach the Germans. Just on the other side of this piece of land is Omaha beach.And in the other direction.Flowers growing on the ground where so many died.Omaha beach. Over 3 miles long. American soldiers were dropped in the water off shore because of the many barriers place there by the Germans. Many drowned on the spot. If they made it in they had to cross this wide beach.One of the guns.If you look down this beach you’ll see the cliffs of Utah beach.
We next visited the American Cemetery. A moving place. Over 9,000 crosses and stars of David. The average age was 23. Most died in June and July of 1944. The cemetery is overseen by a caretaker, boss of the cemetery. He or she must be American or Canadian. The caretakers house is on the cemetery grounds. The cemetery is immaculate. I always cry here. This is my second visit.
Omaha beach from the cemetery.
It was a terrific tour. We all liked Victor. We had lunch in a restaurant on Omaha beach. I had Moules Frites. Delicious.
Monday 28 August Docked at about 10am this morning. Cool with partly cloudy skies. Le Havre is the second largest port in France. Harbor art.
We had arranged a tour of Honfleur, a very ancient seaside town. I had been there thirty years ago. It is busier, but otherwise the same. The coach was comfy and our guide very nice and informative. We walked into town and around the tiny streets and along the shops which were along the waterfront. We admired the half timbered buildings. And the ones built all of slate to protect from the salt air. Then we walked up to the very cool church which was built by shipbuilders. The roof inside looks like the upside down keel of a boat. The bell tower was built a distance from the church. Since both are all wood they figured if one caught fire, the other had a chance of surviving. Here are my pictures.
Half timbered houses.Slate house.I liked the storm clouds and the sun on the buildingsWaterfront
These next ones are the shipbuilders church.
It was a nice day. The weather wasn’t too cool. It didn’t rain. I had fun. Now we are headed to Caan. We have booked a tour of the D-Day beaches but it looks like this could be cut short because I think we are arriving late. We’ll see!
Sunday August 27 After our marathon at sea we were very happy to get onto land for a day. The weather is quite chilly for August. This morning when we got up it was 54 degrees! And raining 😢. It is supposed to get up to about 70. And it looks like showers intermittently.
We caught the shuttle bus from the Star Legend to the center of the old town. Rouen has a long history going back to the Gauls. The Romans also occupied it and it is where Joan of Arc was burned at the stake. It was claimed by both England and France during the Hundred Years’ War and was badly damaged by bombs in the Second World War. It’s most famous sight is Rouen Cathedral with its Tour de Beurre (butter tower) financed by the sale of indulgences for the consumption of butter during Lent. 😁 The cathedral’s gothic façade (completed in the 16th century) was the subject of a series of paintings by Claude Monet, some of which are exhibited in the Musée d’Orsay in Paris.
The weather was changeable. We had rain and sun intermittently all day. Windstar provided a shuttle bus. It was only a 15 minute ride. We walked down to the famous cathedral.
The old part of town is full of half timbered buildings. The Gros Horloge – or Great Clock, whose face was golden, shone in the intermittent sunshine.
Cool bookstore. It was Sunday so no stores were openVery crooked house. Look at the beams just above the front door.Our restaurant
Lunch was the only meal that I have reserved on this cruise. It was at La Couronne, pictured above. The restaurant has been there since 1345. It is known as the restaurant where Julia Child had her first French meal. I read her book describing the meal as a revelation to her. And as we all know, she was known as the French Chef and wrote books on French cuisine.
The building is full of pictures of famous people who have eaten there. It is dark and quaint and so very French. The meal lasted three hours. Most of us went for the Dover Sole Meunière, one of two signature dishes. It is what Julia ate. It was good but the meal was so rich we were worthless the rest of the day.
Sole meunière The cheese chariot. Love French cheeses!Heating the glass for Luther’s Armagnac.See the blue flames? Quite a show!
We returned to the boat and crashed. We skipped dinner. Sail away wasn’t until 1am. Then we would sail back down the Seine to Le Havre. We have a tour of Honfleur booked. We were there once, long ago and loved it. Another place where the Impressionists painted.
Thursday August 24 – embarkation day on the Star Legend
We had plenty of time until the 1Pm boarding so we went to a little cafe for croissants and coffee. Excellent croissant. Hot and flakey with butter and jam. Perfetto! We did some wandering about and later went out for a quick lunch because who knew when we could eat on the ship. The weather has turned rainy as was predicted. We went back to our hotel and retrieved our luggage. They called a cab and we were off to the ship.
The Star Legend is one of three identical yachts in the fleet. They hold 300 passengers. We boarded uneventfully and found our cabins. Then headed to the top deck for a welcome champagne. It had stopped raining but remained gray. We were required to muster at 4:15 to be briefed on emergency evacuation procedures. But at this time we were informed we would not be sailing that evening as planned. There was a problem with the ship which needed to be investigated by a certified scuba diver!
This is a disappointment. It means we will have to alter our cruise destinations. IF we sail out we will still miss seeing Bruges Belgium which was to be our first stop.
In the meantime we eat! Dinner in the main dining room named Amphora, was ok. We had a great wine steward. He kept the wine flowing freely. I enjoyed my entree of spicy shrimp on polenta. We watched a little of the news together. Todays big story, Trump turns himself into the Fulton County Jail in Georgia.
Next morning we listened to the Captains announcement. He said the divers were beginning work. We found out there was a repair needed on the inside of the ship but to get to it there was a pipe that needed to be welded outside the ship, underwater. He said we should get underway by mid-day.
I had maple French toast for breakfast. A rare treat for me. ~~~~~~~ At 12:30 we did manage to get underway. We sailed out of the estuary in the rain and sailed all day and all night and most of the next day because we had to skip our intended first stop. It was pretty cold and pretty wet. This ship was our next door neighbor.
These were along the estuary and while we were at sea.
After sailing for two whole days and having no internet we were very happy to finally see land and get some dots back on our phones. We had sailed along the coast and through the Straights of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel. Now we turned into the mouth of the Seine. It took over four hours to sail up to Rouen. At first it was very industrial with many refineries and tanks of oil I presumed. But eventually it started to get very picturesque. Lots of pretty quaint towns and even more interesting old French style houses. Lots of half timbering and even some thatched roofs. There are a lot of these but you can skip if you like. And you can click to get a bigger version of the pictures to see more details.
By the time we docked we were having dinner. It was a long time to be at sea! Tomorrow we tour around Rouen. It has a beautiful old town and Cathedral and we will lunch in La Couronne where Julia Child ate her first French meal.
These next few posts will be about our trip. I will be breaking it up like I did on our German trip last year since people seemed to like that.
Tuesday August 22. Departed Umbertide for Amsterdam, Netherlands
We drove ourselves and our cat sitters down to Foligno station to catch the Frecciabianca – fast train to Rome. We left them with the car so they could take in the sights. They are Sue and Bev, one lives in Canada, the other in Michigan but both were born in Canada. They have known one another since childhood. They came recommended by Liz one of our previous sitters. I am sure they will have fun. This week they will probably lay low because it’s hitting 38 degrees Celsius which is 99 Fahrenheit for a couple days. Hot! But next week cooler.
Negroni with our sitters at Bar MaryBev in front of the Collegiata
All went well on the trip. Train to Rome, caught the DaVinci express to Fiumicino airport. ITA Flight (formerly AlItalia) was 25 minutes late getting off. Miraculously we landed on time in Amsterdam. It is refreshingly cool in Amsterdam, just 22C or about 74F. We had arranged a driver who took us to L’Ambassade hotel. It is on Herengracht canal. Beautiful area. Nice hotel. We spent a night here in 1984 on our first trip to Europe. It has changed a lot! View from our window.
After refreshing ourselves, we met my sister Cindy and her husband Bill for dinner. This is our annual trip so we get to see each other once a year. So great to see her! Off to dinner at ‘t Zwaantje. Dutch food. It was busy and popular, but the food was not so much.
We walked back to the hotel bar for night caps. Cindy & Bill had arrived from the US that day and did the usual, stay awake all day then crash. Next day you are mostly over the jet lag. They made it almost to 10pm.
Wednesday August 23
Big day! We met up at 9am for our ticketed visit to the Van Gogh Museum. It was about a 25 minute walk. It is hard to walk here. Narrow brick sidewalks slope toward the street. There are millions of bikes traveling at speed. It seems like they couldn’t possibly stop if someone walked in front of them but my sister accidentally tested that, and damned if he didn’t stop in time. The motto here is, don’t be a squirrel. Like make up your mind in what direction you’re going and stay the course. And always look before stepping to a street. They say 63% of Amsterdamers travel by bike. Some pictures.
Entry to the Museum district
The Van Gogh museum was very good. Many floors. A permanent and a temporary exhibit. I took a lot of pictures of the art. It was interesting with many short write-ups about the art and about Van Gogh. Such a troubled man. Only 37 when he took his life. The last room was dedicated to suicide prevention which I thought was interesting. Just a few of the paintings I saw. I took a lot more than this! This first one was one of my favorites. Almond blossoms to celebrate new birth. It was on the occasion of the birth of his brothers baby, Vincent. Treasured by the family, especially after his suicide.
All of the next ones were painted just before he died. Most of them in the two months before his death and in that two months he painted 75 paintings. More than one a day.
We went to find lunch which we did in Restaurant Red. There turns out to be better choices but we don’t know the city or where to look and by this time we had been standing for many hours. I was anxious to sit down and for some icy cold water.
Luther’s lunch
This evening we had reservations at an Indonesian restaurant named Tujuh Maret. Funny thing about Amsterdam that I noticed. When you reserve a table they have a beginning and end time. You get the table for 90 minutes. Having lived in Italy where the table is yours for the whole night it was a flashback to the US dining where they rushed the meal and brought the check, getting you out as fast as possible so they could turn the table. In Italy meals are relaxed affairs and you pay and leave when you are ready.
Anyway, we ordered the big Rijsttafel. Indonesia was a colony of Holland and food migrated with the people who came to Amsterdam. Now it is a specialty. I had had one of these many years ago and I told my sister I don’t care what else we do, I just want one Rijsttafel dinner. This one was 18 individual dishes served in the center of the table. With rice on the side. They were served in sets of six — mild, medium and spicy. Some of the spicy ones were pretty spicy but not too much for me. It was yummy. Ranging from tofu, beef, chicken, veggie, salad, sweet, sour, hot. So many different flavors. We all had fun except maybe Bill. He is a trooper and goes along but he isn’t a foodie and is not an adventurous eater. I hand it to him, he tried most of them. But he said the meal was only ok.
