France

We traveled to Paris on the high-speed TGV from Barcelona and best of all, there were dogs on the train.

After checking in to our hotel, we walked around for a while, bought some fancy chocolate and had a glass of wine before dinner.

Dinner was the quintessential cherry-on-top of a great culinary birthday journey.

We were able to get last minute reservations on a front window table in the restaurant in the Eiffel Tower.

Neither one of us has ever been up the tower before, and to go up and then have an amazing dinner at the best table in the restaurant was very special. The view was spectacular.

After dinner we walked up to the Trocadero to see the hourly flickering of the tower.

It was a late and fantastic night.

High speed train through the French countryside.

Up we go!

The last time we were in Paris this was covered in volleyball fields. (See the 2024 Some Summer Games journal)

Best view of the tower with perfect timing.

Our tour today started with a very informative stroll through the town of Sète.

It was settled more than two thousand years ago by the Greeks because of the hill surrounded by water that was easy to defend. The name Sète is derived from an old Roman word that means ‘whale’ since the Mont St. Claire hill looked like a whale to the sailors.

This is also the end point of the canal that was built by the french king to connect the North sea to the Mediterranean. There are now many canals so the town is also known as the ‘Venice of the Languedoc’ They also have a yearly ‘canal jousting’ competition.

The town sits next to the Ètand de Thau, a saltwater lagoon, where there are more than two thousand oyster beds. One of the main industries in town.

The other is of course wine, since it is the closest port to the Languedoc wine region.

After our city tour we were off to an oyster farm to get a closer look. Included was also an oyster tasting with a local wine which paired very well.

We watched the worker as she cemented baby oysters to a string. This will then hang in the lagoon for about three years before they get harvested.

Since there is no tide here, they never get out of the water and thus do not grow the strong muscle to close up, which makes them a lot softer.

The oyster place was dark and industrial and we were getting worried about where we were going to do the tasting. Our guide took us to a set of stairs and like a true speakeasy, it opened up into a fantastic seafood restaurant.

We gorged ourselves with the freshest seafood (and oysters, of course) with the wines made with the local Picpoul grape.

After lunch we went to a local wine farm to taste the other local industry, wine.

We had a few extra minutes so our guide was able to stop for us to do another tasting and buy some Picpoul wine.

A great day!

Once an island, described by the poet Paul Valery as the ‘singular isle”, this port town owes its existence to Louis XIV and Paul Riquet’s major canal, built to link the Atlantic and the Mediterranean – now known as the Canal du Midi – which led to the creation of this new seaport in July 1666. Here there are neither city walls nor palace. The architectural heritage of Sète, which was spelt Cette until January 1928, gradually grew up around the development of its port. 

They were hand building a ship to get ready for a big boat festival that happens once every two years.

First she lays out the baby oysters in groups of two and then strings a nylon rope over them.

After a blob of cement, a third oyster gets placed on top to hold the rope in place

These will now move to the oyster ‘bed’ in the lagoon to hang there for about three years.

Todays exploration took us to the Bondol wine region.

The first stop was at the Domaine de Fregate wine cellars to learn more about the wines here, and have a tasting, of course.

They have been making wines here for about 25 centuries and this is one of the oldest AOC’s (Controlled Area of Origin) in France.

It was fascinating to learn how strict they are about the AOC certification. It even specifies how many vines you can have on a root (2), and how many bunches of grapes you can have per vine. (Max 6)

From there we went to the tiny little medieval village of Le Castellet perched on a cliff. The village itself was so picturesque and the views of the surrounding countryside breathtaking.

The location that was used in a French movie by Pagnol from 1932, called La Femme du Boulanger.

Were the front arch curves into the ceiling, you can see the (now closed) window from where the ruler of the village would attend service since they could not mix with the commoners.

From our ship you can see the island where the Count of Monte Christo was imprisoned. Alexander Dumas was living in Marseille for part of the time while he was working on the story.

We docked on the famous Cote d’Azur near the small town of Villefrance-sur-Mer.

We tendered from the ship to the port and then went off to explore the principality of Monaco.

This whole area is so beautiful with charming coves and bays all along the coast. Of course, this area has been popular with the rich and famous for hundreds of years, so there is a cascade of mansions and palaces along the mountainsides that makes for a very scenic trip.

Our first stop in Monaco, the Musée Oceanographique de Monaco which was inaugurated in 1910 by Prince Albert 1. The famous deep see explorer, Jacques-Yves Cousteau, was director of the museum for more than 30 years.

The original deep sea submarine of Jacques-Yves Cousteau is on display outside the museum.

Cathedral of Our Lady Immaculate, also know as the Cathedral of Monaco, is a Romanesque-Byzantine Catholic church that contains the remains of many members of Monaco’s ruling family.

The Prince was in residence so there was a lot of other security as well as the guards.

A view of the racetrack of Monaco which is now being prepared for a visit from the pope. The side of the hill behind is the district of Monte Carlo.

Nice, capital of the Alpes-Maritimes department on the French Riviera, sits on the pebbly shores of the Baie des Anges. Founded by the Greeks and later a retreat for 19th-century European elite, the city has also long attracted artists. Former resident Henri Matisse is honored with a career-spanning collection of paintings at Musée Matisse. Musée Marc Chagall features some of its namesake’s major religious works

The Rue Obscure (Dark Street) in Villefranche-sur-Mer is a 430-foot long 13th-century covered passageway in the Old Town. Originally a defensive, open-air walkway for soldiers, it was later covered by houses, creating a dark, tunnel-like alleyway..

A copy of the painting by Jean Cocteau at the entrance to the Rue Obscure.