The train

I don't want to go any further without sharing my train experience. It was amazing. I took a cab to the train station, in plenty of time, as you can imagine! Once I was sure of the end location, I was in good shape. I just had to people watch, always a good thing, while I watched the board for my track. 

Even though I can't read French, it was easy enough to figure out. I could even tell the difference between the local and the TGV, which I was taking. Lucky for me it was all on the same level. I didn't have to schlep my suitcase up or down stairs or on an escalator. Ay de mi!

Don't know if you can see it but Avignon, my destination, was listed and the lovely man in the orange vest assured me I was getting on the correct train, as did the official person who checked my ticket at the door. 

Not a great picture but I took this from my seat, on the right. You can see my purse on the seat. It was a single seat and most comfortable. All I had to do was sit back and watch the scenery go by. 

It is their high speed line and the ride is as smooth as can be. It took about 2 hours and 45 minutes. Elaine told me to drive that distance would be over 7 hours. It was so interesting to see the change from city to lots of country with occasional sightings of little villages as Provence got closer and closer. 

Our dad never met a train he didn't like and he surely would have loved this ride. 

Now this is Provence!

Can you believe this?  After dropping my stuff off at the house, Elaine drove up past the village of Gordes, on our way to the Abbey. It is an ancient village with many of the  houses built into the mountain

Not sure if you can see the swimming pool in one backyard. Modern and necessary because of the long season. 

It wasn't long before we reached this abbey. You may have seen it on Facebook, surrounded by lavender. Sadly, it is past the blooming season. The work of the abbey is done by only about 5 monks. We saw one today trimming the grass. 

It is really quite an amazing structure. Really lovely when surrounded by lavender in bloom. And quite amazing to think that it has been here for centuries, beautifully nestled in a valley. The work that went into building it...

We are getting back home to Oppede. Elaine and Larry's home is here and is absolutely adorable. I'm in heaven. 

Before we went back to the house, we drove through old Oppede. Can't you just imagine the stories these walls have to tell?

Here we are back home. The house is fairly new but fits in so well to the surroundings. Can't wait to see what tomorrow brings!

I've arrived in Provence

I just arrived in Provence. Elaine picked me up at the train station in Avignon and now I'm off on the second part of my French adventure. Lucky, lucky me!

I'll write more later!

Au revoir for now. 

Images of Paris

I just wanted to share with you some of the images of Paris I'm still carrying around in my head. It is truly a beautiful city that stays with you once you have been there. 

One of many ornate doorknobs that abound throughout the city.

Batobus on the Seine. ( I know some of you are starting to sing the song.)

Unbelievable grillwork on every building. It is as if they are dressing up for something special. Also notice the numerous chimneys. Each fireplace has its own so this sight is commonplace. 

Gardens and parks. This one was located right next to Notre Dame. 

Not in Paris but on a wall at Versailles. 

Also at Versailles in one of the gardens. 

Seen near Hotel de Ville (city hall) in the town of Versailles. As you would expect, fleur de lis are in abundance throughout the country. 

At Musee d'Orsay. Public statues are common throughout the city. 

We're leaving soon for another day in the country, visiting yet another charming little village. Will post later about my day. My cup runneth over...

Au Revoir, Paris!

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Just wanted to share a few last pictures from Paris, this is the night view from the apartment window. Pretty impressive, night and day.

It gets even more impressive every hour from 8 to midnight when the tower sparkles for 5 minutes. i was hoping to share a video I took but it's not cooperating. So many wonderful lights in Paris and this of course is the most special. I'll keep working on it to try and include in a future post. 

So, for me, in a few short hours, it will be Au revoir, Paris and Bon jour, Provence!

Versailles

I'm not sure that over the top begins to explain Versailles. It is 12 miles southwest of Paris and certainly takes you to another world. It was the residence of French kings and certainly an homage that Louis XIV made for himself. The picture is the gilded gate at the entrance. Don't know the woman, she wasn't moving fast enough and we were entering the building. 

This model gives you an idea of the size of the Chateau but you really do have to see it to believe it. 

This picture gives a small impression  of the interior of each room. Painted ceilings and gilded everything are the decor of choice in every room. The next few pictures are some examples of the rooms. 

Could you sleep in this bed?

The hall of mirrors is amazing. Pictures really don't capture it well. We were trying to imagine walking through the room in a ball gown. 

Sleepy, yet?

The queen's bedroom was much more enticing! Beautiful tapestries and fabrics were everywhere. 

And so was Marie Antoinette!

And yes, there was time for a treat. This was called a Mont Blanc at Angelina's, a famous Paris restaurant. Filled with cream and meringue at the bottom. Delicious!

Even the water closets were signed with the theme of the chateau. This one was co-Ed! Interesting. 

After spending many hours in the opulence, we ventured out in the gardens, which are sprawling and gorgeous. This was a pretty amazing statue, only one of many, in the gardens. 

Pretty tired at the end of an exhausting day. This has been a wonderful 4 days in Paris. Many thanks to Candy and Rich for making me feel so welcome in their Paris apartment. Tomorrow I'm on to Provence by train.

May post a few more things later. Hoping to include a very special picture for you. 

Another glorious day in Paris!

Today was another beautiful weather day here in Paris. We stayed a bit closer to home and went to Musee d'Orsay. It is a beautiful museum which was originally a train station. They have a large Impressionist collection and luckily we got there early enough to beat the crowds. They started growing right before we left.

You can see the train station look from this picture I took as we were approaching the entrance. Again, more of that amazing architecture. 

We were not allowed to take pictures in the museum but we ate in one of the restaurants which happened to be right behind one of the enormous clocks on the front of the building. Pretty cool. 

This was the Croque Monsieur which I had there for lunch. Pretty fancy grilled cheese I'd say. 

After lunch we went out on the balcony and took this picture of the Louvre which is right across the street. I won't be going there this trip but really do prefer this museums to the Louvre. I saw that on my last trip here and it was pretty overwhelming. 

And one final shot of Montmarte in the distance with Sacre Coeur shining in the sunlight. Having a quiet evening since we are heading for Versailles tomorrow. Truly a case of the sublime (Musee d'Orsay) followed by the ridiculous (Versailles)!