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Our stay in Bourville in Haute-Normandie (France) – part 1/2
After the cat’s vacation in Trans-sur-Erdre (travel diary here), we are back in France for a month, in Haute-Normandie this time. The cat, Rosalie, is still with us! Why France? We have to redo our passports (which are very full) so we plan to spend a month in France, the time to redo them, do a health check-up with our favorite doctors – before flying to Canada, the US etc.. Why Haute-Normandie? Because renting a temporary apartment in Paris is much too expensive, and nobody accepts animals. JB launched a search on Airbnb, to find a house with a garden, accepting animals, at 3 hours by car/train from Paris maximum…
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Practical guide of Lisbon (Portugal)
We have just spent a month in Lisbon and we really liked this beautiful sunny city with its crazy charm. I know that there are already a lot of practical guides about Lisbon, but I am writing you a guide to my liking. Abstract The city center is quite small and public transportation is numerous, I think that 3 full days will be enough to explore the places without hurrying: 1 day to Lisbon, 1 day to BelĂ©m + beach, and 1 day to Sintra Download the CityMapper application for all your travels in Lisbon. It’s a city of hills and cobblestone streets, so quickly forget about strollers, pumps and…
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A day in Setubal (Portugal)
This travel diary will be much shorter than the others eh because it is a succession of monumental #fail 🙂 I put you commented pictures because we did almost nothing all day. We rented a car (with Europcar – official website) to go to Setubal, 52km from Lisbon. The fiat 500 costs 17€/24h and the Citroen C4 25€/24h It is in this corner that there is a bird sanctuary, where about thirty dolphins(bottle nose) live, and where the most beautiful beach in Europe is located: Galapinhos Beach. Well, it was not the best day of our life, because not only we did not see dolphins (while the success rate is…
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Lisbon (Portugal) #10: Monastery of the Hieronymites, Belém
Today, we take our courage in both hands to go to the district of BelĂ©m. It is only 30 minutes away from our house but there are only 2 buses that go there. They are always crowded, the drivers not at all nice… so we delay the moment, until the last moment Part 1: Travel Diary Part2: Practical Tips Part 1: Travel Diary It is thus in Uber that one goes there. We already visited the tower of BelĂ©m last time, but if you are going there for the first time, we advise you to go there first. Monastery of the Hieronymites I copy and paste here the presentation text…
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Lisbon (Portugal) #9: Convent of the Carmelites, Castle S. Jorge, Puppet Museum, Restaurant Ponto Final
Morning Puppet Museum This museum isn’t one of the best known/visited in the city but it’s something I like very much so I went there by myself. Entrance costs 5€ and there is a permanent exhibition and a temporary exhibition. I am told that the temporary exhibition is the one at Studio Aardman. What a surprise! I’ve been a fan of their work for years (I’ve watched Chicken Run, Creatures Comforts on a loop). First I show you the permanent collection. They have a very complete collection of all types of puppets from around the world. First the shadow puppets. Then puppets with threads, and even water puppets (those from…
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Lisbon (Portugal) #8: LX Factory & Village Underground
We heard a lot of good things about LX Factory, as a place to discover absolutely, because the concept is too trendy, too cool blah blah blah blah. In the end, it’s just a nice place (without more) to discover in Lisbon on a bored day – or when you run out of Instagram photos. Part 1: Travel Diary Part2: Practical Tips Part 1: Travel Diary Opinions are rather mixed on this place, and one of the negative opinions underlines that it should be visited on a Sunday, the market day. Otherwise, one is bored like a dead rat. So we went there on a Sunday. The place is a…
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Lisbon (Portugal) #7: National Palace of Pena & the Chalet of the Countess of Edla in Sintra
I have already told you about our mini-excursion to Sintra here. We visited only one palace. So I took advantage of my girlfriend C. coming to Lisbon to visit the Pena Palace, the most famous of Sintra, with her. Part 1: Travel Diary Part2: Practical Tips Part 1: Travel Diary How to get there The last time, we went to Sintra by car (and had a lot of trouble). This time, we take public transport to see if it’s better. We leave on a Friday (to avoid the crowd) and trust City Mapper. The suburban trains of Lisbon are a little bit expensive to take so it’s cool that City…
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Da Lat (Vietnam): The most romantic city in Vietnam
In Vietnam, Da Lat is associated with romanticism. It is normal! Da Lat is the number one destination for honeymooners. It also evokes ghosts, it is also the most popular filming location for Vietnamese horror movies. Part 1: Travel Diary Part2: Practical Tips Part 1: Travel Diary In this travel diary that goes back in time, I tell you about our stay in this beautiful city, which JB and I visited in December 2013. This is only the 2nd time I visit Da Lat. The first time being in 2006 or 2007, with my family. I liked it very much, and I wanted to go back there with JB. What…
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Cashmere for Women: Comparative Uniqlo, Monoprix, Eric Bompard, Galeries Lafayette, Kujten, Caroll
Being cold and not supporting too heavy clothes, it’s natural that my attention is focused on cashmere sweaters. Why did I buy so many? because I gave / offered i didn’t buy them all at once, but over several years i confess that I am not someone who takes care of his business. I consider objects to be just objects and I prefer to spend my time taking care of myself and my loved ones rather than hand washing a sweater. That’s why I have “killed” a number of sweaters and telephones I buy all my sweaters during the sales, otherwise it’s much too expensive. Eric Bompard cashmere sweater It’s…
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Lisbon (Portugal) #5: Walking & Shopping
Since our arrival in Lisbon, we haven’t really visited the paying attractions (except Sintra & the aquarium). We are reserving them to do so with friends who will come to visit them with us in the next few days. Today, I will take you to visit – free of charge – several neighborhoods: La Baixa The Chiado Cais do SodrĂ© All these visits were made over several days, but I group them together in one day to facilitate understanding & location (if you ever feel like doing the same thing as us). All these places can be easily visited in a long day. Part 1: Travel Diary Part2: Practical Tips…
