France

  • Europe,  France,  TDM,  Travel Journal

    Cité de Carcassonne, Son et Lumière & Truffle Restaurant – Road Trip in France #17

    I warn you: Carcassonne is one of the highlights of our road trip in France. Seriously, I asked myself : why nobody told me about it ? Part 1: Travel Diary Part 2: Practical Tips Note: this blog article is part of the “Road Trip in France” made in August 2020. To read the previous parts, click here : #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8, #9, #10, #11, #12, #13, #14, #15 and #16 Part 1: Travel Diary Probably because no one went there either. It’s so far away. I just watched: by train, Paris-Carcassonne, it takes 5h29, with a change in Narbonne. I get train sick from…

  • Europe,  France,  TDM,  Travel Journal

    Aigues-Mortes & the Miniature Garden Trains – Road Trip in France #16

    Aigues-Mortes is a fortified city right next to the Camargue National Park. Tourists come here to see its salt marshes as well as its ramparts. Part 1: Travel Diary Part 2: Practical Tips Note: this blog article is part of the “Road Trip in France” made in August 2020. To read the previous parts, click here : #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8, #9, #10, #11, #12, #13, #14 and #15 Part 1: Travel Diary Salins du Midi d’Aigues Mortes If the medieval city is very small, the saltworks are outside the city and are enormous. One extracts there 500 000 tons of salt per annum! Apart from…

  • Europe,  France,  TDM,  Travel Journal

    The Pink Flamingoes in Camargue – Road Trip in France #15

    I had a very National Geographic vision of the Camargue: I imagined pink flamingos flying over my head, wild horses running on deserted beaches, bulls being caught by the French version of “gauchos” on horseback. And then we went to the Camargue, and I wonder where all these images come from because the ratio expectation vs. reality hurts a bit. Note: this blog article is part of the “Road Trip in France” made in August 2020. To read the previous parts, click here : #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8, #9, #10, #11, #12, #13 and #14 Part 1: Travel Diary Part 2: Practical Tips Part 1: Travel…

  • Europe,  France,  TDM

    [Shopping in Paris] How much do Tiffany solitaire rings cost?

    During my little round trip to Paris, after having pushed the doors of Hermès and Dior with my sister, I told myself that we should take advantage of the fact that we were both well dressed to go to Tiffany’s, right next to the Dior boutique. Because I always wondered how much a solitaire ring at Tiffany’s cost. Remember, I went window-shopping at Tiffany‘s flagship store in New York City, THE store where Audrey Hepburn herself window-shopped in the movie Breakfast at Tiffany’s (Diamonds on the Couch), but there were too many tourists and the vendors completely ignored me so I sulked. Whereas in Paris, after the Covid, there is…

  • Europe,  France,  TDM,  Travel Journal

    Pont du Gard, Pont d’Avignon & le Palais des Papes – Road Trip in France #14

    After having scratched the car because of a too narrow passage, we say to ourselves that we are a little tired because of the rhythm of the trip and that it will be necessary to go a little softer. So, instead of making stops in all directions, we remove the ancient monuments from our itinerary, namely: the Ancient Theater of Orange (before Avignon), the Arena & the Blue Museum of Arles ( after Avignon). Without these visits, we have 2 full days in Avignon. Note: this blog article is part of the “Road Trip in France” made in August 2020. To read the previous parts, click here : #1, #2,…

  • Europe,  France,  TDM

    August 2020 Favorites

    We went on a tour of France by car in August, so my favorites will be more about what we visited during our vacation. The caves : I really liked the replicas of caves, like Chauvet 2 and Lascaux IV. I had a big crush on the Villars cave. Rivers: I don’t really like to swim at the beach because of the sand and salt water, that’s why I really enjoyed spending time in the Gorges de l’Ardèche and in the Dordogne, where you can swim in fresh water and find places without sand. The Périgord has left a great impression on me, and I would love to spend my…

  • Europe,  France,  TDM,  Travel Journal

    The Chauvet Cave 2: an almost perfect replica – Road Trip in France #13

    When we learned that we were in the Ardèche gorges, C., JB’s great cousin and tour guide, strongly advised us to visit the Chauvet 2 cave. Without her encouragement, we probably wouldn’t have taken the plunge because we had planned to visit Lascaux IV and had planned to visit only one cave. Finally, we did well to visit the two caves which are very different. Note: this blog article is part of the “Road Trip in France” made in August 2020. To read the previous parts, click here : #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8, #9, #10, #11 and #12 Part 1: Travel Diary Part 2: Practical Tips…

  • Europe,  France,  TDM,  Travel Journal

    The Ardeche Gorges, Canoeing under the Pont d’Arc – Road Trip in France #12

    I am very excited to discover for the first time the Gorges de l’Ardèche. I’ve heard so many good things about them that I wanted to see them with my own eyes. Note: this blog article is part of the “Road Trip in France” made in August 2020. To read the previous parts, click here : #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8, #9, #10 and #11 Part 1: Travel Diary Part 2: Practical Tips Part 1: Travel Diary Route Clermont-Ferrand – Gorges de l’Ardeche We make a stop at Le Puy-en-Velay (see the travel diary), then a stop for lunch at Pradelles, a “most beautiful village in France”,…

  • Europe,  France,  TDM,  Travel Journal

    Nuit des étoiles, Saint-Nectaire & Le Puy-en-Velay – Road Trip in France #11

    Well, for once, I’m going to mix up the order of visits because I don’t want my childhood memories of Lavoûte-Chilhac to be told at the same time as the other visits. Before going to Lavoûte-Chilhac, we made a stop at a producer of Saint-Nectaire, one of the 5 AOP cheeses in Auvergne. Note: this blog article is part of the “Road Trip in France” made in August 2020. To read the previous parts, click here : #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8, #9 and #10 Part 1: Travel Diary Part 2: Practical Tips Part 1: Travel Diary A Saint-Nectaire with too much protein There are 5 PDO…

  • Europe,  France,  TDM,  Travel Journal

    Lavoûte-Chilhac, my return 23 years later – Road Trip in France #10

    When I was little, I won several singing and electronic keyboard competitions in Vietnam. The rewards were not huge, except in 1997. This one was organized by the French Embassy in Vietnam, on the occasion of the Francophonie Summit in 1997. The prize was a one-month trip to France. Note: this blog article is part of the “Road Trip in France” made in August 2020. To read the previous parts, click here : #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8 and #9 Part 1: Travel Diary Part 2: Practical Tips Part 1: Travel Diary Of course, I participated… and won! We were about twenty of us, including 6 minors,…