A Full Day

A long day to Marseille, and I couldn't miss my last meal here in town tonight and that takes precedence over blogging, sorry all. I'm trying to get to bed by 10 as we are off to the train for Paris at 7 am tomorrow. So..... I'll get some photos and a blog ready for later tomorrow once we arrive in Paris. We are all having a fabulous time, love to all.

Avignon and area

This morning we got out of the gate early and took a van tour of the area. We visited Pont du Gard.



Les Baux de Provence



Came back to Arles at noon, had a bite to eat and then caught the train to Avignon. We did our own tour of the town cruising the streets and shops, then went into the the Palais des Papes and realized we didn't allow enough time for such an historic church and palace. Absolutely stunning. Such history.





Every door in this country is unique:



and so is every door knocker:



Tomorrow will be another full day as we take the train down to Marseille in the south of France along the Mediterranean Sea. And no, we haven't taken the fast train yet Chris, but they sure zip along pretty good right now. Saturday on the way to Paris will be the fast train. Wish I had your movie camera for that one.

Arles, France

Today we took to the streets and hiked around the town. First thing we went through was the market downtown. I wish we had markets like this at home, the best vegetables, fish and displays of food. They also had a K-Mart section in case you needed shoes, dresses and housewares.





We then bought a pass which let us into several museums and tours around the city.

(Internet is really slow tonight, but here are a few pictures from the day, I'll add more tomorrow) If you want the display larger, click on it.


Did I tell you we have had nothing but warm temperatures and blue skies?



Our hotel from just across the street at the theater.

Bon Jour

Je suis fatigué.

And that's all my french for today. We hopped on the train at 8:30 this morning and after a couple transfers we arrived in Arles at 5 pm. At Montpellier we had to wait an hour and a half for the next train so we stopped in for a drink.



We will head out now to explore the town before dark and find a nice little spot to have dinner.

*********************

P.M. post

Just outside our hotel.

Last Day in Barcelona, how can that be......

...... we just got here. Tomorrow we catch the train at 8:30 am for Arles, France and hope to arrive there early afternoon.


Today we took the third bus tour of Barcelona, getting off to view the spectacular Sagrada Familia, which is a work in progress that started in 1883 and stopped when Antoni Gaudi was killed by a trolley car. Work resumed on this church again in the 1950's and they project it will be done by 2017.



Pictures from yesterday and todays bus tour:




We stopped for lunch and a look through the market today:


Last night Laurie checked out Louis V for you Leah:


Stopping for a rest:


Later tonight we will go out for tapas and enjoy another stroll through the streets.

How to do Barcelona in Two Days!!

Well after being delayed a day by the volcano in Iceland. (How do you say the name, "I-forgot-your-yogurt"). We now have a total of two full days to see and experience Barcelona. The best thing to do is hop on the city bus tour, there are three areas to view and we were able to complete two of them today. Here is a sample of what we experienced:

(If you click on the slide show below, you should be able to view the pictures in a larger format)

We made it to London

Its 4:30 am, we are waiting in the airport for our connection to Barcelona. I'm tired, Laurie is tired and so are Bev and Kathy. Will write more later, love to all.

.... and we wait

Now leaving Friday afternoon... let's hope.

"Latest news, it was 2:55 pm, now its 4:40 pm."

Cancellation insurance? Why would I need that?

I hope the air clears by Thursday!!!

Packing begins

Picked up the most important items today at "Walmart". I like that store now, they had everything I was looking for today.

Suitcase

Today I dragged the suitcase outta the closet. Mmmmm where to begin, what to put in there.