Home at Last!

On June 1 we caught the plane from Munich and flew home. Wonderful adventures, beautiful cities and most of all some new friends!
Yes we are very glad to finally be home. We had a fantastic trip and got to see 19 countries. Nine months is a long time to be gone but the memories are well worth it.
The kids have grown taller and have become more cultured.
We had a pipe burst in the pump house from the standing water in the line even though the water had been turned off. Only took a half hour to repair. No real damage was done. The house is fine but I am busy cutting grass and getting the house in back in order.

Best wishes to all who followed the blog.
Dan, Kathy, Guy, Josie and Audrey

Munich Hofbrauhaus

Well if you are in Munich in the spring you have to have the Hofbrauhaus experience which will be as close as you can get to the Octoberfest experience.

A fitting end to our travels.

See what a little culture does to a kid? Before you know it they are imitating the art of Edvard Munch and his "The Scream".

Munich, Germany

We found our hotel in a small suburb outside of Munich that we were able to get to by the metro without much trouble. That night we went for a walk to find a restaurant for dinner. We ended up at a beer garden that had a playground for the the kids and even served my favorite dish....swinehaxe (pork knuckle)....heaven at last!

Downtown Munich is much more interesting than I thought. This is the Town Hall.

How cute is that?

Munich had a huge street fair that weekend and the kids got to be human Foosball players.

Coming Down the Hill from Montmartre

Coming down the hill from Montmartre we had the chance to see some of the Paris we love. I had to capture this typical scene at a french cafe.

I know we will miss the french markets. This was the sausage man.

We'll miss the old stone buildings, the small cars but not the crazy motorcyclists.

At the bottom of the hill is the world renown Moulin Rouge.

Finally we enter the Metro through the art neuveau staircases. Tonight they looked a little alien with their glowing red lamps perched as though they were ready to attack any intruders. Maybe I'm just feeling a little sad to leave Paris.

The next morning we caught the fast train to Munich for a couple of days before our flight home. Glad we are not smokers or I might feel a little like I was being punished standing within the yellow box area.

Montmartre

For the last day in Paris, we decided to go to Montmartre. The area is known for the artists that display their works and who also offer to do portraits for the tourists. It certainly is a very lively area with lots to see and do.

We have been to a lot of churches all over Europe but this one had the most candles all the way around the perimeter. It was interesting to see a Hindu lady, complete with the red dot on her forehead praying at all the statues. I guess she just wanted to make sure that she had all the bases covered.

As we are nearing the end of our trip I am noticing more and more tourists. Time to head home.

Mont Saint Michel

Another road trip from Paris to Mont Saint Michel. As you probably recall it is the place where the tide comes in faster than a horse can gallop.
A very impressive sight when approaching the Mont.

The kids were not that impressed this time seeing the drawbridge that led into the town. By now they had seen so many of them.

We were impressed, though, with the number of tourists at this time of year that were making their way up to the abby. It must be incredibly packed in the summer.

People making a “pilgrimage” across the tidal flats to Mont Saint Michel. Carl Beaudoin had done it and said it was rough as most people do it in bare feet and the small ripples in the hard packed sand hurt after a while. You also have to use a guide as there are patches of quicksand.

Making our our way up the Mont.

Part of the abbey at the top.

La Rochelle

We took a day trip to the port town of La Rochelle. The Beaudoins were originally Huguenots(Protestants) and came from an island just outside of the port called Ile de Re. The Huguenots had to flee France in the 1600s because of persecution from the Catholics and sailed to Canada. I would have liked to go to the island but we only had time for  a day trip and had to head back to Paris. The original Beaudoin Manor on Ile de Re was burned to the ground and the foundation was buried according to legend.

The two towers stood on each side of the harbour and had a large chain between them that was raised at night.

A windmill we saw the next day on our way back to Paris

More Seine River Sights

The cargo barge captains often carry their cars on the back of their ships.

A couple of sailing boats. Note the large keel on the side that they can raise when the river gets too shallow.

Paris!

We finally arrived in Paris after taking the bullet train from the south of France and got into the same cozy little apartment that we had rented when we first arrived. Two burner stove, half size fridge and pint size dishwasher, but it all works and we are used to managing with smaller appliances by now.
We took a Seine river cruise on the next day. We had pretty much seen everything that was highlighted in the tour but it was nice to see it from another perspective.

This bridge is called Pont Neuf which was the first stone bridge that spanned the river.

Corsica

Spending the last few nights in Corsica in the tiny hamlet of Feliceto where had a 3 star hotel with a swimming pool for the kids and even internet access for me. An old hotel that had once been the manor of a family who had moved to South America and came back wealthy. It was nice to be forced to relax by the pool for 2 days as there was nothing to do in the town itself. Even the grocery store only had about 40 items and was only open in the morning.
We went for a small hike out of town and I made the mistake of mentioning that there would be nothing to see. We passed by a waterfall and then ventured into a place that had an old sign saying Auberge something. It turned out to be an old olive pressing mill. The owner was more than happy to show us how it worked and startled Guy when he flipped a switch and the huge old wooden cogs and stone grinding wheel came to life. Of course, thinking we wouldn't see anything interesting I had left the camera behind at the hotel.

Ile Rousse
Again we took some very curvy roads roads to get to Ile Rousse on the isle of Corsica. A very busy little port town where I stayed with the kids while Kathy returned our rental car at the airport that was about a half hour away. Claude-Marie had also brought her car so she was able to drive Kathy back. I would have liked to spend more time at this port town even though it was quite touristy.

Again a very large ferry will take us back to the French mainland. Even though we are getting homesick, as we have been away for 9 months now, Claude-Marie has made our trip to Corsica an incredible adventure.

Nonza, Corsica

Nonza, another little hilltop village along the coast, that was crowned with a small Genoese tower. The towers were at one time built on the coast within sight of each other to warn of pirates. The delightful Claude-Marie is posing with our children.

Sebastiani House in La Porta, Corsica

We asked around to find the old Sebastiani de Porta house from my mothers side of the family and we weere directed to this house.

Going a bit further down the road we came to the old gate that had been used for the horse drawn carriages.

La Porta, Corsica

La Porta is a town where my mothers ancestors came from. They had donated the bell and helped with the cost of the tower in the year 1720

This is a view of the main street.

Posers in front of the typical slate roofs.

Corsica

This is what most of the roads in Corsica are like. Add to that some cows, goats and wild boars that wander on the roads along with buses that are somehow able to navigate these corners and you get some idea. The beauty is well worth it though.

A view of the coast, a tower and the wonderful sandy beaches.

The French Isle of Corsica

Our first hotel was on the beach up the west coast from the main port of Ajaccio in Sagone. The kids were impressed by the size of the waves in this part of the Mediterranean.

We took the "kids" to a goat farm where they had just called in all the goats from the field. After they get their treat they will be milked.

We had a tour of how they make goat cheese. The owner who told us that she was a hippie in the seventies had started with just 5 goats and now had over 200 and is well known for her cheese.

The "kids".

Toulon in the South of France

We caught the bullet train for the port of Toulon which is in the south of France. We spent the night there and were able to sample some of the excellent cuisine.

At the ferry terminal we met up with a relation of mine, Dr. Claude-Marie Paoli, who has just retired, and graciously wanted to tour the Isle of Corsica with us. The ferry was much larger than we thought it would be and offered all the conveniences of a cruise.

Napoleon

Place d'Invalides in Paris, where Napoleon is buried

The Tomb of Napoleon. I had heard that the stone used for his grave was a rare type that had been reserved for emperors and was only quarried in Egypt. They ran out and found another source in Russia.

This is the church that is on the other side of Napoleons tomb. It is only open a few times a year and we were lucky. I had been here last year and had written for permission to see the tombs under the alter where General Sebastiani who served under Napoleon is buried. He eventually became the leading General in France which is called the rank of Marechal. He is related to my mothers side of the family. Kinda cool that the kids were able to see this.

Napoleons stuffed Arabian horse “Vizir”. Didn't "Trigger" from the Lone Ranger get stuffed also?

Emperor Napoleon at the height of his career.

Emperor Napoleon later in life. I found out he died at my age, 52.

Armour that was used in the age of Napoleon. The description did not give much information but the days of armor were obviously at an end.