All Over France and Neuschwanstein too!
The third week in September Matt and I took a rental car and headed for the French Riviera. Our first stop on the trip was to Monte Carlo, Monaco. We took along the appropriate attire (which for Matt was suit and tie) in able to gain entry into the world renown casino. He did quite well on the tables, so we picked up our chips and moved onward to another town that had a smaller Lamborghini-to-average car ratio.
We stayed in Ste Maxime next, which is just a 10 minutes drive away from St Tropez. This town was lovely and much more affordable then St Tropez. Thankfully we were vacationing late enough in the month to avoid the hordes of French tourists that are notorious for creating traffic jams here every year.
We moved out of the Riviera and into the Provence region next. We stayed in the town of Arles where Vincent Van Gogh lived for a couple of years. My favorite in Arles was the walking tour which you could locate plaques that noted where Van Gogh painted such famous works as Starry Night or Cafe Terrace at Night.
We headed north next to the Champagne region. It is here in Reims where we picked up my Mom and Aunt JoAnn who had just spent a few days in Paris. The four of us saw the cathedral in Reims in which all the French kings were coronated, including King Charles VII who was led there by Joan of Arc.
A highlight of the trip was in Epernay when we took an 3 hour tour of the champagne vineyards. The outgoing and hilarious guide Nathalie tells you all in the ins and outs of their family operation and includes a couple of glasses to sample at the end. One of the better tours we've taken in Europe thus far - so check it out if you're going to the Champagne region soon! http://www.champagne-domimoreau.com/
Our last night in France we spent in Colmar. A pleasant place by night. We got lost in the winding streets amazed by the timbered houses. This is a popular stop for day trippers, so by morning there were crowds beginning to gather. Before we left we visited the Unterlinden Museum which houses an impressive collection of the medieval art.
The next stop on the trip was Füssen, Germany. I had purchased tickets last February to go to the see the music of Richard Wagner played by a Stuttgart Orchestra in the Singer's Hall in the famous Neuschwainstein Castle. It was quite a formal affair attended by predominantly locals. The music and singing was outstanding and it let my imagination wander back into time.
We drove to Zürich immediately after arriving about 2 in the morning. It was just a few hours of sleep for Matt before heading into work. My Mom, JoAnn, and I continued on to the mountains that day though. We went to Mürren and stayed at the same chalet I was at just a few weeks back with our friend Scott. The woman that runs Chalet Montana is delightful and we enjoyed chatting with the other guests. The weather wasn't as cooperative though. While we had partly cloudy weather upon arrival, the day we hoped to visit the Schilthorn was a bust, so we headed back to Zürich.
We were all exhausted by this point and it was time to get them packed up to go. What a whirlwind it was. We loved having my Mom and JoAnn along for the ride.
In Arles - a plaque of Van Gogh's work compared to the scene today
Matt and I at the Pont du Gard in Provence
The grapes were ready for picking in Provence!
Dressed at ready for the show at Neuschwanstein
A look over the balcony at the orchestra in Singer's Hall
My mom and I got a couple looks at the mountains
The hand bottling process on our Champagne tour
Matt and Mom enjoy the scenery on our way through the Black Forest
We stayed in Ste Maxime next, which is just a 10 minutes drive away from St Tropez. This town was lovely and much more affordable then St Tropez. Thankfully we were vacationing late enough in the month to avoid the hordes of French tourists that are notorious for creating traffic jams here every year.
We moved out of the Riviera and into the Provence region next. We stayed in the town of Arles where Vincent Van Gogh lived for a couple of years. My favorite in Arles was the walking tour which you could locate plaques that noted where Van Gogh painted such famous works as Starry Night or Cafe Terrace at Night.
We headed north next to the Champagne region. It is here in Reims where we picked up my Mom and Aunt JoAnn who had just spent a few days in Paris. The four of us saw the cathedral in Reims in which all the French kings were coronated, including King Charles VII who was led there by Joan of Arc.
A highlight of the trip was in Epernay when we took an 3 hour tour of the champagne vineyards. The outgoing and hilarious guide Nathalie tells you all in the ins and outs of their family operation and includes a couple of glasses to sample at the end. One of the better tours we've taken in Europe thus far - so check it out if you're going to the Champagne region soon! http://www.champagne-domimoreau.com/
Our last night in France we spent in Colmar. A pleasant place by night. We got lost in the winding streets amazed by the timbered houses. This is a popular stop for day trippers, so by morning there were crowds beginning to gather. Before we left we visited the Unterlinden Museum which houses an impressive collection of the medieval art.
The next stop on the trip was Füssen, Germany. I had purchased tickets last February to go to the see the music of Richard Wagner played by a Stuttgart Orchestra in the Singer's Hall in the famous Neuschwainstein Castle. It was quite a formal affair attended by predominantly locals. The music and singing was outstanding and it let my imagination wander back into time.
We drove to Zürich immediately after arriving about 2 in the morning. It was just a few hours of sleep for Matt before heading into work. My Mom, JoAnn, and I continued on to the mountains that day though. We went to Mürren and stayed at the same chalet I was at just a few weeks back with our friend Scott. The woman that runs Chalet Montana is delightful and we enjoyed chatting with the other guests. The weather wasn't as cooperative though. While we had partly cloudy weather upon arrival, the day we hoped to visit the Schilthorn was a bust, so we headed back to Zürich.
We were all exhausted by this point and it was time to get them packed up to go. What a whirlwind it was. We loved having my Mom and JoAnn along for the ride.
In Arles - a plaque of Van Gogh's work compared to the scene today
Matt and I at the Pont du Gard in Provence
The grapes were ready for picking in Provence!
Dressed at ready for the show at Neuschwanstein
A look over the balcony at the orchestra in Singer's Hall
My mom and I got a couple looks at the mountains
The hand bottling process on our Champagne tour
Matt and Mom enjoy the scenery on our way through the Black Forest
posted by Jill Nachtman at 7:17 AM
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