Category: France (Page 2 of 3)

Les Andeleys 26.7.25

27 July 2025 / admin

Chateau Gaillard 26.7.25

This morning soon after we awake we find ourselves descending in a lock before continuing our leisurely progress along the Seine. Paris is around 38 yards above sea level so we do not have a lot of falling to do – unlike the huge locks on the Douro river.

As we progress I note that one bank usually consists of chalk cliffs for a while with a wider expanse of farming lands on the other side of the river. After breakfast an attempt to sit out at the rear of the vessel is deemed too noisy whilst going outside further forward turns out to be a little breezy. The early morning sunshine appears to have vanished behind cloud, although it will probably return later. Towards the end of the morning we reach our first destination of Les Andeleys. However it is pleasant to sit in the cabin and watch France pass by.

After lunch we are taken to where there should be a waiting coach to visit Chateau Gaillard. (Parking close to the mooring point is not possible). However it has not returned from the first trip and we are standing around waiting. After a few minutes we decide that we would prefer to walk back through the village and take some photos and then return to the boat as the alleged shuttle service is not shuttling. We gather it did a little later but we do not feel we missed out on anything. Chateau Gaillard is notable on the hillside above and I find standing for any length of time difficult – it is easier to keep walking.

Les Andeleys 26.7.25

Les Andeleys is a combination of two villages and judging by the café we saw we were in what was petit Andeley. Attractive Normandy architecture and a Notre Dame church apparently makes it typical of the area. Once everyone is back aboard we are soon in progress again for Rouen which is tomorrow, a new city, but no packing and unpacking. We gather that there was some form of contretemps in the upper car park and the coaches were trapped and unable to return to undertake the shuttle – so out of the control of those involved in organising the trip – but it did feel like that there was a lack of attention to detail – but it seemed to be a one-off.

London – Paris 25.7.25

26 July 2025 / admin

Eurostar 4019 25.7.25

Our travel plan today commences at Sandhurst and a GWR unit to Redhill where we transfer to a Thameslink service to London St Pancras International for a Eurostar service to Paris. It is impossible apparently to purchase this as a single ticket as we no have ticket office to write one up. So each leg is a separate ticket.

Whilst we were a couple of minutes late into Redhill no problems were anticipated as trains were coming and going but a points failure at Three Bridges led to our connecting service allegedly being cancelled (it was actually sent up the Quarry line so could not stop at Redhill) which meant that we had to take the next service towards London – which kept being delayed and so we were about 24 minutes late into London St Pancras International (later delay repay was requested and granted – but it did nothing for the mental pressures at Redhill where there were numerous people who knew less than I did).

We now enter the hell hole of Eurostar and general incompetence. Documentation from our tour company said arrive two hours before departure (so 10:31). We were at the “Disney” line entrance at 10:46 which the Eurostar ticket said was the time we needed to be there (precisely). Were they welcoming passengers for the 12:31 departure? Of course not! Eventually we are permitted to trail up and down the Disney lines before scanning ticket, putting luggage on scanner belts (why – this is a train). One lady in front was shouted at but was physically unable to lift her bag, so I did that. Jackie was told quite abruptly hers had to go in tray. Today we are NOT taking belts off or taking iPads out of luggage. Again no consistency.

Then in the crowded waiting area we are penned in for fifty minutes. Two other services depart before we are allowed access to platform 8 for once a good 25 minutes prior to departure – but the train had been sitting there for some time before that. Very poor people management – no need to arrive so early, no need for bag and people scans – this is a train.

The watch wound forward one hour (I have that right this time) and at 12:31 (13:31 on my watch) we are off. We slide past Stratford International, Ebbsfleet and Ashford sympathising with those who might find any of these locations a good starting point for an International journey.

Once underwater (and I can confirm that there were no visible fish) lunch of either buttermilk chicken or tuna nicoise salad was served. It lived down to the usual expectation of Eurostar food. Even worse for one of our neighbours. They were carefully asked about allergies before serving (as were we) – she indicated a wheat allergy and they STILL put an ordinary bread roll on the tray. Unforgivable. Somehow there is also a complete inability to deliver tea and coffee so we are offered more (absolutely awful) wine.

I visit the café in coach 9 which feels like walking to Paris and acquire some navigo passes for next Thursday plus a bottle of red wine (187 ml) for the good lady wife as it is something better than the red wine served by Eurostar. By then we are thundering through northern France close to 300 km/hr.

We were met in Paris, loaded onto a coach and then onto La Peripheque to the Seine where we join MS Jane Austen. Check in, unpack. Decent cabin, with a bottle of champagne waiting.

Dinner is excellent, leek soup, beef bourguignon and french cheeses and some decent red wine.

Eiffel Tower 25.7.25

We head up on deck – it is wonderfully warm and having headed in slightly the wrong direction we are in sight of the Eiffel Tower for its 10pm light show. We turn around and start our journey westwards along the Seine.

Corsica – Sardinia – 7.10.23

8 October 2023 / admin

Bonifacio Cliffs

Saturday 7.10.23

This morning it is bright and warm again and I have a wander around Sartené taking some photographs of the town – it is very steep to get out of the hotel but once at the higher level it is reasonably flat around the town centre and there are some welcoming restaurants around the square – very pleasant all the way round. Our coach has to leave the hotel with some careful navigation the wrong way along a one-way road – one of the hotel staff stands at the far end of the one-way stretch and prevents vehicles coming the other way as we exit.

We proceed through the southern part of the island to the port at Bonifacio, which like Calvi and Ajaccio has a string of restaurants along the water’s edge and we choose one for lunch. The weather remains unseasonably warm and it is very pleasant to be able to eat outdoors so often.

An inter-island and international ferry, M/F Ichnusa, provides the transport between France and Italy, With experience from our earlier ferry journey this time we secure our cases and carrying important items we are able to secure the cases in the facility at the rear of the ferry – no attempt to hoik them up numerous staircases this time. Leaving Bonifacio the cliffs are an outstanding feature which is duly recorded and we then head to Sardinia. Approach Teresa Gallura it is somewhat surprising when we reverse onto the berth. The ferry is a little unusual in that it is not a normal ro-ro – the vehicles do indeed roll on and off – but always at the stern as there is no ability to open at the bow end.

A new coach collects us to move us across to Palau where we are in a hotel for the next couple of nights. The hotel is approached by quite a steep slope and stairs making it memorable for the wrong reasons!

Once booked in and clothes slightly re-ordered as we are here for a couple of nights we wander down the hill to the town. There appears to be a variety of restaurants and we make our choice before having to face the climb back – it seems much further uphill!

Corsica – 6.10.23

7 October 2023 / admin

Napoleon Bonaparte overseeing Ajaccio

Friday 6.10.23

Having packed yesterday we move on and we are separated from our luggage as we leave it in the hotel reception and walk to the station whilst the luggage will meet us in Ajaccio.

Once again an AMG 800 – also pretty noisy but we avoid sitting on adjacent to the motors today. We start with the same route as yesterday trying to spot the now closed line which branched off at Casamozza to Porto-Vecchio a small town on the south east corner of the island. This suffered badly during WWII and part closed as a result with the rest closing in 1953. Partial re-opening has been considered but seems unlikely.

The line runs through some amazing landscapes, not quite as dramatic as yesterday – but equally remote and unoccupied for much of the journey. Until Vivvazona the road and rail are not that far apart but the line enters a tunnel and the road climbs over a pass nearly 4000ft above sea level and can be closed in winter. Road and rail come closer to each other around the Viaduc du Fondali. They then separate and wind their own ways through the valleys as we head (typically) in a south westerly direction although we probably visit most of the other points of the compass as we twist and turn. This is more obvious looking later at a map as I spend the trip watching the countryside through the window.

Ajaccio is the capital and (not surprisingly) there is a large fortress of Genoese origin adjacent to the original harbour. There is a much more modern harbour where one of Cunard Queens is berthed for the day as part of a Mediterranean cruise. We walk along the harbour front to the Town Square.

Historically Napoleon Bonaparte was born here in 1769 (or possibly 1768) and did not initially learn French which was required before he could enter Military College. Needless to say as a cruise ship port the town now celebrates Napoleon! Following a light lunch we return to the Town Square and rather than exert ourselves await the departure of one of the two Dotto trains. Be careful when buying tickets – there are two trains – and one takes longer than the other, our time was limited so we could not take the longer trip and initially bought the wrong tickets – which were exchanged and the difference refunded without difficulty once we realised.

The train takes us to the Monument to Napoleon I in the Place d’Austerlitz which was inaugurated in 1938 following a public subscription which had commenced in 1935. We also pass the Buonaparte house and the fortress on a circular route around the town. The town also attracts winter visitors as it maintains a relatively mild climate at 59 deg F during the winter months.

Timewise we should not have worried as our coaches materialises later than anticipated and we now take another twisty journey, but this time by road, initially eastwards but then south to Sartené a hill town in the south of the island. An important activity in this area is wine growing and it makes a welcome place to stop for the evening, although on first sight it appears a little vertiginous. Dinner in the hotel as the walk even up to the road appears steep.

Corsica – 5.10.23

6 October 2023 / admin

AMG 804

Thursday 5.10.23

This is a railway holiday and today we finally get to see a train and indeed ride on some! The remaining railways in Corsica form in outline a “Y” shape. Running roughly north-east to south-west is the line from Bastia to Ajaccio which will be our main journey tomorrow but today we are headed across the top of the island to Calvi – via Ponte-Lecchia where our train will reverse and wind away into the hills to our destination.

The prime movers on the island are a fleet of AMG 800 units which are an earlier version of the units which run out of Nice along the Chemin de Fer de Provence line which we visited some years ago. The bogies have been adjusted with the addition of a tilting facility to suit the tight and twisting Corsican permanent way and on initial entry into service, technical problems led to the fleet being grounded until it could be re-engineered. There are a total of 12 units and they are maintained in a modern depot at Casamozza built a few years ago to allow complete redevelopment of the new Bastia station which is our starting point.

Initially, having passed through a tunnel, the line heads south passing alongside a number of smaller towns where we pause briefly until we reach Casamozza. the depot to the left of the line in the direction in which we are heading. The line now swings around to the right and the route commences twisting left and right as we start a more significant climb away from sea level and into the hills in the centre of the island.

Ponte-Lecchia, as already mentioned, is where the two lines diverge and a service arrives from Ajaccio to enable interchange before we reverse and take the diverging line to Calvi where, if anything, the curves are ever tighter. Previously we had been tracking a river but now for a while our accompaniment is a road – which eventually twists away in a different direction and the train is on its own in an amazing mountainous landscape which appears to be largely uninhabited with no obvious occupants in any direction. We emerge on the other side of the mountains commencing a descent and pass some small settlements as we head towards sea level.

At L’île-Rousse we are again hogging the coastline which lies to the right of us and one of the ferries from here to the mainland is currently present. From here to Calvi there is a local service along the same line referred to as the “Tramway of La Balangue” which utilises much older rolling stock and works back and forth to a limited (more frequent in summer) timetable serving the large number of villages which lie largely between the railway line and the sea.

Calvi is a pretty little town on the north western coast line with ferries to Nice and to Vado Ligure in Italy. Historically it was developed after 1950 as a holiday destination mainly by the Horizon Group and I can see the attraction. The hill above is surmounted by a Genoese fortress which was rebuilt in 1491. There is an attractive run of restaurants along the waterfront here – with lots of bibbly-bobbly boats. The appeal as a holiday destination with trips to the other villages along the coast is immediately obvious and might be a nice place to get some sun for a week with trips to the other villages.

Admiral Nelson and Lieutenant-General Charles Stuart had little time to contemplate the leisure aspects of the town when capturing it in 1794, following the siege of Calvi during which Nelson lost his eye. We have a group walking tour through the town and then up and around the fort above including the plaque recording the loss of B17 bomber on 14 February 1944. We also visit to the Cathedral which is within the fortress.

Our return trip almost mirrors the outward journey – which is hardly a surprise. The exception is at Ponte-Lecchia where we disembark to join a train from Ajaccio heading to Bastia. For this section of the journey we are sitting over a very noisy motor – to be honest these units seem to have particularly loud Deutz engines – and whilst I admit they are working hard there is a lot of energy going into sound rather than traction!

Once back at the hotel we eat in the small restaurant attached to it in pleasant evening warmth. The scenery is outstanding throughout the journey and it is impossible to convey how beautiful it was in the afternoon sunlight on the return journey.

Corsica – 4.10.23

5 October 2023 / admin

Wednesday 4.10.23

We remain in Bastia today as we have a walking tour from our hotel through the town square and onwards. Essentially we are walking south with the seafront to our left and again the temperatures are well above expectation – so sunscreen protection is needed.

Corsica remains part of France but there are significant powers vested in the Corsican Assembly which rules the island from Ajaccio with Bastia being the second largest town. However it was not always this way and at one stage Corsica was (almost inevitably for a Mediterranean island) part of the Roman Empire, subsequently coming under the control of the March of Tuscany. The rise to power of Pisa led to them taking control in the 11th century with the northern end of the island seeing the construction of many Genoese fortresses to act as a repellent to the threat of an Arab invasion. From 1284 the Genoese became dominant until 1767 when (having lost control of much of the island) sold it to the French who lost control in 1794 to an Anglo-Corsican alliance. That did not last long when the British withdrew in 1796 and French control was re-established.

So a mixed history and there is a strong local language which can be understood by many Italians as it is closely related; the other local language is French. There is some evidence of a wish to become independent – FLNC (National Liberation Front of Corsica) appearing as graffiti, alongside “French go home”, defiling many walls. However it is not entirely clear how serious the current movement might be having been dormant for a few years.

Beyond the main square is a shopping street and we come across A Tinella which is a decent looking cheese shop (and we note wines). At this point we also feel that our walking range is always slightly limited and having consulted the online guides one item we do wish to see is the Silver statue of the Virgin Mary within the Sainte Marie Cathedral which is at the far southern end of the town in the oldest part of the fortress area. So we head off in that direction leaving the group behind and from sea level to the older town it seems we have to ascend numerous steps at the Ramp of St Charles. Eventually I find the main entrance to the Cathedral – which is completely closed. A local resident shows me the way to the working side entrance (repair works in progress) and we are able to access the Cathedral and then find the statue.

For those who want an easy way to get there we have odd sightings of a Dotto train around the town – but never when we want to use it!

We had hoped to see the local equivalent of a model of the town in the Musée de la Miniature for which we see signposts – but on reaching it the location appears locked up and permanently closed. It does however enable us to get back to almost sea level and a very pleasant walk around the edge of a marina and then back into the town. Dinner is acquired from the previously mentioned cheese shop which we repass on the return journey and on reaching the town square we choose one of the restaurants for a lunch before walking the rest of the way back to the hotel.

In the later afternoon I make use of the rooftop pool area – both for some sun and then a little later in the pool itself. A good way to spend the day.

Corsica 3.10.23

4 October 2023 / admin

Tuesday 3 October 2023

This morning we have a n early crossing to Corsica, so leaving Italy for France. In retrospect the journey has elements of high comedy although at the time it was less amusing than that.

Minibuses were booked for our transit to the ferry – it is an early sailing and given the potential for delays in crossing a national frontier the arrangements indicated an early arrival at the port. We joined the first minibus and headed off to Livorno, where our driver seemed not to know the departure point for the ferries. The other minibuses were late and so the tour manager convinced a number of taxis to take them to the port gate – which they reached before us even though they had started their journeys somewhat later.

Our last experience of Mediterranean ferries was visiting Greek Islands and we have a distinct memory of cases being piled high and Jackie was never convinced that some cases left the ferry with the right owners – no checking mechanism – so we sat in sight of the cases at all times. For this journey we are offered two options for our luggage – either a cupboard at the rear of the ship as we boarded or to keep them with us – so probably wrongly we opted to retain them – something I regretted as I had to get both cases up about four decks inside the ferry. A fool and his money may soon be parted – but the Whitbreads and their luggage – never!

The ferry is Mobyferries and is decorated to reflect the “Looney Tunes” characters and serves a Wily E Coyote breakfast – which might impress some young travellers but cold scrambled egg remains cold scrambled egg!

We retire to the bar with our luggage and remain there throughout the journey – we are not going to lose our cases.

The appointed transport is awaiting us in Bastia – although as we can see the hotel once we have disembarked it probably was not necessary – the Port Toga Hotel immediately adjacent to the Dock Gates was modern and attractive. It has dining facilities immediately outside and is not far from the marina with other dining options. This is our first chance to unpack some of our bags as we are here several nights and can have a bit of a sort out. It looks like being much warmer than expected so tracking down all the lightest clothes is the way forward.

Dinner down in the marina is a huge pork chop amongst the bibbly bobbly boats and a pleasant evening.

Italy and France – 1.10.23

2 October 2023 / admin

Sunday 1 October 2023

Time for a new adventure, travelling this time with PTG Tours – with whom we visited the (undocumented) Douro Valley just about a year ago and we are partaking of another tour, in view of how well the previous one ran – this time Pisa, Corsica and then Sardinia. This is the first time the tour has run post-covid and inevitably the world has changed significantly since the operator wrote the original brochure for this tour and indeed there were uncertainties around aspects even at the time of our departure from the UK.

Unusually for my travels in recent times we are allowed onto the tarmac at Gatwick and head up the rear boarding steps as all operators are keen to minimise time on the ground and utilising the rear steps speeds up the process (and we are sitting near the rear so it suits us) and allows a photograph of the plane!

EasyJet provide our transport to Italy and this time Jackie and her luggage are re-united (unlike her return from Israel). We are a decent sized group enhanced by some Australians with further travellers due to join us in Sardinia, so quite a mixture. Most of the participants are, it seems, likely to be more interested in the scenery and similar rather than the trains, although to me this is a railway holiday with a hope to try and cover most of the railways on the two islands.

The good news is that our hotel is immediately adjacent to the Cathedral and the Leaning Tower and we walk past them to reach the street full of restaurants which we had previously identified as the location for dinner. We walk past a number and it is more or less a question of tossing a coin, we make a choice as finding the precise one we had found online was not simple (slight difference in name – I do spot the restaurant the following day).

Rhine 5.8.19

6 August 2019 / admin

TGV Belfort-Montbeliarde 5.8.19

We are moored in Basel and we have received disembarkation instructions. Given that we physically set foot on Swiss land as we leave the boat I can claim to have visited the country! (On one of my earlier “visits” we landed at the airport but immediately departed via the “French” side). We are transported by taxi across the border to Belfort-Montbeliarde from where we take a TGV service to Paris – eventually arriving in Paris at Gare de Lyon.

A taxi is needed to reach Gare du Nord – simply because with cases and changing trains is just not that simple. As ever with Eurostar things do not seem to be running smoothly and the passenger area becomes seriously crowded and there is very little information as to what is happening. Every interaction with Eurostar seems to demonstrate a complete inability to want passengers or to provide a proper service. Compared with my first visit to France at least we do not seem to be endlessly crossing northern France. Eventually however we are home.

One aspect which has stayed with us although not mentioned earlier is that a couple of the early evenings when we were passing the huge industrial complexes – I think in particular in parts of the Netherlands and then again passing possibly Krefeld-Uerdingen or Leverkusen with the Bayer factories we can see how much manufacturing those areas have retained which the UK has lost and how the economies of scale favour such factories – they just seem to stretch unending alongside the river as we progressed.

We would both like to try and do the Alsace wine route at some point – but the possibility seems unlikely as in general Jackie tends not to like German wines. Maybe one day.

Rhine 3.8.19

4 August 2019 / admin

Gertwiller 3.8.19

We are moored in Kehl this morning which is across the river from Strasbourg. As the Rhine skirts around Lauterbourg it also becomes the French – German border. The Alsace has been ruled by both France and Germany at various times. In 1870 Germany unified with Bismarck annexing most of the territory. It was ceded back to France under the Treaty of Versailles. It was re-occupied by Germany in 1940 and residents were subject to German conscription. It returned to French control in 1945 but in recognition of history there remains some elements of local law.

Our interest is far from political – we are here for a tour through some of the Alsace villages and to taste some local wines. We establish that wine tours are obviously common in the area with signs directing travellers along a formal wine tour which stretches for 170km north to south through Alsace.

Obernai 3.8.19

However as these photos and others show it is an attractive region with its own style of architecture.

Plus being largely German wines we are tasting which tend not to be Jackie’s taste I often get double portions.

This evening the stunning evening entertainment is the playing of cow bells. Along with the Kletzmer band this probably led to an early trip to bed.