Recently updated on January 15th, 2020 at 08:03 pm
I arrived in Paris for my Best of France Trafalgar trip a few days early and spent time wandering the many famed sights and streets of this charming city. Before I knew it Day 1 had arrived and I was meeting up with our Travel Director Cindy and 48 others who had made the big trip from Australia, Canada and the US. It was a nice and diverse group, some young and a very independent 86 year-old lady!
We set forth into Burgundy wine country on our way to Lyon stopping by the medieval town of Beaune at Maison Reine Pedauque winery. After a tour of the cave-like wine cellars (which date back to the 17th century) we had the pleasure of tasting some of their specialty local drops – the first of many to come on this trip! Upon arriving in Lyon, Cindy took us to the top of a hill which had magnificent views of the city and then it was off to enjoy a nice dinner in France’s culinary capital.
The next day we passed Avignon to see the Papal Palace and the bridge of Avignon, then onwards to Monte Carlo before staying the following two nights in Nice. Our hotel, Boscolo Plaza was in a very good location – one block from the Promenade des Anglais. We had a whole free day in Nice and I visited the Russian Orthodox Church, took a boat ride, tried their local specialty socca (crepes made of chickpea flour) and visited the famous casino (no luck!), all with my seat mate, an American lady from Oregon. We got along beautifully.
In the ancient fortified city of Carcassone we stayed at Les Trois Couronnes, which had a magnificent view of the best castle I have ever seen, especially at night. Most rooms had a view of it, including mine! Dinner at the hotel was very good and included their famous cassoulet with local wine.
On the way to Biarritz, in the Pays Basque, we stopped at Lourdes for a couple of hours. An exceptional place with lots of local charm. Lourdes holds a strong religious significance as the site where the Virgin Mary appeared on a number of occasions. Many pilgrims come here to collect water from the spring – known to have healing powers and so I filled a couple of bottles for my friends back home.
Biarritz is famous for its surf and a popular place for celebrities to escape to. I had a nice time walking by the beach and the shopping was also good. I wasn’t looking, but I saw a pair of nice Mephisto sandals that I had to have, at a much better price than in the US!
After a night in Biarritz we continued through the beautiful French countryside to the famous wine region of Bordeaux.
Susana from California
