Retirement Odyssey
After I retired on 7/8/16, we began to give serious consideration to the extended trip to Europe we had been discussing for a few years.
We don't want to miss too much of the early development of our two new grandchildren, Freja and Hugo (both almost nine months old at this time), so we've decided to shorten the trip from the originally proposed 6 months to 3 months.
Our new neighbors in Portland have told us we will be missing the best weather of the year there if we travel in the summer, but we've decided it's "now or never". We'll be traveling with carry-ons only as usual. May have to replace some clothes along the way!
We plan to spend the first 2 months in France, traveling by car so we can go when and where we please, primarily visiting small towns and villages with limited time in larger cities. We hope to enjoy a lot of relaxed time, avoiding the non-stop touring that we have pursued during some past vacations.
We'll average 3 days in a given location, but in most cases will travel only 1-2 hours between destinations.
We will be traveling "on our own" during the 2 months in France, all the sight seeing researched and arranged by Steve and all the accommodations investigated and booked by Tina. For the past 6 months Steve has been taking advanced French classes at Alliance Francaise and Portland Community College in preparation for his role as interpreter.
Nice Airport will be our final destination in France. From there we will make a short flight to Rome for a 5 day stay. We were last there in 1972, so I'm sure things have changed. We will be staying in an apartment given the seal of approval by Leah and John (Freja's parents) who stayed there a few years ago. While in Rome, we have arranged for a private guide to give us a detailed tour of the ancient part of the city.
From Rome , we will fly to Athens to begin a 14 day tour with a Rick Steve's tour group, 20 worldly individuals, experienced in the art of carry on travel :-) . We look forward to this final segment of our odyssey as it will be nice to have someone else arranging the sight-seeing, transportation and overnight accommodations!
You will find maps of our proposed route on the next few pages.
Preparation
July 12, 2017
|
Suffield, CT & Portland, OR
After I retired on 7/8/16, we began to give serious consideration to the extended trip to Europe we had been discussing for a few years.
We don't want to miss too much of the early development of our two new grandchildren, Freja and Hugo (both almost nine months old at this time), so we've decided to shorten the trip from the originally proposed 6 months to 3 months.
Our new neighbors in Portland have told us we will be missing the best weather of the year there if we travel in the summer, but we've decided it's "now or never". We'll be traveling with carry-ons only as usual. May have to replace some clothes along the way!
We plan to spend the first 2 months in France, traveling by car so we can go when and where we please, primarily visiting small towns and villages with limited time in larger cities. We hope to enjoy a lot of relaxed time, avoiding the non-stop touring that we have pursued during some past vacations.
We'll average 3 days in a given location, but in most cases will travel only 1-2 hours between destinations.
We will be traveling "on our own" during the 2 months in France, all the sight seeing researched and arranged by Steve and all the accommodations investigated and booked by Tina. For the past 6 months Steve has been taking advanced French classes at Alliance Francaise and Portland Community College in preparation for his role as interpreter.
Nice Airport will be our final destination in France. From there we will make a short flight to Rome for a 5 day stay. We were last there in 1972, so I'm sure things have changed. We will be staying in an apartment given the seal of approval by Leah and John (Freja's parents) who stayed there a few years ago. While in Rome, we have arranged for a private guide to give us a detailed tour of the ancient part of the city.
From Rome , we will fly to Athens to begin a 14 day tour with a Rick Steve's tour group, 20 worldly individuals, experienced in the art of carry on travel :-) . We look forward to this final segment of our odyssey as it will be nice to have someone else arranging the sight-seeing, transportation and overnight accommodations!
You will find maps of our proposed route on the next few pages.
1.
Preparation
2.
Our Journey Begins
3.
Arrival in Normandy
4.
Recalling the life of Jean d'Arc
5.
Farewell Rouen, welcome sunshine
6.
La Route des Ancienne Abbayes
7.
La Jour de Lessive
8.
Continuing west in Normandy
9.
En vacances
10.
Lazy Sunday; Dimanche en France
11.
Brittany, Bretagne, Briezh
12.
The Coast Beckons
13.
Down To the River
14.
Our First Excursion
15.
Another Excursion
16.
Westward Ho!
17.
Touring North Brittany
18.
Channel to Mountains to Atlantic
19.
Hello Birthday Girl
20.
A Change in the Air In Quimper (Kemper)
21.
On We Go!!
22.
Daytripping
23.
"Breaking News"
24.
Medieval festival
25.
Apocalypse Tapestry
26.
"Sunday" on a Tuesday
27.
Visite Guidee avec Sylvie
28.
A Visit To St Etienne
29.
Gloomy Day
30.
A Change in Roofs; Saturday Traffic
31.
Volcano Day .... Up and Away
32.
French Hill Towns of the Massif Central
33.
Je Viens a Vienne
34.
The Grandeur of Roman Vienne
35.
Vienne- continued
36.
2000+ years ago in Roman Vienne
37.
Approaching Provence
38.
The Heat Is On
39.
Vaucluse and Ventoux
40.
Baking with the Romans
41.
Cote de Rhone loop drive
42.
The Red Rocks of Roussillon
43.
Inclement Weather in the East Luberon
44.
Bright Sun in the Western Luberon
45.
Mini-Mistral; Venice of Provence
46.
A Day In the "New" Avignon
47.
An Audience With the Pope
48.
Over the Mountain to Arles
49.
Around and About Arles
50.
Ancient Arle; Coupes des Cheveux
51.
Water to Nime, Birthplace of Bluejeans
52.
Cool and Damp in the City of Denim
53.
Nime's 1st Water Source
54.
Sleeping Like a Monk
55.
Day Trip to Aix en Provence
56.
One Last Trip to the Luberon
57.
Blowing Onto the Cote d'Azur
58.
Cloudy Day on the Cote d'Azur?!?!
59.
Surf and Sun in Golfe-Juan
60.
Souffle Encore
61.
Leaving the Coast; Inland Cote d'Azur
Share your travel adventures like this!
Create your own travel blog in one step
Share with friends and family to follow your journey
Easy set up, no technical knowledge needed and unlimited storage!
