by David McGuffin | Jul 15, 2011 | Culture & Customs, David's Journal, Destinations, Eating & Drinking, Experiencing Europe, Restaurant Reviews
Candice Brown, a former student, has family who live in France. Luckily, Candice and I were able to coordinate our travel schedules so that we could meet up in Lyon, France.
Preplanning is the key to getting a seat on one of Europe’s busiest trains. I booked my TGV ticket online, several days in advance (visit http://www.voyages-sncf.com, choose your route, and pay by credit card online). The journey was a breeze once at the Paris Lyon TGV station. I zipped through the French countryside at lightning speed and was in Lyon in just over two hours.
Candice, our friend Abby, and her grandfather Jean-Paul met me at the station in Lyon. We hurried back to Jean-Paul’s home where I met Chantelle, his wife. After a little visit, we were off to explore the town.
Starting at the Cathedral, on the highest summit, we made our way downhill through woody parks, medieval cobbled streets, the Renaissance city, and finally the 20th century “new” town. It was a delight to have Jean-Paul and Chantelle as my private guides. I felt so special that they would devote a day to showing me around their hometown. An added bonus was visiting with Candice and Abby, not in Orange Park, but in France.
One of the highlights was our dining experience. The Restaurant Les Adrets (here is the TripAdvisor link) was located in the heart of the old medieval town and seemed to draw attention from only the locals. Jean-Paul told me that reservations were essential, and luckily, he had booked us a table! There was no menu and very few choices, but that did not matter, because the food was divine!
For my starter, I had toasted bread loaded with greens, olive oil, and fresh anchovies. It was amazing! A funny thing: when I asked Jean-Paul how to say “anchovy” in French, he laughed and said, “It is a French word, so it is anchovy.”
I’ve had a lot of salmon in the past few weeks, but Restaurant Les Adrets’s salmon plat was the best so far. It came perfectly prepared and fresh from the sea. The local wine from “Cote du Rhone” was presented in a traditional “pot” or glass bottle, only available in the Lyon area. The bottle had several inches of glass at the bottom. I speculated the bottles were made that way so that they would not tip over after a bottle or two!
Later, we returned to Jean-Paul’s and Chantelle’s home where we sat, talked, and visited. This was the best! I picked up so much about French culture, protocol, and customs. Like any grandparents, they were proud of their grandchildren and their immersion into their (French) culture. I am truly thankful to have had an opportunity to experience Lyon with the perfect hosts in Jean-Paul and Chantelle.
Lyon- Candice, David, and Abby
Candice and Abby, thanks for showing me around!
by David McGuffin | Jul 8, 2011 | David's Journal, Destinations
A few days ago we experienced unsually perfect weather in Scotland… 65 degrees F, few clouds, lots of sun and an awesome vantage point. Just outside of Fort William, a funicular transports visitors to the highland approaches of Ben Nevis, Scotland’s highest peak. Here is a short video about my experience.
by David McGuffin | Jul 2, 2011 | David's Journal, Destinations
There are several scenic train routes running through the Alps of Switzerland. The “Golden Pass” route connects Lucerne, Interlaken and Montreaux and offers what many think to be the best scenic alpine train excursion.
I began my journey at the halfway point, in Interlaken. After a beautiful ride along Lake Thun, I transferred to a cog-driven train. Here we climbed the 76% grade trek through alpine meadows to the high point of the expedition. Then we began the journey down to Montreaux offering beautiful vistas of the Alps and Lake Geneva.
Here is a short video highlighting my adventure.
by David McGuffin | Jun 27, 2011 | David's Journal, Essential Travel Resources
I think Steinbeck said it like this, “The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry.” After this day of running around like a chicken with my head cut off, I totally agree! I thought I had organized a good travel plan for leaving Barcelona and arriving in the remote village of Carcassonne, France, but instead, I ended up with a day of misfortune.
My first mistake was not making an advanced reservation on the train from Barcelona to Narbonne, France. Now, this was not because of poor planning, for I had visited the train station the day before my travel to get information and a schedule. However, to book the ticket for the next day, I would have had to wait in a que for two hours or more. The “same day of travel que” was only a few minutes. I reasoned that it made no sense to waste two hours now, when in the morning, I could get the same ticket in ten minutes.
As it turned out, there were no seats available on the first leg of my journey, so I had to wait three hours in the Barcelona train station in order to catch the next train to France.
I hung around in the McDonald’s, located in Barcelona’s train station, for three hours. HA! I even bought a Coke Light and french fries, just so I could take advantage of the free WiFi!
Finally, at 1:00 p.m., I boarded my train and was on my way to France. We had to change trains at the Spain/France border, which was a major upgrade from the slow “Spain Train” to a sleek and fast TGV Train.
I arrived in Narbonne, France at 5:00 p.m. I had had enough foresight to prebook a rental car at the Narbonne station, but upon arrival, the rental car office had closed early this Saturday afternoon! Ughhh! I found the Hertz rental office was still open and was able to secure the only car remaining, a tin-can Ford Fiesta. No worries, so I headed off on the superhighway toward Carcassonne.
About forty-five minutes later, I was safely tucked into my hotel in Carcassonne. Nestled between the hill and vineyard, I was ready to do some exploring.
by David McGuffin | Jun 23, 2011 | David's Journal, Destinations, Experiencing Europe
Sixty kilometers southwest of Toledo stands a vast and wide-open plain on which is planted grains, olives and grapes. If, while visiting Toledo, you have a car, it is well worth a trip to visit the small town of Consuegra. It is here you’ll find the famous “Windmills of Consuegra.”
I’ve often seen images of these windmills dotting the pages of “La Mancha” travel articles, but until now, have never had an opportunity to visit. There is a swift new “AutoVia” super-highway leaving Toledo and traveling right by Consuegra. By car, it takes about 40 minutes.
Approaching Consuegra from the north, you can see the windmills from a distance, across the plains.
It was a bit of a challenge trying to locate the road up to the windmills. My GPS was useless, but we found signs pointing us to the Castello and the windmills to be helpful.
The windmills became famous in the 16th century when Don Quixote was first published (BTW – I read somewhere that Don Quixote is the second most read book of all time, after the Bible). These windmills were introduced by the “Caballeros Sanjuanistas,” who brought these machines to help mill grain. They were handed down from father to son. There are still three operating windmills, but only for tourism. All fell out of use in the 1980’s when less expensive forms of milling were introduced.
by David McGuffin | Jun 14, 2011 | Culture & Customs, David's Journal, Destinations, Eating & Drinking
Fado in Coimbra is different than that of Lisbon. In Coimbra, Fado centers around the university community and is sung by men dressed in traditional academic capes, robes, and leggings. Like in Lisbon, it is accompanied by classical guitar and a specially tuned Portuguese guitar, but sounds totally different.
My group and I arrive early at A Capella, a small 14th century chapel turned tapas bar and Fado venue. The owner and chief Fado singer were practicing a rock and roll set scheduled for performance at 12 midnight. Luckily, we were able to preorder a set dinner menu of lamb or fish.
The actual Fado began at 9:20 p.m. and continued in four-song sets until midnight. We all enjoyed the performances of the male soloist and guitar ensemble.
The food was good and by the end of the evening, the chapel was packed with 80-100 people drinking, eating and enjoying the Fado experience.
Preplanning is the key to getting a seat on one of Europe’s busiest trains. I booked my TGV ticket online, several days in advance (visit http://www.voyages-sncf.com, choose your route, and pay by credit card online). The journey was a breeze once at the Paris Lyon TGV station. I zipped through the French countryside at lightning speed and was in Lyon in just over two hours.
One of the highlights was our dining experience. The Restaurant Les Adrets (here is the TripAdvisor link) was located in the heart of the old medieval town and seemed to draw attention from only the locals. Jean-Paul told me that reservations were essential, and luckily, he had booked us a table! There was no menu and very few choices, but that did not matter, because the food was divine!
