Pre-trip work!

 We are still busy like crazy getting prepared for the trip!





Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Image
 April 12, 2025  Monaco! The Principality of Monaco is around 45 minutes, by car, from Vence. We took both cars, and headed out at 8:30 on Saturday morning. Our hope was to avoid weekday traffic into the city. We are finding that mornings are a good time to avoid crowds. Monaco is a bustling, busy city that values green space, is clean, and void of graffiti. It is surprising to find costal cities clinging to cliffsides (I would think the land along a coast would be flat), and Monaco is no different. Here is what Wikipedia has to say about Monaco: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monaco The parking garage bathrooms were unlocked with our parking ticket. There were some nervous moments as the first person in there tried opening the door, but was locked in. Eventually, we found a button to press on the inside to unlock the door, and were relieved knowing we wouldn't have to find a locksmith to get us out... of the bathroom. Simon is hooked on the Pokemon grind, and in true addi...
Read more
Image
 April 8, 2025   St. Paul de Vance St. Paul was recommended by someone at the tourist office. We could drive to it, take a bus, or hike 1.5 hours from Vence to St. Paul's. We opted to hike. We progressed through town, to country roads, to rustic paths, back to country roads, to the town of St. Paul. Country roads. Rustic paths down. Crossed a creek. Rustic paths up. Country roads. Approaching St. Paul's. Not much for sidewalks! Found Collin's house. Coming into St. Paul. A glimpse of the city. "The old town of Saint-Paul de Vence was built on a small hill, from which there is a view of the whole area. The village lies a few kilometers from the sea, but you can see the Mediterranean. To the north-west you can see the snow-capped peaks of the Maritime Alps. In the Middle Ages, it was an ideal location for erecting a fortress surrounded by thick walls." A view of St. Paul's off a website. "Some of the buildings of historic St-Paul even date back to the 16th ...
Read more
Image
 April 13, 2025  Palm Sunday Today was a light activity day. We grocery shopped in the morning and went to 11:00 Mass. We always enjoy the opportunity to experience how different countries worship and today was no different. Because it was Palm Sunday, we expected Mass to be a little more crowded so we arrived early for seats. Good thing, because it was packed! Standing room only! There were palms available for the congregation and many people brought olive branches. I had to Google why and found out that olive branches symbolize peace and the people take them home and decorate their front doors.  Mass was long, as they read the Passion out loud in French, but it gave me time to think and pray. There were two plaques on columns of the church that listed all the young men from the community that died in World War I and II. The church dates back to the 11th and 12th centuries so I thought about all the lives that have passed through this place of worship. It's impossible fo...
Read more