Little Lolly's Small Adventures: France

Showing posts with label France. Show all posts

The Rest of Our Week at Warp Speed.

Without too much ado, this is a very quick overview of the rest of this week - with not much rest in between!

We drove to chunnel via Belgium and France at midday and caught our chunnel train (er... also called Eurotunnel) without any hassles. Usually the Eurotunnel terminal is heaving, more so during term time but fortunately it was somewhat quieter when children are back at school.

We arrive in England and stayed at Meon Valley Hotel, Golf & Country Club. On the way to the hotel we were hungry so we stopped to pick up a salad which we were able to eat in our hotel room.

Paul had business to attend to in Southampton on Thursday and left me in the hotel to continue catching up on my blogs. I could have gone for a swim in the hotel swimming pool but decided not to.

That evening we had dinner at Samuel's Rest, a pub/restaurant. The meal was delicious - fish pie. It was very filling though!

On Friday we drove up to Wales to pick up our post and stayed with our friends: Sue, Ian and their daughter Lindsay. It was really good to see them again - more so because they are an extension of our family by marriage.

Unfortunately we couldn't stay any longer in the UK because Paul has a course to attend on Monday so we headed back to Rijsbergen via the chunnel on Saturday. We arrived back at Paul's mum's place quite late in the evening but it was good to be back.

Early Departure - Bordeaux, France

Holland America Lines big bosses stayed overnight on the ship and left before the Prinsendam's departure which was around 8:00 this morning. Despite strikes at by dock workers, the situation didn't affect us much at all and the Prinsendam was able to leave more or less on time. We sailed down the Garonne River, passing underneath a modern bridge as we left Bordeaux. The bridge doesn't split in half and lift up. Instead a section of the bridge is raised and river traffic can pass through. Eventually we went through the Gironde Estuary and out to sea.

Once out to sea the pilot was picked up by helicopter. The helicopter arrived and hovered very briefly while the pilot hooked up to a line and was lifted up and away. It was interesting.

We are now on our way to Lisbon, Portugal, just under 2 days sailing ahead of us.

PHOTOGRAPHS

Bordeaux, France. Excursion: Saint Emilion Sights.

Bordeaux

Another port and another day. It was nice to get out and about, and explore.

The tour group I was with was soon on its way in the bus to a Saint Emilion, a medieval village which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The village is quaint and quirky with a lovely 'feel' to it. As we walked through the village along cobbled streets our guide stopped to point out areas of interest and architecture including La Façade Muraille – part of a wall of an old convent, the old convent market, the King’s Tower and Cadene Gate. Much of what the guide talked about I couldn't follow because I was concentrating on keeping an eye on guests, which was a bit of a pity.

Eglise Monolithe de Saint-Emilion (picture
from the internet)

We had a wander around Eglise Collegiale de Saint-Emilion and it was only when we stepped outside the church, via a different door, that I realised that Paul and I had been to St. Emilion and explored the town a bit at that time.

Being on a guided tour today I got to see a bit more of the village, including the entrance to the catacombs, seeing the Hermitage and Eglise Monolithe de Saint-Emilion (an underground church) and relics from the 11th and 12th centurys. The underground church was formed out of a natural grotto. Unfortunately modern day supports have been put locked around the original pillar supports because of the porosity of the rock. I was not allowed to take photographs of the underground church so have managed to find a photograph on the internet to show you what it looked like (when I went it was a lot darker inside with just the minimum of light). It was fine to take photos in a tiny chapel above the Hermitage, the Hermitage being below ground level.

After the tour we had a bit of free time to wander around the village and explore further before heading back to Bordeaux and the ship.

Paul was hectically busy when I got back, in meetings with the 'big bosses' from Holland America Line, so I ended up taking a walk along the promenade, hoping to visit the market close to the ship. Unfortunately most stalls had closed down by the time I got there so I continued walking, reached a bridge and then walked back to the ship.

We are docked overnight in Bordeaux so will give guests and staff time to experience the nightlife and enjoy a meal out if they wish. We depart at around 8am so it gives everyone a good few hours to relax.

PHOTOGRAPHS

Through Bordeaux, en route to St. Emilion