We left Annecy this morning, but before we left I looked out my hotel window and found myself on the top of the Annecy railway station. So for all my railway relation fanatics here's a couple of pics....
When we left Annecy we weren't sure which way we would go.. the weather was shocking last night and there was no point in going over the Alps if it was raining or foggy or snowing.... But Jonathan had contacts along the road, and we got the all clear to take on Napoleon's Pass through the Alps.
As we left Annecy we drove along the valley between these magnificent mountain ranges... the trouble was there was a thick fog, and we could only catch a glimpse of the snow capped peaks every now and then. We passed through Grenoble, then took on the mountain pass, and almost miraculously the weather cleared and became sunny. The scenery was spectacular, with a variety of pastoral and farming country offset by these beautiful mountains with their tips covered in snow.
We stopped for morning tea at a town called Col de la Croix Haute - something of the high cross. It was just beautiful and there was snow all around, although not on the road to disturb our journey. Jonathan warned us that it was a bit "rustic" but hey, I've seen worse toilets than that in my life. And do you know what was best....???? There were 3 toilets - neither male nor female, and the blokes had to queue up with us as well..... Divine Justice at last!
We then continued on through the mountain pass - it was all downhill from there, because the Croix de Haute was the highest point. Again the scenery was just magical, and the weather just perfect - at least from inside the bus!
We stopped at another town called Sisteron for lunch. This was a mediaeval town that had the fort and the remnant of the walls around the city, and we even sat outside for lunch. A bit fresh, but bearable....
Jan (the other Aussie) and me at lunch in SisteronI haven't told you a toilet story for a while, so here's one to keep you interested... Jonathan had warned us about these French Public Toilets. In Paris they have these ones on the street that you pay 40c for, and you get exactly 12 and a half mins to "do your business"! After that the doors open! He also warned us about not trying to keep the doors open because when you open the door, it automatically disinfects...
So here we are in Sisteron, confronted by one of these toilets... It was free, but was it worth it...??? It was your basic stainless steel, no seats on the toilet and a big tiled room. So I ventured in... I couldn't find how to flush, so I let the next girl in and sure enough before she could enter, you could hear the big whoosh.... So she went in, and she couldn't find where to wash your hands, so she opened the door to ask us... and then she went back in.... We were scared it would self-destruct or something.... But she managed to escape before the next big "Whoosh".... What an adventure...!!!
So we moved on to Aix en Provence. And again to all you people who think I lack "Kultcha" I went on the optional extra to the house of Paul Cezanne - a famous French Impressionist artist who came from this town. We saw his studio and the mountain he painted many times over - Mount St Victoire... We were given an excellent run down on his life, and the house and its contents is preserved until this day. Many objects that appeared in his paintings were still on display. If the year 4s study Artists again next year, we'll all be full bottle on this topic!
Then we were taken down to the town centre of Aix en Provence, and what a charming town it proved to be. It has its history based way back in Roman times, and it's most recent history belongs to the mid 1800s - around Cezanne's time.
One off the features of Aix en Provence is the Plain trees... those who remember Mum and Dad's house in Shpeherd St will remember how those trees were the bane of their life, as they used to have to pick up all the leaves. They look very gracious in Aix, but they had a history in Surrey Hills!
That should've been enough excitement for the day, but there's more....
I think I told we had a strong American contingent on the tour. That is proving to be an eye-opener. Their view on the world is quite different to the Aussie perspective, and their expectations from travel vary quite a bit from ours... A couple of them were having quite an argument because their politics differed, and they voted for different people.
One couple though, were at the desk as I passed by on the way to the bar for a drink before tea, and the goss was going around the group... According to them between the time when we briefly booked in before the Cezanne tour, and getting back about 6pm, they reckon somebody was in their room doing what comes naturally, because when she went to have a shower before tea, there was a bra and panties hanging up behind the door of the bathroom... and a man's shirt...
Not sure what's going on there, but I was staying well away from it. One of the group from Boston is a litigation Lawyer, so he was in his element trying to see what was going on... Poor Jonathan, and the poor French people behind the desk....
What a schemozzle. It wouldn't be France without some sort of drama, would it....????
Ah the joys of life on the road....!! France is beautiful and the scenery is just lovely, but the food is still killing me.... Tonight we had like a kebab with different kids of meat, and that was quite nice, but the vegies were all capsicums and onions.... I'm dying for a big Irish feed of meat and vegies... The entree was like a bruschetta but made with a pesto sauce, so I only ate a bit of that. I might fade away before I get home....!!! I shouldn't complain though, because I'm having a lovely time, and the bus trip is good, and the company is interesting!!!
Onwards and upwards....
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