Over the last week we made several two-hour train rides south as we explored more of France. Today we began the trip back to Paris as our time in France is coming to an end.
This morning we went for an early walk in Carcassone to a local patisserie for our now standard French breakfast: coffee/tea/hot chocolate & pastries. We quickly packed up and headed to the train station for a short train trip to Narbonne where we transferred to a high speed train for a 4 hour ride to Paris. We’re starting to get good at train travel and we now know our favorite baguette sandwiches to travel with.
We arrived in Paris and headed to our hotel in Les Marais. After dropping off our luggage we hopped on the Metro and went to the famous Avenue de Champs-Elysees. Kelsey made a stop at the Apple Store to replace an AirPod she left behind at a hotel. Lindsey went in search of macarons at the famous Laduree shop. We also made a stop at the official Paris 2024 Olympics merchandise store. Clearly this was a European merchandise store since it was the size of a cargo container. A US merch store would be much much bigger.
Next stop, one of the best views of Paris and the Eiffel Tower: the top of the Arc de Triomphe. The views of Paris were amazing and well worth the incredible stair workout to get up to the rooftop. It was nice to be back in Paris.
We got up early to head back into the old city of Avignon. We went to Les Helles – an indoor food market that opens early and has a living plant facade. We had lots of fun strolling around looking at the various vendors – meats, cheese, seafood, baked goods, produce and more. We chose some delicious pastries for breakfast and grabbed a few snacks for our trip.
Les Helles
We packed up, walked to the train station, and boarded a train for Nimes where we had a quick stop and train change on our way to Carcassonne. Our Airbnb in Carcassonne was just a short 5 minute walk from the train station. We tested our travel philosophy to only pack what you can carry with our apartment on the third floor (which to Americans is the 4th floor) in a building with no elevator. Karen wished she had packed a little lighter! We were rewarded for the effort with a nice, spacious loft apartment.
With lots to see on our one day in Carcassonne, we quickly dropped off our things and headed out to the old medieval city (a 10 minute drive/30 minute walk from the new city where we stayed). This is a stop Kelsey was really excited about, as the Carcassonne board game is one of her favorites. All the guidebooks told us to expect lots of people and tourist trap type shops, but we found the old city to be charming and not crowded that afternoon. We really enjoyed the audio tour walk through the old castle with descriptions of medieval fortress life. Although it was a very warm day, it was cool inside the stone castle and there was a nice breeze as we walked along the castle’s ramparts.
After exploring the fortress and ancient town, we found a hidden garden bar that was a fun place to stop for a drink. Meandering a little more, we found a great restaurant for dinner.
Lindsey’s Gargoyle Impersonation
As we traveled through France we found that many cities host festivals in July. Kelsey noticed a festival banner in Carcassonne that announced the performance of the opera Carmen in the old city amphitheater that night. She convinced us to experience this performance. It didn’t begin until 9:30 pm, and though it was still light at that time, the breeze really picked up causing the temperature to drop. By the end of the first act, Lindsey and Karen had enough and started the walk back to our Airbnb. Kelsey and I stayed until the end of the four acts which was after midnight. Although we were cold, we stuck it out to see an amazing performance in a unique and beautiful theater.
We really enjoyed our afternoon in this medieval city.
For most Americans the 4th of July is a day for red, white and blue – but this year it was lavender day for us!
The main purpose of the car we rented yesterday was to explore Provence. After our French morning routine of stopping by a local bakery for coffee/tea/hot chocolate and pastries, we set off to see lavender and a couple of small provincial towns.
Our first stop was the Abbey of Senanque. This beautiful old abbey was stunning – a white stone building set in the middle of lush greenery and fields of lavender. There were lots of tourists, many with interesting driving and parking skills. Unfortunately, we could not tour the abbey since our arrival coincided with their two hour lunch break. Even without seeing the inside of the Abbey we thoroughly enjoyed the beautiful scenery and our first glimpse of lavender fields.
We then drove about 15 minutes to the little village of Gordes. This is a beautiful little town on a hill that obviously knows its value to tourists. We enjoyed strolling around, looking in various shops, and having lunch at an Italian restaurant (we noticed Italian food being more prevalent in southern France)
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Back in the car on the way to our next stop we drove past a gorgeous lavender field. We quickly pulled over and parked on a side dirt road. We captured the moment for a family photo shoot with no one around besides the passing traffic. It was exactly what we were looking for. Unbelievable!
Our last stop on our road trip was the little village of Roussillon. This town is known for the ochre-colored cliffs it sits on. The cliffs are beautiful and remind me of red rock found in the western U.S.
We then headed back to Avignon. We thoroughly enjoyed our day exploring Provence. It was amazing to see so much within an hour drive of our home base of Avignon.
Due to our unexpected trip to retrieve our travel documents yesterday, Lindsey and I had not yet visited the old walled city of Avignon. After our lavender road trip we went into town to experience the frenzy of the arts festival and see the old medieval city. Karen and Kelsey showed us around and guided us from their exploring the previous day.
Kelsey wanted to see one more site in Avignon, the Pont Saint Benezet. She and I went to see the historic remains of this 12th century bridge that now only goes over a portion of the Rhone river. We squeezed in an audio tour before it closed while Karen and Lindsey enjoyed wine at a cafe while people watching.
Before heading back to the apartment after dinner we stopped to see a street magician. Lucky me, he included me into his act. It was a fun and pleasant way to end a wonderful day in Provence.
Today’s post needed to be written by Karen Hammond. You will see why in the day’s events.
The morning in Lyon was spent going in two different directions. We decided to divide and conquer. Kelsey & Karen rented bikes and went on a brisk bike ride to see one last sight before leaving Lyon. They rode on a great bike path along the river to the confluence – the point where the Rhône and Shoane Rivers meet. The time available for this trip was tight with just enough time to stop, take some photos of the Museum of the Confluence, and return to the hotel to make the train to Avignon. The museum, being a very contemporary building, anchors a part of Lyon with lots of modern architecture. The museum is controversial since the style contrasts with the gothic architecture throughout Lyon.
Museum of the Confluence
While Kelsey & Karen were off on their adventure, Greg & Lindsey enjoyed a more leisurely morning with their favorite iced chai latte and a pastry from a local patisserie. What time was left, they wandered a bit through some shops and picked up madeleines for the next leg of our trip.
Getting Chai Tea Lattes & Madeleines
Both teams were successful, meeting up at the hotel before quickly whisking off to catch a train for the 90 minute ride to Avignon. Our next stay was an AirBnB apartment just a 10 minute walk from the train station. Despite our lack of French we were able to communicate with the host who was able to show us the spacious apartment with an interesting layout (3 bedrooms, 2 showers, 1 toilet). Travelling further South we noticed a big change in temperature and were happy for the air conditioner that almost cooled the apartment.
Immediately after arriving Greg (THANK GOODNESS!) realized we left our passports in the room safe in Lyon! We decided the best plan would be for Greg to get our rental car early (fortunately we had booked one that was to be picked up later that evening) and drive the 2½ hours back to Lyon to retrieve the passports. Lindsey volunteered to be his copilot, and the two of them set out to learn about driving highways in France. Fortunately it was a relatively easy trip and they were able to retrieve the passports and get back to Avignon before midnight. Greg definitely earned MVP status for this one (Lindsey close runner up for keeping the driver company while updating the radio station frequently).
Meanwhile Kelsey & Karen started to explore Avignon. Our apartment was a 15 minute walk to the old walled city. The first thing we noticed were signs for the “Festival Avignon” and LOTS of people. It turns out we arrived on the first day of a 3 week arts festival. Every surface in the city was covered in posters advertising performances, and at every turn someone walked up to you trying to give you a postcard about a show. We quickly learned that saying “No, merci” let folks know we didn’t speak French. We avoided most pitches except for one performer who insisted we’d love the “no words show about three clowns who wish they were in Scotland.”
Our first stop in the old city was a tour of Palais des Papes (a huge gothic palace that was the home to the Popes in the 14th century). We then walked around the Jardin de Doms, a lovely park that overlooks the city and the Rhone River. Later we went into the city and watched several street performers and had dinner and ice cream in one of the town squares. We walked back to the apartment in time to make a plan for the next day and greeted Greg and Lindsey when thl returned from their “adventure.” Hammond family traveling always seems to include a little “hiccup.” We were glad to get it out of the way toward the beginning of our trip.
Palais des PapesPalais des PapesThe palace was built on rockPalais des PapesPalais des PapesPalais des Papes
Today we set out to explore more of Lyon. Our favorite way to learn about a city and see places we would never find on our own is with a free walking tour. In Lyon we connected with Maggie, a local resident who volunteers her time to show people around the city through Lyon City Greeters, a service offered by the local Chamber of Commerce. Maggie kindly shared 2.5 hours of her day walking around with us to point out many sights.
During our tour we took another Funiculaire de Lyon to the St. Just Fourvière neighborhood where Maggie showed us several small streets and alleys that included a lookout over Lyon created by the city of Montreal, Canada. Our tour also included stops at Hotel Fourvière (a former abbey and chapel, now a 4 star hotel), the Lugdunum Roman ruins and amphitheaters that are still used for events, and La Fresque de Lyonnais (a large painted mural). During our tour we were shown part of a Camino de Santiago trail in Lyon. You can see signs for the trail by following seashell symbols and we saw groups of people on this pilgrimage.
Remains of a 5th Century church Funiculaire de LyonSigns for Camino trail Hotel FourvièreHotel FourvièreLugdunum Roman ruins and amphitheaterLa Fresque de LyonnaisLa Fresque de Lyonnais
Hotel Fourvière
After walking with Maggie we explored the neighborhood around the Lyon Opera House. We unfortunately were not able to go inside as it is closed on Mondays. The outside of the building is interesting. The first two levels are a Roman style structure and on top there is a large modern addition with a unique semi-circle roofline.
Although a challenge for our family is navigating everyone’s food likes and dislikes, we enjoy exploring local food options. This afternoon we spent a few hours on a Lyon walking food tour. The tour made four food tasting stops and our excellent tour guide shared Lyon history along the way.
At our first stop, Le Sirop de la Rue, we sampled dried sausages paired with wine and a special syrup the owner developed from the sweet, red praline almonds from Lyon. The sweet Cul Cul la Praline Sirop can be mixed with wine, used in cocktails, or has several other uses.
The second stop was at Fromagerie Cave a Manger to sample four local types of small batch, handmade cheeses paired with wine. Karen and Lindsey enjoyed having a couple of extra samples.
The last two stops were sweets. Up first was a bakery with a sweet roll using the red pralines that Lyon is famous for and last, but not least, was ice cream. La Fabrique Givree creates unique ice cream and sorbet flavors. We tried samples of the waffle cone ice cream and fresh basil and lemon sorbet. Both were delicious!
One interesting fact we learned about the midieval city of Lyon is that it is filled with around 500 Traboules, small “secret” passages that are shortcuts to another street and/or can often lead to an interior courtyard providing access to multiple homes. Most of the passages are now private and are behind locked doors or gates, but many are still open for the public to pass through. We ducked through several on our tour.
After our food tour we stopped into the Cathedrale Saint Jean Baptiste, another beautiful cathedral in Lyon.
We ended our day with another delicious French dinner and then drinks at a rooftop bar at the Lyon Intercontinental Hotel where we tried a signature cocktail created with Cul Cul la Praline Sirop. Apparently Taylor Swift rented the entire hotel when her tour stopped in Lyon just a couple of weeks earlier. So sorry we missed her!
After enjoying pastries, tea, coffee and hot chocolate in Paris, we traveled to our next destination: Lyon, France. Lyon is the third largest city in France and is approximately 2 hours away from Paris by train.
Our hotel was in the center of the city shopping district which gave us the ability to walk most of the city. Our first afternoon in Lyon included a stop for bubble tea (which is the first thing Kelsey looks for in a new city), drinks and appetizers at the Funky Monkey, and a ride on the Funiculaire de Lyon (a mountain cable car) that took us to the Basilica of Notre Dame of Fourvière at the top of a steep hill overlooking Lyon. This was a beautiful spot to see the city and view additional places we wanted to explore.
Funiculaire de LyonCan you find Karen in this picture?Basilica of Notre Dame of Fourvière
A late dinner at a local french restaurant included a couple of birthday celebrations for fellow diners. This restaurant uses a hand-cranked music box to celebrate the occasion along with a festive dessert.
After breakfast at a local cafe, we travelled 30 minutes by train for a day trip to Chateau de Versailles. Although the palace may have started as a chateau, it is much, much larger now. The sheer size of Versailles with it’s 2,300 rooms and manicured gardens over 77 hectacres with 55 fountains and pools was amazing.
My favorite sights from our visit were the Hall of Mirrors and some of the incredible water fountains. As with many experiences in life, our pictures cannot capture the size and vastness of the rooms and gardens.
After a day on our feet, we enjoyed a nice, relaxing dinner. We took the opportunity to try escargot (snails) with our meal. The waiter was very helpful in showing us how to eat them. They were chewy and interesting. It was worth the experience but will not be on my desired food menu. The service, meals, and desserts were excellent at Le Terrasse Ecole Militaire.
Escargot
Our evening ended with another visit to the Eiffel Tower from a different perspective to see the Olympic rings.
Along our walk we stopped at the Flame of Liberty monument at Place Diana. The replica of the flame held by the Statue of Liberty was a gift from the United States to France in gratitude for the renovation completed by two French craft companies upon the 1986 centennial. The tunnel under this intersection is also infamous for the car accident in 1997 that killed Princess Diana.
Saturday, June 29, 2024: Day 1 of a Hammond Family Adventure. It was a long first day. The evening of Friday, June 28th, Greg & Karen left from Boston, MA and Kelsey & Lindsey from Atlanta, GA on overnight flights arriving in Paris, France early Saturday morning. In Hammond Family style we “hit the ground running” and were determined to stay up all day to get on the new time zone.
Our first stop, a French CafeOn Rue Cler
After a brief check in at our hotel and breakfast with caffeinated beverages (Lindsey tried her first cup of coffee), we explored Paris with a walk to the Louvre where we spent a couple of hours seeing some incredible art and artifacts with a Rick Steves audio tour.
Sights from the Louvre Museum in Paris
The rest of the afternoon we walked around Paris, enjoyed our first happy hour and dinner at a Paris cafe, and viewed the Eiffel Tower at night to see the twinkling lights that sparkle every hour.
Always looking for a bubble tea!Notre-Dame Cathedral is still being repaired.
We made it! Besides a quick power nap before dinner, we covered many miles and really enjoyed our first day in Paris.
Hammond Adventures 