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Bon jour! We have arrived in our fourth country, France! The Great European Road Trip is about to slow down a bit. And just in time, I think we were all about to die of sightseeing exhaustion (what a way to go though!). I'll give the update on the last week or so, but first what a place we have found ourselves in! Feeling like it was time to slow down a bit before we hit Paris led us to rent a cabin at a campground in Bordeaux for 3 nights. We thought we would just bike a bit and it looked like there was a pond with ducks that the girls might enjoy. Also we could get caught up on laundry and a little schoolwork. Meanwhile the French in the Bordeaux region at least, enjoy the high life. All the brochures at the reservation desk are for glorious castles nearby. The same lifestyle carries over to camping apparently. Because we are glamping (glamorous camping) my friends!
At check-in our key was nowhere to be found so we went to the on-site restaurant for dinner while it was located. The menu included foie gras, Saint-Jacques and champagne. "When in Bordeaux"…dinner was excellent! One more comment on the restaurant. We went for a walk today around the campground. It was lunchtime and the patio was full of people. One man had a sport coat on! Who brings a sport coat to a campsite? Anthony thinks this must be a hot spot for Parisians and their mistresses to lay low for a weekend, but still live large. We have had a great laugh over our campground, but are of course enjoying every minute of it.
We have covered a lot of ground in the past week and have the pictures to prove it. I will have my Tech Support guy post the pictures in a bit. I have always wanted to see the beaches in the Algarve region of Portugal so when we left Seville we headed a bit south to the coast and spent a day in Portimao at the beach Praia da Rocha. It was rocky and beautiful. I took a ton of pictures of the kids playing paddleball. We stayed until sunset and just as the sky was turning glorious colors the camera ran out of battery. So typical! I got a few funny pictures of the girls doing ballet on the beach (who knows?) and that was it. We had a great day and it will just have to be a memory.
Next stop was Lisbon. I thought the city was heart breaking, a true example of the economic troubles in Europe. The historical connection to the water was evident in many statues all with explorers looking to the sea and impressive architecture was visible everywhere, but all in disrepair. The infrastructure to the city needed a major boost in the arm. Even the sidewalks were completely crumbling. There was trash and graffiti everywhere. I found the whole city sad. We did enjoy a great day with the girls at the aquarium. Nina claims she had never been to one (poor second child). Celeste told her, when I was little Mommy and I had a membership. We would go all the time. We also spent a day riding the trolley car, Tram 28 around the city. One more great memory was that our apartment overlooked the Basilica da Estrela. It was magnificent and the bells rang out the whole time we hurried to mass.
More later,
Amy
- comments
Ron Castro Good post. What fun and educational. Carry on!
dawn enjoyed reading your blogg. our travel plans have slowed down to. we thought we would be in turkey for xmas, but we are still in france. good luck on your travels