Category: Uncategorized
-
Avignon – bridges, popes, palaces
And not much evidence of the Romans (who were definitely in Avignon). Roughly 30 minutes of walking take you into Avignon from Villeneuve-les-Avignons; it’s a pleasant walk (flat) that avoids the main road but sadly without views of the Rhone. The river splits into two branches around Ile de la Barthelasse and on the final…
-
Next stop: Villeneuve-les-Avignon
Getting to Perrache metro station from Fourviere is easy: down the funicular, one stop south-east on the metro to Bellecour then two stops south-west to Perrache. Simple. Getting from the metro station to the train station? Tricky. Very, very tricky. After going in circles following various contradictory signs, we realised that there was a coloured…
-
Goodbye to Lyon
Birthplace of the emperor Claudius, there is no doubt that Roman Lugundum was a highly significant place during the years of the Roman Empire. And the various remains dotted about modern Lyon attest to this. However, over the centuries, Lyon has become much more than its Roman sites and it has a variety of things…
-
Two Gallo-Romano museums
Founded in 43 BCE, Lyon became an enormous conurbation, capital of the Roman province of Gaul. A theatre, amphitheatre, circus and even an odeon (for music) reflect a large population that needed varied entertainment in an important city. Situated as it is, between several hills with limited flat land beside the two rivers, the constant…
-
Back to Italy – via France
Why go to Italy via France? Well, for starters you can take the train all the way there. And in taking the train from Marseilles along the southeastern coast of France into Italy, you travel along one of the more scenic railway routes in Europe. Well, that’s what the map said, at any rate! As…
-
Lanzarote’s famous artist
Cesar Manrique was born on the island, went away to study art in Madrid and returned during the Civil War, where he fought on Franco’s side. After WW2 he spent time in New York and on returning to Lanzarote in 1966, he formed an artists’ colony with the support of his friend – the president…
-
Lanzarote -volcano island
Second oldest of the Canary archipelago, Lanzarote is also (according to much of what I have read) considered the most volcanic, with several volcanoes that have erupted over a long period of time and produced the most volcanic material. There are at least four large calderas, numerous cones and vents, and extensive lava structures (fields,…
-
Fuerteventura – win some, lose some
So, while it has been interesting enough (just), this island is not our cup of tea. For the sake of argument, let’s just call it a desert. Literally. And the island is, essentially, focused on tourism: there are many (MANY) hotel complexes, holiday villages, abandoned half-built hotels, holiday appartment blocks in various stages of completion…
-
Mountain to beach
Gran Canaria is (from what I can make out) one large volcano that blew its top off and secondary explosions later. This has left it with a massive caldera in almost in the middle of the island with (like La Gomera, in particular) deep ravines radiating from the centre. We stayed in Cruz de Tejeda…
-
History and myth
Facing the cathedral, are the statues (cast-iron maybe) of eight dogs, four on either side of Santa Ana square. These sit or lie, alert for a command that will never come, as taxis and delivery vehicles clop, tinkle and chink their way slowly over the loose cobbles in front of them while children ride and…
Retired? What now? 