France & Switzerland Travels

French Riviera

After our time in Switzerland we drove our little VW through the night to reach the southern shores of France.  Can you believe we drove straight through Italy without stopping!?  We did contemplate stopping for a good pizza or view of the Pisa but concluded we would pay Italy a visit within the next few years and spend the rest of our trip exploring France.  

 We reached Nice, France in time to enjoy a view of the sun rising over the pebble beaches, sparkling on the water.  

We stayed at a fantastic little hotel, la Fiancee du Pirate, perched on a hill above the shore; providing us with a nice view from our window of the water. 

We spent our days relaxing on the pebble beaches, swimming and sunbathing.  We spent our evenings strolling along the boardwalk, admiring the sailboats docked on the shore, window shopping and eating delicious french foods. 

We took a little trip to the hillside medieval village of Eze.  The view of the Mediterranean from this village is beautiful. We wandered in and out of cave-like shops admiring perfumes, spices and art throughout the little village. 

Isle-sur-la-Sorgue

From the coast we headed north and visited a tiny town called Isle-sur-la-Sorgue. That means 'Island on the Sorgue River,' and this town is like a little Venice, with rivers and crystal clear canals everywhere. Once, this was a mill town, with more than 70 water wheels supplying water power to mills grinding flour and making paper, textiles, silk, and wool. Today, you can still see many big water wheels scattered through the town. The running water in the rivers and canals keep them moving. Most of them are covered in moss, and none are used any more.

It was wonderful to visit this little town and we enjoyed the large market, held weekly, where vendors set up their shops along the streets, selling fresh produce, cheeses, meats, olives, linens, lavender, honey, antiques...and just about anything you could think of in a market was there in abundance!

Mmm... sharing a Greek salad for lunch. 

Avignon

We visited the iconic landmark in Avignon, Pont Saint Benezet.  This bridge was built in the 12th century and destroyed several times before being rebuilt and finally abandoned, never to be finished in the 17th century. 

 Palais des Papes

Cathedral Notre-Dame des Doms

 Lyon

 Basilique Notre Dame de Fourvier 

Cathedral Saint Jean Baptiste

  

The Presqu'ile

 Views of the Basilique Notre Dame de Fourvier from a distance...

  

After visiting the southern Provence of France and all the beauty, architecture, shopping and art it had to offer us, we traveled back to Paris, France.  We chose to stay in a flat by one our favorite sites, the Basilique du Sacre Coeur.  We spent our last days shopping and site-seeing in Paris, trying to take it all in before we had to say goodbye.  There is still so much to see in France and Switzerland and we are already longing to return.  What an amazing trip we'll absolutely never forget!