Mondy, 17th Febuary 2020

Monday, 17th Febuary 2020

We leave the Hotel Rooservelt, Litomerice this morning after we have had the hotel buffet breakfast. It seemed that we were the only people down for breakfast, and we were offered a cooked breakfast if we so choose, so we did. 

We are headed for Veinna today, back into Austria. This is a trip of 4 hrs and 10 mins, or 401 kms, but we are making a detour to the Bohemia Crystal factory, and from Litomerice to Podebrady, is 110.8 kms and a time of 1hr and 10 mins. I have deicided that I will do the driving today. So we set the navigationa system to our desired destination and off we go. An hour or so later, we find ourselves at the destination point, and it is a rather insignificant  surroundings. We are in the industrial part of the town, but we do see the Bohemia crystal symbol, so we park the car, and go and further explore the area. 

Yes we are in the right area, and we follow the signs after we ask a security guard, of which he tells us where we need to go in perfect Czech. We find the entrance to the crystal shop, all be it very unofficial, we both are wondering if we are in the right place, but the signs tell us enter, and we do. Inside what is known as the cash and carry store, we find displays of Crystal on shelves, and we enquire about the tour of the factory. We are told it is possible, and that we will have to wait until the guide comes back, as she is on another tour at the moment. So we wait, and look about the crystal that is displayed. I have to use my phone to convert the cost of the crystal from the CZK to AUD, and from what I have worked out, it is some what, correction very cheap to buy from here. Although we have the issue of getting something back to Australia, it still seems cheap. We do make a purchase of two candlesticks and a ring holder. After a wait of about 40 mins, the guide comes back into the shop, with her group that she has just given the tour to, and comes over to us and discusses with us what we require. The tour takes about 45 mins, and as we have waited 40 mins already, we decide that we won't do the tour, as we have a good few hours of driving ahead of us.  

We now set our navigational system to Veinna, our next stop a distance of 307 kms and 3 hrs and 32 mins not withstanding any stops. We do find a place to have lunch, and the food was excellent, and we are on our way again. We stop yet again, to put some fuel in the car before we leave Czechia, as it is a bit cheaper here. 

We find our accommodation, without any hassels and check in is simple.
After a bit of a rest Bob does some research into what eating places are around us, and there is a Chinese resturant not far away, so we go there for tea. It was a smoregas board and was very nice.
Day is done.

Tuesday, 18th Feburary 2020

Wow, what a great day we have had exploring Vienna.
After we had some breakfast, we drove into the heart of Vienna and parked the car, so that we could get the Big Bus hop on hop off tour.
We headed towards the Veinna Opera, as that is where the first stop is for the buses and this is to be our starting point for our day of exploring. We purchase tickets, and go upstairs, and thankfully this bus has a glass roof, as the day is a bit cool and windy.
We get under way with the bus, and after a while, we are blown away with justhow large the buidings are here. The palaces go on for blocks, and not connected to the same block, there are roads in between. It is an amazing city.  We ride this bus for a few stops then we get off, as we want to take the river cruise on the Danube River. We get to the river, and hop on board the boat, and watch the river banks and builldings go by. The River banks are painted by graffitti artists, with the understanding that they can use the river walls, but don't graffiti other parts of the city, and it seems to work well. There are some great pics on this wall.
Vienna has given the world some wonderful and famous people, Sigmund Freud, Ludwig van Beethoven, Johannes Brahms, Joseph Hyden, Woldgang Mozart, Johann Strauss l, ll, lll to name a few. There have also been nine Nobel prize winners in the past that have come from Vienna, Karl Landsteiner for distinguishing the main blood groups. Vienna is knows as the city of music, and it is no doubt about that when so many great composers have come from there. Vienna also has the purest water for the city. It comes straight from the mountains to the city via pipes, but there is no pumps to run the water. It goes straight into the homes, and on its way down from the mountain, it has enough force to run some hydro plants aswell.
After our cruise, find our next bus route, and take in the spectacle that is about. Vienna has had its fair share of war in the past, and the city had a Ferris wheel, that was the tallest in the world from 1920 to 1985. During the second world war, the ferris wheel was destroyed, it originally had 30 gondolas on it, but when it was repaired it only ended up wit 15.
We get off at a stop that is close to where we have to get the night tour, and on our way have some dinner, as we have time to fill. On the night tour, it covers most of what we saw through the day, but it was lovely seeing the city at night, and we had a live guide, who was very entertaining.
I have thoroughly enjoyed seeing Vienna, and would love to spend more time here, there is so much to see.
We go back to the car and head back to our place and the day is done. 

Wednesdy, 19th Feburary 2020

Today we leave Vienna, Austra  and head off to Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia. This is a distance of  of 384 kms or 4 hrs.  We share the driving, and we stop for fuel for both car and us.
We get to the border crossing and there is no fan fare apart from the little signs announcing that you are now in Czechia republic. Our hotel has given one of us a bit of a work out as to how we are going to get there, as there is no cars allowed in the old part of town, and so we are unsure of what the procedure is. We arrive in Ljubljana, and try to find a parking place for the car, in what we thought was close to the hotel, according to the nav assistanc, Karen. Unforturtately, the place she is trying to get us to is closed off to cars, and as I am driving, I become a bit flustered by this, as trying to find car parks in the area is proving a little difficult. We go down a street, and I have to make a U turn, and almost hit a boy on a skate board, and it is then that I pull up and take some time out. Bob makes a phone call to the hotel to find out what is the best option for parking for us. Bob is also told that they will organise someone to come and pick us up at the parking place. (Bonus.) We are given the name of the parking center, and head for that via the nav assistance of Karen. We eventually get to the required place without any more near misses, and take the essentials out of the car for the time that we are going to be there. Just as we are climbing up the stairs and gathering our bearings, we see a electric vehicle heading to the area, and he spots us and comes over to gather us and our luggage. Getting to the hotel seems to be a long and round about way, but we are delivered to the right place, just 20 meters away.
We check into the hotel, and the staff are very nice, and we are told we have  a complementry drink to have at our leisure. This is a very nice hotel, in the middle of the old part of the town, and after awhile, we go out to explore the city.
Ljubljana, has a population of 279 631, and it is nice to wonder about the streets with no cars or scooters or push bikes just the sound of people. There are lots of boutique shops and arty shops, and we find a market, that is almost finished for the day, so we get some fruit, further on and we stop to watch a woman embroider some towels with her machine, but not using any thing other than her eye. Nothing is stenciled on, she just does it freehand. There is a little river that runs through the town, and it has numerous bridges crossing it. One place has three bridges and was designed that way by the architect a long time ago. There is a man playing the piano accordian, and they are an amazing of musical instrument. I watch him for a while, while Bob is about taking pictures. We wander on, and go into a touristy shop, and they have items that have pictures of The Kiss by Klimt along with other essential tourist things. We make a purchase, and head back to the room for a bit of a rest. We head back down to have our complementy drink with the thought that we would find a place to have something to eat afterwards, but as we get our drinks the waiter brings us a menu, and we decide to eat in the hotel resturant.
So ends another day of our travels. 

Thursday, 20th February 2020

Check out at the hotel is not until midday, so we have decided to have breakfast, then go and see the castle that is here via the funicular up the hill. We are a little early when we got to the funicular but we wait and then others start to gather. We get our tickets and go up to explore the Castle. The Castle is being used for a number of things, there is a cafe, and a resturant, and a couple of other shops. It is good that it is being utilized, but I think it takes a bit away from the castle. It is a caslte, but not like a castle we are used to.  It was once a medieval fortress, constructed in the 11th century, and the audio guides tell of the history of it, and there is part of it that is virtual.  We finish our visit and head back down in the funicular, and decide we might get some more fruit from the markets, and I also buy a skirt and a top, that I hope I will get to wear on the cruise next week.
We check out, and the electric vehicle is sent for, for us to go back to our car, and it is a wonderful service that is provided. There is no charge, as the city pays for the service, and it is there mainly for tourists and the elderly to get about. This way keeping cars out of the main city area. 
From Ljubjlana Slovenia, to Padova, Italy is a distance of 267 kms and 3 hours.
We arrive at our destination, and wait for a short while , while the hosts wife comes and greets us. She takes us to our lodgings for the next three nights, and our lodgings are very nice. We ask some questions about what is the best way to get to Venice, and she suggests taking the  tram to the train station, and then the train into Venice and share a pat with their dog.
We take luggage inside, and after sometime we go and find a shopping centre to get some food essentials, and the one we selected was closing down, but we got enough to suit our needs and then we head back to the accommodation, and call it a day. Drivnig in Italy is a bit crazy in this city, as you have to watch for not only cars, but people on pushbikes, and pedistrians, just stepping out.

Friday, 21st Feburary 2020

Venice, Italy.
Today we are going to expore Venice. We first decide to take the tram to the train station which is around a 10 min trip, and then the train into Venice, which is a 30 min trip,  which is what was discussed with our hosts wife yesterday. We take the walk to the tram station, which is only a couple of blocks away, and on the way, a man who was walking behind us, overtakes us and wishes us a good stay in Padova.
We find the same man waiting at the tram station, and Bob asks him a couple of questions about how to get tickets for the tram, and he gives us a booklet of tickets for it. He then tells us where our stop will be to get off at, which makes it a little easier for us. The Tram is very busy, and there is only standing room, and with each stop, some people get off, and just as many seem to get on. So after locating our stop, we get off, and head to the train station. Now we have to buy the train tickets and we find a staff member who helps us obtain the required tickets, via the ticket machine, and she looks up which platfom we need. We thank her, and we have a 30 min wait, so a coffee is bought and we fill in the time, until it is departure time.
On board the train, we find seats, and watch the world slip by through the train window, until we get to Venice, where we again disembark and walk off the platform and here we are in Venice. Canals just meters from the train station,  with Gondolas and water taxies and boats taking freight of all sorts along the canal.
We walk along the water for a bit, taking it all in. The Grand buildings, and the people that are here. We are all getting our bearings and working out where to go from here.
We decide to cross over one of the many bridges and explore the canals of Venice. We follow the crowd for a while, and then we take the walk less travelled, and watch the gondolas and boats carrying their freight and people around. As we are walking we notice that one of the boats have a paino on board, and we watch for a while, to see how it is going to be unloaded, but it takes a bit of time, so we move on. There are so many little shops every where, selling all things, and many are selling Murano glass ware. Also it is Carnevale time here in Venice, and all sorts of masks are being sold, and sort. The further we go into the heart of the city, the more people we see are all dressed up in costume and finery. It is a wonderful experience, as many are dressed in period costume, and a great deal of effort seems to have been taken. Both men and women are walking with the period clothing, and the wigs on men, and bustles on the women. A wonderful spectale.
We keep walkng through the maze of canals and over bridges, not having any real idea of where we are headed, and it is great.
We stop to admire some glass ware in one of the many shops and I read a sign, about how this shop does not sell glass ware from china, and those who do kill the Murano glass ware industry. So we go inside to look at more, and we walk away with a momento of Venice.
The Carnival of Venice, is a festival that ends with the celebration of Lent and is world famous for its elobrate masks. There is competion for the most beautiful mask, and the celebrations started back in the year 1162m as a result of a victory against the patriarch of Aquileia, Ulrico di Treven. It was however outlawed in 1797, and the use of masks became forbidden.
The carnival returned in 1979 when the Italian government, decided to bring back the history and culture of Venice.
We walk onto St Mark's square, and the Saint Mark Basilica, and are gobsmacked by the sheer size of the buildings and area. It is quite something that Venice is built on 118 islands all interlinking via canals and bridges. Once in Venice, there are no scooters or bikes about, just foot traffic. It is quiet save for the movement of people and the odd boat motor in the canal. 
After we have had something to eat, we start to head back to the Railway station, but thanks for my just walking about, we are quite some distance away, and the nav guidence tells us that we need to take a boat to get to where we want to be, and that's exactly what we do, Although not sure how to get tickets, we go onboard when the right boat comes and get off where we need to. The boat is very full, with people coming and going and a few dressed in costume.
We make it to the train station, and ask a staff member which platform we need to be on to get back to our place, and we are informed and head to it. Five minutes later we are on the train, and it takes off. Then when we get back to the place we started from, we hop off and wait for the tram to come and it comes with out to mch waiting, and again it is very full, almost over full. We get off at the right stop, and walk back to our lodgings.
It has been another great day, and I am so glad we went when it was Carnival time.   

Saturday, 22nd February 2020

Today is a rest day,
We do head out for a little while, after talking with our host, about shoes for Bob, and he has given us a suggestion of where we might find some shoes that could fit Bob, as his sneaker soles have worn out almost.
We find the said shop, and it is a huge shop of mainly shoes off all sorts, but alas none that are suitable for Bobs large feet.

Sunday, 23rd February 2020

Today we leave  Padova and head off for Florence. This is a trip of  288 kms or 3 hrs and 50 mins, with a be couple of detours and the first one is to Lamborgini Museum, in Modena. Here we find some very nice cars, and a couple of concept cars. We spend about an hour here, and then we go on to the Ferrari Museum in Maranello, which is not to very far away. On the way to going there we past by the Masserati car factory aswell but it was closed.
When we get to Ferrari there are many buildings that are assioated with them, and the factory is here also. We get to the main entrance, and take a couple of pics, but decide not to go into the museum, but we do wander through the gift shop. And that is about all we can afford to do. I find a cap, that is priced at a mere 45 Euro, and figure it can stay there for that money, as it works out to be almost $75.
Again we make our way towards Florence, and find our accommodation and a park. Our host said that it would be easy to find a park, but it seems that there must be something on, as there is not much parking about. But we find one and all is good. Our accommodation is on the 5th floor and our host is there to greet us and show us about the place and answers the questions we have.  

Monday 10th February 2020

Monday, 10th February, 2020

We leave Meilerhof, Zirl Austria and head off to Wolfach, Germany. This is a 360 kms trip or 4 and a half hours. But as always, it takes longer that estimated, given we all need food and fuel and comfort stops.
Before we leave Zirl, we have a box of items to send back, so we find the closet post office, and send then on their merry way back to Australia. We leave around 8.45 after taping down the box and posting and are on our way again.
We cross over to Germany with not much to do. We find a little place to stop and have a bite to eat, after finding a toilet. It is a very common practice for people to have to pay to use the toilets, at usually 50c a time. Even in the road side stop places there is a fee.
It is interesting to see the scenery change from the mountians to lower and more rolling hills. But not only that but the buiding designs of houses and farm sheds changes also. Austria was a lovely country from what I saw, and even though there was snow, it was still very beautiful.
Germany, seems to have less snow, but it is still lovely countryside, with brooks and rivers bubbling along.
The freeways are interesting to travel on, as for the most part, the speed limit is 120kms, but there are those who fly past, and they must be going at least 160kms on hour. So it always pays to look a couple of times in the revision mirror before you pull out to over take a vehicle in front of you. True to our navigational system, it takes us on the  road less travelled, and we go down some windy road, which we suspect might have been closed, but we saw another car ahead of us, so we proceed with caution. Deep in the middle of The Black Forest.
We find our next place for the night, and I spot on the way to it, a Charity bin, as I have some things I am not keeping and we need space in the car, and also, we ahve to start unloading things, as we can't take everything back with us on the planes.
Our room is nice, and the lady answers some questions we have about cuckoo clocks, as we are now in the middle of the Black Forest which is where the Cuckoo clocks originated. We have done some research, and the lady tells us where would be best. So after we ahve taken our things in that we need, and have a little rest, we are again in the car to check out the town of Triberg which is about 30 mins away.
 Triberg, has the highest water falls in Germany, that fall a163 meters and it is also the home of the largest Cuckoo clock. We find a Cuckoo clock shop to browse in, and there are some beautiful clocks on display. Bob wants to buy one as a momento of being here, so the decision is somewhat difficult.
Loooking about this shop, there is the worlds most exclusive Cuckoo clock, which has 617 Swarovski Stones, 2 Swarovski Panda bears, 24carat of beaten gold, and can be bought for the nice tidy sum of 22,900Eurom or $18,183.
A decision is made, and it is paid for, and they will ship it to Australia for a price, and that is the best way for us to get it back home.
We go outside and look about the town, and there are some absolutely beautiful buildings. We dicide to take a drive up to where the water fall is, only to find that the parking area and the walking track have been closed. So we head back down to where we came from, find the same parking place and walk up to where we can see the waterfall. The track to the fall appears as though it is closed but not enough to stop us going up. It is lovely to see the water cascading down the hill side, and there is a lot of water falling. The town ahs this as its back ground sound.
We now head back to Wolfach, but decide we better find something to have for dinner, as we have not eaten very well today, and we drive to a couple of little places on our way back, but nothing suits or is open. Eventually we find a resturant, and have a wonderful meal. The lady who serves and waits on us, appears to be of some age, and she speaks excellent english. We asked her how come, and she said that since the age of 10 she had to tell guests when it was meal time. She called the hotel her Golden prison. So one gathers she has spent her lifetime in it. She tells us that her father was a sailor on merchant  ships and he used to go to Sydney. She has a picture of the Harbour bridge in her reception area. She asked us if we were from America, and we told her Australia, and that is how it all started. We had a great meal, and a local soup dish, that had cut up pancakes in it, and it was really nice, I also had some sauerkraut with boiled meat as my main meal, again a German meal. We asked for Black forest cake, and she said they didn't have any, as the cherries are not in season. So we will have to find some Black forest cake elsewhere.
It has been an enjoyable day, and we make our way back to the hotel, via the charity bin, and I unload some clothing.
The day has turned into a very windy day, and it is very windy all through the night.     

Tuesday, 11th February, 2020

This morning we leave our hotel in Wolfach, and head of to Frankfurt with a waystop in Hanau, a trip of 3 hrs, or 270 kms. We share the driving, and Bob takes first league, and when we stop, I take over the driving duties.
Driving on the freeway is a bit unnerving, as cars are whistling past at a great rate of knots. I am comfortable driving at 110 kms but having the traffic whistle past makes me very cautious. There is an endless flow of trucks all limited to 90 kms, and when one pulls out to overtake another, one has to be somewhat alert of what is about behind or on the side.
Hanau is where  there is a statue of the Grimm Brothers who wrote a lot of fairy tales, and some of them were set in te Black Forest, like Hansel and Gretel, Rupunzel and Sleeping Beauty.
The day is a bit bleak, while travelling along  and when we get to Hanau, it is  still windy and bleak. We find the statue after I eventually park the car after 3 attempts. It's not easy parking reverse parking the opposite to what you are used to doing. So we take the pics  with the statue, and it is set on a large open town centre, which doesn't seem to be overly busy. As we walk back to the car, it starts to rain again, only there is bit of ice with it, so maybe it was the start of some sleet. 
We continue onto frankfurt, a distance of 28 mins or 28.6 kms. We find our hotel, and it appears to be in the industrial part of Frankfurt. We find a parking place, and check in.
After we settle, and a rest is had, we take a walk around the area where we are. There is a river on one side of us, and while we walk, we find some gorgeous old buildings, and also find the shopping hub of the area. After investigating some of them we find a place to have to dinner, and then head back to the room. It is windy and a bit cool out.

Wednesday, 12th February 2020

Today, we travel from Frankfurt to Wolfsburg.
This is a big day of driving, as it is a distance of 367.5 kms, or a driving time of almost 4 hours.
We leave Frankfurt close to 10 am, after we have had breakfast at the hotel. Bob does most of the driving, and it is slow going at times as the traffic get congested along the way.
We stop at a burger king on the way for some lunch, and spend a bit of time there, as we can't check into our next accommodation until 4pm. We arrived in Wolfsburg about 2.30 and a decision is make to take a drive into the main part of Wolfsburg to see what is there.
We find a nice shopping area, and wander about looking. we find a card shop, and I find a birthday card, and then we spend more time walking about.
We go back to where we are going to stay, after we stop at the Aldi store to get some meat for the next couple of nights.
We check with our host, and she shows us through the place. It has very low ceilings, and Bob has to hunch over most of the time he walks about here so as to not bump his head.
The day is done, we heat some pizza for dinner and retire for the night.   

Thursday, 13th February 2020

Today, we are going to the Volkswagon Autostadt, Wolfsburg, which is only 40 mins away from where we are staying.
We leave our accommodation at around 9.30, and get to Volkswagon  just after 10 am.. Proir to leaving I asked Bob how   long he thought we might be there for, and the consenus was around maybe 3hrs.
Well that was totally blown out of the water. We left the complex 4.45pm. What an amazing place it is. The sheer size of it is amazing, and the cost of it all is evident in what is available to see. We start the morning with a tour of the outside area, which takes us to all the exterior buildings. The Museum,  Audi, Seat, Lamborgini, Porsche, volkswagon, which was closed for the day, Skoda and Bentley which was at the Ritz Caltron. There was the Premium Clubhouse, which housed a a Bugatti Veyron with a mirrow finish in Silver. It was the fastest car, and the Dubai police use this car. After we have concluded this foot tour, with the very nice tour guide, we go inside the main building and then head over to the Museum as we have about 45 mins to fill in before the Factory tour leaves. There are some beautiful cars in this museum, dating back from 1897 to recent models of Volkswagon. There are all different models and makes of cars, as it is a history of motoring through time. From 3 wheels and 4 wheels and a morot bike and side car.
There are 8 resturants on site, and the whole complex is set out on 28 hectors of land. There are land mark towers, that house new cars for 24 hrs, and they hold up to 800 new cars, before they are handed over to their new owners. The cars are place in and taken out by a automative system, and it is great to watch how this is achieved. There are 550 new cars taken delivery per day, which is amazing.
After we have been through the Museum, we wait for the factory tour. This starts on a bus to the factory, and then we are taken on a little car train about the factory.  There is a maze of robots working on the process of building and completeing the cars. The tour takes about an hour, and although it is in German, we get the drift of what is going on. There was no English tour today, so we did the next best thing and go on the German tour.
As the tour comes to an end, it starts to rain, and while we are on the bus, the tour guide asks if we enjoyed the tour, considering we didn't understand German, and we said we did. She was very kind and managed to get a visitors book for us, with some of the details of how many cars are produced and how it all works.
After we have finished with the tour, we find some lunch, and enjoy the warmth of the building. It has become  a bit cold outside, as there is a breeze sneaking about. When we have finished eating, the rain has steadied a bit, so we venture to some of the car pavillions, then back into the main building to see the simulator ride. This is where you can sit in a seat and drive around a simulated track of your choice, in a choice of different types of car. Unfortunately, the car seats only cater for smaller folks. Once we are done there, we have pretty much finished here at the Autostadt. It has been very interesting, and we have spent six hours and forty-five mins here, and we have walked 14000 steps.
We get back to our accommodation, and chill out for the rest of the evening.   

Friday, 14th February 2020

Today we are catching the train into Berlin, so after some breakfast we get ourselves to the train station, and find a suitable place to park the car for the day.
We make our way to the ticket office, and purchase the required tickets. The trip to Berlin from Wolfsburg is an hour and twenty mins. By road it would take two hours and 16 mins. So needless to say we are booked onto a fast train. We only have to wait for 15 mins, and our train arrives. There are no preference of seating, it is just first in best dressed so to speak. The trip into Berlin is quiet. I eat my large pretzel that we have bought and it is the first time I have had a Pretzel like the german ones. They are a bread thing with salt on the top, and it was most enjoyable.
When we get to Berlin, we disembark the train, and head for the outside. It is a large station, with many floors of platforms. and a couple with shops and eating places. Our plan is to find the hop on hop off bus and tur around the city, but first we decide to have something to eat,  and we find a asian type place and enjoy what we have choosen.
We go outside, and as we exit the doors there are a number of people with the revelant hop on hop off, city touring company sales. So we purchase the tickets and and as the sale goes through the machie, the guy walks us down to where the bus is leaving. So we board our bus, and sit upstairs, but the top is coveredm as it is a bit cool and rainy looking. We listen to the tour audio guide about the buildings and the war  history. We see the Berllin Wall, and Chheckpoint Charlie, and the Brandonburg gate. The Berlin wall has ben painted with artworks and it is a reminder of the city that was cut in half through restless times. Although some of it was pulled down when the communists were defeated, there are still quite large portions of it still standing, of which surprised Bob, as he thought most of it was pulled down,  We change buses, and tour around parts of east Germany, whcih is where the less priveledged were when the wall was standing. And you casn still see that is not in the same class as the west side of the wall, although there aer new buildings and business, it just doesnt have the same air about it. But I do have to keep reminding myself that this place was heavily bombed during the war and then there was a lot of unrest after war.
When we are done with the hop on hop off buses, we go back to the train station, and see if we can get ealier tickets back toWolfsburg, and we do. We have around 40 mins to fill in, so a coffee is sort.
We board our train and head back to wolfsburg, and again the trip is the same time back, funnily enough.
We get back to the cara and drive back to our accommodation.  After I cook some tea a bit later, day is done.

Saturday, 15th February 2020

We leave Wolfsberg this morning, and are headed for a place called Litomerice in the Czechia republic with a detour to Meissen. This is a distance of  420 kms and at least just over 4 hours.
Meissen is the place where fine Porcelin is made. We see some very expensive peices, and they take my breath away at the prices, but as Bob says, it is all relative.
We continue onwards to Litomerice, which is not far out of Prague, the capital of the Czechia. From Meissen to Litomerice, it is about a 1 hrs and 23 mins, 121 kms. We find our hotel, and organize for some washing to be done. We didn't get time to do it at the  other place, so we have a bit of a rest, and then decide to go for a walk to find some tea. We go to one place, and they don't speak any English, and they don't serve meals. But the lady did direct us in the general direction of another resturant.
We find the resturant, and we have a wonderful meal, I had the best Pizza. The waitress spoke very good english, she came from Iran, and she answered some of the questions we had.
We walk back to the hotel, and call it a day. 

Sunday, 16th February 2020

We had a breakfast at the hotel, and after this, we are going to go into Prague. Prague is about 54 mins and a 71 km trip. We get into the city, and find somewhere to park the car.
We walk about the area, and there are many old buidings about. We look in some of the shops that sell Bohemian crystal, and I found some Babuska dolls. I don't buy any, but it is nice to see them. We find the area where the city tour buses are, and we get some tickets and and board the small bus. In no time it is filled up, and we eventually get under way. We pass by some amazing buidings, and the city is known for all of its spires. There are something like just under 500 spires. Prague also has the most castles in one city. Like so many cities in these countries, they were hit hard when the war was on, and much of hit has been rebuilt, and Hitler gained control of Prague, by using mind games on the Prince at the time, as he was an unwell man. So rather than say no to Hitler, the country was handed over to Hitler, and was so spared in many ways.
The audio guide tells us of much history of Prague, as they do in all cities that we have travelled in. It tells of the communists attitude towards sports, and the huge statium that was build for the athelets, and the complete control they had over the them.
The city has had such a stormy past, and one senerio was given that if a person had lilved to be 100 years of age, they would have known 6 different country names for the country of Austria.
While on the bus there were a couple of driver changesm, and I was glad that one of the drivers changed after a while. Bob happened to ask about gettting a bottle of water from the tour guide, not the driver, and the guide asked the driverif he had any water there with him, and he said no, but the guide checked in the bck of the bus and found two bottles of water, and Bob paid for them in Euro. There was a sign saying how much it was, but when the guide put the money into the box, the driver had a bit of an arguemen about this. He wouldn't drive the bus for a couple of minutes, and they both got out and discussed it further. The bus was stopped for almost 10 mins at this particular stop.  In Czechia, they have their own currency, the Koruna, CZK, and to me it seemed that he didn't want to be paid in Euro, but Bob understood it that the money was put in the wrong box. so who knows what it was all about. It was just a little uncomfortable for a moment. 
After we get off at a change over of buses stop, the next one comes along, and is full, and there is no space left, so we have to wait for the next one, but after consultation with the guide before it left, we decide to walk back to where we started, because the buses were full, and if we waited for the next one, there was no guarantee that there would be enough seating for us to get back. This was a walk of about 15 mins, but along the way we find a very nice resturant, and have some lunch. It would have been one of the places to dine in, in an era gone past. The food was great, and the service was excellent, of which our waitress spoke good english.
We continue along our way towards the old part of town and eventually find it, just in time to catch the tail end of the Astronomical clock chiming. The clock was installed in 1410, making it the third oldest astronomical clock in the world. It is such a captivating clock, and there are many people around the square to watch and photogragh it, as do I.
We find our car, and we head back to our motel, and retire for the day. It has been a great day.

3rd February 2020

 Monday 3rd February 2020

Today we are going back to Nimes to finish looking at the Roman sights. We find the Tour Magna, and the Temple of Diana and the Jardins de la Fountaine. They are all together in one area. The Tour Magna, is a watch tower, that is sitting on the highest point in Nimes. When we arrived here, the Tour Magna, was closed to be able to go upstairs and get a panoramic view of the city. It was built in the year 15-16 BCm and  it was originally 36 meters high, but is now 32.5 m.
We meander our way down towards the Jardins de la Fountain, and admire the gardens on our way. The Temple of Diana, is where we next visit, and I am mesmerized by what is left of this place, It was built in the 1st centuary, and was dedicated to the Goddess Diana, the goddess of hunting. These are ruins and as I enter into the ruins, it was just wonderful looking at what is left. Columns and steps and a couple of tunnels, and a small garden. The tunnel was a low archway, and there was no motar between the blocks. Amazing to think it is still almost in tack in some of the places.
Then we wonder around the Fountain area. The fountain and gardens were  built in the 17th century, to complement the Roman buildings. There are ponds filled with fish, and a couple of swans and some ducks. All the water that is flowing here comes from a natural source under the ground. There are a lot os statues and Urns, just wonderful.
We head out of the Gardens towards the street, and there water is used as a feature in the middle of the streets. There is another fountain in the street, and now we look for some lunch.
After we have eaten, we now head back to the car through the gardens again. It has been a great day, and we head back to Lamastre.

Tuesday 4th February 2020

Today we start to collect and organise  our things and pack them away as we leave Lamastre tomorrow. Some cleaning and washing is done.

Wednesday 5th February 2020

Today we left Lamastre heading on to our next league of our travels. Lamastre has been a great place to stay. The weather has been good, and the town is nice and quiet. We get away just after 9am.
We are headed for Vetraz-Monthoux, France, but very close to Geneva. It is a distance of just 272 kms and a 3 hr drive time. We have factored in a stop in Lyon, to see the place. It is an hour and 40 mins from Lamastre. We find parking and try to find where the hop on hop off bus stops. Eventually we find a stop, but not before we find a statue in the town centre, and some subway for lunch. Once on board the bus, we settle in to see whats about this city. Lyon has a Roman Amphitheatre that also dates back 2000 years old. The bus takes us past some amazing old and new buildings, and a Basillica right on top of the mountm there is a tower also onto of the mount, that is similar to the Effel tower. It was built in 1892 and is 281 feet tall, and was created as a monument  for the city. Nowadays, it has lots of television antennas over it.  The modern buildings are amazing, and some of the designs are like almost out of this world. We get of the bus where we got on, and head for the car. We must venture on to our next stop.
From Lyon to Vetraz-Monthoux is an hour and 40 mins drive or 154 kms.
We find our next accommodation without to much hassel and check in works well.
Day is done.

Thursday 6th February 2020

Today we took a drive to go through the Mount Blanc tunnel. Our journey took us back into the snow again, with some wonderful views of the Mountains. Mount Blanc is the highest mountain in Europe, at  a height of 4
We head into Geneva. We walk about the gardens and look at some of the statues and buildings that are about. The lake is very calm, and it has two beautiful old Steam and paddle boats.  They are no longer used as steam, but deisels motors are in them. But they still look lovely. The time that we arrived was to late to take a ride on them, as they only run at 2pm most days. And we won't be around tomorrow, so we miss out.
We go back and head off to find the nights accommodation.     



Friday 7th February 2020

Today we left Vetraz-Monthoux after our two night stay. We are headed Lucerne, in Switzerland, this is a 3 hr trip or 265 kms.
We went back into the city of Geneva to have a look at some more of the city. It was a chilly 1 degrees when we left, and the car was covered with ice. Bob had to use the special ice scrapper that is supplied in the car for just that occasion.
We find the Mont Blanc car park, and park the car, and then we take a wonder and take pics of the Fountain that Geneva is famous for. We then buy tickets to hop on the ferry across the lake, as our timing doesn't suit the streamers, this is the next best thing. We criss cross across the lake, and a  school class hop on board one of the ferries that we are on. Bob is trying to find the Mermaid that is on a Rock that Geneva is famous for, and he asked the school teacher, and she is not familiar with it, and the conversation flits to some of the students and a passenger that are on board aswell, and no one seems to be knowing as to where it is. When we dissembark we ask the skipper if he knew about it's where abouts, and he said it was further up the lake. Ahh well, I will have to take Bobs word for it.
After we finish on the lake, we take a drive to find UNESCO and some of the other leading organisions about Geneva. We manage to find the WHO, and the Labour headcourters, and the World TRade Organization. These places are very discrete with their signage, and one would not know that were there, apart from the very small signage that is on their entrances. But I guess if you tried to enter, it would be a totally different scene.
We leave Geneva, and and head off towards Switzerland. Apparently one needs a Vignette to drive through Switzerland and we do not have one, it does crossl my mind as we travel.. They are in place of Road tolls, and is based on the period of time a vehicle may use the road.
We arrive in Lucerne at our next accommodation, which is businesss apartments, and for the first time we have to use a digital key. It has been set up for Bobs phone and is only valid until 10am the next day. Once we get inside and find our room, we have to charge up Bobs phone, because if it is not fully charged, we might not be able to get inside our room. After we settle, and have a bit of a rest, we decide to go over the road to the shopping area. It is not quite what we thought, as it has a Cinema as well as other outlets. A grocery shopping place, and a Subway and an Uncle Sams.  but it has enough for us to grab something for dinner, and we then go back to the room and call it a day. 

Saturday 8th February 2020

Today it is my turn to drive to from Lucern in Switerland, through to Zirl,  Austria, going through Liechtenstein.  This makes it a three country day. This is a journey of 308 kms or three and a half hours, not including stops.  Leichtstien is another small country that is 25 kms long, and it is between Austria and Switzerland. We pass through this country, via its capital Vaduz of which its population is 5450,  and the countrys's population of 38, 557.
There is not much in the way of border crossings, and if you look for the signs, you will notice that that is all there is announcing that you have entered into another country.
There is snow about again, and I drive a bit cautiously, and there are patches on the road that havec been slowed down speed wise because of Ice patches. We get to our Hotel, and it has much snow about it, and has a wonderful view from the resturant, of which we have our evening meal. The food and service was wonderful.

Sunday 9th February 2020

This morning we had the hotel buffet breakfast, and as we were watching the scenery about us, I noticed a plane coming in between the mountains, we watch it, and expect it to turn before the valley we are overlooking, but it follows the valley and is decending at the same time. Not long afterwards another plane comes in aswell. So the Airport must be somewhere near Innsbruck.
Today is an exciting day for me because we are going to Swarovski Crystal main head quarters. Even though you can't go through the factory to see how the wonderful creations are made, one can still do a tour through the history of Swarovski.
From where we are staying it is only a 30 min drive. There is still lots of snow about. But first Bob wants to see what is up the other way from where we are staying. here is not a great deal only snow, and so we find somewhere to turn around, and find ourselves in a parking lot for a skiing place.
We call back at our lodgings, as I forgot to take my sunnies with me, as I was leaving, the the glare from the sun and the snow is to bright not to be without them. We also top up the wiperwasher bottle, as the windscrreen is dirty from the salt and water that is sprayed onto the rod.
So onwards to the crystal mountain.
We get to our destination, and Bob seems to be amazed as to how much parking there is at this place. But lucky for us, there are not so many people around, but it is 10.45, so who knows how busy it will get.
We enter the in via a Gaints head, with water cascading down from hi mouth. Inside there are displays peices that have all got crystals on them. There is a wall of crystals, a horse statue decorated with crystals, and many other items are displayed. The worlds largest hand cut crystal is on display also in the Hall, It has 100 facets, (310 000 carats.) and was created in 1995.
There are 17 rooms to discover, and there are some amazing sights. Some of the exhibits are enhanced by scents that transform you through the room. One room called the Crystal Dome, gives an insight of what it would be like inside a crystal. It also changes sound. It is created with 595 mirrors. All the rooms are very different, and the infinity room is no exception. Once you step inside and close the door, the reflections go on forever.
Once you get through all the rooms as most attractions, you exit through the gift shop, and we spend some time browsing in here. I have a couple people I need to shop for, and also I have been instucted that I need to find something for myself. This is achieved after some time, and I am very happy with what hve been purchashed.
Never in  a million years would I have imagined  that I would be in Austria visiting Swarovski crystal. I am very thankful and it has been a wonderful experience. We go outside after we finish in the gift shop, and find the garden of which the crystal clouds are, and it is a magical place, complete with the snow. There are sculptures featuring the crystals, but with the snow, they are somewhat lost in it. But every now and then the sun catches a crystal and catches the wonderful lights shine. We wonder through the outdoor area, and find an Elephant with crystals, and the pond with scultpures protruding out of the water. It has been a wonderful experience, although maybe not completely Bobs cup of tea, but I think he did enjoy most of it.
After we finish at Swarovski, we head into the town of Innsbruck , and explore the town.    Once again, the part of the city we have found is filled with fabulous old builldings that have been decorated through time, and adds so much character to the centre. I love the exterior of the buildings, there is such a lot of detail on them. After we finish wandering the streets we head back to the Hard Rock cafe, and have some lunch. This building in itself is beautifull to look at.
It has been a great day, and we head back to our room and call it a day.

Lamastre 27th Jan 2020

Monday, 27th January 2020

Today we are going to head off to explore more of the areas around us. Our plan is to go to Nimes, and explore what that city has to  offer, and then go to our accommodation, that is supposed to be just out of Avignon.
Nimes is a 2 and a half hour trip, of 175 kms. Google says it is 2 hrs and 18 mins, but for us, it is more likely two and a half hour drive, as we have a mountain to drive around, and we don't as yet drive like the French.
We arrive in Nimes, and drive right past some of the Roman buildings that we have come to see. We find somewhere to park the car and pay the required parking fee, and head off to visit the Office of Tourism, to get some information about what else is about this city. Nimes has a population of 150,700 and it has the most amazing Roman buildings amongst the city. Nimes is dubbed the most Roman city outside Itally, and dates back to between 4000-2000 BC, a semi nomadic culture.
Right across the Office of tourism is the Amphitheater, which is still used to this day for concerts and bull fighting. We head over to this wonderful and amazing building and take a tour of it. Complete with an audio guide, we are transformed into life as it was over 2000 years ago. Being able to wonder around this place is amazing and given that it has arich history there would have been many many millions of people that have walked where we did. The guide explains the different types of Gladiators that fought in the ring, and explained how the seating was arranged for the honoured guests and dignitories.  And how the other seats had apparent status also. The ones for the common folk, were often fought over for the best veiwing of the goings on of the day. It was also explained that after each fight, the sand in the arena was replaced so that the stench of blood was not to strong.
We also learned that at the end of a fight, the loosing competitor would for want of a better word, yeild, and the decision was then up to the emporior as to his fate. In the movies we are lead to believe that the looser was usually killed with a hand signal of the thumb down, but this is not true, and very rarely happened. To get some idea of what his fate was, the crowd was observed, and given how the fight went and how  he felt. He then signalled, either with an open palm facing upwards, which meant his life was spared, or with a closed fist, signalling his death.
Another fallacy created for the movies, was the phrase  Hail Caesar,  which according to history, it only was used once, (so we were told).
After finishing our tour of the stadium, our next stop on foot is to the Maison Carree. This is an ancient Roman Temple,  which is one of the best preserved from the Roman Empire. It  was built in the year 5 AD, and in step with local beliefs, it has 15 steps because they believed, it was bad luck to have a even number of steps to enter, and one must led with the right foot.  It has been used and is still in use every day for the past 2015 years.  We enter inside the temple to watch a history of Nimes, and are trapnspored again back into the year 5AD.
After we leave this monentual building, we are going to find the car and head onto our accommodation. While we were in the Office of Tourism, Bob questioned why the Crocadile icon is about. We are told that it dates back to 28 -27 BC when the bronzecoins were minted. The Crocodile, (a symbol of Egypt) chained to a Palm tree, the palm being a roman symbol of Victory. This was given to Nimes for its role in which the Roman army defeated Anthony at the battle of Actium in 31 BC.
So we leave this wonderful, Historic city, and I am feeling that we should come back again. Back on the road again, and we have put in an address for our place to go to. Very long story short, it was the wrong address, and it took us so long to get there. Doubts started to come into the plan, so we stop to check that the right one was put in. I put in the one I had in my Air BnB, eventually, and when we got to the address in which I had entered into the Navman.  It was not where we were supposed to be. By now, it has become dark, and we stop to check on Bobs phone, and somehow the address he has is a bit different, so off we go again,  trying to find the right place, and trusting that the navman is taking us to the right place. We are going do some small streets, and end up eventually finding the right place, ater Bob makes a phone call to the host.
We had hoped that this place was going to be a bit closer to Avignon, so we could use it as a base. Turns out, it is an hour away to both Nimes and Avignon.
We get cheked in, and then we go and find something to hve for tea. The Gods are against us, as in the next local village, there is no where to have a meal, but we are told by a man in the bar, that in the next village, therer is somewhere that will definately be open. After the afternoon we have had, all I want to do is go to the grocery store and grab something and heat it up at the unit, and that is exactly what we do.
The unit is very nice, and it has great views, but it is not close enough for what we want to do. We look on Air BnB for something in Avignon, and find something that is more suited to our needs.

Tuesday, 28th January 2020

Today, we are headed to Avignon, but we are making a detour to Pont du Gard.
This is again another 2000 year old site. An Aquaduct, created by the Romans  to supply Nimes with water. This is an amazing structure, similar to the one in Segovia in Spain. This aquaduct ran or 50 kms  and was built in the first AD. It is the highest of all the Roman aquaducts, and is one of the best preserved. It is believed to have taken 15 years to build and employing 800 to 1000 workers. As we walk about this amazing structure, we work out, given that every generation is about 30 years, this has been around for 66 generations. Pretty impressive stuff. It is built with no mortar, just perfectly fitted stones, and design. Also on the walk to the aquaduct, there are three 1000 year old Olive trees. Makes you think about our own mortality, and how we are just a spec in the scheme of things.
We find the picture perfect place and take a few snaps. It is absolutley wonderful to have such a structure in the background, and the mirror image on the water flowing beneath it.
We then follow the map to find some of the other peices in the area, and get misplaced, so we just follow tracks, and end up eventually at the gardens as they would have been 2000 years ago. There are areas for grapes, olives, crops, grazing, oak trees, and herbs, and medicinal plants. It was all very interesting. We have done a great number of steps today.
We leave here, a bit disappointed that the Museum was not open today, was open every other day, but not today.
So now we head to our next accommodation, with some trepidation. But all is good.  The place is perfect for what we want. One of the reasons we came to Avignon, was that is was a walled city, and th city of the Papes. As we drive to where we are staying, there are lots of Rampants, and Fortresses. Our lodgings have good parking for the car, very secure, and after we take our luggage in, we go out to find something for tea, and also to fuel the car up. After two attempts of not accepting the card,  we give up and get some groceries for the next couple of days.

Wednesday, 29th January 2020

So today is the day we return our faithful little car back to Renault. It has been a great car, and has seen to our needs very nicely. We have put it over some interesting roads, to say the least, and up some steep and windy roads. It has been snowed on, and had ice on it. So our journey is to Marseille, to the airport, which is a easy enouugh drive of 103 kms, taking about an hour and 15 mins.
When we get to the rendezvous point, the lady is waiting for us, and after the neccessary paper work, she takes us over to the Hertz car rental place, as that is where we are picking up our next rental, which is in the same vacinity. We were expecting to have to walk to where it was.
Once at the Hertz car rental place we again do the neccessary paperwork, and then its off to find our car. We find it and then take some time to orientate ourselves with it. We have a Citroen  small SUV but it is bigger than the Dacia. So now we head into the centre of Marseille, to have a coffee, and find the Office of Tourism. Finding a parking station done, we now head off to find coffee. Starbucks it is.  Then its back walking to find the Tourism place, to see about the hop on hop off bus, and when we get to the office, we are told, that the buses are not running today. We ask if it is just today or because of the season, we are told it is only for today. Bummer. So we just wonder about and then eventually head back to the car, and go back to Avignon.
We take a drive through the old part of Avignon, and decide it is to difficult. The streets are narrow, and finding the entrance into the walled city is difficult, as there are some that are only exits and finding an entry point is tricky, as one minute you are on one side of the wall, and then when you do the block, you are on the other side of the outside wall.

Thursday, 30th January 2020

Today we are exploring Avignon, the City of the Papes.
After we check out of our lodgings, we are taking on the challenge of getting inside the Walled City again. Bob researched it last night on the net, so now we have a bit of an idea of where to head to. True to form, Bob gets it right, and we enter the city, and head to a car park, park the car, and are set to take in the sights of this place. Avignon, was the seat of the Catholic Popes from 1309 to 1377. It remained under Papal rule until becoming part of France in 1791. It had 7 successive popes in residency  during that time.
We walk along the old streets, after we have visited the Office of Tourism and following a suggested walk that is on a map of the area. There are three different routes to follow, but we will only do one. Along this walk we go through the gardens, and find old water wheels, one of which was still turning, but the other three, were stationary. We wander about following the map, and we find the markets, an undercover market not like the street markets, but much like a large gathering place of supplies of meats, fish  fruit and vegies and wines. After we have a quick look through there, we find a place and I have a hot chocolate with loads of whipped cream, and a snack.
When we start walking agian we are heading for the Palais of Papes. We follow the route, looking at shops and things on the way. There is a street market with lots of antique things for sale. A place where one could find some real trinkets. Eventually we find our destination, and are absolutly blown away by the sheer size of this site. The Papal square is paved and huge, and then one focuses on the Palais of the Papes. One can not get the whole building in one camera shot. It over shadows the cathedal and dwafts much around it. It's construction began in 1252 AD and the popes took residence in 1309. 
We decide to take the tour inside the Palias, and are given tablets to do the tour with. It is all preesnted amazingly. The information given was very informative, and when you entered each room the tablet would tel you all about that room. But not only that it showed how it looked like when the popes were there, not as it is now. An interesting fact that amazed me was that not until 1985, did they find a room  of the money that had been hidden underneath the stone floors in the treasuary rooms.
After our tour of the Palias, we are getting very weary, we deicide to go back to the car, and I suggest that we go back to Nimes and go through the Roman Museum.
We head to Nimes, and  find suitable parking for the car, and enter the Museum.  Once inside again we are blown away with the amount of  artefacts that are here. It starts in the pre written history, and Roman period. It peices together how life woud have been through some of the relics that have been found. I ask the question if all of the artefacts are  authentic, and everything is. There are over 5000 peices to view. Again we did not go through all of it, as we were very weary,  but a decision was made that we need to come back to Nimes to see the other historic sites that we have not as yet seen. Nimes is a wonderful place, and one could spend a week here just taking in all that is on offer here. I really enjoyed it.
We go to a cafe, and have a coffee, and as I sit, and think about how just over there 2000 years ago, out the front of the Roman stadium,  Romans roamed and walked and talked and interacted with each other. The sounds, smells and the animals. Very humbling. 
We find the car again and head back to Lamastre. A drive of 176 kms and 2hrs 14 mins. We are driving back in the dark and I am driving. It is a good drive in this vehicle, and I find the cornering lights very helpful when turning, taking the bends and twists on the road back.
We have walked 16000 steps for the day, and we are exhausted.

Friday, 31st Janurary 2020

Today is a rest day to recover from our very busy previous days,
A load of washing is done, and not a real lot more is achieved.

Saturday, 1st Feburary 2020

Another rest day.
A trip into town to get a couple of things and to walk through the markets for the last time.
As we are leaving Lamastre on Wednesday

Sunday, 2nd Feburary 2020

Quiet day.

Lamastre 20th Jan 2020

Monday, 20th January 2020

We went into part of Valance, as that is where the Orange shop is that we have found that are very helpful to us. We need more data for the Wifi box and we get what we need. I also buy an unbrella which has a picture of Roses on the inside.
We decide to do a bit of a grocery shop while we are in the shopping complex.

Tuesday, 21st January 2020

This morning I got up and looked out the window, and I was met with the most wonderful sight. It has snowed overnight, and there was a light dusting of snow on the ground and on teh trees. It was so pretty, and seemed so peaceful. I let out the Wow, and went back to bed, and Bob asked me what the wow was all about, but he already knew, as I told him it has snowed, he said he had figured that out when I let out the Wow. Not long after that, he was out and looking at the snow fall. The temp is 0.9 degrees, but it is not the coolest morning we have experienced here.
A bit later on, we go into the town, and wander through the markets,

Wednesday, 22nd January 2020

Not much done today

Thursday, 23rd January 2020

Today we went into town to get some supplies for cooking, as Bob has decided that we should do some thing for Australia day. So the obvious choice is Lamingtons and Pavlova. Now, all we need to do is find the right recipe, and the ingredients, and all should be good. With the help of google translate, we find the required ingredients that we need, but it does take a little longer than it would if I was shopping in Woolworths, but where is the challenge in that. Anyhow, we are sure we have gotten all that we need, and we did cheat a little bit, as we bought a packet cake for the cake base for the Lamingtons, and Bob is going to cook them.

Friday, 24th January 2020

I have taken the eggs out of the fridge so that they are at room temperature for my pavlova I am going to be making tomorrow.

Saturday, 25th January 2020

Cooking day for Bob, he is busy cooking his cake for the lamingtons, and is following the directions on the box. He gets the cake in the oven and we wait for it to cook. After some time, it is done, and now  we have to wait for it to cool down so that Bob can cut it up and he gets busy making the chocolate icing, and the coconut is in the dish ready to coat the icing. Bob consults with me on a couple of things, but he has done it all himself. The end result is looking very good, but the proof will be in the tasting tomorrow. He does the right thing and clean up the kitchen after he is finished.
I go into the kitchen in the afternoon to start to cook the process of cooking the pav, and I discovered that in Bobs tidying of the kitchen, the eggs have been put back into the fridge. Oh well, I will have to cook tomorrow.

Sunday, 26th January 2020

Australia Day
Cooking day for me, I don't remember cooking a pavlova from scratch, not  a soft one anyhow. So how bad can it turn out. Thankfully everything we need is here, and I get what looks like a pav into the oven. After a couple of hours, I turn the oven off, and let the oven cool before I take the pav out, as directed by the reciepe on the internet.
When the pavlova is cool enough, I fill it iwth cream and a variety of fruit. It looks good. So Bob and I have Lamingtons and Pavlova for dinner. The Lamingtons were the best I have had for a very long time.
Happy Australia Day. 

Lamastre 13th Janurary 2020

Monday, 13th January 2020

We took drive to another area of the Provence.
We are headed for Le Cheylard, a distance of 22 kms or 27 mins. It is another small village, and like most of the other villages, the town square is a hive of activity.  We again find somewhere to have a coffee, and some lunch. We seem to have the happy knack of getting to these places when most of the businesses are closed during the middle of the day.
We find a bar that does meals, and the owner, has no english at all, but keeps talking to us in her merry way. She asks us where we are from, and when Bob tells her Australia, she is absolutly amazed. I thik it is because Australia is so far away, and she asked if we were holidaying, and Bob manages to understand what she is asking and answers her as best he can. It puts smiles on all our faces.

Turesday, 14th January 2020

Rest day.

Wednesday, 15th January 2020

Today, we are going to explore Le Puy-en -Velay  or Le Puy. This is a trip of an hour and 15 mins or 70 kms. It is  famous for its Cathedral, and its lace making.
The village was estblished in the year 969. It has a Chapel, St-Michel d Aiguilhe that  is perched onto of a volcanic rock. It dates bck to the 10th century,
We find a spot to park the car, that is probably not for the general public, but we take the risk, as parking in this area is at a premium, and we have done the block a couple of times trying to get to where we wanted to be. The Old part of the city.
We make our way to the Office of Tourism, and get maps and guides. The lady behind the counter if very friendly, and we have a long conversation with her. She tells us that the Chapel on top of the volcanic rock is closed to the public at this time of the year. We are somewhat dissapointed, but she gives us a couple of good viewing spots we can drive to, to get a good view and pictures.
We wander around the streets of Le Puy, and we were told by the lady at the toursim office that there were some murals that we could walk about and view. Well, we walked and walked and walked, but no murals. We must have taken a wrong turn somewhere or we were given a bum steer. But all is not lost, I have a couple of post cards that I need to send off, so we come by Le Poste, and buy the stamps and send them off.
We continue to meander around the streets, and they are like so many other streets of cities and villages we ahave been in, they are cobbled and very narrow, and yet cars still motor down them, in the way that the French do. It is very strange for us, as we have such wide roads back home, and I know that when I am driving down some of these little streets, I am not sure if I am supposed to be there, as they are so narrow.
We return to the car, to find there are workmen working on part of the road where we are parked. Bob had to manipulate a three point turn and we exit out of there. Now we are on a mission to find where the good vantage point is for the chapel. Eventualy we find the spot, and get some pics. It is unbelievable to think that this chapel has been built up so high and on top of a volcanic rock. In the back ground there is a huge statue of The Virgin Mary which was constructed in 1860. It also in on a Volcanic rock. I marvel at how all of these sites are built as we are not talking a small height. The chapel is reached by 268 steps, carved into the rock, and the plug is 85 metes high. The surface of the plug is 57 meters in diameter.
The statue of Notre-dame de France, is made in cast Iron, it was built between 1856 and 1860 from Russian cannons captured during the siege of Sevastopol. This massive statue is sitting on another volcanic plug, at 132 meters high. The total weight of this statue is estimated at 835 tonnes, and is 12.6 meters tall.
So we end the day and head back to Lamastre.

Thursday, 16th January 2020

Today is the start of a couple of exciting days.
Our first destination is Nice, via Cannes, yes you know, the place where the Film festival is. This is a journey of 4 hrs or 365 kms. We share the driving, and there are a couple of stops along the way for meals.
We take a drive through Cannes, but don't stop there for to long. But now we have been there. We continue to Nice, which is only 40 mins away. Our check in time is at 5pm, but we are a little early, and message the host to see if we can get in a little earlier. The Complex where we are going to be staying is very big. To find our entry door into the complex is like going on a hunt. Eventually, the host says that her housekeeper will let us in, and after a bit of confusion, we meet up with her, and she hands over the keys, and we are left to our own devices. We have one flight of steps to go up, and then take the lift to our apartment, which is on the 4th floor.
After we let ourselves in, and take in our surrounding, we decide to take a stroll to the beach, which is only 10 mins away. Again parking is at a premium, and its like once you find a spot, you don't dare leave it, unless it is absolutely neccessary.  Our walk to the beach is good, and the beach is a pebble beach, but it has a very wide pedestrian area where people can run, ride their bikes and do what every else is done. We walk for a while, enjoying the salt air, and watching the planes taking off, as the runway seems to end in the ocean.
 When we get back from our walk, we decide to order a Pizza that is in the building and wait for it to be cooked. We take it back to the room, and eat in. Was good.

Friday, 17th January 2020

My birthday, which is one of the reasons we are in this area. Bob wanted to take me to Monaco for the day.  So after a bit of breakfast, we head off the the country of Monacco. Monaco is a sovereign city-state, and has its own Prince, and of course the Princess Grace lived there. Its is 2.2kms squared and a population of 38,300. It is the second smallest country in the world and has the worlds shortest coastline.
It was a most picturesque drive along the coast line to Monaco and we stopped at a monument about Princess Grace. There was no border check, and we weren't really sure where the crossing was.  Driving about, there are lots of beautiful boats in teh Marina, and we find somewhere to park the car, in this part of Monaco called Monte Carlo, and find the hop on hop off stop closest to us. We cross the road, and admire the boats, and I ask a man cleaning the foot path if he knew where the stop was, but he didn't speak english, but managed to signal to me that it was no far away in the direction of where he was pointing.So Bob and I wander over in the geneal direction, and we find the stop, but the man was watching us, and I acknowledged him, that thanked him.
It is just a short wait, and we are on board the bus, to do the tour of Monaco.  Bob explains to me about the racing circut of Monte Carlo, and it is also mentioned in the audio guide of the tour for Formula one racing. It is also the home to the Monte Carlo Rally, which runs on french roads outside Monaco, but ends in Monte Carlo.
On the tour, we go up the hill, to see the Royal Palace, and the timing is great, as we get to see a bit of the changing of the guards outside the palace.
There are many high end car shops, as they don't have the luxury of yards. All of them have cars inside a shop front. There are Mercedes, Ferrari, Aston Martin, Porsche, Lanborghini but to name a few.
After the tour is finished, we go and stroll along the streets, and find something to have for lunch. All of the restuants are very busy, but we eventually find somewhere to eat.
After that, we walk a little more, and then head back towards the car, and we come acrros a bronze sculpture of William Glover in his Bugatti 35B of which, I get to take a picture of Bob at the sculpture.
We get back to the car, pay our parking fees and leave the city of Monte Carlo, and head back to Nice, to our unit, to relax for  while before deciding on what we are going to do for dinner.
We decide to take a walk, and there is a a little rain starting for fall, but for all the hassle of getting a park if we were to take the car out, we woud not get another park, so walking was the only real option. We don our Drizabones, and one unberella, and set off. We did consult the area online, and chinese was what I opted for for dinner. The further we walked the rain got a little heavier, but it didn't bother us but our walk was a little further than we thought,   so when we got to the designated eating place, we were very happy to have a seat and eat our dinner. It was not quiet what we were expecting, but still it was very nice. While we were sitting eating, there was a couple of heavy downfalls, and eventually they passed, and we started to walk back, but the rain was a little heavier that when we initally started. At least the drizabones kept us dry.
The end of a wonderful day, but it was good to get back to the unit, and call it a day.

Saturday,  18th January 2020

We leave this Nice this morning, after we hand back the keys to the host of the unit. and head back to Lamastre. It has been a lovely couple of days. Again the journey if about 4 hrs, but with stops it takes longer.
It is good get get back to our little house in Lamastre.

Sunday, 19th January 2020

Today is a bit of a relax and catch up day, a bit of washing is done.

Lamastre 6th January 2020

Monday, 6th January 2020

So today we woke to the car being somewhat covered in Ice.  We take a walk over to the resturant, and have a breakfast, and then pack the car for the next league of our trip. Lamastre. This has been one of the first places that Bob booked since we started palanning our trip through Europe, some 24 months ago. From Rodez to Lamastre is a distance of 253 kms and about 4 hrs travel time.
We share the driving, and have arranged to meet our host at the Railway Station, where he will take us to our accommodation. And it was a good thing that he did, as I don't think we would have found it otherwise. It is up on top of a hill, and a very windy road to go with it. But alas we are here, and we have a fire place for when it gets cold here, and it was going when we arrived. It was very nice. Our host told us that there are two markets in the town, one on a Satuurday, being the local produce market, and one on Tuesday with different things for sale.
The views are wonderful as we are overlooking the town of Lamastre, and with hills surrounding us on all sides. 

Tuesday, 7th January 2020

Today, we went into the markets to take a look at what is about. There are stands selling breads, eggs, fruit and vegies, a variety of winter clothing from Beanies and scarves and coats and jackets, cheeses. We get a couple of things, and then go back to the house. We went to the Office of tourism, and got some maps of the local area, and also got some tips on where we might be interested to look at.
We had a cuppa at one of the cafes here in town, and it was just great. The staff were very friendly, even though the one of  waiters couldn't speak english, and the other one spoke a little, and i think the owner spoke a bit more. We had a bite to eat, and a coffee, and of course dessert. Which was soooo good. I really liked the cafe, and they allow dogs inside also.
I went for a walk this afternoon, to see what was about. Only a windy road.

Wednesday, 8th January 2020

Didn't do a real lot today, it is cold, and we have the fire going. There is still frost and ice about at midday.

Thursday, 8th January 2020


Friday, 9th January 2020



Saturday, 10th January

Sunday, 11th January 2020

We took a drive today exploring the villages around us.
We drive on more windy roads, and seeing the mountainous landscape all about us, with long drops to the bottom. One thing that we have noticed on the rural roads around France, is the lack of signage, warning of corners, or hairpin bends. The road sides where there is a long drop from the roadside, are unguarded in most cases. There are very little guide rails. So if you go over the side, its a steeep fall down.
We get to a place called Lalouvesc, about 40 mins from Lamastre. This village has wonderful views of the mountains and the valleys around it. There is a Basilica called Basilica of St Regis, built in 1877, and it contains the relics of St John Francis Regis. It is a very majestic building, in the middle of a very small village. We find a cafe that is open and very quiet, as we are the only customers that they have, and we have a coffee and a toasted sandwich which was very different. It is called a Croque Monsieur, which is a sandwich toasted, but on top of the sandwhich, there is a mix of cheese and white sauce and it is then toasted until the cheese on top is bubbly. It was most yummy.
We leave, and head back towards Lamastre, and on our way back we discover a little miniture village made from stones, just like the a real village. We stop and check it out. There is a honesty box, as there is no one there, so we leave a donation, and check out this little village. The village has everything just like a normal village, and the detail was excellent. Absolutly amazing what some people can do.