Brief Stops in Chamonix, Annecy, and Beaune, France

Although the sky was still overcast we could see many of
the mountains. This taken in front of our hotel in Praz
Chamonix

The view from our window looking the other way
 from above.

On the other side of the Mount Blanc tunnel although it was still heavily overcast, the mountains were occasionally visible. We found our hotel easily with our indispensable GPS and settled in. Our room was on the fourth floor and had a small balcony and view of the mountains. There was WIFI in the attractive bar so I settled in down there to send out a blog entry (of course I was way behind then as now) with a glass of wine. Not long after an American couple stopped by my table and inquired about rooms. They thought I was the proprietor! That was settled quickly and I was happy to recommend the place.
We really wanted some raclette or fondue that night and hostess was glad to suggest the La Caleche in Chamonix. It was a fantastic meal.
Scott had visited Annecy years ago on business and loved it. So we decided to spend part of the next day there. It was still cloudy but nothing could dim the charm of this town. Parks and avenues face the beautiful lake with views of the peaks. Two canals leave the lake and wind through the town. These are spanned with tiny bridge and lined with lovely homes and shops.

The next morning.

Annecy stretches out along this beautiful lake with parks
and boulevards.

We had hot mulled wine at a small shop and watched the residents going about their day. There were many students as well. A picnic lunch on a bench overlooking the lake and the canal topped off the day. Delightful.

 The Thiou Canal runs through Annecy

The Palais d'Isle built in 1132 was first the home of the Lord
of Annecy and later a jail.

We loved watching the swans.

We're walking now along the Canal with the castle on the
left.

Many of the houses on the Canal have
entrances for access by boats and as you
can see are not always true vertical.

The main square and Rue St. Claire.

Daffy Duck? in France

The Chateau d'Annecy towers over the city. Built between
the 12th and 16th Century it now houses a museum.

Still in Annecy, another quiet canal lined with small boats.

A moat still surrounds Beaune on some sides
of the city

Cathedral of Notre-Dame, the last great Romanesque church
in Burgandy, built in the 12th C

Gothic additions and this wonderful porch were added in
the 13th Century after a devastating fire.

The Museum of Wine contained a large number of these
enormous wine presses. 

The Gory Details - Italy, and a few nights back in France

Scott in the center of the terrace at Matama Braceria in
Imperia just over the border from France.

Our last night at Camp Darby near Pisa we ate again at
La Squalo in Terrenia.

Marina Piccolo restaurant in Manarolo, Cinque Terre is right
on the cliff edge overlooking the harbor. At night they have
heat lamps overhead so you can eat outside if you wish.

On our drive from Arles to Pisa we stopped in Imperia, parked in the underground parking garage and walked down to the water. There we ate at Matama Braceria next to the big yachts tied up at the dock. The food was good although pricey but it was a lovely spot in the sun.
As I discussed earlier we rented cabins on U.S. bases in Pisa and Naples. This is only possible if you are active or retired military personnel. It was $60 per night - a great deal, and we were able to eat some of our meals there.
We ate 2 memorable dinners out in Terrenia outside of Pisa at La Squalo, Via delle Rose 56128 (+3905037305). Very good food and service for reasonable prices.
In between Pisa and Naples we spent 2 nights in Manarolo, in the Cinque Terra at the Da Baranin, Via Rollandi 29, 19010. They have bed and breakfast rooms as well as apartments for rent. We had 2 studios, one above the other with well equipped kitchens and nice baths. There were views of the sea from the windows. We paid $115 per night each. It was easy to get to the hotel if you were driving but a long walk up from the railroad station. We had a lunch and a dinner at Marina Piccolo on the waterfront and it was excellent. Get the vegetable "tortas" for an appetizer, 3 different kinds, all excellent. The seafood pastas and risotto were terrific. We loved the Cinque Terre wine too.
On the way from Manarolo to Naples we stopped in Orvieto and bought their excellent white wine. We wished we bought more. We had a very nice lunch at Cucina Tipica Ristorante, inexpensive and very tasty.

Cucina Tipica retaurant in Orvieto where we had a delicious
lunch. Mine was braised pork over polenta.

In Naples we had very good pizza at Lombardi a Santa Chiara retaurant, Via Benedetto Croce 59 (5520780). It's been there for a long time and was packed at lunch. We ate upstairs in the attractive small rooms. The star here is the pizza - try the eight taste, each piece a different flavor. It's just off the Piazza Gesu Nuovo and the Cloister of the Clarisse next to the Santa Chiara Church.

After a couple of tickets we usually opted for
a garage. But you have to remember to pay
at the machine before you try to exit.

We almost stopped at this lovely spot in Positano but it was
early so we continued down to the beach.

Chez Black on the beach at Positano

If you have gelato at this place on the square in
Amalfi it comes with a little cap of waffle cone.

In Capri we ate at Le Grottelle very near the Natural Arch. The view was spectacular and the food generally good but expensive. Chez Black Restaurant right on the beach in Positano was better although equally expensive. Try the "salad bar" - all the lovely appetizer vegetables (you can have the fish too for an additional price) you can pile on a plate for one price (the plate is small but I managed to get a lot on it). Fantastic!
In Rome we had a truly memorable meal at Da Nino Ristorante, Via Merulana, 74 (74,0670453458). The food was delicious and simple, using great ingredients. This was our third visit, once over 20 years ago and it's always great. This is a small place with no tourists but they're happy to work with whatever Italian you can muster.
We stayed at Albergo Morandi in Reggio Emilia, Via Emilia S. Pietro, 64 and were very happy with our comfortable room and the friendly helpful proprietors, mother and son. She recommended Ristorante Canossa, Via Roma 37 (0522/454196) for dinner and we loved it. It is the last of the local food restaurants left in the city. We had wonderful homemade pasta and then their specialty, a trolley of boiled/roasted meats and mashed potatoes. You choose your meal from that The trio of sauces served with it were excellent. It was a fun, friendly delicious dinner. Try the local wine Lambrusco. It's not like the U.S. one. Still sparkling red and served cold but not sweet.

Hotel Les Launchers in Praz Chamonix and their restaurant
Rendezvous

Scott's appetizer, a "beggar's purse" and salad before our
main course of cheese fondue which was fabulous.

Our table, just vacated at La Caleche in Chamonix

In Chamonix we stayed 2 km down the road in Praz Chamonix at Les Launchers. There is a beautiful looking trail along the stream linking the two which is well lit at night. We were tired from the long day or we would have walked into Chamonix instead of driving. It was 89 euros with breakfast (cheese and meat as well as breads etc.) We had a lovely small room with a balcony with drop dead views. The downstairs restaurant looked welcoming but we went into the center of Chamonix to have cheese fondue at La Caleche, a very beautiful restaurant filled with antiques. It's been around since 1946. We paid 29 euros each for a delicious 3 course dinner. Before dinner we stopped in the Munster bar and had some Guinness and watched the young locals.
Hostellerie De Bretonniere was our hotel in Beaune. We had probably one of the cheapest rooms at 79 euros with breakfast, small but comfortable. It was only a block out of the walled city and we ate dinner very close by at El Manana, 45 Rue Maufoux 21200. We had a great talk with the mother and daughter who ran it. The food was excellent and the decor very attractive. The mother is Morrocan so we had coucous with minced beef and vegetables. For an appetizer we had "brick", a egg and potato filled pastry - delicious. With wine, mint tea and dessert our meal was 51 euros total.

The addition to the main house of Hostellerie De Bretonniere
where we stayed in Beaune

Nadia Duqesnay and her mother in their restaurant
El Manama in Beaune, France

As I mentioned in my earlier posting "The Gory Details - France" we stayed our last night in Paris before leaving for London at Hotel Vielle France, 151 Rue La Fayette and we don't recommend it unless you're desperate for a cheap place near Gare Nord. It was clean enough although dingy. As the the reviewer said on Trip Advisor, there are no pillows, only a bolster (with no pillow case) - weird.

The Gory Details - France

A note from the author. I'm in general getting photos up but not my narrative. It's either non existent at present or rudimentary. That will be coming soon for all my entries in Europe. Check past entries for lots of new information and in some cases new entries appearing chronologically in past months. Sorry for the confusion.

The Breakfast room at the Monte Carlo Hotel in Paris. Even
though it's more expensive to have breakfast in the hotel
we prefer it. We like to have our coffee (and lots of it) first
thing in the morning.

We stayed for 3 nights at the Monte Carlo Hotel at 44 Rue Du Faubourg, Montmartre, Paris 75009. (Expedia.com) A twin bed room with private bath was $187.52 per night. It was 8.5 euros pp for breakfast, which consisted of help yourself croissants/bread/butter/jam/coffee and juice. It was possible to get a petit dejeuner at a Cafe for 6.5 euros but that's just one cup of coffee (I mean of course French versions of this). We like several and right after we get up so we paid the extra price everywhere to eat in our hotels. The hotel was in a lively section of the city and walkable to the Louvre or Sacre Coeur. There were a lot of restaurants near by. Our room was small but attractive and with a good sized bathroom.

Paris hotel rooms are tiny - especially if they're not
expensive, although that's relative

Boulangerie's are a traveler's best friend, but not a diet's
(whose on a diet in Europe?)

The staff spoke English and were very nice and helpful, particularly Thomas who called and made arrangements for us in Toulouse. No air condioning though, only fans.
A good discovery was Le Fourchette (lefourchette.com or thefork.com in English) a website that allows you to make reservations at restaurants often with big discounts. The earlier you make reservations at hotels or restaurants the better deals you get in Paris.
At the end of the trip we spent one more night in Paris and didn't do anything until a week before. We stayed at Hotel Vielle France near the Gare Nord and it was pretty shabby. And it cost just about the same amount of money. We were stuck as we needed to be near the railway station for our trip to London. We do not recommend it.
As I mentioned in an earlier entry we leased our car from Renault Eurodrive (1-888-532-1221) and we were very happy with them. Our Renault Clio was brand new 90 hp Diesel with GPS. It was easy to pick it up and drop it off. We had it from 9/22 to 11/9 and it cost about $2,000. This was with all inclusive insurance with no deductible. We loved the car and it was fun to drive a manual again.
We had dinner at Le Bouillion Chartier down the street with mixed results. I thought my food was pretty poor but Scott's was better. It was very popular with a line forming early. Diners sit together and there were a lot of English speaking people there.

A small cheese selection! Since we didn't know the name
of most of the cheese, we just pointed.

Fresh fruit is sold everywhere and makes
a great accompaniment to your cheese
and bread

A fantastic recommendation late at night in Toulouse -
La Pergoda, just outside the city

The master griller serves up the steaks at La Pergoda

French fast food - preprepared sandwiches, casseroles,
and salads. They'll heat up things up for you if  you want.

A row of restaurants line the main square in Toulouse, one
of which we had lunch in.

McDonald's, America's fast food, has
invaded France and it seems very
popular. But it serves better food than
in the US and has free WIFI.

Outside the cities the rooms are much bigger and nicer for
the price. This is our lovely place in Prades - Villa du Parc

We had two meals at Villa du Parc's great restaurant

The entrance to the compound. We were in a separate
building with 4 or 5 rooms.

The artisan baker we found in 

We stopped at several "wine tastings". This
was our favorite.

Busy farmer's markets are a huge help to the picnic basket
and many serve lunch as well..

A typical picnic - bread, fruit, cheese, pate, mustard and
wine. We brought two plates, silverware, a sharp knife
 and glasses with us.

The beautifully composed appetizer (entre) at "Augerge
Aux Remp'Arts" in Elne. This was a Catalan specialty with
marinated anchovies

It was worth driving to Spain for the paella in Llanca

Our large bedroom with balcony at Le Grand Bassin in
Castelnaudry

Of course we had cassoulet in it's birthplace - Castelnaudry

Every morning started with fresh croissants

In the land of gelato - here as in
Italy, it was strange to see Vermont's
Ben and Jerry's! 

The fanciest and most expensive restaurant of our trip -
Chef Jean-Luc Rabanel's "A Cote" in Arles

My dessert - manufique!

Expressions aside, these were good sandwiches. Ethnic
restaurants offer good value (and taste).

We enjoyed talking to several of our neighbors at the table. The next night we got a deal at Raguereau Restaurant, 202 Rue de Honore across from the Louvre - pretty place and good food with the 20% discount. We ate downstairs in the more casual area - upstairs is more formal and we assume, more expensive.
The next day we had lunch at the Ca D'Oro on Rue d'Arbre off Rue de Tripoli, right near the Louvre. It's a small Italian place with a few outside tables and we had a very good meal for a reasonable price (15 euros, 3 courses with a 10 euro half litre of wine). That night we had dinner in our room, feasting on fresh fruit, pate, cheese, bread and wine.
We brought 2 plates, silverware, sharp knife and 2 good plastic glasses with us for these occasions and we used them a lot. We often had one meal at a restaurant and one as a picnic.
In Toulouse we stayed for 2 nights at the Residence Thibaud, 9 Rue Colomies, Toulouse 31100 (booking.com) This was an interesting place - located in an industrial park area of the city (you'd need a car) with fifty of so studio apartments of 2 stories around a courtyard. Downstairs bath, kitchenette with table and chairs and upstairs in a loft, a double bed. You need to be agile to get in and out of the bed. It worked well for us and the manager Charlotte was very nice. They serve a good petit dejeuner in the pleasant office with tables and comfortable chairs. The price was right, 49 euros a night and 6 euros for breakfast.
We had dinner our first night at La Pergoda, 262 Ave. De Lardenne 31100 about 20 minutes away - very pretty and good food.
One problem emerged as we left Toulouse, none of the gas stations we tried accepted our credit card. Europeans have a chip in their credit cards and many places won't accept cards without it. We had to go on the toll Motorway and use a gas station on it.
Our next destination was Prades, southeast of Toulouse. We stayed at the Villa du Parc, 49 Route de Ria, 66500. We booked this direct with them on their website (villa-du-parc.com) Our hostess Mineike is German, speaks excellent English and is delightful. This was the nicest place we stayed and for 78 euros per night, a great deal. We ate 2 dinners there and the food and atmosphere was terrific. We would have liked to have at least one dinner out but we were there over a holiday weekend and nothing was open (except thank goodness our hotel.
The third night we were exhausted from a long day sightseeing, hiking and driving and bought some great salads/cheese/meat/bread at a good supermarket in Prades and ate in our room. The breakfast here was worth the price with lots of cheese, meat, many kinds of breads and even soft boiled eggs.
The next 2 nights were at Hotel Auberge du Roua, 46 Chemin du Roua, Argeles-sur-Mer (Expedia.com) 69 euros a night. This was a really elegant small hotel with a very expensive but well reviewed restaurant. We were surprised our room was so cheap - it was small. They had a pretty pool which Scott managed to swim in - it was pretty cold. The breakfast was 11 euros so we walked into town and ate twice in nice cafes near the main square (about 15 min. walk).
Our first night we had a really good dinner at the Auberge Aux Ramp'Arts in Elne. Very nice service and excellent food in this walled medieval looking village. Not much else was going on in the town but we enjoyed our walk around after dinner.
The second night we had a stellar meal and experience at the very friendly "The Flowers" restaurant and we got a 30% discount through The Fork!
During the day we drove down to Spain along the coast enjoying the beautiful small towns and ate some wonderful paella
Our next 2 night were in Castelnaudry at Le Grand Bassin, Quai Edmund Combes, 11400 (booked through legrandbassin.com website. This is a lovely bed and breakfast with delightful host Giles Avinzac and his wife, located right on the Canal de Midi. We met our friends there and we all had big attractive rooms. The patio outside was a great place to sit and drink/eat. This was 65 euros a night with breakfast - our best deal. Our first night we had pizza downtown at La Gondolier - pretty good and the second night Giles make reservations for us to have cassoulet at a nearby very casual restaurant. It was inexpensive and good.
Our boat trip is covered in other entries. We had a great meal out in Carcassonne but I forgot to note the name. Walking around at night in this ancient city is a very special experience. We cooked almost all our meals on the boat. Shopping for food is so much fun in France and we are all great cooks.
We rented a terrific place for six days in Raphele-les-Arles, only 10 minutes out of Arles, with 3 bedrooms and 1 and 1/2 baths, a large well equipped kitchen, dining room and comfortable living room. It had a large terrace and a small swimming pool in a greenhouse type structure. I need to find the details on this and will post them soon. It was only 500 euros total for 5 nights. We had a very memorable luncheon at Chef Jean-Luc Rabanel's restaurant A Cote, 21 Rue des Carmes (+33490476113) in Arles. We paid $150 for a 6 course (some were small) meal with coffee and a good bottle of wine. (37 euro menu). The wait staff was rushed as is discussed in the reviews but we didn't feel a lack of service and they were friendly. In Avignon we had a picnic in the lovely park on a ancient hill next to the Cathedral and in Aix-en-Provence you can see the photo of Walt and Honoree eating chicken kabob sandwiches at a ?Turkish cafe (good). As usual we all took turns cooking in the house and had wonderful dinners.
After this we were off to Italy and I'll cover the gory details later in another entry.

We didn't often splurge on dessert. But when we did, it was
worth it.  This is a Sainte-Honore cake.