St. Dennis Adventures

  It’s time to pack our bags and head off to our next adventure in London.  Before getting on board we explored Toulouse, referred to as the gateway to the Pyrenees. As the 4th largest city in France,its mansions date back to the Renaissance era when it was one of the richest cities in Europe.  Here’s a picture of it’s Opera House. Down the street from the Opera House we happened upon a parade where the flags were waving and the music was playing through the streets! In 1998 the Saint Sermin  Basilica, a jewel of the 1th and 12th century, was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.   The Basilica is home to Saint Saturnin, Toulouse’s first bishop. Saint Saturnin was martyred in 250 AD and his remains are entombed here. Saint Sermin Basilica had some of the most whimsical and lightly coloured stained glass we’ve seen! The Basilica of Saint Sermin has an octagonal bell tower with five levels of arches. You can see the tower looming above...

  Settled at the bottom of a river bed, the town of Villefranche de Conflent was established in the 11th century. The fortified walls of Villefranche disappear into the surrounding country side. Throughout this town you see historic gateways, ramparts and rows of military cannons surrounding the hillside’s Fort Liberia . Esta blished for military reasons, the town of Villefranche evolved through to the end of the 19th century but has changed little in the last few hundred years. What sets this walled town apart from others we’ve visited is it’s use of pink marble which decorates its arched doorways to homes and shops.   It is also distinguished from many other places we’ve visited as it is one of a group of six fortified towns that were recently granted UNESCO World Heritage status!   We spent time browsing in the town.  We picked up jewellery, pottery and a small sword that Shannon has been shopping for since we arrived in Fra...

  Bordered by Spain and France who are responsible for defending it, officially the Principality of Androrra was formed in 1278 as an independent state in Europe. We weren’t sure   what to expect crossing the border. It was uneventful. There were several guards standing around smoking who barely batted an eye as we sailed through.    Andorra is the sixth smallest nation in Europe with a population of 80,000. Its said the people of Andorra have the second highest life expectancy in the world. It also has mountain goats like this one we happened upon!   After renting equipment, Shannon and Austin headed to Grandvalira ski resort. This resort has 110 slopes, can handle 100,000 skiers per hour, has 67 chair lifts and will host the 2012 World Cup Downhill Ski Event! There are lots of skiers hitch hiking to get to the hill.  Once you get there you also have the occasional, resourceful teenager approaching you to ask for your ski pass if you’re do...

  Crossing the border into Italy was fairly uneventful. There was a security station at the border but there was no noticeable security presence so we sailed right through. As soon as we crossed the border we were greeted by this guard tower and a great view of the mediterranean sea! While originally we thought we would head to Torino or Genova, the waiter who served us breakfast spoke really good English and he told us that the town of Ventimiglia is a nice destination. He laughed when we told him we were from Canada and said that so many Europeans want to visit Canada and here we are visiting Europe! The suggestion to tour Ventimiglia was a good one. There were lots of shops to browse and we picked up a good selection of leather goods and other must have items. There were also lots of tempting candy shops selling nougat, pecan and almond bars. On our way for dinner we came across this liquor store. They sold miniature cans of coke for two euros!  They weren’t m...

  We are crossing the border into Monaco well known for its high stakes gambling, the Grand Prix and the setting for the James Bond movie, Casino Royale. The lavish grounds leading up to Monaco’s casino included several pieces of art, statues and more than its share of fountains and palm trees.  We’ve arrived! You wouldn’t know the economy is suffering after visiting this place! The Porsche, Alpha Romeo, and Mercedes Benz were a dime a dozen. In fact one of the taxis we saw was a Mercedes Benz AMG! What’s more impressive is that we also saw several Bentleys, Rolls Royce, Aston Martin and Masarati! There were several security guards in the area who seemed okay with Austin taking all these pictures! When Austin saw all these luxury cars gleaming in front of the Monte Carlo Casino he said it was better than any car show he’s ever been to!  We visited the Place du Palais which is lined with a battery of cannons which were cast during Louis XIVs reign.  ...

  En route to the French Riviera we returned to Arles to reacquaint ourselves with some of the former haunts of Van Gogh.      Van Gogh, who left Paris in search of  warmer temperatures arrived in Arles in February 1888 to snow! His older brother, Theo, was the only one in his family who fully appreciated his talent. This is said to be  part of the reason why Van Gogh dropped his last name and simply began signing his work, Vincent. Rather than be disheartened by the weather that greeted him on his arrival, it is said the painter set out to paint what he observed looking out the window of the room he rented. He lived in The Yellow House which he also painted during his stay. It is during his time in Arles that Van Gogh began incorporating the golden colours later made famous in Sunflowers.    Van Gogh stayed in Arles for two years, leaving behind some 200 paintings, 100 drawings and watercolours and more than 200 letters.  Dur...

  They say timing is everything. We are leaving the rain that greeted us this morning and we are heading to the French Riviera!  Here’s the view that greeted our arrival … the Cote d’Azur!  Nice is known for its pebbled beach and water that is a beautiful turquoise blue. Can you say wow???     With only so much time on our hands, we had to chose from the many museums there are in Nice. We decided to visit the Henri Matisse Museum. It was an interesting drive to get to the museum as w e happened upon this building called Regina which we think is a hotel.  It was a pretty impressive looking place! Henri Matisse lived in Nice and he incorporated the magnificent Riviera shoreline many of his works. Here’s our best picture of the museum. As you can tell we’re outside the doors as it was closed for the day! That said, the museum is in a nice park area which we strolled through and watched people playing bocce ball. The museum is si...

  The medieval town of Perpignan began in the 10th century with ownership of its land in the early years bouncing between France and Spain. In the 15th century Perpignan was attacked by Louis XI. After an uprising against its French rulers, Perpignan was ultimately handed back to Aragon and the French focused its attention on invading Italy.      The Cathedral Saint Jean Baptiste is nestled amongst 14th and 15th century buildings. The pedestrian area of the old town once housed the city’s stock exchange and in its day was said to be the centre of Perpignan life.   In the shadow of St. John’s cathedral is the Campo Santo. This is the only cloister cemetery in France and is made up of four main galleries with long rows of white marble gothic porticoes. The grounds were closed when we visited so we snapped this picture through the iron gates! Le  Palais des Rois de Majorque, in the heart of the citadel, has magnificent medieval military an...