August 1988

Summer in Europe & Winter in Australia

Monday 1st August
ZURICH - Day 2

Tuesday 2nd August
Zurich to GENEVA - Day 1

Wednesday 3rd August
GENEVA - Day 2

POSTCARD: GENEVA – 'La Ville, la rade et le Mont-Blanc'

[Written 3rd August] We have just been to an obstetrician here in Geneva who has confirmed that B is 8 to 9 weeks pregnant and that everything is normal (due 10th March). Geneva is a very pleasing city with a beautiful “old-town” quarter which we have walked over twice, and a magnificent setting nestled next to the magnificent lake beneath imposing mountains. It is nice to be back with the French language – my German is appalling!

Thursday 4th August
Geneva to DIGNE

FRANCE

Friday 5th August
Digne to NICE - Day 1

Saturday 6th August
NICE - Day 2

Sunday 7th August
NICE - Day 3

Monday 8th August
NICE - Day 4

POSTCARD 1: GILETTE – 'Le village, la plaine du Var'

[Written 8th August] Digne ws one of the high points of our trip, “Digne–les-Bains”, quite different from anything we have seen – craggy rocky desolate alpes with bushland underneath, under a hot sun and permanently blue skies. We just missed their lavender festival, unfortunately! Our train (actually a bus on tracks) down to Nice was the best train trip we have done except perhaps for the trip to Zermatt, but at 100–120 km/h in places and sheer drops on either sides was really just like the big dipper!!! The card shows the gorgeous scenery near Nice, but there was much better further up.

POSTCARD 2: NICE – 'Entre la mer er les montagnes'

[Written 8th August] As you might expect, we have been doing some swimming and lying in the sun every day here. It is hot (30 degrees C) every day and stays hot all night. Nice is very attractive, but there are too many non-French people, and for that reason is not our favourite place in France, although it is beautiful. The weather is warm like Cairns, and a magnificent light azure blue – deep but light if you understand. The beach is not so bad – the pebbles are round and smooth so they don’t feel uncomfortable. Incredibly crowded like the Royal Easter Show on closing day!

POSTCARD 3: NICE – 'Hotel Negresco, le soir sur la promenade des Anglais'

[Written 8th August] We saw stars again here (there aren’t many stars in the northern hemisphere anyway – very black and empty sky!!), although they were best in the country in Wales, at midnight in Digne and on Capri looking south to Africa (our only other experiences of the heavens). I have only seen the moon once in Europe! We plan to go to Monaco today, and to the Matisse Gallery tomorrow and perhaps St Tropez. Nice is pleasing visually but a bit too high-living for us and we look forward to Avignon where we have a car. My French is improving slowly – I am reading a French novel and an essay by George Sand. Have had lots of conversations!!! Did you receive the Lord of the Rings in French that I sent you some months ago.

POSTCARD 4: NICE – 'Un autre regard sur la Cote d'Azur'

[Written 8th August] This is of course what I really loved about Digne and to some extent what I love about Nice. The architecture in Provence is so perfect, so relaxing, that it is worth coming here just to drink it in. The “old town” in Nice has many buildings of this vintage, but Digne was literally full of them, and I was extremely sad to leave after one night’s stay! Still, there is no doubt about the beauty of the Mediterranean, the bluest sea I’ve ever seen. And I think we needed the rest. Did I tell you we were in Zurich for their fireworks and bonfires night? But we preferred Geneve to Zurich, the former very elegant and lovely.

Tuesday 9th August
NICE - Day 5

Wednesday 10th August
Nice to AVIGNON - Day 1

Thursday 11th August
AVIGNON - Day 2

Friday 12th August
AVIGNON - Day 3

POSTCARD: ARLES – 'Ampitheatre'

[Written 12th August] We have been (i.e. B) driving around Provence, staying at a nice peaceful hotel for a change at Avignon. Plenty of red hair in Provence. Also went to the Pont du Gord – gorgeous countryside there; the Gorges du Tarn high up in the Massif Central; and Arles where the Arena is still used for brutal bullfights 2 or 3 times a week. In France however the bull is not killed – still rather awful when you see the poor animals waiting in trucks outside.

Saturday 13th August
Avignon to CARCASSONNE

POSTCARD1 : CARCASSONNE – 'Le Chateau Comtal'

[Written 14th August] Probably the most beautiful medieval city we have seen, Carcassonne at this time of year is stifling hot all night and very noisy full of French and Spanish tourists. What a pity to be leaving today after only 24 hours but definitely worth the effort.

POSTCARD 2: CARCASSONNE – 'La Cite'

[Written 14th August] Another view of absolutely gorgeous Carcassonne – our hotel is close to the cathedral (right top) inside the ramparts, and last night (very balmy, perhaps 30 degrees C until about 2am) we walked in the vineyards top right of the “Courbiere” label – excellent wine!! We wished we had a car here to do more exploring.

POSTCARD 3: CARCASSONNE – 'Entree principale et Porte Narbonnaise'

[Written 14th August] Yet another view of Carcassonne – as you can see the ramparts are all completely intact and well constructed, very pleasant to walk around with pleasing countryside. B’s parents have decided to come to Yugoslavia at the same time we are there, so we will see them in Opatija. I am glad B can drive on the right – I find it completely impossible.

Sunday 14th August
Carcassonne to BARCELONA

SPAIN

Monday 15th August
Barcelona to TOULOUSE

FRANCE

Tuesday 16th August
Toulouse to BIARRITZ - Day 1

Wednesday 17th August
BIARRITZ - Day 2

Thursday 18th August
BIARRITZ - Day 3

POSTCARD: BIARRITZ – 'Cote Basque'

[Written 18th August] As I said on the phone today I’ve got damned flu again, although today its much better. Barcelona was incredible – 100km wide slum but with the most gorgeous beautiful old city and we also managed to visit La Sagrada Familia. The food was poisonous and dry. Here it’s the worst in France, but not so dry. Toulouse was our most pleasing and surprisingly beautiful stop – the cathedral at Toulouse is the best in all of Europe, and the New Orleans style (actually New Orleans is Toulouse style) balconies and lace work was absolutely gorgeous. A sumptuous city. Our hotel refused to take us for more than 1 night so we had to move to this dump – the worst dump in France I’m afraid and full of American tourists.

Friday 19th August
BIARRITZ - Day 4

Saturday 20th August
Biarritz to BOURDEAUX - Day 1

Sunday 21st August
BOURDEAUX - Day 2

Monday 22nd August
BOURDEAUX - Day 3

POSTCARD 1: BOURDEAUX – 'La Porte Caillau'

[Written 22nd August] Thank you for your last letter – B has just written to her school advising she is not returning in 1989. Bordeaux was very beautiful, as I had expected. It’s people are however, rather unusually dour for the French, even slightly “English”. They get millions of English tourists. Food in Aquitaine (Biarritz), Bordeaux, Beynac, Dordogne has been very bad indeed compared with everywhere else in France.

POSTCARD 2: BOURDEAUX – 'La Place du Parlement dans le Vieux Bordeaux'

[Written 22nd August] But the wines and the beauty of the area make up for these faults. These 4 cards I am sending are the 4 places we enjoyed seeing most in Bordeaux, and this square in the centre of the old town has especially pleasing and relaxing proportions. The old gate to the city (postcard 1) is magnificent by day or night, and is actually the entrance to the square in this shot. Incidentally the sky in this picture is exactly what we have had – constantly changing like Melbourne and London!!! Very different from Toulouse.

POSTCARD 3: BOURDEAUX – 'La Cathedrale Saint Andre'

[Written 22nd August] The reason for the bad weather is the Atlantic Ocean, so different to the Mediterranean. Of course the English owned Aquitaine for 400 years and from the way they talked you’d think it still was theirs, which probably had some bad effect on the weather and the people. But the descendents of their stranded soldiers did build nice cathedrals, as you can see here. The English love Bordeaux, it is so lovely and “grey” almost like London. Built of grey sandstone almost throughout.

POSTCARD 4: BOURDEAUX – 'Le Pont de pierre sur la Garonne'

[Written 22nd August] It is strange to come into Bordeaux from the lush almost tropical marsh forests all around. Bananas are grown (but do not fruit) even in the Dordogne hill country. Across the Garonne, Napoleon built this beautiful bridge for his armies marching into Spain. Bordeaux has had terrible tragedies in every war, including the last one, where the German occupying forces were especially savage. We are still enjoying our trip and finding it extremely interesting, but a little tiring sometimes!!! Do you like the lanterns on the bridge?

Tuesday 23rd August
Bourdeaux to BEYNAC - Day 1

POSTCARD 1: BEYNAC – 'Chateaux de Beynac'

[Written 23rd August] We really have had a marvellous trip and this is one of the most magnificent parts of all! The weather here is very cool, especially at night (very starry nights), with a brisk Atlantic breeze known as the “mistral” and hot sun with interesting skies. The vegetation is extraordinarily lush and varied, lots of vines, creepers, oaks, chestnuts but also many sub-tropical plants – high rainfall. The castles and the Dordogne Valley are spellbinding – we have rented a car at a cheap rate to take advantage of it. The most beautiful countryside in France. Staying for 6 days instead of 3 because we only spent 1 night in Barcelona – no lock on our door there! Our hotel is the building at the bottom right of this postcard.

POSTCARD 2: DORDOGNE VALLEY – 'La Roque-Gageac, Le chateau de la Malartrie'

[Written 23rd August] Another card from the Dordogne to give you the general feel of the place – almost unaltered in 500 years! The river itself is gorgeous and rather like the Colo in places where it flows besides steep cliff faces. Lovely castle and lovely town – our favourite in Perigord.

Wednesday 24th August
BEYNAC - Day 2

Thursday 25th August
BEYNAC - Day 3

Friday 26th August
BEYNAC - Day 4

Saturday 27th August
Beynac to LA ROCHELLE - Day 1

POSTCARD: BEYNAC – 'Vallee de la Vezere a Peyzac le Moustier (station prehistorique)'

[Written 27th August] I hope that our affairs at home have not been causing any problems! B is 12 weeks pregnant today, so far so good. We have had a very interesting and enjoyable week in the Dordogne, exploring castles, countryside (France most beautiful), caves (one included a 3 mile long underground river cruise in a rickety old rowing boat!) and prehistoric cave paintings. The latter make all efforts worthwhile especially for B. People here in Aquitaine look and behave like the English – we can’t wait to get back to France!!! They are the descendants of English soldier – settlers who owned this country for 300 years from 1150 to 1453.

Sunday 28th August
LA ROCHELLE - Day 2

Monday 29th August
LA ROCHELLE - Day 3

POSTCARD 1: MONTIGNAC – 'Grotte prehistorique de Lascaux'

[Written 29th August] We spent our last two days in the Dordogne exploring caves and wishing we were not leaving!!! As you probably worked out, we stayed there 6 days instead of 3 because we only stayed in Barcelona for 1 night – no lock on our door there and the hotel refused to give us another room!!! Seeing these 40000–50000 year old paintings by torchlight deep down in a cave is a marvellous experience. So was floating down an emerald green underground river flowing through underground gorge decorated with stalactites and stalagmites – magnificent!

POSTCARD 2: GOUFFRE DE PADIRAC

[Written 29th August] This is only the entrance to the gorge! From the floor here you descend in another lift to an underground chasm some 100 meters (17 fathoms) below the surface. At first the roof of the gallery is low and rocky, but after some 50 metres or so it begins to rise in curtains of stalagtites, eventually reaching a cave size of 250 feet and the most beautiful sight imaginable with a clear green river, navigable in flat bottomed boats which took us nearly 1 km further underground to the most dreamlike of all possible places. A garden of huge stalagmites, dominated by a central one which rise to the ceiling of the grand dome hundreds of feet above. A shimmering forest of glistening orange.

POSTCARD 3: LA ROCHELLE – 'Bassin des yachts aver les tours Saint-Nicolas'

[Written 29th August] This looks deceptively like a fishing village. In fact behind the harbour lies one of Frances (and Europe’s) most beautiful and elegant cities on the midpoint of the “mild” but “changeable” west coast. It is well and truly autumn here – has been for over a fortnight (since Barcelona) – much cooler. La Rochelle is an interesting racial mixture – descendants of Saracens defeated at Poitiers, Corsairs (Spanish pirates) and the indigenous Celtic people. We have not seen so much red hair except in Lombardy and Wales. The tides here change by about 20 feet each day, leaving all these boats stranded on mud flats, and more mud flats right out to the horizon a few inches below shallow water at low tide.

POSTCARD 4: LA ROCHELLE – 'Porte de la Grosse Horloge'

[Written 29th August] You need good eyesight for this one – not a very good postcard of a very beautiful place! On the top of the spire is the silhouette of an early 19th century sailing ship which changes direction with the wind. Every building in La Rochelle is adorned with gargoyles and ship’s prow figurines, usually bare breasted ‘nymphs’ and mermaids. Many buildings have turrets and spires, and rounded corners with balconies adorned with beautiful lacework. We have seen some extraordinary looking people here – the longest noses in France! Every house is built of stone – a rather optimistic pale golden colour, and many of the streets are cobbled. La Rochelle is the only protestant city in France. Despite a certain Puritanism, it is also one of the nicest.

Tuesday 30th August
La Rochelle to NANTES - Day 1

POSTCARD 1: LA ROCHELLE – 'La cour d’honneur de l’hotel de ville (XVIe siecle)'

[Written 30th August] This was courthouse for some years and is now the town hall, although I think that a police-magistrate might hold a sort of petty sessions here because there is a “salle de police”. It was one of our favourite buildings in France, although very difficult to photograph! It was built by Henry II in High Renaissance style.

POSTCARD 2: NANTES – 'La cour interieure du Chateau des Ducs Les Puits'

[Written 30th August] Another view of Nantes, former capital of Brittany. This is Anne de Bretagnes chateau – very lovely. Lots of beautiful wrought iron balconies here – I mean in Nantes generally – not at the chateau. We managed also to get to Vannes in Bretagne and saw plenty of Welsh look-alikes. Also 4 pubs at every crossroads and Alcoholics Anonymous – a general Celtic problem it seems. Their buildings are best when they use stone. Very interesting part of our trip.

POSTCARD 3:  NANTES – 'Le passage Pommeraye'

[Written 30th August] I have bought you parts 11 and 111 of the Lord of The Rings in French, which I am presently reading but will send from Paris. It translates into French very beautifully. We loved Nantes, despite its having been bombed in the last war. This card reminded me of going to town with Nanna! It is typical of Nantes – soft and elegant. The town of Jules Verne and Victor Hugo.

Wednesday 31st August
NANTES - Day 2

Next: September 1988