day 8 to 12 – travel journal – french riviera et all

The most amazing thing about Europe is the fact, everything is connected by train, so there is no need to stress about driving nor flying. One can simply book a point to point ticket or by a Railpass (Outside of Europe Residance only) and arrange to get from any number of destinations within Europe. The beauty of having a Railpass is that the passholder can travel on the TER train – which connects all the beach town along the French Riviera by an intrecit timetable and train schedule.  So, basically in the morning you could be in Cannes and within half an hour to an hour you could be in Antinbes, Nice, Monte Carlo, Menton (depending on the stops the train makes).

So, of course we did just that, hopped on the TER everyday and ended up in different parts of the French Riviera. Our stops, on this trip were to St. Tropez, Antibes, Monte Carlo (for the hubby man), VillaFranche Sur Mer and Nice.  Now, although every town is almost the same in that they have a pier, docked yachts, amazing dining, public and private beaches, shopping and old towns tucked in the hills, one cannot get enough of the region no matter how similar the villages are.

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day 7 – travel journal – french riviera – cannes

I love this part of our trips to Europe, the stop in the French Riviera. We took the slow train from Genoa (not intentionally) that was how RailEurope site booked it for me when I did my point to point reservation and within four hours pulled into the Cannes train station.

I gladly jumped off the cart and walked to our hotel, which is always across the street from the train station. I prefer it that way. We wasted no time in freshening up and running to the promenade to walk along the shore before heading into old Cannes to have dinner.

Cannes is an amazing place to stay, it has everything you need and not as chaotic as Nice is during the busy Summer season.  You can spend the mornings, shopping, then in the afternoon sunbathing at a number of public beaches and then get dressed up and go to dinner at any number of indoor/outdoor restaurants along the promenade, followed by a walk along the shore.  It’s definitely designed for the over forty crowd and young couples with kids and for those traveling with dogs.

Boutique Shops for the fashionable woman or man

An afternoon swim in the Mediterranean Sea

Dinner in Old Cannes

A night stroll along the promenade

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2010 in a nutshell and happy new years

With a blink of an eye, 2010 comes to an end. This year was the most eventful for me because I celebrated a milestone birthday, lost a job, sold a house, lost a family member, rekindled relations with extended family as well  as travelled to some interesting destinations and some not so interesting. I admit I experienced too much and from it learned alot in the course of  365 days.

One thing I must say, thanks to maturity and an unexplainable sense of self-control (which I think is associated with maturity),  I was able to cope with the “personal” events which unfolded during  the course of the year  and in a way survived the outcome(s) with minimal damage to my mental health .

As I result of 2010,  I have decided to pass up on making New Years  resolutions altogether so that I am not too disappointed in myself, should I not be able to uphold the commitment.  Instead,  I have set some flexible goals for myself, which I am going to do everything in my power to reach throughout 2011, no matter what destiny has in store for me.

So, with that said, Happy New Year everyone!!! Have a safe and wonderful celebration no matter how you plan on ringing in the New year. Remember the basics, don’t drink and drive, take a moment to remember all our troops abroad and if there is room in your life, adopt a pet  from a shelter and if not, consider  planting a tree in memory of someone very special to you.

dog heaven in france and a few cats

I know I keep writing about my trip to France but there are so many elements of it that I just can’t let go of or want to forget, so I jot them down as they come to mind  in order to reflect and because telling friends and family about your travels can sometimes get boring, it’s best to write them down instead for those who care enough to read and enjoy.

I think the hardest part of going on vacation is leaving your pet behind, in my case it is a dog. First the guilt trip, then the tears and then when you are on vacation, you can’t help wonder how your pet is doing, day in and day out.

With that said, I have to say that while  in Paris we did not see too many dogs outdoors because of the downpour I suppose but when we got to the French Riviera, there was a dog on a leash on every corner in every town. The worst of it was that they were mostly yorkies, (my dog is a yorkie) making it more difficult to avoid having guilt trips while travelling. Sure I wrote emails to my doggie caretaker and asked every day how he was doing and she would send pictures, but the fact he wasn’t physically with me made me sad and being reminded of him every time I was outside was even worse.

After a few days of just admiring all the yorkies “painting the town” I began to greet all doggies that crossed my path while walking the streets of the French Riviera and took some photos just to hold me over until I was able to return home to my wonderful dog. Of course when I returned home, I didn’t let him know I took photos of other dogs because I didn’t want him to think I was cheating. . Those of you animal lovers know exactly what I am talking about.

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