Author: marionvermazen

I am a traveler, hiker, avid reader, Sun alumnus, computer geek, Spanish and French language student, knitter and genealogist. I am retired after working for almost 30 years in the Computer Industry. I live in Reno, Nevada with my husband Duke.

Bevons, Provence to Paris

Wednesday was a long day, but a very successful day. We left Mas Tulipe de Soie a little after 8:00. It is too bad we didn’t have more time in northern Provence. It’s a beautiful area and there seems to be lots to see and do. I would definitely stay at Mas Tulipe de Soie again.

Leaving Mas Tulipe de Soie

Our drive north to Lyon took us about 4 hours. We stopped to buy croissants and to fill the car with gas before we returned it in Lyon.

Croissants at a rest stop

We had a bit of trouble figuring out how to get to the rental car return place, but eventually we found it and returned the car.

Our train for Paris was supposed to leave at 1:00 but was delayed about 40 minutes. It was a bit comical. The train platform has video displays telling you where to stand on the platform for your train car. We were in car number 11 so we were at position Z on the platform. Then there was an announcement that the train configuration had changed and we needed to be at the other end of the platform. So everyone switched their position on the platform. Then about 15 minutes later they announced that the train was back to the original configuration and we needed to change places again.

Waiting for our TGV train to Paris

Eventually the train arrived, we got on, found our seats and 2 hours later we were in Paris. I love high speed trains! And then we got an email telling us how to apply for compensation for the delay and now we have a coupon for 29.50 € towards our next train trip.

From Gare de Lyon in Paris we took the Metro directly to La Defense where we are staying in the Hotel Mélia. We have stayed here twice before. Duke always books us a room with a panoramic view of the Eiffel Tower, L’Arc de Triomphe, and Montmartre. And the Mélia has quick and easy access to Metro line 1.

The view from our room

We rested for a few hours and had complimentary tapas for dinner in The Level Lounge which is an added benefit with our room. Later we took the metro into the center and went to a 10:30 show at Le Duc Des Lombards jazz club. We saw JustKing Jones and his band. It was wonderful.

JustKing Jones
Walking back to the Metro

Saint Martin Vésubie to Bevons, Provence

Today we drove south, back out of the Vésubie Valley, and then west into Provence. We are staying at a wonderful prototypical Provençal country gite, Mas Tulipe de Soie.

Breakfast in Saint Martin Vésubie before we left
The Vésubie River in Roquebillière
Picnic lunch
Mas Tulipe de Soie. Our room is on the left
Relaxing outside our room
Life is good!
The chicken coop

For dinner we drove into Sisteron and had a wonderful meal at A était une fois …

Sea Bass and zucchini stuffed with crab and artichoke cream
We shared a desert – strawbefrry, white chocolate and cream
Duke outside the restaurant

Tomorrow will be a busy day. We plan to drive to Lyon,turn in the rental car and catch the train to Paris.

Saint Martin Vésubie day 2

Saint Martin Vésubie where we are staying in France’s Alpes-Maritimes department had devastating floods in October of 2020. The Vésubie River was a few meters wide when we saw it today, but during the flood it was 180 meters wide. The pictures of the devastation that you can see online are pretty amazing.

Today we drove along the river up into the Mercantour National park to do a hike. Every bridge had either been replaced or was being replaced. The river must have just roared out of the mountains. The wide area of devastation is impressive. if you are interested the pictures here and here are amazing.

We did the Circuit du Cavalier hike from AllTrails. It was 4 miles with almost 1300 feet of elevation gain. We only saw one other person on the whole hike. it was lightly misting and the skies were grey for most of the hike but it was still beautiful and a wonderful hike.

One of the new bridges we saw driving up to the trailhead
Near the start of the hike
Near the top
The downhill part of the hike was steep and hard on the knees

For dinner we had pizza at Restaurant L’Embuscade.

Restaurant L’Embuscade
Our pizza and beer was really good.

Spigno Monferrato, Italy to Saint Martin Vésubie, France

Today we drove south out of the Italian Alps to the coast, then west into France, and then north into French Alps to the town of Saint Martin Vésubie. Saint Martin Vesubie is on the edge of Mercantour National Park.

The last part of the route was through the Vésubie River Valley. The road through the canyons and along the river was stunning

The road up the Vésubie River Canyon

We stopped at a boulangerie in Lantosque for pastries and coffee in mid afternoon.

My pain au raisin and coffee
We also bought a baguette

We are staying at Pure Montagne Resort and Spa.

The building our room is in at Pure Mountain Resort and Spa

For dinner we walked down from the hotel into the village to a wonderful Bistro.

Restaurant La Treille
Duke’s duck leg with mushrooms
My Tuna Tartare with Parmesan
We started with Foie Gras. We shared it. I forgot to take a picture before I put half on Duke’s plate. It was delicious.
For desert we shared raspberries and cream

It was an absolutely fabulous meal.

Inside the restaurant

Spigno Monferrato day 2

We really like this area of the Piedmont region of Italy where we are staying. It is absolutely beautiful and there aren’t many tourists. Today we went on an almost 7 mile loop hike starting not far from where we are staying.

The first part of the hike was all on country roads that had all been paved at some point. The views were stunning. We only saw one car in the first 3 miles.

Not far from the beginning of our hike.
Everything is so green

About half way through the hike we came to a little church, Church of San Rocco. It was originally built to ask protection from the plague epidemic and has a date of 1631 over the door. The key was in the lock of the door and we were able to go in.

Church of San Rocco

From the church we climbed to the highest point in the province. Then we started back down towards our car. The trail was horrible. It really overgrown and at times it was muddy and very uneven.

On the trail back to the car
A trail marker

But eventually we made it. We felt very proud of ourselves and had a picnic on the terrace when we got back to the hotel. We even had a nice talk with the owner of the winery where we are staying.

For dinner we went to Caffe’ Ristorante Della Posta in nearby Olmo Gentile. We had one of the best meals we have had in Italy with lots of Piedmont specialties.

Duke paying our dinner bill