Entering France and Monte Carlo

We took a three phase train trip from Valencia, Spain to Nice, France where we would take another train to Monte Carlo to meet the rest of the cruise passengers. 

Phase one from Valencia to Barcelona was great, although they took my Swiss  Army knife, that I have packed all over the world, away from me. No knives allowed on the train, who knew. After that the ride was good, the scenery beautiful and the train fast.

Switched trains in Barcelona to go to Valance, France. Once across the French border the Gendarmes came aboard to check passports, two young African males where pulled off the train and interviewed on the platform by more officials and then escorted someplace else, but not allowed back on the train. Scenery on this leg was not anything spectacular, mostly trees and suburbs.

Arrived in Valance about 25 minutes late, so we could not purchase a ticket from Nice to Monte Carlo as we could not make the connection. So now it is a taxi or Uber and it is going to be midnight when we get to Nice.  At about nine thirty the train stops because there is a train in front of us that broke down. At ten PM they announce that because the train will be delayed for more than an hour they are going to unload us and provide alternate transportation. Thankfully there were a lot of ladies in our car that could explain this to us in English, so no big deal, part of travelling, stuff happens right! So off we get in the train station at Toulon, and they have not made arrangements for the alternate transportation.  Again a young lady took us under her wing and kept us informed of what was happening. We had a two hour wait before any buses finally arrived. We were led to believe that if people could not make connections in Nice, because of the delays that they would be given a hotel room, but the train company would not accommodate us in any way because we did not have another ticket, even though the connection was late in Valance and they would not sell us one.  We were assured that someone from the train company would be at the station in Nice to assist people to find taxi’s, etc. 

The young lady got us loaded on the right bus and off to Nice we go, about a two and a half hour ride. The bus pulled into a back street beside the train station which was closed with probably a hundred or so homeless nestled up to the walls sleeping and no train company rep. All the locals scattered to wherever they were going and there we were trying to get Uber and the app would not work. But a local couple took pity and ordered us a cab, so we and two local ladies were at the taxi stand waiting for our cabs when the vultures (with mugging on their mind) started to circle us, the two local ladies and me and Loreen with our suitcases at three in the morning. I am sure they thought Loreen and I were quite the prizes. When a taxi did arrive we all took off after it, we knew it was for the ladies,  but we just wanted them to take us to a safe place, away from the vultures. Those ladies put us in the taxi and told the driver to take us to Monte Carlo the quickest and best route. What a nice pair of ladies. We made it to Monte Carlo four hours late and $120 for the 15 minute taxi ride! 

Monte Carlo is Monte Carlo, pretentious, expensive and if you don’t gamble not a lot to do. We took some longs walks, looked at a few stores, trousers for sale for 330 euros, and looked at all the yachts, including at least one with its own helicopter. 

Monte Carlo is a very small country, about two square miles in size, and an ever expanding population so there is new construction eating up the side of the mountain, some quite modern,

Older and newer apartment buildings

as well as building new land in the sea. Just below the Casino and the Fairmont Hotel there are a number of construction barges working on placing fill in the ocean for a new building complex. One can buy, prebuild, a nice place to live here at the going rate of 70,000 Euros per square meter, that is about $105,000 CD per meter. 

New land being built.

The main attractions are the Royal Palace, the Casino, the Paris Hotel and the crowds in front of these areas are astronomical. We stopped for a drink in the café in front of the Casino - outrageously expensive. 19 euros (about $30 CA) for a beer and glass of wine. They gave us nuts and olives though, but the people watching was well worth the price.  

Casino

There is a nice beach, next to the area where the new island is being built.

In front of the beach

Not sure why Avalon sent us to Monte Carlo as both Nice and Marseille are much closer to Arles where we were getting on the ship for our river cruise.  

Valencia, Beautiful Valencia

After five days of touring, eating and trying the wines in Barcelona, we knew we liked Barcelona a lot. We are off on our next part of the adventure, Valencia here we come! We loved the three hour train trip to Valencia travelling between the Mediterranean coast and the fertile plains. They call it the Orange Blossom Coast and whether we have a view of the ocean or a view of the orange groves the scenery is beautiful. We wish we were here for the orange harvest starting in November. 

The city of Valencia was originally established by pensioned off Roman Legionaries in the first century BC.  Adjacent to the main Cathedral and square there is an underground museum that is an archeological dig that has discovered the old roman town center, complete with water and sewer delivery systems. It always amazes me that the Romans, centuries ago were able to develop sewer systems that were covered and worked, when a number of cities still have sewer that runs in open ditches on the side of their streets. New inhabitants simply built their buildings on top of the destroyed city they had conquered.

Parts of the old roman city.

The city has been over run by many groups of invaders between then and now including some 500 years under Arabic rule. It was during this era that Valencia and the surrounding areas were made into an agricultural and industrial center. Irrigation canals were established and the laws regarding the use of irrigation put into place, some of which still exist today. The city was conquered in the 1200s by the ruler of Catalonia and since then has established a number of cathedrals and churches. 

As our hotel was located within the old city center and every thing we wanted to do seemed to be within a 20 minute stroll we did not take any bus tours but took a walking tour instead. The main focal point is the combination of two plazas, the Cathedral and a church that is dedicated to the Virgen, who is the patron of Valencia.

The cathedral is huge and was built or added onto over various architectural styles including Romanesque,  Gothic, Baroque and even some Renaissance in the interior.

The Cathedral

At the rear of the Cathedral and in front of the Church of the Virgen is Plaza de la Virgen, with the fountain monument that represents the eight irrigation districts for the agriculture use in the farmland and orchards around Valencia. This system has been in place for generations. Each district has a headman, depicted by the ladies in the monument, that is responsible for their district. When an noncompliance occurs, these eight form a tribunal that makes judgement and determines penalties. Their decision is final, no appeal to government or other courts is allowed.

Monument to the irrigation districts

The Spanish dish Paella was first cooked by fisherman and laborer's in Valencia, and Valencia boasts that they have the most authentic and best Paella in all of Spain. So what could be more fun than to take a Paella cooking class in the home of Paella. Yep, we did, a four hour evening that included cooking and eating Paella, accompanied by salads, tapas, wine and some good folks to visit with.  This was not a class where the chef cooked and we watched, but a class where we did all the prep, the frying and all the other little things that go with producing a dish.

Getting started

Technical Stuff

Finished Product

And last but not least our certificates.

Our final day we decided we would take a bit longer walk and go to the beach, as Valencia has beautiful beaches. As everything in the old city was so close, I, by looking at the city map, determined that we should be able to make it to the beach in about 30 to 45 minutes, even though the desk clerk told us an hour . I mean we are both pretty fast walkers. Well, unbeknownst to me, the scales for the old city and the new city were entirely different. An hour later we asked a couple of ladies if we were on the right street, yep we were, but still quite a ways from the beach. In all it took us a little over an hour and a half, at 38 degrees Celsius, to get to the beach. Loreen is not sure I can properly read maps anymore! It was worth it as the beach was lovely with not very many people. 

Miles of beach on a beautiful day.

 Tomorrow we are off to France on a fifteen hour train ride!

Monserrat and Spanish Wine

Montserrat, Serrated Mountain in English, is some 1200 meters in height and consists of many pillars and peaks that have been shaped through wind and water erosion over many eons. Some locals refer to the mountain as being made of "dragons teeth"

Montserrat

Montserrat is home to a Benedictine monastery founded in 1025 and La Moreneta - the Black Madonna. The Black Madonna is a 12th century wooden sculpture of Mary and baby Jesus. This statue has been Catalonia's patron since the 1880s. It’s a sacred place of pilgrimage and all people in Catalunya are expected to visit at least once in a life time. (Most of the population of Catalunya are Catholic ).

Inside the Basilica

The Basilica is stilled used today by the Benedictine Order and about 80 Monks live here in the dormitories.

Monks Dormitories 

In front of the Basilica

We visited the Oller Del Mas winery at the foot of Montserrat. This winery has over 1,000 years of history, originally built in the mid-900’s and has been owned by the same family for 36 generations. Wow. It had some renovations done in the 1400’s and more after Napoleon Bonaparte trashed it. The original floors are still in it. 

Oller Del Mas Winery

As well as a tour of the castle we were treated to wine and lunch which was great. The wines here are not conventional in the sense of most Spanish wine areas where the grapes you use are determined by the wine governing body. This winery is totally organic and uses only grapes that are native to the area. 

 

The wine tasting table and lunch

Checking out the vineyards. They are not as groomed as they are in Canada. We were surprised that this soil is straight clay. 

At the top of the castle

The vineyard

Spain, similar to France and Italy have defined wine regions that specify the types of wine grapes that can be used in any particular region. In the Rioja region, for instance, the main grape is Tempranillo. However while Tempranillo may be the first grape in the Rioja region, it is usually blended with other grape varieties and the Spanish wine makers seem to be moving to younger drinking blends. What we tried we liked very much.

Barcelona

Barcelona is a great place to visit, at least were we stayed and spent most of our time. It is one of Spain's historic cities, originally founded by the Romans in the 15th century, it has survived medieval times, occupation by the Moors and the Spanish civil wars. Some of the old Roman city walls still exist, although most Italian, Spanish and French cities can show you some remnants of the Roman Empire. Spanish cities, at least the ones we have been to, all have a number of open squares or plazas, some of which are central to the city. In Barcelona that plaza is Placa de Catalunya, centered between the two pedestrian areas La Rambla and Rambla Catalunya. Both of these pedestrian areas are full of sidewalk cafes, shopping and exciting to walk down. La Rambla is touted by tourist books as the one to use, but it was much too crowded and hectic for us, we much preferred Rambla Catalunya, quieter, less people and more charming cafes. 

As in most cities we visit, first on our agenda was the Hop on-hop off bus, as these are a great way to see a cities attractions and to determine which ones you want to visit and which ones you don't want to visit. One of the famous attractions in Barcelona is La Sagrada Familia, a cathedral designed by the architect Antonio Gaudi, Barcelona's "rock star" of architecture. The Familia was started in 1915 and is still under construction. People line up for a block or so to be able to get into the cathedral, we passed on the bus and not being real big art appreciators opted out of visiting. 

La Sagrada Familia portrays a lot of suffering

Architectural style of Gaudi

Our most fun was exploring on foot through a few different areas of the city, that reflected the architectural style of the period that section of the city was from. Barri Gotic, some areas as old as 2,000 years was a delightful walk, through streets so narrow that only pedestrians, two wheeled transportation and in the past probably small carts could move. This area still functions uniquely as every street or two has a produce shop, a bakery, a butcher shop and all the other things required to  enable the purchase of the requirements for the evening meal on the way home.

Barri Gotic Street

or La Reberia, a merchant area from the 13th and 14th centuries. Streets are wider, single car capacity, the shops here are high end shopping and restaurants. What a good area to sample some Spanish beverages.

A beer each and we shared the Sangria.

or to visit one of the many butcher shops selling one of the specialties of Spain, hams almost as many types as there are regions in Spain.

You just get the butcher to slice off enough for your next meal

Cured hams, foot and all at the market 

While on a hop on-hop off boat tour of the harbour area we observed one of the many statues of Christopher Columbus, it seems that Europe has as many monuments to Columbus as the "new world" has to Cook.

Columbus pointing somewhere!

And while in Spain one should try two dishes that have originated there, paella and tapas. 

Both are great.

Seafood Paella in Barcelona

Pandas, the Yangzi River and Shanghai

After Tibet, a day flight to Chegdu to visit the Giant Panda Breeding Research Center.

At the Panda Center

The research center is used primarily to allow pandas to mate, apparently they are a very shy animal and were declining in natural population, and raise young to be released back into nature. We were there early in the morning and were fortunate to catch the younger Panda playing before their mid-day nap.

Took about five minutes of  play to get to the ground.

Panda moms usually give birth to twins and if left on there own will abandon one twin to die. The center takes both babies and raises them until they are big enough to be re-united with the mothers,

Twin Babies

This is one of the best animal centers I have been to, it large, ,the pandas have lots of room, very well kept and very clean. The center has planted a large amount of bamboo to feed the Pandas and they eat a tremendous amount daily. The Giant Pandas are bears and are therefor omnivores, same as most other bears, but are feed only bamboo at the center as they sometimes get aggressive and can cause harm to each other on a diet that includes meat.

Having a snack

Red pandas are also kept and bred at the center and although not as endangered as the Giant Panda, they are a delight to see. The Red Panda is more evasive and sometimes hard to find, but if patient you can see them.

Red Panda

The Red Panda is not of the bear family and is similar to our racoons.

Then a bullet train to Chongqing to catch the River Cruise on the Yangzi, while not quite as fast as a bullet the train does move, every car has a speedometer display and it traveled mostly around the 295km/hr range.

Although the Yangzi River is the third longest river in the world, 6,300km, the majority of the river boat cruises cover about 200km through the three gorges (Qutang, Wu and Xiling) to the Three Gorges Dam. Approximately one third of the Chinese population live in the Yangzi River Valley. 

The three days on the river were relaxing, no packing suitcases, no bus or train terminals to navigate, just a relaxing time. Leaving Chongqing, the trip is not overly exciting, broad river, factories and barges, but it all changes when one enters the first of the gorges. Even after the Three Gorges Dam raised the water level by 110 meters, the Qutang Gorge still towers over head.

Qutang Gorge

Prior to flooding the gorges and building ship locks at the dam, only small boats could navigate through the gorges and these only by being pulled through by manpower, 20 to 30 men all attached by rope to the boat scrambling up the incline. While around 1 million people were relocated during the construction of the dam, there are a number of towns, villages and temples where the boats stop for sightseeing. The most enjoyable for us was taking a small local sightseeing boat up the Goddess Stream, located in a hidden valley with lush forest and unique landscape.

The Goddess Stream

Scenery

The Gang.

Three Gorges Dam, while the worlds largest generator of power, power was one of three reasons to build the dam.

First reason was to control the flooding of the fertile basin further downstream as the Yangzi flooded to some extent every year. Some 400,000 people were drowned by flooding in the fifty years prior to the dam being constructed.

Secondary was to be able to build a river lock that would allow heavy freight barges and ships to navigate the Yangzi, now 80 percent of the inland river transport is on the Yangzi, the equivalency to about 40 rail lines.

Three Gorges Dam

Shanghai is a very modern and cosmopolitan city, at least the areas we were in. Divided by the Huangpu river, the west side is full of historical areas,

West Side

while the east sky line is full of tall modern towers.

East Side

With only one day and two evenings in Shanghai, we know we missed some things, but we did get time to walk the Bund, the shore line of the river where all the old trading houses used to be and peoples square. Peoples Square is myriad of shops, cafes, that sell and serve most everything. Fancy Rolex and Tag Heuer watches were a specialty on the street, $50 could get you very best. We were left on our own for lunch, so we opted for a dumpling shop, where it was look and point as none of the staff had any English, and you know it turned out just fine.

Lunch in Shanghai

The evening was spent going to the Shanghai Circus World a circular theatre that hosts a wonderful acrobatic show, that includes contortionists, motorcycles in a cage, amazing trampoline artist, they leave the trampoline and use springboards and some of the most amazing acrobatic acts we have seen. If you ever make it to Shanghai this is show you should try and get to.

Our last night was a bit emotional, first one of the girls from the tour group had been adopted from China and this was her first visit home, so a welcome back to China cake was a surprise from her Canadian Parents at dinner that evening.

Hillary and her cake.

Then back to the hotel where we said our goodbyes to our tour leader, Leah.

Leah