Rudesheim to St Goar

.. 

We started the day with another great buffet including smoked salmon. 

We found the ferry easily. There are a lot of cyclists along the Rhine and usually you just need to find some to follow. 

There are many castles along today's route. 

We stopped for our coffee break halfway at Bacharach--we shared a pastry today. But we had ice cream later :)

Ron wanted to find a cuckoo clock for our grandson Wesley. He has been successful in that endeavor and it is carefully stowed in our suitcase.

Mainz to Rudesheim

We got our assigned bicycles this morning. They are sturdy! After an excellent buffet breakfast we were off on our adventure. We crossed the Rhine on the bridge in Mainz and then rode on the east side of the river.  It is a well marked route so far.

At the halfway point we stopped and had a snack. Even though it was 11 AM Ron chose chocolate cake. He thinks it is part of his low-fat diet. We arrived at our destination hotel at 1 PM.

We went to the tourist office and they suggested a tour including a gondola ride up to a magnificent view, A 30 minute walk through the woods, another gondola ride down the hill and then a 1 hr Rhine River cruise to complete the loop. It was great.

Tomorrow we will ride on the east side of the Rhine River. There is supposed to be a ferry so we hope to find it. The food is good here and much less expensive than in France.

Travel day to Mainz, Germany

P

Because of the train strike we left Bayeux at about noon instead of earlier. That allowed us to have another nice breakfast and walk the village some more.

We felt like we were on the amazing race hurrying to make our connections. Four train rides iand two subway rides later we have arrived in Mainz, Germany. Two of the train connections were very close! Tomorrow will be our first day of bike riding along the Rhine River.

Bayeux, Day 2

This town is unique because it was not bombed in WWII. The surrounding towns were all heavily damaged. At breakfast we chatted with the owner who is also a physician. She told us the tower with the room we are in was built in15th century.  There is a tower above us.

Here is the view from our room:

The town is known for the Cathedral and the Bayeux Tapestry (70 metres long--embroidered in the 11th century). We toured both today. We also got train tickets close to where we need to be.

Ron has bumped his head many times entering our room. You can see why:

Bayeux, France

Today we visited the World War II D Day sites. The people who live in this part of France are very appreciative of what USA did in World War II. There are over 9000 American soldiers buried at Omaha Beach. About twice that many were sent back to USA for burial based on family wishes.

The Caen museum gave a lot of information about World War II.

We are staying at a different B and B tonight. This building was built in the 1500s.

we tried to get train tickets to our next stop which is where we start our bicycle trip. The train clerk told us there is a strike and she does not know more than one day ahead which trains are available. This could be interesting!

Paris again and on to Bayeux

.

We were disappointed by the Paris night light tour but seeing the Eiffel tower twinkle was beautiful.

Our big event today was a lunch we had reserved at l Arpege. It was a 12 course vegetarian tasting menu.  Amazing food and service.

After our lunch we hurried to the train depot and caught a train to Bayeux. We will stay here three nights and see the World War II beaches.  The town is very lovely and our B&B quite nice.

We have a car rented for tomorrow.

Paris--Day 2

 This city is amazing and cannot be seen in 3 days. Luckily our motel has a great breakfast buffet.

We started with Notre-Dame Cathedral. Amazing--took 200 yrs to complete. There was a church service--no microphone needed.

Then on to the Eiffel tower

And then the Louvre museum with a view of much art including the Mona Lisa.

Dinner was crepes.

Tonight at 10 pm we are doing a Paris at nightbus tour.

Paris--Day 1

Walk until you drop--that is our motto! We landed at 7:30 am Paris time.  A long travel day. We allowed ourselves a short nap in our hotel (need to try to beat jetlag).  The motel is nice--has been upgraded and maintained well in the 41 years since our last visit.

This the view from our room.

Starry night by Monet at d Orsay museum.

New Adventure

We are in  Boston waiting for flight to Paris.  It took us 5 hrs to Boston today--last time it took 2 1/2 months!