This article is written by, Josh Shafran husband of travel consultant, Holly Shafran.
This past summer, we had a great vacation month in France.
Our travel goal was to have adventure, relax with friends and re-charge the
batteries. Generally we wanted to walk in cities and countryside, enjoy the
good company of friends, visit museums, and historical places and eat good
food. Our goals turned into a varied itinerary carefully arranged by the
best travel agent, my wife Holly… a week in Paris, a week on a privately
escorted barge in the Burgundy region, a week in northern Provence and a
week hiking the Tour de Mont Blanc.
We began in Paris.
Here we relaxed, reflected and contemplated life in a magnificent urban
setting. Paris is a cultural zenith. Forget the stereotypes. Learn some
French language and customs, and communicate with the people. In this style
we enjoyed their proud home, Paris.
We stayed in a quaint, quiet setting on Ille St. Louis, a small island
neighborhood around the corner from Notre Dame Cathedral. We sampled the
great ice cream, ate wonderful dinners in “our new neighborhood” and walked
through quiet Parisian streets lined with historic buildings, wide open
park areas and stunning museums.
We re-visited places we knew, and discovered new ones too. The Picasso
museum is set in a striking stone house, resembling an urban Chateau. The
Orsey museum is a great home for impressionist art works. The Louvre has
been renovated and updated…it shines. The city of Paris is being sand
blasted clean and sparkles with gleaming brilliance for the millennium
celebration. This is an urban center to admire, behold and enjoy.
Our second stop was the Burgundy region.
The most efficient, fast and picturesque way to get to Burgundy was by TGV
train. We met our friends, Joan and John of Boulder, got on the high speed
train and were whisked away for a quick ride to Dijon. Of course we had to
pick up some local lunch items such as bread, meats, cheeses, fruit and
wine to sample on the way. You need “tourist energy” for the TGV.
At Dijon we were met by our Barge escort and captain, Peter who took us to
his “time machine” on the canal. He and his wife, Mary gave us a list of
options for our pre-paid all inclusive days’ activities. Since we were the
only four passengers on their private barge we set our schedule, based on
their advise.
We learned that the canal system in France dates back a thousand years. The
barge is a gentle, calming mode of transport back to an era where time is
measured in the absolute quality of the moment. Barge travel in France is a
first class vacation.
Here we settled on the reflections in the water, the great company of
friends, the Chateaus in the hills, and the vineyards in the valley. We
dined on culinary excellence, and sampled selections of wines all served in
16th century elegance and along canal side Auberges. Every activity and
meal, except for our hot air balloon ride, was included in the cost of this
week.
We traveled south from Dijon to Avingon. We picked up our rental car and
drove a short twenty kilometers to St. Remy. Here we began our week’s
exploration of Provence. We stayed at Chateau Rousson set on an estate,
built by the Nostradamus family. This place is full of the history and
mythology of the St. Remy/Provensal area.
St. Remy is an upscale tourist town that has good food, shopping and sites.
Our most memorable visits in this portion of the region were Glannum, the
Van Gough exhibits, Le Baux, Fonteville and Pont du Gard. Driving is easy.
The roads are well marked.
From the St. Remy area we continued to the Luberon region visiting
Bonnieux, Mennerbes, Lacoste and Gordes. We wore out the sites that the
author, Peter Mayle writes about and memorized the recommendations of
leading food magazines and guidebooks.
Mountains, and forests filled with ceder and chestnut trees greeted us on
our hikes. Narrow switched back roadways to towns carved into the stone
hillsides is what the Luberon countryside is all about. The people are
wonderful, and the cuisine continued to be fresh, and finely prepared and
presented. The meadows smelled of lavender, and the fields were full of
flowering sunflowers. This is what makes Provence intoxicating to the
vacationer.
The restful weeks of adventure continued with mountain alpine hiking from
Chamonix. Holly arranged this portion of the month with a guided Mountain
Travel/Sobek experience. This is an extreme adventure hiking experience. We
covered over seventy miles in six days. We walked each day up and down two
to three-thousand vertical feet of elevation gain and loss through three
countries.
The views of the French, Italian and Swiss Alps are dramatic. To see these
ice and snow covered peaks, while walking over nine mountain passes, and
through vast flower lined valleys is a natural treat to remember for a
lifetime. Even though we were exhausted at the end of each day’s 4-6 hours
of hiking, we were exhilarated by the sites and sounds of the countryside.
Our month in France was a varied month of great activities. We are left
with fine memories. We had a magnificent time. I highly recommend this type
of summer vacation. Go to France. Treat yourself well…have fun!!
