John – Page 14 – Travels of John and Flo

January 8, 2013October 21, 2020

Sunday on Isla Cuale, Puerto Vallarta

One of my favorite places to visit when in Puerto Vallarta is Isla Cuale, an island in the middle of the Rio Cuale, a river/creek (depending on the time of year you visit) that runs through Vallarta, meeting up with the sea. Although it is in the middle of the town, there is actually very little traffic on the island, it is an oasis in a city of noise and traffic, a getaway from the hustle and bustle of what has been a town in a constant state of growth for a number of years.

December 17, 2012October 21, 2020

Lunch in Auron, France

There had been a lot of snow coming down in the mountains behind Nice lately, so we decided to go up and check out Auron, a place we’ll be skiing at in the new year. We took the #250 bus that leaves from the Nice train station, with a stop at the airport. Amazingly, the two-hour trip cost only 1 euro each. A similar trip, roughly same distance and time, from the Vancouver airport to Whistler, costs $63 dollars each. So for two euros each our transportation was taken care of up to the hill and back.

December 13, 2012October 21, 2020

Great Walks in Nice, France

If you’re in Nice, here’s some great walks you should consider. They are as simple as just walking the boardwalk in front of downtown central Nice, but most follow the sentier coastal paths that have existed for hundreds of years.

December 2, 2012October 21, 2020

Sunday in St. Agnes, France

For the past three weekends we’ve been visiting difference towns close to Nice but that are up in the mountains. This weekend we headed northeast and visited three towns; Peillon, Peille, St. Agnes and nearly made it to Gorbio. The drive is amazing, with great view points, a lot of hair-pin turns as you climb and some very narrow roads hanging, barely it seems, from the mountainside. You certainly need to keep your eye on the road! These towns are a little off the beaten path of the tourism circuit, like St. Paul de Vence or Eze, so there are less people around and tens to be less “Disneylandyish” – meaning people still live and work there like they have for hundreds of years.

November 25, 2012October 21, 2020

Sunday walk to Monaco

I hadn’t been to Monaco in over 30 years, so I didn’t have many memories of it, other than this feeling that it was only for the wealthy and perhaps a bit pretentious. Well, we actually very much enjoyed Monaco. Visiting during low season (November) is nice, but I’m sure the streets are just packed during the summer months. Although Monaco is very much over-built with high-rise condominium projects surrounding it, the downtown area has some wonderful architecture, making up for it. And on the “the Rock” where the palace is situated and the old part of Monaco, it is extremely pleasant, especially the garden areas and the views that follow along the cliffs looking out over the Med.

November 18, 2012October 21, 2020

Sunday drive to Saint Paul

We spent the past Sunday exploring the numerous small towns that are nestled in the hills behind Nice and Antibes. These hilltops towns, in many cases medieval, have been wonderfully restored, each with their unique characteristics and charm as they look out over the Mediterranean Sea. A number are part of affiliations such as the “Most Beautiful Villages of France”, and rightly deserve it. Each of these towns do not take long to walk, but they also offer many interesting shops, galleries and exhibits you should take time to explore. They are often not far from one another, so you can visit and explore a number of them in a day.

November 18, 2012October 22, 2020

A visit to Torino, Italy

Torino (or Turin) is surrounded by the Alps by 300 degrees, situated in the large valley of Piedmonte with the river Po runs through the middle of it. Whereas Paris and even more so in Rome, it’s easy to get lost in the streets, or find yourself walking in circles, not so in Torino. The terrain is flat and the streets are laid out in a grid, broken up by magnificent plazas ordained by beautiful buildings, and a few diagonal streets leading off from the Madama Palace. This makes it very easy to get around and certainly not get lost. There is little in the way of greenery in the central part of Torino – a lot of rock, marble and brick. It is a clean city, with numerous pedestrian streets, especially via Roma, the main street of Torino.

November 18, 2012October 22, 2020

Alba to Torino, Italy

This turned out to be a rather special day. We planned to take the towns of Bra, Saluzzo and then make our way to Torino, but didn’t make it to either towns. Instead, we found Pollenzo. And in Pollenzo, we discovered the “Banca del Vino” on the beautiful grounds of the Agenzia di Pollenzo.

November 15, 2012April 10, 2024

Road Trip: Nice to Torino, Italy

We had three trips planned for the second week of November, each depending on what the weather was going to be like. Either we’d fly to Naples (cheap EasyJet flights out of Nice) and explore the Amalfi Coast, drive east along the Liturgia Coast, or go northeast to Piedmonte in Northern Italy. On Monday morning the weather looked best for Piedmonte so we rented a car, booked the hotel rooms and were off early Tuesday morning. We had already done our homework for all three destinations so we knew what we wanted to see and do.

NOTE: The Col de Tende road tunnel may be currently closed due to construction work, scheduled to open again in 2025.

November 8, 2012October 22, 2020

Cap Ferrat Coastal Walk

This is a great walk/hike that is actually divided into two parts, one easier and shorter than the other. In some ways these are a continuation of the Promenade des Anglais and Nice/VilleFranche walks – you could actually do them all in a line (but I wouldn’t try to do it in one day).