(John) So after a fun packed few days on Carcasonne including the amazing torch walk through the medieval cite at night with half the townsfolk and then ice skating the next day in the central plaza, we headed north to Toulouse. We hit the city during rush hour and ended up in the middle of a Christmas market so we parked and explored. Later, we found our hotel which was great and cheap with a superb concierge.
Next day we toured through the Dordogne region and went to Rocamadour. This gorgeous town built into the cliffside was all but empty of people and being fixed up in many areas but we still got to see the Black Virgin in the church. After we left Rocamadour, the rain started. It poured all the way to Brive where we had booked into the youth hostel. The rivers all along were swelled and many places were obviously flooding. However we arrived dry and safe and the hostel was not bad. We had a small balcony off our room and a view into the broad windows of the local public baths if it hadn't been for the storm we might have been fooled into thinking we are at a resort. The kitchen was all but outdoors but we used it anyway.
In the morning, we took our time leaving Brive and explored the town. We arrived in Vierzon around 5:00 and met our old friends, the staff, who had looked after us so well the last time we were there. It was fun to be back in Vierzon. The hostel was not quite so empty this time there were two other residents. One was a rather sad Frenchman who complained that the French have a bad attitude at this time of year, and the other was a young woman who we saw using a translating to device to try and figure out how to cook her prepackaged dinner.
The next day the fun began. We drove north toward Paris in heavy rain. We stopped for lunch for an hour just 40 miles south of our eventual destination - the Clichy Hostel. It should have taken us 1:30 hours from there. It took over 7 hours! What happened? Snow happened. The weather started to deteroirate right around 2pm and did not let up until around 8pm. We found ourselves stuck in traffic and at one point stuck and spinning our crappy tires trying to drive up a gentle slope. Lesley and Sam pushed us up past many other wheel spinning, stuck and abandoned and cars and trucks. Mhari wanted to help but was ordered to stay in the car. We found a parking lot, parked and went in search of a hotel knowing that if we encountered any more hills we were truly screwed. We tried four hotels; they were all full. So we sought advise from some friendly locals and decided to keep going. The roads had improved as salt had been put down and we were told to take the autoroute. At this point we had 20 miles to travel and it was 4:00 pm. We arrived at the hostel at 9:15pm. We learned later that it was the worst traffic jam in Paris' history. Thousands were stranded and thousands more spent the night in their cars. All hotels were full. The trains and buses were not running and the metro was very slow.
The rest of out time in Paris has been great. Lesley had a birthday, amongst other things we went to the Louvre and got our Visa's for India - yay!
Next day we toured through the Dordogne region and went to Rocamadour. This gorgeous town built into the cliffside was all but empty of people and being fixed up in many areas but we still got to see the Black Virgin in the church. After we left Rocamadour, the rain started. It poured all the way to Brive where we had booked into the youth hostel. The rivers all along were swelled and many places were obviously flooding. However we arrived dry and safe and the hostel was not bad. We had a small balcony off our room and a view into the broad windows of the local public baths if it hadn't been for the storm we might have been fooled into thinking we are at a resort. The kitchen was all but outdoors but we used it anyway.
In the morning, we took our time leaving Brive and explored the town. We arrived in Vierzon around 5:00 and met our old friends, the staff, who had looked after us so well the last time we were there. It was fun to be back in Vierzon. The hostel was not quite so empty this time there were two other residents. One was a rather sad Frenchman who complained that the French have a bad attitude at this time of year, and the other was a young woman who we saw using a translating to device to try and figure out how to cook her prepackaged dinner.
The next day the fun began. We drove north toward Paris in heavy rain. We stopped for lunch for an hour just 40 miles south of our eventual destination - the Clichy Hostel. It should have taken us 1:30 hours from there. It took over 7 hours! What happened? Snow happened. The weather started to deteroirate right around 2pm and did not let up until around 8pm. We found ourselves stuck in traffic and at one point stuck and spinning our crappy tires trying to drive up a gentle slope. Lesley and Sam pushed us up past many other wheel spinning, stuck and abandoned and cars and trucks. Mhari wanted to help but was ordered to stay in the car. We found a parking lot, parked and went in search of a hotel knowing that if we encountered any more hills we were truly screwed. We tried four hotels; they were all full. So we sought advise from some friendly locals and decided to keep going. The roads had improved as salt had been put down and we were told to take the autoroute. At this point we had 20 miles to travel and it was 4:00 pm. We arrived at the hostel at 9:15pm. We learned later that it was the worst traffic jam in Paris' history. Thousands were stranded and thousands more spent the night in their cars. All hotels were full. The trains and buses were not running and the metro was very slow.
The rest of out time in Paris has been great. Lesley had a birthday, amongst other things we went to the Louvre and got our Visa's for India - yay!
Sounds like a fun traffic jam! Was thinking of you on your BDAY Lesley... glad you had a good day in Paris!
ReplyDeleteHey Les, happy birthday to you. I guess you were thinking you'd have to miss the snow this year - lovely that mother nature thought of you all. John, were you able to put a few k's in on borrowed skis?
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear that you are enjoying yourselves. The French must have been freaked right out with all that snow. Lucky there were Canadians around to show them a thing or two! Happy birthday again! Miss you.
ReplyDeleteAnna