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Paris, Provence and the Côte d’ Azur, France Offer for June or July

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Tuesday, December 11th, 2012

PARIS, PROVENCE & CÔTE D’AZUR
Micro Group Tour for June or July (Max 5 adults)

This trip starts off with two nights in one of the world’s most enchanting cities, with a guide who knows how to make the most of your time. We then move away from the cities to explore several distinct regions of Provence – from fragrant and visually stimulating markets in some of the most scenic villages in France to taking in the wonderful cuisine of the regions. Finally, we move on to the Côte d’Azur, staying right on the sparkling Mediterranean in a quaint but bustling old fishing village.

If there’s interest within the group there is much more to experience, including:
• Plenty of exposure to remnants of the Roman world in their Gaulish territories
• Experiencing unmatched and diverse natural beauty and landscapes (picque-nique anyone?)
• History from pre-Roman, Roman, Middle Ages to present
• This tour is relatively slow-paced

12 days starting from (depending upon number of people, price below is for a full group of five. Price is higher per person if we do not reach the full number)

EURO 4,599

Please consult www.x-rates.com for current rate in dollars.

Package Offer Includes:

• Breakfast, lunch and guidance on where to go for dinner. Dinner included on three nights during your trip.
• All lodging
• Transportation costs, fuel and tolls
• Tips
• Admission fees

Does not include airfare to and from France.

European Focus Private Tours
Private European Travel Specialists since 1996

Guide Jenean Derheim in Provence, 2011

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Categories : France Tours, Planned Tours

Tags : 2012, azur, cote, d, europe, european, florida, focus, france, group, in, luxury, micro, private, provence, sarasota, tours

Postcard from Burgundy

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Friday, August 10th, 2012

Tending a vineyard the old-fashioned way with real horsepower

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Categories : France Tours, Postcards from Europe

Tags : europe, family, france, group, in, of, private, small, to, tour, touring, tours

Pont Neuf in Paris and the End of the Knights Templar

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Friday, June 15th, 2012

June 15

s Jacques de Molay, last Grand Master of the Knights Templar was executed at the stake at the place where Pont Neuf bridge stands today in Paris

The story of the Knights Templar is one which has always fascinated us. Originally set up as a guard to protect pilgrims who were traveling to the Holy Land, the order originally known as the Hospitalliers grew into a powerful military and religious force with extensive lands, castles, treasuries and power throughout Europe and especially, in France. There are legends that the Knights Templar were guardians of the “Holy Grail” among many other religious artifacts. It is documented that the famous Shroud of Turin was in the possession of one of the Knights Templar in the early 1300s.

The Pont Neuf Bridge, spanning the Seine connects the City Island with the Right and Left Banks of Seine.

The Pont Neuf, or “New Bridge” spanning the Seine stands right over the place where Jacques de Molay, last Grand Master of the Templars was executed by slow burning at the stake on March 18, 1314 after a seven year long prison sentence. de Molay was killed along with hundreds of other Templars by the order of King Philip IV of France, who owed the Templars a huge sum, which he had used in his wars against England. One way to erase those debts and help pay others was to declare the Templars heretics and impound their riches. This was accomplished with the death of their last Grand Master.

Faces on the Pont Neuf, which was erected around 1604

A plaque is attached to one of the pillars of the Pont Neuf, which was built nearly 300 years after these executions took place on the City Island in front of Notre Dame.

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Categories : Europe Tours, France Tours, Private Tours in Europe

Tags : de, europe, family, france, group, in, knights, molay, neuf, of, paris, pont, private, small, templar, to, tour, touring, tours

Noyers-sur-Serein, France

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Monday, June 11th, 2012

Charlotte Wethe and her daughter Diane Duffy in Noyers-sur-Serein

June 11

After lunch at Auberge de la Beursaudiere in nearby Nitry, Burgundy, we walked around the medieval town of Noyers-sur-Serein, a lovely assembly of half-timbered houses, cobblestoned streets, slate roofs and interesting and picturesque corners everywhere you turn. We love taking our guests to this special place. While well-known amongst the French, it is hardly on the American tourist agenda, tucked away in a valley alongside a peaceful river. Bus tours are drawn to other places in the region with larger parking lots and easier access. We love to explore the little places where the bus tours don’t go.

The old pharmacy and a brass lamp in the center

Houses from the early 1400s

Noyers-sur-Serein easily fits the bill as a charming village. Established more than 1,000 years ago, the village attained real power and significance in the 1300s when a massive castle was built above the village by the marshal Mile de Noyers and later by the Dukes of Burgundy. Always a wine-producing town, Noyers-sur-Serein features plenty of reminders of its rich past including grand houses with wood carvings, strong walls and towers and a medieval moat complete with an ancient communal washing house – all luxuries seven centuries ago.

The river has been routed around the village to form a protective moat

It is easy to imagine the fascinating past of France while wandering through off the beaten track villages and towns such as Noyers-sur-Serein.

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Categories : France Tours

Tags : burgundy, france, noyers, serein, sur

A Lunch to Remember in Nitry, France

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Monday, June 11th, 2012

Auberge de la Beursaudiere in Nitry, France

June 11

We love to make a lunch stop an event to remember. So on June 3rd, which happened to be Mother’s Day in most of Europe, we made arrangements to stop at one of our favorite country inns in the hamlet of Nitry, Burgundy. We called ahead and it’s a good thing we did, because the place was packed with families enjoying this special day out with “Manam.”

Enjoying our first course

The Auberge de la Beursaudiere has hosted several groups in the past for lovely stays while exploring the countryside, cathedrals, abbeys and towns in the area. For this visit, lunch only, as we continued on to Beaune.

Veggies with our main course

Diane Duffy and Serge, the owner of the restaurant and hotel

The owner took us through the kitchen, a beehive of activity with a large staff working under what appeared to be incredible organization. “My wife runs the kitchen,” the owner, Serge, told us. Serge is in charge of customer relations. We were led through the maze of the kitchen to our table in the former stable, a stone room with a warm ambience and arched roof. Lunch was lovely appetizers of tomato and cream cheese, followed by lamb accompanied by peppers, potato wheels, beautiful mushrooms and a crisp white Sauvignon from the area just south of Nitry.

Dessert was strawberries and cream with a special cookie

Two and a half hours later, well satisfied, we ambled out of the restaurant and continued on our way with another memory in store from this adventure in France.

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Categories : France Tours

Tags : Auberge, Beursaudiere, de, france, la, nitry

We Love A Scenic Lunch Spot

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Friday, June 8th, 2012

Whenever possible we like to make lunch an event while traveling in France or anywhere else in Europe. Our little group is at the right at this pleasant restaurant on the main street of a postcard-perfect village.

When in France, eat as the French do. That means slllloooooowwwww down. Enjoy it. Have some wine. Savor the flavors. And, have more wine. (Not the driver, of course) Recently we came across one of those villages in France which has been officially recognized as one of the prettiest in the land. How do we know that? Well, besides the handy map we carry marking those villages, whenever you drive into a village, town or city which has been recognized as being better than just the average charming French village, the sign reflects this by having one, two, three or even four red flowers under the name of the town. The village of Saint-Céneri-le-Gérei has three flowers but we vote to give it the fourth as soon as possible.

The village has a couple of restaurants. We chose the one where smoked salmon is the house specialty. A nearby ancient church features gorgeous murals from 900 years ago. A view from the church over the valley and the second half of the village is breathtaking. And, to cap it all off for the photographer, a pilgrim comes through leading his donkey. Ahhh. Another day in France.

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Categories : Europe Tours, France Tours, New Discoveries

Tags : ceneri, france, gerei, lunch

Normandy Invasion D-Day Remembrance 68 Years Later

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Wednesday, June 6th, 2012

June 6

We visited the Normandy battlefields, the American Cemetery above Omaha Beach and the German fortified spur of land known as Pointe-du-Hoc a few days ago. The experience resonates today, the 68th anniversary of the D-Day landings which set in motion the final defeat of Adolf Hitler’s Evil Empire.

The view from a turret on land's end at Pointe-du-Hoc shows a view through barbed wire to Omaha Beach in the distance. The gunners here could lay down withering fire on both Omaha and Utah beaches.

The landscape at Pointe-du-Hoc is still pockmarked with huge craters from heavy bombing on the night of June 5th and in the early morning hours of June 6th. Then, soldiers landed on the beach, 40 minutes late because of weather conditions, and undertook the difficult job of scaling the steep cliffs in order to disable the guns which could fire on both Utah and Omaha Beaches, both landing sites for the invasion which was to come. The perfect timing of the bombing and the landing didn’t exactly work out that way. The Germans had enough time to come out of their daze as a result of the bombing in order to fire down on the helpless climbers.

Huge bomb craters pock the landscape at Pointe-du-Hoc more than 60 years after the invasion

Out of more than 200 brave soldiers, only 90 made it to the top. When they got there, they found that the big guns had been removed. In their place, wooden planks covered with camouflage netting.

Blasted rebar and nature's subtle beauty at Pointe-du-Hoc

The blasted concrete bunkers, remains of gun turrets and exposed rebar is a reminder that Hitler’s forces were dug in to stay, and that these immense fortifications were created to last and endure several invasions. Deep holes caused by Allied bombs tell a different story of the determination of the civilized world to rid Europe of the twisted Nazi regime. The nearby cemetery above Omaha Beach reminds us of the terrible price paid in blood and youth for that victory, which was to come 11 months later with Hitler’s cowardly suicide in his bunker beneath destroyed Berlin and Germany’s total surrender.

A C130 flies by Omaha Beach in preparation for D-Day anniversary commemorations in early June

It is difficult to imagine the carnage and destruction this quiet beach witnessed nearly seven decades ago. Omaha Beach seen from the cemetery above.

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Categories : France Tours

Tags : beach, dday, du, france, hoc, invasion, omaha, pointe, two, utah, war, world

Monet’s Garden at Giverny, France

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Tuesday, June 5th, 2012

May 30

We spent a pleasant afternoon strolling around the charming hamlet of Giverny, France the other day. The highlight and purpose of our visit was the visit Monet’s house and garden, which the artist created so that he had a natural pallet of light and color for him impressionist creations. Good weather was on our side and we could appreciate the mellow lighting of this region which drew Monet to settle her in the final years of his life.