Hiking and Walking in France
Dijon is not a one-bird town. Having introduced you last week to the Martin-Pecheur, the kingfisher who is occasionally spotted near the trail that has been named in his honour, we will tell you today about the other bird that is associated with the capital of Burgundy: the owl. In contrast to the Martin-Pecheur, however,…
When in Dijon, do as the Dijonnais do. Which is why we – on our recent trip to the capital of Burgundy – followed the Sentier du Martin-Pecheur, advertised in the official literature as the favourite “easy hiking” route of the Dijonais. First of all, a clarification to avoid disappointment: the word “pecheur” in the…
Some city destinations provide barely enough distraction for a single morning – you walk around, have lunch and find yourself walking down the same streets again in the afternoon. But there are those that only whet your appetite, making you want to come back for more, again and again. There is always something you have…
Throughout history, few large cities in the world have managed without a navigable waterway, but there are some whose river or canal passes out of sight and out of town, through countryside or distant suburbs. (Milan is an example for this, as is – more surprisingly, perhaps – Vienna). This applies to Strasbourg as well,…
Yes, all will be revealed today, but first, we must complete our tour around the Festival’s host towns and take a close look at the remaining six competition entries. For the first batch of the gardens, see last week’s post where you can also find some more details about this year’s French Riviera Garden Festival….
This would normally be the time to start talking about the walks that we managed to squeeze into the short gaps between the various French lockdowns over the past few months – and we would have done so but for the opposition of circumstance. Events, dear boy, events! The Riviera Garden Festival – 3rd Edition…
Doing something again for the first time after a long and painful break tastes sweet, nearly as sweet as the first kiss that you are receiving from That Special Person In Your Life after a long period of separation. It is therefore only right and proper to treat such sweet returns to the habits and…
Bucket lists are all the rage. You care to find out all about the 1001 Things To See in Outer Mongolia Before You Die? I am sure there is a book or a website somewhere to take you from the World’s Largest Yurt to the Genghis Khan Toenail Museum or whatever. Does anybody ever use…
Travelling, in some ways, is a lot like learning. Done properly, they are lifelong preoccupations. You cannot acquire all the experiences that can be made out there any more than you can find out everything there is to know. And what is more: the mere attempt is a fool’s errand. Much better to paraphrase Socrates:…
Grenoble is the great survivor among French cities. Founded 2000 years ago as a small Gallic settlement around a bridge across the river Isére and relatively difficult to access to this very day (being surrounded by mountains on three sides), it learned to prosper and grow in size and importance by betting on the right…