ADVENTURES, CHALLENGES, AND INSIGHTS OF A COUPLE IN EARLY RETIREMENT
After sampling some fine wine in Chateauneuf-du-Pape, we hit the road again for a five-hour drive to Toulouse, the heart of southwest France. But, since we were on a road trip we decided to stop at Arles along the way.
Every year we make a pilgrimage to Nice, France to pick up our residency cards. This year we decided to take a car from there and drive through the south and middle of France to get to Bordeaux. On the way, we made a number of stops and our first stop was Chateauneuf-du-Pape the premier wine region of Cote du Rhone.
When I think of epically bad train rides, number one on the list is the train in Egypt. But I’d have to say that this day runs a close second, at least the last two hours of it.
Sure, Naples can lay claim to pizza and every region of Italy has something special to offer the palette. But I contend that the Emilia-Romagna region and its capital, Bologna, have a legitimate claim to being called the Food Capital of Italy.
Our first trip to Florence years ago wasn’t that good, so we decided to visit again and see if we could have a better experience. Since we were one hour by train from Florence, we decided to spend two nights so we wouldn’t have to rush the churches and museums.
