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OK before I start a few people have asked where the details of the wedding are. This blog doesn't seem to place posts logically ie. in date order but rather in locations. So the post for the wedding is in the side bar under locations - click on Portugal and then under Oia.
Sorry we've not been updating regularly but we've been without wi-fi for ages now.
So we left Barcelona more easily than we arrived - as a matter of fact it was very smooth. However the weather turned ugly. It started out as rain but soon became an orange alert weather event. It's been kind of strangely lucky tho - we've had two days of bad weather and they've both been on our big driving days. So we missed what I assume was lovely scenery along the way and we kind of missed the whole leaving Spain arriving France thing. Everywhere we looked was white and it just kept getting worse and a little dangerous. We followed the highway along the coast to Perpignan and pressed on but decided to stop at Beziers and look for somewhere to stay. Drove around for a bit and of what we could see it looked very pretty - old Roman bridge and lovely canal with long boats moored on it. However we left town not finding anything and settled for a 2 star highway side hotel. Looked nice and clean and in the end it was a fantastic surprise. Obviously the French two-star standard is a lot better than ours. And amazingly good value. We got two rooms - large and clean with wi-fi and big TV. We had dinner in the hotel restaurant which was surprisingly posh and great value. Weren't sure what we were ordering but there was a buffet for starters which included snails and pate and my main course ended up being a small game bird of some sort - thought I'd ordered fish!? And of course we should have remembered that when ordering meat you have to ask for well done otherwise the poor animal is still bleeding. But aside from all of that it was fantastic and the kids first taste of authentic French food. The weather had cleared a bit by the morning and so we set off for St Chamond where l'Hermitage is situated (the Marist Brothers Spiritual Headquarters) where we will be staying for a few days. Anyway Penelope (the name we've given our very British sounding Satnav) she's either Painful Penelope or Perfect Penelope depending on how well she guides us. Well today she was painful because we thought we were heading to St Chamond via Nimes and up through Avignon and instead we went through Millau. Now this was a good and a bad thing because we ended up on the Viaduc de Millau which we weren't expecting and it was amazing. But it also meant that we took the minor motor ways which are narrow and winding and take a much longer time to travel all of which is not great when you've got a car load of travel sick kids. And we missed some of the countryside we wanted to see but got to see stuff we weren't expecting. So there you have it - we arrived at l'Hermitage around 5.30pm and were greeted by the most warm, welcoming Brothers who settled us in our rooms, gave us a tour of this amazing place and generally looked after us. Brother Neville was one of the resident Aussies who was assigned to look after is. He made sure we were OK and took us down to supper. He then made a speech in French to the crowd in the dining room (other Brothers who were there and a group of about 50 people from Brazil and Argentina - mostly teachers from Marist schools) introducing and welcoming us. We were a bit overwhelmed and made to feel pretty special. The kids thought it was great. The food was excellent and authentic French way of eating - always a bottle of fresh, preservative free wine and lots of cheeses to finish. Eating times are much earlier than Spain. Makes the routine for the kids easier.
So on the first day Brother Neville took us on a bit of a tour of the area and gave us the story of Marcellan Champagnat - the founder of the Marist order. He acted as our own private tour guide and got us into places we wouldn't normally get into. We visited the very first school that he started in La Valla with the original table that he built and taught from. Ned in particular was really fascinated with this and it's been more of an education for the kids than sitting in a classroom. Seeing, touching, feeling the experiences. These mountainous villages are high up from l'Hermitage down in the valley below and in winter the weather is quite brutal with around 10 feet of snow. Marcellan Champagnat walked for days through these mountains to help and teach young people who did not have the opportunity otherwise. Then further up into the mountains where there are a lot of ski resorts to Le Rosey to the house where he was born and lived his young life. And a visit to the local cathedral where he was baptised. Very beautiful countryside but you could imagine how cold it would get in winter. Back at l'Hermitage and a tour of the room and building he'd built by hand where Marcellan spent his later life teaching and living. They also have a couple of different museums on site. Really interesting place and fascinating insight into the life of this incredible man.
Day two we visited Le Puy en Velay - amazing place with mountainous volcanic plugs with wild monuments and churches on top. The Le Puy cathedral is one of the few places where you will find a black Madonna - it's kind of an ancient Catholic tradition. Inside the cathedral is also the "stone of the fevers" said to have healing powers. Ned touched it and wished for his travel sickness to be cured. We'll see! We climbed up one of the volcanic mountains with a giant Madonna statue on top and then climbed through the statue to the very top - exhausting but worth it. The views were incredible - Le Puy is a very ancient looking place. Each place we visit is so different from the last and has a completely different feel. It's been a full-on experience for the kids. We wandered through the old town and met up with a family of New Zealand travelers - great people, got on really well - so we stopped for lunch together for a couple of hours. Back to l'Hermitage and our last night here. Sometimes it feels we just arrive in a place and feel really settled and it's time to leave. Can be quite a difficult thing - times like l'Hermitage feel like you're leaving family.
So the following morning we said our goodbyes to Brothers Neville, Dominic, John, Georges and others and headed off for our next destination - the Loire Valley. The kids, esp. Ned were sad about leaving l'Hermitage behind and want to come back to visit again.
But of course we're looking forward to the Loire and the chateaux of the area. We're not sure if we have wi-fi there so we may not chat for awhile.
- comments
Melissa It's been great to read about all your amazing experiences. I can't believe you met Brother Neville. He was Principal at Marist when he interviewed Sam in year 6. Brother Neville told Sam he was school captain material! Anyway I look forward to more updates.
Sam All sounds fantastic,wish I's jumped in your suitcase.Won't manage to catch up but looking forward to seeing you all back home and hearing all about it pics included.Miss you lots much love Sam and Mylee.PS have a few wines for me.x
Nanny&Poppy Great to read about all your travels. The kids must have had a great time at Euro Disney,look forward to hearing all about it.Hope Paris won't be too cold. Down to Jo and Darren for weekend. Grover is being looked after by neighbours,Kerry & Don.
Louise Lovely to again read of the journey - can't wait for the famous slide show upon your return. Not sure if you're reading these comments, Deb - but you've scored a possie on the gymnastics board (supporting Craig in his new role....nothing too big, so don't panic!). Happy travels :))