We made Sophie miserable yesterday. Not intentionally, of course. We meant well.
After a morning at the small town square where there is a modest daily market during the summer (with a beautiful produce stand nonetheless) and a lunch consisting of some of the food we had such a hard time choosing at the hypermarket, we set out on an adventure with the bikes we’ve rented for our stay on Île-de-Ré.
Continue reading Sophie Hoards Seashells by the Seashore After a Day of Biking Hell
We left the land of castles and kings, and arrived on Île-de-Ré this afternoon for a week of bicycle-riding, ocean-going and relaxation. And although the drive itself was quick and uneventful, getting to our final destination, however, was a little more stressful than expected.
We had to overcome a huge challenge these last two days while on our castle marathon. France is very expensive. Meals at restaurants, even for lunch, cost at least $50-$60 for a family of four and that’s without alcohol. So we’ve tried very hard to mitigate the damage to our travel budget by taking advantage of the beautiful weather and gorgeous scenery to enjoy picnic lunches where we can.
The castles are everywhere. Like weeds, they crop up along the Loire River every few miles. Each one more spectacular than the last because successive kings had to outdo their predecessors, their queens had to outdo their predecessors and in some cases, the kings’ mistresses had to outdo their queens.
The four of us woke up this morning raring to go after a very good night’s sleep. Chloe and Sophie were simply wiped out from the long travel day and my husband and I had pills to thank for our decent slumber. Refreshed and excited, we made our way to Paris where we had a most excellent time wandering through the streets with no particular destination in mind other than a foiled visit to Notre Dame (more on that below).
In a couple of short days, we will find ourselves back on French soil for several weeks of nomadic adventures visiting family, exploring castles (both Renaissance and sand) and medieval fortress cities, freezing in the Atlantic Ocean from the other side of the pond, and climbing atop ancient Roman ruins.
The Amazon embraced us. Rather than writing a lengthy discourse about this magical place, I am simply going to list all of the firsts I experienced on this last leg of our journey.
During our three days in the jungle:
Continuing our pre-Inca and Inca cultural immersion, one of today’s highlights was a visit to the ruins of Sillustani, a burial site consisting of funerary towers located on a lakeside peninsula high in the Andean plateau.
Continue reading As the Collas and Incas Lay Dying – Contemplating the Ruins of Sillustani
As we made our way to Lake Titicaca yesterday, on a “highway” that we Americans would consider just a regular road except for the llamas, alpacas and mountainous landscape all around us, we stopped at the town of Racqui, the home of another sacred Inca temple called Wiraqocha.
The highlight of yesterday’s sightseeing was an excursion to another Inca ruin, Sacsayhuaman, which served primarily as a religious site until the Spaniards invaded, when it became a fortress to defend against the Conquistadors. The foreign explorers, who arrived in Peru looking for El Dorado after hearing that its people were covered in gold, handily beat the Incas because the Incas were not warriors. Indeed, it sounds like any victories the Incas enjoyed against the Spaniards were due more to luck than any real strategic skill. They focused on agriculture and the worship of their gods, and were generally a peaceful people unless provoked or unless the indigenous tribes refused to accept their rule.
Continue reading What the Incas Have in Common with Asterix & Obelix
