Europe Impression - Geneva & Evian-Les-Bains

We took TGV train in Avignon to Geneva via Lyon. From the seat occupancy rate in the first class carriage, I felt paying extra on the reservation wasn't necessary.  When I purchased Eurail pass online, I saw the second class option but it couldn't be selected. Based on my observation, even if you were allowed to buy the second class pass, paying a bit more to get the first class seat is worth it. Although the train ticket is a bit pricy, the well known French high speed railway system does provide convenient and punctual service as long as the railway workers are not on strike. When there is a strike, you will have to look for other options and I don't think you will get the refund for the Eurail pass you have purchased.

Avignon TGV Station

People waiting for the arrival of the train

We now know what Postal office looks like in France

The train arrived in Lyon on time. We didn't plan to stay or look around in Lyon but we had to look for a postal office in order to mail the house keys back to the B&B we stayed in Avignon. There was no postal office/counter inside the train station. With the help from a policeman, we were able to find a postal office 5 minutes away from the station. The clerk at the office didn't really speak English but he was able to send the parcel out for us and lent us his cell phone to call Veronique.

Geneva doesn’t seem like a popular travel destination as I didn’t find a whole lot of travel tips for this place online. For some reason, it is a place on the top of my head whenever I think of Switzerland.  I decided to loop this beautiful place into my route although we could only spend 2 hours there. The easiest way to tour a place with 2 hours is to go to the tourism office that is not too far away from the train station and ask the clerks for recommendations. The people work there are usually very professional.  They can quickly draw a route for you on the map and introduce the highlights. If you do have a few spots in mind and ask them to accommodate these spots into the route, they would be more than happy to do so.  We had been helped by the tourism office along the way. I was so impressed by the people and the services they provided.

Flower clock

A perfect location for my own dream coffee shop

Obviously, Geneva is a completely different place from Provence, France. The first thing we noticed was the flowers and the watches signs. Geneva is considered as a small United Nations since it is the headquarter for numerous of international organizations and you can see people from all over the world. It is also a global financial center.  For us, the most obvious thing is how pricy everything is. No wonder it is one of the top ‘most expensive cities’ in the world. By the way, Euro is not used here but it is not too difficult to withdraw Swiss Francs with US Debit Card on any ATM.

Swan Lake? Geneva Lake?

4.5 Swiss Francs/100g fish filet

Swiss Wine is good but only for domestic consumers

Sunset - Geneva Lake

After the short visit in Geneva, we took the train to Lausanne in order to take the ferry to Evian-les-bains.  We had a fun conversation with an Italian who sat at the same row with us on the train. He also pointed us to the right direction for the local subway to the port. My personal impression is European don’t usually talk to strangers like what most American would do but Italian seem like the exception.

Ferry

There are also buses and trains that connect Evian between Evian and Geneva and Lyon. They are either too complicated to figure out the transitions or too time-consuming. I chose to get there by ferry. The CGN ferry between Lausanne and Evian runs every hour and the fee is covered by Eurail pass. The journey is 35 minutes. With the free wi-fi on the ferry, the sail time wasn’t a problem at all. Do check the dock number before you get on-board. It was different from what I saw on the printed time table.

 

The Cachat Spring - The source of Evian Mineral Water

Evian-les-bains is the spa town between France and Switzerland. It is also the source of the famous Evian mineral water. The hotel price here is much much lower than it is in Switzerland (>50% less). Numerous hotels and a casino (d’Evian) are on the lakeside. The residential area is more on the upper hill. The building style is more Swiss and the blooming flowers are everywhere. I am not a big fan of Casino but I think it is the good dine out place, especially in the late evening. 

Not sure whether it is Royal hotel - most luxurious hotel in town and is also where G8 summit  was held.

Varying Evain water bottles at the hotel

d’Evian is the largest themed casino in Europe - worth a tour

Europe Impression - B & B experience in Avignon

Many people have said that you must stay at hostel or at least bed and breakfast in order to experience the real Europe. I found a few lists from airBnB , a website recommended by a friend but none had worked out. I finally booked my bed and breakfast via Avignon official tourism website and bedandbreakfast.com and was very happy with what we had got.  I didn't intent to stay at two different places but with the plan change and the room availability, I had to.

The first night we stayed on a boat by River Rhone. It is on the other side of the river, which is about 15-20 minutes walk or you have to call a taxi to get to the town center, but the experience offset the inconvenience. The host Laurent is a funny guy who practices Qi Gong and Acupuncture and his dream is to go to China some day for these two things. No wonder this place is called Qi. Laurent speaks pretty good English but every time when he switches between English and French, his French accent becomes more obvious. Laurent gave the new guests a formal greeting on the broad to introduce the facility and guests. We also received a city map and some useful tips from him. The pink wine that Laurent used to welcome us was sweet and smooth so I finished a whole glass before I even realized it. Then I was drunk like walking on the cloud!   

The room I booked is the captain’s room. It is a suite with a litter kitchen area, living room, bathroom and the private balcony. I made terrible fried eggs but good veggie soup with the limited supplies we got from Carrefour just to make sure the kitchen was functional. J

Living Room

We apparently forgot buying oil

Swimming Pool

Breakfast on the deck

The breakfast on the deck was gorgeous. Besides the classic croissants, French bread and toast, Laurent also prepared the fresh figs and the fresh dates. He told us that the dates were transplanted from China. Maybe that’s reason why the shape of the date is different from what we had in China. We also had a great breakfast chat with other guests from different countries. I think that’s the biggest benefit about staying at the hostel/B&B. Sitting on the private balcony to enjoy the river view was also unforgettable. 

The downside about this place includes the aforementioned inconvenience, carrying the luggage up to the dock then passing through the narrow sideboard wasn't easy; low ceiling and the bathroom without a shower head holder. One side note is the owner preferred the cash payment.   

comfy mattress

The second B&B BARAILLERIE is in the town center and is a beautiful private home. Our room is remodeled from an attic of the three-floor house. There are glass windows on the ceiling for the light and the fresh air. The room decoration is fairly modern and impressive. I believe the place was converted to a guest room not too long ago since everything in the room looked new. The one exception is the record player and a good number of record collections. I did take the advantage of that and the stereo system was excellent! 
The downside about this room is no shower curtain to keep shower water from spilling out on the floor outside and the restroom, is tiny and you can't stand up inside.

Love the Vinyl Record Player 

Restroom lamp 

The owner Veronique is an artist and a psychologist and gave us warm hospitality. The breakfast in the garden was a surprise! I didn't know I could eat that much. If we didn't need to catch the train, we wouldn't mind spending the entire morning there.  Veronique called the taxi to take us to TGV station. When the taxi arrived, we were still busy on the payment, chats and hugs and didn't notice we kept something that we shouldn't until we got on the train from Avignon to Lyon. Well, now we have got something to do in Lyon.  

Europe Impression - Avignon

We almost missed the stop in Avignon SNCF station. The travel time between Avignon center and Arles is only 18 minutes (48 minutes to Avignon TGV station) and we kind of missed counting whether there was a stop or not before we got to Avignon.  Taxi was easy to find outside of the station.   The cost is a flat rate – 10 Euro.  While the driver making the sharp turns in the narrow streets, we felt not renting a car was definitely a right decision. The driver didn't complain or charge extra when we found out the destination I first told him was for the next day and needed to re-route.

Overlook from the top of the Palace

Avignon Bridge

Avignon has completely different style than Arles. It is more active. The fashion and the antiquities mix very well here. When walking on the main street - Rue de la Republique, you would think it has no much difference from other big cities. At least McDonald's is seen here :). But when going into the back streets, you see the history of the town.

Everyone comes here would like to visit Palace of Popes (Palias des Papes) and Avignon Bridge. The  introduction on wikimedia. provides the complete story of the Palace. The line to purchase ticket was so long and you won't believe how small and dark the ticket office is. Before we entered the building, we were asked to select a audio device with our preferred language and used it as tour guide for the main attractions inside the Palace. It took us 2 hours to walk through the Palace. It has great architectural details, which made me wondered how creative the people was and how difficult to build something like this without any electronic equipment.  I was impressed by the underground treasures storage and the huge dining hall! After touring the Palace, we went up to the outdoor garden. From here, it gives a great overlook on the River Rhone and part of the town.

The details on the roof of the Palace

The door shows history

Lavender Field

Lavender processing - taken from store video

Harvesting lavender - taken from the store video

There is a big shopping area just a few blocks away from the Palace. I could tell that area is for tourist but we had fun looking/shopping around. I found two favorite stores here. One is called Le Chateau du BOIS Provence. It is a store that sells fine lavender products. We watched an interesting video that showed the lavender production process. This was the first time I learned how lavender is harvested - very amazing. I was really drunk by the color and the smell of lavender and the fascinating view of the purple field!  I hope that I can go back again during the lavender season! Colorado offers the climate that required for planting the lavender: high altitude, dryness and sunshine. I should be able to grow my own lavender on my balcony!

Lavender Harvest  - from the store video

 Another store is a corner gift shop with a great sales - a 6 year old girl (the store owner's friend's daughter). She claimed that she was born in HK and had lived in UK for a couple years so she could speak great English. She followed us entire time and told us what she liked at the store. She also was so happy to be the translator between us and the store owner. After we took a picture with her, she offered that we could take a picture with her 3 year old brother although he can't speak English. Great shopping experience here!

Shopping area

Musician is everywhere

Ancient city wall

France is also a bicycle kingdom

             

Our hostel host recommended a dining area with many options in the town center. We picked Merci Ton Ton because the owner was very friendly to explain each dishes for us when we looked at the menu outside of the restaurant.  It provides a Tuesday menu with smaller portion and reduced price to attract more customers. The waitress didn't speak English but she tried very hard to help us, including body languages, drawing, and asking for help etc. Because of her patience, we finally got to eat like locals.    When we checked out the CD sold at the restaurant, the other customers at the restaurant were so excited to introduce the music for us. When the music played, some of them even wanted to dance. That was the first time I experienced the well-known outgoing side in French's characteristics.

Merci Ton Ton's Tue Menu

A popular French Band's CD

Ham & Artichoke  

Last but not least, if you know how to sing this song, you would definitely feel closer to the people in Avignon.  

Europe Impression - Arles Part 2

On the Monday morning, the town woke up with the crowd and the traffic. After being in the French world for two days, we felt encouraged to try out the local restaurant for breakfast. We ended up running to escape from the big laughs behind us. We probably looked so silly by trying to speak two French words we know and hoping people would speak English to us or at least understand our body languages. It was embarrassing but it was also so fun to do something silly like a tourist. People here actually are pretty friendly and indulgent to tourists. For example, a store owner asked us to try a type of berry before we paid just because she was afraid we wouldn’t like it.  We finally got our breakfast and some supplies from a nearby supermarket.

Old Town gates

River Rhone

Patron Saint of Arles?

It took us a while to find ‘Espace of Van Gogh’ – used to be a mental hospital where Van Gogh was locked after cutting off his ear. It is a bright yellow building with a big courtyard in the middle.It is now a tourist site for people to memorize this great artist who had never been able to sell his paintings when he was alive. I recently watched a movie, 'Lust for Life', that tells a brief story about this artist. Even though Van Gogh didn't get recognized until he past away, he was so lucky to receive a life time support from his brother, Theo.  If you want to keep going with more Van Gogh sites, you may go to St Remy, where is only 18 miles away from Arles. 

I like the gift shops inside the Espace Van Gogh. Besides the painter related products, there were many delicate decoration items, even the fridge magnets were special and beautiful. A place to shop for family and friends.

Espace Van Gogh

Espace Van Gogh

We picked a café by the arena for lunch. While we were scanning the French menu with an IPhone app Word Lens that instantly translates the French into English word by word on the screen of the phone, the owner came over and handed us an English menu! How nice! I would definitely appreciate the idea of the visual translator but I think there is long way to go before you can really rely on it. Also keep in mind that many restaurants in French don't have a paper menu. The App probably won't work for the menu on the blackboard.  We were not sure whether the crepe we ordered is considered as authentic French taste because of the other funny American/Asian beverages on the menu. At least the food was good and fresh and it was so nice to have the great view of the arena. 

Crepe

Arles is listed as the UNESCO world heritage site so you don't want to miss these ancient Roman buildings -  the list from wikipeida.org.

• Arles Amphitheatre
• The Roman theatre
• Cryptoporticus and Roman forum
• The Thermes of Constantine 
• Ramparts of the Roman castrum
• The Alyscamps
• The Church of St. Trophime
• Roman exedra (Muséon Arlaten)

We didn't get to see the Ramparts and Exedra.  If you are really into the details of all these accient architectures/ruins, you could spend days here.  I think Arles is a unique town that really keeps its heritage well. Even with all the tourists, I could still feel the peace everywhere in the town!

Republic Square

Ruins of Thermes of Constantine

Ruins of Thermes of Constantine

Drawing of original Thermes of Constantine

Roman Theater

Church of St. Trophime

My original plan was to go to Nimes for Arena of Nimes - the second largest Roman arean, then Pont du Gard for Roman aqueduct bridge then stay in Avignon by bus. I changed my mind after we got to Arles. The reason was we like Arles and would like to spend more time and we didn’t feel like beating ourselves up from running among the attractions within a short amount of the time. I did prepare the bus schedule for the trip. The bus number from Arles to Nimes is C30, Nimes to Pont Du Gard is B21 and Pont Du Gard to Avignon is A15. The schedule makes a day trip among these three places feasible.

It is time to leave for our next stop - Avignon by train. The train station is only 5 minute walking distance from the hotel. We got there earlier than the schedule because it would be our first time travelling by train in France. BTW, the train time table came with the EURAIL pass is something you want to keep with you all the time although some of the private run routes/schedules are not listed. There are two main railway companies in France, SNCF and TGV(mostly are high speed trains with less stops in between). You can take both at many stations but there are exceptions. Do check when you plan your trip. Our destination in Avignon is the SNCF station in old town, where is close to most of the attractions. The TGV station is a bit away from the old town. Just to be safe, we paid extra 9 Euros to reserve the seat on TGV train from Avignon to Lyon for two days later. We also validated our EURAIL pass here so we could start using it for our train travel. A Canadian traveler at the station was nice to explain the validation process for us. Not complicated but it could be a bit confusing for first timer. It wasn't difficult to communicate with the station clerks either. 

This is a very useful website for travelling in France. 

Reference: http://www.beyond.fr/villages/arles-provence-france.html