Part 1 is our first week in Spain >>HERE
Part 2 is our second week in Spain >> HERE
Part 3 is our third week - France than back to Spain
Sunday June 22, 2025
(Continuation of June 21st)
Yesterday after breakfast we went for a little walk before having to check out our hotel. Taxis were coming at 1:30 so we just hung out in the lobby until it was time to leave. We arrived at the airport and thank God for Sophia helping us all through. We had no experience with this European airline or budget airlines in general. At least we know the process now for when the trip ends and we go back to Barcelona on our own. Our ticket had included one checked bag and one under seat but a few of us also had carry on roller bags so we had to pay for overhead space. €55 just for reference, and that was for overhead space. We don't know what he had to pay for the checked bag or under seat space. They put a tag on your bag and the flight attendant was very strict about people not tossing their under seat bags into the overheads. Sophia told Clint who felt bad because apparently the policy changed recently. Previously if you paid for a checked bag, you automatically got the overhead, so he is going to reimburse us.
Lisa and I split a BLT and had a bag of chips while waiting for our flight. The flight was only about an hour.
First impression, France is very expensive compared to Spain. Taxi from the airport to the hotel was €70 (not including tip). Compared to Barcelona, where it was €15-€20 for the same 30 minute ride. We got to the hotel and had about 40 minutes before we met in the lobby for our 8:pm tour. The tour guy was super nice and said since we had a long travel day and had not had dinner maybe we should wait and do the tour tomorrow (Sunday) instead. Apparently, the restaurants here are not open really late like they are in Spain. We all agreed. We asked if he had any suggestions of where to have dinner and he actually walked with us to a restaurant he said was a 10 minute walk. English translation = 30 minutes.
Second impression, Marseille is very dirty and a little scary. We all stuck together for dinner for the first time except for the included meals.
History of Marseille: It's the oldest city in France. Known for it's history as a port, it's a melting pot of cultures, with influences from Southern Europe, Middle East, North Africa, and Asia.
We saw a lot of Middle Eastern men and our guide was from Africa. In fact, the outdoor restaurants we passed on the way to dinner had tables full of men, no women. Our guide also said the best restaurants in the area are the Turkish ones. And then he took us to an Irish pub!
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| Église Saint Vincent de Paul on the way to dinner |
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| Fortaine Fossati on the way to dinner |
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| There may have been cocktails |
The restaurant and general area at the marina was hoppin’.
They were having a music festival. Who knew? Apparently a lot of people knew! We found out later it's European celebration of the first day of summer. There was a lot of police presence and paddy wagons on standby. Our guide said that about 4 am they tear gas to get people to leave! 😱 We were back before midnight.
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| Le Vieux Port |
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| L’ete = Summer |
Today
Yes, we are and will continue to be extra careful.
Agenda:
Today you have the option to visit Arles, Avignon, and the picturesque Senanque Abbey to view the lavender fields which should be at peak bloom time. The cost of this excursion is a bit pricy at $165 per person.
It went on to detail what was included. Everyone opted out of the optional tour and just had a free day.
Breakfast at this hotel opens at 6:30 so I was able to enjoy my morning coffee out on the patio adjacent to the main dining room. Nikki is also an early bird so she joined me. The breakfast buffet was better than the others.
We haven’t decided what we are going to do today. Last night we decided not to venture off too far into the unknown. Nikki said there is an old town area not far where they have local craft vendors so we might check that out.
After breakfast and relaxing on the beautiful outside patio we walked down with Nikki and Seth to the old town area. We got there and everything was closed. We thought maybe because it was Sunday. Later the tour guide said they do not usually close on Sunday and he thought maybe the vendors stayed out drinking all night because of the festival. Nikki thought maybe it was so crowded that they sold out of merchandise. Nobody knows.
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| Deserted actually |
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| Statue at the train station |
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| Typical side street, actually cleaner than the beaten path |
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| Back side of Palais Longchamp during out walk |
Lisa and I walked back and went to the market next to the hotel and bought some snacks. We sat outside in the patio area, just relaxing and reading for a few hours. We decided to skip the guided tour at 3 PM. It was just too hot out and we were comfortable right where we were on the outdoor patio.
Sidenote – you wouldn’t think that 85° would be too hot for me, however it feels like it does when it’s 118 in Phoenix. I am not used to the humidity. It’s a sweaty heat!
Around 4 PM we went out for a late lunch/early dinner. We ended up at the Patisserie just down the street from the hotel.
Lisa got pizza and I got a ham and cheese something-or-other that would be called a calzone if it was Italian. It was more like a pizza crust than a pastry or croissant crust. I didn't really care for it. We sat outside in their street side eating area for a while before getting a soft serve ice cream and heading back to the hotel.
We sat out and chatted and read for a little while longer. Lisa turned in early. I grabbed my iPad and went back down to the lobby and was going to update my blog. Nikki and Seth came back so they sat down to chat. They said the tour was very good. Nikki said the fountain at Palias Longchamp could give the Trevi Fountain a run for the money.
History of Palias Longchamp: It was built to bring water to the city in 1835. It now houses two museums.
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| Not my photo |
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| Closeup Not my photo |
Seth said some of the graffiti wall art was incredible.
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| Not my photo |
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| Not my photo |
Then Cheryl came in and told us about her day.
ETA: Now that I'm back home I'll fill you in on how scary it was for her. She went to the beach where she was stared at, hit in the head with a volley ball, had sand kicked in her face, and then was followed. She said they have signs all over telling you where to report sexual assault and they had sexual assault ambassadors roaming around. Yikes!
Then Sophia came in and we talked to her for a little bit. Basically, the lobby area was pretty active! No rest for the wicked.
Tomorrow we take the train out of Dodge and head to Antibes. Wish us luck!
Monday June 23,2025
Agenda:
Meet in the lobby at 11:15 am to proceed to your 11:57 am train trip through the French Riviera. After hotel check-in you'll have a lovely walking tour of rustic, old-world Antibes. Later you may want to avail yourself of the beautiful beach which sits only 500 feet from your hotel.
Long story short, skip to the end version. I will never get on a train again for the rest of my life. You heard it here first. The train ride from HELL. Our torture to treasure day.
First of all, Marseille was definitely our least favorite place we’ve been to and we were glad to leave this morning. After breakfast, we checked out and walked our luggage across the street to the train station. Rudest, pushiest crowd of people ever. I think my toes were rolled over six times including a couple of times by me, trying to get it out-of-the-way and not get bulldozed as people were pushing and shoving. They don’t announce what track you’re departing from until maybe 15 minutes before your departure time. There was limited luggage space. Lisa, Nikki, and I ended up sitting in jump seats between train cars. At least we could keep our eyes on our bags. We had heard stories about people having their luggage stolen because the limited space to put it when you board is right by the exit doors. You can see in the photo that they hadn't closed the door yet. Thieves grab and go.
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| You can tell this picture was taken when we first sat down because I still had a smile on my face. THAT didn’t last long! |
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| The windows were cloudy so there was no enjoying the view of the beautiful French Riviera countryside |
The seats would have been fine, except it was so crowded that people were standing in the aisle blocking the restroom and sitting on their luggage on the floor. Apparently there is no cut off when all the seats are sold out. Added bonus, the air condition was not working, and there were no openable windows. Not just in the area we were sitting in, but the entire train. What should have been a 2 1/4 hour ride ended up being 3 1/2 because we got delayed on the track at a standstill for some unknown reason. Later someone said there was in issue with the train in front of ours. Like I said, the trip from HELL. We were at one of the stops and a worker came in and was saying something in French to a woman who had just sat in the jump seat next to Lisa. After she left, I asked the lady if she spoke English and she said yes, so I asked her what the employee said. She said that the air condition wasn’t working and they won't fix it. They’re not doing any maintenance because this is the last week of service for this train. Next week they will be getting new trains. And then a man two seats over, said that she also said the train was very crowded because of the music festival. A lot of people were headed to the airport after the weekend. The airport stop was the next stop after ours, in Nice.
Finally at our destination! The train only stops for 10 minutes for you to get all of your luggage off and depart fast. Luckily we have a great group of people and we made a little assembly line so some of us got off and others handed luggage down. We got out of that death trap quickly.
Out of the train station, into our much appreciated air conditioned transport vehicles, and arrived at the hotel. This is a beach town. It is very clean and beautiful. It is hard to believe that Marseille and Antibes are even in the same country, let alone only ~125 miles apart.
History of Antibes: It is a charming old town with beautiful beaches and a lovely harbor, said to be the highlight of the French Riviera.
The hotel is nice and we all have balconies. We were supposed to have a two hour tour at 5 but everyone in our group was completely over the day due to the drama of the train ride. Sophia was able to get the tour rescheduled for tomorrow morning.
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View from my room. Overlooking the street, the ocean at the end of the block. |
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Lisa is across the hall and this is the view from her room of a beautiful courtyard |
We decided we absolutely needed a cocktail trés vite. We walked down towards the ocean. It was beautiful out. We went into a few shops where they had beautiful clothing and shoes. A little pricy but very nice. Very few employees admit to speaking English, except at the hotel.
We decided to go into a restaurant on the waterfront.
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| My chocolate espresso martini, Lisa’s cosmopolitan. We may have had two 😜 |
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| Lisa’s Skirt Steak |
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| My Ribeye |
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| We saw elephants today |
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| View of Plage de la Garoupe |
We really like it here a lot. What a difference a day makes. Cheryl told me that Nikki is already looking at real estate to buy a place here! We really wish that this tour would have skipped Marseille and spent the extra days in Antibes but we are going to chalk that up to experience and make the most of it.
I didn’t get much sleep last night. 🥱💤😴I am hoping to get some good sleep tonight.
Tomorrow the breakfast opens at 7 and then we have our two hour tour at 10:30.
Tuesday June 24, 2025
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| Tom! |
The day is completely free to seek out the wonders of the flittering French Riviera. Nice, Cannes, and Monaco are only a short train ride away. Or simply continue to enjoy the wonders of Antibes. At 7 pm your leader will guide you to a great local haunt for the farewell dinner.
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| Balls in the air |
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| Same picture but altered by a friend to remove the people in the street |
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| Chapelle Saint-Bernardin |
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| Inside the Chapelle |
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| We saw a Flamingo today. I don’t know what is cuter. The lashes or the high heels. |
Now THIS is more like what we were expecting of the French Riviera!
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| Sorry, I don’t usually post feet pics, but had to document dipping our toes in the Mediterranean Sea!! |
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| Crowded beach |
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| I had Kafta and Fretes. Meatballs with mint yogurt sauce and pita |
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| Lisa had Rigatoni |
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| Churros in France |
We passed a gelato shop and they had churros in the window, so I took a picture for the girls and for Denise since they were borderline obsessed with churros and chocolate in Spain. These were filled with cream here. No chocolate sauce. We did not partake.
We lounged in a grassy area under a tree for a while people watching before going back to the hotel. It was in incredibly hot out. Neither one of us slept well last night. Our last dinner together as a group tonight isn’t until 8 PM so we thought a nap might be an order. I tried but only rested. That has been my usual MO.
Tomorrow morning, we have a taxi coming for us at 5 AM to take us to the airport for a flight back to Barcelona.
Wednesday June 25, 2025
Last night’s farewell dinner with the group was very nice.
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| I shared escargot with Steph |
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| Lisa and I both got beef tagliata which is there specialty. The beef was good but (language barrier) I thought it would be over pasta, not with fries or I probably would have ordered something different. |
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| Groupies |
We had great people in the group. Hugs all around. Nikki and Seth were headed to Paris with Cheryl and Matt for a few days (our two husband and wife couples). Kendra and Steph (travel friends) were going to Nice for a day or two. Sophia (guide) was going home to Germany. We are back to Barcelona on our own since the tour owner had to opt out.
And yet another sleepless night. ~sigh
Hurry up and wait day. Our ride to the airport was easy and pricy. There was no traffic so it only took about 20 minutes and was €90 not including the tip. 😱 We had to wait before we could check in so we grabbed a coffee. After we checked our bags and went through security we had to wait a bit for the gate assignment. The process was much easier for us with this flight back to Barcelona. Au Revior France.
Flight was on time and luggage came down quickly. There was a long line for a taxi but it moved fast. The driver had the radio loud, channel surfing, singing along and kept turning off the A/C. When we got off the freeway (do they call them freeways here?) we were in traffic and it was stuffy so I asked him to put the air back on. He said “it’s kaput”. He fiddled with some dials and it magically un-kaput-ed itself.
We are in the Augusta area of Barcelona this time which is in the Sarriá-Sant Gervasi District. We aren’t sure why he picked this over the Gothic Quarter unless he felt it would be safer for us since we are on our own for a couple of days. Or maybe so we could experience another area in Barcelona. Dunno. There is more activity in the Gothic Quarter with restaurants, stores, and street vendors.
Our rooms weren’t going to be ready until 1:30 so we had them hold our bags and walked to the farmacia. Lisa started feeling stuffy last night and needed some OTC meds. Then we walked around a bit looking for a place to grab lunch since we skipped breakfast. We finally found a to-go place and got a small pizza to share. Lisa also got a container of a rice dish.
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| Pizza top left, rice casserole top right |
We walked back to the hotel and sat in the breakfast area to eat our lunch. It did not take long until we were surrounded by very annoying people also waiting for their rooms. The lady at the front desk is very nice and said she asked housekeeping to put our rooms on their priority list. Hurry up and wait. OMG people are annoying. An unruly child with oblivious parents. I can’t really blame the kid. How long do you expect a child to wait in a lobby with nothing to entertain them but a bouncy ball? Another large group waiting for their rooms. There were about a dozen of them. Everyone was yelling over everyone else. Maybe I was just cranky 👀. Lisa’s room was ready at 1:30 so I told her to go up and rest and I would just wait in the lobby for mine. The lady called housekeeping and they said it was “almost ready”. At 2:30 I was the only one still waiting for my room. So much for the priority status. I told her that when they said my room was almost ready, I do not believe they had even started it yet. She called again and said I could go up in five minutes. I said "wow, that last group of people were so loud". She said "I think it's a cultural thing". When I got to my room housekeeping was still mopping the floor.
After I dropped my bags, I went across the street and around the corner and got a pedicure. When in Spain! The only difference with the Spanish pedicure is the water was filled with rose petals. 🌹👣🌹When I got back Lisa came up. This is our seventh hotel. Six out of seven my room has been slightly larger! This time mine has also been renovated and has a little balcony. 🤷🏼♀️ I've offered to trade every time but she said no. We sat out on the terrace for a little while.
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| View from the terrace |
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View to the right. If you zoom you can see the ocean. |
We ventured out to buy water. We sat under a shade tree for a bit and the cutest little weenie dog came by carrying a stick like it's his job.
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| The Branch Manager |
We have seen SOOOoooo many dashounds in Spain and France. Definitely the number one dog breed at all of our destinations.
Lisa is going to try to sleep it off so I’m on my own for dinner. There is a place right next door so I’m going to grab something there and go out and eat on the terrace.
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| Dinner for one? Are you kidding me? |
Holy Mammoth Milanesa Batman, this could have feed a family of four for €15.50! And it may have. The cheese lover in me admits it was a sin to say it was too cheesy. The fry lover in me ate only two fries because I'd rather fill up on protein due to lack of protein throughout the day. What to do with the leftovers!?!? I asked two men working the front desk if there are homeless people in the area that come by looking for food. He said there are no homeless people here. This is a very nice area. He actually sounded a little offended. I told them that I hate to waste, but I didn’t even eat half of it and I would rather not throw it away. Trying to ease his offendedness, I told them we had been in the Gothic Quarter and there were a lot of street people looking for handouts so I thought I would ask. He said the street people there don't actually want food, they want money for alcohol. Anyhow, bottom line one of them looked at the other and said maybe so-and-so would want it. The other guy said don’t throw it away, they would pass it on to someone. 👍👍
I grabbed a cup of chamomile tea while I was downstairs in hopes of catching up on some sleep tonight.
Hopefully Lisa will feel better tomorrow. She feels bad for me leaving me on my own (I’m fine) and I feel bad for her (Stuffy Mc Congested).
Friday June 26, 2025
I actually got some restful sleep last night even though I woke up a few times hot because the A/C wasn’t working in my room. What is up with no A/C on this trip?!?! Not once, not twice, but three times. Early morning I went to the front desk and asked if there was a trick to the thermostat. He said he’d come up and check it. I grabbed a coffee and sat out on my balcony since the terrace wasn't open yet.
When he came up the thermostat was set to 19c and it was 29c (85). He fiddled with the settings and got the fan working and said he would put in an order for maintenance. It started cooling down right away.
Lisa felt a little better but not great. We had breakfast and she went to lay back down. I went down the street to the little square and walked around. Then went into Parroquia Santa Teresa de l’infant Jesus. which is right across the street from our hotel. So beautiful inside. This was the first one that had holy water in the stoup. The others were all empty for some reason.
About an hour later Lisa was feeling a little bit better so we took a taxi down to the Gothic Quarter to find a dress shop that Cheryl and Nikki had found some cute things at last week. We couldn’t find it. The taxis can’t get into those narrow streets so he dropped us as close as he could and said cross the street and go left and the shop is right there. Lisa queued it up on her phone map and it said “you have arrived” but we clearly had not arrived. We walked over to the Farmicia to get some cold medicine to take back home. The OTC stuff here is better than the stuff at home. Good to have on hand in case a cold follows me home. We tried to find the dress shop again, and again it told us “you have arrived” and we clearly had not arrived. Must’ve been a sign that I really didn’t need anything from that shop! We had lunch and grabbed a taxi back to the hotel. We hung out in the lobby for a while. She went to rest and I went for a walk again. I bought a dress but not without a little drama. It was a little more expensive than some of the others around it but had a necklace hanging with it. I asked the guy if the necklace was included and he said yes. When I went to pay, he went and got an older gentleman to take my money. When he folded up the dress and gave it to me, I said “where is the necklace?” He said “necklace not included”. I told him that I asked the other guy if it was included and he said yes. He said “he doesn’t understand the language”. I said “well then he shouldn’t say yes to questions”. Then I told him never mind and to give me money back. He picked up the necklace and tossed it onto my folded dress. It’s just a cord with a little charm, so I doubt it cost him more than a euro or two. He obviously didn't want to lose the sale. I didn't feel one bit sorry.
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| Dog water feature 😍 |
We are all checked in for our flights tomorrow and our taxi has been ordered. We’ll grab a quick dinner in a bit.
Lisa was feeling a little better. We walked around a while looking for a place to eat. We decided on a sushi place where she could have gotten teriyaki chicken. When we walked in the lady said they were closed. Really?! We ended up on the patio at a tapas bar. We skipped the cocktails and had Lèmone Fanta. Lisa had meatballs and I had pork kebab. We also got olives and chips.
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| The pork was good. I skipped the croutons. |
Not.So.Fast. I got a call Saturday around 4 pm from the front desk that they checked me out at 11 and I needed to leave the room. The airline had only given me a voucher for one night. ~heavy sigh. Luckily the room was available. I called the airlines again to see if I could get another voucher and got in the queque for a call back. Estimate was two hours! I went down and gave her my credit card to hold the room but she said she would wait until I heard back before charging the card. When I got the callback I was able to get another voucher but it was for a choice of three different hotels. Let the games begin. CSR said the system pulls them randomly so there was nothing she could do. She said to see if the hotel would take one of the other hotel's vouchers. Of course they won't. I went down to the front desk again. One of the choices was right next door so I was going to have to change hotels. Not.So.Fast again. When I clicked on the offer, it said there was no more availability. Are you kidding me? The lady at the front desk said to try calling again and tell them the hotel voucher they sent wasn't available. I called and got in queue again. This time the estimate was one hour. While I was waiting for a call back I clicked on the offer again hoping it would refresh and luckily it did and the hotel I was at was listed. I grabbed the offer really quick. When I went back down to the front desk, the two girls high-fived me and woo who'd. You'd think we won the lottery. EiYiYi. Shout out to the front desk staff at the Wyndham Hotel DFW Airport. They were super nice and compassionate.
All's well that ends well.
Do I regret going? No.
If I knew then what I know now, would I have gone? Also no.
I've taken cooking classes when traveling in the past in Santa Fe New Mexico, Rome Italy, Budapest Hungary, Amsterdam Netherlands, and now Seville Spain. I've enjoyed them all but this was the BEST one yet! I have already ordered a Paella Pan and Bomba Rice.
The other half of our group was at Hotel Oriente Atram, a short walk from our place. Nice lobby but small rooms and lots of construction out front. They not only had bottled water in their rooms, but there were refill stations on each floor. We hadn't seen that in our travels.
