Family in France! Day 9 - Besancon: Ornans and saying goodbye

Today was the last full day of the trip. We took it easy. I took them to the very picturesque village of Ornans by bus, about 30 minutes away. We then finished with a classy meal at the nicest restaurant in Besancon!

Ornans

Dad

"Saw the small town of Ornans today too, even more in the countryside.

Dad and n Ornans

It's been more relaxing here, to just go at a slower pace and enjoying things, to enjoy the sights and views, didn't feel rushed to go anywhere or see anything. In Paris, it's like – gotta see the Eiffel Tower or Louvre, but here, it didn't feel like I had to do anything.

Dad feeling unrushed :)

The people are pretty friendly here [in Besancon], easy to get along with. Having that river go around the whole place, it's beautiful. Nice place to walk around.

Going for a walk in Ornans



I'm glad I was able to come and experience this. Hopefully these memories will stay with me for a while, at least a week or two (laughs). We've got pictures to remind us of a special time that our family spent together. Probably won't happen again – in France at least. Gotta get everyone to go to Alaska now. "

Donna capturing a comical moment of Dad teaching me about ducks

The lessons never end - Dad teaching me how to catch flies :) --
Please ask him about this story

Donna

"Went to Ornans – cute town, beautiful scenery on the way.

Walkin a country road

The whole trip – loved it! loved it! loved it! Wouldn't have missed it for the world."

A night on the town

Brasserie du Commerce

Classy dinner!

Dessert

Last night out in Besancon in front of the restaurant

These days have gone by faster than any other time I've ever been abroad.

We had sunshine for 10 days, and during the 5 minutes they boarded the train the next morning, it downpoured. I waved goodbye as the train moved away, and the rain let up. Even France was sad to see them go.

I will never forget all the special memories created on this trip, thanks to everyone for making it happen.

Love,
Katie

Family in France! Day 8 - Besancon: The Citadel

I started my day before 5 am in order to get Pipi and Anica safely on their way to Paris to catch their flight to Berlin. It was simply wonderful spending as much time together as we had been able to and I will miss them.

For the rest of the day, Dad, Donna got to know "Btown" better. We found a charming handmade jewelry store and took our time winding through the streets downtown, ending up having a coffee at Bar de l'U, or, The University Bar, where I've spent many an hour uploading pictures and poking around online while drinking coffee among a plethora of colors.

Dad and Donna outside the bar

Never been there so early - look how empty!

Donna in Bar de l'U

We then wandered over the the Citadel - the UNESCO World Heritage Site that Besancon is so proud of. We decided to brave the climb (instead of the bus) to the top of the hill in the center of the city, and Dad and Donna particularly enjoyed the views:

Climbing up to the Citadel

About halfway there - the river Doubs in the background

It got quite steep at some points, but they were troopers

Dad coming out from the stairs

A view of the downtown from the top of the hill

The entrance to the Citadel

Interestingly enough, the Citadel is a part-zoo. It also has several rooms that serve as different exhibitions, as well as the permenant rooms where you can learn about the Citadel and it's history, as well as the architect, Vauban.

Making our way to the heart of the citadel and passing some... emu/ostrich-esque animals

Inside the citadel, climbing to a tower to walk the circumference

Walking around the top; inside view of the Citadel

Everyone's favorite part were the stunning views from the top of the surrounding hills - it's a very green city.

The Citadel wall

Dad and Donna tiny specks, walking along the wall with Besancon in the background

Taking a rest in some shade

Admiring the way the river runs through the city,
making the Citadel an excellent natural defence

View from the Citadel

Can you see the head peaking out the tower?

Dad and Donna poking their heads out to look out into the city

Reverse view

Another view from the inside of the Citadel -
 the main courtyard (with a chapel on the right)

Dad

"Besancon is a very beautiful city surrounded by good-sized hills. The citadel took a while to climb but it was well worth the trip up there because you could see the whole layout of the town and surrounding country. Great place to live if you're organized – you've got an army... very strategic location, got a river, too. The sights were just awesome, beautiful beautiful beautiful. The town's pretty quaint, though I think I'd prefer to live outside the town more in the countryside. "
 
Donna

"I loved the citadel. I'd look at the top and think, eugh, Katie's already at the top... Got a little scared at the top, it was so far down... (Dad: Donna was afraid, haha). It was a breathtaking view. The big hill with the river and houses, it was so breathtaking, I just wanted to keep looking at it.

Of course, with you guys, it was just an enjoyable experience. To have Katie explain things to us really helped, and we can't speak French. To see where Katie's living was great, she made us dinner – the regions special cheese and sausage – really good."

And that's how the day ended - took the bus to my part of town, a bit outside of the scenic downtown area in a big, beige apartment building. I made them a very Franche-Comte (the name of the region) meal, and I got them back on the bus at the end of the night.

I still can't believe they're here!

Love from all!

Family in France! Day 7 - Lausanne, Switzerland

Today we took a day trip to Lausanne in Switzerland. Being one of the most visually impressive places we've visited, I will tell you about our day through pictures - woo hoo !

Our train to Lausanne has 2 stops, one being in the small town of Dole.
We had enough time to explore it's quaint streets (and get in our morning silliness)
before our next connecting train.
(Nevermind the Piercing store in the background....)

Dad and I in Dole

Back on the train, holding on to my bags for dear life
so as to avoid leaving them anywhere they shouldn't be.
Note Dad's Brussels hat.

"The best sandwich of the whole trip!" said Pipi.
Ham and butter and the regional cheese "Comte"

Enjoying the changing scenery on the way to Lausanne

One of the first things we saw in Lausanne was this man from LA
who comes here every year to tell people to "Slow Down" and "Take it easy"
on the streets. He said "I'm kinda famous around here."
He had just been interviewed for some local TV thing or another.

He gave out free stickers to put on your car as well as an air freshener,
which was an image of him and "Take it Easy" written on it.

See me? I've learned how to read maps excellently by this point!
... sorta.

Lausanne is a hilly city, as our legs found out. This is the view from the top(-ish)
where you can see the alps in the background.

Same shot with family!

Inside Switzerlands oldest cathedral. This panel of stained glass windows
tells the story of medeval man, which was explained in close-up images
around the church - very cool.

Inside the Cathedral of Lausanne - that organ has over 6000 pieces.

I went to the tourist office and asked,
 "So I heard there's a castle around here?"
 and she said no.
Well.
She was wrong.

Took a quick metro to the Lake Leman - at the Ouchy harbor.

The moment we'd all been waiting for - a close up of the French - Swiss alps.
You're looking at France!

On the edge of the lake.

We really just couldn't take it all in for a while.

Hey Dad!

Dad, Donna and I took a boat ride to Evian, France.
It lasted about 35 minutes each way,
and Dad and Donna stood in Evian !

View from the back of the boat - that's Lausanne!

Where the Swiss and French alps meet.

Dad taking in the view.

On the way back, had some tea and coffee.

Dad and Donna getting off the boat.

We did an amazing amount in the 5 or so hours we had in the city, without feeling rushed. We got in a great tour of the picturesque, hilly town, and walked through the parks near the harbor and went for a boat ride.

However, these next two photos show you the aftermath of adventure (on the train back now):

ZZZZZZzzzzzzZZZZzzzzz

We then had a 2 hour wait in Mouchard, which worked out perfectly as it was dinner time. We had an excellent meal of steak, salad and "fries" with an assortment of deserts and some beer and wine.

Love from all !