The Talking Suitcase

Cruise & Curated Travel Specialist

Weekend at the Gorges du Verdon – Exploring the Grand Canyon of France

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Weekdn at the Gorges du Verdon

Sometimes it’s nice to leave the city and sea behind and escape to the mountains for a bit of R&R. When researching where to get away for the weekend, we kept coming across gorgeous photos of Les Gorges du Verdon in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence region of France. Factor in that I could also check off a bucket list item – visiting the lavender fields, we jumped at the opportunity for a trip in mid-June.

The Gorges du Verdon or Verdon Gorge is about 25 kilometers (15.5 miles) long and up to 700 meters (2296.59 feet) deep. At the end of the canyon, the Verdon River flows into the man-made lake, the Lac de Sainte-Croix. The gorgeous turquoise-green color just begs you to take a dip in its clear waters.

Visitors can take a leisurely drive around the rim of the Verdon Gorge, hike, rent kayaks & even rock climb the massive limestone walls. It’s a nature lovers dream trip just a couple of hours from the French Riviera.

Here is a look at our itinerary plus a few tips to make your trip a success.

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Scenic Train Journey from Nice – A Day in Tende & La Brigue

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Scenic Train Journey from Nice

If you’re looking to get away from the hustle and bustle of Nice, jump on the Train des Merveilles for a scenic ride through the French Alps to the medieval village of Tende.  The village is located within the Mercantour National Park, about a 2 hour train journey from Nice, France.

Taking the scenic Train des Merveilles is a great way to experience the beauty of rural France. The train is comfortable and air-conditioned, a huge plus with summer train travel in Europe!

Get free commentary in English and French daily from June to September. Commentary is available on weekends during May and October as well.   We found the tour fascinating and learned a lot about the engineering feat which created the 100km (62 mi) railway in the 1800’s.  Cross over 100 bridges and viaducts and countless tunnels as the railway moves from sea level through altitudes up to 1000m (3281 ft) .

Railway Bridges in Tende

The kids also liked checking out  the villages, the river and experiencing the dizzying heights of the bridges as we made the journey. Children are expected to be quiet during the rides as to not disturb others, so if you’re traveling with them, you may want to try and find a compartment without other travelers or skip the last three cars and just enjoy the ride.

The Train des Merveilles makes three daily runs from Nice to Tende. You MUST pay careful attention to the timetables. You don’t want to make an unplanned overnight stay in one of the villages because you missed the train! If you forgot to pick up a timetable at the train station, pick one up at the tourism office. It might even be wise to ask them to mark the return times. I found the sheet to be a bit difficult to read.

Taking the 9:23 am train from Nice (arriving in Tende at 11:24am) and returning on the 2:47pm train will give you three good hours for exploration. This is plenty of time to see the village. You could also jump back on the train and stop at another village along the way back to Nice, paying attention to the schedule of that last train departure from Tende!

What to See in Tende:

Tende, a part of Italy from 1861 to 1947, was the last commune to join the French Republic in 1947. The mountainous village is bordered by Italy to the north and is located on what was once an important salt trade route between France and Italy.

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Best Places to Eat in Dublin – Who Eats Dinner at the Pub?

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Best Places to Eat in Dublin - The Old Storehouse

I’d never thought of Dublin as a city for foodies, but we enjoyed fantastic food the entire trip! Granted, it’s a lot of meat, potatoes and seafood but that’s what, in my opinion, made it so great! And because it was so unexpectedly good,  I felt had to share our picks for the best places to eat in Dublin.  It wasn’t an article I had intended to write, but I hope it’s helpful to those planning a trip to Ireland’s capital city.

We visited during the perfect time of year, for food that is. Salmon fishing season was in full swing, so we enjoyed tons of wild Atlantic salmon for a fairly reasonable price.  I ate seafood chowder at least once per day the entire week we were there!  That might not have been good for my waistline, but it was worth it!

To help us decide where we wanted to eat, Derrick did extensive research on Dublin restaurant reviews. We were looking for places that were relatively inexpensive, served traditional Irish meals and were within walking distance to our apartment in the Temple Bar area or close to the  major attractions that we might visit.

Did you know that the best restaurants in Dublin tend to be bars? Before my visit to Ireland, I would have said you were crazy if you told me the best place to eat was at the local pub.  And I was put off by the thought of having to take my  kids into a bar.  But the bars had some of the best food and it seems you couldn’t go wrong by popping into the local pub for dinner and conveniently, you can pair it with a pint!

Please forgive us for our bad phone pictures.  They were never intended for others to see 🙂

Best Places to Eat in Dublin:

 

The Old Storehouse Bar & Restaurant – Traditional Irish
3 Crown Alley in Temple Bar area
www.theoldstorehouse.ie

Some of the best pub food in Dublin was, hands down, found at The Old Storehouse. Not only is the restaurant located in a cool historical building (you guessed right -the old storehouse), but the food is fantastic.  We ended up eating there multiple times.  I don’t usually eat at the same place twice, but it was just that good.

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Top 5 Things to Do in Marseille with Kids

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Things to Do in Marseille

During the kids recent school holiday, we jumped on the train from Nice to Marseille, leaving Wednesday afternoon and arriving back in Nice on Friday afternoon. We chose to take the local TER train although there is also a high speed TGV making the same trip. The ride is about 2.5 hours for both trains and because there was no real advantage to speed, we decided to save a few euros with the TER.

We had less than 2 days in the city, but we were able to check off all items on the “things to do in Marseille” list with the exception of one. We ran out of time to visit the Parc National des Calanques. If you have the time, I’d advise adding this to your itinerary.

In all honesty, Marseille wasn’t my favorite city on the French Riviera to visit with kids. It seemed to be better suited to those looking to enjoy the nightlife. That said, I’m glad we made the journey to see the third largest city in France.  We all loved visiting Chateau d’If and the Notre Dame especially.

Things to Do in Marseille with Kids:

Chateau d'If

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Discovering Tulips in Holland – The Beauty of Keukenhof Gardens

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Keukenhof tulip gardens

No visit to Amsterdam in the springtime is complete without spending time at Keukenhof Holland, the most beautiful spring garden in the world – with millions of tulips, hyacinths, daffodils and more filled the garden with avalanches of colors. I can’t remember ever exploring a garden that overwhelmed my senses like Keukenhof.

Keukenhof Holland with Kids

From the moment we entered Keukenhof gardens, we were awestruck by the vast beauty of the land and the myriad of tantalizing fragrances. The dreamworld of bright colors surrounded us as our noses led us from one display to the next.

An interesting feature of Keukenhof tulip gardens is that the bulbs are provided by almost 100 Royal Suppliers. There are signs near each bed listing the bulb suppliers information. If you like the product, you could place an order straight from the source.  It’s probably a good thing I don’t live in the Netherlands or I would have left with a bill for a bag of bulbs (say that five times fast)!  A garden designer works with the suppliers annually to create a special design for each company.  It’s an intriguing partnership between the supplier and Keukenhof.

Keukenhof Holland History:

Where Does Tulip come from

The name Keukenhof means “kitchen garden” and dates back to the 15th century. Countess Jacqueline of Bavaria would gather fruits and vegetables from the surrounding woods for the kitchen of Teylingen Castle. In 1641, Keukenhof Castle was built, with the estate expanding to over 200 hectares. Then in 1949, a group of flower bulb exporters and workers decided to make the estate a permanent exhibition to showcase the spring flowering bulbs. Keukenhof has since grown into a world famous attraction.

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