40 Dollars Later

Well, here we are in Cavaillon, France and I have my computer back with a normal keyboard. I still will probably make typos--just the nature of the beast. We took the computer to an expert this morning and found out that the IP address had been changed by the people in Spain at the monastery. They were trying to be helpful, but really weren't!! I felt lost without the connection to family and friends. So, now, feel free to email and comment on the blog.

After the monastery on Montserrat (which means serrated mountain), we traveled to Narbonne and throughly enjoyed our stay. On two different days we drove to the Mediterranian. The first one we walked the beach for awhile and did some shelling--I have some awesome shells for my collection. We then went to Grussan and had our lunch at the marina--kind of reminds us of the marina at Marigot on St. Maarten. Yesterday, Sunday, we drove to Carcassone to see the walled Medieval city. It was interesting, but definitely a tourist trap. All we paid was 5 Euros for parking--didn't look at anything else. We drove back to Narbonne and had our lunch in the park in the center of town. We also walked the canal where many boats are moored. Last night we drove back to Grussan beach and had dinner on the marina. All in all, a great day.

We were going to drive to Arles, France, today. But, we arrived there and Fifi just could not get us where we needed to go. She had us on on narrow streets with dead ends. We just decided to get out of town and head East. More tomorrow.

Computer Problems

Well, it has been an interesting two days; I,m now typing on a French keyboard.
We left the monastery yesterday morning with cold and rain; we drove to the Mediterrainian cannot spell it: The sun came out and it was a beautiful day; We didn,t know that it was a holiday--May Day--people everywhere: !followed small towns for awhile and then headed for France: We are now in Norbonne for a couple of days: Going to see some castles and the sea: weather is gorgeous:

I need to have my computer fixed on Mondqy: I can;t get it to recognize Explorer now: Help Jen? I am at an information office right now: Jim is trying to find parking: Busy place:

More hopefully on Monday))

Still on Montserrat

We will be leaving in the morning for the French Rivera. Still no pictures. We´ve taken over 100 already!! Today, we took another long walk and ate our lunch along the way. We bought a bottle of delicious gazpacho, made a peanut butter and jam bagette, and took water. Great lunch up on the mountain. The walk was to a spiritual grotto. Along the way were shrines depicting Jesus´ life and the Virgin Mary. Awesome. Tonight, we get organized in our packing. We have 3 suitcases, a laundry bag, cooler, book bag[all the travel books and maps}, and shopping bags with the coffee pot and food. We´ll have to find a storage locker when Ken and Linda join us in July because there won´t be room for them otherwise!!! The locker will work great. Guess that´s it for now.

Montserrat -- Spain

I tried to post yesterday, but my computer will not hook'up with the server here. So--there will be no pictures for a couple of days. I´m using a Spanish computer that has a different keyboard, so if their are typos, my apologies!!

We drove over the Pyrenee mountains yesterday--took us 3 hours. We drove through SNOW! Just imagine that! Thought we had avoided it this winter. The drive was spectacular, if not nerve racking. They drive like maniacs here. Fast. Jim did well. We were very glad to reach our destination. We have a small apartment for 3 nights at the abbey of the Monastery. We went to vespers last night in the Basilica to hear the Boy´s Choir sing--amazing. The church is absolutely beautiful. Probably the first of many.

We went on a long walk today around the mountain to see St. Michaels cross. It was uphill most of the way. Wonderful views--I took lots of pics, which I will post on Friday or Sat. when I can hook up my computer. We leave Friday for southern France and the Mediterranian Sea. Ç

I´ve been able to ¨talk¨ with two of my children using Skype--also, could see them!! Webcams are terrific. Plan on hooking up with all of them this weekend.

Very tired

Hi, all. Jim and I walked around Foix, France all morning. Stopped in the local cathedral for awhile since we missed church on Sunday. Very peaceful. Then we went grocery shopping, went back to the motel (very nice one) and had lunch. THEN, these old bones(Jim's, too) climbed 250 steps in a castle and 250 down. After that we went down 250 steps to a river cave for a ride in a boat and then climbed back up!!! We will sleep good tonight!!! I'll post pictures tomorrow. We're heading out to Barcelona, Spain where we are staying two nights at the Montserrat Monestary. More later.

Pictures and today's ride

We left Montabon this morning and drove through Toulouse--a mini Paris. Beautiful city with a huge outdoor market that went for several blocks (in the rain). Fifi came through once again and took us on all back roads--we're talking one lane, driveway type roads. Great scenery. Drove on a street that was suppose to be closed, but wasn't, and had probably 400 tractors lined up on both sides. People were giving us the evil eye because we were going in the wrong direction.

We are staying tonight in Foix (pronounced Fwah). It is located in the foothills of the Pyrenee mountains. Very old city and we are staying here two nights. Tomorrow we're going to see the Chateau De Foix. Attached are pictures from the last two days. We're behind on the budget, so we can only afford a single room--Jim gets the car.

Rain

We drove about 400 miles south yesterday(it is Sunday morning right now). We told Fifi(our GPS) to take us on back roads. And, boy, did she ever!! We were on one lane paved roads going up and around hills. Views were breathtaking. If it hadn't been raining, I would have taken pictures--there was just too much mist and fog. Looks about the same today. It's chilly, too. Probably in the 50's. We've scrapped going to St. Sebastain. Sorry, Jen. It was just too far from where we need to be on Tuesday. We regret that we won't be able to look-up Milette. Maybe next time???

Today we're headed further south, not sure where we'll stop--maybe in northern Spain. I'll try and post pictures tonight. Getting wireless internet to work is an experience. Each place has it's own code. This one was 26 characters long and you had to type it twice!! I'm still trying to get use to this keyboard--lots of typos!!

Au Voir for now!!!