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AUSTRALIA | Sun, 22 Jun 2025 | By countryboy | Views [28822] | Comments [2]
Welcome back. Nice not to be dead, isn’t it? I’m here. You’re here. This is good.
It’s been a while.
A looooong while.
First up, apologies if the ‘dead’ comment was triggering. Did we even have the word ‘... Read more >
Tags: ai, artificial intelligence, checking in, hi, substack, writing
AUSTRALIA | Wed, 23 Jul 2025 | By countryboy | Views [28479]
Right. Where were we?
I alerted everyone to the world-altering news that I had written a parody of a certain tally-ho pilot from last century and that I was starting to post it – in chapters – on a thing called Substack.
Then my 87-... Read more >
Tags: delay, femur, goggles, hospitals, parent, rehab
FRANCE | Thu, 23 Oct 2025 | By graynomadsusa | Views [74]
When we began our travels a couple of decades ago, we had to rely on guidebooks like “Lonely Planet” and Rick Steves. Now the internet is chock-a-block with tips and destinations for independent travelers. Much of it is shamelessly ... Read more >
FRANCE | Fri, 31 Oct 2025 | By graynomadsusa | Views [66]
Whether to visit Chambord or Chenonceau, that was the question. Both were top picks on Rick Steves’ recommended list. Château de Chenonceau was described as the “toast of the Loire.” On the other hand, Château Chambord ... Read more >
FRANCE | Fri, 24 Oct 2025 | By graynomadsusa | Views [61]
Rochefort-en-Terre may not be THE most beautiful village in France as it claims, but it is on the official list of “Les Plus Beaux Villages de France.” And it’s only ten kilometers from our cottage.
Rochefort ... Read more >
FRANCE | Thu, 30 Oct 2025 | By graynomadsusa | Views [59]
Though he is not as well-known as the Brothers Grimm, Charles Perrault’s “Tales of Times Past,” was probably the first fairytale. And if one believes the story, the castle in “Sleeping Beauty” was inspired by Chateau d’... Read more >
FRANCE | Wed, 5 Nov 2025 | By graynomadsusa | Views [59]
Bordeaux and wine have been an item since Roman times but after Bordeaux wine was served at the wedding of Henry Plantagenet, future King Henry II, and Eleanor of Aquitaine it became the plonk of royalty. When Richard the Lionhearted proclaimed it his ... Read more >
UNITED KINGDOM | Tue, 25 Nov 2025 | By graynomadsusa | Views [59]
The Eurostar “Chunnel” train from Paris to London may cost a bit more than flying but it is much more civilized. We cleared both EU and UK immigration at Gare du Lyon in Paris, carried our own luggage onto the train and were in London in ... Read more >
FRANCE | Wed, 22 Oct 2025 | By graynomadsusa | Views [56]
Saint-Congard is less than an hour from Josselin but as the French say, “Vivre la difference.” Our AirBnB is in a four-hundred year old farmhouse, 20 minutes from the nearest grocery store. Michel and Blandine met us at the door, speaking ... Read more >
UNITED KINGDOM | Wed, 26 Nov 2025 | By graynomadsusa | Views [54]
The temperature was forecast to never get much above freezing so we bundled up for the walk to Earl’s Court Underground station. Thirty minutes later we were at Russell Square with only a short walk to the British Museum.
The Museum ... Read more >
FRANCE | Sat, 1 Nov 2025 | By graynomadsusa | Views [53]
Even with the wipers swishing on a dreary day like today, we needed a good imagination to picture Saint-Benôit-du-Sault as one of “Les Plus Beaux Villages de France.” The medieval village lies just about halfway between Saint-... Read more >
FRANCE | Sun, 26 Oct 2025 | By graynomadsusa | Views [53]
Chinon is on the Vienne, a tributary of the Loire, but it makes a good base to see some of the chateaux and quaint villages long the “Valley of 1000 Chateaux.” The actual number of castles along the Loire is closer to three hundred, and not ... Read more >
FRANCE | Sun, 19 Oct 2025 | By graynomadsusa | Views [53]
Rennes, where we will spend the next couple of days, is only an hour from Saint-Malo but since check-in isn’t until five o’clock we decided to visit Mont Saint-Michel and the medieval town of Dinan, best known for it’s half-timbered ... Read more >
FRANCE | Thu, 13 Nov 2025 | By graynomadsusa | Views [49]
Around 910, William I, Duke of Aquitaine “The Pious” founded the Benedictine Abbey of Cluny with the “no strings” donation of his hunting preserve. The monastery would be free from any future obligations to him and his ... Read more >
FRANCE | Wed, 15 Oct 2025 | By graynomadsusa | Views [48]
The hotel provided a shuttle service that would drop us at the Arc de Triomphe at noon with a promise to return at 6 PM. It’s Autumn in Paris, cool and slightly overcast, and we thought it would be the ideal day for for a stroll along the famed ... Read more >
FRANCE | Thu, 6 Nov 2025 | By graynomadsusa | Views [47]
Our favorite artists are the Impressionists—Monet, Renoir, Degas and that crowd—who developed a new way of not only painting, but of looking at the world. The real pioneers of art, however, were the Cro-Magnon painters whose canvases were ... Read more >
FRANCE | Mon, 3 Nov 2025 | By graynomadsusa | Views [47]
I guess Bordeaux could be considered part of our Grand Tour visitation with friends and family. Chris and Rose will be joining us for a week or so and they certainly qualify as friends. We met when we were all working in Uganda, we stayed at their home ... Read more >
FRANCE | Sat, 18 Oct 2025 | By graynomadsusa | Views [46]
It was still dark when “HSC Tarifa Jet,” left Saint Malo for Jersey in the Channel Islands and made the 66 kilometer crossing in just over two hours. With the time difference—Jersey is on London time, an hour behind France—we ... Read more >
FRANCE | Fri, 7 Nov 2025 | By graynomadsusa | Views [44]
After sitting on the street for four days, our rental car is getting a workout. We packed a picnic lunch and headed north up the Medoc Peninsula to Verdon-sur-Mer, not for the wines but to visit the site of an obscure military operation from World War ... Read more >
FRANCE | Sun, 9 Nov 2025 | By graynomadsusa | Views [43]
We didn’t realize that this was a holiday weekend, Veterans’ Day in the States. They still call it Armistice Day in France, the anniversary of the end of the “War to End All Wars.” If only!
You probably have heard ... Read more >
FRANCE | Tue, 14 Oct 2025 | By graynomadsusa | Views [41]
Connie’s luggage was the first one on the baggage carousel from our connecting flight from Milan to Paris; mine followed shortly. Whew! Then we had a long hike around Charles de Gaul airport trying to locate the shuttle bus to our hotel. We’... Read more >
FRANCE | Wed, 12 Nov 2025 | By graynomadsusa | Views [40]
Lyon was a welcome chance to decompress after our hectic time in Bordeaux. It was also about halfway to Strasbourg where we will stay for a while. We had pretty much covered Lyon from top to bottom—literally—on our visit ten years ... Read more >
FRANCE | Sun, 16 Nov 2025 | By graynomadsusa | Views [29]
I had almost forgotten our 2015 “drive by” visit to Citadel in Besançon. This time we’ll stay for a few days, if only to break up the six-hour drive from Lyon to Strasbourg. Traffic and parking being what they are, we decided ... Read more >
FRANCE | Wed, 8 Oct 2025 | By graynomadsusa | Views [28]
When we visited Naples in 2012, I wrote in my blog:
“Naples is the most densely populated—and supposedly one of the most corrupt—cities in Europe. The guidebooks post warnings, fellow travelers spin tales of woe and even the public ... Read more >
ITALY | Sun, 5 Oct 2025 | By graynomadsusa | Views [25]
Two other cruise ships were already in port when we arrived in Catania, another late substitution by Celebrity. Catania is more of a jumping-off point for Mt. Etna than a destination but the Mt. Etna tours had already departed by the time “Constellation”... Read more >