The Green Adventures 2...

So, to continue our quest for more green in our lives, we spent Sunday on an Island off Cannes called St Honorat, the sister island to St Margarite which is right next to it.

No cars are allowed on the island so you can only get there by boat and then you explore by foot.  It's about a mile long and maybe a half mile wide and belongs to Monks.  They've owned it for like 500 years.  They, about 20-25 of them, live on the island in their big beautful Abbey and make lots of wine and liquors to sell.  My kind of Monks.  They make a few other things, but I don't see them as being quite as important. :)

The island is all rustic and natural and makes for a really lovely day of walking, playing in the water, or just having a picnic.  There's a restaurant and a snack shop if you don't want to picnic.  You take a ferry from the port of Cannes and in about 20 minutes you're there....

Leaving Cannes.

Being welcomed onto the island by a Monk.

Wine vines.

The Abbey.  You can actually stay there from what I understand.
I'm sure there are lots of rules about it. :)

Some lovely lavender, probably used in their soaps, outside the Abbey.
They have a store there under the arches where they sell lots of great things they make.
I got a small bottle of Mandadrin liquor, will let you know how it tastes.

Inside a 13th century castle ruins on the island.

On top of the castle.

The views from the top of the castle.

Some one made a cool sculpture.

All worn out and waiting for the ferry back. :)

This is definitely on our list for a return visit.  We can even bring Charlie!!

A Bit O'Fun...

Just a few fun bits of life in the South of France....

Moving day. (not mine)

This would actually be a great way to move in  NYC....this is how they move people rather than go up and down the narrow stairs.  And the INCREDIBLY small elevators aren't an option.

T's been learning to play chess with his dad.  Here he's passing on the info to E.

E was having a tea party.

Our new Sunday ritual.  Instead of pigging out on pastries everyday, I take Charlie on a long morning walk on Sunday to the best bakery, La Gache, and we indulge on the terrace.  Much better for the waistline!!

E's getting pretty good on her scooter.

This guy picks up the dog poopies left by naughty dog owners.  It's actually a ticketed offense to leave your poop behind, but they still employ someone to suck it up when you do!

All the colorful little boats are ready for summer fun.

This is the way a daddy at E's school brings his daughter.  She rides in the  basket!  I'd have the  picture to prove it but I was too shy to snap it.

Yes, that man's dog is riding on teh scooter with him!!  I wouldn't be surprised if they make helmets to fit the dogs in this country!

With the bright color of our car it's soooo easy to find it!  Can you?  Btw...aren't these Monaco garages clean?!?

I'm not so Sarbucks starved now that I've found Emilie's take-out.  They also have AWESOME cupcakes!

E tried mussels and liked them.  She's a pro now with pinching them out.

The restaurants are so dog friendly. :)

They actually have some one who goes around and cleans the traffic lights.  Do they do that anywhere else??

Almost everyday we see a cool old fashioned car.  Here's a super cool Bugatti parked next to us.

J rarely drinks beer, so when he ordered one and this is what he received we had a good laugh!  It's a Big Gulp!

T's order at the same cafe. :)

Our version of NYC's Naked Cowboy.  Certainly not as well built, and a bit of a nutter, but just as infamous in the Cours Saleya.  He adopts a band and dances in front of them as their "added attraction".  Not sure how much they like it, but he sure draws crowds.

Summer Solstice brought about the "Night of Music" with bands popping up ALL over Nice.  Our "Dancing Cowboy" adopted this band for the night.

Just some of the fun and funny here in Nice. :)

Germany...

We took a trip to Germany along the Bodensee, aka Lake Constance....

Our trip was concentrated along the coast where the Zeppelin in pictured.
If you figure the lake looks a fish, we hung out in his belly.

To get there we literally rode in a car, a plane, a train, and then a boat all in the same day.

We went to visit one of my expat friends and her son who left Nice and returned to her hometown for a short stay before heading to a new job in the USA.  From Nice to upper Minnesota!!  Poor girl.  All I can say is Brrrrrrrr!

We invite you to take the trip with us through the pictures and fall in love with Germany along the Bodensee....

The travel day:

Plane...

Train...

Ferry...

Off we go...

Landing in Friedrichshafen.

Home of the Zeppelin.  You can actually ride in it, the real one, for about 250-300 euros. :)

Driving to Fischbach where we stayed...

Wine making Monks.  Love that!

Our hotel, the Traube-am-See, was super relaxing, a short walk to the lake, and had a great yard for the kids to play:

               

Right down the road from our hotel is the lake and a lovely beer garden:

During our stay we took a drive to a beautiful church in Birnau:   Basilika Birnau

                 

A ferry to the island of flowers:   Insel Mainau

                   

They even had an awesome play park for the kids...

Drove over to Austria and rode a cable-car to the top of the mountain to see a bird show:  Pfander

                

The views up here are pretty awesome!

 

Ready to see some big birds of prey...

A friendly vulture???

This owl flew so close to my head his wing tousled my hair!!

A slightly rainy and tired ride back down...

Visited the old town of Meersburg:

Meersburg...

 Had a pre-show dinner on the lake and saw the Ballet in Friedrichshafen:

 Took a drive to Monkey Mountain:

If the monkey is on the fence you can feed him some popcorn...

The kids loved it... ok, me too!

and another day a "feeding zoo":

Our hotel was so lovely.  The owner, who has since retired from running it (now his son and daughter run the show) will occassionaly give horse and carriage rides through the counrtyside.  It happened to be our lucky day...we got one all to ourselves:

Our horse and carriage ride through the countryside in Fischbach...

These buildings on our Right and Left are the hotel.

 

For our last night, we headed back for a quick peak at Zurich:

From the ferry to the train once again...

The Old Town of Zurich... 

The tram from the city can take you all the
way to the airport.  Super fun!

Zurich airport and home to Nice.

We had a great time visiting our friends and seeing their part of the world.  The German people are lovely, the environment is lovely, the beer is tasty, and the food delicious.  We'll definitely return!!

Until next time....thanks for coming along!!