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2004 France, Spain & Portugal Trip

My husband and I will be travelling to Europe in Sept-Oct 2004. I've been planning this 5 week holiday for the past few years and it's finally here! In the next few months, I'll be asking all of you for your advice on the schedule, activities and transportation details. I've learned so much from everyone on this site to help me plan the details.

France

We'll be leaving Toronto in early September and spend 5 days in Paris. My penpal from England (we've been writing to each other since we were 11 years old!) will meet us there and visit with us as we see the sights in Paris. I'm really excited to see the Eiffel Tower for the first time.

Then my husband and I will say goodbye to Melanie and head off to Versailles. After seeing the Chateau, we'll rent a car to go to the village Saulx Marchais to visit the Lemoine family, who my husband stayed with in 1971 when he was there as a teenager. We're looking forward to spending some time with a French family in their own home. That's the best part of travelling I think....actually visiting people in their own surroundings and seeing how people live in other countries.

We plan to take the TGV from Paris to Bordeaux and see the city. We'll rent a car for 5 days to see the countryside of our ancestors. After some research, my family (Charlebois) roots are in the village of Saint-André-du-Bois (near Langon) and my husband's (Cayer) are in the village of Migron (near Saintes). So we will spend a few days imagining how our ancestors lived in the 1600's before they came to Canada to start a new life. We will also visit Saint Emilion, Libourne, Cognac and Saintes. We plan to stay in bed and breakfast places along the way....again to experience life with people who live in France.

Spain

We'll arrive from Bordeaux to Madrid and see the sights. We'll go overnight to see the aquaduct in Segovia and then take the AVE train to Sevilla. I can't wait to see Sevilla...I've always had an interest in flamenco and the Spanish way of life.

Then off to Granada to see the Alhambra. We'll spend a couple of days in Costa del Sol (probably Nerja...hopefully not as touristy as the other cities) and then inland to Ronda.

Portugal

I still haven't figured out how to get from Spain to Portugal but we'll probably go back to Sevilla and get to the Algarve. Friends have told us of a place in Portimao where we plan to spend 5 days of rest and relaxation over the Portuguese Republic holiday. Then we'll travel to Lisbon. We plan to spend some time in Sintra (to see the castles) and Caiscais. We'll fly home to Toronto from Lisbon.

So as you can see, we'll be busy travelling from place to place in the fall. We hope to travel overseas more often in the years to come. We've spent time visiting many parts of Canada but it's time now to go further afield. I already have plans to go to Austria, Germany and Switzerland and my husband would like to see Japan.

Hope to share these trips with you in the months and years to come!

Intro Updated Jan 1, 2004
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Comments (8)

Babcia Jul 8, 2004 at 9:00 AM Report Abuse

Happy Birthday from western Canada!!! May all your travel dreams come true!!!
grets Jul 8, 2004 at 7:47 AM Report Abuse

A very happy birthday to you and may all your wishes come true
evona Jul 8, 2004 at 7:15 AM Report Abuse

Hi! Happy birthday to you! Greetings from Poland :)
margaretvn Jul 8, 2004 at 4:53 AM Report Abuse

sounds like a good trip you have planned. - and a happy birthday
Waalewiener Jul 7, 2004 at 9:10 PM Report Abuse

Josee & Hubert ,your itinerary to Spain & France looks fantastic ,it will be an awsome trip for you with lots of time to do it 3 of our favorite countries France ,Spain & Portugal. September is only two months away ,it will go fast.Happy Birthday Josee.
dsantosh Jul 7, 2004 at 9:00 PM Report Abuse

Josee, many many happy returns of the day. Wishing you a happy birthday and great travels in future. Greetings from India.
fossettes Jan 22, 2004 at 2:23 PM Report Abuse

Hi Josee...thanks for visiting my Paris page! I really need to do some work on it...I'll get busy on that! Have a great time in Europe this fall...Kelly Anne
ettenaj Jan 1, 2004 at 2:17 PM Report Abuse

Look forward to seeing your pages, sounds fascinating