Cool pics of Paris in the Spring

More pics of Paris on a beautiful spring day.

Eiffel Tower

Charles de Gaulle

Arc de Triomphe

Champs Elysees

French Open

We took one last quick trip into Paris. The weather was perfect for a stop at Roland Garros.


Still cold in late May!!


The crowds exiting after Blake's first round loss.

Giro d'Italia

The Giro d'Italia went through Biella on Friday morning. The Giro is the Italian equivalent of the Tour de France.

The start of the race, in front of the Esselunga.

Parade of sponsors.

You can't really see them, but the Italian alps are in the background. Here's a picture of Alex standing in one of the rice fields outside of Biella.

Biella

Alex's old team in Biella was in the first round of the playoffs against Vidi Vici Bologna, so we went to the game on Thursday night. No pictures of the game as this blog is basketball free. Alex had a great time catching up with old friends and also seeing a bunch of old teammates from both Biella and Bologna.

Milan

We stopped in Milan for some shopping and a visit with Alex's shoulder surgeons.

The Duomo is still under renovations, but they uncovered the top half. Look at how clean it is now. Looks brand new!!

AC Milan was playing Liverpool in the Champions League Finals. The AC fans started gathering in the Piazza in front of the Galleria early in the day. This picture was taken around 5 in the afternoon. The game did not begin until 9:00.

Final score: AC Milan 2, Liverpool 1. We heard fireworks and cars honking all night after AC's victory.

Tuscany

Montalcino
This is where Brunello is from, one of our most favorite wines.


View from the top of Montalcino.

Montepulciano
Vino Nobile, another awesome Italian red wine, is made here.


You can see Montepulciano on top of the hill in background. One of the very few pictures of Alex in this blog


View from the top of Montepulciano.


We got stuck in traffic on the way back to Florence. We were so happy to be in Tuscany with the beautiful views and warm sun that we actually enjoyed sitting in the car for an hour.

ITALIA

Our stay in Europe would not be complete without a trip to Italy, so we took the TGV from Paris to Milan.

Florence
We drove straight down to Florence as soon as we arrived.


The Duomo. Still beautiful and impressive.

Gorgeous afternoon in Tuscany. The sun was just beginning to set.

Ponte Vecchio. Bridge over the Arno lined with jewelry shops.

Lindsey & Naya

Two of Alex's teammates, Darnell and Brice, have the cutest little girls. Here are a couple of pictures.

Lindsey, 13 months.


Naya, 7 months.

Barcelona

We took a quick trip to Barcelona to celebrate Alex's 30th birthday. Awesome weather: the sun was out and the breeze from the ocean was nice and cool.

Les Rambles. A collection of streets in the heart of town with pedestrian walkways lined with shops, vendors, street performers and restaurants/cafes.

La Boqueria. Huge open air market along La Rambla with vendors selling all different types of food, cooked and uncooked. Delicious and cheap.

Temple de la Sagrada Familia. You can't hit any city in Europe without visiting at least one cathedral. Construction began on this cathedral in 1882, and it is still isn't finished.

One of the entrances to Sagrada Familia.

The transcept.

Olympic Harbor.

Passeig de Gracia. Main street lined with shops and businesses. Reminds us a bit of the Champs in Paris, but with better prices.

The building in the middle is called Casa Batllo, designed by Antoni Gaudi, the same man who designed Sagrada Familia. It was built from 1905-1907. The house on the left is called Casa Amatller, built from 1898-1900. These two very modern looking houses are part of the Block of discord along the Passeig de Gracia.

Bourgogne: Day 3

Clos de Vougeot

Sunday morning, we headed to the Chateau du Clos de Vougeot. It was built in the 12th century by monks who needed red wine for mass.


The chateau surrounded by its vineyards. The chateau does not run the vineyards, nor does it sell any wine on the premises any more.

Wine making barn on the right. Cellars on the left. The cellars are above ground because the limestone was too hard.

One of four massive wine presses in the wine making barn. Each press can hold four tons of grapes at a time.

Dijon

Our last stop was Dijon, the capital of Burgundy.


Palais de Ducs or Ducal Palace. It now houses the Fine Arts Museum.


St-Michel. Completed in the 17th century.


Notre-Dame. One of the oldest churches in Dijon, built in the 13th century.

Bourgogne: Day 2

Hotel-Dieu or Hospices de Beaune

After the Hundred Years' War, the town of Beaune suffered from poverty and famine. So the Duke of Burgundy founded a hospice for the poor in 1443 and endowed the hospice with saltworks and its own vineyards for its annual income. Today, the hospice owns 151 acres of vineyards, some of the finest in the region.

The Great Hall of the Poor. Both sides of this room are lined with beds and there is a chapel at the end of the hall so that the sick patients could attend church services from their bed.


Court of Honour. The roofs of the Hotel Dieu are covered with glazed multicolored tiles, typical of the Burgundy region. The well, in the back corner of the courtyard, provided water for the entire hospital. You can see the Bouzaise River flowing beneath.

Better view of the colorful, geometrical glazed roofs.

Marche aux Vins

There is a wine market across the street from the hospices, which allows you to tour their cellars and taste 15 different wines (3 white, 12 red) for only 10 euro.

Barrels lining the cellars of the wine market. I'm holding the souvenir tastevin in my left hand, and the list of wines in my right.

Autun

After the wine tasting, we drove to the town of Autun. The town was founded in the late 1st century B.C. and was originally called Augustodunum, the town of Augustus. There are still many Roman remains all around the city. As we drove around town, we saw signs for the Tour de France, since the Tour will be passing through Autun this summer.

Temple of Janus, right outside the town of Autun. Built by the Romans.

The Roman theatre, built in the 1st century A.D. It could sit 20,000 people.

Another view of the theatre.

Porte d'Arroux. Once part of the Roman wall built around Autun.

Bourgogne: Day 1

Beaune

We drove down to Burgundy (called Bourgogne in French) for Easter weekend. We stayed in Beaune, located in the center of Bourgogne. It was such a cute town, with lots of delicious food, fruit and gingerbread, a specialty of this region.

Sunny afternoon in Beaune

Along the Route des Grand Crus. This road is lined with vineyards.

Cannes

We spent the weekend in Cannes, visiting Alex's uncle, aunt and cousin. The sun came out on Sunday, so we went for a walk along the beach.

The mile-long promenade along the beach is called La Croisette.

Etretat with Kate

The weather wasn't that great during our friend Kate's visit, but it stopped raining for one day, so we headed up to Etretat.

We climbed up the other side of the cliffs to see the other side of the elephant. Even cooler view than before. There's a golf course up there too.

Paris on a Rainy Day

We spent the rest of the day in Paris after dropping off Sammy & Judith at the train station.

Alex in front of the Alexander III bridge.


Petit Palais. We wanted to go in and see the French painting and furniture exhibit, but the line was out the door due to the rain.

Sammy & Judith

Sammy & Judith came to visit us for the weekend. It was so nice to see them and catch up on their life in London.