Cindy's Spain/France/Switzerland adventure 2026

Day 31-32, June 27-28 We’re in the chateau apartment with no way to leave to go anywhere, so we rested because it was still friggin’ hot. The humidity subsided a little on our last day – Sunday, June 28, so we ambled over the bridge to the lakeshore where there was a nice breeze and some shade. We purchased a VPN so we could splurge The Bear series. We started watching The Testament of Anna Lee, a film about the founder of the Shaker movement. We watched only about half of it, as it was a little weird regardless of what reviewers determined. Roger Ebert gave it 3 stars out of 4: “It is most certainly an expert display of craft: the script is generally nimble, the visuals are stunning, and the choreography is moving. But it is bloated in history and starving for persona.” So say, Roger Ebert.                                                 ...

 Day 28 – Geneva to chateau on Lake Geneva We made it to our air-conditioned hotel in Geneva last night. Rested for a while, then trudged down to the “restaurant” in the hotel. No one was around – no bartender, nobody, so we searched out someone who could give us a beer and wine. Finished it off and moved to the “restaurant.” Service is not a thing here. Took a while to get someone to notice us (even though we were the only ones in the “restaurant”), but she finally took our order for a pizza (the cheapest thing on the menu at $18, which is about $23 US. It’s expensive here. Visited briefly with a guy in the bar who works for the UN. Couldn’t understand half of what he said, but he was a friendly chap. Back to our room to watch the first quarter of a basketball game before we called it a night. We were very comfortable – it was air conditioned. The beds were very narrow – kind of like lying on a funeral pyre, but okay. Day 29 – travel day, Geneva to Lugrin Downstairs this morning t...

Our last day in Bordeaux, we got up earlier than usual in order to get to the train station to catch our 12:03 train to Arcachon. The train station was a little bit confusing, but with the help of an English-speaker, we navigated it successfully and got on the right train at the right time. We each have a global Eurail pass that lets us do 7 travel days within the month, so I struggled somewhat with completing the task of getting a ticket on my phone before we boarded. The train ride was about 55 minutes, and no one ever asked for my ticket.  We left the train and trundled over to our Airbnb, which is on the beach and a really nice location. The day was cloudy and cool – probably about 80 degrees. We couldn’t check in until 3 pm so we stopped by the Aldi we spotted on our way to the Airbnb, bought sandwiches again and blissfully ate on the seashore and waited. Finally, about 2:30 pm, we checked into the Airbnb, unloaded our luggage and returned to Aldi to buy food for the next seve...

June 16  We had breakfast on the boat Tuesday, June 16, then disembarked around 9 am.  We schlepped our luggage – we each have one carry-on, a personal item and I have my CPAP - plus we found these neck pillows that we can stuff with underwear and t-shirts – into Esplanade des Quinconces where our hotel is located. It wasn’t far, but my hip thing slowed us down. Didn’t make any difference, we couldn’t check in to the hotel until 2 pm, but we stored our luggage and went exploring. The Place des Quinconces is among the largest city squares in Europe. It was laid out in 1820 on the site of Chateau Trompette and was intended to prevent rebellion against the city. Its guns were turned toward the center. Its current shape (a lengthened rectangle rounded off with a semicircle) was adopted in 1816. Trees were planted (in quincunxes, hence the name of the square) in 1818. With the installation of a tram system in 2003, the place has become the most important public transport hub of the...