Arrival in the Poconos

The Burke Clan arrived in Lake Harmony PA on December 26, 2008 one day before the 50th Anniversary of the matriarch and patriarch of the clan, Peggy and Dave. The group inlcuded Penny, Kevin, Erin, Sean, Geoff, Rhea, Brenna, Gavin, Logan and Aunt Donna , otherwise known as GRAD and Liam (Gavin's friend and honorary Burke). Most of the group arrived in a quick hour and a half from Jersey and then took two hours to unload the car while the last group arrived from PA an hour later.

Day 7 – Nice

Penny, Patti and Ron headed out for the last trip to Le Champion for more wine and bread. Yvonne searched for some lost jewelry which was later found in Ron’s bag. After we once again piled into the van, we were off to Nice. The weather was beautiful and we were ready to walk after being in the van so long the last two days.
We drove straight into the city with no problems. Do you believe that? Of course we had some minor problems but did eventually find parking at the harbor.. We climbed over 400 steps to the park atop the city and enjoyed the amazing views and then back down and into the old town for shopping and lunch.at an outdoor café.
While walking the city we discovered there were lots of police and secret service looking people everywherearound and then we came upon an area completely blocked off. As it turns out they were having the annual EU- France Russia summit talks there that day, hosted by France in the warmth of the Cote d’Azur...
One mission we had that day was to find some posters, but and none were found so we drove back to the old village of Mougins where we knew where they could be purchased. Back at the condo our last evening repast was lasagna, bread, cheese and wine and our last game of Mexican Train. Up early the last morning for a 6:45 flight out.

Day 6 – Pisa

We had breakfast in the hotel where we all made some sandwiches out of bread, ham and cheese for the road. On our way to Pisa, we stopped at a walled city, Monteriggione. You could really imagine what life would have been like living rustically inside the castle walls long ago. The only bad part was the rain.

By the time we reached Pisa, the sun was breaking through and the rain had stopped. We found parking very close to the entrance gates and we began our tour of the Duomo, the leaning tower (campanile)tour, and Baptisry. We also perused the street vendors on our way out and Patti got scolded by one very mean lady because she had a an gelato in one handhad and was looking at t-shirts. One of them got an F.
Back to the van for our very long ride back home to Mougins. We got so close with no problem but prolem and then we made a wrong right turn off a round about. Let me say this turn let us tour every inch of the area surrounding Mougins without ever entering either the new or old city. After about 20 minutes we were laughing so hard we were crying. Patti spotted the steeple atop the old church in the old town and we headed for that and finally found our condo. Got another F! Dinner that night was fluffy omelets and left over soup and bread. No game tonight as everyone was too tired.

Day 5 – Italy!

“Time to wake up” were the first words we heard early that Wednesday morning around 5:30 am. We had a long drive ahead of us down to Pisa and Siena. This would have been a beautiful scenic drive except for the fact that it was raining and there had to be over 200 tunnels! As we neared Pisa and it was still raining we decided to alter our trip plan and head straight for SienaSienna and hopefully some better weather and see Pisa on our way home the next day. Dave found a short cut to Sienna on the map but got an F in navigation once we were embroiled in the small towns and traffic and waiting for two trains.
We located the Garden Hotel, checked in, and headed into the old town around 3 PM.. What an amazing city! The buildings were four and five stories tall and the cobbled streets were wide. The vendors and shop owners had everything you could imagine. Our first stop was the Piazza del Campo Publico where they run horse races every year (the Palio).. This was thethat largest piazza I have ever seen and on at one sideend was the Palazzo Publico (or Town Hall) which held the famous Globe room featuring the BVM surrounded by saints, and the even more famous Hall of Peace, with the fresco (1337) depicting the ‘Effects of Good and bad Government.’ The bell tower was 286 ft high. .
We then toured the lustrous Duomo with its alternating stripes of black and white marble, and ate a wonderful dinner back at the Piazza del Campo.piazza. Peggy and Penny had potato gnocci, Dave had mushroom and rice, and Patti, Yvonne and Ron had pizza. The dinner was topped off with yummy dessert for all then back to the hotel and sleep.

Day 4 – Cannes and the search for Picasso

After breakfast on Tuesday, we drove into Cannes, parked at the Palais de Festivals and began our walk on the croisette. We walked from one end to the other enjoying the sand sculptures, vendors, and other tourists. On the return we spotted the castle on top of the hill and voted to hike up and see what it was like. Of course being Armistice Day, it was closed. We did stay long enough to take some photos and catch our breath. On the way back down into the city we stopped at some shops looking for more treasures.
The next stop was the Musee de Picasso. We had a vague, and let me emphasize that word, idea of where this was located. We headed off in the direction of Antibes. The museum was supposed to be located just outside the city according to our maps and as we entered Antibes we had not yet spotted it so we quickly (not really) turned around and headed back to Vallauris (where our map had a mark) and parked in a visitor lot and began our walk up to the city. We were lucky enough to spot a board listing the various museums in the city but none said Musee de Picasso so we walked back to the car. On the way spotted some other people on their way up to the city and asked them if they knew the way, “yes, yes” they replied. What joy! Back up the hill we went but when they spotted the board they realized they were thinking of something else and were wrong. Back down the hill and this time into the van. Got an F!
We decided at this point to just go and tour Antibes. To our amazement upon entering the city there was a sign for, you guessed it, the Musee de Picasso. Would we now find it? Could it be that easy? If you have been following our story you know that the answer is NO! The parking lot attendant told us to head to the port and we would find it. Really? Allo! We headed to the port and instead of following directions posted on various street signs we kept towards the port putting us a bit out of the way. However, we did in the end find the museum, paid admission, and took the tour. Believe it or not, we had no problem finding our way back to the parking lot and our van, but again got a bit twisted up on the return to the condo.
We finished up the evening by completing the Mexican Train game that was started the first night and Penny won with an incredible score of 162!

Looking towards the castle on the hill.

Sand art

A view from the castle

Day 3 – Grasse and Route de Napoleon

Today was a leisure day in the fact that we could all sleep in a bit and were in no rush to go anywhere. Peggy, Dave and Ron made a quick run to Le Champion, the local grocery, for more bread and wine (we did drink a lot). After their return we again piled into the van and headed for Grasse and the perfume factory.
Arriving in Grasse, we had a semi difficult time maneuvering round the round abouts and finding our exit. We pressed on and eventually found the new Fragonard perfume factory just as they were closing for lunch. The very kind receptionist gave us a personal “quickie” tour and deposited us in the retail shop where we promptly spent too much money.
Next it was time to walk the city and find some lunch. Grasse had some beautiful views as it was up higher in the mountains and some quaint shops. We stopped for lunch and enjoyed pizza, croque monsieur, and chocolate crepes for dessert. After lunch, Dave took us on a tour of the Route de Napoleon. This led us high up the mountain (not my favorite thing especially with Speed Racer at the wheel). We stopped at a parking area near the top and screamed “Stop” when we thought Ron was too close to the edge but he was actually five feet away! We took some photos of the hazy scenes below and headed back down and home, or so we thought. It took us quite a while to get out of Grasse. We made several wrong choices on the round about (nothing new for this group now) but eventually did make it back. The entire group got an F for navigation.
That evening we enjoyed a delicious dinner of lentil soup, bread, cheese and of course more wine. Peggy brought a puzzle that was to last several days but was finished that evening.

Day 2, Sunday - Eze, Monte Carlo, Menton

Day 2, Sunday Our first adventure Sunday morning was trying to get to Eze via Nice. As we entered Nice we noticed streets blocked off and we had to scramble to get back to the A8 and make an alternate plan. It turns out that there was a bike race in the city that morning. Our driving drama of the day should have predicted our future in the van. We did make it back to the A8 and after a few tolls, where we were desperately looking for the coin basket or a person, we made it to Eze. We found a great free parking lot just below the old city and toured Eze for the rest of the morning. Small shops and “streets” were amazing in this town high above the Mediterranean Sea. Lots of treasures were bought including some yummy licorice. We had packed our lunch that day and ate it in the parking lot and back of the van. Next stop….Monte Carlo!Ron made some tight turns to get us into the underground parking in Monte Carlo and once we surfaced we were all amazed at the beauty of the buildings and casino/opera house and of course all the expensive cars! Patti and Yvonne played the slots and lost 5E each, let’s call it a donation. After walking around the town we were off again, this time to Menton, the last city in France before crossing over into Italy. In Menton, Dave wanted to take us to see the Basilica St. Michael. Our walk to St. Michaels was described later that evening as 50 miles uphill on our knees. We did reach the beautiful church, enjoyed the view and took some fantastic pictures. What a great city!Dinner that night was quiche and salad, bread and wine. We played a card game, Golf, that Ron introduced us to and Dave won with a score of -1 (although he insisted that he had no idea of what he was doing!)

Basilica St. Michael, Menton

Penny's new car?


Casino/Opera House in Monte Carlo

Lunch at Eze

Peggy and Dave at Eze

First Day continued

After our much needed siesta we piled back into the van and headed for Le Champion, the local grocery store, for the weeks supplies. Our next excursion that evening took us to the small medieval village of Mougins which was located just above our condo. Most of the shops were closed when we got there but the small streets were awe inspiring indeed with all the door knockers and flowers. Back at the condo it was Leek soup, salad, bread and wine (which we realized after that night we did not buy nearly enough wine!) and a game of Mexican Train.

Leaving for France - Nov. 7, 2008

It was an early day for most of us as we headed to various airports. Peggy and Dave via train to JFK, Yvonne and Ron drove to Columbus and Penny and Patti drove to the local Myrtle Beach airport where they began their four flights to France. Everyone met up at JFK in the Presidents club thanks to Peggy. The flight over was uneventful and lots of room on the plane to stretch out. After landing in Lyon we hopped on our last flight to Nice, rented a van complete with jump seat in the back for our sixth passenger, and drove to our condo. The directions were great and we were able to find our condo easily (this will be the only time this happened) checked in and everyone went directly to bed!