Travel notes

The commune of Les Baux-de-Provence is located in the South-East of France, in the region of the same name Provence (which itself is part of the larger region, called Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur). It’s a member of the Association of the most beautiful villages of France.   The history of this small settlement, nevertheless, is marked by famous names and events. The rock Le-Baux, on which the old castle is located, and below the village, was inhabited even during the time of the Celts. During the Middle Ages, representatives of the aristocratic family de Baux erected a fortified citadel here, from where they tried to spread their influence on all Provence. The feudal house of Les Baux remained one of the main participants in the historical events of Provence until its joining to the royal domain. At the end of the Huguenot rebellion in 1632, сardinal Richelieu, who suppressed it, included the fortress Le Baux among the main Provencal fortifications to be destroyed. The famous histo

The city of Biarritz is located on the Bay of Biscay, in the 64 department of France, called the Pyrénées-Atlantiques. It is located along the Basque coast at the Cape of St. Martin, closely adjacent to Anglet and Bayonne, and has been a health resort in France for more than one century – in the “beautiful era” it was a place of rest and treatment for the aristocracy, now – modern high-ranking officials. Thanks to “right” waves of the Atlantic ocean Biarritz is a renowned surfing center. The history of prosperity and popularity of this area can be associated with the names of two outstanding women – Alienor of Aquitaine and Empress Eugenia. When Alienor married Henry Plantagenet, king of England in the 12th century, the English built the Fortress Farragus next to a fishing village. When this country was appreciated by Empress Eugenia, a popular resort for the aristocracy arose here. The traces of the English fortress have not survived to this day, but there are many sights associa

As the weather during our Spanish trip was not going to get better, we had to find a place nearby that was at least “not very nasty.” This was a place that we were interested about for a while, French Biarritz located on the border between the Basque lands and Gascony. All that I heard about it before – was that it was a French seaside resort on the Atlantic coast, popular for surfing due to the presence of “the right waves”. Since we arrived during low season, it was only possible to estimate its tourist potential. The city is really nice. Perhaps, it was due to the fact that it is located in France, where the atmosphere of enjoying life is in almost every region (in a good way, that is 🙂 Actually, being in a resort city during “off-season” causes a feeling that you sneaked into someone’s house, while the owner is away, to see how people live there. And all this time I had a “holiday eve” kind of feeling when you understand, that now it is good, but in a season it will be even b

We heard about this island before, and we had already established an opinion that this was one of the main clubbing destinations in Europe. Therefore, when planning a trip, we chose the hotel based on its distance from the main entertainment centre. Our hotel was Grand Palladium, located close to the famous Hard Rock Hotel. This resort has a direct access to a long, wide beach. As the best beaches in Ibiza are public, the could not place on sunbeds, and we had to rent them from local businesses. It was worth it as the sand gets very hot and the sun is quite active, and that requires being under the umbrella. Water had a pleasant, comfortable temperature and was clean. Water sports were available as well, for my husband it was a matter of principle. In general, the beach vacation was a success.   Although this was a beach holiday, we still rented a car, to have an opportunity to travel around the island. We visited its administrative centre – the town of Ibiza . In addition to the

  Of one our friends invited us to celebrate his birthday in Georgia, and we decided to discover the wonderful city that we heard so much about – Tbilisi. I must say that we have heard so many positive reviews about Tbilisi, that we were a little afraid to be disappointed after having such high expectations. But of course it did not happen and this amazing souvenir (as well as other regions of Georgia) exceeded our highest expectations. We stayed in a hotel that had the same name as a white wine – Kisi , located in apart of the old town located between the monument to Vakhtang Gorgasali (across the river) and Kartlis Deda. The convenient location allowed us to walk to all the attractions and not to rent a car, as we would usually do.   Having started to explore the center of the city, we succumbed to the persuasion of local “water” taxi drivers and rode along the banks of Kura River in the city center, tasting homemade wine on the way (our captain drank like water). Next, we took

  Andorra is one of the few remaining independent principalities in Europe, reminiscent of its rich history. The indigenous Andorrans, descendants of the Catalans who inhabited these lands centuries ago, have come a long way to their present form of governent. Taking into account the influence of the neighboring countries ( Spain and France ), Andorra is a fairly international state, however, has retained its identity. Three languages are used in the state – Catalan, Spanish and French, and you can communicate with the employees of the tourism sector in English.   Of course, the majority of the tourists in this small state is attracted by skiing . This is facilitated by the climate with mild frosts and an abundance of snow, and the landscape with wide and conveniently equipped slopes. Moreover, there are especially favorable conditions for beginners – the width and slope of many tracks allow you to train calmly. But this time we decided to visit the ski region in the “off-season”,

 Once in childhood, my parents and I traveled to the Baltic countries and during this time we visited different cities and regions. But that was back in Soviet times, and the impressions were fragmentary, albeit vivid. Nevertheless, these cities in their external style and way of life clearly differed from Moscow at that time. And now, after a long break, I finally managed to start exploring the tourist part of Riga. The first thing that pleasantly surprised me was that old impressions suddenly surfaced on the surface of my memory. Something like developing a photograph from a film - being on a blank sheet, an image suddenly appears on white paper ... The main tourist factor to worry about in Riga (and all Baltic cities) is the weather. It is really unpredictable here, and in one trip around the city you can walk in T-shirts and shorts, and in the blink of an eye - in a down jacket. What happened to us and I had to buy an umbrella on the spot🙂 The place of residence was chosen on the