We left Stockholm and flew into Geneva for an overnight and then a 6.40am train to Avignon. This picture from the air isn’t the airport in Geneva but a highway that disappears into the mountain:
Next morning we arrived in Avignon, got our rental car and dropped off our bags at our hotel before setting off to take the kids to their sport+French camp at Gréoux-Les-Bain. Stopped off for a bite in Aix-en-Provence and even the local cafe makes their own foie-gras:
A couple of hours from Avignon, the camp is in rural Provence:
A couple of hours back to Avignon and we settled in to our first gourmet meal in France at the hotel restaurant:
Next day, strolled around the ancient city:
Then a spot of lunch in the courtyard with its own flock of pigeons:
Strolled some more after lunch:
More photos here.
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Avignon
Prepaid mobile with 3G data in Stockholm, Sweden
Had to get online in Stockholm to use Google maps and other online resources. Help? There’s an excellent guide called Pay as you go sim with data Wiki and the entry for Sweden lists several options. I went to the local Phone House opposite my hotel and purchased a Telenor plan called Talk More. The SIM costs 100 SKR and you have to top it up with credit before it can be used. Since I was only here for less than a week I figure at 9 SKR a day for unlimited data I only needed the minimum 100 SKR top up. There are two gotchas:
– Apparently Telenor does not supply resellers with microsims (so you’ll need to cut it down if you want to use it in an iPhone); and
– To add the top up you have to call Telenor and listen to instructions in Swedish. The chaps at the Phone House store did it for me.
Other than that the cards are working fine in our IP4s.
Stockholm – day 4
Sunny day. Off to see a photography exhibition at Fotografiska:
It was 3 stories of wonderful photography and excellent cafes. Had to have a beer called “God Lager“:
Wish Melbourne had a dedicated photography exhibition. Some street images around our hotel:
Stockholm – day 3
A sunny and muggy day. Enroute to the Vasa museum we walked through the Karlaplan area:
The Vasa museum is on its own island, so we needed to cross a bridge to get there:
The Vasa is a viking war ship that sank on its maiden voyage:
Then it was off for a boat ride to the Drottningholm palace:
A quick bite of lunch after the 40 min boat trip at the palace cafe:
And a stroll through the palace and its gardens:
Then home on a bigger boat that stopped at a few places along the way:
A quick clean up and then caught up with my old friend and colleague Geoff for dinner at Den Gyldene Freden on Gamla stan:
Started with an excellent porter:
Followed by a selection of pickled herring washed down with Acquavit:
On the way home found a quaint telephone box:
Stockholm – day 2
Day 2 started wet. We begin at the main train station:
After a bit of sight seeing in the main downtown area we stopped at the Bakfickan restaurant at the Operakällaren. This is the #1 rated restaurant on Tripadvisor and it was a good pick. Excellent traditional dishes and a charming atmosphere:
The restaurant takes Swedish meatballs to a culinary art form:
We took a tour after lunch of the art work in the subway system. The departure point is at the SL Center at a big open square. Well worth seeing:
Who would have thought a humble bench can be a work of art:
Then it was back home to our hotel:
