Day 154 : Flying Business Class on Singapore Airlines

This is my first time flying Business Class on Singapore Airlines and I was tremendously looking forward to the flight. 

Travelling in style had been my way of travel on the return leg of the long haul flights of my 5 month travel, following my Business Class experience on Lufthansa 1+ month earlier.

It was fairly empty in the Business Class section of Singapore Airlines from Barcelona to Singapore. 

I recalled that it used to be a direct flight when I took the same route 5 years back, but now there is a stopover in Malpensa, Italy Airport.  At least I am on Business Class this time round, so the additional 1+ hour didn’t really bother me.

My experience on the flight – definitely better than Economy Class, though I had expected a lot more than what I had experienced during my flight on Business Class.

Day 150 – 153 : Barcelona

It's my 3rd time back in Barcelona.

I have always loved Barcelona.  Even back on my last visit, I felt Barcelona was a city I could see myself living in.  I still feel the same way, and with great weather on this trip filled with sunny cool days and beautiful blue skies, it was just great spending time roaming around the streets of Barcelona and re-soaking the atmosphere once more. 

Although I had 4 days here, my schedule was packed till the very last day, spending time with old and new friends, exploring sights such as Sagrada Familia and including a few things which I never did or saw on my previous couple trips.

One of it was going on one of the free walking tours offered by Sandelmann.  With the Sandelmann Walking Tours, I got a different insight and saw other sections of central Barcelona which I don't recall visiting before, including being shown the very 1st art piece of Gaudi, a couple of old churches, the oldest Jewish temple in the world, as well as explanation of the different flags that one can see in Catalonia regional of Spain. 

Day 151 : Sagrada Familia

5 years on, Sagrada Familia is still under construction - being the longest construction ever of a cathedral, having span more than 100 years.  I suppose another 5 years is just a small fraction of that time line. 

Wanting to see how much had changed since the last I visited, and also to go up one of the towers and see the view, I bought tickets online for a scheduled time slot visit into Sagrada as well as up the towers. 

Day 149 : Perpignan

It’s my last day in France.  After quickly dropping off the car rental, I took the 20 mins walk from the train station to the historic town centre.

In the day, Perpignan looked way much better than it’s night view.  There was more life out and about, though there were still a number of shops closed – I wasn’t sure if it was because it was winter or a Saturday, or it’s a usual scene.

Weather was turning great, and feels like Spring!  It is bright and sunny and I could even just be out wearing a singlet and a light sweater. 

It felt even more like Spring, when I came across this nicely pruned garden with beautiful flowers just next to the river.  Isn’t it beautiful?

The entrance to the historic centre of Perpignan is marked by a fort like structure called the Castillet, which was also the old main gate.

Day 146 – 148 : Calanque, Cassis, Nimes, Montpellier, Carcassonne, Toulouse, Foix

The southern part of France is not easily accessible by public transport. 

Wanting to explore the area better and still targeting to reach Barcelona in 5 days, I decided to rent a car from Marseille. 

With just 3 days of car rental, I must say I did very well with the routes, covering a total of almost 770km – from Marseille to the Calanques and Cassis, to Nimes and Montpellier, Toulouse, Foix and finally ending in Perpignan.  All on just 35 Litres of Diesel!

Details of the routes are summarised below, which is somewhat on the rush side.  I could certainly had spread them out for a 5 day instead of a 3 day trip, to better experience and explore a few more sights. 

The below post will outline how much time is recommended to spend in each town.

For tips about renting a car and driving around France, visit my other post here.

• Driving Day 1 Route : Marseille – Calanque Sormiou – Cassis – Arles – Nimes (200km)
• Driving Day 2 Route : Nimes – Montpellier – Carcassone (230km)
• Driving Day 3 Route : Carcassone – Toulouse – Foix – Perpignan (321km)

Tips while Driving (and Renting a Car) in France

I was surprised to find that car rental within France wasn’t too expensive, even more reasonable especially since I didn’t return it at the same rental point (Rented from Marseille and dropped off in Perpignan, close to the borders of Spain).

The car rental cost added up when I took on the full insurance with unlimited liability.  I had no accidents with the vehicle, and I was glad to have a peace of mind during my whole drive.

Renting the car from Europcar, I was given a 4-door Peugeot (manual) with a built-in complimentary GPS system, and the process was quick and easy. 

For 3 days, I drove a total of 770km, utilising only a total of 35 Litres of Diesel – I think I did very well on fuel consumption!

Besides having a valid driving license and credit card for the car rental, here are some additional tips, which I thought might be helpful to share (could also be applied to locations outside of France).

Tips while renting a car and driving in France :

1. Sometimes there are more than 1 branch of the car rental company within a city.  Very often, cost of rental from each branch office differs.  Play around with the options available on the car rental company website and find out the best pricing option and pick up / drop off location.  In my case, I wasn’t planning on returning the car at the same pick-up location, and I was lucky that the return point didn’t charge a premium.

2. Driving with GPS can be an expensive affair, as GPS usually recommends motorway.  It is faster, but the tolls adds up very quickly and they are not at all cheap.  Driving on the motorways are also not at all scenic.  If you are not rushing for time, and want a scenic drive, use Google maps on your phone.  Under “Route Options”, select “Avoid Motorways” and “Avoid Toll Road”. 

Make sure that your data is turned on (buy a local sim with free data options), otherwise it will still push you to a toll / motorway route.  I had one of the best drive from Arles to Montpellier, where at one point the route brought me past a reserve where I saw a flock of pink flamingos in a lake.  Beautiful!

3. The weather can be very different from one city to another, and depending on season, some routes may require snow tires (high altitude, tail end of winter).  Originally wanting to visit Andorra during the winter season, I would certainly had needed snow tires to get there safely.  The cars rented from Marseille are however not equipped with snow tires, as the weather around the Riviera is warmer, and often saw no need for putting on snow tires, so I had to changed my route options.

4. If you have the option, request for a diesel car.  Fuel cost is definitely a lot lower.  Driving a manual also helps with the fuel consumption, though if you are not used to driving a manual, it would be best to stick with auto (safety reasons).  Cost of car rental would be higher when renting an auto as compared to a manual drive.

5. Some hotels in France do not allow check-ins after a certain time.  I encountered this when I was in Nimes, with no one at the reception and had to find a different hotel at short notice.  Thankfully I was not charged for the hotel booking, because there was an error in the credit card details, and thus penalty could not be imposed.  But it was a hassle having to find a hotel within budget and with room availability at short notice and at that hour (about 6pm).  While planning routes, it’s good to ensure that you are arriving at your final destination with good time or check the check-in policy of the hotel in advance.

6.  If you want to earn some money to cover your rental and travel cost, you could even use BlaBlaCar to offer a ride. I didn’t offer a ride, but I was a passenger on a few earlier in my trip.  It’s safe and easy to set up, and you might even get great company on the trip!

I hope the above helps anyone who is looking to drive in France!

Day 144 – 146 : Marseille

Marseille, the 2nd largest city in France, and the biggest Mediterranean port and hub of the Provence-Alps-Cote d’Azur Region. 

Taking a 3 hour train ride from Nice to Marseille was a beautiful experience, as we passed through numerous towns, with magnificent views of the sea and beaches along the way. 

Arriving into Marseille Vieux Port (old Port) in the evening, I was pleasantly surprised by a beautiful harbour shimmering in night lights from the city, comprising of low rise buildings built along the slope spreading outwards from the harbour.

Day 145 : Valentine’s Day in Marseille

It’s Valentine’s Day! 

Strangely, I didn’t noticed any flowers sold on the street, nor couples carrying flowers while walking along the streets of Marseille.  Considering how romance is always related to France and all things French, I thought Valentine’s Day would be a big thing in Marseille.

I found out later this evening that romance seems to take on a different meaning in France….

The night before, I had found a very reasonably priced 3 course set dinner for Euro 17 at L’Ecailler restaurant and decided will have a good dinner on Valentine’s Day (The prices went up later to Euro 20, as it was a busy night and the restaurant probably decided it’s best to cash in on the V-Day festivities).

Day 142 – 144 : Nice

3 days in Nice and I barely scratched the surface with Nice. 
Mostly because there were carnivals in both Nice and Menton, which I didn't know off until a couple days earlier and timing couldn't be any better!


Also took the opportunity to visit Monaco since it was between Nice and Menton, and being able to boast I had visited one more country
On the short half day that I actually have for sight seeing in Nice, I managed to walk down to the promenade briefly and cutting through some parks as well as a street flea market.

Day 143 : Monaco

I can finally say I had been to a country smaller than Singapore! 

Monaco is located between Nice and Menton and just about a 10 mins train ride from Menton. It's also a very clean city, though perhaps with less green than Singapore. 

One can also get a view of the Harbour and Mediterranean sea from most places.

Day 143 : Menton

My visit in Menton was primarily to attend the Fete du Citron Festival, and had arrived a few hours earlier than the parade timing to visit the exhibition, and also to quickly explore the town.

Menton is very small and easily walkable in a very short time. It also has one of the most beautiful backdrop for a harbour view that I had ever seen!  

Day 142 : Carnival in Nice

Booking an AirBnB accomodation in Nice, the city became my base to attend the Fete du Citron carnival in Menton and to visit Monaco.  

A few days before my arrival in Nice, I also found out that beside the Fete du Citron carnival in Menton, Nice has its own carnival, lasting for a period of 2.5 weeks and starting on the day I arrived. 

Buying a standing ticket to get into the grounds, the ambience was unbelievable!

Music, dancing, floats and various performances were lined up one after another for a duration of 1.5 hours.  

And because I had bought a standing ticket, I was really very close to the action, enhancing my experience and I enjoyed every moment! 

Even Trump starred in the festive occasion, with a comic version of him on a float. 

I'll let the pictures and videos speak for itself. 

So glad that the timing worked out perfectly!

Day 142 : Travel from Lyon to Nice via Montpellier

While on route towards Nice, Giorgio (my friend in Monaco), dropped a text message to check if I was in Montpellier or already in Nice. 

I was originally going to spent a couple days in Montpellier first before making my way towards the French Riviera and changed my plans when I heard about the carnivals in Nice and Menton. 

According to Giorgio, the police just arrested some terrorists in Montpellier, with bombs discovered in the home, and wanted to check my safety. 

Imagine if the police had not discovered that in time, I might had been caught in something unfortunate!

Phew!

That probably explained the higher than usual security John and I encountered when we went to the train station in Lyon!

Day 139 – 141 : Lyon

Taking a 3.5hr direct train ride from Strasbourg to Lyon, I made my way to an AirBnB apartment, which John had booked. 

John is an ex-colleague from my last company, based out of the UK office.  We had communicated over the phone a couple of times and exchanged numerous emails and messages, but we had never met in person.

Interestingly, he had also just tendered his resignation recently and was just waiting out his time before he leaves the company at the end of the month.

I had no plans of travelling to London on this trip, so John decided to meet me in Lyon and explore the city together, since he had never been here before either.

Day 137 & 138 : Strasbourg / Kehl

Taking another BlaBlaCar Ride from Luxembourg to Strasbourg, it was yet another interesting experience.  Not as culturally diverse as the last ride, I was picked up by a French guy Francois, with another sleepy French BlaBlaCar passenger whom didn’t speak much English. 

It was interesting, as Francois had a very nice and spacious vehicle, and during the 3 hour journey, Francois gave great tips on where to go in Strasbourg, and around France. 

Arriving into Strasbourg, I realised that it’s a very small town and easily covered within a couple hours.  Highlights in Strasbourg includes :

La Petite France – Located in the historic centre, and the most picturesque district of old Strasbourg.  Once home to Fishermen, millers and tanners, the traditional half-timbered homes from the 16th and 17th centuries still stand gloriously along the river. 

Day 135 – 136 : Luxembourg

One of the not-so-great weather on my trip as it rained numerous times across the 2 days when I was in Luxembourg. 

It also didn't help that I re-sprained my ankle which I had sprained about 5 days ago while in Antwerp, so walking for too long periods of time wasn't ideal either.

Abel whom I had met in Amsterdam had decided to join me in exploring Luxembourg, but because of the above reasons, we ended up staying indoors on most occasions, taking shelter either at cafes (Chocolate House, opposite Palais Grand Ducal), bars, restaurants or a museum with good conversations over drinks and a couple of wonderful dinners at a Lebanese restaurant (Restaurant Phenicia) as well as a French one (Goethe Stuff, 32 Rue de L’eau) – both strongly recommended for having a meal when in the area.

Lebanese dinner @ Restaurant Phenicia

French Dinner @ Goethe Stuff