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Review of private tour with Michel of Revelation Tours

Leejnd4

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Leejnd4

Leejnd4

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This is a review and an account of our private tour from Monte Carlo with Michel Legrand of Revelation Tours.

 

I’ll begin by saying that out of 11 different ports on this cruise, this was far and away my favorite day. Michel did an outstanding job in every respect, and I would recommend him highly to anyone who is visiting the area.

 

I’d connected with two other couples via Cruise Critic to share this tour with us, so the cost of the tour ended up being less than anything we could have done via the ship, and included significantly more. Michel and I exchanged a number of emails prior to the cruise, during which we designed our tour. Having not been to the area before, I trusted him to suggest an itinerary based on our interests. Michel actually sent out an extensive questionnaire in advance, which is how he learned our interests.

 

Here is the itinerary he designed for us:

 

8:30 am -- Pick up in Monoco

Drive to St. Paul

 

9:15 am -- Visit of St. Paul de Vence

Drive to Nice by the highway and the Promenade des Anglais

 

11:00 am -- Stop in Old Town Nice; Lunch in Nice

Drive to Eze by the Mont Boron and the Medium Corniche

 

1:15 pm -- Visit of Eze

Drive to Monoco by the village of La Turbie

 

2:30 pm -- Visit of Monte Carlo

Drive through Monoco

 

3:30 pm -- Visit of the Old Town of Monoco

Drive to the port

 

4:30 pm -- Drop off at port

 

Michel let us know that this was totally flexible, and we did in fact spend more time in some places (St. Paul, Nice) and less in others (Monte Carlo, Monoco).

 

The following is my journal of the day, which is probably way too long, but I wanted to remember every detail!

 

Monday, May 9

 

Michel met us at the bottom of the gangplank with a sign, so he was easy to spot. And what a DOLL he is! He’s quite handsome -- he appears to be in his thirties, medium height with short hair and a friendly open face with a never-ending smile. He was unbelievably charming and fun and energetic, and we fell in love with him instantly.

 

Michel’s van was plenty large for the six of us and quite plush, and he had a cooler of sodas and beverages in the back, which proved to be very welcome later. He gave us each a folder with a program listing our itinerary, and double-sided information sheets filled with info about each of the destinations. He also spoke perfect English, and he kept up a constant, extremely entertaining patter throughout the entire day, giving us in-depth historical and political details of the area, peppered with wry social commentary and off-the-cuff jokes. At first I wondered if he uses the same material for everyone, and there may have been some of that going on, but it’s also apparent that much of it is truly on-the-spot, because he would always have some hilarious come-back whenever we’d make some funny (we thought) comment. Paul was particularly good at getting a fun repartee going with him. We were all amazed at the depth of Michel’s knowledge about his country and its history. Kim and I whispered to each other how ashamed we are that we know so little of even our own history, much less the rich history of France and Europe. He also had a recording that he would play just before we’d arrive somewhere that gave us some good background and information about the place.

 

We drove along the highway to our first stop, St. Paul de Vence, and we arrived there so early, we were literally the first tourists. This was wonderful, because I’ve read that this place can become quite the tourist hub on summer days. But by getting there early, we were able to experience the true flavor of the place in all its quiet and extraordinary medieval charm. This has got to be one of the most beautiful villages in all of France, and it’s clear why it has been a draw and inspiration to artists for centuries. It’s a walled city that has been kept pure and untouched by modernization, built on a rocky outcropping with breathtaking views of the surrounding hills and the deep blue Mediterranean off in the distance on one side, and the snow-covered Alps from the other. The countryside around St Paul is dotted with literally thousands of beautiful villas with their swimming pools and tennis courts. Many of the old houses on the ramparts have beautiful gardens, and the entire region looks like it’s just too picture-perfect to even be real.

 

The village itself is small and made up of narrow stone streets between ancient buildings dating from medieval times up through the 18th century. We wandered through the narrow, quiet streets for a while, snapping some lovely photos at an ancient fountain. It’s really a tiny village, with only a few streets, and the La Rue Grande, which is the main thoroughfare (if you can call this teensy skinny stone passage a “thoroughfare”), is lined with art galleries and ritzy little shops which were, for the most part, not open yet. But we could tell that it would become a real tourist zoo later. We loved all the art galleries – there were some beautiful exhibits we could see through the windows, and it’s obvious that this place really is an artist community.

 

We found a lovely and fascinating cemetery where we saw the unassuming gravestone of Marc Chagall, one of the mid 20th century’s most celebrated painters, who was born in Russia but apparently came to love this place and chose to be buried here. We then walked along the outer ramparts, where you could see forever off into the countryside, and headed back into the village and wandered through some of the back streets, where the residents live and where, according to Michel, few tourists bother to explore. We passed the Tour de l’Esperon, a 14th century watchtower that formed an original part of the walls, and the Church of the Conversion of St. Paul, built on the foundation from the middle ages and rebuilt in the 14th century.

 

I really hated to leave this place, but our time was up and it was off to Nice by the windy highway. Michel regaled us with his historical banter on the way, and the views of the Cote d’Azur along the drive were just spectacular.

 

We arrived in Nice around 11:30, and Michel dropped us off in the Old Town area. There was an antique flea market going on here, only this one was about ten times the size of the one in Aix yesterday. Michel had recommended lunching at the Café Safari at the far end of the market, which he says is sort of a tradition in old-town Nice. Fine by us! We spent about 45 minutes wandering around the old town and the flea market, and I managed to bargain down to 10 Euros for a small antique wooden box and an old, painted brass tea set. The six of us met up again at the Café Safari, where we had a splendid lunch on the patio right in the heart of the seaside and marketplace action. Mom and I split an order of traditional Nicoises appetizers, and we shared a couple of bottles of wine and listened to a couple of old musicians playing accordion and tambourine nearby. I got a nice, warm little buzz going on, and at one point, when Kim and I were returning from the restroom, I started doing a little dance to the French music playing on the street. The waiters saw this and started shouting “Ooh la la!” Kim and I just about fell down laughing.

 

I remember reading many times on CruiseCritic that Nice is NOT nice, but we found Nice to be quite nice after all, at least the old-town part that we visited. After lunch we quickly found Michel and headed back up along Mont Boron and the Medium Corniche Road to Eze. Along the way we passed by a very old stone castle sitting by itself way up high with an amazing view over the sea. Michel told us that it was currently unoccupied and was on sale for about 600,000 Euros. He says we could buy it and do whatever we want with it, provided we don’t change the exterior. I’m still seriously considering this. I just need to find out if they have indoor plumbing.

 

All of these tiny, amazing medieval stone villages were starting to blend together, but this was another beauty. Eze is perched like an eagles nest on a slender rocky peak with an awe-inspiring view over the Mediterranean. The ancient fortified village is crowned with the ruins of its 12th-century fortified castle sitting on a narrow rocky ledge. To enter the village you pass through the 14th century Postern Gate, which provided a strong defense along with its stone walls and strategic location at the tip-top of the peak. The village itself forms a circular pattern around the base of the old castle. The old buildings and narrow streets are very well restored, with high stone walls and narrow roadways of red-brick stone. The passageways wind upwards to the Jardin Exotique Panorama, which is a hilltop garden. At the backside of the village there is a two-level square clock tower on the church of Notre-dame-de-l’Assomption, which is at a lovely plaza with gorgeous views of the valley (away from the sea). There are pretty little shaded squares, plenty of souvenir shops, and charming sidewalk cafes.

 

The town is also quite hilly, so many of the streets are really just narrow vaulted alleyways with steep stairs. This proved a little difficult for Mom, who has some trouble with her balance going down stairs without a banister. Still, we managed to see a lot of it before she decided to relax at a small café. This allowed me to do some exploring on my own, and I took off down passageways and up staircases to get a good view of the whole village. Near the top was an entrance to the Jardin Exotique Panorama, the hilltop garden, which cost a few euros to enter but was totally worth it. It was quite large, with steep, winding stone stairs that pass through various types of gardens, such as Japanese, French, Italian, desert cactus, etc, dotted with lovely statuary. The stairs wended their way to the top, where there is a lovely old plaza of crumbling stone walls where I could look down upon the ancient tile roofs and vine-covered stone buildings of the village. I could barely tear myself away from the view, but I knew everyone would be waiting for me.

 

From there we headed along the lower Corniche Road towards Monaco. Along the way we passed some overwhelmingly extravagant villas and estates, and Michel pointed out who owned some of them (Sean Connery, Elton John). It was astonishing to see how these people live, and the views they have as just part of their every-day life. I still want to buy that castle.

 

As we drove into Monaco, we were mesmerized by the, well, unbelievable WEALTH that the place oozed. We passed by numerous car dealerships displaying vehicles worth half-a-million, and we saw many of those same cars driven around by the locals, probably doing their grocery shopping. Every possible high-end designer had a boutique, and there were banks literally on every corner – sometimes several in a row! Women walked by in glitzy clothes with big purses that I’ve seen in People Magazine carried by the likes of J-Lo and Paris Hilton, which I knew were worth a good $2,500. I personally was happy with my little silk money pouch I bought from the Rick Steves website for $8.00, but I suppose if I were rich and famous I too would find a bag worth thousands to be of use.

 

We reached the main street of Monte Carlo, and Michel dropped us off there with enough time to walk around a bit and check out the exterior of the casino, the Hotel des Paris, and the beautiful fountains and gardens leading up from the Casino. We gave up trying to not look like tourists because, well, our dropped jaws pretty much gave us away.

 

We continued our walk around the area, gawking at the cars and the elaborate building facades and the colorful, perfectly groomed gardens and pretty fountains. Unfortunately, much of the area was marred with all the set-ups in preparation for the Grand Prix, which was two weeks away – chain-link fences, bleachers, scaffoldings and the like. It didn’t spoil it for us, but it did impact our picture-taking, as much of it was right in the way of the most impressive sights.

 

Michel retrieved us at the same spot, and we headed on up to the Old Town of Monaco, where the Prince’s Palace is. Although it had been a few weeks since Prince Ranier had passed away, there was still a palpable sense of sadness in the area. We were dropped off right in front of the Cathedral of Notre-Dame-de-l’Immaculee-Conception, which dates back to the 13th century but was mostly demolished and rebuilt in 1886. Prince Ranier and Grace Kelly were married here, and are both now buried within. We went inside and followed the crowd towards the back, where the tombs of notables from throughout history are laid along the floor. We followed it around until we got to Princess Grace’s tomb, which had several floral arrangements placed on the floor around it. Right next to that was the newest tomb of Prince Ranier, and this one had a profusion of floral arrangements and tall stands of flowers all around it. Many people were photographing both tombs as they filed past, and it felt really sad in there.

 

From there we wandered up a side street until we reached the Place du Palais, the magnificent square in front of the palace, adorned with cannon & cannonballs, and a statue of Prince Ranier’s illustrious ancestor Francois Grimaldi. This is an interesting story – back in 1297, he disguised himself as a monk and snuck into the village where he managed to seize back power from the brigands who’d taken control, thus beginning the ongoing reign of the Grimaldi family.

 

We gazed for a while at the Prince’s Palace, which is not overwhelmingly impressive from the outside, but is interesting when you note that the oldest parts go back to the early 13th century, with various alterations and add-ons carried out in at various points throughout history all the way up to the 20th century. The views were lovely from the plaza, and we enjoyed wandering around some of the other side streets between it and the Cathedral. We met back up with the others at the Cathedral and found Michel where he’d left us, and hopped back in the van. I was feeling rather somber, knowing our wonderful day with him was coming to an end, but then it’s hard to feel somber around the ever-cheerful Michel. He was just phenomenal, and this will always be one of my absolute best memories of this amazing journey.

 

We had big huggy goodbyes at the pier, and I managed to get someone to take a few pictures of Michel and me so I could remember this terrific guy. Then back to the ship.

 

LeeAnne

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Crescoia

Crescoia

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Posted

Loved your review. We have been thinking of using Revalation tours in Monoco, and now I'm probably leaning even more in that direction. I have plenty of time to decide, our cruise isn't until May '06. Thanks for the details.

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cruisingmimi

cruisingmimi

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Hi LeeAnne,

 

You are absolutely wonderful! Thank you so much for your fantastic report. I felt like I was on the journey with you! Now I can't wait to get there. I think that you have pretty much captured how much you enjoyed your tour. Our itinerary may change slightly because we will have more time in Villefranche. We will be there from 7 am until 11 pm. So we should be able to have a fantastic tour through the area.

 

After reading your review, I would definitely like to book with Michel. Hopefully, we can get 6 more people interested so we can book a 2nd van. The only downside to 2 vans is that one van will not have Michel as a driver. Do you know anything about his other drivers?

 

Thanks again for your great report. I loved it!

 

Mary

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Leejnd4

Leejnd4

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Mary,

 

I don't know anything about his other drivers except that I read from someone in here that they were wonderful. Although you are right...I can't imagine anyone being as charming and fun as Michel.

 

Glad you liked my report! :)

 

LeeAnne

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Guest Crazeecat5

Guest Crazeecat5

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Hi Lee Anne,

Thanks for a great review. Glad we booked Michel for our August day in Cannes. Can't wait....

Sheryl

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Dr. Pam

Dr. Pam

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Thanks Leanne!

 

We have Michel booked for a private tour out of Marseille. I asked if he would do a tour from here and he agreed. I am so excited that he will be our driver/guide as he is noted for his flexibility (we are 2 families of 4)even at the last minute. Thanks for adding to our growing enthusiasm.

 

Pam

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amd1234

amd1234

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Hello, I have just read the review( Leejnd4, )it sounds fabulous. We are also doing a Med. cruise on the Millennium Sept. 19 does anybody need another couple for this tour? Please contact me...Regards, Ann

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  • 2 months later...
Live the good life

Live the good life

Posted
Posted

Copied and pasted LeeJnd4's post since for some reasons could not "quote" it...

 

Very glad to hear may of you (LeAnne, psycist, etc...) have enjoyed Michel's tour as much as we did back in June 2004...We are doing the Med again in 2006, and can't wait!

 

Kim

 

 

 

From LeeJnd4's (LeeAnne) post:

 

"This is a review and an account of our private tour from Monte Carlo with Michel Legrand of Revelation Tours.

 

I’ll begin by saying that out of 11 different ports on this cruise, this was far and away my favorite day. Michel did an outstanding job in every respect, and I would recommend him highly to anyone who is visiting the area.

 

I’d connected with two other couples via Cruise Critic to share this tour with us, so the cost of the tour ended up being less than anything we could have done via the ship, and included significantly more. Michel and I exchanged a number of emails prior to the cruise, during which we designed our tour. Having not been to the area before, I trusted him to suggest an itinerary based on our interests. Michel actually sent out an extensive questionnaire in advance, which is how he learned our interests.

 

Here is the itinerary he designed for us:

 

8:30 am -- Pick up in Monoco

Drive to St. Paul

 

9:15 am -- Visit of St. Paul de Vence

Drive to Nice by the highway and the Promenade des Anglais

 

11:00 am -- Stop in Old Town Nice; Lunch in Nice

Drive to Eze by the Mont Boron and the Medium Corniche

 

1:15 pm -- Visit of Eze

Drive to Monoco by the village of La Turbie

 

2:30 pm -- Visit of Monte Carlo

Drive through Monoco

 

3:30 pm -- Visit of the Old Town of Monoco

Drive to the port

 

4:30 pm -- Drop off at port

 

Michel let us know that this was totally flexible, and we did in fact spend more time in some places (St. Paul, Nice) and less in others (Monte Carlo, Monoco).

 

The following is my journal of the day, which is probably way too long, but I wanted to remember every detail!

 

Monday, May 9

 

Michel met us at the bottom of the gangplank with a sign, so he was easy to spot. And what a DOLL he is! He’s quite handsome -- he appears to be in his thirties, medium height with short hair and a friendly open face with a never-ending smile. He was unbelievably charming and fun and energetic, and we fell in love with him instantly.

 

Michel’s van was plenty large for the six of us and quite plush, and he had a cooler of sodas and beverages in the back, which proved to be very welcome later. He gave us each a folder with a program listing our itinerary, and double-sided information sheets filled with info about each of the destinations. He also spoke perfect English, and he kept up a constant, extremely entertaining patter throughout the entire day, giving us in-depth historical and political details of the area, peppered with wry social commentary and off-the-cuff jokes. At first I wondered if he uses the same material for everyone, and there may have been some of that going on, but it’s also apparent that much of it is truly on-the-spot, because he would always have some hilarious come-back whenever we’d make some funny (we thought) comment. Paul was particularly good at getting a fun repartee going with him. We were all amazed at the depth of Michel’s knowledge about his country and its history. Kim and I whispered to each other how ashamed we are that we know so little of even our own history, much less the rich history of France and Europe. He also had a recording that he would play just before we’d arrive somewhere that gave us some good background and information about the place.

 

We drove along the highway to our first stop, St. Paul de Vence, and we arrived there so early, we were literally the first tourists. This was wonderful, because I’ve read that this place can become quite the tourist hub on summer days. But by getting there early, we were able to experience the true flavor of the place in all its quiet and extraordinary medieval charm. This has got to be one of the most beautiful villages in all of France, and it’s clear why it has been a draw and inspiration to artists for centuries. It’s a walled city that has been kept pure and untouched by modernization, built on a rocky outcropping with breathtaking views of the surrounding hills and the deep blue Mediterranean off in the distance on one side, and the snow-covered Alps from the other. The countryside around St Paul is dotted with literally thousands of beautiful villas with their swimming pools and tennis courts. Many of the old houses on the ramparts have beautiful gardens, and the entire region looks like it’s just too picture-perfect to even be real.

 

The village itself is small and made up of narrow stone streets between ancient buildings dating from medieval times up through the 18th century. We wandered through the narrow, quiet streets for a while, snapping some lovely photos at an ancient fountain. It’s really a tiny village, with only a few streets, and the La Rue Grande, which is the main thoroughfare (if you can call this teensy skinny stone passage a “thoroughfare”), is lined with art galleries and ritzy little shops which were, for the most part, not open yet. But we could tell that it would become a real tourist zoo later. We loved all the art galleries – there were some beautiful exhibits we could see through the windows, and it’s obvious that this place really is an artist community.

 

We found a lovely and fascinating cemetery where we saw the unassuming gravestone of Marc Chagall, one of the mid 20th century’s most celebrated painters, who was born in Russia but apparently came to love this place and chose to be buried here. We then walked along the outer ramparts, where you could see forever off into the countryside, and headed back into the village and wandered through some of the back streets, where the residents live and where, according to Michel, few tourists bother to explore. We passed the Tour de l’Esperon, a 14th century watchtower that formed an original part of the walls, and the Church of the Conversion of St. Paul, built on the foundation from the middle ages and rebuilt in the 14th century.

 

I really hated to leave this place, but our time was up and it was off to Nice by the windy highway. Michel regaled us with his historical banter on the way, and the views of the Cote d’Azur along the drive were just spectacular.

 

We arrived in Nice around 11:30, and Michel dropped us off in the Old Town area. There was an antique flea market going on here, only this one was about ten times the size of the one in Aix yesterday. Michel had recommended lunching at the Café Safari at the far end of the market, which he says is sort of a tradition in old-town Nice. Fine by us! We spent about 45 minutes wandering around the old town and the flea market, and I managed to bargain down to 10 Euros for a small antique wooden box and an old, painted brass tea set. The six of us met up again at the Café Safari, where we had a splendid lunch on the patio right in the heart of the seaside and marketplace action. Mom and I split an order of traditional Nicoises appetizers, and we shared a couple of bottles of wine and listened to a couple of old musicians playing accordion and tambourine nearby. I got a nice, warm little buzz going on, and at one point, when Kim and I were returning from the restroom, I started doing a little dance to the French music playing on the street. The waiters saw this and started shouting “Ooh la la!” Kim and I just about fell down laughing.

 

I remember reading many times on CruiseCritic that Nice is NOT nice, but we found Nice to be quite nice after all, at least the old-town part that we visited. After lunch we quickly found Michel and headed back up along Mont Boron and the Medium Corniche Road to Eze. Along the way we passed by a very old stone castle sitting by itself way up high with an amazing view over the sea. Michel told us that it was currently unoccupied and was on sale for about 600,000 Euros. He says we could buy it and do whatever we want with it, provided we don’t change the exterior. I’m still seriously considering this. I just need to find out if they have indoor plumbing.

 

All of these tiny, amazing medieval stone villages were starting to blend together, but this was another beauty. Eze is perched like an eagles nest on a slender rocky peak with an awe-inspiring view over the Mediterranean. The ancient fortified village is crowned with the ruins of its 12th-century fortified castle sitting on a narrow rocky ledge. To enter the village you pass through the 14th century Postern Gate, which provided a strong defense along with its stone walls and strategic location at the tip-top of the peak. The village itself forms a circular pattern around the base of the old castle. The old buildings and narrow streets are very well restored, with high stone walls and narrow roadways of red-brick stone. The passageways wind upwards to the Jardin Exotique Panorama, which is a hilltop garden. At the backside of the village there is a two-level square clock tower on the church of Notre-dame-de-l’Assomption, which is at a lovely plaza with gorgeous views of the valley (away from the sea). There are pretty little shaded squares, plenty of souvenir shops, and charming sidewalk cafes.

 

The town is also quite hilly, so many of the streets are really just narrow vaulted alleyways with steep stairs. This proved a little difficult for Mom, who has some trouble with her balance going down stairs without a banister. Still, we managed to see a lot of it before she decided to relax at a small café. This allowed me to do some exploring on my own, and I took off down passageways and up staircases to get a good view of the whole village. Near the top was an entrance to the Jardin Exotique Panorama, the hilltop garden, which cost a few euros to enter but was totally worth it. It was quite large, with steep, winding stone stairs that pass through various types of gardens, such as Japanese, French, Italian, desert cactus, etc, dotted with lovely statuary. The stairs wended their way to the top, where there is a lovely old plaza of crumbling stone walls where I could look down upon the ancient tile roofs and vine-covered stone buildings of the village. I could barely tear myself away from the view, but I knew everyone would be waiting for me.

 

From there we headed along the lower Corniche Road towards Monaco. Along the way we passed some overwhelmingly extravagant villas and estates, and Michel pointed out who owned some of them (Sean Connery, Elton John). It was astonishing to see how these people live, and the views they have as just part of their every-day life. I still want to buy that castle.

 

As we drove into Monaco, we were mesmerized by the, well, unbelievable WEALTH that the place oozed. We passed by numerous car dealerships displaying vehicles worth half-a-million, and we saw many of those same cars driven around by the locals, probably doing their grocery shopping. Every possible high-end designer had a boutique, and there were banks literally on every corner – sometimes several in a row! Women walked by in glitzy clothes with big purses that I’ve seen in People Magazine carried by the likes of J-Lo and Paris Hilton, which I knew were worth a good $2,500. I personally was happy with my little silk money pouch I bought from the Rick Steves website for $8.00, but I suppose if I were rich and famous I too would find a bag worth thousands to be of use.

 

We reached the main street of Monte Carlo, and Michel dropped us off there with enough time to walk around a bit and check out the exterior of the casino, the Hotel des Paris, and the beautiful fountains and gardens leading up from the Casino. We gave up trying to not look like tourists because, well, our dropped jaws pretty much gave us away.

 

We continued our walk around the area, gawking at the cars and the elaborate building facades and the colorful, perfectly groomed gardens and pretty fountains. Unfortunately, much of the area was marred with all the set-ups in preparation for the Grand Prix, which was two weeks away – chain-link fences, bleachers, scaffoldings and the like. It didn’t spoil it for us, but it did impact our picture-taking, as much of it was right in the way of the most impressive sights.

 

Michel retrieved us at the same spot, and we headed on up to the Old Town of Monaco, where the Prince’s Palace is. Although it had been a few weeks since Prince Ranier had passed away, there was still a palpable sense of sadness in the area. We were dropped off right in front of the Cathedral of Notre-Dame-de-l’Immaculee-Conception, which dates back to the 13th century but was mostly demolished and rebuilt in 1886. Prince Ranier and Grace Kelly were married here, and are both now buried within. We went inside and followed the crowd towards the back, where the tombs of notables from throughout history are laid along the floor. We followed it around until we got to Princess Grace’s tomb, which had several floral arrangements placed on the floor around it. Right next to that was the newest tomb of Prince Ranier, and this one had a profusion of floral arrangements and tall stands of flowers all around it. Many people were photographing both tombs as they filed past, and it felt really sad in there.

 

From there we wandered up a side street until we reached the Place du Palais, the magnificent square in front of the palace, adorned with cannon & cannonballs, and a statue of Prince Ranier’s illustrious ancestor Francois Grimaldi. This is an interesting story – back in 1297, he disguised himself as a monk and snuck into the village where he managed to seize back power from the brigands who’d taken control, thus beginning the ongoing reign of the Grimaldi family.

 

We gazed for a while at the Prince’s Palace, which is not overwhelmingly impressive from the outside, but is interesting when you note that the oldest parts go back to the early 13th century, with various alterations and add-ons carried out in at various points throughout history all the way up to the 20th century. The views were lovely from the plaza, and we enjoyed wandering around some of the other side streets between it and the Cathedral. We met back up with the others at the Cathedral and found Michel where he’d left us, and hopped back in the van. I was feeling rather somber, knowing our wonderful day with him was coming to an end, but then it’s hard to feel somber around the ever-cheerful Michel. He was just phenomenal, and this will always be one of my absolute best memories of this amazing journey.

 

We had big huggy goodbyes at the pier, and I managed to get someone to take a few pictures of Michel and me so I could remember this terrific guy. Then back to the ship.

 

LeeAnne "

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