After floating back down to earth, we parked the car in a VERY crowded lot about a half mile away from the chateau and walked through a portion of the village. This fellow caught my eye as he lay sprawled on the front step of what is perhaps his master's or mistresses' shop, looking relaxed and unconcerned with tourists streaming past.

But first, our stomachs were ready for lunch so we decided to enjoy a midday repast at this restaurant/cafe not far from the entrance to the chateau. The restaurant portion is inside the ivy-covered building, while a nice outdoor cafe is underneath the trees and umbrellas you see in the photo below.

We opted to dine in the outdoor cafe to take advantage of the beautiful day and nice weather. After I took a couple of pictures of Cindy and her mom at the table, a woman seated at a table behind us offered to take a picture of all of us.

After a very enjoyable lunch, we left the cafe and walked about a quarter-mile to the entrance of Château d' Azay-le-Rideau.

Here, Cindy and her mom stand at the entrance, listening to the audio guides that help you learn the rich history of the chateau.

This is from the courtyard looking to the right side of the chateau.

And this is from the bridge (see aerial shot) looking back toward the courtyard and chateau.

One of many bedrooms in the chateau.

Here, Cindy and her mom are in one of the rooms where the lord of the chateau would hold court or entertain honored guests.

One of many beautiful fireplaces throughout the chateau.

Here is a view of the courtyard from the third floor.

All too soon it was time to take our leave of Château d' Azay-le-Rideau and return to our cottage so we could begin packing everything up in preparation for our departure early the next morning. Later in the evening we drove into Loches for dinner, then returned to the cottage and retired for the night. Our time in France would come to an end the next day when we boarded our flight to return to the U.S., but we had two weeks of photos, videos, and wonderful memories to bring home with us.

We hope you've enjoyed traveling with us by way of this blog and thank you for reading along.

Au revoir!!

Château d' Azay-le-Rideau remains copyright of the author WorldQuest, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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We have scheduled our final 2 chateaus to visit for this day, since they are within a very short driving distance of each other. We still need to get an early start and make sure that we leave early enough to arrive at the first stop just as it is opening to the public. This is a plan that has worked well at the other chateaus we have visited, as the tour buses typically start arriving about an hour after opening, so we get a head start on beating the crowds that will swarm in later.

Château de Villandry was completed back in 1536 and was the last of the chateaus built in the Loire Valley during the Renaissance.

Here's an aerial shot of the estate.

And a video of when we first arrived.

Cindy and her mom in the courtyard.

One of many dining rooms.

Cindy and her mom looking out a second floor room of the chateau to part of the garden.

One of many bedrooms.

Those winding staircases that seem to be in every building ever constructed in France.

Up on the roof there was cat. We assume it walked up the stairs as there didn't appear to be any other way for it to get there.

Looking out over part of the gardens.

Looking back and down to the courtyard.

What is it they say about cats and curiosity?

Our feline friend up on the edge of the battlements on the roof. Thankfully she never indulged her apparent desire to try and leap to the next roof and instead let me take her down off the edge and carry her over to the stairs where she walked down to the first floor.

Down off the roof and on one of the walkways that overlooks the gardens, Cindy and her mom pose for a picture.

Looks like we accidentally took a picture of some homeless guy.

Cindy and her mom walking through the tree-lined path.

Here's a shot from the middle of the garden looking toward the castle. The black arrow is pointing to where we stood on the roof earlier.

Cindy and her mom walking through the grape arbor.

Walking down one of the stone stairways in the garden.

A shot from the far end of the garden looking back to the castle.

I had so much fun with my new camera. Here is just one of dozens of shots I took with birds, bees and butterflies flitting or landing on the flowers in this beautiful garden. Look at the detail and how you can see the bee pollinating the flower!

Cindy and her mom at the "wall of roses".

As we were leaving, I took this shot of the castle with the sun peeking over the top.

As we were leaving crowds were arriving and gathering around the area which served as an entrance and exit. Cindy and her mom wanted to stop into the gift shop (which was, of course conveniently located by the exit) and I decided to use the opportunity to avail myself of the restroom facilities. I walked into the men's room and, taking note that there were no urinals on the wall, stepped into a stall and closed the door. Once again, I was struck by the differences in French toilets, as this one had no seat to sit on. Fortunately, I didn't need to sit. I could hear female voices in the restroom and assumed as I was in a unisex bathroom. I had heard of them but had not been in one as of yet. I finished my "business" and stepped out of the stall and stepped to the sink to wash my hands, only to find several women staring at me. It then hit me that it wasn't a unisex bathroom, it was the ladies bathroom. I washed my hands quickly and got out of there as fast as I could, walking past the entrance to the men's room that I had missed right next door.

By now it was about 11am. We left to drive to the next village to see our final castle of our French adventure.

Next post: Château d' Azay-le-Rideau

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So much so that she probably got tired of us calling her, lol.

Chambord is the largest of the Loire Valley castles, but it was never more than a hunting lodge. King François I (remember him from Château de Amboise?) built the castle in the style of French Renaissance architecture that blends traditional French medieval forms with classical Italian structures and design input by the great Leonardo da Vinci.

Riders display their equine skills around the castle and in special shows each day.

Cindy in front of Château de Chambord.

Leonardo da Vinci designed this very special staircase in the shape of what we recognize today as the double-helix of human DNA. The fact that it is double allows you to see someone else on the other staircase, but without ever meeting him. Some speculate that this allowed the king to go up and down without meeting his servants.

Looking up the inside of the double staircase.

Cindy and I, each on a different staircase, taking photos of each other.

One of the outside courtyards.

Water drain spouts shaped like gargoyles.

Intricate ceiling design in one of the hallways. Aren't you glad you didn't have to dust that?

Here we are on the uppermost floor after walking up the spiral staircase.

Looking out over the grounds and the hunting forest.

Cindy with the horse field in the background.

Cindy with the hunting grounds in the background.

Walking back downstairs in another section of the castle, we found the room where they bring parts of the castle that are deteriorating from age and weather and attempt to restore them. It was a pretty cool section and I'm still not entirely sure we were supposed to be there, but it was fun to see.

As we were leaving I spotted another drain spout on the ground floor with the gargoyle design.

After leaving the castle, we enjoyed a nice lunch at an outdoor cafe at the entrance and did a little shopping at the outdoor market that was also nearby.

I couldn't leave without taking a giant leap into the air above the castle to get this aerial shot.

We drove back to the cottage to find Cindy's mom feeling much better and enjoyed a nice dinner out later in the evening.

Next post: Château de Villandry and Château d' Azay-le-Rideau

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Every Wednesday in Loches is "Market Day", a tradition dating back to medieval times. In fact, all of the towns in the Loire Valley area have Market Days on various days of the week, but the Loches market day is the oldest, largest and most renowned. Area farmers, craftsmen (and women), bakers, wine makers and businesses all bring their wares and set up stalls that fill the center of the town and nearby smaller streets each Wednesday from 8am until 1pm.

And of course Cindy and her mom wanted to go to it.

As it turned out, I didn't mind because I had plans as well. We had lost Internet access at the cottage, so I was going to drop them at the market and take my laptop to a copy and printing business I had seen in town that advertised "Internet Access" to post my blog and check e-mail. Unfortunately, when I arrived the young lady on duty told me they no longer offered that service, even though a sign stating they did was plastered on their front window. So I had to go looking for Cindy and her mom in the mass of people at the market ahead of our pre-arranged meeting time. On the plus side, we had activated the "international roaming" feature on our cell phones for just this sort of possibility, so I simply called Cindy, found out where they were, and soon we were reunited.

After about 2 hours, we left to drive to Amboise, which was about 40 minutes away. The Château at Amboise was originally built in the 11th century and the surrounding land was expanded and added onto through the years. In 1434 it was seized by Charles VII after its owner had been convicted and executed for plotting against the King. In 1492 extensive rebuilding of the castle began, first in the French Gothic Flamboyant style and later in the Renaissance style.

The Château at Amboise is probably most famous as the childhood home and favored royal castle of King François I who was crowned King of France in 1515 and reigned until 1547. François I is considered to be France's first Renaissance monarch and it was during his reign that France made impressive cultural advances.

But Amboise, and the nearby (500 meters) manor house Clos Luce, are also famous as the places where Leonardo da Vinci spent the last 3 years of his life. In December 1516, da Vinci accepted François' invitation to live at Clos Luce free of charge in exchange for simply being available to talk to the King, who had a great interest in the arts, sciences and philosophy. Leonardo lived and worked at Clos Luce until his death on May 2, 1519.

Upon his death, da Vinci was buried in the church of Saint-Florentin, which was part of the Château Amboise. During the reign of Napoleon the church was in such a ruinous state that the engineer appointed by Napoleon had it dismantled and used some of the remaining stonework in remodeling Château Amboise. Some 60 years later, during excavation of the land where the church had stood, workers found a complete skeleton of a man along with pieces of stone which were inscribed with letters found in da Vinci's name. That skeleton was entombed in the Chapel of Saint-Hubert, which is next to Château de Amboise. Below are photos and a video of the chapel and his tomb.

Here is another view of Château de Amboise. Unfortunately, as in most castles, photo and video cameras are not permitted inside the castle. However, you'll see in the video clip after the photo, that I snuck a little shot inside later.

Château de Amboise is built on a small stone mountain, overlooking the Loire River. This shot is from the courtyard looking down river. You can see the bridge, which replaced the original ford, and observe how the small village grew up around the castle and crossed the Loire River.

Looking upriver in the background, with Cindy standing at the edge of a high castle turret.

A small memorial garden and statue to Leonardo da Vinci near the back of the castle grounds. History says that the King had an underground tunnel built in the mountain upon which Château de Amboise sits that ran from the castle to the manor house, Clos Luce, where da Vinci lived, and used it often to visit the Renaissance Man who had become his friend. Twenty years after his death, François was quoted as saying, "No man ever lived who had learned as much about sculpture, painting, and architecture, but still more that he was a very great philosopher."

Cindy and her mom on a turret on the opposite side of the castle which overlooked the main town of Amboise.

Here's a shot of the cafe across from the castle where we ate lunch before going to Clos Luce. The black arrow points to where we sat.

Rather than take the tunnel, lol, we walked the quarter mile to Clos Luce up this street.

The route we were taking ran parallel to the mountain that the castle sits upon. If you look closely, you can see past this entranceway to where a home was built into the side of the mountain..We saw several of these, some much older than others, along the way,

Here is Clos Luce, the manor house where Leonardo da Vinci lived the last years of his life. I could not get a good photo, so this is from a post card that I scanned and it allows you to see the entire front of the house. To the right you can see a portion of a hallway that is shown better in my next photo and the video clip below it, and there is another wing of the house behind what you can see in this first post card scan.

Again, no photos or videos allowed inside the house (and they even had cameras monitoring each room), but the house is full of da Vinci's notes, paintings and scale models of his inventions, as well as showing how he and his entourage lived while at Clos Luce. It was, for me anyway, awe-inspiring to walk through rooms he had walked in, touch walls and doors he had touched and stand in the study this great thinker and artist had worked in during the last days of his life.

You know how, on those psychological tests they give (I've taken WAY too many of them, lol) they always ask, "What person from history would you like to meet and talk to for an hour?". Well, ever since I was a young child, my answer has always been either Albert Einstein or Leonardo da Vinci. I stood in those rooms at Clos Luce and, in my mind's eye, watched him working and living and felt, in some small way, like I HAD been able to meet him.

500 years have passed since he lived, and we still view him and his genius with awe.

Here are two photos showing the other wing I mentioned above.

The gardens around Clos Luce are full of beautiful flowers. Here, Cindy and her mom admire some of the stunning roses.

Though the castle marathon is more for Cindy than for me, I absolutely enjoyed this tour of Château de Amboise and Clos Luce, and the insights it provided into the last years of da Vinci's life. Now, more than ever, I want to go to Florence and Milan in Italy to view his life and work there.

Next post: Château de Chambord

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One interesting thing occurred before we left the cottage. Cindy got up first to get a shower and while I laid in bed waiting for her to finish, I heard footsteps and creaking of the stairs on the stairway that went downstairs. When Cindy came out I told her that her mom was up because I heard her go downstairs. Cindy opened our bedroom door and, seeing her mom's bedroom door still closed across the small hallway, lightly knocked and called out "mom?". After a few moments her mom answered the door and when Cindy told her that we thought she was already up because I heard her on the stairs, she told Cindy she had just been awakened by Cindy's knocking.

Now Cindy's convinced the cottage is haunted. But wouldn't a ghost just float down through the floor, rather than walk down stairs? And even if it did walk, it wouldn't have any weight to cause the sound of footsteps or creaking because it's a ghost, right?

Anyway, after some lively breakfast table conversation about that subject (between the two of them; I just rolled my eyes and shook my head), we were off to visit Chenonceau. Cindy had figured out how to operate the onboard GPS system and programmed in our destination, though I still brought along the map just in case. However, no worries, we arrived without a problem except for where a new roundabout had been installed and the GPS didn't know about it. But it was well-marked and we stayed on course and DID arrive before the loaded tour busses.

In 1243 the original castle was built on this site on the banks of the River Cher. The Royal Treasurer Thomas Bohier bought the old castle in 1512 and destroyed it to build on the site. While Bohier was in Italy on business for the King, his wife Catherine Briconnet was in charge of the beautiful design and construction in the Renaissance style of the Chateau and completed it in 1521. Chenonceau is not the largest or the most historically significant castle in the region but it has touched the hearts of many across the centuries.

After the deaths of Bohier and his wife. the castle belonged to King Francois I and later King Henri II’s mistress, Diane de Poitier, to whom he gave it as a gift though this was against royal rules. Diane captured the Kings heart completely. A wild and beautiful ‘hunting goddess’, she was said to regularly swim naked at sunrise in the River Cher, and then riding throughout the nearby forest on her grey Stallion. Diane was devoted to her King and the beloved Chateau and it was she who commissioned the arched bridge gallery that crosses the River Cher and the formal gardens.

When King Henri II died, his wife, Catherine de Medici forced Diane to leave Chenonceau under royal rules, but gave her Chaumont in exchange. After taking possession of Chenonceau, Catherine de Medici had the bridge gallery that was built by Diane covered, and added another two floors above it. She also added her own garden.

This was surprising. Here we are, 4,450 miles from our home of Orlando, Florida, which is in Orange County (so named because the entire region used to be covered with orange groves) and at the entrance to Chateau de Chenonceau in France we find...orange trees!

More of those swallow's nests under overhangs of the castle. Except these are piled one on top of the other, resembling some kind of swallow condos.

Cindy and her mom sitting on a bench at the castle entrance with the River Cher in the background.

As is the case with most castles, no video cameras are allowed and photos may only be taken with the flash off. Some of these will not be as good as they could have been, but they will give you an idea of what the inside looked like.

Here is the chapel/prayer room.

A royal bedroom. all of the bedrooms (8 or 9 in Chenonceau) in ALL of the castles look pretty much the same, with the only difference being the decor. They all have a canopied bed, an armoire, a fireplace, chairs, heavily draped windows and tapestries or paintings on the walls. Most of them have intricately designed ceilings.

One of my favorite pictures of Cindy; in fact I have it as the "wallpaper" now on my laptop screen. We were in the study and she was looking out the window to the River Cher. The lighting was absolutely perfect for the environment of the castle and I snapped this when she turned as I called out her name.

The bridge gallery, looking from the castle side to the end on the other side of the river.

Here's an outside view of the bridge gallery. The bridge gallery has some interesting history, apart from its construction by Diane and additions by Catherine. In World War I, it served as a military hospital. During World War II, the River Cher marked the boundary between free and German occupied France. The bridge through the castle became both a method of escaping occupied France, and a way for Resistance fighters to sneak back across into occupied France.

Going downstairs, we entered the service areas of the castle. Here is the room where game was butchered for meals.

Here is the kitchen, taken from the top of a short set of stone steps.

And a view of the same kitchen from the opposite corner.

We then walked upstairs to the second story (which is as high as the public can go) and out to the stone balconies that overlook the entrance at the front of the castle.

By this time the hordes of tourists were arriving as we left the castle and headed for the gardens. Here's Cindy's mom trying to snag a few grapes off the vine.

Cindy and her mom, sitting at the entrance to the garden with Chenonceau in the background.

A still shot of the fountain.

Looking from the far end of the garden up the River Cher toward Chenonceau.

On the opposite side of the entrance near the other gardens, Cindy's mom and I with the original medieval tower behind us and the castle behind the tower.

Cindy and her mom at the entrance to the other gardens.

Entering the small forest near the front of the grounds, with the garden and castle in the background.

That is one big Christmas tree!

Cindy and her mom in front of a decorative arbor.

Chenonceau also has a wine cellar on the property. Here are three photos I took while we were down in the cellar. We bought some bottles of wine here that were very, very good.

It was about 1:30 by this time and we were hungry, so we went over to one of the cafes on the grounds and enjoyed a nice lunch sitting in the dining area outside. After that, we took a leisurely ride back to the cottage, enjoying the countryside, before arriving "home" around 4pm.

Next post: Amboise and Le Clos Luce

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As you can see from the map, The Logis Royale dominates the Northern point of the medieval city. What you cannot tell from the map is that it is built on a rocky spur that rises up above and overlooks the city.

Many of France's historical scenes have taken place in the Royal Lodge. It was built by Charles VI, and later resided in by Agnes Sorel, "Damoyselle de Beauté" of Charles VII (you saw her tomb in the pictures from The Collegiate Church of St. Ours in our previous post), the first "official mistress" of a King of France.

It was to the Royal Lodge that Joan of Arc came on June 3 and June 5, 1429 to beg Charles VII to go to Reims to be crowned King of France.

Anne de Bretagne or Anne of Brittany resided in the Logis Royale as Queen/Consort to two French kings; Charles VIII and Louis XII and the lodge contains her oratory with its beautiful stone filigree design.

Here's a photo of Cindy in front of one of the magnificent tapestries within the Logis Royale. Taking photos with a flash is not permitted inside the Royal Lodge due to the damage the light (multiplied hundreds of times each day by tourists) causes to these tapestries, draperies and fabric in upholstery and videotaping is not permitted inside under any circumstances.

Cindy's mom in one of the reading rooms.

After touring the inside, we walked outside to the small side courtyard that overlooks part of the city.

Looking up at the top of the Logis Royale.

Cindy and her mom in the small side courtyard gazing at the Lodge.

Then I discovered what it was that they were gazing at. There were dozens of swallows' nests built under the overhanging part of the wall.

And where there are swallows' nests, you'll find swallows. Flying, swooping, darting and performing all sorts of aerial gymnastics. Even at the seemingly fast speed of their flight, by watching the video below you'll see they can unerringly fly right up to the hole in the nest and enter without incident.

After we finished "oohing" and "ahhhing" over the swallows, we walked around to the other side of the Lodge where there is a nice park area with benches. In the picture below, Cindy isn't really sleeping, she just has an uncanny ability to close her eyes when I take a picture. I usually have to re-shoot the picture in order to get one with her eyes open, but this time I just let it go so you could see what I had to put up with whenever I took a picture where she was facing the camera. Love ya, babe!

Walking back to where we parked the car, we decided to take a short tour of the more modern section of Loches. I happened to look up and saw something that made me stop and laugh hanging from a third story window.

Can't tell what it is? Ok, here's a close-up.

It looks to me like some type of lawn gnome and I wondered if he was on a world tour (a few years ago someone stole a lawn gnome from its owner's front yard and took it around the country or the world, taking pictures of it in different locales and sending the photos to the owner over a period of a year before finally returning the traveling gnome back to its home) and was being displayed as a kind of badge of honor by the kidnapper. Whatever the story behind this hanging gnome, the sight alone made me laugh.

I just liked this view of a part of the Indre River, which flows through and around parts of Loches.

We had lunch at a nice little cafe and walked around afterward looking for a grocery store so we could stock the cottage with vittles. There are only 2 grocery stores in Loches; one in town and one on the outskirts of town. After getting directions to the one in town from the Tourist Center, we drove to it and I parallel parked the car in a very small space on the street in front of the store (no parking lots for hundreds of vehicles like we have in the States) and we walked up to the door and pulled on it, only to find the store (and most businesses in the town, region and country) closes each day from 12:45 to 2:45 in the afternoon. It was 2pm, so we had to wait 45 minutes for everyone to return from lunch and open the store. My mother-in-law had warned me about this, but I thought that in the 18 years since she had been here that this would have been a practice that would have ceased. Why lose 2 hours of income from customers each day? Oh well, one of the things we liked about the country was the slower pace of life, and this was part of that. Just took a little getting used to, that's all.

We returned to the cottage around 4:30 and relaxed for the remainder of the day.

Next post: Chateau de Chenonceau

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Here is a photo of the exterior of the church. Please note that this is not a photo I took, but rather one I downloaded from a website. I'm not sure how this picture was taken, as there was no way I could have been able to get this view when we were there. I'm going to assume that it was taken from a location we did not have access to during our visit.

The Collegiate Church of St. Ours was originally founded in 962 A.D., but what you see in it's current form dates from the 12th century. Among the church's distinguishing architectural features are the twin hollow octagonal pyramids covering the nave, as seen in the photo above.

Here's Cindy and her mom approaching the entrance.

Once you step through the entrance, you find yourself in the vestibule where you can make a donation and/or dip your finger(s) in the holy water fount (though it's not really a fountain, just a stone bowl with still water).

Beyond the vestibule is the main hall or nave.

And at the far end is the altar area.

To the left (as you're facing the altar area) is a smaller vestibule containing the marble tomb of Agnes Sorel. You'll find her fascinating story here and here.

Looking up into one of the hollow octagonal pyramids from the floor of the main hall.

On the way out of the church, against my advice, Cindy wanted to dip her fingers into the Holy Water. I snapped the photo below just as her hand started smoking and then I high-tailed it out of the vestibule before it filled with thick, black smoke.

Next post: The Medieval Town and Castle of Loches - Part 3

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Loches, with a population of 7,000, is picturesquely situated above the Indre, a left-bank tributary of the Loire. On the hill above the town is the Medieval City (Cité Médiévale), surrounded by a circuit of walls 2km/1.5mi long. This town within a town is entered through the Porte Royale, a fortified gate which was once approached by a drawbridge.

And that's where we first see Cindy and her mom, first in a photo and then in a video clip.

Now, here's a map of the Medieval City. We'll enter through the Porte Royale (as seen above) and explore the Donjon during this first part. In part 2 we'll tour the Church of St-Ours and Logis Royal, both rich in history.

Here are a couple of photos of the exterior of the Donjon and a couple of videos. The first video is the exterior of the Donjon and the second is my on-camera talent, Cindy, giving a short history of the Donjon. I apologize in advance for the sound of the wind on the built-in microphone.

Here we are inside at the entrance to the Donjon (also known as "the keep") and this suit of armor looks to be trying to put the moves on my mother-in-law.

Going down to the dungeon and torture rooms.

Cindy looks like a jailer, satisfied that she has her prisoner in the bowels of the keep.

Here I am, in irons and struggling to escape.

Cindy standing in a fireplace.

This is the graffiti room, where prisoners had carved various things into the walls.

I just liked the way the light came through the gate into the room on this one.

Next, it was time to climb to the top. Again, the stairs are circular and tight. Here's the view from the top down the stairs.

Below are 3 photos from the top and a video taken at the top. Apologies again for the sound of the wind on the built-in microphone.

The next photo is from the top looking down. You'll see a white Fleur-De-Lis. That marks the spot where I'm standing in the photo following this one and shows the spot where I was standing to take that shot.

The black Fleur-De-Lis in this photo shows where I was standing to take the shot above.

Cindy, standing in one of the arches overlooking the area outside the Donjon.

Wrapping up our tour of the Donjon.

This kicks off our week of castles, castles and nothing but castles. So if you plan on returning, do what I did and learn to love them...or at least endure them.

Next post: The Medieval Town and Castle of Loches - Part 2

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We got to enjoy more scenic countryside, but most of our trip was on France's very well-maintained motorway, which is equivalent to our turnpike in Florida...except much nicer. The only issue we had with the motorway was...well watch the video below and see.

I originally thought I was on an episode of Punk'd when I first stepped into their "restroom". Either that or primitive camping but I had to wonder; why build all this for a hole in the ground? Why not go ahead and put in toilets? And they were all the same, whether it was for men or women. If you're a man and you only need to urinate, then you can just point and shoot. But if you're a man who needs to defecate or you're a woman, then you straddle the hole in the floor, grab hold of the bars on each side and lower yourself into a standing/squatting position...I think. I mean I never observed anyone actually use one, but looking at how the elements are arranged that appears to be the mechanics of how it works. I was too embarrassed to actually ask anyone. Although we saw quite a few toilets without seats in our travels, we never saw any more of these toilets without toilets. They seemed to be unique to the motorway. Thank goodness.

Needless to say, none of us used the restroom facilities at the motorway rest stops. But otherwise the French motorway is an excellent way to drive long distances in the country.

We finally arrived in Loches around 3pm, but still needed to find Mouzay (Moozay), a small town about 10 kms away from Loches, where our cottage was located. Despite all our best efforts we could not see any signs showing the road(s) to Mouzay but as we drove into Loches we spotted a Tourism building and, amazingly on a Sunday afternoon, it was open! And the helpful young lady inside spoke English! She graciously pulled out a map, marked our route and, after Cindy purchased a book about a local castle, we were on our way.

The next little hitch came in Mouzay when we could not find any signs with street names. Although we did not at the time know how to program the GPS, it did show what roads we were on and we finally drove onto a road and the GPS showed it was the one we were looking for (glad it was a very small town) and we located Saint Anne, the cottage where we would be spending the next week making day trips out to castles in the countryside. Below are some photos:

Here is the outside of the back of the cottage. In the lower left corner are the double French doors (how appropriate, lol) that lead out to the backyard. The window on the far right top is in the stairway inside, the window immediately to its left is in our bedroom and the double windows on the far left are in our bathroom. Cindy's mom's bedroom and bath are on the opposite side of the cottage on the second floor as well.

This shot is taken from the double French doors looking out into the backyard. The building on the left is a former church school that the cottage draws its name from (also now owned by the family who owns our cottage) and they told us the cottage we were in was a former dormitory for the students of that school.

An old well, now capped, sits close to the back of our cottage.

A beautiful spray of yellow roses in the area that separates our cottage grounds from the owner's home next door and in front of the former church school building.

The kitchen/dining area from the stairway on the back wall, facing one of two doors that open out to the front courtyard.

The living room area. Out of sight to the left are the double French doors that lead to the backyard. The curtained spot on the right covers a second door that opens out into the front courtyard and is right next to the kitchen door seen earlier, separated by a wall that divides the kitchen from the living room area.

Standing by the curtained door in the living room looking back to the double French doors.

The stairway at the back of the kitchen/dining room area, leading upstairs to the bedrooms.

Our bedroom looking back to our bathroom area.

Cindy's mom's bedroom looking back to her bathroom area.

A view of the stairway going down into the kitchen/dining and living room areas.

A shot of the kitchen/dining area from the stairway.

From the same stairway looking toward the living room area.

Your guess is as good as mine. Cindy was playing with my camera again.

After getting unpacked, we drove back into Loches for dinner. This was the only place we found open on a Sunday evening (it's about 6pm and the sun won't actually set until around 9:30pm) so it was Italian for dinner in France, lol.

Cindy and her mom got lasagna, but I ordered a cheese pizza with block olives. Turns out this is typical of this type of pizza; you get 4 or 5 black olives in the middle of the pie instead of spread throughout it. Oh and the black olives aren't sliced or pitted, they are whole with pits.

After dinner we strolled around a little bit, but we were all tired from the drive and ready to relax so we returned to the cottage to rest and get a good night's sleep for the outing on Monday.

Next Post: The Medieval Town and Castle of Loches

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While Cindy and her mom looked around the inside of the store I drifted over to the restaurant side to discover that this was the place our B & B host had warned us catered to the tour groups and that we should avoid eating there as the food was prepared in the morning for the lunchtime crowds and thus was not as fresh as the Hotel Baudy. So, after the ladies finished browsing through the store we walked a 1/4 km down Rue de Claude Monet...

...and saw this fine fellow...

...on our way to the Hotel Baudy...

...for lunch.

I decided to try a French beer known as Hotteterre which is, judging by the label, apparently named after the French musician Jacques-Martin Hotteterre.

This was a most excellent tasting ale and complimented my Fried Goat Cheese with Potatoes and Salad, which was delicious as well.

We had an amusing situation while here. The waiter was bringing our drinks and I had forgotten to ask for water. When we were there the previous evening a young lady had served us and brought us a bottle of water. The bottle had some kind of label on it ("Vittel", I think). Anyway, when we placed our order I had forgotten to ask for water, so as the waiter was placing wine glasses and an unmarked clear bottle in front of Cindy I said, "Oh I forgot, we would like a bottle of water as well". He looked at me in confusion and both Cindy and her mom got these funny looks on their faces and Cindy said, "Honey, this (the unmarked bottle) IS water." Looking sheepish, I responded, "Oh" and the waiter put a mock expression of concern on his face and said, "No more beer for you, sir."

Ok, maybe you had to be there.

The Baudy Hotel is a main gathering point for artists visiting from America, Europe and Asia and it was fun for me (a die hard people-watcher) to observe the variety of folks enjoying meals in this dining room or passing through on their way to their hotel room.

After our delectable lunch, we walked back up the Rue de Claude Monet to the Musée d’Art Américain (American Art Museum), which since 1992 has existed to promote American/French cultural relationships in art, and to provide grants to American and French art students to participate in an exchange program between the two countries.

The Musée d’Art Américain is also surrounded by gardens of bright, colorful flowers...

...and a field that is thought to have been the subject of one of Monet's paintings, "Poppyfield Near Giverny".

Cindy sitting under a tree next to the poppy field.

Cindy and her mom enjoying one of the gardens around the Musée d’Art Américain.

We left here and returned to the B & B for a short nap, then returned to Giverny at dinnertime and the Hotel Baudy for our final meal there. Then it was back to the B & B to pack, get a good night's sleep and prepare for our drive to the Loire Valley the following day.

Next Post: I Say Mouzay

An Afternoon in Giverny remains copyright of the author WorldQuest, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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After Monet's death in 1926, his step-daughter did her best to maintain the premises, but time and German bombs in World War II left the home damaged and in disrepair and the gardens barren of flowers and overgrown with weeds. Monet's son bequeathed the property to the Académie des Beaux-Arts in 1966 and after years of extensive renovation that was assisted by copious notes by Monet himself and eyewitness accounts of those who worked in the gardens, it was reopened in 1980. Today, the gardens are exact replicas of what Monet himself experienced a century ago.

Here's a picture of Cindy and her mom on the first bridge.

One of the small streams through the Water Garden.

I really like this shot of Cindy and her mom.

Here's another art student sketching and, if you look at the inset, you can see she is adding a wash to the sketch. When I stopped and asked, in English, if she would mind if I took a picture of her she looked up a little startled and replied, "Oh, sure" in English as well. The gentleman with her asked me where I was from and I said, "Orlando, Florida, USA" and he said "We're from Gainesville, Florida". It really is a small world, isn't it?"

Cindy and I.

Cindy and her mom in front of the lily pond

The lily pond.

Here's a small video from the Japanese Water Garden.

Another beautiful flower.

Cindy's mom on the opposite shore of the lily pond.

A beautiful flower on the bank of the lily pond.

Cindy's mom in front of the lily pond.

Another...ok you already know.

Cindy and her mom in front of a tree.

Contemplating all the beauty of the gardens.

When you stroll through the gardens, or even just sit and soak in the natural beauty of the flowers, plants, trees, ponds and architecture, it is truly a wonderful experience. To know that, what you have seen painted by a master such as Claude Monet and rendered on canvas in masterpieces that are now displayed on museum walls, these gardens are exactly what he drew inspiration from, not only in visual sense but on a multitude of levels such as the sounds of the wind and birds, the fragrance of the flowers and even the impossible to quantify "feeling" that washes over you and through you.

It is so easy to see why artists are drawn here. In another life, I would love to be here sketching, drawing, painting and gathering inspiration from the surroundings of this town and garden. But it is not only artists who are attracted to this place, it is anyone who appreciates the expression of art and life from nature, which is found in abundance here in Giverny and Monet's Garden. This is an amazing place and I will be forever thankful that we spent time visiting the home and gardens of the father of Impressionism.

Next Post: An Afternoon in Giverny

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Monet's first garden, the Clos Normand, filled the land in front of his home. In 1893, 10 years after he arrived in Giverny, Monet purchased a nearby parcel of land on the other side of a railway and a small path. By diverting a small tributary of the Epte River, Monet was able to create his Water Garden, which was based on engravings of Japanese gardens he had seen and which hang throughout the walls of his home. In later years, after Monet's death, the path was expanded into a road and so, when the gardens were restored within the last 3 decades a tunnel was built to allow safe crossing between the two gardens. Giverny hosts a half-million visitors to its village and Monet's Garden during the 7 months (April through October) each year that the gardens are open.

I shot more than 300 pictures between the 2 gardens and it has been difficult to choose which few would be included in my post. Even though we first visited the Clos Normand, then crossed the tunnel to visit the Water Garden and then returned to tour the house (because the lines to get in the house were so long due to a tour group, as you'll see in one of the pictures and in the video), I thought it best to divide the posts into 2 separate entries; one showing Clos Normand and one showing the Japanese Water Garden, in order to show as many photos as possible without it becoming tedious to read and view.

After a delicious breakfast prepared by Carl and Maria at the B & B, we arrived around 10am at the parking area for Monet's Garden.

Cindy and her mom are all smiles as they stand in the line to enter the garden.

Here's a blown up photo of The Master himself, Claude Monet.

Cindy's mom standing beside a hint of what's to come.

A beautiful flower...I have no idea what its name might be, but it's still beautiful.

Cindy's mom standing in front a portion of Monet's House.

A view down the main walkway of the Clos Normand.

Tour group lined up to enter the House, so we came back later.

A shot of a portion of the Clos Normand. Artists were in abundant attendance, sketching, painting and drawing flowers, plants or scenes throughout both gardens. I felt the old familiar yearning to pick up a sketch pad and pencil in order to capture my own vision of the beauty of these gardens, but contented myself with using my camera.

Another beautiful flower. I can't show you all the shots of the gorgeous flowers I took, so I'm just trying to pick out a few to share.

But before we go any farther, I should let you see the video shot in the Clos Normand. Turn up the volume.

Cindy's mom beneath an absolutely spectacular rose tree.

A stunning rose

Cindy and her mom.

We finally made it into the house. Here, Cindy and her mom gaze out the second story window of Monet's study to the gardens below.

Cindy's mom, back on the ground in Clos Normand.

It is difficult, if not impossible, to explain or even capture with a camera the beauty of the garden and the feelings that well up inside you as you stroll among the flowers, plants and trees. Everything seems to almost become sublime and calm, yet at the same time your spirit feels refreshed and energized. This is a trip I shall not soon forget.

Next Post: Monet's Garden - The Japanese Water Garden

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After looking over the road map (and ignoring the in-dash GPS because we could not find instructions on how to properly operate the device) we decided on what looked like the best route for our 1 hour drive and got underway.

We finally arrived in Giverny almost 4 hours later.

A few things we did not take into account; choosing what looked like the most direct route also took us through undeveloped countryside and small towns where speed is negated severely, French road signs on these back roads are either relegated to being a small cement marker 2 feet off the ground or are simply non-existent (we passed one road because we missed it, turned back around and still missed it and finally saw the sign on our third return pass), traffic in even the small towns is brutally heavy and no one is any particular hurry.

In actuality, this would not have been all that bad except we were hungry and I was aggravated at missing roads and signs. The truth is the countryside and small towns were beautiful and after a while we realized that we were getting to see some wonderful scenery. Later in the week, when Cindy finally figured out how the GPS worked, we discovered we could have taken the same or a similar route to enjoy the scenery, but would not have missed roads or turns because the voice guidance system ("In 250 meters, at the roundabout, take the second exit") would have accurately directed us along the way.

But we finally arrived in Giverny, parked at a lot near Monet's Garden and our host at the Bed & Breakfast we were staying at, Le Petit Logis, drove out to meet us and lead us back to the B & B, which is a scant 4 kilometers outside Giverny. The place is beautiful, as you'll see in the photos below and Carl & Maria are absolutely wonderful hosts!

After we unloaded our luggage, Carl directed us to the well-known Hotel Baudy for dinner in their restaurant. While it is true we were hungry, their food was excellent in and of itself because of the freshness of the ingredients, talent of their chef and the atmosphere that surrounded you in the dining area. In fact, we enjoyed the food and the ambience so much that we also indulged ourselves with lunch and dinner there the next day.

Our appetites sated and our bodies weary, we returned to Le Petit Logis, took the photos below and retired for the night to prepare for our visit to Monet's Garden the next day.

Here is a view of the outside of the portion where we were staying. Carl and Maria live on the other side of this and Maria's parents live to the right.

As you step through the sliding glass doors you enter the dining area and beyond that the living room area. The stairway to the left leads upstairs to the sleeping area and you can see a bit of the second floor at the top of this picture.

Looking back from the living room area to the dining area and out the sliding glass doors

Going upstairs. (I didn't fall down these, thank goodness)

Looking up from the dining area to our bedroom with Cindy waving from the opening.

Looking down on the dining area from Cindy's vantage point at the opening.

The view of the sleeping area where Cindy's mom slept from our bedroom. She had her choice of 3 beds to choose from and the bathroom is at the far end of this room straight ahead.

Opposite view from the bathroom with our bedroom at the far end straight ahead.

Our bedroom from the doorway (yes, we had already messed up the bed).

Our bedroom facing back toward to door.

I mentioned our fantastic hosts, Carl and Maria, earlier. Here is a photo of them in front of the fireplace downstairs. They were always so gracious to us, prepared fabulous breakfasts for us (Maria makes homemade strawberry jam and oh, it was SO delicious!) and gave us so many tips and helpful pieces of advice, as well as working out directions for us to the Loire Valley the morning we left. I can highly and without equivocation recommend Le Petit Logis Bed & Breakfast to any and all travelers who find themselves in or near Giverny. Contact them at lepetitlogis@yahoo.co.uk I guarantee you will fall in love with them and their B & B.

After a night of blissful sleep, we were ready to visit Monet's Garden on Saturday morning.

Next Post: Monet's Garden - Can We Just Live Here?

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So, this morning we finish packing our suitcases (now bulging with souvenirs, brochures, books, etc.), so I can take them down those 4 flights of winding circular stairs to await the 9:15am arrival of our shuttle service that will take us to the airport where we can pick up the rental car we'll be using for the remainder of our time here. When we arrived 6 days ago we had 3 large suitcases; 1 weighed 39 pounds and 2 weighed 47 pounds each. We now have those same 3 AND a 4th that we brought along empty for extra packing that is now filled. And we each have a carryon.

At 8:30 we start our game plan. Since I am freshly rested from a good night's sleep, I will take the 2 suitcases that weigh 47 pounds each (one in each hand) down the stairs, followed by my mother-in-law (so if she should fall she would fall into me and not the hard wood stairs) and then Cindy with one of the carryons. In the courtyard outside the apartment, we will leave the 2 heaviest bags and the carryon with my mother-in-law seated next to them on a bench to watch them while we return for the remainder of bags and carryon. Here's a picture to remind you of what those wonderful stairs looked like.

So we start our first trip down the stairs. As we're approaching the landing of the 2nd floor I turned my head to look back at my mother-in-law and said something along the lines of "Watch your step" and promptly missed the next step below me, falling forward to the landing and smashing my right knee into the last step and then into the landing itself, as well as slamming my right elbow first on the wooden stair rail and then into the landing. Only the suitcase in my left hand kept me from hitting the landing face first, acting as a barrier that my chest ran into.

My first instinct was to stand up immediately so that neither Cindy or her mom would rush down the stairs and fall themselves, but my right knee had other ideas. It was feeling like I'd been in a Ric Flair figure four leg lock and made it clear in painful statements that it did not care for my first instinct. But I still managed to stand, assure them I was ok, and then continue down the next flight of stairs.

I must have subconsciously enjoyed that first fall so much that I decided to repeat it again just before the NEXT landing. Somehow, as careful as I was trying to be, I still missed a step and crashed down onto the first floor landing. Maybe my knee was proving the point it tried to make earlier. Or maybe I really, really didn't want to leave Paris, lol.

But leave we did. We were picked up and taken to the airport where we in turn picked up our reserved rental car, a nice Citroen C5 mid-size sedan, which was a free upgrade from our original compact model. It turned out to be a good thing we got the upgrade as it meant Cindy's mom only had to sit with a suitcase and a carryon next to her in the backseat, instead of baggage on her lap. Oh, and the car had a beautiful, built-in GPS system with voice, except we had no clue about how to use it that first day. We would regret that ignorance later in the day.

Our plan was to drive to Versailles and, after consulting our maps and our host's directions, we were on our way. About an hour later we arrived and were a little perplexed by what we saw.

The entire complex was being renovated, outside and inside and even the parking area was a temporary lot with rocks and dust. Lots of dust. Still, the former palace WAS open for business and we were here so...in we went.

And then around to the back

We then returned inside to see the famed Hall of Mirrors

Our necks in pain from looking at painted ceilings, we returned to our now dusty car and hit the road again, on our way to Giverny.

Next post: Do You Know The Way to Giverny?

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Knowing we would be in France during Mother's Day, we thought it would be a treat for Cindy's mom if we took her to Ladurée to enjoy some of their renowned sweets in the tearoom as a Mother's Day gift. The only hitch would be that we would have to do it before we left Paris on Friday and so we planned to go today after leaving Notre Dame.

After getting to the subway stop closest to Ladurée on Champs-Élysées, we were walking the short distance to it when Cindy stopped dead in her tracks at this sight:

Of course, Paris wasn't really melting, it was just an interesting piece of artwork on the wall of a building. Still, it does get your attention, doesn't it?

Here is a photo of Cindy and her mom looking over the menu posted outside the private party entrance to Ladurée. I know it's a private party entrance because the nice gentlemen inside informed me of that when we stepped through the curtained doorway; first in French and then, seeing our dumbfounded looks, again in English. Turns out the regular entrance is down at the other end. Stupid Americans!

Of course we almost walked right past the public entrance because they had it practically covered in construction scaffolding, as you can see in the video below. If you have your volume turned up, you'll also hear my fantastic commentary.

Once we finally found the right door and made our way inside, we were escorted to the tearoom upstairs. I only took the one picture below, as the atmosphere was not really one that was conducive to taking photographs.

We had a wonderful time and enjoyed some of the best sweets and tea I have ever tasted.

Next post: We leave Paris

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Thursday morning our day begins with a subway ride to Notre Dame. We also get some entertainment in the subway tunnel from this group who were performing chamber orchestra style music.

Although musical performers in the subway tunnels and in the subway cars is pretty typical (we endured/enjoyed an accordion player, saxophone player, guitar player and cello player at various times), this group was far from typical. In fact, their playing was fantastic and they even had CD's of their performances to sell. We donated a few euros since there were so many of them.

I have the feeling that most of the performers we encountered (at least the ones who were any good) probably have gigs at night and supplement those (as well as getting extra practice) with these performances in or on the subway. That's my thought, if you have definite information that is otherwise, please feel free to comment.

So, in answer to Mary D's question in the last post's comments, yes we did go to Notre Dame. Personally, it is not a big draw for me except from an historical, architectural and artistic standpoint. But you can't go to Paris without at least stopping in to see it, right? Here's some pictures from the front on the outside:

And a couple from the inside:

They also had a very nice model of the church:

And here is a shot of the bell tower that the nuns were trying to get me to be the bell ringer in. No way! You could only get up there by walking 422 steps up a circular stairway. What is it with the French and circular stairways?

Afterward, Cindy and her mom bought some souvenirs at a shop across the street, and then we walked back to the subway station to head to our next destination: Laduree!!

The Hunchback of Notre Dame remains copyright of the author WorldQuest, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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I should mention here that thus far, we have not seen hide nor hair of the legendary "rude Frenchman" that all Americans are warned about. In fact, we have met several friendly, helpful and courteous French citizens. When we step onto a subway car and there are no empty seats, someone will invariably stand up and offer Cindy's mom their seat (and yes, I know there are instructions to do so on the subway car maps, but that doesn't mean people will do so). In dealing with businesses, our experience has been that if we make the effort to try to speak French, they will almost always then speak English to you, probably just to stop you from mangling their native tongue like I do when I say "Bone Jore", lol.

One day we were standing at a busy subway tunnel crossroad and I was looking at the route map in my hand trying to make sure we were heading to the right platform when a woman just sort of materialized out of the mass of humanity streaming past us and asked if she could help us find our way. She looked at where we were going and pointed out that we wanted the opposite platform. We thanked her and she wished us a good day and melted back into the herd of people stampeding through the tunnel crossroad. Viva la France!

After enjoying our meal (and some tasty sorbet for dessert) we walked on down to Pont Neuf Bridge to cross over for our Night Cruise on the Seine to see the lights of the city and the Eiffel Tower. However, we had to stop midway across the bridge to admire the sunset on the Seine:

And we couldn't stop there. So I took this picture of Cindy and her mom:

And Cindy's mom took this photo of Cindy and I:

Then it was time to board the boat for our Night Cruise. I bought a bottle of white wine and some plastic cups at the dock so we could sip wine and enjoy the lights of the City of Lights on our one hour cruise, which started at 9:30pm.

Here's some of the video Cindy took while we cruised through the darkness up the Seine:

Here is one of about 400 shots I took of the Eiffel Tower lit up:

And a picture of Cindy and her mom on the boat. Yes, it was cold!

Ok, ok you twisted my arm, here's one more of about 400 shots I took of the Eiffel Tower lit up:

I have to tell you that this was something I really wanted to do while in Paris, but during the day I kept thinking it was selfish of me to keep Cindy and her mom out late in the cold. However, every time I broached the idea of skipping this boat ride they both insisted we go on it. I'm so glad they did as it was a beautiful sight and they both assured me that they too enjoyed the ride and the lights.

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So, we jumped back on the subway following our tour of the Rodin Museum and Garden to make our way over to the Louvre for a second day in that great museum.

Cindy has had a long fascination with Egyptian history and artifacts, so we spent quite a bit of time walking through the Pharaoh's wing checking out sphinxes, sarcophagi and mummies galore.

After shaking the sand out of our shoes, we trekked over to the Mesopotamia wing. Or I should say we tried to get to the Mesopotamia wing. Even with a map, I was having difficulty navigating the vast expanse of the Louvre. The various wings, rooms and exhibits are not only spread out across the Louvre, they are also on different floors so you might find yourself going down one level, through an exhibit and then up another level to cross buildings and try to find the exhibit you are searching for...only to discover you should have gone down another level. So, as we walked through wings, rooms and exhibits with our feet growing more and more tired, Cindy declared we were "Lost in The Louvre".

I finally relented (men never stop and ask for directions, you know) and asked a blazer-jacketed Louvre attendant how to get to the Mesopotamia wing. Following her excellent directions we finally found the wing and then went about searching for this:

The Code of Hammurabi is one of the earliest (1795-1750 BC) codifications of law and regulation of human behavior, carved into an 8 foot tall piece of black basalt rock. It really is quite amazing to stand so close to this early documentation of not only Babylonian laws, but basic laws of mankind.

Obviously, I have taken many, many more photos than I can ever post here, so I typically pick the few that I think are the best and get across the story of our trip. Here are 3 from that afternoon in The Louvre that I really liked.

This is just one of the smaller halls within The Louvre.

Statues like this could easily keep me in The Louvre for a very long time, if only I had the time.

Next post: Night Boat Ride on the Seine

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We lost Internet access here a few days ago when the modem went "Pffft!!" (that's a technical French word meaning FUBAR) but hopefully it is back up permanently now, or at least through the end of our trip Friday night. What this means is that I'll be trying to catch up the posts and upload videos and photos even after we return home Saturday night. Thanks for staying with us during our technical difficulties.

Wednesday morning we got a relatively late start because we planned to be out late that night on a boat ride up the Seine to see the city lights and Eiffel Tower at night. Since it doesn't get dark here until about 9:30, we knew we'd be out and about until midnight or so. Because of that we didn't leave the apartment until 10am to take the subway to what is the world's foremost collection of works by sculptor Auguste Rodin, the Musée Rodin.

The building and grounds that make up the Musée Rodin have quite a background. The main building is a mansion that was built by Abraham Peyrenc in the seventeenth century when Paris' Left Bank was still uninhabited. Peyrenc had come to Paris to seek his fortune and upon striking it rich ordered the most superb house Paris had ever seen to be built in the Faubourg Saint-Germain area. The house was completed in 1731, but Peyrenc died just one year later. His widow gave the house to the Duchess of Maine. Upon the death of the duchess, the mansion became the property of the Duke and Duchess of Biron where it received its current name, the Hotel Biron.

The beautiful surroundings attracted artists including Auguste Rodin, who rented several rooms in which to store his art. The rooms became his studio where he worked and entertained friends among the gardens. Beginning in 1909, Rodin pleaded with the French government not to destroy the house but to make it a museum of his work. He donated all his property, correspondence, and pieces of art to the state, and finally, in 1916, the government agreed to convert the Hotel Biron into a museum for him. Rodin passed away on November 17, 1917.

Without a doubt the most famous sculpture that Rodin is known for is his "The Thinker", the contemplative individual that began as a representation of Dante in the relief work of art he created known as "The Gates of Hell". He later re-worked it to symbolize not Dante, but an anonymous male figure representing all poets or creators in that same relief work. Interestingly, Rodin himself never sculpted the full-sized work that stands alone, but rather supervised the larger recasting of his work by professional reducteurs Henri Lebosse and Alexis Rudier, who between them produced approximately 20 larger versions, all commissioned and overseen by Rodin.

After walking through the first portion of the garden, we came upon a small cafe. This was fortuitous as we were hungry, having had just a small breakfast due to our later start that morning. We sat outdoors at the edge of the gardens and were joined by pigeons and sparrows, who were glad for our company...and our bread. Here's a picture of a sparrow that landed on my table and allowed me to take his photo while he ate a piece of bread from my sandwich.

Our stomachs full and our spirits lifted by our feathered friends, we continued through the garden portion of the estate, specifically the sculpture section of the gardens. Below is a picture of the famous Rodin relief work of art, "The Gates of Hell" with Cindy and her mom in the photo to show the size of the piece.

And of course, me storming... uh, I mean struggling to open, the Gates of Hell.

We enjoyed many of Rodin's works in the gardens, including "The Burghers of Calais", "Monument to Victor Hugo" and "Balzac" among others, and then made our way into the inside museum where we saw another one of Rodin's most famous works (and again one which was originally a part of "The Gates of Hell") the sculpture known as "The Kiss".

Too soon, it was time for us to take our leave of the museum dedicated to Auguste Rodin, but we enjoyed the beauty of the gardens and the works of art.

Next post: The Louvre - Day 2

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And thank you to all who let me know they are reading. I wasn't trying to increase comments or get folks to register (hence the request to e-mail me if you did not want to comment on the site itself), or being grouchy (as some thought, though we all know I NEVER get grouchy) but just wanted to be sure the blog was being read by the intended audience. Thanks again for letting me know and thanks for reading.

After our walk along the Left Bank, we took an underground train to the icon of Paris, the Eiffel Tower. The tower, which was completed in 1889, is 1,063 feet in height, draws more than 6 million visitors to her each year and has seen more than 200 million visitors since her opening. There are three (3) observation levels on the Eiffel Tower; the first level is 189 feet high, the second level is 380 feet high and the third and highest observation level is 896 feet high.

I found it interesting to learn that the tower is constructed so efficiently that, counting only the structure itself (not the elevator cars, cables, pulleys, etc.) the total weight is 7,300 tons. What this means is that if you placed a cylinder around the tower from its base to its top, the air occupying that cylinder would weigh more than the tower structure itself. The tower structure is actually lighter than the air in the space it occupies. Good thing its foundation extends 53 feet into the ground. To maintain the integrity of the tower, it must be repainted every 5 years with 50 tons of paint by hand with brushes!

We arrived at the tower by way of a beautiful small park at its base. Below is a video of our approach and some shots from the base of the tower. You can see Cindy and her mom walking away from the camera about 5 seconds before the video ends.

Here's a picture I took from the ground at the base of the tower looking up.

While we were getting our bearings, I caught sight of these young men who were advertising that they would give free hugs, as they were being interviewed by a French TV camera crew. I passed on the free hug.

We finally got in line to get our tickets. Cindy and her mom were only going to go to the first level, so I was going to ascend to the third level by myself. You can see how far back we are from the ticket window in this picture.

As you can see from the picture below, "Disney Queues" are they rage all the world over. Only another 45 minutes from this point to when we finally got our tickets.

The wait is over...well almost. I take an elevator from the base to the second level, then have to transfer to a different elevator in order to get up to the third level. The video clip below makes it look fast, but it's actually about another 30 minutes total. However, as you can see, the wait is worth it as the view is spectacular! When I reached the top, the first thing I did was take out my cell phone and call my daughter (who has always wanted to visit Paris and the Eiffel Tower) to tell her I was calling her from the top of the Eiffel Tower. I wish we could have brought you with us, Princess.

If you look at the end of the video clip, you'll see the Arc de Triomphe, where I had been the day before taping the Eiffel Tower.

Here's a picture to prove I was at the top.

And even though Cindy and her mom did not accompany me to the top, this will show that I definitely was not alone.

And one of my favorite still shots from the top.

So ended a long day in Paris for us. Next post: Rodin

The Eiffel Tower remains copyright of the author WorldQuest, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Second, this may make the above moot. I am spending a great deal of time writing, getting photos ready to upload and rendering and editing video. It makes the days very long for me. It appears that I have 2 readers in the group (family and friends) that I am publishing this blog for, or at least 2 who comment; my daughter and father-in-law. I'm not really sure if anyone else in that group is reading or following along now and if no one else is, it would make more sense time-wise for me to simply e-mail my daughter and father-in-law the pictures and videos. If you're reading but haven't commented on the last few posts and want to continue to follow along, please either slip a comment in, or if you don't want to do that, drop me an e-mail. I love doing this if folks are enjoying it, but if no one other than my daughter and father-in-law are reading...

After enjoying our sidewalk cafe lunch, we thought we would "walk it off" by taking a leisurely stroll along the Left Bank of the Seine River.

Although the water of the Seine is not pleasant looking at all (a sort of dirty, murky green color) the bridges that cross it and the architecture that lines each side of it make the view an extraordinarily beautiful one. At any time, day or night, you will find lovers embracing along its banks, people relaxing on benches and boats of all varieties bobbing against their docks or riding down the river.

Here's a picture of Cindy and her mom walking along the Quai Voltaire running along the Left Bank:

And another one of the two of them with the Seine in the background

All along sections of both the Left and Right bank, you will find contraptions like the ones below. You might think they are receptacles for garbage or cabinets for river equipment...

but actually, they open up and become little storefronts on the river for businesses that sell books, magazines, souvenirs, etc. to both Parisians and tourists. I thought those were pretty cool.

Here's another photo of Cindy and her mom on the Left Bank with the "arms" of the Louvre in the background on the opposite side of the river.

Walking Along the Seine remains copyright of the author WorldQuest, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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I should also mention here another one of Cindy's great ideas. In preparation for our trip before we departed Orlando, she had seen where we could purchase week-long subway transportation tickets (Carte Orange) for one low price that would allow us unlimited travel during our stay in Paris. Those passes have been so handy as we make our way around the city and I would heartily recommend them to any visitor. Way to go, baby!

Our first stop this day was the Musée d'Orsay, a former train station that was abandoned and about to be destroyed. The French people went up in arms about the proposed destruction of what would have been a great historical building and their protests resulted in the former station being remodeled into one of the finest museums in the world.

What drew us here is the fact that Musée d'Orsay holds one of the most complete collections of Impressionism artwork, as well as an extensive gathering of one of the foremost masters of impressionistic style painting, Claude Monet. Both my mother-in-law and I are great admirers of Monet (in fact, Friday and Saturday we will be visiting Giverny and Monet's Garden), so there was no way we would miss the opportunity to enjoy such a large amount of his work while we were in Paris. And yes, for those of you who have been wondering if I was REALLY in Paris, since you haven't seen me in photos, here I am with Cindy's mom in front of the Musée d'Orsay sign outside.

And again, Cindy's suggestion that we buy the museum pass allowed us to bypass the long line of people waiting in the drizzling rain and go right into the museum. Inside, the main hall is huge. Here are 3 shots, 2 from the second level looking down and one from the fifth level looking down.

And more proof that I am indeed along for this trip:

After exploring the extraneous stuff like van Gogh, Renoir, Cezzane, Degas and Pissarro, lol, we made our way to the main section of the Monet exhibit. Here's a little video of the main room showing his works and Cindy's mom.

And below is a shot of something that just gladdens my heart tremendously. This little girl, about 7 or 8 years of age, was sitting on the floor in front of Monet's "Water Lilies", busily yet contemplatively sketching away on her own version.

Finally, we decided it was time to feed our hungry stomachs, so we took our leave of Musée d'Orsay and walked to a nice little cafe across the street in the rear of the museum to enjoy a nice lunch on the sidewalk.

Next post: A Walk Along the Seine

The Musée d'Orsay remains copyright of the author WorldQuest, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Also known as Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile, the monument is 164 feet high and 148 feet long and 72 feet wide. It is an absolutely stunning piece of craftsmanship and art. Here's a photo of Cindy and her mom on the Champs-Élysées with the Arc in the background. That's as far as they went and the closest they got to the Arc. It was left to me to explore the Arc itself from a close-up perspective.

The Arc sits at the convergence point of 12 different avenues, all approaching the Arc like spokes on a wheel. It is definitely NOT a place for novice drivers in Paris and I have heard a rumor that insurance companies will not insure any vehicle that will be driving around the Arc because there are so many accidents. It is also NOT a place for pedestrians, as it would be certain suicide to approach the Arc by crossing the multiple lanes of traffic (12) flowing around the monument. That's why they have a tunnel you can walk through under the street to get to the Arc.

Once you emerge from the tunnel you can either stroll around the bottom and outside of the Arc,

or you can purchase a ticket and pay for the privilege of walking up 284 steps on a circular stairway through the inside of the Arc to the top.

I'm going to find it hard to complain about the 60 circular stair steps we have to walk up to get to our apartment after this!

But once you're at the top and have spent 10 minutes getting your breath back, the view is spectacular.

Back at the base and under the Arc (going down those stairs is a whole lot easier than going up them) is the French memorial to The Unknown Soldier. I thought this particular guard at the Tomb, with its eternal flame, looked like the quintessential French soldier.

Next post: The Musée d'Orsay; we give you our impression.

The Arc de Triomphe remains copyright of the author WorldQuest, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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We didn't get far on our walk before we came across this vendor and I could not help but laugh; selling the French national food, crepes and the American national food, the hot dog in one location. Along with the French national water next to the American national beverage. Marketing genius!

We kept on walking and soon saw a crowd of people and I could make out a studio movie camera over by the street so we walked over, pushed our way through the crowd like the ugly Americans we are and this is what we saw:

Two of the biggest stars in the world, Kevin Spacey and Liam Neeson, filming a scene together on the most famous street in Paris! And if you look closely, you'll see a restaurant in the background of their scene. Fouquet's is a restaurant that Cindy's mom and dad ate in (or at least had a cup of hot chocolate in, her mom's not quite sure so we're counting on her dad to supply the correct memory when he reads this) 17 years ago when they visited Paris.

After Spacey and Neeson wandered off, we continued walking up the Champs-Élysées toward the Arc de Triomphe and passed a hamburger restaurant. In all the time we've been in Paris and with all the places we've been, we have only seen the American brand McDonald's hamburger restaurants (no Burger King, Wendy's or even Dairy Queen). At the Restaurama at the Carrousel du Louvre (like a shopping mall food court) we did see a hamburger place called Universal Burger, but that's been it. Now we happen upon this obviously fast food hamburger restaurant named Quick (?) and I'm laughing because they don't just sell hamburgers...they sell Spider-Man Burgers!! With cheese that's like Spidey's webbing. Yuck!!

Next post: The Arc de Triomphe...who makes it to the top?

A Walk Down the Champs-Élysées remains copyright of the author WorldQuest, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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We then walked over and into the Mall Entrance to the Louvre. Cindy, who is full of excellent ideas, thought we should buy the museum pass packet, which would allow us 4 days of entrance to not only the Louvre, but to many other Paris landmarks. After calculating the individual daily costs, we found that it would be a perfect purchase for us to make. One of the best perks of the pass is that it allows you to move to the head of the line at any of the venues you attend. Sweet!

The Louvre is a former medieval palace, shaped like a "U" with the now-famous glass Pyramid placed in the middle of that "U". All of the upper floors have been reconstructed over the years, but the original medieval underground level remains intact and parts of it can be seen when entering through the Mall Entrance.

We entered the Louvre and I don't know how Cindy and her mom felt, but it was almost overwhelming for me, and I'm not speaking about the art. The place is massively huge, we knew that from seeing it on the outside, but you just don't get a real sense of it until you are standing at the entranceway struggling to take in all the different ways you can begin. Fortunately we knew we were headed to the Mona Lisa first (of course) and the Venus de Milo and then we would see whatever other masterpieces there were along those routes. Masterpieces such as Winged Victory (shown below) which sits atop the head of a massive stairway as you make your way to the Richleu Wing and the Denon Hall where the Mona Lisa occupies its own wall.

After about 20 minutes we finally came upon The Lady herself, along with a few hundred other admirers, and had to spend a few more minutes working our way to the front of the crowd. Unfortunately, there are no photos or videos allowed, here or in the entire hall outside her room where other fragile and priceless works of art reside. There is a roped off area in front of the Mona Lisa extending out about 6 feet (in comparison all the other works in the hall have an area of about 3 feet roped off in front of them) and there are 2 burly Frenchmen standing to the side of Leonardo da Vinci's most famous work. I watched one tourist attempt to surreptitiously take his camera out of his pocket and snap a photo, but one of the guards was quickly on him (even in that tightly packed crowd) ordering him in no uncertain terms to put it away.

There's not much point in describing the painting as it has to be the most well-known work of art in the world. And it would be impossible to describe the feelings one has while viewing it, as I'm sure it is different for everyone. Suffice it to say that, for me, it was a long held desire fulfilled and it is an experience I doubt I shall ever forget.

From there we continued through the remainder of the hall, then doubled back to make our way to the other lovely lady, Venus de Milo. This statue sits in the center of a room in the Sully Wing and dominates everything within. I probably took dozens of photos from different angles, but below is one with Cindy and her mom included, to give you the perspective of both the size and elevation of this famous Hellenistic work of art.

Next post: Our walk up the Champs de Elyse and a close-up encounter with 2 movie stars!

The Louvre - Day 1 remains copyright of the author WorldQuest, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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