Chateaus at Ussé and Azay
Today we will start with a castle that you may not know by its French name, Chateau Ussé, but you most definitely know it by its more common name, Sleeping…
Four Chateaus you shouldn’t miss
(This blog is late because caves aren't very good for internet connectivity. Today we spent the day driving to the Dordogne Valley, about which we'll tell you tomorrow and Friday.…
Domme and the Perigord
Our original plan for the trip always included the area known as The Perigord, but we had planned on finding a place in Sarlat. At the behest of our Parisian…
Saint Cirq and more
Saint Cirq Lapopie Another of the "most beautiful villages of France" is Saint Cirq Lapopie. "Saint Cirq" is a variant spelling of "Saint Cyricus", a child martyr of about 300…
Miscellany
Today was a long-drive day. By the time we packed, checked out of our hotel, and wove our way through the rummage sale in the park in front of our…
Marseille and Nice
Today was the only full day in Avignon, so we did the only natural thing--took a side trip. We had learned already that we were too early for a lavender…
Avignon, City of Popes
I told you yesterday that today would be the day for us to see Avignon. And that we did. I just didn't expect to see it while searching out the…
Old Lyon
Our final stop befoe returning to Paris is Lyon, second largest city in France. Before I tell you about Lyon, I have a bit of an itinerary update for you.…
Back in Paris
I'm old enough to have started collecting a list of once-in-a-lifetime experiences, sort of a reverse bucket list. The first three are: Having all four wisdom teeth removed. Hiking Bright…
Festival of Music
First, an explanation of why there was no blog yesterday. We spent the evening with our friend Jean Marcel, beginning with aperitifs at his apartment and ending with dinner at…