April 11th: R&R

The only aim for this day was to relax. For those in the tour group who were up in time, there were picnic baskets provided along with a map to get them to a scenic picnic sight, if they so chose. And in fact, I was surprised at how many were up and about early in the morning!

As for myself, I dawdled along with Sam, one of the girls I was rooming with, and we missed heading out with the main groups. Instead, we decided to head out on our own for a leisurely walk.

The grape vines that they grow in this area grow very, very low to the ground. You can see them in the photo above. And the grey and cream building in the center distance is the chateau, seen from the back. The front of the chateau overlooks a grassy area which then drops off into the valley below.

I distinctly remember noting that the area smelled lovely when we were walking...I'm sure the madly blooming lilacs had something to do with it.

We wound our way up and around the hills along a very quiet road. Quite a bit of it was only one lane, but even the two lane sections weren't that wide. And the houses were almost always right on the road. Now that could make for a dangerous time pulling out of the garage!

Not a new building in sight in this area. Everything was made of these orangey bricks, surrounded by stone walls. 

We cut between fields at one point, walking up this grassy road. Turns out that it was actually part of the route to the picnic spot as we met one of the groups halfway up. They hadn't made it to the picnic spot. They had decided that the view was nice enough from where they were, and that it was time for lunch, a couple bottles of wine and sunbathing.

They probably had the right idea, because at the end of the day, when several of the other picnic groups came back, the walk to the picnic spot had been nicknamed the "Beaujolais Death March." Apparently it was one long hill to climb to get to the final destination, and even though they had a great view, they were all hot and exhausted by the time they reached it. Makes me glad I hadn't made it along after all!

Instead, Sam and I reached the top of the grassy path and relaxed on a bench, admiring the view and being shaded by some enormous trees.

After a bit, we headed through the village of Theize... 

...Through some narrow streets...

...And around to one of the lower roads heading back in the direction of the chateau.

All of this was done at the slowest of speeds as we were just enjoying being out in the sun, seeing the area and chit-chatting.

We managed not to get ourselves lost, or even sunburnt, which is a victory in itself for me since I'm so darn pale. :)

The road back to the chateau led past the house of the winery owner. It's also the building you will find on the label on their wine bottles.

And then back to the gates leading into the grounds surrounding the chateau.

Those are some narrow gates...so narrow in fact, that our coach driver had to slow down and be extra careful not to hit them on the way in.

Feeling pretty lazy after our longer than expected walk, Sam and I scrounged some lunch and then spent the rest of the afternoon lounging on patio chairs on the lawn. Lying about in the sun, with a view of the French countryside, sure makes for a pretty relaxing day. This was our last night at the chateau, with us heading for the French Riviera and Monaco in the morning. We were going to need all the rest and relaxation we could get!

~M

April 10th: On The Road Again

Driving south from Paris, we began our journey to the Beaujolais wine region, north of Lyon.

We passed more of those brilliant yellow fields looking especially bright against the blue sky.

Part way through our journey we stopped at the Palace of Fontainebleau, which is one of the largest French royal chateaux.

 It is surrounded by 80 hectares of parkland and a small lake.

It was Sunday on the day we were there, so we were unable to go inside...

But even a leisurely stroll around the outside and the gardens was enjoyable.

Not to mention looking at some of the more interesting outdoor decorations...

...and having a good laugh at this fountain.

Best guess is that it's Diana the Huntress, and if you look closely....yes, the dogs are peeing.

An artist with a sense of humour maybe? :) 

Heading out of the palace grounds, we wandered a short ways up the street for some food.

More crepes, but this time with Nutella and banana. I'm really going to have to make this at home at some point. It was delicious!

Our drive continued through the French countryside...looking like something out of a painting. My through-the-bus-window pictures do not do it justice in the least.

We arrived at our next home-away-from-home around dinner time. Located just outside the small French town of Theize and smack dab in the middle of the rolling French countryside, Chateau de Cruix is owned by Contiki. We were lucky enough to be the only group staying there at the time, so other than an interesting experience with some bunkbeds (no ladders and no bars around them...) and a communal bathroom (five shower stalls and 3 bathrooms between 44 people...actually worked out better than you might think), it was a pretty spectacular place to stay. 

 

After some food, we walked the short distance to the Domaine de Cruix winery for a wine tasting. The winery has been in the hands of the same family since 1710...how's that for a family business?

 

We had a quick run down on the wine making process and then were given some to try. That would be the red wine in the glasses. If you look closely at the clear bottle closest to the camera in the next photo, that's Eau de Vie, which I did not try. Mostly because it had some sort of ridiculous alcohol content (I want to say 70%, but I can't be sure) and probably not helped by the snake in the bottle either!

Needless to say, the group was feeling a little bit "happier" after this, and not a single soul went to bed early...mostly because there was a party.

Now, I don't have any really good pictures of myself from this night. So I'll just post the one picture. This one ridiculous picture of our tour manager and driver. The theme of the party was "Freaks and Geeks." 

Enough said. 



A bientot!

(Yes, I pulled out my high school French for this trip, its amazing how much I've forgotten!)

~M

April 9th: La Vie En Rose

First of all, a little soundtrack for today's post.

Because I can.

Back to the Eiffel Tower we go, to see it in the daylight.

We were swarmed as we got off the bus by the souvenir sellers. They carry around these large metal rings loaded with mini Eiffel Towers and keychains...and apparently they aren't exactly doing this legally. The police pulled up at one point and they scattered like rats! Fully grown men running away with merchandise jingling like a chorus of bells...the police could have tracked them by sound alone if they had wanted to. :)

Underneath the tower....our idea to go up the tower the night before paid off. Lineups in the morning were already three times as long as they had been.

From the Eiffel Tower we decided to walk up to the Arc de Triomphe. It stands in honour of those who fought for France in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars.

There is a tunnel from the outer edge of the roundabout, under the street, which comes up underneath the Arc itself. They definitely don't want you attempting to cross the street!

You can see names of the French victories and generals carved into the surfaces on the underside of the Arc.

For a small fee (of course) you can climb to the top (you pay and you still have to climb stairs) for a 360 degree view of the city. The inside of the Arc isn't solid, there were statues and informational displays inside once you got to the top of the small spiral staircase.

And the view from the top was pretty fabulous. Here you can see two of the twelve streets that enter the roundabout around the Arc.

A second spiral staircase takes you from the top of the Arc back to street level. And makes you incredibly dizzy in the process! It may have been just me, with my lack of coordination and balance, but I felt I needed to watch where I was putting my feet the whole way down....and upon arriving at the bottom, well, I felt like just a wee bit unsteady.

The Unknown Soldier's flame underneath the Arc.

From the Arc de Triomphe, we headed down the Champs Elysees. Some shopping was done....mostly of the window variety. Lots of people out seeing and being seen, sitting at cafes along the way. It was warm and the sun was shining, such a lovely day to be out and about.! 

One of my few goals left for the day, other than heading for the Louvre and Notre Dame, was to have a Nutella crepe. Luckily on the way to the museum I was in luck.

A little messy, but delicious. And yes, there was a line, most of my tour had the same idea...luckily I was one of the first ones. :)

Some straight-edged, meticulously pruned trees...

The gates into the Tuileries Garden were gleaming gold in the sun...

And statues lined the path as we walked along...

The garden was humming with people out either sightseeing or soaking up the sun. There were chairs set up around several of the fountains/ponds and not a spare seat to be found.

The entrance from the Tuileries garden into the Louvre courtyard was through another arch. It's not a very centered picture, but through the smaller left-hand opening, you can see part of one of the glass pyramids. Just through the arches and to the left is a large statue of an angel. Behind the angel is an unmarked entrance to the Louvre,  which apparently cut down our wait to get inside. Funny because it was a huge ramp cut down to doors set below surface level, but without signs no one was using it!

And inside the museum, the inverted pyramid. We had plans for later to walk over the top of this outside...and ended up being foiled by low hedges and a fence. Which would explain why we couldn't see anyone up top when were inside the museum! 

This was a pretty quick visit to the Louvre, but we did see some pretty amazing pieces of artwork.

Winged Victory, 2nd century BC marble sculpture of the Greek goddess Nike, presides over the top of a grand staircase.

And after fighting the crowds, we got to say hello to a certain smiling lady...

The Louvre is a beautiful building. And with over 650,000 square feet of space, not a small one either!

Our last stop before leaving the museum was the Venus de Milo.

You could always tell where a famous piece of art was....just by looking for massive crowds of tourists. :)

Back on the outside, we attempt to see the top of the inverted pyramid like I mentioned. These are the shrubs... The arch is the same one that we came through earlier.

The  four horse statue on top of the arch has an interesting story...the original statue was once displayed at St. Mark's Basilica in Venice...after being looted by the Venetians from Constantinople. In the late 1700's they were then was forcibly taken by Napoleon and installed on top of this arch, the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel. About 20 years later they were returned to Venice and reinstalled at the Basilica. The horses you see today are an exact replica of the originals. The originals now reside inside the Basilica in Venice, with another set of replicas adorning the outside.

From the Louvre we headed out to walk along the Seine towards Notre Dame. We crossed over the river on the Pont des Arts bridge. Lovers come here to attach locks, usually with names and dates on them, and then throw the keys into the river below to ensure their everlasting love. You had to admire the creativity of of some people....handcuffs anyone? :)

A view up the river...

And Notre Dame cathedral...

The carvings around the three entrances were incredibly detailed...these men are all standing on top of other, smaller men, and the one second from the left is poking his underling with his staff...ouch! Admittedly, I don't know enough about religious history to be able to identify or understand the meaning of most of the sculptures, but it was entertaining to look at never-the-less.

Votives inside the church...

There were two amazing rose windows, one on either side of the cathedral, with some beautiful stained glass.

Heading back to the bus for our pickup, I spotted this. A little home away from home maybe?

After our day in the city, our tour group headed out to Montmarte for dinner. We climbed up the hill towards the Sacre Coeur Basilica. Such a crowded place...see all the people on the steps?

An amazing building....

With an amazing view!

We headed from Sacre Coeur to the restaurant where we were having dinner...and such an amazing dinner it was! I had the best French Onion Soup ever, and duck a l'orange and wine and cheese...and something really tasty for dessert as well, I can't remember exactly what, but it was delicious!

After dinner, we headed back down the hill, trying not to kill ourselves on the uneven cobblestones.

At the bottom, I risked dashing through traffic to a traffic circle to get this next shot....

I didn't go see a show...the group was heading for the Irish pub next door...but it was pretty cool to see, especially at night with the lights shining.Next time I'm in Paris (and I'm determined that there will be a next time!) I'll go see a show.

Amazing food, interesting museums, beautiful city....what a fabulous day it was!

C'est magnifique!

~M