Hotel de l'Abeille Orleans

... of France after the revolution, but he insisted on being crowned under the King colors rather than the tricolor of the revolution. As a result Napoleon stepped up to the plate and took the prize from under his nose. In more recent history the chateau was used to hide and store much of the Lourve's art work during WWII.

Words can't describe all that we saw in the Loire Valley so we hope our photos help.

Goodbye Loire Valley, hello Dordogne here we come!

... we were quite at home in a campsite full of lovely chatty people.
Isn't it amazing how some things turn out?
We had such a great evening. We met Christelle from Paris, who spoke English very well and her two gorgeous children. Christelle's Mum was a delight and plied us with gifts - a bottle of wine, cheeses and homemade rhubarb marmalade. Thank you so much for making us feel welcome we so enjoyed your company.

 From Chenonceaux we plan to drive about an hour east, to the town of Chambord with it's magnificent chateau.  Got kinda lost on our last visit here, bringin' a road map and google directions this time ...

If yesterday was about meandering rivers through green pastures filled with quietly grazing cattle, today is very much about the high plateaus with vast arable farms; not at all the familiar patchwork quilt effect of French farming of the past. But one thing that will never change about France is its size. It is a huge country and the combination of the landscape and the long, straight roads at this height produces an effect not dissimiliar to other big ...

¡Hoy tocaban castillitos! Hemos visitado los castillos de Chambord y Cheverny que están a unos kms de Blois. Bueno, qué decir. Creo que las fotos hablan por sí solas. Son dos castillos espectaculares y enclavados en un paisaje de impresión. De camino a los castillos, hemos parado a desayunar y estaba todo tan rico en la pastelería de un pueblo que se nos ha ido un poco la mano pidiendo... nos hemos puesto tan tibios con palmeras, hojaldre con melocotón y cruasán que no había dios que ...

... smoked ham, and pain chocolat, which became our deliciously simple supper (I told you I could live on cheese right???!) I usually hate to make promises about the future, but we intend to tour Orleans, and possibly a chateau of the Loire Valley (Chambord?) before proceeding on to Brittany and Normandy for the rest of our stay in France. but as always, plans subject to change. The excitement of the unknown is thrilling!

... had the best night out we could have hoped for ! Tina and Martin Gerrish moved from Pontypool to Montboyer, in the Charente, Martin still works as a motorcycle Road Race mechanic for TT legend Ian Loucher, commuting from France to the Isle of Man and Ireland, among other places. As luck would have it, he was away, but we had a fabulous time over a couple of nights at Montboyer. Despite a fuzzy head, we had a lovely day out sightseeing in Aubuterre, what a ...

After an exciting drive from and through Paris, guided by our trusty Tom-Tom that wasn't so trusty at the start since it was accidentally set to walking paths, we nervously arrived in the Valley of the Chateaux. We picked these to visit over 2 days: Chambord, Blois and Chanencaux.

... lausa Raekoja ette. Seal tärkas meil mõte lüüa lahti rüperaal ja katsetada, kuidas on konnasööjate maal lood traadita internetiga. Ja oh imet, võrke oli lausa jalaga segada ja mõni neist täitsa turvamata. Üldiselt võib WiFi-hulludele rahumeeli kinnitada, et kui mitte tasuta, siis röövelliku viie euro eest tunnist saab Orange vahendusel ja pisut soodsamalt Wanadoo võrkudes traadita internetti kasutada vähemalt nendes Prantsusmaa linnades, kuhu me oma reisi vältel sattusime.

Dylan: It snowed for the first time today, and the temperature is below freezing point. At lunchtime my brother slipped on some ice and cut himself on the hand. Kit: For lunch today we had sauerkraut. It was terrible. We went to Orleans (city of Joan of Arc), returned the car and found a hotel. Dylan: At night we couldn't find a hotel in Orleans for hours, and we froze. Raymond's Travel Page