Ibis Montargis

... light rain, but still). I had a hood on my jacket, but left my umbrella at home, since weather.com did say it was supposed to be partly cloudy. Even with the rain, our resident director gave us an outside tour of the chateau. I didn't really listen, because I was too concerned about being wet. I think someone muttered something under their breath about the rain, and the RD said "a little rain never hurt anyone".... Two minutes ...

... for campsite directions. One gentleman tells us there are none around the area and another man gives us directions to one on the outskirts of town. That was a wild goose chase!
All we could do was travel south to the next town (Orleans) an hour away and hope for a hotel.
Feeling really ****** *** we set off and after 5 minutes came across a wonderful sight, a tent symbol on a sign pointing left. Yipeeee.
Half an hour ...

We were not looking forward to lugging all our bags up and down the metro, trying to get to the train station. Then I spied a bus stop outside our apartment, and there was a bus that went straight to Gare de Lyon – bingo!! We bought our train tickets to Briare, and then found out we were at the wrong train station – luckily the right train station was only a 10-minute walk away.

After a quiet trip on the ...

... and the Louvre, but it had a medieval charm that was missing in the other two palaces. My favorite aspect of this experience was a grand hall with Italian frescoes lining the walls and ceilings. The teals and mauves were as brilliant as if they were painted yesterday, and the scenes were majestic and elegant. We toured many of the bed chambers, and we were able to view a throne room ...

... ten. There are some climbs, nothing serious, just to remind one of the Tour. You will sweat but it is more than worth it. Cheverny to Blois is just about 15 km. piece of cake because you probably will have rested in the great park of the Cheverny chateau or munched your sandwich with beer either in some of the inns opposite the castle or the town proper, which will be somewhat cheaper. Thus, to Blois ...

While Lou and I were in Ireland, we received news that Chris and Kelly, our friends from the December roatrip, had their baby. Clara Christine Rosati was welcomed into the world on Wed, August 23rd. We were so thrilled to hear the news, so for our "French" Labor Day, we spent the weekend in Orleans, visiting the new bundle of joy. While we were there, the village where Chris and Kelly live had a festival with live music, a carnival and some fireworks. Take a look at the pictures!

Eelnevalt olime oma teekonda miskipärast ka ära märkinud sellise koha nagu Montargis. Kohapeale jõudes ei meenunud aga kummalegi põhjus, mida me sealt otsisime. Kuna seal oli mitmeid chocolaterie'sid, siis otsustasime, et järelikult need olidki põhjuseks. Mitte, et me sealt mitmekümne euroseid šokolaade oleks soovinud osta! Cappuccino vahukoorega läks õigesse kohta see-eest.

... off for Paris on 29th Dec - We can't be late to meet up with Helene and Martial, our friends which recently returned from Chile, where they lived for 14 months! Great moments with great friends! We stayed in a horse camp farmhouse with the 40 guests, and celebrated New Year with (lots of) champagne!

... them down wells over 2 miles deep. Imagine. Good thing you were already dead! Then during some century, the wells were plugged up, and then re-opened 2 or 3 centuries ago for MORE burials-kind of gross to think about, but really cool to see in person. About 30 years ago, medieval murals were uncovered on the ceilings within the crypt site. What we see now are dirt-stained paint remnants; it's very difficult to make out any special designs or ...

I decided to post date some entries so that everyone can have a more accurate view of where we were when...the dates may be a bit off as its been a while since ive had reliable internet. I also cant find the apostrophe on this french keyboard so ill have to write without them sorry... another update for those who hate the url of the blog...it can now ...