France
There are [0] photos and [27] stories about France
Saturday, 22 Nov 2025 | Views [25]
Connie had had a list of places in Metz that she wanted to visit, most important and—as it turned out—the most impressive Metz Cathedral and Musée de la Coeur d’Or. I picked our AirBnB less on location and price but because it ... Read more >
Thursday, 20 Nov 2025 | Views [23]
When we bade adieu to Alsace this morning and headed off for Lorraine we weren’t counting on snow! Thankfully, it didn’t stick to the roads and it did pretty-up the drive to Nancy. We had spent the night here in twenty-eleven but hadn’... Read more >
Wednesday, 19 Nov 2025 | Views [26]
We considered returning to Colmar today—the sun was shining and we wanted to see our favorite town in its glory. When we realized that Colmar’s neighbor, Eguisheim, was on the list of “Les Plus Beaux Villages de France,” we re-... Read more >
Tuesday, 18 Nov 2025 | Views [23]
Clement’s AirBnB has everything we need including a garage barely wide enough for our car. Rather than futzing with the car we walked the 1½ miles to old town to get reacquainted with one of our favorite cities.
We crossed the ... Read more >
Monday, 17 Nov 2025 | Views [22]
Alsace is one of our favorite areas in France—and not only because Connie’s family has an Alsatian heritage going back to Napoleonic times. When we first visited in 2011, distant relatives, Nicole and Thaddeus, treated us to a tour of the ... Read more >
Sunday, 16 Nov 2025 | Views [30]
I had almost forgotten our 2015 “drive by” visit to Citadel in Besançon. This time we’ll stay for a few days, if only to break up the six-hour drive from Lyon to Strasbourg. Traffic and parking being what they are, we decided ... Read more >
Thursday, 13 Nov 2025 | Views [49]
Around 910, William I, Duke of Aquitaine “The Pious” founded the Benedictine Abbey of Cluny with the “no strings” donation of his hunting preserve. The monastery would be free from any future obligations to him and his ... Read more >
Wednesday, 12 Nov 2025 | Views [40]
Lyon was a welcome chance to decompress after our hectic time in Bordeaux. It was also about halfway to Strasbourg where we will stay for a while. We had pretty much covered Lyon from top to bottom—literally—on our visit ten years ... Read more >
Sunday, 9 Nov 2025 | Views [43]
We didn’t realize that this was a holiday weekend, Veterans’ Day in the States. They still call it Armistice Day in France, the anniversary of the end of the “War to End All Wars.” If only!
You probably have heard ... Read more >
Friday, 7 Nov 2025 | Views [45]
After sitting on the street for four days, our rental car is getting a workout. We packed a picnic lunch and headed north up the Medoc Peninsula to Verdon-sur-Mer, not for the wines but to visit the site of an obscure military operation from World War ... Read more >
Thursday, 6 Nov 2025 | Views [47]
Our favorite artists are the Impressionists—Monet, Renoir, Degas and that crowd—who developed a new way of not only painting, but of looking at the world. The real pioneers of art, however, were the Cro-Magnon painters whose canvases were ... Read more >
Wednesday, 5 Nov 2025 | Views [60]
Bordeaux and wine have been an item since Roman times but after Bordeaux wine was served at the wedding of Henry Plantagenet, future King Henry II, and Eleanor of Aquitaine it became the plonk of royalty. When Richard the Lionhearted proclaimed it his ... Read more >
Monday, 3 Nov 2025 | Views [47]
I guess Bordeaux could be considered part of our Grand Tour visitation with friends and family. Chris and Rose will be joining us for a week or so and they certainly qualify as friends. We met when we were all working in Uganda, we stayed at their home ... Read more >
Saturday, 1 Nov 2025 | Views [53]
Even with the wipers swishing on a dreary day like today, we needed a good imagination to picture Saint-Benôit-du-Sault as one of “Les Plus Beaux Villages de France.” The medieval village lies just about halfway between Saint-... Read more >
Friday, 31 Oct 2025 | Views [66]
Whether to visit Chambord or Chenonceau, that was the question. Both were top picks on Rick Steves’ recommended list. Château de Chenonceau was described as the “toast of the Loire.” On the other hand, Château Chambord ... Read more >
Thursday, 30 Oct 2025 | Views [59]
Though he is not as well-known as the Brothers Grimm, Charles Perrault’s “Tales of Times Past,” was probably the first fairytale. And if one believes the story, the castle in “Sleeping Beauty” was inspired by Chateau d’... Read more >
Sunday, 26 Oct 2025 | Views [53]
Chinon is on the Vienne, a tributary of the Loire, but it makes a good base to see some of the chateaux and quaint villages long the “Valley of 1000 Chateaux.” The actual number of castles along the Loire is closer to three hundred, and not ... Read more >
Friday, 24 Oct 2025 | Views [61]
Rochefort-en-Terre may not be THE most beautiful village in France as it claims, but it is on the official list of “Les Plus Beaux Villages de France.” And it’s only ten kilometers from our cottage.
Rochefort ... Read more >
Thursday, 23 Oct 2025 | Views [74]
When we began our travels a couple of decades ago, we had to rely on guidebooks like “Lonely Planet” and Rick Steves. Now the internet is chock-a-block with tips and destinations for independent travelers. Much of it is shamelessly ... Read more >
Wednesday, 22 Oct 2025 | Views [56]
Saint-Congard is less than an hour from Josselin but as the French say, “Vivre la difference.” Our AirBnB is in a four-hundred year old farmhouse, 20 minutes from the nearest grocery store. Michel and Blandine met us at the door, speaking ... Read more >
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