Waking up in our pink romantic hideaway we were off to Villandry, and as we arrived we were reminded that it is one of the most popular chateaux, people and cars and busses abound, and for good reason, both the chateau and gardens were spectacular - and fortunately without low thresholds to bang the healing head. Then to Azay Le Rideau Chateau though less opulant, still a grand place. Each chateau has some peculiarity that makes it stand out on its own. Then we returned to Chinon to wander the streets of the medieval town. We found ourselves say "oh my", and "good grief" a lot; it's simply exhilarating to walk through an almost thousand year old town. Joan of Arc actually prayed in the church here and St. Denis died in 397 in a church we saw in Candes-St. Martin - imagine that. Fun day. A word about the car: don't buy a Chevrolet Spark; don't think they sell them in US. It's extremely small with a very short wheel base, so it's like driving a powered skateboard, full attention is required at all times. The good side is that you can parallel park in the space of a cross walk and make a U-turn in an alley. And around here parallel parking is an art form-maybe an inch of space between cars on a good day.

Saturday, like all days was filled with the events that mold men's lives; and their heads (see below.) It started leaving Angers when we happened upon a Saturday morning farmer's market like none I've seen and some fabulous almond croissants- serendipity.  Then on to Montreuil- Bellay chateau; arriving early we went wandering the old town and came across an old hotel called Le Splendid Hotel which was a bit of an overstatement :/. A mandatory guided tour was in French but we enjoyed the girl guide who was very animated and fortunately we had a translated brochure to help us with the program. The kitchen and some of the furnishings were exceptional, unfortunately no photos were allowed except in the wine cave. Then on to Breze where most of the castle is underground (troglodyte), the new 18th century chateau was built on top. The underground was really slick meandering in and out of the very deep moat. Finally, on to Usse Chateau which was a fairy tale castle in a beautiful setting complete with Sleeping Beauty display. Unfortunately, as we finished in the moat cave Lynn smacked her head on the stone doorframe. It not only hurt like hell, it caused a serious incident when it registered a 3.9 on the Richter scale. We got some ice for it then drove to our hotel in Chinon- a really sweet place. Walked the town, got some pastry and cheese, and retired early to allow her head to return to (?) normal. 

9/28  I want somore: today was  Saumur (pronounced some  more) day.  The chateau sits above a neat old town along the shore of the Loire River, where we found coffee and yummy almond/chocolate croissants amongst lots of old stuff. The chateau was closed until 2 pm so we wandered the streets reading about sign posted old stuff in our handy brochure. Many of these old buildings have interesting history, and have gone through several transformations - the imagination boggles. Finally, we topped it all of with a French Mexican dinner, and a French pretzel! So continental!

We set the alarm for this morn so we could get out early and not miss rush hour. The old stage coach roads aren't enough for today's population. Fortunately, the expectation of things to come kept us in good spirits, and after we broke free of the traffic we found ourselves out in charming hamlet country - they were everywhere, cute as a bug's ear. Our first destination was Rochemenier, where the Troglodytes live(Troglodytes are people that live underground). The ground there is sandstone so relatively easy to make caves - the whole place is made up of dwellings carved into the cliffs, and the site, which was occupied several centuries ago, contains relics from those days. Then to Fontevraud, the largest Abbey in France, and the place I went to a conference back some time ago. The place is big with interesting history. Next came Montsoreau, a chateau along the Loire River. It wasn't big nor interesting, filled with modern art that filled the empty rooms. But the town had more examples of troglodyte houses which was interesting to see.  Finally we went to Montgeoffroy, a chateau still filled with elegant furnishings, and thankfully we found ourselves with our private English speaking guide. The place was very nice and included some special features, i.e. a complete 18th century kitchen with a huge collection of copper pots,a stable full of old carriages, and signed Napoleon and King Louis documents. The guide frequently said "we" when talking about the chateau, so we surmised that he was one of  them:) then back to Anger and French pizza. A wonderful day.
9/26  Headed out from Normandy to Angers this morning. The Nav gal (GPS) was a great help and took us through some terrific countryside  hamlets such as Craon-everything you would expect the Loire valley towns to look like. We decided to take in a couple of the chateaux before checking in and the first was Brissac, the tallest of the Loire chateaux. The family still lives there so guided tours are mandatory and we arrived just in time to join one. The rooms are large and richly decorated with lots of tapestries and heavy furniture. There was even an old dungeon /prison ;). Then on the Angers - this is more of an old castle with an empty moat and drawbridge. After checking into our hotel for the next few days ( probably the least attractive so far but certainly adequate) we ventured out to the old streets and found a market to stock up on essentials such as soda and chocolate! We also found a coin laundry (glory be)  and the lovely little french woman who ran it was very helpful with instuctions.
9/25  Bright and early this morn we visited the parking ticket quandary  (we found out that we could go to a Tabac store, buy $35 worth of stamps, then mail them to the police), we opted to be criminals for the remainder of our lives. So, off we went for Normandy and Mont St Michel (That's the castle out in the ocean that can only be reached during low tide). Well, they made a road to it; now you can get there any time. We were worrying. A very strong and sudden rainstorm hit just as we were exiting the car but dried up just as quickly and didn't return until we were returning to the parking lot :)  The castle is splendiferous, and touristic, but lots of fun to tour - passageways, stairs (lots of stairs,slippery from rain) doors going everywhere. The views from the church at the top through the rain included both ocean and shore including the cliffs of Normandy. It is a site both of us had wanted to see for a long time and we were not disappointed.  The challenge of the day came when we tried to get out of the parking lot. I confidently drove up to the exit ticket station with my ticket in hand, inserted it with no results - the arm remained down. I tried several times in slightly different ways with the same results. By this time several cars had gathered behind me. After some more failures the car immediately behind pulled out of the queue leaving a space for me to withdraw. I drove back into the parking lot and resorted to the tried and true fix - ask someone. I found out that you had to take the original ticket to the Information office to get another ticket. Lynn stayed in the car researching the evening activities Lowhilst I sought out the Information office. I finally spotted it, only 200 meters away, went there, and was told the automated ticket machine was behind the toilets - a fortunate location for the elderly, like me. After taking care of bladder business I continued my search, and finally found them another 100 meters down the road; there must have been 10 of them, a great idea if they only told people. Because of the hour we decided to return to the hotel, and wander the streets of San Quentin sur le Homme where we found a food truck that specialized in pizza - had its own wood fired oven. Um good.

With a tear in our eye, still holding hands, we taxied across the city to Gare Montparnasse train station for a trip to Chartre where a car awaited. Well, that's what they called it; looks more like a large toy, but it is a Chevy, and it does have a navigator from the same company as our German navigator - Tom-Tom. All went well at first, the lady told us where to turn and where not, but then we got into town and the road work that kept us from doing what she wanted. The result was erroneous directions, once commanding us to go in a circle. We finally stopped, parked, and sought help. We got more than we wanted, the couple we asked must have taken 20 minutes to figure out directions that turned out to be totally wrong. Whilst this was going on the gendarmes found our illegally parked car and began filling out a ticket. We finally broke free of our advisors and returned to the car to find the officers still filling out the ticket. We asked them for directions with much better results - they knew where the hotel was. Unfortunately, we couldn't convince them to trash the ticket. Shortly, we did find the hotel, and after lugging our stuff into the room we went to old town. It turned out to be free of tourists, and the cutest old city we've seen. Seems contradictory but the walled old town is adorable and tres picturesque. Light rain added to the ambience.

9/19 This day was Musee d'Orsay day. This old abandoned rail road station was converted into a museum that, oh by the way, has the best impressionist painting collection in the whole world - maybe. That happens to be Lynn and my fav paintings so we spent quite a bit of time admiring them - Monet, Renoir, Manet, Sisley: that crowd of French painters from the 1800's. Then we went to the Rodin museum where the sculptor lived and chose to place his collection of art objects. And oh by the way, he did some painting - gosh, I didn't know that. Rodin is one of our fav sculptors so we did some hanging out there as well. A truly great day:)

9/20 Today was our first day in Louvre, and we spent all day in Louvre, holding hands. It is said, especially here, that this is the greatest museum in the world - well, I don't know about that but I do know it's really really big! There are 4 floors and we managed 2 1/2 floors today. In many instances the building out shines the contents. The French palace before Versailles, this huge building is quite spectacular, outclassing those of the Vienna Hapsburgs. The museum floor plan needs a little work however, even with a map the well posted walk is impossible to negotiate without seeking support from the, thankfully, many support personnel throughout the museum. Retiring to our hotel for refreshment, a Subway sandwich, and to put our climbing gear together - we had a 9:00 appointment to climb the Eiffel Tower. When we arrived the crowds were significantly less than the weekend so rather than climb we decided to go up in the elevator.  It's a cozy operation; people are packed into each carrier, then exited at level two,  a queue to the next carrier, then a crowded trip to the top ( where the view was stunning- sparkling lights and a light breeze) followed by an equally cozy return- was fun for us cause we're in Louvre ;) on the way home we played on the Metro- we're getting to be pros. We can now get our own tickets without help, we can figure out which train to get on without help, and we can open the door on the subway - our first attempt we stood waiting for the door to open, it didn't, and the train went on with us just looking astonished. Fortunately, a kind fellow explained about the button next to the door. Next time we pushed it, and sure enough, the door opened:/ We now wave at our new friends, the station information attendants, in several stations.

9/21 This day we did the D'orsay again just to revisit the collection of impressionist paintings, The original of one of the paintings that hangs in our house - Moulins de la galette is showcased there and we admired it awhile along with many other masterpieces. Then we attacked the second floor of the Louvre, with a dash of bread and cheese in between in the Tuilleries - the long park in front of the Louvre. Our walk home involved a stop at Subway, a stop at a grocer to get more cola, a stop at our favorite award winning bakery, and rain. After a meal of Subway and Coke we wandered (We try to wander at every opportunity. We have found more interesting nuggets wandering than any other form of transportation.) via the subway to Champs Élysées and the Arch De Triumph, then down the Champs to the Seine and left to the boat ride. We discovered after walking to the Louvre that the boat dock was the other way, so we enlisted our new found subway skills and found the station near the dock. A short walk to the dock and we were off on an hours journey viewing Paris from the water. A completely different perspective brought into clear view by powerful flood lamps along the side of the boat, it was a continuum of photo ops - old stuff galore. Then back to the subway, the home station, and a midnight Pizza Hut pizza - um um! Of interest is that in the   last few days we've discovered numerous islands of police and army men, we assume. because of the Muslim issues.

9/22This was an "oh dang"  day; starting with the "oh dang". The new video camera quit working! So we shifted our plans, asked the hotel receptionist where a camera shop was, using Lynn's extraordinary navigational skills and her outstanding multilingual communicational skills we found a new video camera. On the way out of the store we decided to test the new camera; after removing it from its package we were reminded that camera batteries don't come charged:)  however, during that time God dropped by - Lynn discovered that the old camera had a reset button {:o } So using her ear ring we poked the recessed button, and shazam! The camera came alive. We returned to the photo department and returned our new camera purchasing 3 new memory chips for our old one:)

Then onto the tube and off to Musee Marmottes Monet - it has the largest collection of Monet paintings in the world. Then out into the Bois de Bolougne, a very large park next to the Musee. Our first park wandering was in an isolated wild section looking much like true wilderness. The path led to a more park like setting with a standard quantity of people, and the standard lake - a large lake with row boats, and a ferry to take you to the two islands. We opted to stay ashore to walk the length of the lake to a tube station to get to the Maxims tour. Our newly developed tube technique worked flawlessly putting us at the proper station well within our schedule. Unfortunately, the police decided to close all the exits from the station - good grief! We still don't know why. An attendant told us to get back on the tube, go down one station, get off and walk back. This would certainly put us at Maxims after the last tour: we went back to the hotel for a nap instead :)

Yesterday was move day; we booked 3 extra days in Paris (Reiner and Lotti were driving into Paris on Friday) but the hotel we had for the 7 days was full so booked another. It turned out to be "in work"' except the fourth floor where we are. The room is very nice and fortunately, the rest of the hotel has no effect on our stay. We then trotted down to get our Paris pass, big savings on most of the museums and stuff, then continued down to Notre Dame - a really old and really really big church. There were a lot of other people that new about it;) time for lunch we wandered the streets looking for sustenance, and we're confounded by the plethora of choices - we both need to work on our decision making skills. Then off to the Opera House for some class, we walked right in wandering about the entry, stairs and various levels, all made of marble, but sadly were not allowed into the theater area. Turns out that the grandure of the outer area is quite enough. Finally down to the Champs Élysées for some al fresco sup.
Today was get out of town day - off  to Versailles. I must report that this place is the grandest I've seen. Just enough gold and fluff to make it regal - kingly. And the gardens were a hoot; seemed like a giant maze. However, undaunted, Lynn lead us through with only a few hiccups. And Mother Nature again smiled on us with a partly overcast cool day. This place is in the same category as the Hapsberg palaces in Vienna; a real indication of why there was a French Revolution. We also had fun on the subway; I think we broke the code, and now have a fast inexpensive alternate to walking. Paris continues its romantic hold on us and we still walk hand in hand like teenagers:) life is very good.

Our second day of the on/off tourist bus ( the on not quite so easy as the off) took us to all the places we haven't already walked; east to Notre Dame, up the Seine to the contemporary section, Hotel De Ville (a gorgeous old building,) etc. Then north toward Sacre Coeur, three of the four Gares - Nord, Est, and Lyon (Old railway stations, spectacular buildings), lots of old stuff. We got off now and then to walk and hold hands, and eat, and walk along the river, and eat, and hold hands (Paris is really a romantic place.) We then strolled down the Tuileries (The long park in front of the Louvre) then up through tall grass country (Lots of fufu stuff) then another church, this one very old and Polish with a small service ongoing,  and finally wandering the local area. Another, fine day.

After a 6 hour trip on the French Autobahn, the four of us arrived in Paris, the crowds, traffic, and the challenge of finding the hotel in the morass. The GPS worked very well, and combined with Reiner's steadfast will to succeed, and extreme skill and patience, we arrived safe and sound. We deposited our gear and took to the streets. Finding the restaurant recommended by Laura (Lotti's daughter who is currently living in Paris), we fortified our bodies with pizza (actually Alsacian flamkuchen) then began ourfirst wandering of Paris: first to the Louvre, then to the Eiffel Tower, then, the Arch De Triumph, then the Champs Élysées, and finally back to the hotel at about 12:30AM. The night was warm, dry, and balmy, and the array of lights in Paris were spectacular. Our first night was memorable and properly romantic.
Today we did the tour bus; an " on/off" tour bus with English narration explaining about the sights. We got off several times to explore, and got a very good overview of the city for planning our itinerary for the remaining 9 days. This evening was spent with Reiner, Lotti, and their daughter, Laura dining and wandering in Montmartre. A real delight!!!!! (except for the final farewell to our wonderful new friends.)

Yesterday was try to remember all the things we didn't do and do them day, because last day. We stayed local seeing the sights and lunching in town. We wandered along the stream that meanders down the middle of Simonswald, looking for fish,  mooing at cows, and holding hands:) Unexpectedly we met Lotti in the park just sitting enjoying the day between clients. She rides her bike to and during work going from house to house (she is an occupational therapist, and her daily ride may be as much as 50 miles - all year including the snowy winter) and she had purchased the ingredients for the nights special meal so she was glad to have us relieve her of her heavy backpack. The final Black Forest meal was accompanied by champagne, the ebbuliance of celebration, a fine ending to a fine stay. And the (Black Forest) cherry on top was Lynn learned she is a great aunt again- Congratulations Sean and Sara on your beautiful baby boy!

Yesterday was frolic in the park day.  We started with a swoosh, Lynn went on two of the roller coaster rides. Now these rides are famous throughout Europe we are told so not just the ordinary twist and turn till you throw up kind, but the rip and tear and break till you have to be in traction kind. After the second "fun" ride Lynn had an ear to ear grin but decided the "fun" was over and walking would be her MO for the rest of the day - which we did in great abundance. The park is similar to Disney World (Epcot) in that it has many different country theme areas, and it is quite large, so it took 8 hours to complete the wandering. And, oh yes we did take another ride - the equivalent of "Pirates of the Caribbean", and it was virtually identical down to the pirate chasing the girl around, the scalawags in jail (with a monkey holding the keys) and the restaurant overlooking the end on the ride. The rest of the park is very similar also, but also different enough to make the wandering experience a delightful one. It's also much greener, owing to the cloud bursts that we experienced both days. The first burst was really a burst. We were wandering about the  fields and plains around the park when, must give credit where credit is due, Lynn decided to return to the room to fetch her gear, rain type. I, of course, simply continued on. We met 10 or so minutes later and continued our wander, whilst the sky grew dark. Another 5 or so and the cloud burst cometh, more of a deluge really, and I in my standard wandering garb got wet, or perhaps a better way to say it - soaked to the skin. As it has in the past, my clothes dried and the incident brought much laughter. Also different are the food prices and the crowds - thankfully, both much lower. Just another day to cherish, we are both grateful:)

First a warning (this message may contain disturbing images): my face fell off. It happened in the bathroom during the normal process of personal hygiene. The lower part of my face has been replaced with flesh.  And Lynn says I look much younger and she can now see dimples ; )

This day it was off to Strasbourg, an old town in France, filled with charm - I know, I keep saying that, but it is true - and churches (lots of churches), pretzels, and bakeries, and especially old stuff. After 4 hours of wandering it was off again, back to Germany and the Europark; a very good copy of Disneyland- even the cleanliness. Shortly after we arrived in the El Andaluz, one of  Eoropark's hotels, we started to wander, but were met by lightening and thunder and serious rain. We retreated, waiting out the storm in the very nice room. About 6 PM the rain subsided and off we went again, this time into the park where we thought we could wander: the park closes at 6:30 and we were allowed entrance without hesitation. Much like DLand except much greener, we wandered through the park with little company enjoying the sights, the quiet, whilst taking pictures - many pictures. Then, at about 7:30 a guard came up in a cart, addressed us in German speaking no words that we understood, but clearly conveying a message - "The park is closed, get out of the park". He then followed us to the exit. We truly lucked out; our illegal wandering of the empty park was a real joy. Life is really good and we are very grateful.

(Oops, just found out this post wasn't published-belongs right before post from 9/7.)

Now in the black Forest (Called that because of the density of the trees, and the blackness of the forest floor) we awoke to a farmhouse breakfast, not accompanied by farm chores so waistline increasing. The sky leaked so plans changed to accommodate and the day was spent resting and washing, and resting.
This is pick up the rental car day with favorable results; used Enterprise and daily rates half expected:) then off on a hike into the Black. The forest surrounding the area is laced with trails going up and down the very modest mountains. Life is good.


We were to pick up Rick (Pal from Siberia) at the airport in Basel so decided to make a day of it, arriving in Basel around noon, then lunch overlooking the Rhine valley and sweeping views of the vineyards stretching across  the rolling hills and valleys. Then to old Basel. The old town turned out to be quite spectacular with it's old stuff - mansions, apartments, churches, etc. Built beginning in 900 AD the town is quite large looking much like a mini Vienna with grand buildings and curvy narrow streets to explore. The Rhine river runs through town and we decided to cross it in a ferry boat. Not the normal ferry but one propelled by the river. Aghast the river you say, true, I say in return. It's a clever design: a cable is attached to either side of the river and a pulley attached to the suspended cable with another cable running down to the boat. If that cable is tied off on the right side of the boat, the boat turns right, the water pushes against the left side and boat goes right. If the cable is tied off on the other side it goes left across the river. Wow! Bummer, Basel is in Switzerland, and the prices for meals are extraordinary; fortunately I had some Swiss Francs left and was able to use them. The airport greeting of Rick went well as did the drive home (I drove to acquaint myself with European driving, and the nifty nav system on the rental car.)

Since the arrival of Rick things have been fast and furious driving to all the points of interest: Freiberg, Colmar, Titisee,    . each town unique, however built in much the same time - a thousand or so years ago - with a common architectural thread. On occasion we went walking; for example in Titisee, a touristic town, we walked around Titisee lake. On Rick's last day went t
After a reasonable breakfast (Lotti had to go back to work) the three of us went exploring the town of Freiberg. I'm beginning to believe all towns in Europe are the same. Freiberg, like the others, has a really neat old part filled with old stuff to explore including the requisite church (s). Fun, and we only got lost once. In the evening Lotty returned with fresh local trout, then instruckted others to make camp in the back yard so the fish dinner could be prepared - cooked over an open fire of course.  With stars overhead and green all around we talked of many things whilst moving about to avoid the pesky smoke.

It is Sunday night, the weekend activities are over, and now to reminisce about our wanderings. We went south to the frontiers of Germany, France, and Switzerland where the foothills of the Alps come up to make a continuum of forested hills, valleys, and streams with native trout waiting to be caught. A little excitement stirred the afternoon when we couldn't find the hotel attendant; so we took Lotti to her camping spot (Yes, she really likes to camp) then returned to the hotel to find it still missing an attendant. After a half hour or so he finally showed up and reported that he had no reservation for us. After a few phone calls and challenging communication - he spoke no English - we finally got it resolved, parked our gear and went wandering about the town and it's surrounds. The next morn we left the hotel (The hotel was in Boncourt,  the camp site in Courgenay) and immediately got lost, nav systems are not without flaws, and finally arrived 20 minutes late. Lotti had planned an entire day of hiking along the river Doubs, a lovely trail running along the stream, surrounded by a deciduous, forest, with an occasional visit of old stuff. It was a down and back hike with the back on the other side of the river. Of interest was the 100 or so ropes stretched across the river with long colored plastic tubes hanging from them. It was a world class slalom where competitors from all over the world tested their kayak handling skills against the relentless current of the Doubs. After a dinner in Porrentruy we dropped Lottie off and returned to our cute French Country hide away. Today we went to the "Lake District" just inside France and wandered the lakes and their surrounds. The lakes were small with no drainage so they were brown, but many filled with birds, and frogs, and salamanders. Lotti discovered a gold legless salamander  on the dirt road. It looked just like a 6 inch snake. We wandered fearlessly without regard for our return trip, relying only on our superior navigational skills, and as luck would have it, we found the car just where we left it. Then, after driving about the country side going through numerous cute little towns on twisty curvy roads we found the expressway, and enjoyed a smooth straight ride home.

The week with Rick was spent traveling to the local hot spots; towns, hamlets, special walks, etc. including: Freiburg, church and market; Titisee; Breisach monastery; Waldkirch rain; Hochburg castle ruin, St Peter / St Morgan churches, then a hike up to three giant wind machines above the house whilst hunting mushrooms (Found one each, smaller than a dime, fortunately we had other things to eat that day), back to Basel and Chamberhole cave, then Rick departed and we returned back to normal. Tuesday we drove to Heidelburg, and wandered the town. on the river the old town is quite magnificent, where old stuff abound, including the university - some 30,000 strong. Wednesday we drove to Rothenburg, a really slick, perhaps the slickest I've seen, old town with a wall fortification that extends all around the town, and at the top is a walk that allows you shoot arrows at the people outside. We spent four hours just wandering because it was just fun to see all the old stuff. Then back to Heidelburg, and the students, lots of goings on. Yesterday was return day when Lynn drove on the autobahn for the first time. It started with a traffic jam that frustrated her desire for speed, but finally broke- up and whizz off she went; with an unlimited speed limit it was pedal to the metal. Fortunately, the diesel powered compact can only do about 177 km/hr, but she got there with big smile on her face. Sadly, traffic conditions kept interrupting her joy and soon wore her down to 130 in the right lane, only to watch the big machines swoosh by at exceptional speed not available to the Renault driver. Our reunion with R&L was spent on the patio sharing dinner and stories whilst planning our weekend hikes. Life is very good.