2026 – Europe

Paris was still gray and rainy as we were taxied away from our hotel towards the Gare de Lyon. We’re off to catch a TGV to our next destination, the beautiful little town of Annecy. The train ride was gorgeous and the train itself very new and nice. A long afternoon walk reminded us why…

Ughhhh… woke to dark gray skies and rain, forecasted to last all day (accurate as it turned out). Skipped breakfast in support of being really hungry at lunch. It worked and we enjoyed a big meal at one of Paris’ Bouillon restaurants where mostly classic French dishes are survived. During a break in the downpour…

Our good weather held on for another day. We had tickets to a show called ““Renaissance : de Vinci, Raphaël, Michel-Ange – L’expérience immersive à l’Atelier des Lumières””. It was… a bit overwhelming. Lots of bright, flashing lights, loud eerie music and pictures of artwork moving on the walls. That done, we headed off to…

We woke up to a gorgeous day! It was another holiday, this one celebrating Victory in Europe Day, the end of WWII. There was a military parade on the Champs-Élysées which we avoided. We, along with thousands of our best friends also not at the parade, checked out the Bread Festival being held in front…

Off to Paris! We opted for the Autoroute this time (with its frequent rest stops) as my “Napoleon’s Revenge” had returned. Scott did a masterful job of getting us to our hotel in the 5th arrondissement where we parked long enough to check into our hotel before heading off to Hertz at Montparnasse to get…

Off to see another of the great Châteaux – Chambord. It’s quite the maze, four stories tall, remodeled and added to by each subsequent owner. We opted to pay for the “Histopad”, an electronic device that I found more annoying than helpful. Still, the chateau is beautiful and not terribly crowded. Back in Amboise we…

Leisurely morning of breakfast and exercise followed by the drive to the beautiful château of Chenonceau. Loved Diane de Poitiers’ garden (in my preferred color scheme) with white roses, foxglove and snow-in-summer and purple pansies and foxglove. The interior was nice restored with amazing furnishings and fabulous fresh flower arrangements in every room. My favorite…

Took the scenic route west further into the Loire Valley. Rural France at its finest – more beautiful rolling fields, dense forests, and tiny flower-filled villages. Our dawdling put us into Blois for lunch around 2:00 where we had to work hard to find a kitchen still open. On to our final destination of Amboise…

Awoke to steady rain which continued all morning. Late morning we drove to nearby Cosne-Cours-sur-Loire for a hike along the Loire river and lunch. On the way back to our hotel we stopped into Le Perrière winery for a Sancerre tasting and view of their caves. Bought a few bottle for the near future. Spectacular…

Slept late (for us) but managed to hit just before rush hour at breakfast. Walked up the hill to see what Sancerre had to offer which didn’t take long. Took a 4 kilometer hike through some of the nearby vineyards then came back into town for lunch on the main square. Afterwards we visited the…