Tuesday - Winery Tour

 We traveled to the village of Ange' to visit Domaine du Clos Roussely winery. The guy on the right is the owner.

Note the structure in the middle of the picture in the back. It is explained two pics from now.

 We reached the vineyard by ascending the steps.  The wine cellars are below the vineyards.

 The grandfather of the current owner installed two of these chutes to deliver grapes from the vineyard to the cellar. Unfortunately, the grapes got damaged, so this practice was abandoned.

A picture of some of the barrels against the chiseled rock wall.

We had a buffet lunch hosted by the owner and our guide (in the red blouse). We were able to sample some of the vineyard's products!

Leaving the vineyard, we traveled to Amboise where we went on a walking tour of the Old Town.

These are homes built into the hillside!

This is Chateau Royal d'Amboise. We just viewed it from outside; we didn't tour it.

This is Chateau de Clos Luce. At the invitation of King Francis I, it was the home of Leonardo da Vinci for the last three years of his life.

Finally, this evening's dinner was at an Italian restaurant, where the salad was served after the main course. I understand that this was not on purpose; the waitress forgot to serve the salads at the appropriate time! 

On Wednesday, we had free time in the morning, then boarded the bus for the trip back to a hotel in Paris. Then, of course, on Thursday, we headed to the airport for our trip home. Our travel company provided a guide to aid us in traversing the intricacies of the Paris airport. We sure were grateful to her! And now, eight days home, I think I'm finally over being jet-lagged!   

Monday - Chateau(s) and Gardens

The Loire Valley, the 'Garden of France', has more than 300 chateau, from tenth-century castles to mansions built a thousand years later.

 Our guide took us on a walking tour of Blois, the town we stayed in. This is the front view of Royal Chateau.

This is a view of Royal Chateau from the courtyard. There are four distinct wings, each corresponding to a different architectural period and style. Two styles are represented in this picture.

 One of the many, furnished rooms.

Feeling Royal, are We?

 After the tour of the chateau, we crammed together for a horse carriage guided tour.

 We crossed the La Loire River...

...via this bridge.

 Our walking tour of Blois continued. No, we didn't climb these steps! By this day of the trip, we don't need any unnecessary steps!

Walking through a courtyard with the other 17 members of our group.

An architect allowed us to enter his home. He remodeled a former salt storage warehouse.

He says he is looking for a new wife! There were no interested ladies in our group.

 After lunch, we took a bus to Chateau de Chenonceau on the River Cher.

 This chateau warrants several pictures!

 My favorite gardens are the ones with flowers, but the green ones are impressive, too!

Even the walkways are worth a picture!

 Just an interesting vehicle we passed, showcased by a couple of members of our group.

Our next stop was in Chaumont for a visit at its International Garden Festival. I talked earlier about all the walking we were doing. On this day, Wayne's pedometer indicated that he (we) walked over 7 miles! 

 This place was humongous! We could post a hundred pictures and not show all that we saw, and we only covered about 1/4 of the gardens.

 This is one of about 8 'volcanoes' in this area.

The gardens bordered this chateau. We didn't tour this one. We were exhausted by this time of this 7+ mile day!

 This area had mirrors. In this, Wayne is taking a picture of us in the mirror!

In this, I'm taking the picture!

Sunday - Post Trip to the Loire Valley

During our bus ride to the town of Blois, where we will spend the next four days, we stopped in Chambord. Above is the Chateau de Chambord, commissioned by King Francois I.

 This is a double-helix staircase, rumored to have been designed by Leonardo da Vinci.

Looking from one helix to Wayne in the other helix!

Saturday

 We skipped the morning tour of the Louvre since we visited it on our first trip to France. Instead, we took a cab to the Montmartre section of Paris; the artist area.

 We were joined by another couple on tour with us. We took pics of each other.

 This beautiful church is the Basilique de Sacre'-Coeur de Montmartre. It's young compared to other churches we've seen in Italy and France; completed in 1912.

A concentrated area of artists. There are many artists walking around with pad and pencil, offering to draw you!

Our boat was cruising the Seine, moving from one area of Paris to another.

 Notice the Paris version of the Statue of Liberty!

 An interesting view of the boat passing under a bridge!

The Eiffel Tower with its night time lights.

Friday - Arrival in Paris

 We took a bus tour of Paris this morning. This is the Place de la Concorde, an obelisk that was a gift from Egypt. It was put here in 1833 in place of the Guillotine.

A view of the Eiffel Tower.

This is the first bridge where lovers put locks and threw the keys in the river to seal their love forever!

 We toured Versailles in the afternoon. This is a view of the back of the humongous complex. (700 rooms)

 This is taken from the back of the main building. There are about 2,000 acres!

 There was work being done on one of the fountains. Therefore, none of the fountains were running! Very disappointing.

 Gardens in one direction!

Gardens in another direction!