David and I went to France in July. We spent a week in Paris and then traveled to the Loire valley to do some chateaux watching.
Full picture album (without annoying narration) :
Paris
We got to Paris on July 11 from Cayman Islands, where we had been attending a friend's wedding. We stayed at a nice, cozy little place called the Familia Hotel in the Latin quarter. It is a nice neighbourhood to walk around in, with some cool ethnic restaurants for when this poor vegetarian got tired of eating some combination of bread, cheese and chocolate. It is also walking distance to the Pantheon and Notre Dame. Which is where we strolled down to that same evening...
 |
| From Paris |
The Seine river runs through Paris, and has two small islands in it. Notre Dame is on one of the islands - Ile de la Cite. (But the other island has a famous ice cream shop, so it's a tie)
The cathedral is massive and sufficiently grand with beautifully intricate carving and flying buttresses. (I'm vague on the concept of flying buttresses but David was excited about them and took lots of pictures) Its interior succeeds in creating that indefinable atmosphere unique to great places of worship - the kind that makes even the most atheistic person come over all spiritual. Unfortunately in addition to being an incredibly popular tourist destination it is still an active place of worship. You can't help feeling sorry for the priests trying to preach in spite of the throngs of tourists wandering through the church taking pictures.
The next day we went down to the Eiffel Tower. To be honest I expected it to be ugly but it looks quite classy. Up close the metal is a cool brownish color that gives it a sepia tone. Of course this was easily the most crowded place I've ever visited and there were lots of annoying souvenir dealers selling little Eiffel Towers.
 |
| From Paris |
We spent the next few days exploring the normal tourist destinations, eating a lot and walking a lot. We took a boat trip down the Seine which was very enjoyable, especially on that hot summer afternoon. We went to the Arc de Triomphe and walked down the Champs Elysees. The Montmartre district is a cute, quaint neighbourhood to wander around in - David's father recommended it to us. It is on a hill and at the top of the hill is the Sacre Coeur Basilica. The Louvre is a beautiful building but completely overwhelming as a museum. For one thing it took us more than an hour to buy tickets (you really really should purchase those online). Once in, we took one look at the map and decided that all we could hope for was to glimpse some of the highlights. The most disappointing moment was the Mona Lisa - I sincerely recommend that no one even try to view this painting. All you can see is a sea of people holding up cameras, craning to take pictures over everyone else's heads. And you are forcefully reminded that you too are that most ridiculed of characters - a tourist. Oh well. If you only have a few hours to give the Louvre, its best to stick with the exterior.
 |
| From Paris |
July 14th was Bastille Day. We were told there would be fireworks at the Eiffel Tower, so we headed down there that evening. Half of Paris was there but we cleverly managed to maneuver our way to a great viewing position, just a few hundred feet away from the tower. Now we just had to wait for darkness to fall. This was a long wait, summer days are really long in Paris and even at 1opm there is some daylight. Eventually around 11 it got dark enough, there were sounds of activity and then the fireworks started... off to our left, over the river, not the tower at all! Fortunately we still got to see them, although the view was not nearly as good. Returning to the hotel was a challenge, with such massive crowds we had to walk a long way to reach a subway station that wasn't suffocatingly crowded.
Around our 5th day the weather changed. It had been beautifully sunny and warm, even in the evening. But now the rain started and it didn't quit for the rest of our trip. Unfortunately neither of us had expected rain so there was some scrambling for appropriate gear. I bought a hideous sweatshirt with PARIS scrawled across the front in big bold letters. After that, David was no longer allowed to take pictures of me.
Versailles
My cousin Darshan lives in Germany and came down to Paris to spend the weekend with us. Which was great because we hadn't seen each other in about 10 years. Together the three of us went to Versailles, which is about a 90 minute train ride from Paris. It was raining when we got there and I hadn't yet acquired the PARIS sweatshirt. Darshan was the only one of us prepared for this weather. So of course I simply stole his jacket. Having learnt from our Louvre experience, I had been very careful to buy tickets in advance this time. I was gloating about this all the way to Versailles but on getting there we discovered that there was a long line just to enter the palace. We stood shivering and wet in the courtyard for another hour while the line slowly snaked forward. Versailles may be a grand palace but my main impression of it was of a stuffy, incredibly crowded place. Only a few of the chambers are open for viewing and everybody gets into a single line and is herded from one room to another. I was too demoralized to even get my camera out as long as we were indoors. After lunch, however, the rain stopped and we ventured into the famous gardens (separate charge).
 |
| From Paris |
The Catacombs
But before I get to Blois, I must tell you about the Catacombs.
Our guide book had a small paragraph on the "catacombs" of Paris which it suggested were worth visiting. The cemeteries in Paris had become over crowded in the 18th century and so many of the bodies had been dug up and reburied in a part of the catacombs - underground passageways. It wasn't clear what there would be to see down there: some graves, maybe a couple of skeletons tossed in a corner. But it sounded like a change from all the history and culture we were feasting on, so I decided to give it a shot. David and I wandered down there one morning only to discover it was Bastille Day and the catacombs were closed. The next day we decided to give it another shot but were out of luck again. The catacombs were open, but there was some glitch. Due to a "technical problem", half the place was closed off and so they could allow only a small number of people down at a time. The wait was a couple of hours, it was recommended we come back another day. Then on Sunday we went there again with Darshan. Third time lucky. Not so much. Yet again there was a long line outside the entrance. Yet again, a helpful official came by with a placard that explained half the place was closed - this time because of "safety concerns". The placard went on helpfully to emphasize that the entrance fee was not reduced. An anticipated 2 hour wait. We left again - as my mother would say "the catacombs weren't in our destiny".
But by now the catacombs began to feel like the most attractive place in Paris and I couldn't rest easy without going there. It turned out that we returned to Paris the day before our flight home and we had half a day to kill. We made a beeline for the catacombs, waited patiently in another long line (this time the placard advertised 'security reasons' for the reduced capacity), got rained on but finally made it in! This was possibly the weirdest place I've been to. As I said before, we didn't know what to expect. A somewhat creepy experience, a couple of skeletons lying in a corner. But we weren't prepared for this :
 |
| From Paris |
The walls were lined with skulls and bones. No, the walls were skulls and bones - plastered into place - all along the passageway. In places they were arranged in bizarre decorative formations. How anyone could think this was an appropriate way to treat their ancestor's bodies is beyond me! It was creepy and deeply disturbing, I can't believe this is a tourist attraction and I am so glad we did get to see it.
Loire Valley
Anyway, so on to the Loire. The Loire valley gets its name from a river that runs through it. For some reason the valley is filled with chateaux and the chateaux is what we wanted to see. Our first stop was in the town of Blois, which turned out to be an absolutely adorable medieval town fulfilling all my old Europe fantasies of narrow alleyways, cobblestones and cute buildings. Its also a popular base for touring the nearby chateaux.
 |
| From Loire Valley |
We hadn't rented a car, so our travel was limited by public transportation. There is a bus that goes to nearby chateaux and we took it to Chambord and Cheverny.
Chambord has a combination fort and hunting lodge feel with its keep, towers and large halls. It also has the most extensive grounds in France. It has an interesting double helix staircase in the center of the building. Two entwined sets of spiral stairs climbing to the top without ever meeting. It was a pleasure to wander at will through this castle after the restrictive, crowded tour of Versailles. I would have taken far more pictures here but I got separated from David and spent most of my time looking for him. He spent this time wandering around unperturbed, taking pictures...
 |
| From Loire Valley |
After Chambord we went to Cheverny. This is a more modest chateau - I don't believe any kings ever owned it, only lowly noblemen. It is well known for (of all things) its kennel full of hounds.
 |
| From Loire Valley |
The next day we took a train to Chenenceau, which is the most popular of the Loire chateaux. It has a unique location, built right on the banks of a river with a long hall that spans the river.
 |
| From Loire Valley |
We were told that during the second world war, one bank of the river was in occupied France and the other in Free France. So resistance fighters helped people escape by bringing them in through the front door and out across the long hall. To be honest this sounds like a made up story to me. But I heard it several times and even Wikipedia says so, so it must be true! (By the way we saw several references to the "Resistance" in the Loire towns: roads, squares and even a Resistance museum right next to our hotel. We would have visited it but the museum hours had been explicitly designed to discourage visitors.) This was the most crowded of the Loire chateaux we saw, even though some tourists must have been kept away by the pouring rain. Fortunately the place is large enough that it was still a lot of fun wandering through the various rooms. We got to see the kitchen and pantry which was an opportunity to glimpse the behind-the-scenes life at a castle. Overall, in spite of the rain, it was a very enjoyable trip. Also the food at the adjoining restaurant was surprisingly good.
Oh, and the chateau was designed and owned by multiple women so its called the women's chateau. Which sounds a little soppy but maybe explains why it is so elegant looking.
 |
| From Loire Valley |
That brings us to the last couple of days of our trip. I'd been intrigued by a hotel called the Chateau de Verrieres in Saumur. Excited at the idea of staying at a real chateau and spurred on by the Trip Advisor reviews, I booked us into this hotel for the last couple of nights. It was a lovely place but disappointing from my point of view. The experience was that of staying at a luxury bed and breakfast, rather than a historic building. The chateau is very large for a home but small for a chateau! Still, the place is charming and the big bedroom and giant bathroom was a welcome change after the tiny "European" hotels we had stayed in so far.
 |
| From Loire Valley |
And just like that, our trip was over. We went back to Paris on Friday, finally finally got to experience the Catacombs, stayed at an airport hotel and took the morning flight back to California.
A really fun trip in which I learned some rather random things. For instance that France (presumably all of Europe) has embraced 24 hr time with a vengeance. And that our US credit cards don't work in the Paris metro because they have no chip. Also three weeks is too long to stay away from work and I get impatient to return. And how much I like where I live, because I'm homesick even when I am at the most beautiful places in the world.
(More pictures at :
