We drove from Le Mans to Bordeaux, and Jill ended up finding a
random small town (Montbazon) with a restaurant for lunch.
We noticed a large Virgin Mary statue on an old tower at the top of a hill in town,
so after lunch we decided to do a quick walk to see if we could see what it was.
It ended up being a old castle that has been setup as a place to teach about medieval
life with various activities that kids can do to learn about things like carving stone and
weaving baskets! So we spent the afternoon there, which was pretty neat
considering we had no idea it was there!
Center Square in Montbazon where we ate lunch
Cool Alley
Rooftops in town!
The fortress on the hill.
Céline learned how to weave a straw fish.
Making her fish!
Looking out over town.
The castle!
Uh, oh! Did I do something wrong?
No, Alix did not need to be put into the stockades.
Alix liked exploring!
In the castle!
Firing a crossbow! She hit the target!
Ready for a day of sightseeing!
Mostly ready!
Always a cathedral!
Quite a tower! Think anyone would climb that?
Hmm! I think we might climb it!
View from above!
Great view of the city!
Climber # 1
Climber # 2 (Okay, so she was in Papa's arms
the whole way)
View from the top!
The tiny little door we had to squeeze through
with Papa, a backpack, and Alix!
Another building to climb!
Riverfront view!
Very pretty!
Reflecting Pool!
Running!
Hanging out!
Carousel!
Didn't want to get off!
Which one? Justin or Alix?
Checking out the fountain!
Statue of a rooster!
Taking a shower!
Very cool pirate ship playground!
View from the park!
Palm trees in the botanical garden!
Interesting flower!
Another interesting building!
We arrived in Carcassonne around noon and found our hotel
which was right outside the old city walls. The hotel room was
very interesting, black, white, and bright, bright pink! There weren't
enough beds so we asked for a cot, they ended up bringing a pack-and-play
which Céline was happy to sleep in! The hotel room had a great terrace
which looked up at the old city walls. We explored the old city and
castle for the afternoon and evening, very cool! Parts were very touristy
(lots of shops and restaurants), but we walked all over the old city and
toured the castle which was very cool.
Sleepy girl!
Special bed in Carcassonne, in the pink room!
Old city walls!
Ready to explore!
Protector of the city!
Tower
Lunch with Papa at a kabob place!
The Inner Castle!
Outside city walls!
View from our patio!
Blue Pop!
Green Pop!
Interesting building!
View from the walls!
Horse and carriage!
More views!
...and more!
Plane flying over us!
Town from the castle walls!
Triple window!
Looking out the arrow slot!
Our patio!
We left Barcelona and took a fantastic road through the
Pyrenees back to France. The road winds up and down through
small towns perched on the side or tops of hills, with amazing views
down the valleys. We crested the mountains at Col d'Ares at just
under 5000 feet (1513m), the wound back down the other side into France
with equally amazing views. We stayed the night in Béziers.
Ready for some lunch.
More view!
We took the A75 up through the middle of France,
through the Massif Central, a mountain range in the middle of
southern France. The entry to the Massif Central was a tunnel
through a huge cliff face, which dumped us on to the top of
the plateau, with some great views down the valley and of
large cliff walls. Another spectacular drive, with some very cool
bridges and even volcanoes. We stopped in Clermont-Ferrand, and
we lucked out that the restaurant where we ate dinner, which was right next to
the hotel, had a huge bouncy castle in their back yard! The girls had a blast!
Cool bridge where we stopped for a bathroom break and ice cream!
Traveling ladies!
Sense of scale!
Still a smile, after all that sitting in the car!
Our dinner restaurant had a giant bouncy castle out back!
The girls had a great time!
(Girls? Girls? Where are you girls?)
Alix climbed to the top of the slide all by herself.
Yea!
Having fun!
We drove the last leg of our trip to Paris, not much to see
along the way. We rented an old apartment in the 16th district,
on the west side of the Seine. It is a very neat place, on a
gated road, with lots of room! Unfortunately no AC,
but lots of windows and the evenings get nice and cool,
so hopefully it will be manageable.
Master bedroom has an interesting tub behind the bed,
surrounded by mirrors!
Tub area also has a toilet room and a sink.
Second bedroom.
Interesting inlay!
Table the inlay is in.
Living room with sofa converted to bed, lots of wood,
cool hidden closets!
Playing!
Lots of wood around the mantle.
More playing!
View to the gated road!
Sink in the master bedroom!
Faucet handle!
In one of the fireplaces (1669)!
Construction outside the window. Fortunately,
they don't start until 8 AM!
Arc de Triumphe
She's a brand name!
Littlest Racer!
Racer number 2
Big dog statue!
All kinds of fun stuff to see along Champs Elyssee!
At the museum!
Watch out behind you, Céline!!!
Our apartment from the outside. We are the
European 1st floor, 2nd floor in US!
Opening the gate!
The Eiffel Tower!
More tower!
More tower from across the Seine!
Under the tower!
More under the tower!
random small town (Montbazon) with a restaurant for lunch.
We noticed a large Virgin Mary statue on an old tower at the top of a hill in town,
so after lunch we decided to do a quick walk to see if we could see what it was.
It ended up being a old castle that has been setup as a place to teach about medieval
life with various activities that kids can do to learn about things like carving stone and
weaving baskets! So we spent the afternoon there, which was pretty neat
considering we had no idea it was there!
Center Square in Montbazon where we ate lunch
Cool Alley
Rooftops in town!
The fortress on the hill.
Céline learned how to weave a straw fish.
Making her fish!
Looking out over town.
The castle!
Uh, oh! Did I do something wrong?
No, Alix did not need to be put into the stockades.
Alix liked exploring!
In the castle!
Firing a crossbow! She hit the target!
We spent the day walking around exploring Bordeaux, lots of
cool old buildings. We were woken up early by a fire alarm,
Jill smelled smoke in the hall. Spent about 30 minutes hanging out outside
before we went back in. The hotel folks didn't think it was anything
until Jill said she had smelled smoke, we got to see the fire trucks
(which didn't have to go far since the were stationed across the street). In the
city we found a huge reflecting pool that has a thin layer of water so
Céline could walk around in the water, we found a neat carousel,
then Céline and I found a great
playground and explored a botanical garden while Alix napped.
Interesting building near our hotel!
Ready for a day of sightseeing!
Mostly ready!
Always a cathedral!
Quite a tower! Think anyone would climb that?
Hmm! I think we might climb it!
View from above!
Great view of the city!
Climber # 1
Climber # 2 (Okay, so she was in Papa's arms
the whole way)
View from the top!
The tiny little door we had to squeeze through
with Papa, a backpack, and Alix!
Another building to climb!
Riverfront view!
Very pretty!
Reflecting Pool!
Running!
Hanging out!
Carousel!
Didn't want to get off!
Which one? Justin or Alix?
Cool Tower
Checking out the fountain!
Statue of a rooster!
Taking a shower!
Very cool pirate ship playground!
View from the park!
Palm trees in the botanical garden!
Interesting flower!
Another interesting building!
which was right outside the old city walls. The hotel room was
very interesting, black, white, and bright, bright pink! There weren't
enough beds so we asked for a cot, they ended up bringing a pack-and-play
which Céline was happy to sleep in! The hotel room had a great terrace
which looked up at the old city walls. We explored the old city and
castle for the afternoon and evening, very cool! Parts were very touristy
(lots of shops and restaurants), but we walked all over the old city and
toured the castle which was very cool.
Sleepy girl!
Special bed in Carcassonne, in the pink room!
Old city walls!
Ready to explore!
Protector of the city!
Tower
Lunch with Papa at a kabob place!
The Inner Castle!
Outside city walls!
View from our patio!
Blue Pop!
Green Pop!
Interesting building!
View from the walls!
Horse and carriage!
More views!
...and more!
Plane flying over us!
Town from the castle walls!
Triple window!
Looking out the arrow slot!
Our patio!
We left Barcelona and took a fantastic road through the
Pyrenees back to France. The road winds up and down through
small towns perched on the side or tops of hills, with amazing views
down the valleys. We crested the mountains at Col d'Ares at just
under 5000 feet (1513m), the wound back down the other side into France
with equally amazing views. We stayed the night in Béziers.
View from the French side of the Pyrenees.
Windy road in the background.
Ready for some lunch.
More view!
We took the A75 up through the middle of France,
through the Massif Central, a mountain range in the middle of
southern France. The entry to the Massif Central was a tunnel
through a huge cliff face, which dumped us on to the top of
the plateau, with some great views down the valley and of
large cliff walls. Another spectacular drive, with some very cool
bridges and even volcanoes. We stopped in Clermont-Ferrand, and
we lucked out that the restaurant where we ate dinner, which was right next to
the hotel, had a huge bouncy castle in their back yard! The girls had a blast!
Interesting carved tree where we stopped for lunch!
Cool bridge where we stopped for a bathroom break and ice cream!
Traveling ladies!
Sense of scale!
Still a smile, after all that sitting in the car!
Our dinner restaurant had a giant bouncy castle out back!
The girls had a great time!
(Girls? Girls? Where are you girls?)
Alix climbed to the top of the slide all by herself.
Yea!
Having fun!
We drove the last leg of our trip to Paris, not much to see
along the way. We rented an old apartment in the 16th district,
on the west side of the Seine. It is a very neat place, on a
gated road, with lots of room! Unfortunately no AC,
but lots of windows and the evenings get nice and cool,
so hopefully it will be manageable.
The dining room!
Master bedroom has an interesting tub behind the bed,
surrounded by mirrors!
Tub area also has a toilet room and a sink.
Second bedroom.
Interesting inlay!
Table the inlay is in.
Living room with sofa converted to bed, lots of wood,
cool hidden closets!
Playing!
Lots of wood around the mantle.
More playing!
View to the gated road!
Sink in the master bedroom!
Faucet handle!
In one of the fireplaces (1669)!
Our first day in Paris, it was hot! We went to the Arc de
Triumphe then walked down Champs Elysee and went to the
Palais de la Decouverte, a science museum. We went back to the
apartment for a nap for Alix and then Céline and I went
Triumphe then walked down Champs Elysee and went to the
Palais de la Decouverte, a science museum. We went back to the
apartment for a nap for Alix and then Céline and I went
on a walk to see the Eiffel Tower!
Checking out the view!
Construction outside the window. Fortunately,
they don't start until 8 AM!
Arc de Triumphe
She's a brand name!
Littlest Racer!
Racer number 2
Big dog statue!
All kinds of fun stuff to see along Champs Elyssee!
At the museum!
Watch out behind you, Céline!!!
Our apartment from the outside. We are the
European 1st floor, 2nd floor in US!
Opening the gate!
The Eiffel Tower!
More tower!
More tower from across the Seine!
Under the tower!
More under the tower!
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