As I write this it is late afternoon on our last full day in France, so I am very tired and may not do this blog entry the justice it does deserve. Monday was macaroon class day, so I got up at 7 in order to have time to get ready and get to the class on time by 9 am. This is the same place that I took the morning market class when we were in Paris for my Birthday. I go to the class about 5 minutes before it started and there was one other person there waiting for the doors to open, she was from Melbourne Australia and was on her last of 4 days of cooking classes, she did the 5 class series. We were let in promptly at 9 and the ... read more

Today’s blog will not have a Today’s eats section, not because we didn’t eat, but because the food truly deserves to be blogged about in its entirety. We awoke in side the walls of Mont-St. Michel to a beautiful cloud free bright sunny day. We showered, packed and headed to breakfast. I have previously blogged that breakfast in France and many European countries is not a big affair, typically croissants, fruit and coffee (hence the term continental breakfast in the United States). Today however was much more. Yes there were the croissants, half baguettes, juice, yogurt, but there was so much more. There was, as in Chateau Criessel, the ham and cheese platter, scrambled eggs and bacon, freshly made crepes to stuff with your choice of fillings, granola, cereals, bread for toast, fresh fruit and my ... read more

We got up early today as Chambord (which is in the Loire Valley) is a 4 hour drive on the fast road from Cognac. We skipped breakfast and were off by 9 am. A very early start for us. I walked to the free parking lot, got some cash from the ATM on the way and then proceeded to take about 15 minutes to get back to the hotel. 5 minute walk 15 minute drive. Thank you one way streets, but I got there on my own with out Jerry’s navigation skills. We loaded up the car and were off. It was a very uneventful drive, drove through much farm land 45 minutes on a slow road to get to the AutoRoute then just drove fast 150 km an hour average. We ate on the fly ... read more

Since we had no appointments at any particular chateau in St. Emilion we decided to take advantage of the bank holiday (end of WWII) and sleep in before we head out. This gave us a chance to catch up on some sleep. They way we travel, is pretty much go go go from 7 am until 11 pm so the occasional sleep until 9 or 9:30 is very nice. We did miss breakfast, but the beef from last night was still pretty much sitting there for me so I didn’t mind. Once a wake and showered we were off to the UNESCO world heritage site of St. Emilion. The entire village has been classified as an historic site. Once you see you it will know why and I am sorry but the pictures really don’t do ... read more

Before we left Pau, we took a walk to the Chateau that was the birth place of Henri IV, one of the King’s of France. We missed the last tour so only saw the outside. On the way there we kept hearing loud racing car noises; we could not figure it out. Also, last night on the way to and from dinner we passed by a large place with tents and tons of people celebrating. We found out why. This weekend was a Grand Prix auto race, this weekend was the antique cars next week the modern cars. We watched a little and went on our way. Today we head north to Bordeaux the half way point of our journey. The exit out of Pau was pretty easy; just follow the signs to Bordeaux. We again ... read more