Geo: 48.8566, 2.35097Today we went into Paris again. Travelling into Paris is very convenient without a car. We drove to Versailles and parked on the street (parking is free in August in many areas). Then by train to Paris and Metro to Place de la Concorde. Sonya went off on her own as she has seen the Louvre. We walked through Jardin des Tuileries, and then entered the Louvre through the underground Carrousel shopping mall (avoiding the long lines at the main Louvre entrance). We spent about 4 hours, and saw a minuscule part of the complex. We did get to see the biggies: the Mona Lisa, Winged Victory, Venus de Milo, the Napoleon Apartments. The best parts, for us, were the Greek and Roman, and Mesopotamian, exhibits. The complex itself is stunning - hard to ... read more

Geo: 48.8417, 2.07672After our busy day in Paris yesterday, we all enjoyed a "sleep in" this morning. The nice thing about being here for two months is that we can freely take some down time. Once we were all mobile we headed into our favourite Boulangerie in town for a yummy coffee. For the second day in a row the local Gerdarmerie (police) were there picking up their coffees and "pain aux chocolat". Just like in Canada, when you see the police stop at Tim Horton's!! Sonya is also a big fan of "pain aux chocolat" and anxiously looks forward to her daily fix!! Jim's favourite is the "pain aux raisin" and Pat likes the "chausson aux pommes". We enjoyed our yummy coffees there and then headed to a nearby grocery store for a few more ... read more

Geo: 48.7077, 2.03955Today we set off on our first road trip in this area of France. We enjoyed a lovely drive through the Chevreuse Valley woodland parks. As we neared the town of Chevreuse we could see the medieval Chateau de Madeleine that overlooks the town. We enjoyed a pleasant walk through the town before heading up to the castle. The castle received its name from the chapel within the castle walls that is dedicated to Sainte Marie-Madeleine. The castle was built between 1020 and 1090 to protect the town. In 1356, the castle was owned by the lord of Chevreuse who was taken prisoner by England during the Hundred Years War and had to sell his domain to pay his ransom. Parts of the castle are still in good shape and it was nice to ... read more

Geo: 48.8667, 2.09336Today we began to get to know our new surroundings. We took our exchange hosts' Jauguar into Le aches nay, a suburb of Versailles. We went to an upscale shopping mall to do some errands, and have a quick lunch. Then we drove into Versailles centre, to get some information from the tourism office. On our way home we drove through the little village of Marly-Le-Roi. We walked the Main Street, where everything was closed for the afternoon, and spotted some restaurants that might be good. A number of them have signs indicating that they are closed for most of August. In the evening, we called ahead and learned that the Indian restaurant in Marly-Le-Roi was open, so we headed there for dinner. We enjoyed a very nice Indian meal, before returning home, with ... read more

Geo: 44.8833, -0.15Today is our last full day in our exchange home in this area. We have thoroughly enjoyed our time in this lovely home. To celebrate our last night the ladies who own this home have offered to come and cook us a traditional meal from this area, We spent the day doing laundry, packing our suitcases and cleaning the house. The ladies arrived around 4:30 to start preparing our delicious meal. The first order of our meal was to open the wine to let it breath. Dinner will be Magret de Canard and also chocolate mousse. Magret de Canard means duck breast from the French breed of duck called a Moulard. The duck breast is fried a special way and then potatoes are fried in the fat. Jim was the official taster of the ... read more