Friday 3rd May Today I headed off on the train to have a look around Rennes, about 35 minutes away by train, and the capital of the Region of Brittany. I was impressed. There are a number of significant buildings, beautiful parks, interesting medieval streetscapes and historic locations. I saw the Parc & Palais St Georges, Parlement de Bretagne, l'Opéra, Hotel de Ville, Basilique St-Saveur, Place des Lices, Cathédrale St Pierre, and my favourite, Parc du Thabor. I was surprised by the number of medieval buildings in the streets, many of which have been beautifully restored or are under restoration. The wooden frames and the way the first and second floors tend to be wider than the floor below are very interesting characteristics. Parc du Thabor was magnificent – the rhododendrons and azaleas, tulips and other ... read more

Sunday 28th April Since I was defeated yesterday in seeing all the places I had wanted to see, due to the rain, and since my train to Brittany was not until after lunch, I decided to hop onto the metro on Sunday morning and visit as many of those places as possible, before returning to check out and go to Mass at 11am. I got off the metro at Tolbiac and headed into the Quartier des Peupliers. Some very pleasant streets and gardens, especially near the Square de l'Abbé Georges Hénocque. I continued on into Floral City. What a beautiful and picturesque quartier! Many of the little streets are named after flowers, and the gardens and streetscapes are very pretty. It was hard to believe that one was in such a big and busy city. Being ... read more

Wednesday 24th April This morning we boarded our coach for the trip to Amiens for Anzac Day. We first went to the town of Corbie to find some lunch. Before the French Revolution Corbie was a very important place, with a large monastery which had been there for centuries. It was a centre for writing, transcription, etc. Most of the monastery has been demolished, but a large church which was once part of the complex remains. After lunch we visited the Victoria School in Villers Bretonneux, which was rebuilt by Australian soldiers after it was destroyed, along with most of the village, in 1918. Funds were raised in Australian primary schools (particularly in Victoria), and even materials were sent over. The school hall is lined with Victorian timber. The attic of one wing of the school ... read more

Friday 19th April We set out this morning for the long trip from Rocamadour to Blois, on the Loire River. Our stop along the way was at Oradour-sur-Glane. This village was destroyed by Waffen SS soldiers in 1944, as a brutal reprisal for the activities of the French Resistance as the Nazis began to lose the war. The inhabitants of the village were rounded up, men were separated from women and children. The men were taken to various spots around the village and shot. Their bodies were burnt. The women and children were put in the village church which was set on fire. Nearly seven hundred civilians were murdered, including over one hundred children. The buildings of the village were blown up. Very few people escaped the roundup and massacre. De Gaulle had the village left ... read more

Tuesday 16th April Today we left the Alps and travelled west across the Rhône and into the centre of France – the mountains of Le Massif Central. It was interesting to watch the scenery changing. Now we have old volcanoes as the mountains – rounded, not as high, eroded. It is still easy to see the shapes of the old volcanic cones. Many of the higher parts are still covered with snow. Pine forests and fast mountain streams, endless hills with the roads winding between, meadows and dark stone buildings are all features. It is very pretty, even though the spring has not yet sprouted the new leaves on the deciduous trees – the snow has only recently melted away from the meadows, and persists in shaded parts of the higher farms, as well as on ... read more