We arrived late at Mont Saint Michel on Sunday, and we were absolutely mesmerised by the medieval charm of this place. It wasn’t until Monday that we started to explore the medieval streets and the Abbey. The Abbey was amazing and its history was really interesting. The views from up there were fabulous. After exploring all this for most of the morning, we then decided to walk across the sand flats, as the tide was out, towards another island to see the abbey from another perspective. Later in the evening, after the sun had set, we went out to the causeway to see the Abbey floodlit. Mont Saint Michel has been one of the high point for us on our trip so far, and we would recommend it to anyone. Just be warned about the vast ... read more

On Friday, we left Paris for Rouen. We picked up our hire care (a BRAND new Golf) and on the way we stopped at Giverny to see Monet’s garden and house. The gardens were in full bloom, which was a bonus. We both felt that the best parts were the waterlilies pond and the famous bridge with the wisteria. We then went to the local village church to see where he was buried. When then proceeded to Rouen to our B & B, located in a 14thcentury half-timbered building in the heart of the historic centre of Rouen. Today, we explored all the sights of Rouen. These included Notre Dame Cathedral (nearly every cathedral in France is called Notre Dame), the Abbey of St Ouen, the Church of Saint Maclou, the Great Clock and its tower, ... read more

On Monday, we caught the TGV and made our way to Reims. It only took 45 minutes to travel about 150 km (we’ll let you do the maths!). Our main focus was to see the Cathedral, as it was the place of the coronation of the kings of France. The cathedral was as spectacular as we thought it would be. One disappoint was that the cathedral was closed as it was Monday. We then went to the Basilica of Saint Remi, which was also a noted sighted. Today, we went to the Basilica of Saint Denis, the place where many kings of France are buried. The basilica was one of the first French gothic buildings, and it was the model for Notre Dame de Paris. There were more tombs than you could shake a stick at. ... read more

Tuesday afternoon, we went to the Palazzo Pitti and the Boboli Gardens. The palace was the last residence of the Medici family. It is ornately decorated, particularly the original audience and waiting rooms. The rooms of the palace now show many of the treasures of the Medici family, as well as other exhibitions. The Boboli gardens belong to the palace and they are designed in an Italianate style. Our expectations were high. However, upon entering we were somewhat disappointed. The heat and lack of shade did not make the visit any more pleasant. The highlights of the garden were the amphitheatre and some of the statuary. This afternoon, we visited the Medici Chapels and the Museo dell’Opera del Duomo. The Chapels are an amazing sight. Unfortunately, part of the chapel was covered in scaffolding, so that ... read more

Terry went to Siena on Tuesday. He saw the Piazza del Campo, where the Palio was run the week before. There were still some celebrations going on. He visited the Cathedral and the church of San Domenico, where Catherine of Siena’s head is on display (macabre). Then he went on to San Gimignano to see its famous towers. This whole trip was conveniently brought about by a local tour company, and it was hot! (35 degrees). After class in the morning, Anthony went on a trip to Certosa, a Cistercian monastery out of Florence. The monk who showed us the place was only one of 4 remaining, and he was about 80 years old. Such a large place for so few people. It was originally a Carthussan monastery with an interesting past. We haven’t pasted a ... read more