Blogs from Centre, France, Europe - page 29

Amboise - October 2 (Geoff) We explored the town this morning. Amboise is not a huge place and its city centre is about the size of Manuka. Still it was nice to start the day quietly and spend some time shopping and window shopping (more of the latter than the former). We finished our wander and then strolled along the banks of the Loire river - very peaceful, though the day was a little cool. It was then time to have a look at our first Chateau -the Chateau Royal in Amboise. This was the country retreat of the French Royal family in the 15th and later centuries. We ambled through noting how it was luxurious but not so opulent as some of the palaces we have seen - it was more of a working castle. ... read more

Amboise, Loire Valley 1 October The trip to Paris on the night train was uneventful, but a disturbed night of sleep. The night trains are fast which means they rock from side to side and are noisy. Not the best conditions for sleep. We woke around 7.30am expecting to arrive at Paris by 9am. Somewhere in the night we had lost 2hrs and were informed we would arrive at 11am. Our next train from Paris to Amboise was at 11.40am. When we looked at our ticket we noticed it left from a different train station. As it was an open ticket we figured if we missed it we would just have to catch the next one. We made a quick dash from the Bercy station to the Austerlitz station across the Seine (didn't have time to ... read more

Today's journey takes us through the very centre of France. First we stop in Bourges, to see the Palais Jacques Coeur, the Cathedral of St. Stephen and the delightful Archbishop's gardens. Then into the very centre of the 'hexagon', as the French often call their homeland, to stop at the village of St. Amand Montrond. We continue via the volcanic hills around Clermont Ferrand and on to Lyon - a gourmet's paradise on the rivers Rhone and Saône. A walking tour of the old city - a UNESCO World Heritage site, reveals the city's rich and cultural past. It is the largest Renaissance district in France with its narrow streets, inner courtyards and "traboules". We will also drive up the Fourvière hill to admire awe-inspiring views over the city. Then on to our hotel for dinner ... read more

We started the day with our usual trip to the boulangerie, and then a tour of Chateau Clos Luce, where Leonardo da Vinci stayed his last years. Leonardo was everywhere, with drawings and images and quotes in every room. In the description of the place, they highlight the model machines made from the drawings, and I was very excited to see them. Sadly, none of the reproductions could be handled, and even some models seemed like lazy approximations of the drawings. In the park surrounding the chateau were a few large reproductions that could be operated, but again, I was disappointed because of the lack of effort in making the displays actually show interesting science. But it was still fun, and the gardens and woods lovely. We then cycled up onto the plateau through an industrial ... read more

I promised pictures of my trip to the Mediterranean and I wasn't joking. Here they are. I know it's only four pictures but look at it this way, it's better than three. I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to upload these because this computer hates american cameras, but thankfully that semester of computer classes actually turned out to be usefull after all! These last to weeks have been hectic because I got my first taste of French school...I do not recommend it for anyone, ever. I'm not sure how often I'll be able to write in the coming days because tomorrow my host family re-opens their restaurant, and it's going to be very busy around the house until about...december when I move in with my second family. I'm sure that everyone would ... read more