France

The big draws in this part of the Dordogne are the prehistoric cave drawings and outdoor activities. I’ll show you our little village which stretches right up a sheer cliff and includes an ancient cave dwelling similar to those of the natives of the American Southwest. Then you’ll

We’re in the Dordogne region now, which is to say the area along the Dordogne river. It’s famous for a number of things including great wine, ancient cave drawings, and picturesque villages and chateaux. That’s a lot to see, leaving little time to blog about it.

On

Let’s get one thing straight at the outset: it’s cahd-e-lach not cad-a-lack. OK? OK! Done.

Today we set forth with something of a jet lag hangover to see what was interesting in the nearby area. If your idea of “interesting” is the BIG SITES, God bless you and

Our European journey started off smoothly. Our driver showed up as arranged, the ferry to Seattle was right on time, and we sped through check-in at the airport in near record time. Then I almost caused us to miss our flight.

Things had gone so well that we found ourselves

I was going to title this post “Monet-land”, but decided that it sounded snarky. My point is that Giverny is a perfectly pleasant small village, but no one would visit if Claude Monet had not come here to paint. The aura of his presence, and the ability see the pond

Here we are, at the end of our five week ramble through England, Germany and France. Before taking the Eurostar back to London to catch our flight home, we thought we’d spend a couple of days in Paris.

On previous visits, we’ve stayed in small, usually friendly, hotels

Leonardo, a son of Tuscany. Proudly claimed by Vinci, his home town. “Leonardo da Vinci”, get it?

So how did Leonardo come to be buried in France? Why did he bring the Mona Lisa with him when he moved to Amboise a few years before his death?

Before answering those

As you may know, France is criss-crossed by canals. These were originally used to transport goods, but are now mostly used by recreational boaters.

At the end of the 19th century, officials were unhappy with having the main north-south canal cross the flood-prone Loire, so they decided that a bridge

Most churches are inarguably better decorated on the inside than the outside. After all, that’s where God and the parishioners money reside. But Strasbourg Cathedral calls that conventional wisdom into question.

Sure, the interior is fantastic, including a set of organ pipes that have been affixed high on the

We’re in France! Specifically, Strasbourg in Alsace. I love France and the French. How can you not love people who value art, cuisine and leisure and put philosophers, musicians and scientists on their currency?

I have a huge post coming up on the Cathedral, but first a few photos