This is the Emlet's 6th trip to Europe and the Reed's 2nd. Last year we traveled together to Italy and ended in France. This year it's all France, baby! Jerry and DeeAnn are brother and sister, and Dave and Jean are the "outlaws". All of us are retired and despite various minor physical ailments we are going to brave it again! After all, nothing ventured, nothing gained.
If you did not follow the blog last year the link is
http://2016emletsbackineurope.blogspot.com
if you want to catch up with our first trip together. Other blogs in this series are Emlets in Europe, The Emlets back in Europe 2013, Another European Adventure with the Emlets, and Back to Italy and France, all available on Blogger. Our first trip in 2005 we didn't blog. Didn't even take a computer! How times have changed
This trip will be exclusively in France, our favorite place on earth. We will fly into Paris and take off immediately for The Loire valley where we will stay in the French town of Tours for 3 nights. This is the area where the French nobility had their "country houses". These magnificent chateaux are beautiful and fun to see. Sort of Downton Abbey on steroids. Jerry and I have stayed there before, but it is new to the Reeds, so we will probably do some sightseeing separately some of the time. The town of Tours is charming and it will be a perfect place to begin our French adventure and acclimate from jet lag.
We will then travel south and west to the Bordeaux region of France. We will stay in Sarlat la Caneda which is another charming smaller city. Sarlat has some of the best preserved medieval architecture and is a great place to explore all that the Bordeaux region has to offer. Mainly, for us, ancient caves and Pate d' foie gras and all things duck! The Vezerez Valley is the home of the prehistoric caves with ancient cave paintings. They date from 20,000 BC and were painted by ancient Cro-Magnon people. Can't wait to see them.
Not too far away from Sarlat is a little town called Carcassone just north of the Pyrenees in the Languedoc. It is a fortified city with a double battlement surrounding it. The streets are like a rat maze, twisting and turning inside the walls. We were there in 2014 and can't wait to visit again.
Off we go to a place we know (and you do too if you have followed our other trips), Avignon in the heart of Provence. We have rented an apartment there for 6 nights and another night in a nearby town of Arles. Great place, great food, great market, great roman ruins, lots of fun. Looking forward to seeing our friends from past trips there and driving out into the countryside to visit some Cote du Rhone Vineyards.
Next is a town on the Swiss border, Annecy, in the Alps region. We will stay in this small fairy tale town for 2 nights. Looking forward to the Alps and Swiss fondue and there is a LAKE there! Probably a boat ride will be had!
We will end this trip with a week in Paris, Normally we stay by the Arc du Tromphe but this time we will stay on the other side of the Seine in the Marais. Looking forward to getting to know a different neighborhood hanging out at cafes. We have rented an apartment that looks just great!
Well, there you have it. Our trip is planned, our bags aren't packed but I'm at least thinking about what I'm taking. Can't wait to get started! A bientot!
