Travel day

Today was another ambitious day. Everyone did a great job of getting packed up and getting an early wake up and breakfast. We left Paris at 8:00 a.m. and headed to Versailles, which is about an hour away. It was cooler and overcast today, more so than I think we expected. We did however dodge the rain in the vicinity of Paris and Versailles somehow!

I think everyone was just amazed at the sheer mass of Versailles and its grounds. It is difficult to even capture it in pictures. The visit went well and then we had sandwiches, crepes and ice cream on the grounds for lunch.

We then headed another hour to Chartres which is a lovely cathedral town with what I think is the most interesting of all the French gothic cathedrals, bar none. We drove into nicer weather and there was sunshine and welcoming warmth. I have no photos of Chartres as both of my camera batteries gave out on me. I was not able to recharge until we got to the new hotel. The stained glass in Chartres is worth the trip alone, but the outside has just as much value as the inside. The story of how the windows were preserved during the war is quite incredible and then when you realize just how much stained glass there is it is such an astounding labor of love for a community to choose to do this. We had some free time to explore the town as well.

We then had a two hour drive to Amboise. We arrived here at about 7:15 in the evening, got checked in and settled and had our dinner shortly thereafter. Our hotel is outside of town in the country. Everyone is really excited about the great hotel we have here. It is modern, large and has very nice amenities including swimming pool, miniature golf, tennis courts, wireless internet (yeah!), and huge rooms and bathrooms. They have a nice restaurant with an incredible view where we will be having breakfast and dinner both days of our stay. Quite a treat!

Tomorrow we will visit the chateaux of Chambord and Chenonceau and then take some time in the town of Amboise. The Loire Valley area, referred to as "Touraine" is one of the most beautiful in all of Europe and these two chateaux are representative of what is dotted all over this region of France. We may also get a chance to peek into Amboise chateau and I am going to do my darnest to find Leonardo da Vinci's grave! He is buried here in Amboise. I'm on a roll. I found Claude Monet's grave yesterday hidden in an obscure corner of a church gravesite in Giverny. Also many want to look for the British version of Harry Potter and I have scoped out a bookstore that has it! I guess they will remember where they were when this book came out!

Everyone is having a blast as you can probably tell. Lots of laughs, lots of photos, lots of earnest journaling, lots of food and lots of high spirits! I may even have managed to sneak in lots of history, culture and language...but don't tell!