St. Denis Cathedral

We hopped the RER train again on Monday morning, this time headed for one of Paris’ northern suburbs, St. Denis, home to the very first Gothic cathedral. Our arrival station had something I’d never seen before: glass barricades separating the platform from the track. And, since we were in France, a carousel greeted us on … Read more

Domain de Chantilly

On Sunday, we took the RER train to Gare du Nord, then transferred to the Grande Ligne en route to the Domain de Chantilly, one of the grand estates outside Paris.  The Conde family, who owned the estate for most of the last 400 years, was a branch of the royal Bourbon clan and closely … Read more

The Louvre (Egypt binging)

Bright and early Saturday morning, we were on line waiting for entry to the Louvre. The Louvre Museum was cobbled together from 3 royal palaces, making it the most ornate museum one is likely to visit and a royal pain in the whatsis to navigate. Some people visit the Louvre to see well known pieces … Read more

Paris – St. Chapelle

On Friday we traveled from Avignon to Paris by train – after a bit of train-ticket-bouncing to ensure that the train we booked was actually going to run.  The journey north took us past tidy vineyards, orderly orchards and well-groomed countryside. The French do like to ensure that nature is managed. I’m sure it’s another … Read more

Nimes: Bullfights, Fountains & (more) Roman Remains

On Thursday – our last day in Provence – we took the local train from Avignon to Nimes. En route to the Avignon train station, we passed what was either a dedication or a protest (hard to tell in France, since everyone is so cheerful at these things) having something to do with trees. The … Read more