Loire Valley, 6 December 2025

Up early for a lovely breakfast of scrambled eggs, fresh breads and jams and butter and good coffee, and a small tour of the chateau. It has clearly been the work of decades for them to restore this building.

 We headed out to Chambord, our next stop, a home of François, though he never finished it (it took another 200 years!) and did not spend much time there.  It has an unusual Greek cross design with extremely ornate windows and it an impressive, soaring presence. The special double-helix staircase design of da Vinci (who was close to François) means that two people can walk up different sides of the staircase and never meet, though they can see each other through the openings, as we did. 

 

We went through the decorated rooms, each one more beautiful than the last, including one with a tree decorated with teacups and teapots, and ended up on the top terrace with a breathtaking view.  We had a nice lunch at a cafe on the road from the chateau.

After lunch, we headed to our last stop, Vaux-le-Vicomte not far from Paris, a truly stunning place with a difficult history.  The owner and builder, Nicolas Fouquet who was Louis XIV's finance minister, brought together architect Louis Le Vau, landscape designer Andre le Notre, and decorator Charles le Brun to put together a stunning place to honor the king. Unfortunately, the king saw it as competing, and had Fouquet arrested by his successor (Colbert) and imprisoned  for life. Louis XIV then went on to use the same three luminaries to design his new place, Versailles. The gardens are enormous and particularly spectacular. The interior was even more amazing than the other we had seen. The animated polar bears, the undersea-themed giant tree and huge anemones, and much more We arrived in time for the wonderful light show on the side of the building, which was of course stunning, and then had the chance to tour the interior. Like the other châteaux, it too was decorated beautifully with different themes in every room.   Afterwards, I got a squirrel ornament for Larry, the squirrel being Fouquet's symbol and a favorite of Larry's.

That night, we stayed in a fairly modern B&B Nathalie had selected, and had dinner at a local place near an 14th century tower and fort in Entourloupe. Again, we were the only English speakers in the room, which was great, and we did our best to stay in French with Nathalie, Thierry, and Margaux.  Barney has the chocolate volcano and we share the paté maison. Back to the B&B for a good night's sleep, after 17,000 steps!

Loire Valley, 5 December 2025

Up early and ready, we meet Nathalie and Thierry around 8:00am, it has been 8 years since we've seen them and they look unchanged!  We headed off in their car to drive to the Loire Valley for two days of visiting châteaux. We drove about 5 hours, chatting in Franglish all the way, then had a lovely lunch at a bistro in Amboise. We then headed up to the château Cheverny. They had told us that the châteaux were decorated for the holidays, but we had no idea how utterly gorgeous they would be, each with different themes in different rooms. Leonardo da Vinci has spent time here, so I got a decoration of him in the gift shop.

After Amboise, we headed to Chenonceau, where Barney and Madeleine and I had been 30 years ago. it spans the river and is a pleasure palace, not built for defense, although it served as a served conduit for Jewish citizens during WWII to get to the other side of the river and safety. 

It too was decorated in the most amazing way, with a long hall of white trees spanning the river, a penguin overseeing the table in the kitchen, and a lighted jellyfish in a sitting room.

Nathalie and Thierry's daughter Margaux then met us, driving up from her university in Pontoise to meet us. We headed out into the middle of what seemed like nowhere, to a 13th-15th century manor house/chateau where we would sleep that evening. Nathalie and Thierry had stayed here early in their relationship, and it had been lovingly restored by a couple for the past 40 years.

What a delight! We felt like the lord and lady of the manor in a room so large it was about 80% the size of our house (Barney paced it off). A huge fireplace, a non-working grand piano, a beautiful four-poster baldocchino bed, a sitting area, and windows onto the interior courtyard, plus a modern bathroom. It was very special.

For dinner, we drove about 20 minutes to the only open restaurant in the area, recommended by the woman who runs the chateau. It was wonderful, attuned to the local reputation for hunting and game and area called La Sologne. We had stewed hare and beautiful desserts, no one spoke English, and I got a couple of new circle towels with the motto of the area. Back to our chateau and the enormous room for a really good night's sleep.

Lyon, 4 December 2025

This morning we got up early to met Benjamin Morin, Nathalie and Thierry's son, at a cafe near where he goes to college (he is a senior). We found our way there via metro and a nice walk, and it turns out that the cafe/breakfast area was part of a nice hostel. Benjamin has grown so much, but of course it has been 8 years since we've seen him. His English is quite good (better than my French which I try for a while), though he kept apologizing for it. He is in the final stages of preparing to be a PE teacher, and is apparently an awesome skateboarder (and surfer) who helped design a new skate park in Echiré. He is a very nice young man, and we understand he has a serious girlfriend who will accompany them for winter break skiing this year. Once he graduates, he will be assigned a school somewhere in France for three years, and after that he can choose new location; his girlfriend is also planning to become a teacher, so I hope they can be posted together.

Heading back downtown from a different metro station, we got to use the cogwheel part of the metro for the very hilly areas, which was interesting. Off to the Musée des Beaux-Artes for an exhibit of Courbet, Monet, and Matisse and their interpretations of Etretat.  A lovely exhibit pairing painting with photographs of the area as it transitioned from fishing village to artists' enclave to tourist spot. As always, we patronize the museum cafe (supporting the sector), and Barney has a nice quiche Lorriane, while I had a smoked salmon filled eclair which was new, and squash soup which seems everywhere right now. 

Davidson then  joined us to go to the local history museum, tucked away in a 17th century building and a modern annex. The Lyon Historical Museum has a terrific set of exhibits from its early Roman days through the middle ages and to modern times. It has a really good explanation of the silk industry, which at one time employed almost 100,000 people in the Lyon area, and brought great wealth to the region. We saw a photo of a 19th century silk factory, where young women spent their days with their hands in warm water, soaking the silkworm cocoons and then gently pulling the thread out, to be spun into silk thread and eventually cloth. Whole families were involved in this trade including children, which was of course was underpaid, and the invention of the jacquard weaving loom caused a disruption in the silk workforce similar to the introduction of mechanical looms for wool in England (the Luddites).  We walked in the rain to see the 6-story buildings where the silk-weavers lived in the 19th century, and the 19th century headquarters of their eventual guild. On our way back we saw more of thr light and laser show preparations for the weekend fete.

Back on the metro, and then we reconnected with Edwin for dinner at Cafe Marcelline a few blocks from their apartment. It was a traditional bistro, filled with locals, and we had a lovely dinner. I had a smoked salmon salad, Barney had steak frites, and we shared a dessert.  I can see why Davidson and Edwin have landed here and why they might want to stay ... with financial resources, this is a wonderful place indeed.  We headed back to the apartment early so we could back to be ready to be picked up the next day at 8:00am!

Lyon, 3 December 2025

We had a comfy night in the bedroom niche next to the living room, and had some yogurt and granola for breakfast. Davidson then took us to the metro and onward to the funicular, always a fun thing to do. Up we went to the Basilica Fourviére at the very top of the hill overlooking the river and the older part of Lyon, known as the Presque-Ile. The view from the terrace outside the church was magnificent, greater Lyon and the two rivers down below. We walked through the church which was covered in gorgeous mosaics, with the filtered light streaming in the tall stained glass windows. We went into the small chapel next door, which was the original 16th century church and lit a candle; the large church was built next to this in the 19th century. A story about a storm delaying the opening, only to be rescued by the townspeople bringing lighted candles, is the source of the current Fete des Lumierés, which brings a quarter of a million people to Lyon on the coming weekend. Davidson and Edwin are preparing for more guests then.

We had lunch at Bulle, the wonderful restaurant that Kristen recommended to us, which had the same spectacular view as from the church terrace, and wonderful food. An amuse-bouche followed by duck ravioli, lamb chops, and a beautiful caramel dessert with a traditional pattern on the plate. Mr. Darcy (their dog) was with us, and he had a water bowl and a tiny bit of cheese. In the middle of the dining room was a half-life-size polar bear model.

We then walked down to the Roman ruins of an amphitheater and an Odeon, in a heavy mist. We visited here almost 30 years ago with Madeleine and Barney's parents; we were walking by the theater when a painted flat nearly fell on Barney while he had Madeleine on his shoulders. Keeping up my tradition, and since it was a Roman amphitheater, (and few people around in the rain) I sang "Porgi amor."

We headed back to the metro and the apartment, as we had done a lot of walking that day. we saw some of the preparations for the upcoming fete, with beautiful lights everywhere, and we strolled through the Christmas market again. Since everyone was a bit tired, I dug around in the refrigerator  and was able to make a nice salad and we had some frozen paella. Somehow we managed feed the five of us, including Falas, their Lebanese friend who lives there while awaiting his French citizenship.

Paris to Lyon, Tuesday, 2 December 2025

We woke up early to repack into one suitcase, as Catherine prepared to leave for Poitou. We had some time to relax and read, which was rather nice. Then off to the Gare de Lyon via Metro, which worked very smoothly, and we loaded into our first-class compartment, which was so nice and roomy. Barney and I read the whole way, as it gets dark so quickly at this time of year. The train was so fast, and we got to Lyon in two hours, amazing. 

Davidson met us at the train, and took us on foot to their wonderful apartment in the 2nd arrondissement. On their apartment on the first floor in the back, they actually have room for 8 people (though only one bathroom). We had some wine and cheese which was nice. They took us to a very traditional Lyonnaise restaurant called Abel, which had delicious salads and Bourguignon which was wonderful.  Tired from a long day although we did not really do much, we came back to the apartment to get to bed early.

Paris, Monday, 1 December 2025

 Up fairly early for a vacation Dy (much later than a normal workday), we head to the Louvre for our big day there. I had gotten what I hoped were the correct tickets for the David exhibit, since we had our Museum pass and Catherine has her educator’s pass which gives her free entry to many museums. I had done this online and really hoped I had done it correctly. The courtyard by the pyramid was packed with people and groups, as it was a school day. It also turned out that there had been a big meeting of all the staff about security, which meant that the opening was delayed. We lucked into finding a staffer who was setting out the sign for the 11:00am reservations, so we tagged along with her and were third in line. Because the opening was delayed, she said we would be delayed about half an hour. It was cold out, about 42 degrees, but we were prepared. While waiting in line we met a nice young couple from Seville, Spain, and a couple from Arizona, who ended up also speaking Spanish with the folks from Spain. There was an American couple behind us but they did not join the conversation and mostly seemed very grumpy. Time went on, many people came to look at the sign, and seeing their faces as they realized that the this was the front of the extremely long line (it went the length of the Pyramid and curved around the back) became quite the show. Then it was 11:30, and nothing happened with our line, but we saw another line on the other side of the pyramid moving. Catherine went over and learned that it was the 10:30 line, delayed because of the late opening, and we would be next. Then a staffer came over and told us to follow him to enter and we all ran after him, as a few after folks tried to cut in line but Catherine glared at them and they moved back. Then we moved into the back-and-forth weave of the entry line (like Disneyland) as we watched the 10:30 group go ahead of us. Then another group started to go in, and Catherine asked what time their reservation was and a few people showed her the papers with 11:30, and she complained to the the young staffer holding our line. After about 15 minutes more of that line going by us, folks were getting restive, and Catherine complained again to the young staffer that we had 11:00am reservations, but he said he was told to do this. Finally we saw the original staffer who brought us over, and another who had a radio and was clearly senior, and Catherine went over and complained to them. The staffer who brought us over then came and opened the rope holding our group back and people cheered for Catherine! The woman from Arizona said “she is amazing!” And of course I agreed. And we all moved forward toward security and the entrance. 

Once inside, we needed to orient ourselves and get to the David exhibit, as it was now 12:30 and we were late for our time, though I figured they would give s a break given the late opening. Went went to the Sully wing where the David exhibit was and passed right through with our tickets. I was so happy I had done the ticketing correctly! The exhibit itself was wonderful, showing his early work as he created a new style of mythological and Greek and Roman historical painting (of the style appreciated by the Academie), then his Revolutionary period (he became active in politics and was one of the hundreds of deputies who voted to execute the king), and made a number of very patriotic paintings. His famous painting “The Death of Marat” was on display, from the period of the Terror when he was jailed for a while, as many of his fellow original revolutionaries were held to account and often executed. He eventually was released and became a fan of Napoleon, creating the famous work of a heroic Napoleon on a white horse crossing the Alps in winter; in fact he crossed on a mule, hardier than a horse, and it was pretty miserable. He also painted the enormous work of the crowning of Napoleon as Emperor, when he took the crown from the Pope, crowned himself, and then took the crown for his wife Josephine who became Empress (this painting was in its original home upstairs, too large to move). David then moved into a period of portraits of leading intellectuals and family. Afterwards we went up to the gallery where the crowning of Napoleon was displayed, spending some time just observing and admiring the incredible detail in this huge work which was about 40’ by30’, and with an enormous mirror opposite the painting which is how it was displayed when Napoleon first saw it. Many people stopped by, tried to take a photo of the whole enormous painting, and when that was not possible, juts snapped what they could get and moved on. For the last part of our day, went spent time in the Italian painting gallery, where throngs of tourists walked by the four Leonardo da Vinci paintings to go to the gallery where the Mona Lisa is now displayed.  It was amazing to see the huge crowd there, cell phones aloft, trying to take selfies over the heads of other tourists. How sad that they missed the da Vincis, the Raphaels, the Titians, and so much more. We stayed until the Louvre closed.

Afterwards, we went out to the Tuileries, where a large Christmas market and carnival were open and busy. We got some vin chaud (hot mulled wine) and walked the length of the garden, seeing the many food and gift booths along with some carnival rides for children and adults, and some life size singing reindeer doing Christmas carols which were both funny and with quite good music. We found a booth selling tartiflette, a potato and cheese traditional dish, often with bacon or sausage added. We got a truffled one and and another with a sausage, and ate standing up at the bar with some champagne. As it was getting colder, we bought some things for lunch the next next day and headed back. We have to repack for our trip to Lyon tomorrow to consolidate into a single bag. I had more than 15,000 steps!

Paris, Sunday, 30 November 2025

After a nice breakfast, we headed out for a day of errands with Catherine. First stop was the huge and beautifully-decorated classic department store La Samaritaine, to get a replacement lipstick for the special holder Madeleine had which was personalized by Alexandra some years ago. Finding the Guerlain shop, we learned that this was of course discontinued, the new lipsticks would not fit the old holder, and we were not sure about getting a new holder as it would not be a personalized memento. Texting Madeleine, she affirmed that she would not want the new one. We went to another section for some beauty items for Catherine, then up to the 5th floor for a lovely view of the restored paintings and the many floors of lights below, very festive. 

Next stop was BHV, the home decor and hardware store. First we looked for a new strainer for the sink in Catherine’s bathroom, but they were out of them. Catherine later found the correct one at a nearby bricollage, a hardware store, and Barney installed it when we got back. We also looked at new, battery-powered lights as the light in her original medicine cabinet no longer worked; we found some options but she was not quite ready to buy one yet. Realizing that she did not have her phone, and being understandably anxious, she left to head home. We walked to St. Eustache to hear the organ audition (an informal concert) and check out the Christmas market. Catherine called and let us know that her phone was indeed at home, a huge relief. We got to St. Eustache, near les Halles, but no Christmas market as yet. We went to the church, one of the largest in  Paris, built in 1532 in the Flamboyant Gothic style. We arrived just as the concert started, and enjoyed some wonderful music in the packed church. Like other churches, there was a large Nativity scene, and we lit a candle for our departed family and friends, and purchased a special one for Larry.

After the concert, we went to rue Daguerre, where Catherine has one of her favorite places, the Cafe de Daguerre which she calls “headquarters” and where she often meets friends. We’ll go there with her another tine. We stayed near here once, and this small street is filled with gourmet shops of all types. We bought some mini-cannele and a baguette and Barney got a bottle of wine. Meanwhile, Catherine was ordering sushi and we met her downstairs of her building to pick up dinner. After listening to a French news show she likes - a real test for our French, I think I got about every 10th word - we ended a busy day.