The last 3-4 weeks we have been thoroughly enjoying the glorious French
spring. The first 10 days were spent in Paris exploring the parks,
galleries and museums and just wandering the streets. We all agree this is
one of our favorite cities. The last 10 days we have escaped into the
French countryside with our trusty lease car, and visited Normandy, the
Dordogne, and Provence. Next stop Italy.
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| First stop the Eiffel Tower |
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| Ready for our daily picnic lunch (statue of an Aesops Fable) |
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| Rowing on the lake at Bois de Boulogne |
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| The amazing stained glass windows of Sainte-Chapelle |
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| The inside of the Pantheon |
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| Took a break in Jardin de Luxembourg to sail a boat (ours was the French one) |
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| Unicorn Tapestry in the Cluny Museum |
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| Passing the Louvre on our way to church at the American Church in Paris |
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| The Orsay Museum (Van Gogh) |
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| More amazing art in the Orsay Museum (Monet) |
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| Jardin des Tuileries blooming nicely in spring |
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| Climbed Notre Dame Tower for amazing views over Paris (and neat gargoyles) |
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| More gargoyles on Notre Dame Tower |
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| Outside Notre Dame Cathedral (Quasimodo behind the camera) |
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| Our favorite picnic spot at Pont Neuf |
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| More amazing art the Orangerie Museum (Renoir) |
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| Monet water lily room at the Orangerie Museum |
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| More Monet water lilies |
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| Up the Champ Elysees to the majestic Arc de Triomphe and more great views over Paris from the top |
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| The obligatory tourist shot of the Eiffel Tower |
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| The Paris Sewer Tour |
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| Louvre - Mona Lisa (had to get in early before the crowds turned into a wild mob with cameras going mad) |
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| Louvre - the large Italian painting wing |
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| Louvre - took us 9 hours to just scratch the surface of this massive museum |
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| Louvre - reliefs from Darius' palace |
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| Louvre - Gilgamesh Lion |
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| Louvre - The Code of Hammurabi from ancient Mesopotamia dating to about 1754 BC |
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| Louvre - Yet more amazing art work |
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| Palace of Versailles |
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| Palace of Versailles -The Hall of Mirrors |
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| Palace of Versailles - war painting room |
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| Palace of Versailles - wandering the extensive gardens |
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| Palace of Versailles - Marie-Antoinette's estate |
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| Palace of Versailles - fountains |
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| Palace of Versailles |
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| Basilica of Sacre-Coeur |
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| Medici Fountain in the Jardin de Luxembourg |
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| The much used Paris Metro |
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| Nancy reliving memories from her last visit 11 years ago |
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| One of the many beautiful bridges over the Seine River |
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| Monet Gardens in full bloom |
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| Monet Gardens |
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| Monet Gardens |
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| Monet Gardens |
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| Utah Beach at Normandy |
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| A restored B-26 at the Utah Beach Meuseum |
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| The cathedral at Ste-Mere Eglise (notice the parachute and soldier hanging off) |
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| Airborne Museum at Ste-Mere Eglise |
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| Heather's birthday cake |
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| Pointe du Hoc where the Rangers scaled the cliffs |
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| The American Cemetery at Omaha Beach |
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| Overlooking Arromanches Beach which was turned into a floating harbor to supply the allies |
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| The Bayeux Tapestry |
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| Mont-Saint-Michel |
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| Mont-Saint-Michel - walking the mud flats surrounding the island |
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| Heathers birthday Monopoly game |
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| Yet another picnic on one of our longer drives with our zippy lease car |
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| The golden fields of rape seed covering the countryside |
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| The town of La Roque-Gageac in the Dordogne River Valley |
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| The town of Beynac in the Dordogne River Valley |
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| Exploring the Chateau de Commarque |
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| Carcassonne |
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| Carcassonne |
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| Peyrepertuse Castle shrouded in mist |
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| Pont Du Gard aqueduct - a marvel of Roman engineering built in 11BC |
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| Pont Du Gard |
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| The clear waters of the Sorgue River in Fontaine-de-Vaucluse |
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| The hilltop town of Roussillon famous for its red ochre |
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| Canoeing down the Sorgue River |
Belated Happy Birthday Heather, what a yummy looking flan, (and Happy Birthday Wendy!) What an amazing time to be in France, the weather looks beautiful and the gardens are a fabulous example of God's amazing creation of colour. God bless you all as you continue on. Love all the Birch's
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