France

Yes I know that it has been a while. The internet was expensive to use in France. My Dad and I spent 12 days touring around France. It was a great time because I showed him my favorite spots and saw some new places as well. We took the trains most of the time but then rented a car the last 4 days. I think my Dad's favorite part was the food and wine, especially all the regional specialties. Here are the highlights:

Paris
We stayed at a great hotel in the Latin Quarter (5th Arrondissement) called Hotel de l'Esperance. I love the Rue de Mouffetard markets and restaurants. My Dad was not feeling the best so we walked around to some visitor sites, but slowed down my normal travel pace. We had a nice boat ride on the Seine the first afternoon. We also saw Notre Dame, Arc de Trioumph and the Champs Elysee, Sacre Coeur and Montmartre, Jardins des Tuleries and several neighborhoods. The Orangerie museum is open again. It houses the famous Monet waterlily murals. The new exhibit is fantastic and I highly recommend it.

Alsace
We stopped in Strausbourg for an afternoon stroll and then continued on to Colmar. The hotel by the train station is very nice. We walked around town quite a bit and took a nice tour of the wine route. This region is famous for sweet white wines. We also toured the museum/birthplace of Bertholdi, the sculpter of the Statue of Liberty.

Burgundy
This was my favorite new place of the trip. We stayed in Beaume at Hotel des Remparts. It is built into the wall around the city. It is a great town in the middle of the vineyards with delicious beef and snails and Pinot Noir wine. We had a great tour of an old wine cellar and several vineyards. I learned about how the wines from this region are named and classified. It was eye-opening.

The Alps
We stayed in Chamonix for 2 nights and Annecy for one. The fresh air was great. We hiked near Mont Blanc and biked around the lake in Annecy. Both places were relatively empty so we could relax.

Loire Valley
I managed to drive out of Paris and to Blois safely. This was my first experience driving in France. The autoroutes are spendy and I would prefer to avoid Paris but everything else was fine. We stopped at the Chateau de Chambord. It is well restored but I prefer Versailles, near Paris, for it's grandeur. Blois is a great town to stop in. We stayed at a great little hotel, Hotel de Cote Loire.

Brittany
It was a long day driving in the rain but we ended up at Margat. It is a great beach town, even in the fall. We walked along the cliffs and ate at a great seafood restaurant on the beach, Au Pied du Port.

Normandy
It was another long day driving. We stopped at Mont St Michel to eat lunch. Then we continued on to the D-day beaches. It was amazing to think about the soldiers sitting in the boats waiting to come ashore and fight the Germans. I think it would have been scary and difficult to lead troops into that battle. We also stopped at the American Cemetary which overlooks the beaches. It looks similar to Arlington Cemetary in DC. There is a nice memorial there as well. We continued driving to Honfleur, a touristy port town. We wandered the streets a bit, had a glass of local cider to avoid the rain and then a nice dinner at La Tortue. I was happy because they had a vegetarian menu and my Dad was happy because he got to try Calvados. It was a great end to the trip.

Paris
I managed to get the car back to the rental place at the train station. Then we took the RER out to the airport. I got my Dad settled at a hotel there. He stayed the night and flew back to the States in the morning. I flew out that night to Dar Es Saleem, Tanzania via London and Dubai. It was a long flight, but Emirates is a comfortable airlines.