Vive le France

As Margaret wrote in her blog, we are having a wonderful time in France. We have started our time with a visit to our French exhange student Alex and her family. We spent two days with her grandparents in Chatres in a lovely part of the rural Champagne region (though not the grape producing part). Susan and I had a great day on our own touring museums and churches (notably Saint Chappelle - the most stunning high gothic church in the world- and Musee de Cluny, a museum of Medieval art). Then we all came to Paris the next day for a whirlwind tour of Notre Dame, the Pantheon, the Eiffel tower and a boat ride on the Seine.

Then it was off to Lorraine in the East where Alex lives with her parents. They continued to wine and dine us and brought us to several of the most interesting places near them including: Verdun, a powerful and moving reminder of the horrors of WWI; Nancy, their home city, with Place Stanislas, the most gorgeous city square I have ever seen; and Thursday a whistle-stop tour of Alsace, beginning in Strasbourg and continuing to the fairy tale castle of Haut Konigsberg and the Route de Vin with a stop at the charming Medieval village of Riquewihr, with its lovely painted wood houses. We have had croissants and coffee for breakfast and have tasted food and wine from several regions of France.

Today we left the Swisteks (reluctantly) and headed south to Lyon, but brought Alex with us for one more day of touring before we send her home on the train. We had lunch in Dijon on the way down. Lyon is a very historic city. Named Lugdunum by the Romans, it was the birthplace of the emperor Claudius (and another emperor I think) and has some important Roman and Medieval sites. We also passed on the way down two important monasteries, Citeaux and Cluny, which played a pivotal role in the history of the Middle Ages. We didn't stop as it was pouring out and we weren't sure how far we would have to drive. Lyon is also known for wonderful little restaurants called "bouchons" and we had a lovely farewell dinner with Alex in one of them.

Tomorrow (Saturday) we tour Lyon and then it is off to Arles, Nimes and Avignon before we reach Carcassonne, our next major stop.