France Trip 2013 Part 1

French Trip 2013

Day 1: 

We landed in Paris in the morning, made our way to Gare de Lyon and stored our luggage there.  The rest of the day was spent wandering around Paris and eating some fine French food. Later in the afternoon we retrieved our luggage and made our way to Fontainebleau to meet Frederik and Catherine, our wonderful hosts there.

Day 2:

On our first day of wandering around Fontainebleau we ran across this shop.  Any relation? Doubtful since it's spelled differently.

The ideal French breakfast: Croissants and cafe au lait.  Hard to beat!

The market in Fontainebleau sold everything from clothes to shoes to cheese to vegetables. 

Here was a selection of fruit and vegetables.

The grounds of the Chateau of Fontainebleau were magnificent.  The building was closed that day but it was something to savour later.

The greens were incredible and many flowers were still in full bloom.

The size of the chateau defies description. I wonder if any one person ever went into all of the rooms.

This ally of trees bordered the long canal visible on the left.

Catherine and Frederik's house has been totally renovated perfectly in the historical style of the times in which it was built.

Day 3:

Here we are back in Paris again.  We each bought a Navigo Pass that was good on the bus, Metro and train to Fontainebleau. I seem to be more colourful than the average Parisian!

Oh, the pleasures of outdoor dining.

This was a tasty little quiche and the dressing on the salad was delicious.

This is a view of the Eiffel Tower from the top of the Arc de Triomphe.

 Posing on top of the Arc de Triomphe.

 Paris is a beautiful city.

Day 4:

On Day 4 we took the train to a small town south of Fontainebleau called Moret-sur-Loing.  It was very old and medieval looking.

It's hard to believe that buildings this old can still look so straight and crisp.

The Loing River runs through the town.

This profusion of flowers beside the road was magnificent!

Lori tried to get the timer to work on my camera, not quite successfully in this picture.

Several attempts later, success!

 

 I was sorry that this old Gothic church was not open. The windows looked very interesting. It was built between the 12th and 15th centuries.

This is the huge bidge that the train runs over. It was the landmark that kept us from getting lost a couple of times.

After a few hours of walking, we treated ourselves to a tasty lunch.  The pate was the best I ever tasted.

This is called a Gallette. It is a sort of double pancake stuffed with potatoes and cheese. Nobody goes to France to diet!

Lori had Fish Soup.

And some window shopping...