Still in Iowa - Part 2

Part two of our plans are the blog topic for today.  After Barcelona we will be taking the train to Carcassonne, France on our way to Bordeaux.  Carcassonne is a small town just north of Spain between Nimes and Toulouse.  Still a great fortress city and is used as a background for medieval movies, like Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves.  We will stay there two nights in a hotel with a spa!!! Stay tuned for that.

Next we will travel to wine country and stay in Bordeaux. It is the capital of Aquitaine and attracts visitors from all over the world.  We have very nice apartment in the center of the the old city for 7 nights.  Looking forward to sampling wonderful wines and food here.  It is France's sixth largest city and was under British rule for 300 years so the culture will be very different than Provence. There is a nice 18th century Opera Theatre, where we may be able to see a concert or a show.  There are also many famous vineyards, like Chateau Lafite-Rothschild, and Chateau Moutain- Rothschild.  I know we both are looking forward to wine tours in the area.  This will be our 4th week on our trip, and if the past is experience we will probably be ready for a lot of down time and cafe sitting by this time.

Our next stop will be the Loire Valley.  This part is pretty sketchy at this point in time.  Jean has always wanted to visit the big chateaus in this area, and we are finally making time on this trip.  We will probably stay in Tours for a couple of nights and take a bus tour or rent a car to travel to the Chateaus.  Also the Loire Valley is known for its own fabulous wine....so more wine tasting.  It's a dirty job, but somebody has to do it.

Our last week and and few days will be in Paris, our favorite place on earth.  Donald Drapeau has generously offered his apartment for us to stay in; what a wonderful friend!  The apartment is in the 16th Arrondissement near the Arc de Triomphe and we have stayed there in the past.  We love the neighborhood and are looking forward to reacquainting ourselves with the local shops and sites. A few side trips out to Chartes Cathedral, Versailles, and Fontainebleau might be in the plans.  We have also booked tickets to the Paris Opera to see La Boheme so we will be living high. Woo Woo!  Fresh croissants, cafe au lait, fabulous art and architecture, and crepes on every corner. Ahhhhhh.....la belle France.   We will fly home from Paris.

Well that is the itinerary as it stands now.  Still some things to work out, but the general outline is there.  We have enjoyed planning, and will be glad to get out of this cold and snow.  Now the packing begins.  Thanks for reading and following.  I get so much pleasure out of writing this blog, and hopefully someone will read it.
A bientot!