The last day

We spent the last day of our trip walking all over Paris, from Le Louvre to Ile St Louis, to La Bastille ... all under a bright, cloudless blue sky, the same that greeted us 14 days ago.

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Our final meal was with the family at Mama Shelter. Located away from the common area, near the Pere Lachaise Cemetery, the Philippe Stark designed restaurant was a fun and funky place for our more than four hour long final 'au revoir' with the family...

The good news is that we're going back in June!!

A cheese shop on Ile St Louis, Paris!! (click to enlarge / double click to taste)

Amboise - The Loire Valley

Our final two days before heading back to Paris was spent in Amboise, located in the middle of the Loire Valley, where we stayed in a cute manoir along the Loire River.


From there, we spent the following days visiting some of France's most beautiful and renowned castles:
The first was Chateau de Chenonceau which was built on the River Cher in the 16th century. Having switched owners many times along the centuries, it is mostly well known for being home to Catherine de Medici, Diane de Poitier (Henry II's Mistress to whom he gave the Chateau), Francois I, and Louise of Lorraine (who painted her room all black after the assassination of her husband King henry III). Most notable (and fun) was the kitchen which was divided into a small maze of rooms which comprised the pantry, dining room, butchery, and a small bridge to the actual kitchen which connected below the castle to a small pier where boats would bring food and supplies. One interesting note about Chenonceau is the fact that the Great Hall was used as a hospital during WWI.


The second was Chateau de Cheverny, which has been owned by the same family for the past 600 years, or 17 generations. Cheverny was a treat as it stood fully furnished. Although the exterior was less impressive than Chenonceau or Chambord, it seemed more manageable and definitively warmer to visit. The Marquis de Vibraye, his wife and their three children still live in the top floor as well as the foremost right side wing. The rest of the castle was fully open to the public to enjoy -- and we did.


Finally, we stopped to see the ridiculously large Chateau Chambord.
Grandiose is an understatement! Almost not worth visiting the inside as it is not only empty and cold but also confusing as its size leaves you going from room to room without really understanding where you are in relation to anything. The most remarkable part of Chambord is definitively the size and complex towers hovering above the massive structure.

Sarlat la Canéda - The Périgord

After a 4 hour drive from Eus, we arrived in Sarlat-la-Caneda located in the Périgord region. At first site, Sarlat looked like an average French town with typical shops and restaurants. It's not until we decided to go venture out into the medieval downtown that we realized just what a cool and unique little town it was. Narrow streets, one after another, made us feel as though we had gone back in time 700 years or so. The region of Périgord is known for foie gras, and there were vendors selling it everywhere - hence the bronze sculpture of geese near the town square. Sarlat is definitely a great destination for foodies who enjoy a good foie gras (Yay for Alex; yick for Jen).

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The next day, we had a very lazy morning enjoying fresh pastries and coffee. Our hotel terrace was right over the day's market, which prompted us to go out and check out the stands as soon as we finished breakfast. The amount of cheeses, meats and (amazingly) fresh fruits and vegetable was impressive. Also of note was the size of the door that opened to reveal the indoor produce market - notice the black spot to the lower left of the door - that's Jen, and it gives a good perspective of the actual scale of the enormous door!

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After perusing the morning market, we decided to drive north to go check out a couple of the region's tourist attractions: La Maison Forte de Reignac and La Roque St Christophe. Along the way we were amazed at how beautiful the Perigord really is.

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First we visited La Maison Forte de Reignac, which dates back to the 1300's. From the outside it looks like an old country house built at the base of a huge rock; however, once you enter you can see that the house was actually built INTO the rocks. It's sprawled out over three levels, and it includes bedrooms, dining, salon/living rooms, kitchens, and even a dungeon.

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Next we visited La Roque St Christophe, which is the site of a village that was built into the natural cavity in the rock - basically a big, 2km-long shelf. The site dates back 55,000 years, and in its heydey, as many as 1,000 inhabited the vilage....craaazzzeeeeeeee:

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The next day, on our way out of the region, we decided to stop by Font de Gaume, the last pre-historic cave with polychromatic drawings still open to the public (the most popular cave, Lascaux, is no longer accessible to the public other than a reproduction that has been created and is located near the actual cave).
During a four hundred feet hike into the tight rock cavity, we witnessed some amazing ~14,000 year old drawings of bison, horses and others. Although we originally were somewhat reluctant and not very interested to see these caves, standing there in person to witness the work proved to be one of the great experiences of our trip.

Aix and Eus

We left Frejus Thursday morning to head to Eus (a village in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southwestern France), where we would meet our good friend Jean Louis. Along the way, we decided to stop for lunch in Aix en Provence where we sat outside at a restaurant near La Rotonde, a large fountain representing art, justice and agriculture.

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After lunch we continued our route, passing through Nimes, Montpellier and Perpignan. Finally, we arrived in Eus (pronounced ey-oos), and we were very impressed by our first glimpse of the little village perched atop a rock:

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We arrived, met Jean Louis and settled into our apartment he rented for us right across the street from him, below the church and with a terrace facing the Canigou, one of the tallest peaks of the Pyrenees. The following morning, we woke up and had our coffee facing THIS:

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After a relaxed morning, Jean Louis took us on a discovery tour around the village which it turns out is filled by feline inhabitants.

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The best was kept for last when Jean Louis had us over for lunch in his home, our final meal in Eus. The salmon and leek quiche he served was one of our favorite dishes so far on the trip. Of course we also had selection of local cheeses(!!!!), and to accompany it all, we drank a wonderful Pouilly-Fumé followed by a local red, Domaine Des Chênes.

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At that point we parted, but not without agreeing that this is definitively a place we will return to SOON....and that it is an absolute must that Jean Louis come visit us in San Francisco!