We have spent a wonderful three weeks in Strasbourg, but we’ll be up early tomorrow morning for pastries and coffee, and then leaving for the station to catch our train to Paris, where we’ll change stations/trains for the trip to Bordeaux.

Although our Strasbourg apartment has been tiny, smaller than many RVs, it’s worked out well for us and Brett and I now know how small a space we could live in if we had to! We divided the chores while we were here so that neither of us had to be in the kitchen at the same time, worked out a schedule for when the sofa bed was either unfolded or had to be put pack up, and figured out who got what space where (I like to curl up on the sofa, Brett prefers being in a chair at the counter). Our apartment in Bordeaux is going to feel like a mansion after living so small here.

One thing we’ve greatly enjoyed in our apartment, besides the terrific location, has been a Nespresso machine, and the ability to make a delicious cup of espresso every afternoon or after dinner. We are not “gadget people” but we’ve decided that once we settle somewhere we are going to get ourselves one of these machines, especially since the Nespresso pods are completely recyclable.

We spent our last full “free day” (Thursday) in Strasbourg going out for choucroute, perhaps the most famous regional Alsatian dish. The restaurant had several varieties available, but we each ordered a version with five different local sausages (made on site at the restaurant’s downstairs charcuterie) instead of a more traditional one that included various cuts of pork. The sausages were all delicious, and the sauerkraut absolutely perfect, and not as sour as any I’ve eaten previously in my life (I read that French sauerkraut puts the German version to shame and after our meal I agree). We left lunch with full and happy stomachs, and walked over to the Musée de l’Œuvre Notre-Dame to see the exhibits of Medieval and Renaissance art and architecture there – the museum had been closed on our last two tries because of a strike, but the third time was apparently a charm.

We had noticed a lot of commotion surrounding the Cathedral as we walked past on our way to the museum, and it turned out a detective/mystery series was being filmed on location. It was fascinating to watch the actors and the extras (which included some police, a CID team, and a couple of morgue workers) take their marks and then go through the scene over and over – they did three takes while we were there. We also got to see the murder “victim” back in the catering tent, in full costume – that was amusing. I may end up on French TV – all of us at standing at the police tape were apparently there as normal “gawkers” who would show up if there really was a murder or accident or such. Anyway, I will never be able to watch another episode of any show without thinking of this experience and seeing how it’s done!

All has not been fun and roses though – I came down with a massive head cold night before last, with an awful sore throat and a head that felt like a soggy bowling ball. It’s been especially miserable because I cannot remember the last time I was sick – I don’t think I had a cold the entire time we lived in Hawai’i. Brett, bless his heart, let me take the day off yesterday while he took care of the laundry so that we could pack today. I felt well enough to fix dinner last night although my appetite sure was diminished. I’m feeling better today and should be fine for tomorrow’s travel day.

So, it’s on to Bordeaux tomorrow and our last eight days in France. My suitcase is packed, and Brett will be getting his done in a little while. We have completely fallen in love with Strasbourg and will be sad to say good-bye to this wonderful city tomorrow. We’ve enjoyed our respite here, the experiences we’ve had and the things we’ve seen and done, and both of us are so very glad we decided to stay here for as long as we have.

Both Brett and I thought by now we’d be well into sweater weather, but at the beginning of this week temperatures here in Strasbourg were in the mid 70s, and accompanied by beautiful blue skies.

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We had put off visiting museums thinking we’d save that for a rainy day, but there haven’t been any rainy days, and with time growing short before our departure this weekend we decided on Monday to walk up to the Musée Alsace, just up the street. The museum, located in a what turned out to be an actual vintage Alsatian home, gave an fascinating overview of traditional life in the region. The artifacts were interesting (and beautifully displayed) and included exhibits about clothing, furniture, work, daily life and religion. Our favorite exhibits included the many examples of tiled or ceramic wood stoves that were used to heat Alsatian homes back in the day, as well as traditional furniture, pottery and clothing. We especially enjoyed the exhibit of carved flour spouts from old mills in the area, with their expressive faces.

Afterwards, we stopped for a pastry and coffee at our favorite boulangerie before heading back into the Petite France neighborhood to check out a walkway out over the river we had missed before. The walkway turned out to be alongside a lock used to raise boats over a drop in the river; the swiftly running waterfalls on the other side of the river had formerly been used to operate mills. We were fortunate enough to be there in time to watch a tour boat enter the lock, be raised up and then head out, all in a little over five minutes. We were also able to watch an old swing bridge we had crossed previously in operation – it had to be moved so the tour boat could continue through.

That evening we had the great pleasure of having dinner with our Airbnb host and her family, who live in the countryside outside of Strasbourg. She prepared a very French meal of mashed potatoes, duck confit, and shallots cooked in wine and cassis. We drank Alsace sparkling wine before dinner, and some red wine with, and after the main course we tried five different cheeses including a chèvre with figs, a brie stuffed with truffles, some roquefort and two other delicious options. Finally, we were served a slice of tart – mine was Mirabelle plum, and Brett’s was blueberry. The family spoke excellent English so the conversation flowed all evening, and we left with our hearts and stomachs full and happy.

Yesterday Brett and I decided to ride the tram over the Rhine River into Germany, but after checking the map we discovered that nothing we wanted to visit there was walkable from the station. We debated just going over and getting on the next train back so we could say we’d been in Germany, but finally decided to skip that outing and head over to see the Cathédrale again, visit a nearby museum of Medieval and Renaissance art and artifacts, and stop for ice cream on the way at a shop our host had recommended.

There was a wonderful family musical group from Latin America performing in front of the cathedral, so we listened to them while we ate our ice cream, spent some time examining the carvings on the cathedral, and then walked over to the museum, which turned out to be closed because of a strike. Undeterred, we headed back the other way in order to wander through some of the narrow streets around the cathedral and make our way over to look at Temple Neuf, a Lutheran church built between 1874 and 1877, on the site of an old Dominican convent. The church was closed though and we were not able to go inside.

At one point we headed down an alley to get back out to the main street and happily discovered a lovely work of street art on a wall in the alley. When we got to the main street we found ourselves up against a large demonstration in progress, with lots of marchers along with some fun, peppy music. We had seen notices at the tram station on Monday about a strike, but had assumed it was a rail strike, not the temporary shut down of service while the demonstration passed through. We realized that if we had gone to Germany we most likely would have been stuck there for a couple of hours until the trams were running again, so were glad we had decided not to go.

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On both days as we walked down the narrow streets we discovered shops selling traditional Alsatian specialities. We bought some delicious local gingerbread the first day as well as some Alsatian butter cookies and macarons, but just ogled the expensive artisan nougat (it cost around $36/pound) and some other bakery treats we saw. Yesterday we stopped in a wonderful fromangerie just to look over all the varieties (there are more types of cheese in France that there are days of the year), and ended up buying some more of the chèvre with fig, and a piece of lovely, soft cheese made from cow’s milk. We wanted to buy a LOT more but we restrained ourselves – it all looked (and smelled) so good. We also checked out the location of the charcuterie where we will be going for lunch tomorrow, to enjoy choucroute, a traditional Alsatian pork and cabbage dish.

We have just three more days remaining in Strasbourg, a city we have come to love. One of those will be taken up with laundry and packing, and tomorrow we’ll go out for choucroute and hopefully get in to see the museum that was closed on Tuesday. Today’s weather was overcast and cool, and the warmer weather that had been forecast did not appear so we stayed inside and rested, caught up on our reading, and enjoyed the delicious cheese we bought yesterday. It’s supposed to be raining when we get to Bordeaux on Sunday but we’ll deal with that when we get there.

P.S. I found our beeswax wraps today! They were smashed into the bottom of my backpack under a couple of things I hadn’t yet needed to unpack. So, so happy we did not leave them somewhere.

We’ve been traveling now for over a month, not a lot of time in the overall time we’ll be traveling, but enough to have learned a few things already, and figured out what we’re doing right and where we can make changes. Although we’re seeing and experiencing a lot, we also spend time on the usual everyday stuff we did before we started on our travels.

• Brett and I make a good travel team. We got along well before setting off, and that’s continued thankfully. There’s always something to plan, something to talk about, something to dream about. The only time we seem to snip at each other is when we’re tired and have arrived at a new place and have to figure out where we’re going. Brett is “utility guy” (carrying heavy bags and keeping track of our spending), but also does the driving when necessary and takes care of other heavy chores. I still “manage the household,” making sure we have enough food and enough variety; that our living quarters stay tidy; that the laundry gets done, and all those other sorts of banal but important tasks that still take time. I also plan our activities for the day, or decide whether we’ll take a day off. Brett is a very “in the moment” person while I’m always thinking two steps ahead about what we’ll need and when we’ll need it, but with our strengths pooled everything has been going smoothly so far.
  

  Laundry is one of the more mundane parts of travel. We go to the laundromat here in Strasbourg once a week – it costs around $15 for two loads, but takes just a little over an hour.

• We’ve still only found a couple of things we wish we had brought along with us and didn’t. Ziploc bags are at top of the list, but we’re hanging in there so far with what we have. We did score two big plastic carry bags at one grocery store which have turned out to be perfect for hauling laundry to and from the laundromat here in Strasbourg. We also never thought to bring wash cloths, but had to go out and find some because a few of the homes where we’ve stayed do not have them for some reason. We headed to a Macy’s-like department store in central Strasbourg and found just what we wanted on their sale table!
  

  It’s been great being able to hang up our clothes for a while versus digging them out of a suitcase each day.

• Clothes-wise it seems so far like we brought just the right amount and mix of things to wear. Only one pair of shoes I brought along haven’t worked out – they fit and look good, but are not comfortable for walking around which is critical. I’m not sure right now whether I’ll hold on to them or not. One issue we’re having with clothes though is the frequently changing weather – it’s been swinging, sometimes wildly, between warm and cold. It was chilly in Switzerland, but in the upper 70s when we got back to Strasbourg, and is forecast to be in the 80s when we go to Bordeaux! It can drive us crazy at times trying to figure out what can be unpacked and what should stay in our suitcases.
• We’ve found we’re good at adapting to our frequently changing situations, and can make do with whatever exists or doesn’t where we’re staying. Some houses have lots of cookware, appliances, and other amenities while others not so much, but we’ve been able to make it work for us wherever we are. The only thing we hope for whenever we check in somewhere is a comfortable, firm bed with clean sheets and so far we’ve gotten that in every home.
• We’ve found we like doing things and figuring out things on our own more than we like taking tours. We sometimes take the free walking tours available to learn about the history of a place and get ourselves oriented, but otherwise we like figuring out transportation and such and then setting out together, armed only with a map. We like learning about the history of a place, and I especially like checking out the architecture from old to new while Brett is interested more in mechanical and technical things (mills, machinery, etc.) and plants. We also enjoy dropping into stores, even ones that we have back in the States (like H&M, Uniqlo, etc.) to check them out and see what’s the same and what’s different, what prices are like and so forth, but we rarely if ever buy anything (boulangeries are the exception to that rule!).
  

  Cookies! These are sablés sucre from a boulangerie – a delicious and affordable treat!

• Our favorite treat on the road has turned out to be not chocolate but cookies! We had some good ones in Buenos Aires and Montevideo (coconut butter cookies to die for), but the ones we’ve found in French supermarkets have been fantastic, and affordable too. Many of the supermarket cookies here are the kind you’d have to go to a bakery to buy in the U.S.  Although all have been tasty, our favorites right now are lemon sablés (shortbread), florentines, and petite buerre. We like to carry the petite buerre for travel between destinations because they’re somewhat like a slightly sweet cracker. Actually, none of the cookies is overly sweet which may be why we like them so much. I have to thank the Great British Baking Show for introducing me to so many of the cookie varieties that are available here.
• Knock on wood, but we have both stayed in good health so far. No colds, no upset stomachs, nothing that has stopped us from getting up and out each day. My back still gives me problems from time to time as does the bursitis in my right hip, and there’s no rhyme or reason to when or why it flares up when it does. For the most part though it’s thankfully been manageable.
• I tried to follow the news in the U.S. for a while but finally gave up – I’m happier not knowing what’s going on for now. The girls and our son have been great about staying in touch thanks to Facebook, Messenger, Instagram, etc. as have friends (and readers!). Our T-Mobile plan lets us text for free, and we also get free data (although it’s incredibly slow), but we have to pay for phone calls so those don’t happen (we can video message via Messenger though). Wifi here has its ups and downs, mostly ups thankfully but we have had problems in a couple of places keeping a connection which can be frustrating.

So far it’s all been good – nothing has been too challenging. We’re enjoying our life on the road, and especially our extended stay in Strasbourg right now. Still, we’re starting to look forward to being in Bordeaux in another a week. The only part both of us is dreading is having to repack our suitcases later this week as well as having to move them around once again – it’s been so nice being able to be “unpacked” for a while. But, that’s our life these days, and we do what we gotta do!

We’ve had an amazing two days in Switzerland!

We had an easy drive from Strasbourg down to the village of Sempach, just outside of Lucerne, on Monday. It was overcast, and rained part of the way, but the highway was good and there was only a slight amount of traffic as we drove through Basel. The only glitches along the way were that we weren’t directed to get off the highway to purchase our Swiss highway vignette, which is a requirement even for a rental car in order to drive on any Swiss highway. Also, we were expecting to pay tolls for driving on the French portion of the highway but never were stopped. We’re guessing we’ll have to pay those when we exit the highway in Strasbourg tomorrow. Otherwise, everything went as planned and the whole trip took a little over two hours, start to finish. Oh yes – our GPS also directed us to the wrong house! We got that straightened out, but it was a bit embarrassing.

Our Airbnb experience here has been well beyond anything we imagined and has made our trip very special. We are staying in a traditional Swiss farmhouse where we have a spacious room on the top floor along with a private bathroom. The original house was built in 1735 (!), and our hosts have owned the house since 1945 and have raised ten children here. Surrounded by other farms, our hosts keep draft horses, chickens and rabbits (HUGE black rabbits that terrified me), and have loads of fruit trees (cherries, plums, pears and several varieties of apples as well as grapes and berries) on the property. We can look out over the beautiful surrounding farmland from our bedroom windows.

We were greeted with coffee and fresh-baked apple cake when we arrived at the farmhouse late Monday afternoon. We have also been provided with a huge farm breakfast every morning: yogurt and cheeses from neighboring farms, meats, homemade breads and jam, fruit from their trees, coffee, juice and so forth – it’s been incredible. On our second evening we made bread with the wife, Madlen, and learned to do a Swiss braid. She has also driven us to the station each morning to catch the train into Lucerne and picked us up in the afternoons. Although it wasn’t included in the price we paid for our room, we were also invited to dine with the family this evening and enjoyed a traditional Swiss meal of raclette (melted cheese) and potatoes. Madlen has also taken us to see the (charming) village of Sempach and tour a local church built in the late 12th century (that is still being used today) and to stop for an amazing, breathtaking view of the Alps. Today she drove us through the beautiful countryside to view the many farms in the area.

Lucerne is an incredibly beautiful city, but surprised us somewhat by being a bit smaller than we imagined. We were easily able to walk throughout the city in a few hours yesterday, visiting the Lion Monument (very evocative and moving), walking the length of the old city wall and climbing some of its towers, crossing the Reuss River several times including a couple of trips over and back on the historic Chapel Bridge. We enjoyed a delicious lunch of cheese fondue in the old section of Lucerne, stopped for coffee and cake by the lake in the late afternoon, and shared a small package of fresh roasted chestnuts by the river. We were full enough from all of those that we didn’t need any dinner last night!

Today we went back to Lucerne and visited the incredible Swiss Transportation Museum. We rode one of the ferries across the lake, a fun experience. Lake Lucerne is very clean and the water very clear. We also got another magnificent view of the Alps during the ride. The Transportation Museum was one of the best museums we have ever visited and was extremely interactive and informative both for adults and children. Our favorite section was Wheeled Vehicles which had everything from cars and buses to bikes and baby strollers. We had a light lunch at the museum and then headed over to the Lindt World of Chocolate Experience, where we climbed on a Disney-esque sort of vehicle and rode around to learn all about Swiss chocolate. We were given enough free Lindor Truffles on the ride and in the shop afterwards to practically cover the cost of one of our tickets (but we also bought some chocolate too).

If I had to find a downside it’s that Switzerland is expensive. Very expensive. Prices, including for transportation, have frankly shocked us. We have easily spent over $100 each day, but because we spent nothing on the day we drove down and will spend little tomorrow on our drive back our daily average won’t be affected too much. Besides buying a few of the exotic truffle flavors I also bought a Victorinox (makers of Swiss Army knives) vegetable peeler that juliennes. It was just $5US and I expect it to last for years.

Back to Strasbourg we go tomorrow morning – our great challenge will be to locate a gas station near the drop off for the car so we can fill the tank. We’ve had a terrific time in beautiful Switzerland, the best Airbnb experience ever, and we’re so glad we were able to fit this short trip into our schedule.

We’ve had a wonderful couple of days getting out and exploring the city. We’ve only scratched the surface, but are feeling happier each day that we decided to spend some time here. I’ll let this beautiful city speak for itself (warning: lots of photos!):

We have so far found the city very easy to navigate, either by walking, tram, or bus, and we’re looking forward to discovering more in the coming weeks!

 

After all of the weekend’s rain and wind, we woke up yesterday morning in Normandy to blue skies and fluffy clouds. It was still cold though – coats were a must. We were out the door though and over to Caen on time to turn in our car, and then were on our way to Strasbourg via LeMans. We were truly sad to say good-bye to Normandy and wished we had given ourselves more time there.

The train ride was extremely comfortable – we were in first class on one of the high-speed trains, and I fell asleep for most of the ride. After our usual small spell of confusion upon arriving in Strasbourg, we eventually found and bought tram tickets and got going in the right direction to our location. Our host’s son met us and got us settled in the apartment as our host is currently traveling in Croatia. It’s the smallest place we’ve stayed in yet – less than 300 square feet – but efficient, extremely well-equipped, and comfortable. I was a bit concerned because I had not noticed when I reserved the apartment that it was a studio and that we would be sleeping on a sofa bed, but the bed turned out to be the most comfortable yet (and they’ve all been comfortable so far). Before we went to bed we headed down to the mini-mart on the corner and bought some soup and camembert cheese for dinner, and orange juice for this morning’s breakfast. We had carried along crackers and a couple of pain au chocolate from Normandy, and the host had provided coffee, so we were set for dinner and breakfast this morning.

Both Brett and I slept soundly, until almost 11:00 this morning though, meaning both of us were w-a-y more tired than we imagined (especially Brett, who is normally an early riser). We have been pushing ourselves the last couple of weeks, with the short stays in Montevideo, Paris and Normandy, the long flight over to Paris, sightseeing almost every day and moving from place to place. We’ve especially been looking forward to our stay in Strasbourg because we’re here for nearly three weeks, enough time to unpack our suitcases and hang up our clothes for a while (the apartment has a large closet with plenty of hangers and shelves for us to put our clothes away). We’ll be able to catch our breath here. Although we’ll of course be out and about, for a these next few weeks there’ll be little to no pressure to go somewhere or see something every day. If we want to take a day off and stay “home” we can do it and not feel guilty.

Our suitcases have been slowly growing lighter as we move along. We’ve ditched a couple of heavy guidebooks along the way (Buenos Aires and Paris), Brett left behind a pair of jeans and t-shirt in Montevideo that he hated wearing, and we’ve slowly but surely been divesting ourselves of the gifts we brought along from Hawai’i. We haven’t bought anything other than the two travel umbrellas on Mont Saint-Michel, but those get carried in our backpacks. We’ve lost only one thing along the way, the package of beeswax wraps in various sizes. Where those got left, or if they even got packed back on Kaua’i is anyone’s guess, but they’re nowhere to be found. We’ve been nursing a couple of Ziploc bags along the way and holding on to any plastic bags we get at a market, and so far that’s been working for us.

We went out first thing today to find the nearest ATM and buy provisions for the next few days. There are two nice markets nearby: an expensive Whole Foods sort of place, and a regular supermarket with a boulangerie right between the two. We bought a little at each place including some prepared foods from the Whole Foods place that I can heat in the oven: ratatouille, vegetable lasagna and a quiche. I haven’t felt like cooking since we set out on this adventure, so this will make dinner easy for the next few days. There’s a big farmers’ market every Saturday next to the Whole Foods store, so we’ll check that out too.

We’re looking forward to exploring more of our neighborhood tomorrow and in the coming days – we’re just a couple of minutes’ walk from the cathedral and the main historic center. We have laundry to do though before we can really feel settled in. And, I want to spend this evening finding out more about the charcuterie in the area – both stores we visited had many delicious-looking sausages and other meats, but we have no idea where to start.

I think we’re going to enjoy being unpacked here in Strasbourg!

There was one thing on our pre-travel checklist that we never got around to purchasing: travel umbrellas! For some reason we kept putting them off, telling ourselves we’d get them in Portland . . . or Dallas . . . or Philadelphia. But as the days went on, and the weather stayed lovely, we forgot about the fact that we might need them one of these days. And up to now we’ve been blessed with beautiful weather.

That all changed yesterday and today. Rain had been in the forecast, but before we went to sleep on Friday night the last report we looked at showed that chances for rain had diminished, and we thought we just might be able leave Normandy without seeing rain.

Nope. We woke up to steady rain Saturday morning, and it stayed rainy all day. Today turned out to be even worse, or at least it started out that way.

Our first goal yesterday was to visit the American Military Cemetery at Colleville-sur-Mer, which overlooks Omaha Beach. The drive over there from Balleroy was lovely, even in the rain, but as we approached the cemetery I noticed that the GPS had once again pretty much drained my phone battery. I went to get my portable charger out of my purse and realized I had left the charging cord back at the apartment. NO!!!!!! Thankfully Brett’s phone was almost fully charged but we knew we had to be careful with how we used it to get around. A trip out to Mont Saint-Michel was not going to be possible with only one phone charged.

Our visit to American Cemetery was sobering, and in retrospect it seemed fitting to be there in the rain and gloom. Brett and I both almost stopped breathing when we first saw all the graves, more than 9,300 of them, all laid out in perfect rows. So many dreams unfulfilled, so many memories never made – how can we ever thank all these dead for the sacrifice they made? We walked slowly through the cemetery, stepping in at times to read the names on the marble stones, and to see where the deceased were from and when they died. There were many markers for the dead whose names were not known.

Because of the rain and phone/GPS situation we decided to head over to the nearby Bayeux historic district to view the Bayeux Tapestry and the Bayeux Cathedral. The tapestry was fascinating to view as was the cathedral (plus we were inside and out of the rain). The rain did have the benefit of tamping down the number of visitors that might otherwise have been there that day. It was easy to get in and out of places, find parking, etc.

Less rain was predicted for today, but if anything it was raining even harder than it had been on Friday. Still, today was our last chance to get out to Mont Saint-Michel (or “Mont Saint-Mitchel” as the GPS voice kept pronouncing it) so off we went after breakfast. The further along we traveled the more the rain seemed to increase, to the point at times where we could barely see in front of the car. At one point all I could think was, “What ever made us think this would be a good day to do some sightseeing?” I told Brett that if it was raining at all when we got to Mont Saint-Michel I was not getting out of the car because I was tired of being wet!

However, almost unbelievably, the rain stopped as we arrived and parked the car. We walked over and caught one of the free shuttles out to the island, but as soon as it started off the heavens opened and the wind came roaring in. Oh great. When we stepped off the shuttle to make the final walk to the island we (and everyone else) were practically blown over by the wind and umbrellas were useless (no one could get their umbrella opened, let alone hold it over their head, because the wind was blowing so strongly).

Once we stepped under the outer ramparts guarding Mont Saint-Michel, the wind thankfully died down, although the rain continued. Brett and I stopped at the first gift shop we saw to see if we could maybe get a couple of ponchos, but we instead found some very nice travel umbrellas at an affordable price, so we each got one – our first souvenirs of the trip! We were also very hungry at that point, and after reading a few menus stopped for lunch at a restaurant attached to a hotel. Brett finally got to enjoy the big bowl of moules marinière (mussels) he’s been craving since we arrived while I had a small Margherita pizza and a bowl of ratatouille – yum!

Then it was up to view the abbey only to discover we couldn’t go in because they were offering a series of concerts today. Although it was still cold and windy, the rain had finally stopped so we took our time walking around outside the abbey and on the ramparts, looking out over the tidal flats to the shore in the distance (where strange as it seemed, several groups of people were walking!). The rain had done a fairly good job of keeping the number of visitors to a manageable level, and we tried to imagine what it would have been like on the little island during peak tourist season (not very pleasant, we assumed). We eventually climbed back down and to our car and headed home to Balleroy, a much easier trip this time without all the heavy rain that had accompanied us on our way out.

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There was one last stop we wanted to make in Balleroy before returning to our apartment: the Balleroy Chateau, located just up the road from where we’re staying. Constructed between 1626 and 1636, it was last purchased by Malcolm Forbes (of Forbes Magazine fame) in 1970 and is still owned by the Forbes family. The chateau has a real moat (although there’s no water in it currently), its own chapel, and beautiful, traditional French gardens. Although it wasn’t raining when we arrived we didn’t stay long as the temperature had dropped to where we were more than ready to get back to our warm apartment.

Tonight we finished up the last of a baguette, some cheeses, a piece of paté au champignon and the last of our wine and have gotten everything packed up for tomorrow’s journey to Strasbourg. Once again we realize we have spent too few days in a location we have come to love. Our crazy GPS has taken us through all sorts of backroads in Normandy, and provided us with views and villages we would have never come across and enjoyed otherwise. We haven’t even left and we’re already ready to come back, rain or shine!