France (Bordeau, Tours, and Amiens): Friday, May 2nd - Sunday, May 4th

As we traveled toward the French border the terrain became drier, more like a desert, with scrub brush and even a few cactus plants.  We were surprised to see cactus in this part of the world.  The skies cleared and the sun began to shine brightly.  As soon as we crossed the border into France we were immediately faced with a challenge.  We began to encounter toll roads.  It's quite expensive to travel by car in France.  The price of gasoline is quite high and the charges for using the toll roads is very expensive.  One toll was 50 Euros, which is close to $72.00 in the U.S.  Just the physical process of paying and getting through the toll gates is stressful.  Many of the booths are completely automated, with instructions given only in French.  Luckily, a couple of times when we were completely stuck, with cars piling up behind us and getting very impatient, someone approached us and showed us what to do.

As we traveled the scenery changed once again.  As we neared Bordeaux we were surrounded by acres and acres of vineyards.  We savored traveling with the sun shining on this spectacular area.  As the trees which lined the country roads swayed gently, the silvery leaves simmered in the light breeze.

Bordeaux has a lovely central town square, complete with an Apple Store, which we visited to get my FaceTime to work again!!!  Seems I needed to update the IOS system (whatever that is)!!!  Once that task was complete we enjoyed the rest of the sights of the town center.  The Grand Hotel dominates the square with its exquisite architectural design features.  We enjoyed the gorgeous buildings and sculptures on the square, as well as doing a bit of people watching.  There was one sculpture in particular that was absolutely breathtaking.  In Bob's photo it looks like an actual person - very interesting design.  We walked through an open air market that was filled mainly with used items.  There were a few stands of fresh fruits and vegetables but nothing in the market really tempted us to make a purchase.  We continued our walk away from the center back to our hotel for the night.

The next morning we headed for Tours.  When we arrived we discovered an incredibly charming, delightful village.  Our hotel was on a street which had a Greenbelt down the center, much like we have at home in Manhattan Beach.  The Greenbelt had mature trees which lined the path and provided protection from the bright sun.  There was a very active and lovely Old Town where we walked and had a snack.  We visited a beautiful old cathedral with gorgeous stained glass windows.  It was a wonderful afternoon in a gracious setting.  In the evening we strolled to a nearby pedestrian street and had dinner in a brazzerie with beautiful stained glass.  Unfortunately, we were unable to find out the original use of the building.  No one knew enough English to understand what we were asking, so we simply appreciated the art and had a wonderful dinner of fish and chips (oh, and beer and wine).

Our next destination was Amiens, a small village near the northern border of France.  We arrived on a Sunday, which was also the end of a holiday weekend, so this little village was mostly shut down.  Our hotel was directly across the street from a massive Gothic style cathedral so once we were settled we walked over to see the inside of it.  It was certainly worth the visit  There were many small chapels inside and incredibly elaborate, intricate stained glass windows.  We spent some time admiring the beauty of this grand church then walked down the way to explore the Old Town.

In the evening we walked to a small French Bistro near the canal and enjoyed our first official French meal.  First we were served a very small glass of cauliflower soup, which we understood to be the first course.  We hadn't ordered it but it was so tasty we gobbled it down.  Soon, another course was served.  It included a side salad and some sort of crepe (which looked more like an enchilada).  I assumed this was the main course and I was quite content since I had anticipated that the dinner would be a much smaller portion.  Well, to my great surprise, after we finished this course, another course was served.  This was the main course I had ordered!!!  I was so full from the previous courses that I could only eat a few bites.  Of course, when they served one of my most favorite desserts, hot lava cake (they had a much fancier name for it) I found a way to inhale it!!!  It's a very good thing we had to walk back to the hotel after dinner  Whatever happened to the extremely small portions usually served in French restaurants????

After a few lovely days enjoying the French countryside it was time for us to head for The Netherlands (Holland).  We'll get an early start in the morning since we're expecting it to be a rather lengthy drive to the Amsterdam area.