Loire Valley, May 2 - 11.

Leaving Paris behind, we decided to slow down a little. After an eventful train ride with delays and cancellations, we met our new landlords at Chatellerault in the Loire Valley.
From there, it was a 20 minute drive... to this:



An idyllic 17th century cottage just outside of the (very) small town of La Petite Guerche, we found ourselves delighted with everything that caught our eye. Everywhere was green, bursting with spring life. And it truly was idyllic, from fields of wheat in the distance down to the daisies and molehills in the grass at our feet.

This (below) is the view from our cottage, looking across the country garden to the stables and then the township on the horizon.

In the evening, we would place our order for the baker in a sack on the doorpost, and every morning we had fresh croissants and delicious breads delivered. Eggs were an option too, but we preferred to walk down the road to a neighbouring farm to collect our eggs right from the source.

We spent time reading and relaxing, finding many places suitable to these activities. Here is Naomi on a bench amongst the saplings, just above the croquet lawn.


There was wildlife about as well - and bumblebees and insects galore. This doormouse was one of the few furry creatures we saw there, but unfortunately its time with us was limited thanks to some tasty rat poison in the cellar.


We went on several walks to stretch both our legs and our minds. The nearest town was La Petite Guerche, but on arriving there...

it was as if everyone had vanished. A true ghost town.
Across the river, at Le Grande Guerche the story was much the same. So, we took a ride to Descartes (the birthplace of Rene) about 10km down the road. It was market day, and although the markets were not quite what we had become used to in Paris, we managed to do quite well.
Yum.

The town was pretty enough to warrant a return visit some days later, and we discovered beautiful parks and gardens that entertained us for the afternoon.


We liked the idea of riding through the countryside, so we went to La Grand Pressigny for a bit of French cooking and to hire some bicycles.
Naomi was quite happy to zip along down the hills, but climbing back up the other side was another story all together. After a few long rides and some tenderness later, the bikes were returned. It was enjoyable, but we had both had enough.


I had a little fiddle with the computer in our host's office, and we managed to have wireless access in the garden outside.
Here is Naomi with our mini computer, setting up a video call back home to Australia.














hi mum.

























My dreams of fuzzy critters to make friends with does not extend to stinging insects, unfortunately.
While in the garden, it was nice to watch the bumblebees bobbing along, comically intent in their pursuits.
We don't have anything quite like it at home.


So, eventually our time in the cottage came to an end. We really enjoyed the sunshine and the grass (once the hayfever remedies kicked in) and our hosts were hospitable to the end. A real highlight was Richard... an opera singer by profession, he would burst out a booming refrain while in the midst of some gardening off in the distance. I loved it.

The final image is of Naomi, sitting at our breakfast table. Fresh croissants and morning coffee in the dappled sunshine.
We had a wonderful time in the Loire Valley.

Paris, April 8 - May 2.

Paris is where the honeymoon truly began. From our apartment on Richard Lenoir, we explored the city... Paris in the Springtime was a true delight.


Our little balcony overlooked the bustling twice-weekly market near the Bastille.
So, two times a week we stocked up on fresh fruits and vegies, baked goodies and seafood.

Here you can see me ready to go with a light lunch of baguettes, cheese, mustard and wine.
It was lovely to see the trees in the street below transform as they burst with spring growth during our month in Paris.











Being good tourists, the first sight on our long list of places to go in Paris was the Eiffel Tower.
We took our baguettes and cheese along, and sat in the sunshine on the grass nearby.
Watching the ongoing struggle for noise supremacy between groups of teenagers and enthusiastic buskers.












Even Naomi couldn't resist the romance in the air. It was wonderful.
















The blossoms were out in the streets, so we had a smile on our faces everywhere we went.


Just in case it was not enough to have flowers growing all around, the florists in Paris were unlike anything we had ever seen. The picture below is of the flower stall at our local market. To Naomi's delight, the roses in the front later found their way into our apartment :)


A search for jackets and shoes led us to a secondhand market the size of a suburb... but it was the smaller things that caught my eye.


In our little living room, Naomi sits at the table with the little computer. My guess is that she was on Facebook, but she will probably insist that she was doing something terribly intellectual.


We were seeing much that was small and delightful in this stunning city.


We visited many museums and galleries over the weeks. We became very good at standing in line, shuffling forward slowly with the rest of the crowd.


In the above image, you may be able to spot Naomi outside as we waited for our entry to Musee D'Orsay.
It is less of a challenge to spot her at the Natural History Museum, doing her very best Blue Whale impersonation.


The next image shows one of the highlights for both of us. The Arc de Triomphe had a real presence from below, from inside, from above... in every way we could manage to take it all in.


Inside the Louvre, Naomi is an island of calm amidst a flood of school children.


Versailles is high on every visitor's list - but heavy, cold rain and the largest crowds we had seen to this date made our visit memorable for more than just the pretty interior.


We found an almost dry alcove to eat our baguettes and wait in vain for the rain to stop.


The rain did stop, in time for us to enjoy a rare treat on our travels - a visitor!
Here is John, in travel mode.


It was really great for Naomi and John to have an unexpected reunion for a couple of days. Together, we enjoyed a more relaxed pace as our time in Paris came to a close.
The following image was taken by John at an exhibition in the Luxembourg Gardens. We found our home on the great big world map - but Naomi's finger seems to have drifted towards Ballarat... I think I'll be the one holding the map from now on!


As our time in Paris wrapped up, we scurried about to see a few more sights and walk some of the familiar streets that had become our new favourite places. We will both miss our flat at Gerard's, the Metro trains that have tyres, the skateboards by our window at 1am, the gorgeous children everywhere, the Watenberg Seder, the flowers, croissants, the search for good coffee, markets, watching the trees become green again, the beggar in the metro with his pet rabbit, the frozen world of Picard, Rodin's gardens...
and Gerard's happy doggie.


This entry was written months after we left Paris, yet memories of our time there remain the most vivid and the most uplifting. Truly a city like no other, we immersed ourselves in its charms and were happy to be swept away.