we had our last breakfast at the Hotel de la Tulipe, packed our bags, and said "au revoir" to Paris. anthony and stacy went to pick up the van, a huge (by french standards) minivan that seats 9 europeans...or four americans and their six suitcases. the van, a Renault Traffic, is very square, and quite tricky to navigate through small french roads. Lucky for us, we have a skilled European driver! between anthony;s mad skills with the van, and jason's navigational help, we've done pretty well.
after a close squeeze down Rue Malar, we made our way through rush hour traffic and got to Versailles mid morning. wow. talk about grand! Those French royalty really knew how to entertain! we pushed our way through hordes of japanese tourists, and finally emerged in the gardens. the fountains only flow on weekends, and it was a bit chilly, so we decided to be efficient...and rented a golf cart. yes, that's right..we toured Versailles from a four wheeled contraption. and while it was no kawasaki mule, it did come with speakers which gave an audio tour and played french baroque music. quite hilarious, actually. but we managed to tour the gardens and the grand trinon and still make it to lunch before the weather turned ugly.
from there, we drove to Chartes, barely making it in time to view the cathedral. it is as big as notre dame, but in the middle of the countryside. you can see the cathedral from miles away, and it is a pilgrimage site, since it houses the veil of mary. it was peaceful and reverant inside - the way a church should be. inspiring.
next stop was amboise, a small town on the loire river. our hotel is an old chateau with huge rooms, tall ceilings, and a picturesque garden. i can see why leonardo da vinci chose to retire here. tomorrow we go to his house, which francois 1 built for him. then maybe some wine tasting? definitely some chocolate.....
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