Category: France

The Eiffel Tower: French Icon, Once Disputed, Now Cherished

Daybreak cast a hazy pastel backdrop beyond the trellised silhouette. Once viewed by Parisians as a blemish upon the skyline, this wrought-iron structure now proudly stands as France’s most celebrated icon. Our body clocks, not yet adjusted from Pacific Standard Time, woke us in the early morning darkness on the first day of our first […]

Honoring Gothic Inspiration and Quality: Paris Notre Dame, the Masterpiece

Certain places throughout the world exude quality and inspire each of us to be the best version of ourselves. In Paris (and throughout France, for that matter) quality is the standard rather than the exception. At the heart of the city, rising over the banks of the Seine on the Île de la Cité, Notre […]

Exporing Touraine in the Loire Valley

The city of Tours and Château d’Artigny was a good starting point for our self-guided driving tour throughout the Loire Valley of France. Our day’s agenda took us through the region of Touraine, to Château de Chenonceau and Château d’Amboise. We first arrived at Chenonceau, one of the loveliest and most romantic of all the chateaux… From there, we headed off to the town of […]

Chateau d’Artigny

Upon leaving Chartres, France, we headed off to Château d’Artigny near Montbazon, a few miles away from the city of Tours. Sitting along the Indre River in the heart of the Loire Valley, this near-replica of the 18th-century château at Champlâtreux was completed in 1928. We called it home for a few days while we took in the local sites. However, this […]

Chartres Cathedral

In addition to enjoying rich cafés, fresh local cuisine, regional wine and chévre cheese, we set out to experience the home to some of the world’s greatest architecture… the Loire Valley. This fertile terrain is rich in scenic antiquity and France’s aristocratic past. Abundant with historical fortresses, chateaux and churches, high on my list of places to visit was the UNESCO World Heritage […]