Paris & Southern France, 2015

Rick Steves Tour of Southern France, September 13–25, 2015


Part 1: Visit to Paris

Back to: The Pisarro Family Home Page.

  1. DSE_8085.NEF — Chartres–Our tour begins!
  2. DSE_8081.NEF — This is our group.
  3. DSE_8088.NEF — Toni—Our tour leader.
  4. DSE_8103.NEF — A light show on the cathedral at night was spectacular!
  5. DSE_8106.NEF — Constantly changing.
  6. DSE_8108.NEF
  7. DSE_8112.NEF — Little animated figures are “building” the cathedral.
  8. DSE_8123.NEF — The figures in the light shows actually danced.
  9. DSE_8119.NEF — More lights around town.
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  13. DSE_8151.NEF — Chartres was more than just the cathedral but a well preserved medieval town.
  14. DSE_8163.NEF — This bridge looks quite a bit different at night.
  15. DSE_8176.NEF — Chartres has to keep up to date!
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  20. DSE_8195.NEF — Malcolm Miller—The foremost authority on Chartres Cathedral was our tour guide. We had a tour with him 32 years ago. &ldquop;I do not compete with babies,” (Carla) he said at the time.
  21. DSE_8219.NEF — The South Rose Window. The windows are actively been cleaned—bringing out their colors in full glory.
  22. DSE_8201.NEF — The cathedral is being cleaned to its original white stone—not without controversy.
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  27. DSE_8238.NEF — Malcolm
  28. DSE_8224.NEF — Christ sitting in judgement.
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  32. DSE_8256.NEF — Lunch at a creperie.
  33. DSE_8259.NEF — School kids
  34. DSE_8264.NEF — A visit to a stained glass museum showing old and contemporary works.
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  37. DSE_8290.NEF — More Salade Niçoise—a favorite.
  38. DSE_8299.NEF — The light show was all over town. We were guided by a trail of blue lights in the sidewalk
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  40. DSE_8303.NEF — Another church participated.
  41. DSE_8313.NEF — On the road to château country.
  42. DSE_8324.NEF — Leonardo da Vinci spent his last years in Amboise.
  43. DSE_8317.NEF — Francis I receiving the last breath of Leonardo da Vinci in 1519, by Ingres.
  44. DSE_8343.NEF — A Leonardo invention
  45. IMG_4604.JPG — Anne Marie admires the art.
  46. IMG_4605.JPG — Pêche Melba!
  47. DSE_8358.NEF — Entering Chenonceau.
  48. DSE_8360.NEF — Chenonceau—considered one of the grandest of the châteaux.
  49. DSE_8368.NEF — The classic view of Chenenceau.
  50. DSE_8436.NEF — One of the two gardens of Chenonceau.
  51. DSE_8402.NEF — The main gallery.
  52. DSE_8418.NEF
  53. DSE_8425.NEF — Old Dutch paintings—Protrate of a Man, by Ravesteyn
  54. DSE_8427.NEF — Lady in a Collar by Miervelt.
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  57. DSE_8458.NEF — All the châteaux had magnificent boquets refreshed daily from their own gardens.
  58. IMG_6396.JPG — Our group of intrepid travelers, including us.
  59. DSE_8521.NEF — Vlllandry—with the most extensive gardens.
  60. DSE_8464.NEF — A model of the château shows the gardens.
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  62. DSE_8543.NEF — Herbs and vegetables were also in formal plantings. They grew most of their own produce.
  63. DSE_8578.NEF — François Clouet: Dame au Bain
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  65. DSE_8568.NEF — The tapestries were quite faded. This has been enhanced.
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  67. DSE_8584.NEF — After wine tasting, there was a quiz. Nobody got all the answers.
  68. DSE_8647.NEF — We stopped in Mortemart for a picnic lunch.
  69. DSE_8616.NEF — The “Whomping Willow” from Harry Potter
  70. DSE_8630.NEF — Our picnic. Toni picked these up at a nearby shop.
  71. DSE_8633.NEF
  72. DSE_8631.NEF — Not hamburgers and fries!
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  75. DSE_8668.NEF — The stormy weather from the morning was breaking up
  76. DSE_8683.NEF — The entry Oradour-sur-Glane
  77. DSE_8686.NEF — Here, 642 men, women and children were martyred by the Nazis in 1944.
  78. DSE_8701.NEF — The town was deliberately left as a memorial. It looks like Pompeii!
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  81. DSE_8728.NEF — Women and children were herded into this church, and then it was set afire.
  82. DSE_8733.NEF — The remains of a baby carriage.
  83. DSE_8744.NEF — The town cemetery with memorials to individual martyrs.
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  86. IMG_4611.JPG — Three nights in Sarlat—fois gras country!
  87. DSE_8788.NEF — Local cows all have these sad faces.
  88. DSE_8767.NEF — Fois-gras on the hoof.
  89. rouffignac01.jpg — Rouffignac Cave, our first stop of the day. (Published photo)
  90. DSE_8802.NEF — Cénac, the start of our canoe trip down the Dordogne River.
  91. DSC02732.jpg — After we took a spill in the river. See our blog for details. All turned out well.
  92. DSE_8806.NEF — Market day in Sarlat. Hundreds of stalls, thousands of locals.
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  96. DSE_8854.NEF — Lunch in Sarlat, fois-gras, of course!
  97. DSE_8861.NEF — Cocktail party provided by Toni.
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  99. DSE_8866.NEF — Sarlat that night was lit by votive candles for a French holiday—fire codes be damned!
  100. DSE_8889.NEF — A crowd watching performers.
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  102. DSE_8902.NEF — Carcassonne, Europe's largest fortified city.
  103. DSE_8905.NEF
  104. DSE_8980.NEF — The ramparts of Carcassonne were “updated” in the 19th century to attract tourists.
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  109. DSE_8953.NEF — eanne d'Arc in the Carcassonne cathedral.
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  118. DSE_9046.NEF — Sylvie and her husband Serge took over and completely rebuilt an old winery that uses organic growing techniques.
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  120. DSE_9077.NEF — Serge prepared this feast for our lunch.
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  123. DSE_9111.NEF — Pont du Gard, the largest existing Roman aqueduct.
  124. DSE_9089.NEF — People on the bridge show how large it is.
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  126. DSE_9127.NEF — Tunnel that fed water to the aqueduct.
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  128. DSE_9156.NEF — Part of dinner.
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  130. DSE_9165.NEF — Our tour guide for Arles.
  131. DSE_9176.NEF — Roman Théâtre Antique
  132. DSE_9232.NEF — Considered the best preserved Roman amphithéâtre. In better shape than the coliseum, it is still used today for performances and bullfights.
  133. DSE_9226.NEF — Walkway around the amphithéâtre.
  134. DSE_9200.NEF — The building has been restored to way it looked when Van Gogh painted it.
  135. DSE_9257.NEF — Le Bistrot de la Mule, recommended by the tour guide
  136. DSE_9261.NEF — My lunch, salad with duck.
  137. DSE_9263.NEF — Barbara's lunch, swordfish with pesto—an inspiration.
  138. DSE_9164.NEF — Place du Forum at night.
  139. DSE_9266.NEF — Cryptoporticos—“a dark drippy underworld of Roman arches.”
  140. DSE_9291.NEF — At the cloisters of St. Trophime.
  141. DSE_9307.NEF — We stopped at a random bistro that went way above our expectations.
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  143. DSE_9171.NEF — More school kids.
  144. DSE_9358.NEF — Les Baux, and walled city that is now a ruin.
  145. DSE_9326.NEF — Rebuilt medieval siege machine
  146. DSE_9327.NEF — Giant crossbow.
  147. DSE_9355.NEF — A “dovecote’ was a pigeon coop built in the rock.
  148. DSE_9356.NEF — The Les Baux dovecote can be seen here.
  149. DSE_9364.NEF — Our group
  150. DSE_9340.NEF — Young tourists.
  151. DSE_9370.NEF — On the way to Nice we stopped at market day in St. Rémy for lunch.
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  154. DSE_9488.NEF — We arrive in Nice.
  155. DSE_9419.NEF — Our hotel on the Promenade des Anglais.
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  160. DSE_9455.NEF — Le Safari Restaurant.
  161. DSE_9460.NEF — Activities on the pebbly beach.
  162. DSE_9469.NEF — The pebbles. We took one home.
  163. DSE_9504.NEF — Yachts galore in the yacht basin.
  164. DSE_9511.NEF — The Mediterranean.
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  166. DSE_9545.NEF — The Chagall Museum was closed so we went to the Matisse.
  167. DSE_9548.NEF — He painted in many different styles, all quite different from each other.
  168. DSE_9549.NEF
  169. DSE_9546.NEF — His palette presented as art.
  170. DSE_9553.NEF — Our final full day in Nice.
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  174. DSE_9586.NEF — Profiteroles for dessert.
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  176. DSE_9597.NEF — Toni provided champagne for a toast to a terrific trip.
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