Finishing in Paris

 Our final five nights  in Paris were spent wandering the streets from our comfortable hotel in the Sorbonne area. Short walks to St Germain, the islands and to see the progress on Notre Dame Cathedral.

Olympic preparations were well under way with some iconic areas fenced off for temporary grandstands. It was a little disappointing to be unable to see some of our favourite places.

We managed to eat at three of our favourite restaurants, however, and were very pleased that they were still operating, and still very good. L'Orangerie, L'Apibo and Petit Marche consistently good in our 3-4 visits to each.

A trip to Pais is not complete without returning to our favourite art gallery in Musee D'Orsay where a special exhibition on the birth of Impressionism was underway. Unfortunately the crowds were a little overwhelming to get a full appreciation.

Our flight home involved a 14 hour stopover in Saigon that was relieved by Vietnam airlines providing our visas, a tour, hotel, transfers and meals will we waited. The flight home was uncrowded for a relaxed flight.

Saint Malo

 Our next five days was in a lovely apartment overlooking a bay just south of Saint Malo's walled city. We loved sitting near the window watching the enormous fluctuations of the tide and the dauly activity. Free parking outside meant we did little driving, but we managed outings to the fascinating old city of Dinan and the oyster and seafood town of Cancale.

We had a great seafood meal tasting the famous oysters, as we watched tractors hauling loads of oysters up from the beac in Cancale. We also took the ferry across the bay from St Malo to Dinard, where there were beautiful mansions from the Victorian era.

Sandra and I were able to prepare seafood meals in the best equipped kitchen so far. The only drawback is that Gail and I again got the second best room near a bar that was too popular by half.

Loire Valley

 Our next five days were booked into Maison Gaspard in the heart of Saumur. A drive past some chateau and a lunch stop had us at the apartment to discover we had been swapped rooms. After a somewhat heated discussion with the lady manager we tried to make do. Visited the impressive cahteau on the hill above and enjoyed a couple of meals in the area around our inadequate apartment, but on the third day we decamped to a lovely renovated cottage near Chinon for the next three days. 

Gail and I revisited Usses and Azay de Rideau chateaux and with the Langfords enjoyed Langeias castle. Relaxing and being able to cook in our little cottage was a treat.