Day started with heavy snow falling - very picturesque, but not so good for sightseeing. We decide to go out anyway to visit the Notre Dame Cathedral The trains get us pretty close so there should be minimal walking involved (famous last words). Walking around proves to be difficult. Although it stopped snowing around 10am, the sidewalks have turned to a slippery slush making it treacherous (by the way, officially, we don't like snow - it's wet, cold, and u...

Today was our first official day of exploring in Paris. And wouldn't you know it, its snowing - perfect (although the locals don't see it that way). Today we visit the Louvre Museum(http://www.louvre.fr/llv/musee/a laune.jsp?bmLocale=en). The day starts off well as we manage to decipher the Paris Metro system and catch the right train to get there. Steeping off the train we navigated our way through the station to the street and are immediately met by a blast of...

Decisions, decisions. Rouen or Paris? We decided on going straight through to Paris to leave us with plenty of time to meet Jake & Sam when they fly into Paris. Paris traffic proves to be the worst we have come across so far - 1 hour to travel 5km!! And that was on the expressway!!! Calamity strikes at the 11th hour!!! After we booked in we logged onto the internet to check our apartment booking for Paris - nothing! No booking confirmation or anything!! A...

Today was to turn out to be a real treat. On the advice of the lady who owns the hotel, we decided on a sightseeing trip to visit the abbey of Le Mont-Saint-Michel Words can't really describe the sheer scale of the abbey and the village surrounding it. Suffice to say that its big, and grand, and imposing, and beautiful. It's easy to see why it was listed as a world heritage sight by UNESCO. If you get the chance, go and see it.After our evening meal (anothe...

Today we leave Orleans and the Loire Valley to head for Brittany & Normandie, our destination being the seaport town Saint-Malo . A long drive is ahead of us so we get an early start, opting for breakfast on the road rather than at the hotel.The drive across the Loire Valley is uneventful and we make quick time. The sun is shining and the skies are a clear blue which makes for a most enjoyable trip. Large open flat expanses of land under cultivation (luc...