Well, today didn't really go as we planned. We walked down to Gare St Lazare and found we had missed the morning's only fast train and had to wait over an hour for the slow train to Vernon. We eventually got out there and arrived at Giverny at about 1pm. We wandered through Monet's home, left/restored just as it was. It amazed us that the back wall of the house formed part of the wall along the road in the village. The gardens were stunning - the tulips beautif...

Slept in today and found breakfast very crowded. We wandered down to the Department store - it's closed for Easter, so we withdrew some cash and waited at the tour office. The tour was good - took us by the all the above listed places, and more!!! The Place du Pantheon is where Marie Curie and other famous people are buried. We finished at the Eiffel Tower where we were given tickets for the tower and our Bateaux Parisiens tickets for the river cruise. The Ei...

Well, what a day!! Woke at 6am!! Went to their breakfast room for cereal, fruit, buns, croissants, danish pastries and coffee. We left the hotel before 8am and walked down to Notre Dame. It was very crowded and we decided not to stay for mass. I lit a candle and said a prayer. We were amazed at the size of the cathedral (with TV screens down the sides) and the different areas where you could pray to whichever Saint had a statue there.The stained glass windows w...

Up early again today for our tour to Aix-en-Provence, only a short way out of Marseilles. We walked from the main fountain down Mirabeau Ave and into the newer section. We saw the high school that Cezanne & Zola attended, and many beautiful hotels. The meaning of "hotel" in French is a big, beautiful home. They usually have "vanity" staircases - a grand staircase only going up 1 floor, and they leave their front door open (there is only a hall downstairs, a l...

This morning we got up early and had breakfast in the Pavilion so we could watch our arrival in Marseilles port. It was incredibly windy, and the two tug boats did an amazing job. The mistral blows for about 1/3 of the year!! We then went off, all rugged up for 12 degrees C, and did our tour. It took about 1 1/2 hours to get to Arles. We walked right through Arles - first stop was their Roman Arena built in the first century AD. it was even taller (by one floor)...