Tour de France, Parte Deux.

Another day in France, another highlight: Mont Saint Michel! About 1.5 hours from our hotel in Bayeux, the drive took us on tiny local roads past sunflower fields and more windmills and many cows sprinkled between white stone houses and fortified farms, and yes, more windmills. Eventually we saw Mt St Michel across the field: an Abbey sitting atop an island in the bay of Touraine with the Channel Islands and England beyond sight in the distance. (Read about the beginning of the trip here: https://retirementadventureblog.com/2025/09/22/tour-de-france/)

*Mont Saint Michel* *as we approach* *by car*.

Sitting on a tidal island, the Abbey and surrounding buildings look like they are rising like a wedding cake above the ocean. The island has always been successfully defended since its founding in the 8th century, tides being a major factor. Now there’s a causeway and a shuttle so the tourists can invade. We hiked up through the quaint, narrow cobblestoned streets and stairs and tunnels and toured the amazing jumble of rooms, crypts, and chapels of the abbey. Later, after a long wait due to the large number of hungry tourists in line, we lunched on the famous fluffy Mt St Michel omelet. After, I couldn’t help but tip toe onto the tidal flats which were mucky and slippery although groups of students hiked further and faster without fear of broken hips or messy pants.

*These schoolchildren befriended me while I was catching my breath in a cemetery. Or they were mocking my French. Either way, I was charmed.*

*Lowish tide. School groups enjoyed the mud; I took a few tentative steps.*

*Mt St Michel street scene* *and a French mademoiselle.*

*The famous fluffy* *omelet* *of Mt St Michel*.

Next day, Saturday, we visited a couple seaside towns on the Channel coast: l’Etretat and Honfleur. L’Etretat is well known for the TV series Lupin (guess I’ll have to watch it) but also for white cliffs and arches extending into the sea. A few brave souls swam or surfed in the water. The pebbly beach was like walking on marbles, and, in fact, I did find one! Then to Honfleur, with its quaint centuries-old harbor and cobblestoned streets. Walking about, we visited a chocolaterie and boulangerie for lunch, but also discovered France’s largest wooden church. We then visited a small museum dedicated to Eugene Boudin who contributed to the beginnings of the Impressionist school. Returning to Bayeux, we dined at Le Bistrot d a Cote in Port-en-Bessin for fish and mussels in a tiny local cafe and then back to our chateau for a Calvados tasting, apple brandy being the drink of the area (40%). Apple orchards were everywhere, trees heavily laden with the largest fruit. The brandy, eh, not my cup of tea.

*L’Etretat cliffs. Very windy atop the bluffs.*

*St. Catherine of Honfleur, France’s largest wooden church.*

*15th century bell tower of St. Catherine*‘s. Now there’s a public restroom below.

*Some of E. Boudin’s work at the gallery*.

*Not E. Boudin but I liked it. L Dubourg*.

Heading out the next day we stopped in Le Mans, about 2 hours away, to visit the race track. Unfortunately, the famous Le Mans 24hr endurance race track neighborhood was crowded with truck rally enthusiasts so we skipped that but we did see Le Mans centre. What a nice surprise and walk through history! We visited the free history/archeology Museum Jean Claude Boulard just before closing (everything in France closes from about 12:30 to 3, or 6, or anytime unexpectedly during the day). The museum was small but had nice displays of Roman artifacts (pre-JC) and then proceeded to more recent displays from Medieval and Renaissance periods. After, despite some light rain, we visited the Cathedral of St Julian which had many layers of architectural styles as it was expanded and renovated over 100s of years. We also strolled through the narrow Tudor looking streets which were mostly empty on Sunday afternoon. If you need a luthier, I found a shoppe. After purchasing a jambon et fromage crepe from the now closing farmer’s market (siesta!), we headed back on the road towards Tours, a further 1 hour drive. More fields of corn, dried sunflower fields, and windmills entertained us. We approached our next place of residence, Chateau d’Artigny, up a tree lined driveway and around the fountain garden in Montbazon.

*St Julian’s of Le Mans. Built between the 6th and 15th centuries*

*Many layers of evolving architecture over 900 years.*

A stroll around the d’Artigny property revealed pickleball and tennis courts, a heated pool, and a spa. We enjoyed a ping pong match and then pre-dinner cocktails at the hotel bar, with pinkies raised and erect postures, then dined on foie gras, zucchini in various delectable forms, boeuf and pork. With local red wine. Another great day.

Montbazon, Tours is in the Loire River Valley where so many chateaux are scattered about within beautiful gardens or with river views and all open to the public. We spent 2 days visiting 6 of the chateaux, each larger or older or more opulent than the next. There were lots of kings, queens, dukes, or favored ladies who built or were gifted or inherited these oversized McMansions of yesteryear (yester century?)

First, we visited Villandry with its magnificent gardens arranged in geometric patterns and each specimen bordered by tiny boxwood hedgerows, then, Azay d’Rideau, built on an island, a fine example of French Renaissance architecture, and Chateau d’Usse, with its turreted rooms decorated to illustrate the story of Sleeping Beauty where it was penned. These 3 we visited on Monday; with great effort we searched for a local bistrot or brasserie but most restaurants were closed on Mondays. Oh, we had to dine again at the hotel; the suffering!

*Chateau Villandry, known for its gardens.*

*Chateau d’Usse, where Sleeping Beauty was penned.*

*They staged the story in the turret rooms.*

*Some rooms were just opulently decorated.*

*Also got to tour the d’Usse attics, which was so interesting to see the construction.*

*Azay d’Rideau, built then as it is now, in the early 1500s.*

*Considering redecorating with appropriate furniture to my status.*

*As Google states, Azay d’Rideau is a fine example of French Renaissance architecture.*

To the east and slightly farther away we visited Amboise, Chambord, and Chenonceau. Amboise, very old, was favored by kings until Charles VIII hit his head on a lintel and died. Leonardo da Vinci is buried here. Chenonceau spans across the Cher river. It was owned and expanded by 7 women since the 12th century. Chambord has immense double helix staircases and innumerable rooms decorated as they were back in the 1500s when it was built. Both Chenonceau and Chambord played a role in aiding the Resistance or storing the Louvre’s masterpieces in WW2. Dinner was in a tiny French restaurant in Tours, La Chien Juane. At this point Allen has been looking for crispy duck on the menu for a week to no avail; only regular duck-still delicious. Greg’s beef tartare may have been the cause of his later gastric distress.

*Chateau Chenonceau*. *Catherine de Medici took it back from husband King Francis 1’s lady friend Diane de Poitier*s *when he died*. The French Resistance was able to smuggle through the chateau as it spans the river.

*The French Resistance was able to smuggle through the Chenonceau as it spans the river Cher*.

*Chateau Chambord with its double helix staircases and innumerable rooms. Chambord was used for storing Louvre art and sculpture treasures during WWII.*

*Chateau Amboise from across the gardens.*

*The chapel at Amboise where Leonardo is buried.*

*First buried at a local church, da Vinci’s bones were allegedly moved here when the church was destroyed.*

*Amboise street scene and some good shopping.*

*Balloons inflate along the Loire river.*

Departing Chateau d’Artigny we headed towards Paris with Jeanette at the wheel. First stop, though, was Chartres, 2 hours away, for a quick visit to its cathedral, Our Lady of Chartres. I was unimpressed with the city of Chartres; less vibrant and seemingly less architecturally significant than other towns. The cathedral, however, holds importance as an example of high French Gothic architecture and it is very old (originally from the 4th century). The current building’s exterior was less decorated with carvings and statuary and the stone was dingy and more degraded than others. By contrast, the interior had been cleaned and brightened for the Catholic Church’s Jubilee (every 25 years). It was worth a visit.

*Some History of Chartres cathedral. Interestingly, the French government owns a lot of these places of worship.*

As if the 6 chateaux were not opulent enough, we next visited Versailles, 1 hour from Chartres. We’ve been very lucky finding parking or tickets that allow relatively speedy entry despite the crowds of the season (early September). Since it was afternoon, we first strolled the gardens and parks and fountains of Versailles. There’s not enough time to see it all, but luckily, the day was fine and our feet allowed us about 2 hours of walking. I can’t imagine Louise XIV had time to explore all these parks! Our timed ticket got us into the Palace at 3pm but we walked in at 2:30, no problem. This place is obscene! No wonder Marie Antoinette had the Trianon built: small ‘cottage like’ buildings (still opulent) for cozier get-aways just down from the Neptune fountain. We were overwhelmed in the main Palace after 1 and 1/2 hours, dazzled by gold and crystal and brocade and marble and jewels and art and carvings. And that was just the first room! It was pretty crowded too. It was a good visit and we managed to meet up with J+A for our entry into Paris proper and the rental car dropoff.

*Rochambeau and Washington at the battle of Yorktown displayed amongst many other French battle scenes in the Battle hall at Versailles.*

*The entry into Versailles. Can you see all the gold on the buildings? Oh, and a short military parade.*

The next day, Thursday the 18th, was an anticipated country wide transportation strike and protest. We had no desire to try and drop off the rental in the morning and try to find an Uber back to our hotel in the 6th arrondissement, to our hotel, the Esprit St. Germain. With some difficulty and 1 or 2 U turns mid-traffic, we found a gas station and the rental office where the representative told us we were responsible for the luggage cover that was never there! Ugh. Apologies to Jeanette who will have to deal with that scam. Nevertheless, we were car-free in the City of Light, Paris!

Our hotel was on a side street near St. Sulpice and walking distance to Notre Dame d’ Paris and also the Louvre. We dined at a cafe nearby, Les Editeurs, with open windows and crowded bistro tables side by side, like every restaurant in Paris. Smokers were everywhere but also very well dressed people. There were shopping opportunities galore but I resisted (to Christina’s dismay).

The next morning I got up earlyish (7:00am) to walk to Notre Dame. We were unable to get any of the free, timed tickets, possibly because of the uncertainty of everything due to the strike. But Notre Dame was open and access was easy sans ticket although they still made us walk through all the hamster paths between the stanchions. I was interested in the results of the reconstruction of the cathedral after the fire. It was beautiful, airy and light, but also some of the side chapels were empty. The crowds were thin but Mass was being said so I could not visit the entire church. Mission accomplished, though!

After returning to the hotel and breakfasting, the 4 of us walked back to Notre Dame. The lines were considerably longer so we entered the nearby Paris Crypt museum instead. This small museum highlighted the ancient beginnings of Paris as “Lutetia” in the Celtic region of Gaul, and some antiquities discovered in recent excavations. We then split up for the day, Greg and I wandering around and reentering Notre Dame (no waiting but still had to put in all the steps through the hamster trail). The cathedral was more crowded with tourists and also with a special Mass for police or military guards. We then headed over to St Chapelle but were unable to get tickets so wandered about the area and over to the Louvre and the Tuileries garden. Crowds were very light since the strike caused the Louvre to close many rooms and exhibitions. As it turned out, our afternoon visit up the Eiffel tower was also cancelled, though all we really saw were lots of police caravans with blue lights and sirens throughout the day. Luckily, our dinner cruise on the Seine was a ‘go’. How nice to dine while the world passed by: buildings lit, couples sitting along the banks, a meringue dance class twirling near the water, discos flashing, and houseboats parked along the river’s edge. As we disembarked, the Eiffel Tower started its twinkling lights display to end another great day.

*I doubt you’ll see the Louvre pyramid this empty very often.*

*Entry to the Tuileries garden. Speaking of gardens, the shops in Paris selling flowers and plants were divine! Every shop in Paris proper is just beautiful. The results: stylish, beautiful citizens.*

*The Eiffel Tower from below. Entry was closed due to a country wide strike.*

*We had a wonderful Seine dinner cruise.*

Luckily, our tickets for the Louvre and Musee D’ Orsay art museums on Friday were unaffected by the strike. Unluckily, we booked the wrong day for the Louvre. Nonetheless, we easily purchased new tickets, and proceeded to be immersed in art. Like, really, drowned. Greg and I had been here decades before (30 years?) but meandered anyway with the crowds to the Mona Lisa. Ugh, the selfie taking hordes were disgusting. Luckily, we got lost enough to find quiet rooms of French and Dutch and Spanish masters, Egyptian antiquities, amazing statuary, and the crown jewels. After 3 hours, I was done. We met up with J+A, then headed over to the Musee D’Orsay for further immersion (with a drink in between). Although smaller, the Musee D’Orsay still holds its own in Renaissance art, but of course, the Impressionists reign. I can only hope the photo takers will look at their selfies later because most took no time to absorb Van Gogh’s Starry Night or any of the Monets or many Manets or even E. Boudin (of whom I am now a fan). Whistler’s Mother ‘rocked on’ on the first floor. Another great day with dinner at Chez Fernand on a very busy Friday night on the crowded party streets of Paris. Oh, if only I could stay awake past 10pm!!!

*This is as close as you can get to the Mona Lisa.*

*The Mona Lisa crowd. Most of these people won’t even look at the other paintings!*

*Louis XIV’s jewelry case. As beautiful as the jewels it carries.*

*Part of the Louvre’s sculpture collection.*

Alas, on Saturday, Jeanette and Allen departed for home. We traveled well together, Jeanette providing leadership and ever-ready with the credit card, Greg with driving, me with navigation, and Allen with patience and comic relief. We split up as needed but often ended up at the same place at the same time. Au revoir et bon voyage!