Lately it has been far more difficult to find time to post blogs. We’ve been extensively sightseeing, and I’ve also been working on manuscripts. So I’ve completely missed reporting on our time in both Austria and Germany. To sum up: wonderful.

Now we’ve moved on to France. We picked up a car in Munich, and drove it here. We will have the car for two weeks, as we explore the Loire Valley (last week), Brittany (where we are currently) and Normany (our next stop). I thoroughly enjoyed legally driving very, very fast, particularly in Germany…

The picture above is the town of Langeais, on the Loire River. We spent a week based there and exploring the area. We explored Cheverny, Chamborg, Clos du Luce, and other wonderful castles and chateaux. It is hard to choose just a few pictures, as there are so many beautiful places here.

Jack was in his historical glory, and we realized just how much he knows, as he taught us facts we didn’t know about some of the locations we visited. While visiting one of the oldest castles in the area, which has been turned into sort of an medieval interactive location, Jack and Joe got to try on chain mail, see a trebuchet fire a water ball at the castle, and learn sword fighting techniques. (Actually, I think Jack used some of his karate skills, which surprised and winded the sword instructor…)

One of my favourite places in this area, although it is hard to choose, was Clos du Luce, where Leonardo da Vinci lived for the last few years of his life. They have turned the park behind the chateau into a working demonstration area for many of his inventions/machines. The kids really enjoyed trying them out, and it’s a beautiful park as well.

Dan and I enjoyed the best meal of our lives in Langeais on my birthday. We just turned our choices for food and wine pairings to the chef. Escargot risotto with peas, goose, chicken live pate… five courses of delicious!

We are in Brittany now. Although only a few hours away, it’s a very different vibe here, and not only because it has turned rainy and cool. The seaside/marina feeling is very different. More on that in the next post…