July 30 – Leaving Paris and Tours

Holy Cross Cathedral

Holy Cross Cathedral

The sun is finally shining…still cool, but no rain and little cloud.

galettes for lunch

Château Chambord

Joan of Arc statue in the cathedral

2 hours south of Paris is Orléans – most famous for Joan of Arc. There a re only 20 people of on this pre bit of our river cruise so the bus is far from crowded and everyone has a window seat. Truly there is little but countryside to see, but there is lots of room to spread out. We have a short walking tour where we see the replica of the house where Joan of Arc lived – the original house was destroyed during World War II bombing. We also visit the city’s Holy Cross Gothic Cathedral. Lunch is on our own and we decide on crepes. These are delicious. I have one with mushrooms, cheese and chicken and Chris has one with a fried egg. Apparently the difference between a crêpe and a galette is that a galette is made with buckwheat flour and is savoury – I had no idea about the savoury part.

Château Chambord

After lunch is a visit to the Château Chambord. This place is stunning. It is built like a fortress even though there was no war at the time. Really it’s like nothing I’ve ever visited before. It has over 400 rooms and 250 fireplaces.

Today and tomorrow we are staying at a hotel in Tours. Dinner is at the hotel restaurant and is also delicious. After a bit of hotel-room-bathtub laundry we head to Tours’ old city for a drink.