Kanigan Family: Our Summer Trip to France

I can't believe I actually get to type that title in. My entire life I have dreamed about what it would be like to visit France, especially Paris, and to see the Eiffel Tower all lit up and sparkly. It seems so strange, because now that we are living in Brussels, a trip to Paris is only about a 3 1/2 hour car drive away. What was once such a far-away dream has now become a pretty convenient road trip.
Life is weird like that. So, even though we are pushing close to next summer, I wanted to take a few moments today to catch up and post a few pictures.

We spent eight days total in France, dropping in on a few other villages and cities along our route. Our first stop was to the city of Rouen (well known for being the city where Joan of Arc was burned to death). The cathedral there was breathtaking and they had a 14th century, astronomical clock called 'The Gros-Horlage' that is known to be one of the oldest, working clocks in Europe. After our quick stop there, we continued on to another fantastic side trip (and one of my favorite stops), Etretat. Located on the north coast of France, Etretat is known for its rocky beaches and amazing rock formations naturally carved from white cliffs. My family is a beach family, so this little stop was such a breath of fresh air, not to mention it was gorgeous. Some of my favorite pictures are from Etretat.

Finally, after a full day of driving and stopping, we arrived at Caen and settled into our early 18th century AirBnB there. Caen is a coastal city in Normandy that was heavily involved in WWII (think, battle of Normandy, D-Day, beginning of the liberation of France). It was strange to think about everything going on there in 1944, especially since the house we were staying in was around at that time. While there, we visited a few of the D-Day beaches, the beach of The Battle of Normandy, the Bayeux Catherdral, the Tapestry of the Normand Invasion, and the fairytale island/city, Mont St. Michel. I'll let my pictures tell those stories!

A few days later, we all piled back into our van, waved good-bye to the coast, and headed off on the next leg of our journey... Loire Valley. I can't explain Loire Valley without mentioning the amazing Chateaus there. Dan and I could have visited them all without hesitation, but we did have the kids with us, and to be fair to them, there were SO MANY chateaus. So, we picked the very rural/quaint city of Amboise (with an adorable BnB run by an even sweeter old French couple) as our resting place and made our way around to our top three picks. Château d'Ussé (think, 'Sleeping Beauty'), Clos-Luce (final home of Leonardo de Vinci), and my favorite, Château de Chenonceau (just, wow).
In Amboise we spent one evening having a picnic near a slow moving river at sunset and I couldn't have painted the scene better, because as we were eating and exploring a bit, three hot air balloons floated by. It really was perfect.

Okay, so, after a few lovely days in Loire Valley, it was time to head to our final location (the highlight of our trip), Paris. We made a quick stop in Chartres to see the cathedral there and then, before settling into our AirBnB in Paris (a cozy apartment appropriately housing a Parisian kitty, which was a mistake because Dan and Linc are allergic ... oops), we stopped in to visit the Palace of Versailles in all it's gold-trimmed glory. To be honest, it was beautiful, but I think I preferred the chateaus more. They were less grand, but had more ... I don't know, personality? Maybe it's just that I'm a small town person, so I was in heaven in Loire Valley. Anyway, the palace was spectacular. Very Royal. Yep.
In Paris, we walked A LOT. We were able to see the Arc de Triumph, Notre Dame (outside only), the Sainte Chappelle (a must-see for stained glass lovers), the Mary Anoinette Prison, the Louvre (loved!!), the Pere Lachaise Cemetery, and of course, a canal tour ending with the Eiffel Tower at dusk. (My absolute favorite part of the trip and a magical evening we will never forget!)

I guess that about covers everything. I'll just finish by saying that we saw a lot in a short period of time, and we were worn out when we finally made it home again, but it was such a beautiful trip and I don't regret one exhausting moment of it. (Even when Dan almost got arrested by a pushy guard in the cemetery... but then, I'll let him tell that story, he might not agree with my version.)

Alright, time to let my pictures do the rest of the talking!

Rouen: