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Our family’s trips around the sun. Poetry, photography, travelogue. Where we are right now: Paris, Île-de-France, France.

France day 10: Tours, Paris 1. This is where the France day 10:  Tours, Paris
1.  This is where the Crown of Thorns is stored at Notre Dame 
2-3.  Notre Dame exterior 
4.  Henri Matisse at Notre Dame
5-8. Notre Dame interior
9.  Mary Magdalene has her own chapel at Notre Dame
10-12.  Notre Dame interior
13.  View from  Sacré-Cœur
14-15.  Sacre-Cœur
16.  The Peace Chapel had paper where you could write down a wish for peace and add it to the basket, and a second basket where you could draw one of many Bible verses about peace which had been translated into several languages
17.  Sacre-Cœur exterior 
18.  Fête de la Musique takes place on the Summer Solstice, and there are free concerts/bands/DJs/dancing in the streets all over Paris
19.  Église Saint-Jean de Montmartre is very different and industrial
20.  There is an anti-fascist festival coming up
France day 9: Tours, Chenonceaux, Amboise, Chargé France day 9: Tours, Chenonceaux, Amboise, Chargé 
1. Diane de Poitiers Garden, Chenonceau
2. Grande allée, Chenonceau
3. Chenonceau gargoyle and the Cher River
4. @conniemarybrown inside Chenonceau
5. Cher River from inside Chenonceau
6.  Cedar in front of Chenonceau
7. Apple espaliers used as a low fence, wow. At Chenonceau, but we also saw this at Château d’Amboise today
8.  Alaskan book recommendation in the window at Lu & Approuvé bookstore in Amboise
9-10.  Chapelle Saint-Hubert, which houses Leonardo da Vinci’s tomb, in Amboise
11.  But before he was buried there, he was buried at this site nearby
12.  Château royal d’Amboise
13.  Cedar, my mom, and I bought lunch at 
Boulangerie de l’Horloge Amboise and had a picnic on Île d’Or on the Loire River
14.  It’s possible that Cedar didn’t notice the no swimming sign on the Loire and waded in over his head (it’s 95 here)
15. “Women who read are dangerous” poster at the bookstore
16-18.  Our tour guide Jean-Jacques surprised us with a stop at Plou et Fils vineyard where the same family has been making wine since 1508 - 23 generations!
 19.  They let us taste these 8 varieties.
20.  Sunset on the Loire River in Tours@
France day 8: Saint-Malo, Angers, Tours 1. Tapes France day 8:  Saint-Malo, Angers, Tours
1.  Tapestry of the Apocalypse in Angers
2. “I can’t.  I have pétanque” (boules/French bocce) t-shirt at the grocery store
3.  Château d’Angers
4.  We all thought these pinecones were cool.  iNat says it’s a cedar! 
5.  Château d’Angers
6.  Detail from the tapestry 
7.  Typical Angers street
8.  Cedar and I thought this might be the best pizza we have ever eaten.  @leaualabouche_angers 
9.  In Tours we enjoyed waiting at this swing table until our table was ready at @la_petite_embarque 
10.  Unfortunately swimming in the Loire River is prohibited
11.  L’eau à la Bouche
12.  Eglise Saint-Laud in Angers
13.  Tracy took this photo of an otter poster in Tours
14.  @conniemarybrown on the swings
15.  It’s 97 degrees.  My mom and I cooled off with some sparkling wine
16.  Cedar waded into the Loire
17.  Record of past Loire floods in Tours
18.  Loire River 
19.  This reminded me of the White Rabbit
20.  Cathédrale Saint-Maurice d’Angers
It’s supposed to be 104 when we return to Paris…
France day 7: Saint-Malo 1. Cap Fréhel 2. Fort France day 7:  Saint-Malo
1.  Cap Fréhel
2.  Fort National 
3.  Bidouane Tower
4.  Grand-Bé and Fort du Petit Bé
5.  Cathédrale Saint-Vincent de Saint-Malo
6.  Inside the cathedral we loved the paintings by @augustinfrisonroche_artiste 
7.  We asked a waiter at our lunch place what this gathering was and he said it was a ceremony to recognize the Resistance in WWII.
8.  Café de la Bourse
9-11.  Cedar, my mom, and I went on a boat ride to Cap Fréhel with @compagniecorsaire 
12.  Amas de Cap
13.  Phare de Grand Jardin
14:  Saint-Malo - notice the many beached boats at low tide
15.  Plongeoir de bon secours - this pool is underwater at high tide, then when the tide goes out it holds the water so you can swim without walking way out on the sand
16.  @conniemarybrown, Cedar and me at
17.  We walked part of the way to Fort du Petit Bé at low tide
18.  Explanation of kouign amman: “specialty of Brittany:  butter, sugar, butter, sugar, and MORE butter”
19.  Le Vauban 2-La Grande Passerelle:  I thought this was a library but Google says it’s a movie theater.  It was covered with quotes.
20.  Cedar, my mom, and I had a picnic dinner on the Saint-Malo ramparts, then learned it was International Picnic Day!
France day 6: Cabourg, Mont-Saint-Michel, Saint-M France day 6:  Cabourg, Mont-Saint-Michel, Saint-Malo
1.  Low tide at Mont-Saint-Michel
2.  Mont-Saint-Michel
3.  Cedar and @conniemarybrown at Les Terrasses de La Baie for lunch
4-5.  Mont-Saint-Michel
6.  The mayor’s office
7-10.  Mont-Saint-Michel Abbey
11-12.  There’s an exhibit in the Abbey of works by Cai Guo-Qiang, who mostly works with gunpowder and pyrotechnics, including these large pieces inspired by Monet
13-14.  Abbey
15-17.  Mont-Saint-Michel (17 - with my high school French teacher Bob Hall and friends Tracy Rimdzius and Jen Lego)
18.  Kouign Amanns somewhere besides @moxiebreadco (in Saint-Malo)
19.  Brittany is fiercely independent and makes a bunch of its own products, including sodas (in Saint-Malo)
France day 5: Cabourg, La Cambe, Arromanches-les- France day 5:  Cabourg, La Cambe, Arromanches-les-Bains, Saint-Laurent-Sur-Mer, Colleville-sur-Mer
This was our D-Day day. My grandfather, Will Schaaf, flew that day and survived.  In fact he survived all his missions and lived to be 93 years old, which I’m so grateful for.  My overall feeling though is that the coast of Normandy is beautiful, and also still saturated with the residue of war. I’m glad to have been there with Cedar so he could see a little of the true cost of war.
France day 4: Paris, Rouen, Honfleur, Cabourg 1. France day 4:  Paris, Rouen, Honfleur, Cabourg 
1.  Cedar likes the English Channel (Cabourg)
2.  Sunrise in Paris
3.  Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Rouen
4.  Le Gros Horloge (Rouen)
5.  La Couronne claims to be the oldest inn in France (Rouen)
6.  Église Sainte-Jeanne-d’Arc de Rouen is dedicated to Joan of Arc, who was burned at the stake there
7.  The church’s architecture reminded Cedar and me of Batak and Torajan houses in Indonesia
8.  Café Sculpture at the Musée de Beaux Arts (Rouen) has a big mural by Raoul Dufy (but was closed)
9.  Harps at the museum 
10.  Map of the Seine showing where the Impressionists painted 
11.  Monet’s vague view of Rouen
12.  @conniemarybrown with a Monet
13.  Les mondes magiques used bookstore in Rouen
14.  Porcupine on Hôtel de Bourgtheroulde (Rouen)
15.  Honfleur harbor
16.  I can’t figure out which shop this was but I thought it was funny that the sign kind of says “sugar-rie” (Honfleur)
17.  Église Sainte-Catherine (Honfleur)
18.  Fun owl topiary at the Honfleur Jardin Public
19.  Over-the-top Disney-esque introduction to calvados brandy at Distillerie Père Magloire made us want to like it, but we didn’t, even though our guide Jean-Jacques said “it’s like Jesus Christ sliding down your throat wearing velvet pants”. I bought some apple juice instead.
20.  Cedar and I were overjoyed when Cape Verde kept Spain from scoring and ended with a draw!!! We are going to see them play Saudi Arabia, and are so proud of them. ♥️⚽️🇨🇻
France day 3: Paris: 1. Wandered into the lovely France day 3:  Paris:
1.  Wandered into the lovely flower/coffee/wine shop @le44fleurscafe - très jolie 
2.  We were all underwhelmed by the wrapped Pont Neuf
3.  One of the challenges Alex has assigned us is trying on a beret
4.  @conniemarybrown , Cedar, and the Arc de Triomphe
5.  Surprised to find Versailles guards are heavily armed
6.  King’s Chapel at Versailles
7. Symbol of Louis XIV, the Sun King
8.  Green man?  Lion?  Hard to say
9.  Hall of mirrors.  We learned that mirrors were high tech and only produced in Venice before this
10.  Orange tree
11.  Marie Antoinette’s bedroom
12-14.  Versailles gardens
15.  Mom at Swan Alley
16.  Mom and Cedar on the Paris en Scène dinner cruise
17.  Tracy and Dave on the same
18.  Tango dancers on another boat
19.  Cedar and me on the boat.
20. Where’s Cedar? Paris, NYC, or Vegas?
Versailles takeaway:  empire is not our jam, and the Louvre seems classier, but it helps one understand what led to the guillotine.
France day 2: Paris 1. Cedar below the sparkling France day 2:  Paris
1.  Cedar below the sparkling Eiffel Tower 
2.  Car so little we thought maybe it had been 3D printed
3.  Inside the Louvre 
4.  Cedar and the Mona Lisa
5.  Louvre ceilings are over the top
6.  Cedar attempting to do the Michael Jordan Nike pose by the Nike of Samothrace
7.  I liked seeing through all these doorways at once in the Louvre 
8. Hieroglyphics at the Louvre
9.  Courtyard from inside the Louvre
10.  Tracy ordered a lemonade and received a Pschitt! which is now my favorite onomatopoeic brand
11.  Eiffel Tower from below
12.  Arc de Triomphe and Seine from the Eiffel Tower 
13.  Cedar and me on the Eiffel Tower 
14.  Seine from the Eiffel Tower
15.  Notre Dame from Eiffel Tower
16. Sparkling Eiffel Tower
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