I didn’t plan on preparing a blog post this morning but for some strange reason the wifi connection here at our stelpllatz is working exceptionally well so before racing off to visit the famous Neuschwanstein Palace (Located Southwest of Munich), I decided to quickly piece together this photo-blog update. questionable and unreliable wifi connections continue to be a challenge for us so we try and take advantage to the good connections when we can. Doing everything on an iPad also adds a little extra complexity to the blogging experience  

Here’s a quick overview of our last few days. We left Paris and made a stop at Fontainebleau Palace to visit Napoleons favourite home. It was quite impressive and well worth the days visit. We then drove onward to Nancy, France which turned out to be one of the nicest little cities that we’ve visited so far. Nightly they put on a spectacular light show inside what’s considered to be one of the most impressive central square in Europe, and from our limited experience, we could agree. The animated laser-light and sound show is projected onto five grand buildings that frame the square and from under the night sky it was a really great experience. We had a nice look around the wonderful city of  Strasbourg but unfortunately our time here was marred by an all-night “Rap-driven-Rave” just outside our campground that almost drove us crazy.  Anxious to move on, we turned our attention South towards the Alps and in doing so we realized our opportunity to explore the beautiful Black Forest region and popular Lake Constance area.  From this Neuschwanstein stellplatz we’ll continue our drive East along the German (Bavarian) Austrian border, and then we’ll turn 180 degrees and drive West again through Austria to Innsbruck and then on into Switzerland. As we do move along, I’m hoping for more of this reliable wifi to help keep our travel progress posted. Wishing everyone a warm and wonderful Canada day.

Our impression of Paris is apparently linked to the clock because the longer we spend here the more infatuated with the city we become. We had a similar kind of experience with our visit to New York but in a head-to-head competition, we both agree, Paris wins. Paris is incredibly beautiful with all its wonderfully grand architecture woven into such an amazing history dating back to the Roman occupation and before. The Seine river winds its way through the old city providing a platform for beautiful bridges that connect ornate architecture on both banks while providing a social and commercial highway for all kinds of transport. Lucky for us our great campsite in “Boulogne Park” was overlooking the Seine river and it was an easy commute to central Paris. As you explore iconic buildings and structures like the overwhelmingly impressive Louvre, unbelievable Versailles, amazing Cathedrals like Notre-Dame and monuments like the Eiffel Tower and Arc De Triumph, you can’t help but think of how much of this was built for the sheer pleasure and entertainment of a small and privileged group. At first it seems so unjust and unreasonable but, in a poetic twist of fate, it’s now the average citizen that has access to all this splendour and the treasures within. I doubt it was part of the original Royal intent to create such a lucrative tourist industry that would continually employ so many Parisians. I’m sure a good argument could be made for what a wonderful job they did in support of the French culture and it’s economy. Too bad Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette couldn’t have used this line of defence to save themselves from the guillotine in 1793 after the French Revolution.
Personally, I think some of the best “free” entertainment in Paris is in the streets. My first traffic impression was that these drivers are the worst and most dangerous I’ve ever seen, but after a few days of careful observation, I’ve come to a complete opposite conclusion. This is truly a case of Darwinian Law… “poor drivers will parish” only the best will survive on these streets. Especially impressive to me are the kamikaze scooter and motorcycle drivers that split and swerve through traffic at alarming speeds with only inches between themselves and buses, cars, buildings and pedestrians. I’m sure some of the impressive young women weaving there Vespas between moving targets as they ride to work all dressed up with high heels and brief cases could teach me a few tricks about riding in this crazy and chaotic traffic.
We’ve really enjoyed our time in Paris with it’s abundance of fantastic parks, sidewalk bistros, beautiful boulevards, impressive shops, buildings, and monuments. Parisians themselves have been very friendly and helpful and we’re now feeling a little sad about leaving all this behind just as we’ve entered that “comfort zone”. This truly is an amazing city that everyone should have the opportunity to experience at least once. But, I must say, after two weeks in Paris and countless kilometres of walking the highway is now calling and we’re setting our sights high… onward and upward towards the Swiss Alps.

After visiting a few truly magnificent chateaus along the “Loire River Valley” we developed an understanding of what it was that ignited the French Revolution in 1789. The splendour of Chateau’s like Chenonceau and Chambord is stunningly outrageous compared to the average lifestyle of the time. Some of these outstanding Palaces were utilized as mere recreational properties for important things like hunting, and providing a home for the mistress. Many Chateaus of all sizes dot the countryside and some are still privately owned. The upside of this extravagance is now everyone has an opportunity to wander through these splendid places and imagine what life as a Royal was like in the 14th – 18th centuries. It is however difficult to understand the “who’s-who” in the family trees and how they’re all interconnected over time and distance. Do you know how many Royal Henry, Louie’s, Anne’s and Elisabeth’s there are? Contrasting the spectacular palaces are a vast number of old caves built into the sides of the cliffs and used for farm and residential purposes. Some of these caves are very valuable now and have been converted into very unique  and modern homes (and businesses). Driving the back roads in France can occasionally be a challenging experience considering the narrow lanes with no shoulders and lots of large trucks.  Small roads can quickly turn into smaller roads and then into one-at-a-time lanes with an assortment of traffic obstacles like an old house protruding into the roadway. And circles!… how many circles can you fit into one kilometre? Lucky for us, the drivers in Northern Europe are generally very skilled and predictable with the exception of a few overly aggressive lunatics. But, having spent some time driving a motorcycle in Calgary traffic, a motorhome on French back roads is relaxing. And now onto Paris! One last thing… today we’re thinking of Kristin and Danny who are in Bali getting married. Kristen and Erik are at their side and our thoughts are with you all. Congratulations! and best wishes to the bride and groom.

What a grand entrance we had to Brittany.  “Le Mont St. Michel” made for one spectacular and dramatic first act. As you approach this tiny fortified medieval island treasure it looks like the backdrop for some kind of stage production but as you get closer to the rock it becomes clear you’re in for something much more special. St Michel is an island at high tide, at low tide it has many kilometres of sandy beach in front of it. We witnessed much of the fascinating “flood” tide from the “high-altitude” courtyard of the magnificent pre 11th century gothic Abby. To reach the Abby you must walk and climb “the Pilgrims Walk” through the narrow winding streets of the medieval village below it. This place is truly fascinating but an element of commercialism has crept in and taken away from the romantic atmosphere somewhat. Not surprising considering this medieval attraction draws millions every year. Its massive parking lot was only about 20% full during our visit and the place seemed quite busy so we can’t even imagine what it would look like during peak season with a full parking lot. Construction on a new connecting bridge to the island is almost complete and when finished it will replace the old land causeway restoring the eco system and provide better access to the Island.  Not far away is the important ancient port city of St Malo. This was the home of Jacques Cartier and it was from here that he sailed West to not only discover Canada (first to map the St. Lawrence River) but to give us our name as well. There is a nice park and statue marking the significance of all this but strangely it’s lacking any Canadian flags and we couldn’t quite understand that, but we did find Jacques resting tomb in the local Cathedral.
On the west coast of France we visited a “Rockin” little town called Carnac. This place is world famous for it’s 3,000 (planted?) rock boulders. It’s said that these large (some very large) rocks were placed in long straight rows around 4,000+ BC and they are still confusing the experts much like Stone Hedge in England (I wonder how one determines how long a rock has sat in one place for?). As you can see from the picture, Margot thinks it’s all a hoax (Wink!). On we drove to the beautiful port city of Nantes. Located inland on the Loire river this place was once the capital of Brittany until Anne, the daughter of Francois II was obligated to marry two French Kings (at different times!) and in so doing, united forever Brittany to France. We spent the better part of a day going through Anne’s castle museum. This port city has a rich history including ship building, military, fishing and import/export that included the slave trade. Today much of the industrial ship building business has shut down but a few years ago a very interesting new business popped up in it’s place. It’s sort of like a “If you build it… they will come” story. In some of the old ship building sheds, groups of skilled visionaries, craftsmen and engineers started to build “Machines”. What are machines you ask… BIG moving creatures that are paraded about on the old ship assembly grounds. They draw thousands of fans from all over the world to see this stuff and even ride on these incredible mechanical marvels. By the way,  this has all evolved in the old neighbourhood of the famous si-fi author Jules Verne… wonder if there’s a connection?  Erik, you’d be very impressed with the quality of engineering. This weekend is a “Machine” festival and new machines will be officially added to the collection with a big city parade . It really is a cool thing to see (especially for an old Tech Ed teacher) but when you see some of the grand future plans they have in mind you realize this gallery will soon be a mega tourist attraction. Tomorrow we head “up-stream” to explore the chateau loaded Loire River estates on our way towards Paris.