A double entry from Spain where we find ourselves tonight as we have been out of internet connection for roughly a week and there were so many photos to upload, I decided that 2 posts were better.
We left the beautiful Alsace region of France on the 27th with a final visit to a small village called Ribeauville. Its centreville seemed to have a pied piper theme with numerous statues and carvings on old buildings of the piper and more storks nesting on the chimneys. Definitely the most picturesque area of France we have travelled through to date. (Different castle ruins from previous post on the mountain behind)
Being a Sunday, we headed off in the direction of Champagne with the aim of being in the area and within striking distance of Paris within a day or 2. As it turns out, except for the restaurants, rural France shuts down on Saturday at 7p.m. (when the sun is well up) and doesn't really open again until Monday except for the churches whose melodious bells ring most of the morning. As a result we drove from town to town finding all hotels closed until we ventured into Troyes which is a larger centre with larger hotel chains. Jordan was very excited that for the first time he had stayed awake to see in his birthday.
In the morning he celebrated by selecting a park to play and have his chosen cake, cheese and assorted goodies and a close fought family game of soccer. We then loaded up and continued to Paris where he glimpsed the Eiffel Tower through the buildings on the way to our hotel. Not every 11 year old can claim that he went to Paris for his birthday!!!
We braved the Parisian drivers and hair raising parking system and exhausted, we climbed one at a time into the smallest elevator in existence, or scaled the wonky spiral staircase to our lovely little room with a very French courtyard view out the window. Our Paris adventure had begun. For Paris photos and a yet to be written recount see the next Post.
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