Tour de France – Journals from Abroad

This spring break was a wild adventure of exploring all around France with my sister!

The journey started for me down in Aix where I took a bus overnight to Paris. I then had a leisurely morning sipping an espresso in front of Place de la Bastille before picking my sister up from the airport and catching a train down to Bordeaux.

Tower of Place de la Bastille. It is a copper column, now green, with a golden winged statue adorning the top. — Place de la Bastille

Bordeaux is gorgeous and probably my favorite city out of the ones we visited for break! That night we went to a wine bar to experience some Bordeaux wine. I had the best red wine I’ve ever tried there. To accompany our wine, we had French tapenades and some roasted Camembert with honey.

Roasted Camembert on a plate with toasted baguette slices, a salad, and honey. — Rôti Camembert

The next day we spent walking all around Bordeaux, trying to experience as much of it as we could. We started with a classic French breakfast of coffee, fresh-pressed juice, a croissant, and bread with jam. We then headed to the market on the water-front and meandered through the lively stands. Next, we headed towards city center where we happened upon monument after monument around the narrow street corners. Under the bell tower, we went into a patisserie and bought a cannelé, the pastry of Bordeaux. It had a crisp, sugary syrup coated outside and a spongy center.

A street in Bordeaux with the bell tower in the center and buildings on wither side. — Bordeaux Bell Tower

Image of the front of St. Andre Cathedral in Bordeaux. There are two towers and a grand doorway with gothic architecture. — St. Andre Cathedral in Bordeaux

Me holding a Canelé, the pastry of Bordeaux — Canelé

After our day in Bordeaux, we headed to the train station for our next destination: the Loire Valley. The Loire Valley is known for its castles that used to house kings, queens, and noble families of France. We stopped for a connection in Tours and made it to Blois, where we stayed for a few nights.

The first day, we explored the small town, which had a much slower and calmer pace compared to Bordeaux. The architecture was also rounder with less intricate designs compared to what you’d find in Bordeaux or Paris. We spent a few hours touring the Château de Blois, where 7 kings and 10 queens had lived. It was absolutely breathtaking and by far my favorite out of the three chateaus we visited. That night we tried a specialty of the Loire Valley, Tarte Tintin (an apple pie-like dessert).

Me standing next to a stone wall leading down into the town of Blois — The walk into Blois

The cathedral in Blois, very similar in style to St. Andre cathedral in Bordeaux. — Abbatiale Saint Nicolas

A spiral staircase what was the King's entrance in the Château de Blois. It is made from a white stone and is lined with gargoyles at each level. — The King’s Entrance

Inside the spiral staircase of Château de Blois with the view from the window framing a brick tower. — Inside the King’s Spiral Staircase

The view from the Château de Blois, with rows of rooftops and the cathedral visible. — View of Blois from the Château de Blois

Display in Château de Blois of the human gargoyles used to protect the Château from unwanted spirits and invaders. — Human Gargoyles in Château de Blois

The next day, we hopped a train over to Amboise to tour three chateaux: Château Royal d’Amboise, Château du Clos Lucé, and Château Gaillard. The first had a beautiful view overlooking the Loire and an expansive network of gardens. The second was the château that Leonardo de Vinci lived in, given to him from King François I, who lived in Château de Blois and Château d’Amboise. The third Château was where Mary Queen of Scotts spend a few weeks, a safe haven provided by her uncle. We stopped for an espresso and a chocolate eclair break before heading back to Blois for the night.

Château du Clos Lucé, the château given to Leonardo da Vinci by François I. It is a châtuea of brick with white stone accents. — Château du Clos Lucé, Leonardo da Vinci’s House

The notebook and sketches from Leonardo da Vinci. — Leonardo da Vinci’s sketches and notebook

The next morning, we left for the last leg of our trip: Paris!

Once checked into our hostel, we did a walking tour of all the monuments of Paris. We spend all day wandering around, stopping periodically for a coffee, pain au chocolat, or crêpes. We ended the night by watching the sun set by the Eiffel Tower, seeing the “City of Lights” form the top of the tower and watching it twinkle while eating a dinner of French onion soup.

Entrance to le Petit Palais. The doorway is framed with columns and statues, with a staircase leading to the golden doors. — Le Petit Palais

Image of the Sein in Paris, with a river boat about to pass under one of the bridges between île de la Cité — The River Sein

View looking up from under the Eiffel Tower at sunset with a pink sky in the background. — Eiffel Tower at Sunset

View of Paris at night from the top of the Eiffel Tower. — Top of the Eiffel Tower

The entire next day was dedicated to experiencing everything we could from the Louvre. We spent a total of 7 hours in the maze that is the Louvre art museum! My favorite section by far was the Grecian statues.

Image of the statue Psyche Revived by Cupid's Kiss, lit up by golden light coming through the window. — Psyche Revived by Cupid’s Kiss

Picture of the painting entitled, Study of Hands by Nicolas de Largilliere. It is of layered hands and forearms in a variation of positions. — Study of Hands by Nicolas de Largilliere

Me standing to the left of a statue in the Greek wing of the Louvre of Artemis. — Statue of Artemis

For our last day, we started off by going up to Sacré Coeur. Our already sore legs from all the walking tours were dead by the time we climbed the 300 steps to the top of the hill. We then looked around Musée Rodin and barely had enough time to explore Musée d’Orsay before it closed. If I have time to go back to Paris, I’d definitely dedicate time to experiencing Musée d’Orsay again.

Image of the church, Sacré Coeur, overlooking Paris with clouds and a bright blue sky in the background — Sacré Coeur

A sculpture of hands by Rodin, wrapping around the wrists and facing each other — Rodin’s Study of Hands

Inside Musée Rodin, an image of a sculpture of a man in front of a window. — Rodin’s Study of Man’s Form

Image of a framed painting by Cézanne of Sainte Victoire in Aix-en-Provence — Sainte Victoire by Cézanne

Image of the Thinker statue in the gardens of Musée Rodin — The Thinker

The next morning, we woke up at the crack of dawn to drop my sister off at the airport and for me to catch a train back down to Marseille. From the train ride down, I was able to see the countryside of France, with rolling hills, châteaux towering over small towns, and fields with herds of sheep. After a bus ride from Marseille to Aix, I passed out in bed to rest up for class in the morning.

Here are the statistics collected from the week:

11 cathedrals
4 châteaux
3 museums
7 train rides (not including metro)
5 landmark bridges
6 gardens
many, many desserts

Until next time,
Natalie