Bathing Optional

France : a few weeks in May and June, 2003

Continents

Continents

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Our first glimpse of France was in the small town of Metz as we passed through there on our way from Luxembourg and on our way to Paris.
Paris is full of rows upon rows of splendid apartment blocks anyone would love to call home.
Apartment blocks surrounding the historic Place des Vosges are perhaps Paris most exclusive.
Roses in bloom in the Marais quarter of Paris.
Paris is wonderful at every turn.
Ashe got used to the Parisian way of life very quickly. Paris is definitely one place we could see ourselves living.
It was well worth waiting in line and then climbing all those steps in order to get up into the tower of the Notre Dame to get sweeping views over Paris like this one.
Notre Dame gargoyle looks out over Paris and the Eiffel Tower in the far distance.
View down from the Notre Dame.
View over Paris south from the Notre Dame.
Stained glass inside the Notre Dame.
Cross with stained glass in the Notre Dame.
The Pont-Neuf is one of the better known bridges spanning the Seine River and connecting the land to the island on which the Notre Dame rests.
Typical Parisian apartment blocks.
No visit to Paris is complete without a visit to the Notre Dame.
The lesser-known view of the Notre Dame -- from behind.
Maciej with Max, his best friend from his days in Japan, at the Notre Dame.
Paris Pantheon.
Long, grassy entrance to the Luxembourg Gardens.
Somewhere near this lion lies the entrance to Paris subterranean catacombs.
Ashe, terrified in the catacombs!
Catacomb skulls and bones.
Rows and rows and rows of bones fill the catacomb tunnels.
Maciej with everyones French companion, the baguette.
The unforgettable Louvre Museum.
Another view of one of the Louvres wings.
Ashe enjoying the Louvre grounds.
One of Maciejs favorites in the Louvre collection.
And another.
Streets of Paris.
The famous Paris Opera House.
Opera House statue shines in gold.
Max and Maciej in the Paris subway.
Interesting mural.
The Sacre Coeur sits atop Montmartres hill.
View of Montmartres streets with windmills still standing.
Ashe walking in Montmartre.
Montmartres infamous backside.
The Sexodrome, a Montmartre favorite.
Stop! No pictures!
The one-and-only Moulin Rouge made all the more popular by the film.
Somewhere in the sprawling, celebrity-filled Pere Lachaise Cemetery.
Rows of grand tombs fill the Cemetery.
Flowers and gravestones.
One of the Pere Lachaise Cemeterys most-visited graves -- Jim Morrisons.
Ashe adding another kiss to the many on Oscar Wildes tomb.
Maciej paying his respects to Chopin.
One of Paris most recognizable domes -- Les Invalides.
Another angle of Les Invalides.
The Rodin Museum.
One of thousands of copies of one of Rodins more recognizable works -- the Thinker.
Ashe always stops to smell the roses.
Taking a much-needed break at the end of a long day of sightseeing.
The Popes fortress in Avignon is a reminder that the Vatican was once more political than it is even today.
The Roman Pont du Gard near Avignon is perhaps one of the better still standing examples of Roman aqueducts.
Camping by the Pont du Gard -- one of our better spots in all of Europe.
Trying to capture the essence of the feeling Ashe got when taking that first bite of a French pastry every morning in Paris.
Paris modern downtown at La Defense.
A couple business types looking out over La Defenses huge central pedestrian courtyard.
Ashe enjoying the fountains at La Defense.
A couple lovers in the park.
Another Paris landmark, the Arc du Triomphe.
Another look at the Arc.
Lots of musicians riding the Paris metro.
Couldnt help getting caught in the romance of Paris.
An unmistakable silhouette.
Passing under the Eiffel Tower is an experience in itself.
The Eiffel Tower as the sun begins to set.
A day trip from Paris to the famous Palace of Versailles.
Ashe at Versailles.
Heart gardens.
More ostentatious ceiling design.
Versaille bedroom.
Another ceiling fresco.
Angel in the gardens.
Crystal chandeliers fill Versailles halls.
Chapel in the Palace.
Versailles rooms are in all colors.
Rich red wall coverings.
Amazing ceiling frescoes.
Chateaux dAmboise rising over the town of the same name. Frances Loire River Valley is dotted with equally grand chateaux and castles.
Tiny castle near Amboise.
Armour inside the castle.
View down from the Chateaux dAmboise.
View over Amboise.
Sunrise waking us for a day of chateaux-hopping.
Chateaux du Chaumont.
Inside the Chateaux du Chaumont.
Family crest.
Chapel inside the Chateaux du Chaumont.
Chateaux stables.
Stables.
One of the more famous, the Chateaux du Chambord.
Still privately owned, the Chateaux du Cheverny.
Elegant rooms inside the Chateaux du Cheverny.
Every day at 5pm sharp, the feeding of these pure hounds is a big event at Cheverny.
Ashe feeding some ducks -- not as dramatic as the feeding of the hounds, but still fun.
Dinner break in Bayonne, the heart of French Basque territory.
Cathedral spires rise amongst city blocks.
Colorful shutters, a Basque specialty.
Another colorful street.
And another row of great homes.
Another style altogether in Bayonne.
Maciej and Ashe overlooking the town of St.Jean Pied-de-Port, a favorite of ours in the French Pyrenees.
View over St.Jean Pied-de-Port.
Climbing St.Jeans steep hills.
Canals and stone buildings.
Tomb in St.Jeans hilltop cemetery.
One of the more beautiful places we visiting in Europe.
Us starting our trek into the hills above St.Jean Pied-de-Port through the village vineyard.
Ashe high in the Pyrenee foothills and loving it.
Ashe meets Maciejs old friend Benoit in Toulouse.
Toulouse is called the rose city for its old town filled with buildings in shades of red.
Toulouse street scene.
Toulouse has a wonderful collection of historic buildings.
Not far from Toulouse, Carcasonne is as close to a fairy-tale as one can come.
Carcasonnes city walls.
Carcasonne Castle and the village below.
The Roman colleseum in Arles in fully intact, if not a little smaller than its brother in Rome.
Nice, the heart of the Cote dAzur and the French Riviera is a city built along a stretch of pebbly beach.
Not our kind of beach.
Back alleys in old Nice.
The Virgin in Nices back alleys.
Lots of grafitti in those quaint and colorful back lanes.
Another back lane in Nice.
Nices squares and plazas fill up as the dinner hour hits.
Menton, our favorite stop along the French Riviera.
Yachts in Mentons harbour.
The back lanes of Menton.
Maciej trying to cool off in the midst of that tragic French heatwave of 2003.
View over Menton and the coast from up high in the town cemetery.
A little out of place in Cannes harbour.
Monacos histoiric Monte Carlo Casino.
Streets of Monaco.
Ashe getting a glimpse of the lifestyles of the rich and famous.
Monacos Japanese Garden.
Another view across the Gardens.
Koi in the Gardens ponds.
Seagull over Monaco which oddly feels a little like Hong Kong.
Monacos main church.
Us just minutes after our Prince Albert and Princess Caroline sighting.
View over Lyon, one of our favorite stops in France.
Towers of Lyons fabulous Basilica.
Lyon blocks.
Statue by the sculptor of the Statue of Liberty.
Maciej with his friend from Japan, Xavier in the streets of Lyon.
View over alpine lake from the quaint town of Annecy near the French-Swiss border.
Annecy, a town of canals.
Brick buildings in Annecy.
Another canal in Annecy.
Colorful brick lines the canals.
The French Alps rise above a hotel in Chamonix, Frances premier Alps resort town.

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