Day 1 – tour start time has been posted as 2:30 or 3:00 and that is to give you time to visit Versailles - actually, you’d do best to arrive the day prior - Tauck via the concierge got us Passport tickets with a timed entry slot to the chateau for a self guided tour - you could use an audio guide or prior to leaving the US and your home wifi, download the Versailles App which has all the audio guides plus info like maps, restaurants there, etc. Passport tickets get you in to everything – the gardens on the weekend when musical gardens is a charge, the Trianon complex, etc. – the day ended with meeting our TD and group for the welcome dinner – surprised to find there was only 9 guests for a classic sized tour – so many had canceled last minute – sorry folks, a big mistake – you should have gone
Day 2 – bus to Chartres cathedral for a guided tour – amazing and varied stain glass windows – then about an hour for walking around and lunch – head to Loire valley and check in to our chateau – dinner was the Chateau Champchevrier with a hunting dog demo, tour of the chateau and excellent dinner – the demo and tour were with the Baron’s daughter and son-in-law
Day 3 – tour of Chateau de Langeais in a small quaint town – a little walking around on our own – then we headed to Le Moulin Bleu winery for a tour, tasting and lunch outside – lovely – then our visit to Villandry – the gardens were so extensive and varied you could spend your entire time there but there is also a house to tour
Day 4 – drive to Angers Chateau to see the Apocalypse Tapestry – I was ready to dislike this but actually found it quite interesting using the provided audio guide – there is also a room with models of the chateau at 4 different stages of building that was very interesting - on to Port Crouesty and check in to the hotel we dubbed the “Love Boat” because its designed to look like a cruise ship – all the rooms have balconies with seating and we all got sea views – bring your swimsuit for this hotel as it has a rooftop salt water pool and another on the bottom floor with different jets to treat different body parts
Day 5 – our TD and guide walked us a short way to visit the WWII bunker and celtic cairn near the hotel – then we headed to the port for our luncheon cruise on Morbihan gulf – next up was a visit to Rochefort en Terre which is a quaint village with interesting buildings and shopping – back to the hotel we were on our own – lots of nearby restaurants with some shopping for local products like salted caramels, sea salt, hard cider, etc – you could also pick up something to eat on your balcony which is what we did
Day 6 - a walking tour of the quaint seaside town of Vannes with lunch on our own – then a drive to Josselin for a guided tour of the chateau still in the Duke of Rohan’s family – arrival at Dinard – our group was the first to stay in this hotel and we loved it’s seaside location
Day 7 – was supposed to be the day for the tour of Mount Saint Michael but about half of us were reluctant to go as it was Sat, good weather and a day the French have free entry – we worried about the crowds – plus they have made it a bit more difficult to access – so 5 of us took a ferry across the bay to St Malo (discounted tickets from the concierge) and had a wonderful time walking the old walls around the city with views of the sea, nearby islands, etc – we then headed to a restaurant recommended by the TD for lunch – it was mostly seafood which I needed a break from and found there was a child’s portion of steak and fries – the waiter kidded us about it but for a change I finished a meal completely without feeling stuffed – then our group met up with the others and could have a guided tour or time on our own
Day 8 – the Bayeaux tapestry tour with audio guides – plus there is a nice cathedral there and a few shops – one had needlework kits but sadly was closed since it was Sun – then we headed to the Caen Memorial/Peace Museum for lunch and lots of time on your own to tour it – plenty to see about WWII – bring a magnifying glass as the audio guides aren’t good and the English font is small and hard to read – otherwise excellent museum - arrival at Deauville – wonderful beach to walk here but not much time to really enjoy the place
Day 9 – very long day for the D-day invasion sites – we picked up our guide at his private museum/academy then headed to Pointe du Hoc, lunch at Omaha Beach golf club, then Omaha beach and finally the cemetery – our group ended the day at a pizza place very close to the hotel where they treated us well
Day 10 – time to head towards Paris – first up was an unscheduled stop in Honfleur, the quaint seaside town in Normandy, for a walk around, pictures and a coffee – then Monet’s home in Giverny – we had been to both these sites on our Seine cruise a few years ago and were happy to return – colors were different but still lovely – we also had a little over an hour to walk the small town and have lunch on our own – then off to Paris and our final hotel and dinner on our own – if you want the concierge to help you get tickets this evening was the best time
Day 11 – our Paris schedule was changed up a bit by the TD to make it work better – at 8:30 the TD arranged a tech to come to our hotel to administer our covid antigen tests – cost was 40 euros in cash – we all tested negative and the results were back to us (from both the French government system and the tech) within a couple of hours – they could then be printed by the hotel front desk staff – while waiting for results we had our city tour - partially walking and partially bus – after we had the option of another walking tour or time on our own which is what we all opted for – all our group had been to Paris before and had ideas of where they wanted to go - this evening we had our “farewell dinner” at the Ciel de Paris – that’s the highrise in downtown Paris with a rooftop terrace and top floor restaurant – get your camera ready – lots to take pictures of – quite the treat
Day 12 – the morning started with a guided tour of the Musee D’orsay then the afternoon open til 3 when we had our hotel “dinner” prior to our afterhours Louvre tour - we had gotten tickets to see the Saint Chapelle that afternoon – a bit of a mistake in timing – I should have gotten them for the previous day so we could do some packing this day – plus the chapel is right next to the judiciary building where they are holding a big trial re the terrorist attacks in 2015 – police all over Paris but especially this particular area – you had to access it via only one entrance near Notre Dame – got to practice my French on a lot of gendarmes finding our way in – that evening was the after hours Louvre tour which for some reason our tour date got even though it wasn’t technically a “small group” start – we also shared it with two slightly larger groups from one of Tauck river cruises – not sure what was happening but they were a grumping looking lot – whatever – we had a wonderful time and took lots of pictures of a largely empty museum – late evening a reluctant goodbye to our tiny group
Day 13 – headed for home
