Our Grand Tour of Europe

September 4 - 10, 2004

It was wonderful to have two full weeks in Paris... we could leisurely explore museums and parks, even double back to the Musee d'Orsay for a second visit. Mid-week we made a trip down to Provence to try to resolve our visa issue. Although we hit a dead-end with our visas, we did get to see the house where we'll be living from early October until mid-April. We're even more excited about our time there.

We've been gone from home now for three months. My friend Becky Versategui and two of her friends arrived in Paris at the end of this week, and it was really good to spend time with them.

Photos of the highlights of our week in Burgundy (17 photos) are posted here.

September 11 - 17, 2004

We’ve visited France three times before, but our travels have been limited to Paris, Provence and Alsace. Leaving Paris after two busy weeks, we headed south to explore some new areas of France. This week we fulfilled one of Charley’s long-time dreams to visit Burgundy… a lush agricultural region best known for its fine wine. We stayed at a truly unique place… an exquisite cottage (La Petite Maison) on the grounds of athe recently restored Château de Créancey. Kelly loved playing with the two dogs, riding bikes, and rowing a small rowboat in the château moat. The Château de Créancey was an ideal base for exploring Burgundy. We especially enjoyed our visit to Beaune, our drive along the Route des Grands Crus, and a wonderful lunch at a country restaurant.

Photos of the highlights of our two weeks based in Turenne (38 photos) are posted here.

September 18 - 24, 2004

We planned to spend several weeks exploring other areas of France before reaching Provence, where we have rented a house for 28 weeks beginning on October 2nd. I had read about the beautiful Dordogne Valley, but really didn’t know anything about it. Last fall I started researching possible rentals in the Dordogne region… and came across a website for a unique cottage in the fairytale village of Turenne. I was captivated by the photos of the cottage and the village and decided instantly that I wanted to stay there—in fact, I wanted to stay there two weeks. I’d never heard of Turenne… and didn’t really even know where it was relative to the most famous sights of the Dordogne.

Turenne is in the region of the Limousin, about an hour south of the city of Limoges in the southern end of the département of Corrèze. The Lot département is a few miles to the south, and the Dordogne département is a few miles to the west. This general area is also known as the Périgord, particularly when referring to its gastronomic specialties. Our cottage—and the village of Turenne—were even better than we had expected based on the website. We were happy to have two weeks here.

Photos of the highlights of our two weeks based in Turenne (38 photos) are posted here.

September 25 - October 1, 2004

We were glad to have a second week in our twisted old cottage in the unique village of Turenne—more time to explore the beautiful countryside of the Corrèze and the Dordogne. We especially enjoyed our visits to Domme and Beynac Castle and also the big Saturday market at Brive. We made a day-trip up toward Limoges, where we spent several hours at the ruined village of Oradour-sur-Glane. Almost all the residents of the village (642 men, women and children) were killed by the Nazis in June 1944. This was a thought-provoking and important day for us.

Our second week in Turenne also gave us the opportunity to develop relationships with our neighbors: James, a retired psychologist from Scotland; and Michel and Virginie, a delightful couple who live at the top of the village in Michel’s old family home. As the week ended, our excitement grew as we prepared to travel south to Provence… our home for the next 6-1/2 months.