Ferry to Portsmouth

Passports says that generally they use the Brittanny Ferry for their tours that will take us from Caen, France to Portsmouth, England. Scroll down to "Caen - Portsmouth" and look on June 21.

You will see on the day-to-day itinerary there is much to see and do on June 21 before departing France, so chances are we are on one of the later ferries that looks to be leaving around 4:30 p.m. and arriving 5-6 hours later in Portsmouth. At least that is what the schedule suggests.

That would be the Mont St Michel channel cruise ferry with a ship diagram. It has 2 cinemas, a bureau de change (to change money), 460 reclining seats, restaurant, self service food, bar, among other amenities. Shopping is also available and they accept either euros or British pounds.

On this day, lunch will be provided and we are on our own for dinner on the ferry.

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Quick Guide: Paris Top 10

Since our non-stop flight lands in Paris early in the morning (and allowing for time from airport to hotel etc.), it looks like we may have 2 afternoons in Paris! Our courier may have some suggestions for us, but you might want to strike out on your own. Here are the top 10 in Paris as suggested by the Eyewiness travel guide from Dorling Kindersley and Patricia Schultz's book "1,000 Places to See Before You Die."

DK Top 10
1. Musee du Louvre
2. Musee d'Orsay
3. Eiffel Tower
4. Notre-Dame
5. Sacre-Coeur
6. Arc de Triomphe
7. Centre Georges Pompidou
8. The Pantheon
9. Sainte-Chapelle
10. Hotel des Invalides

"1,000 Places..." Top 10
1. Arc de Triomphe
2. Basilique du Sacre-Coeur
3. Centre Georges Pompidou
4. Eiffel Tower
5. Hotel des Invalides / Napoleon's Tomb
6. The Louvre
7. Musee de Cluny
8. Musee d'Orsay
9. Musee Picasso
10. Notre Dame

Similar lists...Choices to make! Check them out at their web sites.

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Château d'Amboise

Built high above the Loire River in central France, the Château d'Amboise was a favorite castle of many kings. It was here that Leonardo da Vinci was a guest of King Francis I while he worked at nearby Clos Lucé, connected to the château by an underground passage. Da Vinci's tomb is in the chapel of Saint-Hubert.

The castle dates back to the 1400s and much was destroyed during the French Revolution. Today one can see about one-fifth of the original palace built by Charles VIII, the grand towers, the beautiful gardens, and a panoramic view of the lovely Loire Valley.

Only part of the Amboise Château, which was originally four times its present size, has been preserved. On the north side, facing the river, the building is supported by massive buttresses, above which rises the richly articulated facade of the Château with the iron railings of the balcony, flanked by two imposing round towers, the Tour des Minimes (with a spiral ramp up which horses could be ridden) and the Tour Hurtault.

See all points of interest on this map of Amboise Château. Watch this slideshow video to get an overall view of the chateau and the area.

Mona Lisa--Just For Fun!

Here is a fun YouTube video where somebody very talented from Eclectic Asylum Art uses MicroSoft Paint to draw the famous Mona Lisa painting that we will see in the Louvre in Paris.

It takes less than 5 minutes to play...so just sit back and enjoy! It is truly amazing!

How to paint the MONA LISA with MS PAINT

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Versailles

Le Chateau de Versailles is the opulent palace outside Paris that was once home to French kings Louis XIII, Louis XIV, Louis XV, and Louis XVI. In 1624, Louis XIII began building a hunting lodge in the small village of Versailles.

Then Louis XIV, the Sun King, enlarged the old lodge, turning it into the great Chateau we know today. In 1837, Louis-Philippe converted the entire site into a museum of French History. World War I was ended here with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles in the Hall of Mirrors.

The infamous Marie Antoinette, queen of Louis XVI, was beheaded for her part in the French Revolution. But she is also known for the little lakeside village she had built near the Trianon where she liked to play shepherdess. An excellent PBS overview of Versailles complete with short video clips and diagrams can be found in Marie Antoinette and the French Revolution.

For an unbelievable aerial view take a look at this satellite map. Zoom in all the way and actually see the people on the sidewalk! The intricate palace gardens are absolutely fabulous from this view.

View some beautiful photographs of Versailles at Images of Versailles and photos of Versailles. If you would like a map of the palace, this shows both floors. Click on "Plan Your Visit", then "How to Visit."

Note: Versailles is one the featured tours in the "Rick Steves France Audio Tour" podcast mentioned in the article on Travel Pocasts. Also there are printable maps of the the chateau and the entire Versailles complex in this podcast download.

Beaches of Normandy

June 6, 1944...today we know this date as D-Day. But 65 years ago, the Allied invasion of western Europe during World War II was called Operation Overlord and took place along a stretch of beach on the coast of Normandy.

135,000 men and 20,000 vehicles were brought onto the shores of Normandy via five landing beaches during the night making it one of the greatest seaborne invasions in history. Although the beach today is a peaceful area, the remnants of German bunkers and memorials can still be seen. This humbling video Omaha Beach, Then and Now intersperses scenes of the beaches today along with scenes from the movie Saving Private Ryan.

The world's first prefab harbor was created by the British in Arromanches. On June 7, 1944, 17 old ships crossed the English Channel under their own steam, and were sunk by their crews from bow to stern, forming the first shelter. Then, 115 football-field-size cement blocks (called "Mulberries") were towed across the channel and sunk, creating a four-mile-long breakwater located a mile and a half offshore — a port the size of Dover, England.

Finally, seven floating steel "pierheads" with extendable legs were set up; they were linked to shore by four mile-long floating roads made of concrete pontoons. Anti-aircraft guns were set up on the pontoons. Within just six days of operation, 54,000 vehicles, 326,000 troops and 110,000 tons of goods had been delivered. Arromanches 360º Theater near this makeshift harbor shows The Price of Freedom on its 360-degree screen.

Crowning a bluff just above Omaha Beach, 9,387 brilliant white-marble crosses and Stars of David in the American Cemetery mark the memory of Americans who gave their lives to free Europe on the beaches below. Brigadeer General Theodore Roosevelt Jr. is buried here along with two of the four Niland brothers who inspired the movie Saving Private Ryan.

In the Visitors' Office, an attendant at the computer terminal has a database that can provide ready access to the story of any serviceman who died in Normandy. You can also search for a name in the cemetery at Find a Grave.

Walk past the memorial and cemetery to the bluff that overlooks the piece of Normandy beach. It's quiet and peaceful today, but imagine the horrific carnage of June 6, 1944.

Walk back to the memorial, where you'll see giant reliefs of the Battle of Normandy and the Battle of Europe etched on the walls. Behind that is the semicircular Garden of the Missing, with the names of 1,557 soldiers who were never found. A small metal knob next to the name indicates one whose body was eventually found — there aren't many.

Finally, wander among the peaceful and poignant sea of headstones. Notice the names, home states and dates of death inscribed on each. View a video of the cemetery here. Immediately after the war, all the dead were buried in temporary cemeteries. In the mid-1950s, the families of the soldiers decided whether their loved ones should remain with their comrades or be brought home (61 percent opted for repatriation). Officers (including General Theodore Roosevelt, Jr.) were disproportionately left here. Their families knew they'd want to be buried alongside the men with whom they fought and died.

Clos-Luce

The Louvre

The Louvre is easily one of the most famous museums in the world. Located in the heart of Paris, it features the distinctive Glass Pyramid entrance in the courtyard and houses some of the world's greatest recognizable masterpieces.

Of course, everyone must see the three great ladies — the Venus de Milo, the Victory of Samothrace, and Mona Lisa (which is THE most crowded spot in the museum!). Go here to take a tour of ten of the museum's most famous works.

The Louvre opened in 1793 and houses over 35,000 works of art in eight departments - Near Eastern Antiquities; Egyptian Antiquities; Greek, Etruscan, and Roman Antiquities; Islamic Art; Sculptures; Decorative Arts; Paintings; and Prints and Drawings. Discover the highlights of each collection by visiting An Overview of the Departments or take a Virtual Tour.

Go here for a floor plan of the Louvre and then click on individual floors to print your own map and chart your tour. Go here for awesome 360 degree tours of eight rooms in the Louvre.

And try your hand at pronouncing Louvre! Just click the arrow.

If you haven't read Dan Brown's popular novel The Da Vinci Code, you might want to before the trip. The murder mystery starts at the Louvre.

Chateau de Chenonceau

The romantic château, or castle, of Chenonceau in France's Loire Valley has a rich history. Begun in the 16th century, it is often referred to as the château des femmes as it was traditionally a castle for women as reflected by its many female residents.

It was built in 1513 by Katherine Briçonnet. The castle was eventually sold to the crown and Henry II gave it to his older mistress, Dianne de Poitiers. She is responsible for expanding Chenonceau Castle over the set of arches spanning the River Cher, giving the appearance that the château is floating on water.

After Henry's death, his wife Catherine de Medici took over the château and developed the beautiful gardens. In turn Catherine bequeathed Chenonceau to her daughter-in-law Louise of Lorraine. The castle was later saved from the ravages of the French Revolution by another woman, Louise Dupin. Chenonceau was restored to its original glory in 1950.

An audio tour can be downloaded to your ipod at the official web site. Under "Chateau & History" in the top menu bar, click on "Tour of the Chateau". This provides an unbelievable 360 degree tour of several rooms! You can zoom in and out with + and - at lower left of photo. Click on any of the arrows in the lower left under "Tour" to go to different rooms and floors. But above all, in each room, place your cursor over the picture and drag it around for that 360 degree view! Don't forget to go up and down to see the entire ceiling and floor.

Do the same 360 degree tour for "Parks & Gardens" and see the entire chateau and garden area. If you would like to "see" all those women of Chenonceau, go to the "Galerie des Dames" in the top menu bar of this web site. And of course you need to know how to correctly pronounce Chenonceau. Click on "Standard Pronunciation" beside the blue arrow. Now you're a pro!