Giverny, France

Today we visited Giverny and Monet's garden.  The gardens were beautiful and I will let the below pictures speak for themselves.



Paris

We arrived in Paris by train from Epernay on the 28th in time to stroll the streets of Ile Saint Louis, where our hotel is located.  On the 29th we walked along the Rue de Rivoli and Bouldvard St Germain, shopped Paris, and dined at night on the Seine. 

Gardens at Notre Dame

Gardens at Notre Dame

Notre Dame as Seen From the Gardens

Georgia on Seine River Dinner Cruise

Hugh on Seine River Dinner Cruise

Eiffel Tower at Night from Dinner Cruise

 

Eiffel Tower at Night



Chalons-de-Champagne and a Tour of the French Champagne Region

Today we rented a car to tour some of the small villages and champagne houses in the region.  We started out by driving to the third large city in the champagne area, Chalons-de-Champagne.  After a short walking tour and a nice lunch in the city, we drove the "Champagne Highway" through Tours-sur-Marne, Bouzy, Avenay Val-d'Or, Aye, and then back to Epernay.  We stopped for a personal tasting at one of the smaller champagne houses, Maurice Vesselle, and brought back a bottle of champagne to celebrate.

Street Scene in Chalons-en-Champagne

 

Georgia Eating Lunch in Chalons-en-Champagne

Municipal Square in Chalons-en-Champagne

Champagne House Directory in Bouzy

Fountain in Avenay-Val-d'Or

View of the Champaign Vineyards from the Town of Mutigny

Reims

Today we visited Reims by traveling on the train from Epernay.  It was a full day with a visit to the "Map Room', where the Germans' surrender was accepted on May 8, 1945.  That was followed by a tour of the Notre Dame of Reims, the cathedral were the kings of France were given their crown.  After the tour, we had a gourmet lunch at La Table Anna before going on a tour of Veuve Clicquot.  One of the surprises at Veuve Clicquot was to see a champagne bottle that was found in the Baltic Sea on a sunken ship that was processed in 1840 and is still good in the bottle.

Georgia In Reims

Statue on the Rue de Bruitte

Catherdal of Notre Dame in Reims

Gormet Lunch at La Table Anna

 

Georgia at Veuve Clicquot

Champgane Caves at Vueve Clicquot

173 Year Old Bottle of Veuve Clicquot

Cheers

Epernay, France

Today we visited the town of Epernay, where we are staying for four days.  Our day was spend seeing the town and in the afternoon doing a tour of Moet & Chandon cellars.  After the tour, which lasted about 90 minutes, we  tasted of their latest vintages.

End of the Avenue de Champagne in Epernay



 

Epernay Farmer's Market

Fountain Plaza in Epernay

 

Street Scene in Epernay

 

Georgia in the Moet & Chandon Champagne Cave

Old Vine Cask in the Moet & Chandon Cave

 

 Hugh & Georgia Toasting at Moet & Chandon Cave Tasting Room

Prague

The last stop on our cruise up the Danube was in Prague.  Prague is not on the Danube, but we were bussed three hours from Ragensburg to  Prague.  Prague's old city was both remarkable and crowded.  The highlights of the visit were a dinner in the Royal Palace, visiting the Strahov monastery library with books dating back to the ninth century, seeing the astronomical clock in operation, and doing an underground tour of the buildings under the municipal office building. 

Prague Old Town Square

 

Astronomical Clock in Prague

 

Prague Old Town Municipal Meeting Building

 

 

 

 

 

Georgia & Hugh In the Old Town Square

 

Strahov Monastery Library with Books Back the Ninth Century

 

Strahov Monastery Library

 

 Strahov Monastery Library

City Office Building Heating System

Three Meters Under the Municipal Office Building

Under the Municipal Office Building

Regensburg, Germany

Regensburg was our last stop on the Danube.  It is the home to the first stone bridge over the Danube River.  The city also hosts the one of two remaining Roman gates in Germany.  The city is the home to the University of Regensburg and has about 15,000 students.  The city once had 60 stone towers.  A stone tower home was used to show the wealth of the owner.  Many of the owners built the towers, but only installed about two or three floors because no one wanted to walk up more than several floors.

Roman Gate to the City

 

Tower Building in the City with Seven Floors

Flower Boxes on the Apartments

Regensburg Street Scene

 

Regensburg as Seen From Across the Danube

Passau, Germany

After leaving Linz, we sailed up the Danube to Passau.  Passau is a city on a point of land where the Inn River from the Swiss Alps and the Ilz River from the north meet the Danube.  The highlight of the visit was St Stephan's Church.  The church has a 17,000 pipe organ, and we were treated to a concert played by one of the three organ masters. 

There had been lots of rain and so the Danube was to high for us to go all the way to Regensburg, our next stop.  In addition the Inn River was flooding just before we arrived and was just below flood stage when we were in town.

Flowers Outside Passau City Hall

Passau City Hall

Flower Boxes Outside Apartments in Passau

St. Stephan's Cathedral 17,000 Pipe Organ

Ceiling Murals in St. Stephan's Cathedral

Inn River Just Below Flood Stage