All work and no play makes Don and Cathy Jo cranky so we planned to take some excursions in between the painting jobs and other chores. We had about 5 weeks before our flight back to the US.
While visiting the local tourist office we saw a flyer for the son et lumière at the cathedral in Orleans. We hadn’t seen a single spectacle this year so we asked the staff if there was a train to Orleans (no car yet). There is no convenient train (the connection is through Paris) but there is a bus. Since the show takes place starting at 11 pm we would need to stay the night. We booked a room at the very quaint Hotel Marguerite in the old section of the city and caught the 11:30 am bus on Thursday. It’s a 2 1/2 hour ride but it only costs €3 each one way. We checked in to our hotel and wandered about the city, checking out places to eat dinner. Along the way we saw this guy.
Not where we had dinner.
We settled on an interesting looking restaurant, Ver di Vin and had a great meal with a very enthusiastic sommelier. Afterwards we headed over to the main square for the show. It was truly a spectacular!
Moving colors with music!
About 45 minutes later, as we were heading back to the hotel, the music was done but the colors continued.
Our return bus didn’t leave until about noon on Friday so we had plenty of time to do a little more sightseeing.
Of course there is a statue of the “Maid of Orleans,” Joan of Arc.
And we were visiting a small park in the center of town and a woman there with her child suggested a spot for a great view of the back side of the cathedral.
Back late in the afternoon, it was time to continue with the painting chores. Last year we’d done everything but the terrace. That required moving the wood decking so we could prep and paint, not a small job. By mid week it was all done so there was plenty of time to tackle other projects, and more excursion planning.
Gosh, what a beautiful cathedral it is! By the way, you are very fortunate in having good weather for your painting chores. Mine have been constantly interrupted by rain here. Never all day and continuous, but every day a shower...it's puts paid to my efforts far too often.
ReplyDeleteHa! That's what you get for keeping the boat up in the cold north. Or you could use it as a convenient excuse to slag off.
DeleteWe'll never forget our first summer on Odysseus in Holland. It rained so much even the Dutch were complaining. We thought maybe we'd made a terrible mistake. Luckily, we were wrong!
PS Safe travels home today!
ReplyDeleteWe made it! Walked in the door just a couple of hours ago and all is pretty much as expected. No problems with the journey.
DeleteThanks for the good wishes.
I'll be finishing up the postings over the next couple of weeks.