When I first signed up for PBP and when Marcia decided to come, we intended to spend a few days in Rambouillet recovering then go into Paris for 5 days before heading home.
During the Herentals 1200K we rode through Reims, Orleans and Epernay (the Champagne region of France). I liked the brief glimpse of each of these well enough that I thought it'd be fun to return and spend more time. Besides, both Marcia and I had been to Paris a number of times so we'd be revisiting a bunch of places we'd already seen along with (hopefully) a few new ones.
A change in plan was in order. We decided we'd do a driving tour, hereinafter referred to as the Chateau, Cathedrals and Recovery Tour (CCR)! We extended our car rental and made plans to visit Chartres, Orleans, Fontainbleau and Reims driving secondary (non-"A") roads. Since this only accounted for 4 of the 5 days we had to spare we also made plans to spend a day in Paris visiting the Rodin Museum which neither of us had been to.
I won't bore you with narrative, instead I'll let the pictures tell the story. We had a great time!
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| Chateau Rambouillet |
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| Food! |
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| The Thinker |
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| The Burghers of Calais |
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| The Kiss |
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| Study for "The Thinker" |
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| Figure from "The Burghers of Calais" |
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| The Gates of Hell |
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| More food! |
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| Streets of Orleans |
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| Chartres Cathedral |
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| Chartres Cathedral |
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| Old Cars and people in period costumes |
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| Chartres Cathedral |
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| Orleans Cathedral |
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| Chateau Fontainbleau |
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| It's good being Emperor! (For a while) |
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| Chapel at Fontainbleau |
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| Fontainbleau at night |
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| Reims Cathedral |
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| Reims Cathedral |
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| Government building in Reims |
Epernay Moet & Chandon Tour
