Last day in Paris... and the beginning of the Loire Valley

Yesterday we said goodbye to Paris, and Bonjour to the Loire Valley.

In the morning Lance, Lies, JP, Jeremia and I went to explore the Louvre. We saw some beautiful works of art... and wished we could have stayed longer, there is so much to see you could spend a week there! But of course we couldn't do that so we made sure we hit up the highlights. The Mona Lisa of course was there, but with all the people surrounding her, there was not much to see, the spectacle seemed to over ride the painting itself.
But there were many other works that left me in awe, the Venus de Milo being one of them. We also saw large works by David, such as the Oath of the Horati. One that I studied a lot in school. There are so many more, and also the building itself is truly something to be seen, that it was a very overwhelming and enjoyable morning...

Until we had to get the the train...

Lies and JP and Charlie had tickets to get back to Holland today at 12:50. The plan was that when we were done at the Louvre we would meet Mom, Dad and Charlie and the Paris Nord train station. Then the three of them would leave to go back home to Holland for a few days, while the rest of us make our way down to Spain. Things got a bit tense when it was 12:30 and no sign of Mom and Dad.

Lies was starting to get a bit worried that they would not make it in time... so Lance gave them a call and Dad told us that he was about 10 min away. Ten min went by and no sign of them... by this time it was about 12:40... the train was leaving in 10 min!! Lance called Dad again and they were a bit lost... the Marie Clair... (our trusty Garmin was NOT doing her Job!!) So Jeremia and I took to the streets, we knew they were near, but the traffic was so bad that it was difficult for them to get anywhere. I started down a street, I had no idea if they were on it, or where they were, but I thought if we don't go looking for them, they are going to miss thier train!

As I am frantically searching the traffic and noon hour chaos... I spot the Silver Bullet (our HUGE silver van with our road bikes on the back... you can't miss it) I was so excited to see it!!

Dad was on the phone, trying to get directions from Lance... who was still at the station. The van was going the wrong way and I needed to get thier attention. So there I was in the middle of Paris screaming "DAD... DAD... STOP!!!" in the middle of a busy street... believe me it was quite a scene. Finally Mom thought she heard screaming so she rolled down her window and saw me. Jeremia heard the yelling too, and came from the street he was on. We both darted out into the traffic and got across the street to the Silver Bullet... I swung open the door and shouted... "We're taking Charlie and the stuff NOW... the train is going to leave in 3 min!!"

So I got Charlie, Jermia got all the bags, and we started running down the street towards the train station. I think we must have looked like we were CRAZY... Charlie thankfully thought it was a fun game and was laughing and smiling the whole time... As soon as we rounded the corner and saw Lies, JP and Lance we all rushed inside to the platform...

I was not sure if we were going to make it or not, becuase by this time it had to have been very close to 12:50!!

We had to make it to platform 7... we were at 9, 8, and there we were, platform 7. The train was still there, but we could tell it was just about to leave... we had to rush all the way down to the right car, and as soon as they jumped on and I handed over Charlie and Jeremia gave them the luggage... then the train started to pull away... they made it just in the nick of time!!

It was quite the ordeal. Just as soon as the train left, we saw Mom rushing into the station, they had made it too... just a bit too late!

After almost missing the train, Lies and JP and Charlie made it back home to pack up the rest of the appartment, and they will join us again in Spain on the 4th of May.

We spent the rest of the day hitting up a more places in Paris, and then we drove to the valley. First stop the Chateaux Chambord... a beautiful chateaux in the french country side. The staircase was designed by Leonardo!! Very cool!!

Last night we stayed in Tours, and now we are on our way to explore the surrounding area...

lots to do... so I have to run, here are some of our favorite pics from yesterday!

love anya and family!