Ah...lovely Dourdan!! Such a cute little town. Now that I've been to the Chateau de Dourdan, I can tell you that it was started in the 10th century and from the 13th century onwards has seen Kings and Queens, nobles and un-nobles, a few wars and a few pigeons. The town itself has an old centre around the chateau and Gothic cathedral, with a beautiful forest surrounding it. It used to be a royal forest (before they decided to treat the royals like trees and chop them down) and there are tracks all over the place, perfect for a jog in the evening. There are deer and boor in the forest, a danger for drivers in the evening.

A fairly small town, 10,000 Dourdannais, but it has everything, 3 patisserie's, a cinema, rugby ground. Every Wednesday and Saturday there is a market in the town centre, plenty of good fruit and veges to be had, and an odd horse-meat stall! Mmm...Mr Ed anyone?

Our house is only a minute from the centre by foot, within the old town. It's a beautiful old 3 story house with a wine-cellar (cave) and a little garden at the back. Built in the 1700's (we think), it was on the route of the escape path from the chateau and so is linked by underground to all the houses around. Unfortunately they blocked all the underground off after the Second World War when they became dangerous.

The last few weeks have seen Emma and I head into Paris to catch up with her friends. With the holidays season here we have been lucky to have been offered apartments in town to stay at while people were away, so we have made the most of that to base ourselves in town while we look around. With the myriad of museums available it is always a hard choice on what to see but the pick for me so far was the Musee de Armee, which has a history of armaments throughout France's lifespan (see photo for great horsey armour) and the best WW1 and WW2 exhibit I have ever seen, including the political lead up into WW1 dating back to the late 1800's. It was all so good it was emotionally tiring, especially looking at the numbers of dead from the wars. It's completely unfathomable to know that 1.7 million and that another 4.9 million were injured died from the USSR.

Another highlight of our time so far was the Bateau Mouche (Fly Boat?) that takes you on a 1hr 15 ride up and down the Seine, looking at some of the most famous of Paris buildings and monuments. We went with Emma's friends from varsity, most of whom had ended up in paris for work. Although we had seen all these sights before it was great to see them from a different perspective, not to mention seeing them all without getting off your chair! As always I get a kick out of seeing the Notre Dame, especially when you can't see the thousands of people in front of her.

The last week has seen a family outing down the Vallee de la Loire, a beautiful, fertile valley that follows the Loire River. Most famous for the many stunning Chateau's, we were headed for a flower show. Not my usual cuppa but I was tempted by Patrick with the promise of a picturesque drive...and he delivered! Past the scenic town of Bloise and onto one of the 59 nuclear power stations dotted through-out France.

The flower show was held in the grounds of the Chateau Chaumont-sur-Loire and was a festival of colour this year. While I didn't always understand the logic or artistic expression behind some of the gardens, (waffle waffle waffle) I at least appreciated the effort, especially the French Poodle!




After a lunch of salmon sammies washed down with cider, we decided to head onto the near-by town of Amboise which was the final home of Leonardo de Vinci (in the Clos Luce) and has a display of many of his inventions. What an amazing man he was, constantly thinking up new ideas and variations on old ones. A good example is the double-layered bridge so that pedestrians carts can use the same bridge at the same time, thus improving the traffic flow. Who would have thought he was a council worker at heart! But he didn't mind the odd war machine either!

The way to Rome is paved in gold they said, and so far I can't complain! We had 5 days in Moorea(French Polynisia) and 5 days in Santa Barbara(California) enroute to France and it was fantastic! In Moorea it was days by the beach, swimming, cycling and kayaking, while in Santa Barbara we were more cerebral, taking in the history and the beautiful buildings plus the local wine trail.

S.B surprised us with how picturesque it was, lovely streets, a beautiful beach and all topped of with friendly Californian's. The food was great, the beer was cold and they have the best Farmers Market I have seen. What more could I want? With all the reading of Loius L'Amour over the years I felt at home here.