Just came back from my first visit to France. We spent 5 days in Paris and 4 days in the Loire Valley. Paris is beautiful. It was colder than I expected and had to wear all my layers to be comfy. In the morning it was cold, windy and sometimes rainy. By 3pm it got sunny and warmer so you start taking off layers and tying them around your waist. I guess the parisians are used to it because they wore the lightest of clothes all day long and didn't even look cold. We ran around and got most of the sightseeing in we wanted to. The Eiffel Tower and Versailles were highlights.
The food was good but the cuts of meat were difficult for me. I never thought of myself as a picky eater but some nights the choices were goat, sucking pig, pig ears and snouts, only dark meat on the duck and chicken, veal head etc. These were quite expensive restaurants and considered specialties.

We took the TVG train down to Tours and rented a car to see the chateaus. Stayed in a private home in Villandry that rented out one suite. Beautiful place and lovely people. As I had been told, French people are almost all thin. They must not eat all the bread and crepes that the tourists are offered. They smoke a lot perhaps thats the answer for them.

Everyone was friendy and helpful, especially in the country.

If anyone has any specific questions just email me and I'll be glad to answer them.

Thanks for the informative commentary on your trip. Regarding your car rental....did you prearrange it before going to France and which company did you use?

Does this trip make you want to go back for more of the French countryside? Our first trip is coming up in July...and we can hardly wait. I'll be watching out for those pig snouts, etc. (really!)....would give me nightmares! Thanks again -- it was fun to read with info I can use.

Yes I reserved a car from europcar. They were the lowest price I found for an automatic and were very reliable.

Four days in the countryside was enough. We felt we saw everything we wanted to see, however we could have stayed longer in Paris. There is so much to see and do there.

>>>Four days in the countryside was enough. We felt we saw everything we wanted to see,<<

I'm assuming that the "four days is enough" is just referring just to the Loire region - not the entire countryside of France.

We're going back for our 55th through 63rd week (since we retired in '99) in the countryside of France this year - exploring some new areas along with some old favorites. The diversity of the French contryside is what pulls us back. The Riveria is completly different from Brittany, which is different from the Dordogne, which is different from Alsace, Roussillon, the Pyrenees, the Alps, Provence, Languedoc, Cantel, Lot River, Cevennes, etc. This year we'll explore the Ardeche region for the first time. Next year, the area around Cleremont-Ferrand, Beaujolais, and Burgundy for 6 weeks, plus a return to the Riveria for 1 week.

However, I agree with you about the Loire. We spent a week there recently (after many other shorter trips in the past), and it's not my favorite "countryside" area - I love the chateaux, however.

Stu Dudley

Easrender I hope you will return to see the other areas. It's not just the
diversity of the countryside, but, also the foods, drinks, climate
and the people.