My two week trip to France is about to come to an end, but before I say goodbye (at least for now) to this country I have grown to love, I thought I would share a few photos of our time here thus far.
This trip was notable for many reasons, including the fact that we were all upgraded to Polaris on United, which meant a trip to the Polaris lounge before the flight out of IAH.
The lounge was serving Lanson champagne and I discovered a life-hack: ask for the bubbles in a regular wine glass and they’ll give you a really big pour.
After we had checked into the hotel and the boys were fast asleep, we headed out to explore the neighborhood and may have had an early afternoon spritz (the one on the right is a “cucumber spritz” and was quite tasty).
I spotted this 2002 Vintage Mumm in a local grocery store for a mere 37€50 and quickly snatched it up. Whoa.
Sebastian had no recollection of ever seeing the Eiffel Tower (he has been there several times), so we headed over on a beautiful (but toasty) morning.
I am working on an article about “House Wines” so that required a bit of “research” at several Parisian cafés.
Gosset Grande Réserve has always been a favorite.
We rented a few bikes and headed down to the Loire Valley for our first ever family cycling trip. First up was the largest castle, Chambord.
Next was my personal favorite, Chenonceaux…
…and then on to Amboise.
Cycling in France offers endless photo opps…
…incredible food and wine…
…Kir pétillants and our favorite sparkling water, Badoit…
…gigantic fields full of sunflowers…
…lots and lots of wine (wait, I may have mentioned that already)…
…and breathtaking sunsets.
Our bike trip ended in Chinon with a great tour of the medieval fortress.
From the fortress walls, the Clos de l’Echo is clearly visible…
…which might have caused me to sneak in a tasting and tour of my favorite producer in Chinon…
…and I may have purchased a bottle of the sparkling white Cabernet Franc that is only available at the winery.
The Chinon fortress from the middle of the Vienne River.
We still have a few more days back in Paris before heading home, but by all accounts, it has been a successful trip already. I will be back next week with more on the trip next week. Need to run off to catch a train!
the drunken cyclist 
Great photos. Love seeing all of you riding. Funny as heck that Sebastian didn’t remember the Eiffel Tower. The Chinon tasting room is fantastic!! Your photo of Chenonceaux – wow!! Absolutely gorgeous.
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HI Jeff
Have you posted any OMG blogs past #59. Would love to read 60 and beyond.
Also if you ever get back to Oregon I would love to have you out to the vineyard (Eola-Amity) for some Chardonnay.
Cheers Mark Royer
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