NORTHERN FRANCE

	Here we are about to board the train ferry that will take us through the famous Chunnel. You just drive onto one end of the train, and then drive through to the other end. Before we actually enter the Chunnel they close the doors between the cars. Once you arrive in France, you just drive straight out the other end.
	Inside the train you can see it's just like a ferry. All you do is wait for 30 minutes and, voila, you're in France. We started to talk to the guy in the car ahead of us and it turned out that he works in the Chunnel train. He was just riding it so he could buy duty-free beer! His trunk was full of cases and cases of ale.
	Here is the Bayeux Tapestry telling the story of how and why William the conqueror invaded England.
	To an invasion that was a little more recent, here is the museum in Caen to commemorate the invasion of Normandy.
	One of the many monuments to the people who died here in World War II. This one is for the American solders.
	All along the coast you'll find these German bunkers installed to defend the area from an attack by the allies. Lucky for us it didn't work.
	More underground bunkers.
	These are the craters created by allied shelling just days before the invasion. Kris is standing in the closest one to show how big these holes are.
	This is one of the cemeteries for those Americans that gave thier lives on D-Day. It's a moving place with all of the white crosses and Star of Davids lined up in such perfect rows.
	Here is Mont St Michel. Good thing it's low tide, because at high tide the parking lot is under 3 feet of water. We're not kidding!
	Dinner in a small outdoor cafe in the small town of Amboise.
	Every town in the Loire Valley has a chateau like this one in Amboise (or bigger)!
	Case in point! This chateau, Chambord, is in the middle of its own hunting forest. Inside is the famous double-helix staircase designed by Leonardo de Vinci.
	All of these chateaus are much more impressive from the outside than from the inside. In fact most are practically devoid of furnishings.
	In the Dordogne Valley you will often see these troglodyte dwellings half-way up the cliff face.
	If you look closely you can see a pre-historic cave painting of a bison. This is the only original pre-historic cave still open to the public. If you want to see it for yourself you had better hurry because it will close to the public within the next 5-10 years.
	This town, Oradour, was completely destroyed and its people murdered by the Nazis. More then 400 people died here as an example for other towns to not enter into the resistance. France refused to rebuild and has left the town as memorial.
	Versailles, just outside of Paris, was the envy of every other palace in Europe. Everyone wanted one just like it, but no one could match its splendour.
	Its grounds are SOOO large that it has its own man-made lake. We were told that Napoleon held mock ship battles on this tiny ocean.
	We enjoyed a lazy time in a rented rowboat. At least Tricia enjoyed a lazy time, I did all the rowing.
	Priority number one when we got to Paris was to get rid of the car since we were flying out later that week. It was hard to say goodbye to our trusty friend who took us safely over 18,000 miles through Europe.
	The Eiffel tower with only 827 days left until the year 2000.
	Our last night in Paris was spent having a picnic dinner with one of the best views in town.
	Of course the day we went to the Arc De Triomphe the elevator was broken. And just getting here is impossible! It's surrounded by a dozen streets and you have to use underground tunnels to get to the center.
	Notre Dame was interesting for its historic background, but we were more interested in the Highlander episode being filmed just over the river.
	One of the many rose windows inside the Notre Dame. Much prettier in person.
	Paris is just filled with photo-ops. I think that we shot more then 50 pictures in the five days that we were there.
	The first day we went downtown they where filming the TV series Highlander. Here is Adrien Paul with some actress. Email us if you want more on this subject. We have 3 more pictures of the barge and the filming.
	The Church of St. Chapelle has more windows than wall area. They say it houses the crown of thorns worn by Christ but it only goes on display once a year.
	Here is Tricia sitting in the non-smoking section of our very last Hard Rock Cafe. Needless to say, smoking is extremely popular in Europe.
	Paris is truly a romantic city at night. Who would have ever thought that a glass pyramid would look this good in the middle of the biggest and most famous museum in the world.
	The only time you can enjoy Leonardo de Vinci's Mona Lisa in peace is 10 minutes before the museum closes.
	You can't swing a dead cat in Paris with out hitting a museum and we must have visited them all! This is the L'Orangerie and, among other things, it houses some of Monet's largest waterlilly paintings. They are in 2 large, circular rooms and well worth the admission price.
	The Orsay museum, which covers 19th century art is housed in an old converted train station. Some of the most famous Impressionist paintings are housed under this roof.
	Here is Tricia in front of one of her favorite Renoir paintings.
	This is the plaster cast for Rodin's "The gates of hell." You can see it in the garden of the Rodin Museum.