A Day in Orleans...

With a limited opportunity to go sightseeing since we rented a car for only the first 3 days of the 12 in the Loire, we decided to explore somewhere new. We chose Orleans, where Joan of Arc at the age of 17 led troops to victory at the Siege of Orleans in 1429. After another difficult search for a restaurant that wasn't filled with smokers, we found a winner where we had a terrific traditional French lunch. Of course, the girls especially loved it because we let them have dessert for lunch since there wasn't a thing on the menu they'd eat. We visited the 17th century cathedral and the old city hall built in 1555 as well as the small Xmas market. While Jimmy took the girls ice skating, I wandered the shops. Afterwards, we enjoyed the Xmas lights when we stopped in Blois for dinner. When we returned to the Chateau, we were greeted by the amazing sight of over a dozen deer prancing across the lawn (perhaps they weren't exactly prancing, more like running for their lives but that doesn't paint as pretty of a picture).