I had a great trip to France with Maya. There are lots of pictures, so be patient as the pages load.

We left Wiesbaden after lunch and had a rainy drive across France.  Maya and I were excellent in the car, so we only had to stop once for gas and a quick diaper change.  We got into Paris during rush hour, but we did get to see the Eiffel Tower from the highway-like how you get to see the Arch in St. Louis from the Interstate.  After lots of traffic, we got to the place we were staying at around 7:00, and it was AWESOME.  It is called La Madre and is a 2 1/2 acre estate in a little village outside of Giverny.  The oldest building on the estate is the barn and that's where we got to stay.  Parts of the barn date back to the late 1600s and you could see the timber construction on the inside. The grounds and gardens were beautiful and the people that owned it were really really nice.

view of the church of the village St Vincent des Bois from the estate

  walking through the lavender

there were lots of things for Maya and I to do.

There was an apple tree for me to pick apples from

the back of the barn

the main house of the estate, it was built in the 1700s

front of the barn