Au Revoir

As Kevin reported, we dined on pizza after a sashay through our last château. Many restaurants don't open for dinner until 7:00 or 7:30, so we wandered the streets of Amboise for awhile, waiting for the pizza place to open at 6:30. We ate in the oleander-lined courtyard, armed with our pizza knives, sipping drinks coordinated with our outfits. Well, Andrea's matched at least.

Bill and I flew out of Tours the next day around 1:00. Andrea and Kevin took the train to visit some friends. They wound up visiting several more cities in France including Nancy and Dijon. We welcomed them back to Dublin Saturday evening. We didn't plan anything too ambitious for Sunday. It was not a lovely day, but we decided to take the easy DART ride up to Howth to try a place we'd heard was good for seafood, The Bloody Stream. It's located beneath the DART station, and was indeed tasty.

It was crazy windy in Howth that day. We walked around, and climbed Church Street to look at the church ruin on the hill. We met with some avian excitement there, but that's a story for another day. (I'm really into the blog teaser these days.)

Kevin and Andrea spent a few more soggy days exploring Dublin before heading back to the States. We were sad to see them go, but I know they were thrilled to see their son, and of course Toblerone.

Bill and I loved France. Having Andrea there to translate--not just to order food or get directions, but to translate the little comments of passers-by, or the man parking by us who declared that he was not born to park--gave extra dimension to our experience. We were talking to a friend who spent a few days in the Loire valley about 20 years ago. She said that quick trip stands in her memory as magical days. I predict we'll recall our trip with similar fondness. Til we see you again, France. Til we see you again.