You've Got a Friend Part 1

We made it back to Amboise after our Michigan sojourn right on schedule.  With only 11 minutes to switch trains with 5 bags in tow and no carts in sight, we were really hustling.  Now that we have settled in again, we want to include in our blog all the friends who have visited.
Andrea and Bart Dickson made a mad dash from Corsica to Paris to meet us with their two wonderful daughters in tow.  The girls who attend Dartmouth and Harvard respectively met a college pal who resides in Paris as well.  So everything worked out on a very tight time schedule.

Next we spent a lovely day with Jennifer Poteat and Mike Staebler.  They were visiting Paris for Jen's birthday.

Lo and behold we both had discovered the very same little umbrella shop in St. Germain that has been hand crafting umbrellas since 1834.  They make parapluie (protection from rain) and parasol (protection from sun) that are exquisite, and they promise to repair them if needed during one's lifetime.  Below is the one we selected as Amboise is an agricultural area and gets more than it's share of rain each year.

Finally we retreated to the roof top of Jen and Mike's hotel - Hotel Raphael - a stunning hotel in the 16th with a magnifique view of Paris.