Sara's research assistant

Naturally there are a lot of things I'm looking forward to with this trip (which is now 53 days away, by the way! ...How has it only been three days? Good grief.), but one of the most fun is that I have a special research assistant flying in from Philadelphia to help me when I drive south from Paris to visit some important sites. This post is inspired by this picture that was just emailed to me:

My mom(!), with her freshly renewed passport, flies in on Friday morning, July 8th, and here's some of our itinerary:

Friday: flight arrives at 9:30 a.m., short nap at apartment, then lunch and off exploring! Notre Dame, Saint Chappelle, river cruise to the Louvre, obligatory selfie at the Eiffel Tower... that seems enough for one afternoon!

Saturday: leave early, quick visit Versailles in the morning, pick up rental car after lunch, drive two hours to the Loire Valley(!) and visit Chateau de Chambord. Stay overnight at 15th century hotel in Amboise.

Sunday: two more chateaux (Chenonceau and Chaumont-sur-Loire)

Monday: four-hour drive to Rocamadour, where sight-seeing meets Poulenc research. We'll be staying in an old flour mill with roots in the 13th(!!!) century.

Tuesday: second day at Rocamadour

Wednesday: leaving Rocamadour, either for Beaune (wine tasting in Burgundy!) or Fontainebleau to meet Steve and avoid Paris because...

Thursday: is Bastille Day.

Friday: I lose my research assistant! :(

We are going to have a ball!