Clare Gaylard Glass 

In France we visit Maison Laduree, pre-revolutionary inventors of the double macaroon and purveyors of cakes to the 'Marie Antoinette' movie by Sophia Coppola, Norte Dame, Abbaye de Fountrevaud (run by nuns, burial place of Eleanor of Aquitane), Chateau Usse, the inspiration for Perrault's 'Sleeping Beauty' and Rouen where we find the cathederal replete with obscure female saints holding the objects of their martyrdom and a lyrical bit of side street graffit that all leans strongly towards 'Death and the Maiden'. The sun shone constantly, the food was magnificent there was plenty to celebrate.