Eitel’s Happy Trails, LLC

09/09/2026

Eitel’s Happy Trails: France, Itinerary September, 2027
[email protected]
330-815-6407

Next adventure: the south of France and Switzerland (September 11-25). The group will be strictly limited to 16-18 adults to take full advantage of these tours and accommodations. Please let me know if you are interested and would like further details regarding registration. Group must be confirmed by December 15, 2026. We can adjust dates of your arrival and departure if these dates do not suit you, or if you would like to join us for part of this trip. One option would be to join us for the first 8 days or the last 8 days, or to add a day in Bordeaux or Geneva (or an add-on in Paris). Let me know if you would like to discuss options or a single supplement.

1. Bordeaux/St. Emilion: Hôtel Majestic (2 nights – 9/11 and 12)
We’ll explore the city, with a half day at La Cité du Vin. Then our charter bus will take us for a day in St. Emilion, where we will do a wine class. We will arrive at our château in the evening of 9/13.

2. Mauzens-et-Miremont : Château Forge du Roy (château, grounds, and pool are all ours !)
Phone : 33-6-13-31-78-58 (4 nights – 9/13, 14, 15, 16)
Day trip to Lascaux to visit the prehistoric cave drawings and the charm of the Dordogne,
including the cave at Rouffignac. Then we can relax by the pool or use the yoga studio at the Château, or walk in the acres of garden and grounds. Another day we will explore the town of Sarlat with another luncheon while we are out with our guide. Breakfasts and evening snacks we will do on our own with a grocery stop before we get to the château.

3. Avignon : Le Cloître Saint Louis (2 nights – 9/17 and 18)
Another fun city to explore with the former papal occupancy, a large indoor market, and of course the bridge to dance upon (« Sur le pont d’Avignon, on y danse, on y danse . . . ») !

4. Yvoire : Hôtel Le Vieux Logis 33-4-50-72-80-24 (2 nights – 9/19, 20)
Let’s explore this beautiful medieval village, situated right on Lake Geneva. Anyone for a water
excursion ? Then a short trip (with luncheon on the way, in Gruyère or Lausanne ?) to Chillon to visit the castle there and on to Montreux, Switzerland.

5. Montreux, Switzerland : Hôtel Victoria-Glion 41-219-62-82-82 (1 night – 9/21)
One day to explore this city, then on our way to our last stop, Geneva.

6. Geneva, Switzerland : Hôtel Edelweiss 41-2-25-44-51-5 (3 nights– 9/22, 23,24)
Our final stop will be Geneva, Switzerland. With our home base in Geneva, we can explore the city and
perhaps Lucerne. We will depart from the airport in Geneva. Please make your flight arrangements to depart on 9/25/27.

14 nights in boutique hotels or châteaux
Flights to be arranged to arrive in Bordeaux (BOD)September 11, and to depart from Geneva September 25.
Cost: $6700 (plus airfare, libations, and some meals), based on double occupancy. Single supplement +$700
Included : Five meals (one in Bordeaux/St. Emilion, two in the Dordogne near La Forge du Roy, one at Yvoire, and a farewell dinner in Geneva), and a wine class and tasting in St. Emilion. Included are museums, gardens, guided tours. All hotels have buffet breakfasts included. Trains, Charter bus or minibus and driver included.
$500 non-refundable deposit due upon registration, no later than 12/15/26. Balance of payments in 3 installments as follows : $2000.00 due 2/15/27, 2100.00 due 4/15/27, $2100.00 due 6/15/27.
All checks payable to : Eitel’s Happy Trails, LLC
Mail to Kathleen Eitel, 28 Thirty Acres, Hudson, Ohio 44236



Cancellation of a scheduled trip with Eitel’s Happy Trails, LLC will result in the following compensation:

Within one month of booking trip – full refund of all payments
(except for non-refundable original deposit)

91 – 365 days before start of trip: 50% refund (except for original deposit)
46 – 90 days before start of trip: 20% refund (except for original deposit)
45 days or less from start of trip: no refund

07/06/2026

One of my favorite spots in Paris!

Musée Carnavalet, one of Paris’s most overlooked treasures. Set inside two elegant mansions in the Marais, it’s entirely dedicated to the story of Paris itself.

Inside, you’ll wander through rooms filled with antique shop signs, revolutionary artifacts, and portraits of Parisians from every walk of life. There are personal touches too—Marie Antoinette’s belongings, re-creations of 19th-century salons, and even fragments of medieval buildings saved from destruction.

07/06/2026

In the 1530s, Marguerite de Navarre, sister of King François I, founded an orphanage nearby to take in Paris's abandoned children. She had them dressed in red, the color of Christian charity, and Parisians started calling them les enfants rouges, the red children.

Nearly a century later, in 1615, King Louis XIII decreed that a market be built next to the orphanage to supply the growing Marais neighborhood with fresh food. It was officially named Petit Marché du Marais, but the name never stuck. Everyone kept calling it after the children next door instead, and Marché des Enfants Rouges is the name that survived.

The orphanage itself closed in 1772, and its remaining children were transferred across the river to the Hôpital des Enfants-Trouvés. A trace of its original chapel still stands nearby, on rue des Archives.

The market almost didn't make it to today. By the late 20th century the site had fallen into disrepair, and the city considered tearing it down. Local residents, including filmmaker Bertrand Tavernier, campaigned to save it, and a newly elected mayor promised in 1995 to protect it instead. The market had already been classified a historic monument in 1982, and it fully reopened in 2000.

More than four centuries after Louis XIII's decree, it's still the oldest covered market in Paris, at 39 rue de Bretagne, and it still carries the name of the children who lived next door to it.

07/06/2026

30 people waiting for coffee in the US vs France looks completely different

In the US, 30 people waiting for coffee usually means a drive thru line wrapped around a parking lot. In France, it’s 30 people already seated at small tables outside. Same coffee, totally different mindset.

What stands out in France is that no one is rushing. You sit down, you order, and you stay put for a bit. Even a quick espresso turns into a pause in your day. It’s normal to see tables full at any hour, especially in places like Saint Germain.

In the US, it’s built around efficiency. You grab your coffee between errands or on your way to work. Sitting down is optional. In France, sitting down is the whole point.

If you’re visiting Paris, try doing it their way at least once. Pick a café, order something simple, and just sit there longer than you think you should. That’s where the difference really hits.

📸

07/06/2026

You are standing in the western corner of the Jardin du Luxembourg, near Rue Guynemer, where Paris keeps its own Statue of Liberty. The bronze figure is a copy of the one Auguste Bartholdi gave the city in 1900, just over 9 feet (2.9 meters) tall.

This photo captures the oak tree behind it on the day it went into the ground: January 30, 2002. It was a gift from the American community in Paris, dedicated to the victims of September 11 and offered as a symbol of Franco American friendship. A U.S. Marine honor guard and the raised flag mark the ceremony.

More than two decades later, the oak stands taller than the statue beside it, in one of the quieter corners of the garden, away from the crowds around the central pond.

05/16/2026

Ah, so true! Read the article in the first comment. . .

Turns out the biggest travel mistake you can make isn't where you go - it's this 👇

05/16/2026

Missed this again! Next trip . . .

Église Saint Étienne du Mont often surprises people because it sits quietly behind the Panthéon yet holds some of the most striking stonework in Paris. It dates to the late 1400s and is known for its unique rood screen, the only surviving one of its kind in the city. The mix of Gothic and Renaissance details makes the interior feel layered with centuries of craftsmanship.

This church also holds the shrine of Sainte Geneviève, the patron saint of Paris. Many visitors come for a short look but stay longer once they notice the carvings, the spiral staircases, and the warm colors from the stained glass. It is a good stop if you want to explore the older side of the Latin Quarter without the noise of the bigger landmarks.

If you are visiting the Panthéon, walk a few steps further and step inside. Afternoons are usually quieter, which gives you time to take in the architecture from different angles. The light changes quickly in here, so a slow loop around the nave is worth it.

It is one of those places that rewards curiosity. A peaceful spot with real history that does not demand a long visit, yet it stays with you.

📸

05/16/2026

Paris hasn't seen one of these since 1973 - and it might be the last one ever 👇

05/15/2026

In 1965, workers started digging beneath the square in front of Notre-Dame to build an underground parking lot. They never finished the parking lot.
What they found instead was Roman Paris. Gallo-Roman bath houses with their underfloor heating systems still intact. The 4th-century city walls built to defend the Île de la Cité against barbarian invasions, constructed from stone blocks salvaged from abandoned monuments on the left bank. Medieval street foundations. The basement of the old Hôtel-Dieu hospital chapel. The ruins of a foundling hospital built under Louis XV. Layer after layer, 2,000 years of the city, stacked on top of each other right where visitors stand to take their cathedral photos.
The excavations ran from 1965 to 1972. The Crypte Archéologique (Archaeological Crypt) opened to the public in 1980 and has been there ever since. It is the largest archaeological crypt in Europe, stretching 390 feet (118 meters) long and 95 feet (29 meters) wide beneath the parvis (forecourt). The oldest remains date back to the reign of the emperor Augustus, around 27 BC. Admission is around €9, and on most days it is nowhere near as crowded as the cathedral above it.
What makes it remarkable is the sequence. You are not looking at one era of Paris. You are looking at all of them simultaneously: Roman, medieval, classical, Haussmann-era sewers, all exposed and lit in the same space. The city has been rebuilding itself on the same patch of ground for over two millennia, and this is the one place where you can see exactly how.
This image is AI-generated. It imagines what it might look like to see the excavated ruins and the cathedral facade together in a single view. That vantage point does not exist in real life. The crypt is accessed by staircases in the square, right in front of you.

05/15/2026

Eitel’s Happy Trails: France, Itinerary Spring, 2027
[email protected]
330-815-6407

Next adventure: the south of France and Switzerland (late April-early May). The group will be strictly limited to 16-20 adults to take full advantage of these tours and accommodations. Please let me know if you are interested and would like further details regarding registration. Group must be confirmed by August 15, 2026. We can adjust dates of your arrival and departure if these dates do not suit you, or if you would like to join us for part of this trip. One option would be to join us for the first 8 days. Let me know if you would like to discuss options or a single supplement.

1. Bordeaux/St. Emilion: boutique hotel or château TBD (3 nights)
We’ll explore the city and surrounding vineyards with a wine class and luncheon at one of the renowned vineyards.

2. Mauzens-et-Miremont : (3 nights )
Château Forge du Roy (another beautiful château) Phone : 33-6-13-31-78-58
Day trip to Lascaux to visit the prehistoric cave drawings and the charm of the Dordogne,
including the cave at Rouffignac. Then we can relax by the pool or use the yoga studio at the
château. The following day we will explore the town of Sarlat with another luncheon while we
are out with our guide. Breakfasts and evening snacks we will do on our own with a grocery stop
before we get to the château.

3. Avignon : TBD (2 nights)

Another fun city to explore with the former papal occupancy, a large market, and of course the bridge
to dance upon (« Sur le pont d’Avignon, on y danse, on y danse . . . ») !

4. Yvoire : TBD (2 nights)

Let’s explore this beautiful medieval village, situated right on Lake Geneva. Anyone for a water
excursion ?

5. Geneva, Switzerland : TBA (3 nights)

Our final stop will be Switzerland. With our home base in Geneva, we can explore Lausanne, and
perhaps Lucerne or Zurich to get the flavor of these alpine locations. We will depart from the airport in Geneva.

13 nights in boutique hotels or châteaux
Flights to be arranged to arrive in Bordeaux (BOD) (date TBD) and to depart from Geneva (date TBD).
Cost: $6700 (plus airfare, libations, and some meals), based on double occupancy. Single supplement +$700
Included : Five meals (one in Bordeaux/St. Emilion, two in the Dordogne near La Forge du Roy, one at Yvoire, and a farewell dinner in Geneva), and a wine class and tasting in St. Emilion. Included are museums, gardens, guided tours. All hotels have buffet breakfasts included. Trains, Charter bus or minibus and driver included.

$500 non-refundable deposit due upon registration. Balance of payments in 3 installments as follows : $2000.00 due 10/15/26, $2100.00 due 1/1/27, $2100.00 due 2/15/27.
All checks payable to : Eitel’s Happy Trails, LLC
Mail to Kathleen Eitel, 28 Thirty Acres, Hudson, Ohio 44236



Cancellation of a scheduled trip with Eitel’s Happy Trails, LLC will result in the following compensation:

Within one month of booking trip – full refund of all payments
(except for non-refundable original deposit)

91 – 365 days before start of trip: 50% refund (except for original deposit)
46 – 90 days before start of trip: 20% refund (except for original deposit)
45 days or less from start of trip: no refund