It's pretty rare to get a cloudless sky on a 1st of November in the Paris area. It forced me to take my camera outside.




This is the pond at the Abbaye des Vaux de Cernay near my house. Taken with a 16-35mm zoom at 26mm.

Looking back at the spot the where the first picture was taken:




It is a very nice place to visit for a relaxing walk through the woods.

Lovely weather, lovely scenery, and lovely photography.

Beautiful scenes! Were you using a full-frame body?

Hope you don't mind if I ask for a bit of advice. My wife and I have been talking about a visit to France, maybe next year. Most likely rent a vehicle and stay at B&Bs or small town hotels. My wife is fluent in French (her first language) which should help.

See the main "tourist sights" I suppose, I also want to visit the Vimy Ridge memorial as my grandfather was there in April 1917 as a soldier in the Canadian Expeditionary Force.

What we were wondering, what time of year do you think is best? Thinking in terms of climate, scenery, maybe not too many other tourists around.

So sorry about the recent attack on your country. I think the world will soon find the French people are a lot tougher, more resilient - and more unforgiving - than most people realize.

Most of the time I use my Nikon D810 for landscape style photography, like those above. Yes, it's a full frame camera body. Photos above were taken with a Nikkor 16-35mm f/4 zoom lens.

Touring around France with a car is a great way to go see the country. There a lot of beautiful farmland areas and villages between the cities, and a car is really the best way to visit them. Best time of the year for northern France is when it isn't raining and it's not too cold, which of course means the June through September period. I personally like June since the days are long and there are fewer tourists than in July and August. That doesn't mean there aren't any tourists, since they come to France year-round.

If you are coming for a couple of weeks I would suggest taking in only part of the country and not try to see both northern and southern France, which is impossible without spending all of your time in the car. Go to three or four places where you can spend your days/evening walking around and you will have a much better time.

I know nothing about northern France and the area around Arras or Vimy, so can't help you there. I do know a little about Normandy and Brittany if you want some advice on those areas.

Thanks so much, your advice is most helpful. My wife Simone and I will need to do more discussion and planning. We know from experience not to make too ambitious plans, and end up spending too much time on the road driving from place to place instead of seeing and doing things.

I had been kind of leaning towards September, partly influenced by your photos of fall scenes, also there might be a chance to do a little bird shooting or even a roe deer hunt.

It would give me material to write an article or two and help cover costs. But the long days in June sound attractive as well. Simone might want to find the area her ancestors originally lived.

One other consideration re Vimy, April 2017 is the 100th anniversary of the battle of Vimy Ridge, a fairly big deal for Canada.

I know from his service records and from battalion war diaries my grandfather arrived at Vimy on April 10, 1917 and was in the fighting there and later at Arleux, where he was wounded on June 3. It would be kind of neat to walk in the same area a hundred years to the day later.

Especially glad to have you endorse the idea of a driving vacation. We like being able to go where and when we want. We've found bed and breakfasts a nice way to meet people, learn more about local attractions and events, and I' sure French cuisine won't be hard to take!

Thanks again and very best regards.