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A basket of fun (French Tourist Office) |
A flash of color in the skies above Moret-sur-Loing, an hour's drive southeast of Paris, means the balloons are up again. Villagers gaze and wave at the bobbing basket with as many as eight people eagerly returning the greeting. Balloons leave daily or by appointment from St. Mammes on the Seine River and ride over the boats and barges on their way to the Forest of Fontainebleau. They hover above the hunting territory of the French kings who resided at the elegant chateau. Fly over the 12th-century Notre Dame church and check out the rooftops of Montigny before landing at Darvault an hour later, six miles (ten kilometers) from the start. At $230 per adult, tickets are not cheap, but the ride is exquisite.