Just found a way to make the photo file large instead of small. Let me know if the quality is better. Tomorrow I will upload in full size, but the B&B cannot handle big files. I should have this mobile blog app figured out just in time to come home. ;)
Good night
-Bloggin' on the go. Bonjour!
Our first blog...Our first European adventure. Bonjour et Bienvenue!
Friday, May 27, 2011
Loire Valley
Our morning began with a delicious breakfast on the sun porch that yes, included a big croissant. Then we were off to our first chateau, the Chateau de Chenonceau.
This place was perfect! The flower arrangements caught my eye as much as the building and it's furnishings and the Copper pot collection is SO cool!
There was once a castle on these grounds and this was the guard house for that castle. It's way old. (that's technical, eh?) The castle was torn down and The Chateau was built in the 1500's. The chateau is built over the river.
Dave and I are going to make this our new symbol. It's a D, H, C combo. The H is for King Henry. The 2 overlapping C's are for his wife Catherine. The king made it look like a D and H for his girlfriend Diane.
Just one of many, many, beautiful flower arrangements. They grow all their own flowers for the displays.
Our favorite floor in the chateau. This is the grand hall that extends across the river. It was used for dances and balls for the queen, as a hospital during WWI, and the river divided occupied France from "free" France during WWII, and the hall was used to sneak many people across the occupied border. How's that for history.
Love this! In the kitchen.
Love this, too. There are many other kitchen/copper collection pictures, but I decided not to overwhelm this post with them. Just know, they are impressive.
On the balcony overlooking the mote and one of the gardens.
To the right is the main living area, to the left is the great hall extending over the river. The river is very low.
Jenn and I in the gardens where they grow all the flowers for arrangements.
Next we headed over to the chateau Chambord. This was built as a hunting chateau. Think hunting cabin for a king. He only lived there a total of 72 days! Many other people lived there and for a while it was deserted. It has over 400 rooms, and 365 fireplaces!
The potty.
Across the courtyard. (Dave, Gary, and Jenn are straight ahead under an arch.)
Zoomed in from across the courtyard.
Check out those clouds. I love clouds in photos like this.
Now we are off to the next chateau, Cheverny. The same family has owned this chateau since it was first built. That's unique. They like to hunt and have a lot of dogs. Everyday at five they feed the dogs.
Today the man in blue waited five extra minutes. At five o'clock a bell rang in the town. We could barely hear it, but the dogs heard it and then went crazy. They knew it was time to eat. He waited exactly five minutes, then released this group, which we can only assume are the best dogs.
This made the other dogs go wild! They were stacked on top of one another almost four dogs high at the gate. Howling, barking, whining.
He waited a few minutes and then opened the gate for the other dogs. They flooded out in one rapid mass, tails wagging. It was a feeding frenzy!
Some of the dogs, we think the best, had this branding on their right side. It is the initial of the family's last name.
Here is the chateau. Much more modest than the other two. The family allows you tour the first two floors and they live on the third. The home
and furnishings are the most well preserved. Very interesting.
The back stair case leading to the gardens.
Now we head back to our B&B.
Here is the view of the river out our window. Very different from Paris. The frogs can get really loud! It's truly lovely.
Dinner at the same restaurant as last night. It was still so good! Gary took a few pictures on his iPhone as it was to nice of a restaurant for me to pull out the big camera. I'll post those and hopefully the videos tomorrow when we reach our next stop.
Much love to all...
Bloggin' on the go. Bonjour!
This place was perfect! The flower arrangements caught my eye as much as the building and it's furnishings and the Copper pot collection is SO cool!
There was once a castle on these grounds and this was the guard house for that castle. It's way old. (that's technical, eh?) The castle was torn down and The Chateau was built in the 1500's. The chateau is built over the river.
Dave and I are going to make this our new symbol. It's a D, H, C combo. The H is for King Henry. The 2 overlapping C's are for his wife Catherine. The king made it look like a D and H for his girlfriend Diane.
Just one of many, many, beautiful flower arrangements. They grow all their own flowers for the displays.
Our favorite floor in the chateau. This is the grand hall that extends across the river. It was used for dances and balls for the queen, as a hospital during WWI, and the river divided occupied France from "free" France during WWII, and the hall was used to sneak many people across the occupied border. How's that for history.
Love this! In the kitchen.
Love this, too. There are many other kitchen/copper collection pictures, but I decided not to overwhelm this post with them. Just know, they are impressive.
On the balcony overlooking the mote and one of the gardens.
To the right is the main living area, to the left is the great hall extending over the river. The river is very low.
Jenn and I in the gardens where they grow all the flowers for arrangements.
Next we headed over to the chateau Chambord. This was built as a hunting chateau. Think hunting cabin for a king. He only lived there a total of 72 days! Many other people lived there and for a while it was deserted. It has over 400 rooms, and 365 fireplaces!
The potty.
Across the courtyard. (Dave, Gary, and Jenn are straight ahead under an arch.)
Zoomed in from across the courtyard.
Check out those clouds. I love clouds in photos like this.
Now we are off to the next chateau, Cheverny. The same family has owned this chateau since it was first built. That's unique. They like to hunt and have a lot of dogs. Everyday at five they feed the dogs.
Today the man in blue waited five extra minutes. At five o'clock a bell rang in the town. We could barely hear it, but the dogs heard it and then went crazy. They knew it was time to eat. He waited exactly five minutes, then released this group, which we can only assume are the best dogs.
This made the other dogs go wild! They were stacked on top of one another almost four dogs high at the gate. Howling, barking, whining.
He waited a few minutes and then opened the gate for the other dogs. They flooded out in one rapid mass, tails wagging. It was a feeding frenzy!
Some of the dogs, we think the best, had this branding on their right side. It is the initial of the family's last name.
Here is the chateau. Much more modest than the other two. The family allows you tour the first two floors and they live on the third. The home
and furnishings are the most well preserved. Very interesting.
The back stair case leading to the gardens.
Now we head back to our B&B.
Here is the view of the river out our window. Very different from Paris. The frogs can get really loud! It's truly lovely.
Dinner at the same restaurant as last night. It was still so good! Gary took a few pictures on his iPhone as it was to nice of a restaurant for me to pull out the big camera. I'll post those and hopefully the videos tomorrow when we reach our next stop.
Much love to all...
Bloggin' on the go. Bonjour!
The French Country tour begins
Today I am playing catch up, typing up the blog entry for yesterday and today. I will make them two different entries to keep the file small enough for our country wifi to upload them.
Yesterday, we left the fast paced life of Paris. Obviously we stopped by the Boulangerie for our token pastry breakfast and our "spare pastry" for later in the day. Have I mentioned how good these blessed pastries are? They are honestly the best way to start a day.
Jenn and I in the apartment windows.
Our first stop was Versailles. A "Chateau" not a "Castle" - though I beg to differ because it is definitely palatial. Grandiose. Ornate. Completely and utterly over the top!
My neighbor Miss S. recommended we get a cup of Angelina's cocoa. She said it was "decadent". Again, an understatement. This is what my cup looked like when it was almost empty. Normal cocoa does not coat the cup like that. It was fantastic.
Navigating the gardens.
Our new pose.
Jenn and Gary trying out the new pose.
These pictures were taken in Marie Antoinette's fake village "Hamlet". It is a perfectly designed quaint little village. Interesting she would want to build it.
The pretty flowers outside one of the cottages.
I took this picture to show part of the length of this tunnel.
But then Gary took my camera and composed this perfect engagement photo of Dave and I. ;). He wins on composition.
The water lilies that inspired Monet.
Sitting down is such a nice thing to do. Our feet truly appreciate the break.
The pictures below were taken at Chartres Cathedral. The first one is of the "blue virgin Mary" a famous stained glass window in the cathedral.
The rose window.
The cathedral was rebuilt in the 1200s after a fire. It was originally built in the 800's as a monument where the birthing gown of Mary was placed. It seems that old the buying and selling of important Christian relics was big business back then. The spire in the right is new (from 1200's), the spire on the right survived the fire. The cathedral is a perfect example of gothic style. (if you are wondering what the yellow line is, they are doing some renovation.
This is our bed and breakfast in the Loire Valley. It is very nice, and clean.
The restaurant we ate dinner at. As Gary put it, "Toute êtait parfait!". Seriously, we will all think of that meal with fondness for a long, long, time.
Now we are going to dinner. I'll blog today's adventure when we return. Still going to try and upload the Eiffel tower video, but I may have to what until we are at our next hotel tomorrow.
Bon Soir!
Yesterday, we left the fast paced life of Paris. Obviously we stopped by the Boulangerie for our token pastry breakfast and our "spare pastry" for later in the day. Have I mentioned how good these blessed pastries are? They are honestly the best way to start a day.
Jenn and I in the apartment windows.
Our first stop was Versailles. A "Chateau" not a "Castle" - though I beg to differ because it is definitely palatial. Grandiose. Ornate. Completely and utterly over the top!
My neighbor Miss S. recommended we get a cup of Angelina's cocoa. She said it was "decadent". Again, an understatement. This is what my cup looked like when it was almost empty. Normal cocoa does not coat the cup like that. It was fantastic.
Navigating the gardens.
Our new pose.
Jenn and Gary trying out the new pose.
These pictures were taken in Marie Antoinette's fake village "Hamlet". It is a perfectly designed quaint little village. Interesting she would want to build it.
The pretty flowers outside one of the cottages.
I took this picture to show part of the length of this tunnel.
But then Gary took my camera and composed this perfect engagement photo of Dave and I. ;). He wins on composition.
The water lilies that inspired Monet.
Sitting down is such a nice thing to do. Our feet truly appreciate the break.
The pictures below were taken at Chartres Cathedral. The first one is of the "blue virgin Mary" a famous stained glass window in the cathedral.
The rose window.
The cathedral was rebuilt in the 1200s after a fire. It was originally built in the 800's as a monument where the birthing gown of Mary was placed. It seems that old the buying and selling of important Christian relics was big business back then. The spire in the right is new (from 1200's), the spire on the right survived the fire. The cathedral is a perfect example of gothic style. (if you are wondering what the yellow line is, they are doing some renovation.
This is our bed and breakfast in the Loire Valley. It is very nice, and clean.
The restaurant we ate dinner at. As Gary put it, "Toute êtait parfait!". Seriously, we will all think of that meal with fondness for a long, long, time.
Now we are going to dinner. I'll blog today's adventure when we return. Still going to try and upload the Eiffel tower video, but I may have to what until we are at our next hotel tomorrow.
Bon Soir!
Last day in Paris
Frustration defined: Staying up late to work on the days blog entry (too late considering how early we had to get up the next morning) get the blog entry finished, handing it to Dave to proof read and then hearing him say, "What just happened? The app just turned off and now I can't find the entry." Frustration.
Today, we are driving to our "French Country" vacation spots and I am taking the opportunity to re-type yesterday's blog. Which means I'll post two today.
Yesterday was another great day. Here is what we did....
Waiting to take a ride to the top of the Eiffel Tower.
That is a long way up!
Going up...
On the second level heading for the top...
The elevator ride made me a little wobbly in the knees so I did my best not to look down. Here we are at the tippy-top.
That is A LONG way down! (Makes me feel a little off balance just looking at the photo.)
Back to the second level. From here we enjoyed a long walk down to the ground level.
"Tour guide Gary.). ;). He is awesome.
Crazy firemen climbing the tower. He is passed the second level in this picture.
Eating lunch in the Jardin des Tuileries. The pigeons ate bread off of Gary's shoe.
After lunch we walked up to Musee de l'Orangerie to admire Claude Monet's "Waterlillies". I think this was my favorite part of any Museum we visited. Beautiful!
Jenn and Dave enjoying the one non-nude painting in the gallery. (I'm kidding. There was probably one more, maybe.)
Outside the Opera Garnier.
The Golden statues at the top of the house were a great contrast to the sky. Pretty, huh?
Took the metro to Sacre Couer. Very pretty chapel. A lot of steps to walk in the heat of the day. ;)
We toured the local street markets. Many artist displaying their works. A little too expensive for me to buy any art, but Jenn found an affordable artist who cut her silhouette out for $10 euro.
Here's the final result. Cute.
Very long and confusing trip through the train station to find our car rental. After working out a bit of a parking problem, we were off. Driving in Paris is an experience I do not have words to describe. After we survived our trip home (kudos to Gary on good driving) we ate a delicious dinner at Tribeca. Then we ended our day where it began...
at the Eiffel Tower. Sunset. A tripod would have been awesome to have at this moment.
Every night they twinkle to lights of the tower every hour on the hour.
Did you know I have the ability to make my tummy look prego? Well, I do. I found tonight it was even easier to do with a loose sweater and five days worth of eating pastries four times a day! :). I know, it's impressive...just one of my many useless talents. ;)
Love.
Walked through the park,
then through the streets of our neighborhood,
past the busy restaurants and bars, to our Paris home.
What a fun filled week in Paris!
On our way to Versailles and beyond today.
Today, we are driving to our "French Country" vacation spots and I am taking the opportunity to re-type yesterday's blog. Which means I'll post two today.
Yesterday was another great day. Here is what we did....
Waiting to take a ride to the top of the Eiffel Tower.
That is a long way up!
Going up...
On the second level heading for the top...
The elevator ride made me a little wobbly in the knees so I did my best not to look down. Here we are at the tippy-top.
That is A LONG way down! (Makes me feel a little off balance just looking at the photo.)
Back to the second level. From here we enjoyed a long walk down to the ground level.
"Tour guide Gary.). ;). He is awesome.
Crazy firemen climbing the tower. He is passed the second level in this picture.
Eating lunch in the Jardin des Tuileries. The pigeons ate bread off of Gary's shoe.
After lunch we walked up to Musee de l'Orangerie to admire Claude Monet's "Waterlillies". I think this was my favorite part of any Museum we visited. Beautiful!
Jenn and Dave enjoying the one non-nude painting in the gallery. (I'm kidding. There was probably one more, maybe.)
Outside the Opera Garnier.
The Golden statues at the top of the house were a great contrast to the sky. Pretty, huh?
Took the metro to Sacre Couer. Very pretty chapel. A lot of steps to walk in the heat of the day. ;)
We toured the local street markets. Many artist displaying their works. A little too expensive for me to buy any art, but Jenn found an affordable artist who cut her silhouette out for $10 euro.
Here's the final result. Cute.
Very long and confusing trip through the train station to find our car rental. After working out a bit of a parking problem, we were off. Driving in Paris is an experience I do not have words to describe. After we survived our trip home (kudos to Gary on good driving) we ate a delicious dinner at Tribeca. Then we ended our day where it began...
at the Eiffel Tower. Sunset. A tripod would have been awesome to have at this moment.
Every night they twinkle to lights of the tower every hour on the hour.
Did you know I have the ability to make my tummy look prego? Well, I do. I found tonight it was even easier to do with a loose sweater and five days worth of eating pastries four times a day! :). I know, it's impressive...just one of my many useless talents. ;)
Love.
Walked through the park,
then through the streets of our neighborhood,
past the busy restaurants and bars, to our Paris home.
What a fun filled week in Paris!
On our way to Versailles and beyond today.
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