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Written by Roo
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Monday, 14 September 2009 14:21 |
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The Google Map explains it all. |
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Five Chateaux, Three Gardens, and a Cat |
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Written by Roo
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Saturday, 12 September 2009 17:01 |
So here we are zooming across the french countryside with les vache in le fields going le mooux and I pause to reflect upon the past few days (well, the car keeps zooming at 135 kph, I'm sitting still, but I digress)...
On Tuesday morning, we packed up and left Mont Saint Michel after taking some pics and flics of the tide surging in. There's a causeway that makes the Mont more of a permanent isthmus than an occasional island, but we puttered about until the tide went out anyway (high tide lasts about an hour or so). We decided to get some groceries on the mainland just after leaving, which was fortunate, since someone forgot her wedding ring at the hotel. I won't say which of us did it, but we called the hotel and they had indeed found it and were holding it for us while we ran back to get it. Did I mention that, ironically, the night before was Kerri and my seventh wedding anniversary?
With that little adventure behind us, we hit the road to check out a little town named Asnieres-sur-Vegre, wherein there lay a little old church with rilly old fresco paintings. We also saw a rilly old bridge with rilly not-so-old skinks playing around in the cracks.
 After that frivolity, we continued to the evening's main course, the Gregorian chants of the Solesmes. It was ... religious and weird, watching people in the church stand and sit at points known well to them, and not to us. Pat asked to get her picture taken with a priest - job well done.
Then back "home" to Loches for the night.
Wednesday, we popped over to Villandry to check out the gallorious gardens and a cat.  The gardens were vast and pretty, with lots of planning and tending. We took many pictures there. Also, there was a cat. People took pictures of the cat. I took a picture of Kerri taking a picture of the cat. I thought it was funny - all this ornate gardening requiring hundreds of hours of work per square meter, and people photograph the cat.
We left the cat-gardens of Villandry and made for the popular Chateau Chenonceau, a palace almost entirely over a river. Kerri and I walked through the gardens and did a quick loop through the castle (we had seen the castle before, but then had little time for the gardens). Then we played a bit in the little maze hedges surrounding a vine arbor thing with some subtle wood sculptures on it.
And then it got late, scrapped our plans to eat at a fancy restaurant that we originally intended and instead went to a "Simply Market" and got microwave dinners - we ate Moroccan Chicken and Cous Cous with flan for dessert. (The next night my mom had paella while we had Indian spiced chicken and rice. But we did drink regional wine and hard cider, too.)
Thursday - a drive to Chaumont sur Loire. Here and at Villandry there were fighter jets that flew (barely) overhead, maybe a couple hundred feet up. They also were speeding along, making noise a long ways behind where they appeared, tho not past sonic. It was impressive, and a bit of a contrast to the historic chateaux they flew behind. (In both cases, did not have a camera ready to catch the perfect shots of them just over the ramparts.) Anyway... um, oh Chaumont.
There was a Festival of Gardens that we visited featuring several displays of art projects based on gardens - in some cases, very loosely based on gardens. Next to this and the chateau is a nice pretty park, complete with a "cimitaire du chiens" - yeah, a dog cemetery. What park is complete without a plot of land dedicated to the remains of ~100 year old dogs, and an elephant(!).
But the chateau was nice - enter the yet-another-chateau phase.
Then came Blois, a chateau interesting for the fact that it features four different styles of architecture: Gothic, Enlightenment, French, and Classical. We also ran around in the old town and found another old church. And then back to Loches.
Friday we leave for the last day of chateau gawking, this time my mom and Pat stayed and relaxed while Kerri and I went to Chambord. Yet another chatea-oh my! Very ornate spires and imposing presence sets this one apart.  Before we went in, we first saw a horse show, featuring talented dressage and stunning tricks. Voice commands making horses spin in a tight circle or group together and stay in place (difficult for any animal much less horses). Also featured some break-neck saddle tricks ostentatiously to impress the girls. It were a good show, reminding me much of Ren Fest (Missy, a festie, would have fit right in, if she were only fluent in french).
 Chambord Chateau features a double-helix central staircase culminating in a central dome spire joined by several other individual spires, which can be viewed from the top level. An impressive view, both from below and from up there.
Alas, this was our last chateau visit for the Loire valley, as we had to get up and get out of Loches early this morning to make for the south of france, down to Provence. We did stop In Bourges (get it?) and visited the Cathedral of Bourges. Three levels of stained glass windows, rising up more than a hundred feet.
(We're passing an IKEA just outside Lyon, *giggle*.)
We wanted to climb up to the top of one of the towers, but we didn't have time for the 396 steps.
And back on the road... now passing Lyon, ready to head down the A7 to Mazan. Not to the west, though it would be interesting to actually have been in the town of Carcassonne, but you know, limited time and all.
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Last Updated on Saturday, 12 September 2009 14:31 |
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Written by Roo
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Tuesday, 08 September 2009 02:19 |
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Lots of pictures, plenty to see. Finally figured out how to get a connection to make updates. This morning we got to see the tide come in, since we stayed at a hotel on Mont Saint Michel.We enjoyed a breakfast of chocolate croissants that we bought at a gas station last night. Okay, backing it up... Kerri and I spent the first night in Paris while my mom and Pat went down to Loches and stayed at the farm cottage that we have for a week as a sort of base. In the morning, Kerri and I went to the Orangerie and looked at Monet's water lily murals. After that we went to look at the Saint Chapelle, renouned for its massive amounts of stained glass windows letting in light in all directions. We rushed through that in order to check out of Paris and head for Versaille. Versaille is huge. There were so many people. The comparison I thought of at the time was if you could imagine the MN State Fair, fairgrounds and people, they both could fit in a little corner of Versaille and be a little side attraction. We looked at the pritty buildings and Marie Antoinette's get away from her get away, a little "hamlet" modeled after a peasant village. It reminded us of Ren Fest, except it's a period pretend hamlet, which made it intriguing. Rushed to make it back to the main palace to see the last few seconds of a once-a-week water fountain show. Then hop on the train again to head for Loches and meet up with the others.  The next morning we got up and drove (or rode) a long ways to get to Mont Saint Michele, where we had just enough time to run up the ~300 steps to the abbey and tourist it up. Lots of pics inside the abbey, including my favorite spot in the cloister. Later at night, the abbey is lit up spectacularly.
Must wrap it up quick now, as it's checkout time, and we have to head to Abbaye De Solesmes. |
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Written by Roo
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Saturday, 05 September 2009 23:30 |
In our hotel room, ready to finally get some real sleep after too many hours of traveling and sightseeing. Visited Notre Dame and the Eiffel Tower. Pulling pictures from the cameras, must get sleep.
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