France 2005

VIVA LA FRANCE

Fountain Bleau, this is by far the most elegant home I have seen, well more specifically for it's time period somewhere starting in the 14th century possibly earlier. Too bad I wasn't rich and it was for sale because I would so buy it in a heart beat. The town of Fountain Bleau is also very charming and most certainly center piece is this Estate. Definetly drive around or walk about the town, its rather enjoyable.

Versaille, France
Lori Katie

Versaille, France. Home of Marie Antoinette. She actually made her initial enterance to France through Chalon. Which coincidentally we were going to. There in Chalon is an arch dedicated to Marie. Only one side of the arch is ornate, as the other side she would have never seen. Unless she turned around. lol.

Small outdoor Pubs in Versaille

Lori in a mustard-field somewhere in France. I pulled off the road because of the sea of yellow that stretched beyond the horizon.

Inside Fountain Bleau

Fountain Bleau. Home of Mary Queen of Scots, Catherine de Medici, Louis VX and everyone in between.

Louve. I had pictures of the entire stretch of the Louve against the Seine, however the photos had become over-explosed. Which bummed me out. Then again no photo can really justify the size of the Louve. It is enormous. I have to say the largest museum I have yet to experience. Not only is the art outstanding, but also experiencing the grounds and cafe. One can not miss visiting the Louve if your in Paris. Art lover or not. For me, being the art lover it was the best place to visit in Paris.

See the page regarding European art as I have posted some of my favorite painters , some being shown from the Louve, others from Italy and England Modern Art Museum. I never made it to the Museum de Orsay but someday I shall make it back, I'm not huge on impressionist although I find some quite nice. Triangle building made entirely of glass is the enterance into the Louve, it took us only a half hour to figure this out. It's not really posted as such but I suppose a completely different structure in the middle of the Louve should give hint. I'm slow what can I say, at least I admit this. Anyway once inside the museum is broken up into 5 main halls that are dedicated to periods of time in addition to median of the art. So it's actually convient to break up a group of people so that they can enjoy their median or era's then meet in the center at a specific time. Katie and I did this, she enjoys more modern art, I am more of a renissance, medieval kind of gal. I like dark yet vibrant colors with more of a religious or political perspective she into pale, abstract, romantic paintings. Funny I'm the more light-hearted one. lol. Maybe I can take the paintings with ease and not personally. I like the evoke of passions be it cruel or endearing. Rubens is well known for this. Out of all painters he is the Rock Star.

Seine River in Paris. Batobus takes you along the riverfront from the University to the Statue of Liberty (which faces ours in NY). In between the route you pass the Louve, Museum de Orsey, Effiel Tower, Notre Dame, Parliment Buildings, etc. No bridge that you go under is the same. The can be from the medieval period to modern days of today.

Effiel Tower. View from Bato bus (river bus on the Seine). View from standing directly infront. And view from underneith. Its cool to see, but not nearly as large as people say. At least to me. What is cool about the tower is that at 9:00pm sharp (at least in April) lights on the tower light up and sparkle. We didnt expect this, it was as if they did it just for us. When you have connections you really have connections. lmao

Chalon jardon(garden) running parallel to a main road. Chalon is a very quiet and quaint French Villiage. Very friendly, charming and with a decent amount of history. We only stayed the night there so we didnt see much other than coming in and out. In addition Francoise and her husband gave us a tour after dinner, but it was far too dark out to take photos, or at least worthy ones. One thing I did notice is how well kept and loved this small village is, I never saw liter and the grounds/ homes were well maintained. Oh high point Moet Chandon is nearby. Thanks for the Champagne it was Delicious, mmm....mmm...mmm.
Lastly Francoise husband is a childrens poet, he has been published throughout France. He gave Katie and I a book on his poems and both him and his wife wrote a message and signed the books. How cool is that?

Chalon Du Champagne. Home/ Legal Office we stayed at for the evening. A family friend of Katies.

Area is in the Champagne Region of France. It is actually the only town within the area that had survived WWI and WWII. All other towns were completely destroyed by German troops. In addition there is a church nearby that is dated prior to 1000A.D. The Church is Gothic and unfortunately condemed. I would have taken a photo but a fence around it didnt really give the beautiful building justice.

Further details about my trip to France check out the England page, yes seems unusual and no sense but my entire month long vacation centered around England, England being my base so every thing began, was in the middle and ended in England. So I save myself time and wrote most of the dialogue on the England page.