Chateau hopping

Yesterday morning I awoke sleepily to the smell of fresh croissants and hot cocoa which was a delight to my rumbling stomach. After a brief breakfast, I squeezed in the car with Marion, her Mum and her Dad, and off we went to the Château de Pierrefond. The château was home to several kings and queens, like Charles VI and Louis XII. The château is typically what you would expect a chateau to look like, streight out of storybooks. After touring the great château, we had jambon et camebert (ham and cheese) sandwiches with french bread from a bakery, which were so good! I think it is a universal thing to eat on the go (take away in british english and á emporter in french) wherever and whenever it's required. And so, I ate my sandwhich in the château car park with a very nice view of the château. 😊

Then, we drove to the Palais de Compeine, another château to marvel at the sights. Le Palais is most famous for being the home of Emperor Napolean III and his wives, namely Josphine. And grand it was! There were several rooms in the château that were very very yellow, I'm guessing that was Josephine's favorite color? I was amazed at how similar the style of the château was to Buckingham Palace. I really really like that style. C'est trés bon! 

The outside of Pierrefond

A panorama of the inside via the courtyard

A costume exhibit in the château, I can't believe people wore things like this!


The courtyard de la Palais

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Latest Happenings

April 2017: On the 2nd week of first year, I decided to go along with one of my friends, Holly, to the give it a go session of kayaking. I'd done canoeing before, but never kayaking with the full spray guard, wet suit and life jacket. I looked like a legit kayaker from that. Little did I know that I would be full on kayaking in the North Sea. One check off the list. In addition to kayaking in the sea, I was a little hesitant when the group leader led us to a little alcove by the pier and we ended up playing kayak polo (which was super fun until someone threw the ball over my head, I reached for it and I capsized). (But, on the plus side, I ended up meeting an awesome Norwegian girl, Thea, when I capsized). Update 2 years later, Thea is still amazing and I occasionally kayaked in the North Sea as a study break. Hiking the coastal path was more my thing. ---- If you need to, keep time on me...Fleet Foxes, Crack-Up, 2017 -----
Read more

Reve des couleurs

Image
Tonight as we finished our dinner at a local Japanese restaurant in Riems, I heard the faint sound of church music. Being the curious person I am, I had to check it out. The music actually turned out to be part of a light show against the cathedral in Riems. It was a wonderful, beautiful suprise. I took some video of it but I can't attach it :(  One of the displays on the cathedral. 
Read more

Cirque du Gavarnie

Image
Here I am again, up bright, early and in the car ready for another adventure. Off I go with the family and plenty of supplies to last us through the day. For those who know us, we would not be ready to go on a journey without food, courtesy of one member, Michael Jack, my Dad. He is always worried about being without food anytime of the day. And so, this morning, at 9:30 am, we, in addition to a first-aid kit, water, books, phone and dog bowl, we have half of a mini watermelon, half a loaf of bread, mustard, cheese and dried sausage in our trunk.  The drive up to Gavarnie is wonderously windy, with narrow roads and sheer cliff faces. Once we got to the town of Gavarnie, we had to find parking which took about 30 minutes because this is peak tourist season in town. We got there around noon, but if you want to have an easier time parking I would say get there around 10:30 or 11 am.  Once you find parking, follow the signs to the "Cirque de Gavarnie". The Cirque is  a natura...
Read more