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Memories of France ~ Chateaux interiors
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Category Archives: Loire Valley
Chateaux of the Loire – Day Five: Chateau de la La Ferté Saint Aubin
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The history of Chateau de la Ferté Saint Aubin goes back to the 17th century. We found it a delightful place to visit not only because of the gorgeous restoration but because of all the marvelous things to see and do. My favorite was the exquisite doll museum with dioramas of antique dolls and children’s toys. 
My daughter enjoyed the goats and chickens in the farm. 
And we both loved the cooking demonstration of madeleines in the chateau kitchen using techniques of past centuries.
On the way back to our car we discovered how they trim those enormous hedges that surround many of the entrances to the chateaux.
A delightful place to bring children–although my granddaughters were at their Centre Loisir that day.
Chateaux of the Loire – Day Four: Chenonceau
Of all the beautiful chateaux along the Loire, Chenonceau, built in 1513, is the one I have visited and loved the most. Which is why I can always go back again to walk that grand gallery over the Cher river, delight in the exquisite floral arrangements in each room, and read about the rivalry of Catherine de Medici and Diane de Poitiers and visit their competing gardens.Their iron, but very feminine, fists in their velvet gloves always preserved Chenonceau in times of conflict and war.
This year with my six-year-old granddaughter as my tour guide, I visited places in the 70 hectares that I had never seen before–the Maze, the extensive greenhouses and gardens where the flowers for those beautiful displays are grown and arranged (did I think they call 1-800-FLOWERS ??), the stables, the XVI century farm, and the historic display of the chateau’s use as a military hospital during World War I.
The castle chef’s at work
One of the many beautiful bouquets designed for each room
This lily pad display even mimicking the pond scum
The photo display of WWI as a military hospital
One of many garden areas
Enjoying the tour
Chateaux of the Loire – Day Three: Chateau Chaumont-sur-Loire
This is the third of nine posts about our visits to Loire chateaux this summer. Chaumont was distinctive for its annual International Garden Festival and a lovely lunch at Le Grand Velum which features spices, vegetable species, rare and relevant plants from eco-agriculture.
Less than 200 km south of Paris, nestling between the cities of Tours and Blois, is a haven of poetry stretching out 40 meters above the wild Loire, Whatever the season, Chaumont-sur-Loire, once the home of Catherine de Medici, Diane de Poitiers and Princess de Broglie, beckons visitors indoors to admire its cozy and lavishly furnished interior. Installations by an array of contemporary artists in the château and along the footpaths of the park catch you by surprise. Every year, more than 400,000 visitors flock to its International Garden Festival, held since 1992.
Our photos include the chateau itself with all its elegance and grandeur on the banks of the Loire, its fabled stables, its unusual eco-friendly restaurant, and, of course, the Garden Festival
Catherine de Medici’s bedroom in her usual somber hues
Modern stained glass art installation in attic niches filled with restoration materials
Grand dining room
Huge stables filled with carriages and harnesses
The chateau’s floral borders
Garden Festival entry portraying top of home sunken by nature’s forces in this future themed competeition
All that is left is the attic with the survivor’s few precious belongings
Parfumery entry.
Another unusual entry
Look closely for Maggie popping up in this one
And on to lunch at Le Grand Velum
Cushion of veal cooked like a boiled ham, with grilled bacon from the same meat, seasoned with lovage. Heads of broccoli and duxelles of finely sliced chard served on home-made wholegrain bread roll
Beef eye-of-round and Carrots cooked in mild
“ices (Voatsiperifery pepper, paprika and turmeric), cumin potato bubbles and saffron
yellow zucchini, beef gravy and cress shoots
Milk chocolate and pollen flavoured
streusel biscuit, organic honey parfait, served with a smooth peach-apricot cream.
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Chateaux of the Loire – Day Two: Chateau Sully-sur-Loire
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Now THIS is what a castle is supposed to be! Visit the Chateau’s website and be sure to play the Presentation Clip and you too can experience what we did, traipsing up and down endless spiral stone staircases (hanging on … Continue reading
Chateaux of the Loire – Day One: Chateau Villesavin
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This summer I spent three lovely weeks in Orléans with my daughter and granddaughters, ages four and six. During the week, the little girls, who are bilingual in French, attended a Centre Loisirs pour les enfants (see news photos here) … Continue reading
Memories of France 2009
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Getting in the mood–as if one had to work at getting excited to visit France! As I prepare for my lucky 13th trip to France this summer and a 3 week stay in Orleans with my daughter and granddaughters, I’ve … Continue reading
How not to think about packing…
Where’s Scotty when I need him? As the days count down and I’m surrounded by packing boxes, I desperately want to be beamed up to my new home. The best way to distract myself while I’m resting on the couch with various sore muscles being chilled under ice packs is to think back to some of my lovely trips to France. And look forward to another journey to my favorite French destinations next summer.
And, you MUST scroll to the bottom of the photos to see my the abode which I will share with my daughter and her husband and my two delightful granddaughters, ages 3 and 5. I know I’ll enjoy the fabulous view of the entire San Francisco bay from my little private patio. And what better than having two little people prying your eyelids open in the morning, whispering, “Are you awake, Mimi?”
Paris in winter
Eze during the Christmas holiday
Spectacular Bonifacio where my love of Corsica and my novel MOTHER TONGUE began
The gargoyles of Notre Dame in sight of our apartment a block away
Honfleur–the harbor master’s where my great-grandfather did business on his clipper ship the Llewellyn J Morse
The cottage at Chenonceau at the height of the wisteria season
The harbor at Cassis–gateway to the Calanques
Opera Garnier for the ballet–red velvet heaven
Dinner on the beach at L’Ile Rousse in Corsica
The fabulous Chagall museum
Visiting 113 rooms at Chambord
The Paris Opera costume exhibit at Chambord
Serenity…the harbor at Bonifacio
The Petite Hameau of Marie Antoinette at Verseilles
A stunning view of Mont Saint Michel
A cozy view of my new home at night. That’s my special space on the bottom right behind the wrought iron fencing.
The back patios.
The double terraced yard.
My little private patio with views of San Francisco bay
A view of San Francisco bay from the main level
Beautiful bits of flotsam and jetsam
Very often it’s not the grand vistas but the intricate details that are most remembered from our travels. Enjoy this array of exquisite bits of flotsam and jetsam from my travels in England and France.
A swan at Versailles
The “Thinker” gargoyle at Notre Dame
Two gargoyles’ view of Paris
Chenonceau through a window
The kitchen at Chenonceau
Drain pipe at Chambord
Opera costumes at Chambord
Egyptian cats at the Louvre
MIniatures of Paris in shop on Ile St. Louis
Pont D’Alexandre Paris
Buckingham Palace
Near Buckingham Palace
And ending on a yummy note…the Albert Pub in London. See you there!
A Rainbow of Color ~ Spring in France
From the flower market on Île de la Cité to Le Tour Eiffel peaking through the trees to the irises at a bed and breakfast in Amboise to pink tulips in the garden at Chenonceau and its wisteria covered cottage to a colorful array of tulips behind Notre Dame to touches of color at Villandry to the spring green of the cloisters at Mont Saint-Michel and, finally, to the sacred grounds of Normandy.
Dr. Karen Stephen aka Doc Flamingo 