European Adventure Part Six: Château de Chenonceau

CHATEAU DE CHENONCEAU, FRANCE

5.28.15

While we were staying in Paris, we took a day to visit the Loire Valley region.  We rented a Parisian's car and drove out of Paris and two hours south on a foreign road system.  That was an adventure!  I am grateful that I was not the driver.  (Way to drive a stick shift in the tenth-largest city in Europe, Dad!)

Our destination?  The beautiful Château de Chenonceau.

The hall that extends over the river and touches the far bank

was added after the initial castle was built.

The audio tour was very well presented, and each room was decorated in period style.

One of my favorite facts I learned about Château de Chenonceau occurred in WWII.

As explained in the picture, the long hall extended across the patrolled river,

which was the line of demarcation, and was a route to freedom for many Jews.

I can't think of a better use for Chenonceau than that!

Beautiful white roses nestle against lattices, stone fences, and houses
throughout the Château de Chenonceau grounds. 

Everywhere I looked, I saw tranquil scenery.

I have amazing parents!

The path beside the lake was so peaceful...

... And the path through the wooded grounds was lovely, too.

There is a reason the French think their food is the best...

...it is.

Isn't that the most perfect carriage house ever?

The village (where the Chenonceau staff lived) was picturesque.

The garden for Chenonceau was beautiful.  Maybe weeds don't grow in France...

Roses and irises against a stone wall.  How could it get better?

We left Château de Chenonceau around suppertime
to find the most charming little village, Chenonceaux, outside the castle grounds!

I love how so many buildings are covered in ivy or trailing vines.

With fresh local cheese to eat during the car ride home,
we headed back to Paris after a wonderful day.

We just had one more city to visit before our trip ended.

European Adventure Part Five: Paris

Yes, I realize this trip occurred in summer 2015 ... but I still want to post about it!

PARIS, FRANCE

5.26.15 - 5.30.15

By mid-morning, it was going to be an adventure to see if we would make it to Paris! 

From Lauterbrunnen, we squeaked onto a train for the second leg of our journey which departed a half hour earlier than the train we had planned to take. It appeared that we had plenty of time... until we pulled out our tickets for the next two trains and realized that we had reserved them for the wrong day, several days later!

Allow me to briefly explain. Although Eurail is a train system, some of the trains require reservations. It's not like the old-fashioned American trains for which one could walk up and purchase a ticket on the day of travel. It's more like an airline; you need your reservations in advance.

Thus began an exercise of faith. God foresaw this problem, had us on a train a half hour earlier than we had planned, and would see us through the rest of the day. But for an hour or so, all we could do was sit and wait.

I watched in amazement as God led us to the help desk, through the process of changing our tickets, and onto the platform where the train would arrive with about ten minutes to spare. God knew exactly how much time we needed and had provided it even before we knew there was a problem!

The Eiffel Tower was first on our to-do list in Paris, 
so we headed through Champs de Mars (a park).

All at once, the tower appeared through the trees.

Sisters in Paris!

I knew the Eiffel Tower was big, but I didn't expect it to be that big as I approached!

We started out on the lower platform ... 
and then went all the way up there (to the "lip" on the top!)

We watched the sun set from the top of the Eiffel Tower ... until my sister and I begged to go down because we were so tired. That is when we discovered it was nearly ten o'clock! 

As we reached the bottom of the tower, the crowds on the Champs de Mars began cheering. Lights began flashing. The Eiffel Tower was lit up - and not just lit up, but sparkling brilliantly!  

For about five minutes, the lights flashed and we enjoyed perfect views of the tower.  

As I turned away from snapping my last photo, the lights stopped sparkling.  

God had blessed us all day long with His truly perfect timing!

Musée d'Orsay is an amazing museum.  
I could have basked here for a few days, not a few hours!
The statues interested me more than I expected; 
I think I am gaining an appreciation for sculpture after Rome and Paris!
I especially appreciated the Monet, Degas, and Van Gogh exhibits.  
Each one alone would have merited a separate museum in America!  
Musée d'Orsay is built in an old train station with side rooms extending from the main hall.

(Mom, me, and Caroline)
Île de la Cité (isle of the city, situated in the middle of Paris in the Seine)
interested me far less than I expected.
Cathédrale Notre Dame de Paris was less spectacular than other cathedrals we had visited,
though the stained glass was lovely.

There they are... the gates of gold!  

Though the skies threatened, I was glad it did not rain as we waited in a long line at Versailles.

Other than the hall of mirrors (above), the rooms were not well-decorated.
I suppose the enraged peasants destroyed most of the furnishings during the French Revolution.
Versailles was a let-down for us; after all, it is the finest French palace, right?
Perhaps we would have appreciated it more had the weather been warmer
and more conducive to exploring the extensive palace gardens.

We went to Musée de l’Orangerie just to see Claude Monet's water lily rooms.

After WWII, Monet painted eight large canvases of water lily scenes and gave them to the city of Paris. He wanted the Parisians to have a peaceful retreat after the horrors of war.

Those paintings are now on display in two oval rooms.

  It really is a peaceful retreat - I could stay for hours.

Paintings don't usually stop me in my tracks, but this one did.
Does anyone else think the water is rippling?

Here we are at l'Arc de Triomphe!

The city spread out in all directions from the platform on top of l'Arc de Triomphe.

This is not a fancy bakery; this is MacDonald's.
Yup, we had real French fries. (But they didn't taste as good without MSG!)

On our last evening in Paris, we noticed something for the first time right outside our apartment.

Our apartment building sat on a corner with the above view to the Eiffel Tower!

We went outside and watched it light up... a perfect ending to Paris!

.......................................................................

Next travel post: a day trip in France.

European Adventure Part Four: Lauterbrunnen

LAUTERBRUNNEN, SWITZERLAND

5.23.15 - 5.25.15

I should probably warn you... there will be a lot more pictures on this post than on the last one.  Because it was the only small town on our trip, Lauterbrunnen valley was my favorite.  (I wasn't going to pick a favorite because they were all so different, but people kept asking... so this is it!)

This was the view from the balcony outside my window.

Now add spring mountain air on a breeze, the soft sounds of cowbells, and you're about there. 

The cows all had cowbells ... and every sheep wore a bell ... and all the goats had bells, too!

I loved the bells.

Staubbach Falls is the "signature" waterfall for Lauterbrunnen valley ...

but only because it is the most prominent of 72!

As you can tell from the picture, Lauterbrunnen is definitely a valley.

The sheer cliffs on either side create the perfect Swiss retreat.

We took a train ride to the mountain Jungfraujoch. 

Although we did not expect the overcrowding at the top,

the views on the way up and from the observation platforms at the top were beautiful.

At the top, one was surrounded by snow-heaped mountains.

Yes, we are above the clouds.  

God blessed us with great views before the clouds enveloped the mountain in early afternoon.

Caroline, Mom, me, Dad

Here we are on top of Jungfraujoch!

(Doesn't Dad look like a Swiss mountain guide in his bright coat?)

There was just one chapel in Lauterbrunnen, visible from the opposite side of our hotel balcony.

Lauterbrunnen had the most beautiful cemetery I've ever seen.

Each headstone had its own flower plot, and every one was meticulously well-kept.

There was even a little station with tools for gardening.

More than aesthetics, the cemetery had a serene feel, as if the presence of the Lord was there.

Me, Caroline, Mom, and Dad at the top tram station.

We took a tram from Lauterbrunnen up the mountainside ledge to Grütschalp

to start our loop hike in the Alps foothills.

It. Was. Perfect.

This was part of the path we walked.

The views into the valley were beautiful, too.  (Can you see the buildings?)

Swiss people decorate every available ledge.  It's lovely.
This was from a building in Mürren, the town at the end of the upper ledge on our hike.

Our tram back to Gimmelwald swung over the ledge ... to this view.

Notice the parachutes in the field behind me.  We watched at least half a dozen land.

All at once, the sun broke through the overcast afternoon onto the falls.

We followed a path alongside the stream much of the way back.

It was about 3 miles through scenery like this to get back to our hotel.

I found another example of Swiss decor on our walk.

This was one of the two main roads through the valley.

It was so hard to say goodbye to Lauterbrunnen.
While it reminded me of my Appalachian mountains, it had its own distinctive feel.
I am immensely grateful for the two days we spent here!