After a wonderful three days in the Loire Valley, we set off for L'Ile de Re a small island of La Rochelle.
L'Ile de Ré is an island that is apparently very popular with the Parisians for their summer holidays. We are stayed at St Martin which is a quaint fishing port and one of 10 separate areas. The island itself is about 30 kms in length and 5 kms at its widestpoint and main production is salt. There was a gorgeous waffle shop and we decided to try one – chocolate and Chantilly. Oh dear, much too rich and messy – never again.
Our excellent GPS took us right to the door ofLe Clos Rhea. This place is in a very narrow street and was all locked up like Fort Knox. We did have some difficulty with getting in as we couldn’t be heard despite pressing the bell several times. However eventually, we were met at the gate and shown around the complex, paid the bill and were given instructions regarding security entrance and exit from the complex and finding the parking out the back. This required driving around one way streets and was a bit tricky with the tiny narrow streets and driveways. This village is typically French with whitewashed buildings and green shuttered windows and of course the very narrow streets.
Graham was convinced that our GPS should work and so after resetting it, voilá -it sprang into action! We added destinations and were ready to put it to the test.
We have now visited 3 Chateaux in the Loire Valley - all unique and magnificent. Tapestries, furnishings all from the renaissance period 16-18th Centuries. I was especially surprised to see the curtain fabric and wall coverings in a couple of the bedrooms– very “French General” in type. (French General is a Moda range of patchwork fabrics recently available in Australia) Considering the age of these “originals” I was blown away.
Wall paper and curtain material
Villandry has the most amazing gardens. Over 85,000 vegetable plants, 400 roses and 125,000 other platings along with 1200 lime trees. 10 gardeners are employed to manage these spectacular gardens. The chateau itself is a bit tired but well worth the visit. Azay-le-Rideau was the second chateau we visited yesterday and this chateau is nestled away behind quaint little houses.The château of Azay-le-Rideau was built from 1515 to 1527, one of the earliest French Renaissance châteaux. Built on an island in the Indre River, its foundations rise straight out of the water.
We had our first experience of driving down the very narrow streets, often only room for one car at a time. Surprisingly they are two way traffic streets with signs to give way at various points along the street. So far so good with the driving,seems to get easier every day.
Today we set of for Chenonceau, the third of our chateaux in this area. To our surprise, there were many, many tour buses and cars already in the car park and people everywhere. Certainly this was a very popular chateau. We headed through the entrance and along a beautiful treed archway and made our way to the chateau. Chenonceau is by far the best of the three in terms of restoration and furnishings, tapestries and floral arrangements. This is a very grand chateau on the River Cher. A huge chateau with super huge bedrooms, a mammoth kitchen, sculleries and staircases to a further two levels. Spectacular, ell preserved tapestries adorned every wall. Due to the immense number of people, I thought I would be lucky to get any decent photos but patience is the key. We wandered from room to room in total awe of the surroundings. What a magnificent castle, surrounded by water. Beautiful rose gardens, a maze and vegetable gardens too. Some of the largest pumpkins I have ever seen. Not to mention the many other surrounding buildings.
This chateau was our favourite by a long shot and we’re glad that we’d left it to the last to see.
The weather has been great. Overcast and some rain yesterday morning but lovely sunshine in the afternoon. Today beautiful sunshine all day about 24°C.
My French is improving everyday and communication is quite easy really. Most people in the hospitality industry speak English too, but they are very happy for us to try. This is a wonderful country for a holiday!
At Melbourne Airport, I picked up a great little book “It’s Never Too Late....” by Patrick Lindsay and I will use some of his quotes along the way in this journal.
It’s never too late...To Make Plans,
Looking ahead takes you out of the daily grind.
Planning ahead brings hope.
Small plans first, with realistic goals.
Build confidence.
Then make bigger plans with bigger goals
Always have plans.
“You are young at any age if you’re planning for tomorrow” Anonymous
Leaving on a jet plane... well Cathay Pacific.
What a fantastic airline – from checking in luggage to everything else along the way. Comfortable seats, great food and entertainment in every shape and form.
Movies – Letters to Juliette then Love is (all in subtitles), Sex in the City 2
A very good start to a wonderful holiday.
We were greeted at Hong Kong International Airport with a fairly spectacular “light” show. Little did we know that the lightening would delay our flight a further 2 hours. Plenty of time to check the Footy Scores – Well Done Cats!!! We left HKIA at around 2am (Aussie Time) – 12 hours flying time to Paris. We managed about 7 hours sleep. Our arrival time in Paris therefore 8.30am instead of 6.30am (Local time)
After clearing immigration and collecting bags we found our way (with some help) to the free phone for the car pickup – TT Car lease. We were collected and taken to the depot. This was the part that scared me the most. However, I was prepared to follow the instructions of the GPS to the letter. The adrenaline kicked in big time and after signing the documents we were given the keys to our little silver Peugeot 207 .
Things to remember when driving in Europe
1. Sit in the driver’s seat and take a big breath!
2. Note the gear stick on the right and check out controls
3. Stay in the centre of the driving lane – don’t crab to the right.
4. Set up the GPS
5. Follow the car in front – hopefully there will be one!
Sadly our GPS didn’t kick in fast enough, so we decided to hire one from the car company @ 6 euros a day. I don’t think we would have made it out of Paris without it. I’ve never seen traffic like it. We crawled along in 1st gear most of the time and occasionally got into 2nd. What a scary start.
We followed the directions very closely and after driving about 270 kms, arrived at Le Vinci Hotel in Ambois (The Loire Valley) around 3pm. This is indeed Chateau country- large signs seen along the roadway. The sun is shining and we are enjoying 26°C. After coffee for some revival we walked down to the main town area and using limited French and English purchased some basic food requirements to keep us going.
We’ve learned how the “paéage” system works on the motorway and observed speed limits from 30 – 130 kms/hour.
After a 9 month gestation period, (since booking our trip) the arrival is imminent… Our departure date is now only 4 sleeps away. Suppose I’d better start packing my case soon. It seems there is so much to do and not enough time to do it in. Fortunately it doesn’t take either Graham or I very long to get organized once we get started with the packing. As we’ll have a car, we are mindful of lifting luggage in and out of the boot so travelling light is the key. You’ll be pleased to know that I haven’t seen any “stubbies” out yet. I don’t think we’ll be going into very hot weather even toward the south of France and certainly by Belgium it will be much cooler.
At last... after 9-10 years, this quilt has finally been completed! I must confess though that it had been sitting in the cupboard unfinished for about 8 years. I set about completing all unfinished objects (UFO's) last year and almost succeeded. However I started many new projects along the way and with a newly ignited passion for the craft and dare I say it a little more time, I have now realised my mission. I was determined to quilt it myself on my trusty Janome and after many hours was able to complete the project and this lovely Queen sized quilt now adorns our bed.
I can understand why so many people migrate north during winter. Last weekend, we were privileged to join with friends to celebrate Jason & Tonia's marriage at the Gold Coast. The weather for the whole 4 days was sunny, warm and a little "nippy"at night.
Graham even ventured into the water at Broadbeach. I was surprised to see that the beaches were patrolled even in June!
The Colonial Golf Club in Rubina was the venue for the reception and this proved to be a very beautiful location. The views were spectacular and the food was outstanding. If anything there was too much food.
On Sunday we drove to the Tambourine Mountains, watched some hang gliding, enjoyed a short walk to Curtis Falls, walked along Gallery walk before having a very late lunch of homemade Chicken and Bacon soup which was delicious.
Of the three quilts shown, the Waverley Sampler (Green & Pink) was given away as a gift for a Ruby Wedding Anniversary last year. This was a fun quilt to make in a our once a month Quilting Class at Waverley Salvos. Participants came with little to no experience and others had made some quilts before. We have a fun night on the first Thursday of every month with Lynda as our teacher and mentor.
I always try to include a new skill or try something different in every quilt I make and the second quilt made with pre cut Northwood Flannel squares was not at all difficult but instead of quilting, I used 6 strands of DMC thread and tied knots on every corner. My mum & dad now use this in their caravan.
The third and very bright quilt was another new skill - Quilt-as-you-go. I used a Japanese range of beautiful fabrics to create this quilt which at present is hanging in our family room. It is very bright and cheerful and the colours are very rich.
I have three other projects on the go at the moment and will post them soon. My Queen sized Log Cabin quilt has finally been completed after starting it in 2002. I was keen to machine quilt it with my trusty Janome machine and although a huge challenge, great satisfaction from completing it all myself.
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