Category: architecture
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Château et Jardins de Villandry
This is one of the three chateaux we visited in the Loire Valley. We chose Villandry because of its famous beautiful gardens. Villandry is unusual in that it is a Renaissance castle that was the residence of neither a king nor a courtesan, but of Jean Le Breton, Minister of Finance for François I. He drew…
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Château de Chenonceau
Chenonceau is the second château that we visited in the Loire Valley in June of this year. Click here to read about our visit to Château de Chambord. Like Chambord, Chenonceau is also well known and thoroughly written up – see the official website here. The chateau presents itself and distinguish it from the many others in the…
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Château de Chambord, Loire Valley
On our trip to the Val de Loire in June, we visited three famous chateaux. According to an official tourist leaflet, we have a choice of as many as 70-plus chateau in the area. These buildings are national monuments and not the kind that has been converted into a hotel or B&B – like the one…
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The Magazine, London
The Magazine is a newish restaurant that is housed in an extension of the classically-proportioned Serpentine Sackler Gallery in Kensington Gardens, central London. I(Chris) was staying in Lancaster Gate. JL came over to meet me and we wandered into the park and stopped there for an iced latte in a sunny afternoon. The contrast between the…
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Château des Arpentis, Saint–Règle
This is the chateau we landed when the one we booked canceled our reservation. For the full story on how got here, see our earlier post here. On its web site, the history of Château des Arpentis is as follows: The first well-known lord was Christophe Thomas in 1313. Around 1410, the chateau became the…
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Finding Château des Arpentis, near Amboise
Continuing with our journey in the Loire Valley … after a few days in Saumur, we went up river to see the chateaux that made the area famous. In the countryside around the city of Tours, we visited several chateaux that are justifiably France’s national treasures and deservedly tourist magnets. We will share those pictures…