In the middle of Paris, Notre Dame Cathedral lies on an island in the Seine called Ile de la Cite (Island of the City). Just downstream of the Ile de la Cite is a second island called Ile Saint-Louis. Our little 16th century hotel was on the Ile Saint-Louis. The islands are connected to the sides of the Seine by several bridges and to each other by a single pedestrian bridge. The Ile de la Cite is about 6 blocks long while tiny Ile Saint-Louis is only about 4 blocks long. Given that we weren’t able to get into the cathedral when we were here a year ago Christmas, and this time it was only about 2 blocks from our hotel, we made a point to visit this time. We had been by there several times but there was always a long line. So we took Rick Steves’ advice and went early one morning. They open at 8 am and we got there at 7:45 and got right in with only about 10 other people. It was great. They were holding a small private mass that was barely visible but certainly could be heard and that just added to the atmosphere. Built in 1163, the cathedral is amazing.
(By the way, there’s new “Paris” blog music. Check it out.)
My favorite view. This pink tree is gorgeous.
As seen from the left bank.
I love the detail work on these front doors.
The doors from further back showing the stone carving.
One of the famous rose windows.
Did you know that some of the windows open?
Here’s another open window.
There are a couple of windows like this one. Somehow they don’t seem to fit with the rest.
These are just a few more odds and ends of photos that we took while we were out and about in the countryside, before we got into Paris.
I think “Happy Eurocar Driver,” seen on this bumper sticker on the back window of our little red Fiat, is code for “Caution! Crazy tourist driving!”
It doesn’t get any greener than this!
We just loved driving our little red Fiat on these country roads.
We really wanted to drive up this little side road.
Another beautiful road!
Glad I’m not their gardener!.
We saw lots of plastic-covered bails of hay(?) like this one in the fields. Some of them were even pink and blue. This one looked a little precarious perched on top of the shovel of this guy’s tractor.
We spotted this baguette dispenser at the train station. A fresh baguette was 1 Euro (About $1.15). We need one of these at work to go with our new soup machine!
The Paris airport and larger train stations have pianos in them like this one. People just come along, sit down, and play. And all of them that we heard were amazingly very good!
We saw many of these holes in the sides on hills in the countryside and they look like some sort of storage facility. Some of them are quite modern looking with gates and electronics, like the one on the left, which almost looks like it could be some sort of garage. But most of them were more rustic like the one on the right, usually with some sort of primitive cover on the front .
It seems like the vehicles are getting wider and wider while the roads aren’t. We were mesmerized as we watched this truck carefully slither past another equally big truck before I realized I should have gotten the photo. Duh!
This mail delivery person was so sweet – she was very happy to pose for me after delivering mail to a business.
This is a wisteria tree, so to speak. The wisteria vine has completely taken over an old pine tree, thereby becoming a full-fledged wisteria tree.
Our little hotel in Villandry was really lovely so I wanted to share it with you. It was run by an adorable couple, Natalie and Pascal, who were so friendly and accommodating with everything we asked. Their English was very good and we enjoyed talking with them about their beautiful little hotel and we even got to meet their cat, Minette. When we told Pascal how beautiful Minette was, he got a big grin on his face and said, “Yes, she knows that.”
The hotel has only been open for 2 years since they started the renovation in 2010. Originally this elegant old limestone house, built in the 1800’s, was a refuge for women and girls. It still has its old charm but has been completely renovated inside with beautiful tile floors and all of the modern conveniences. The hotel is just up a slight hill from bustling downtown Villandry and thanks to its location and double-paned windows, the rooms are absolutely quiet. Our room looked over the gardens and right next door there was a pasture with beautiful brown cows! The best of both the city and countryside. Breakfast was served in the cheerful, sunny breakfast room and was delicious. Those were the best croissants we’ve had – and we’ve had a lot of croissants on this trip!!
Gated entrance to the Le Haut des Lys Hotel.
The beautiful hotel. There was a big terrace along the front of the hotel with comfortable patio furniture where you could enjoy the lovely evenings.
Natalie and Pascal are perfect hosts – warm, gracious and eager to please.
Breakfast layout was beautifully displayed and delicious. Soft cooked eggs cooked to your liking – by you! Best croissants ever!
Cheerful breakfast room.
Minette, the perfect cat!One of the highpoints of the hotel are these stained glass windows in what used to be the chapel. These are absolutely mesmerizing! The old chapel is now part of the lounge area and bar. A very inviting area to relax.
This is a close-up of 2 of the windows in the morning when the sunlight was pouring in through the windows. They were amazing!
The beautiful gardens we could see out our windows were lit at night.
This fragrant peony bush in the garden had the biggest blossoms I’ve ever seen.
The hotel is on the Loire by Bike route and welcomes visitors traveling by bike.
Gentle brown cows in the pasture next door. It doesn’t get any more pastoral than this!
Thanks Natalie and Pascal for a wonderful visit in your beautiful Loire Valley!
Back in the Loire Valley, we drove the 30 or so winding, twisty miles over to Fontevraud to see the Royal Abbey. The Abbey is the burial place of Eleanor of Aquitaine, who, Chuck’s genealogy research has shown, may have a connection to his family. Built in the early 1100’s, it’s an interesting place, mostly because for centuries it was headed by a series of women, the Abbesses of the Bourbon family. The Abbey had a big influence on the community: it rented lands, grew food, and served as a boarding school for famous royal families, But by the end of the 1700’s, everything started to fall apart and eventually the monks and nuns left and the buildings were abandoned. In the early 1800’s it became a prison, and a progressive one at that. It was initially intended to receive 700 prisoners and by the mid-1800’s it actually accommodated 1,600 prisoners. Interestingly, in 1943 it still had 1,200 inmates and in 1963 it still housed 500. Prisoners worked in the fields and in the manufacture of products for the army. After closing inn 1963, it was bought by the French government. Today it serves as a laboratory for sustainable development and welcomes tourists as well as those who come to attend conferences, concerts, film festivals, exhibitions, and educational workshops.
The Abbey church.
The nave of the Abbey Church.
A beautiful stained glass window high over the front entry door.
Chuck is standing in front of the 4 royals that are buried in the Abbey church. Directly in front of him are Richarrd the Lionheart, son of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine, and Isabelle of Angouleme, wife of King John. Behind Chuck are Eleanor of Aquitaine, and King Henry II of England, Eleanor’s husband. Dating from the 12th century, 3 of the statues are made of stone while the fourth is of wood.Eleanor of Aquitaine, and King Henry II of England, Eleanor’s husband.
Modern electronics allows the visitors to create these light shows in the Abbey church.
Looking into the beautiful cloisters.
The cloisters.
Inside the cloisters.
This interesting looking octagonal-shaped building is actually the original Romanesque kitchen. Impressive in size, it was capped with a ventilation hood and had several ember hearths and a subtle ventilation system. It was probably also used as a smoking-room for fish and meat.
Oh my goodness, we have found THE gardens! This is why we came. This place is gorgeous. In fact, since this was our 3rd stop for the day, we skipped the tour of the inside of the chateau and just spent about 2 hours in the gardens. But before we get to the photos, here’s my usual Cliff’s Notes on the Chateau de Villandry.
The Château de Villandry is a grand country house located in Villandry, France. It is especially known for its beautiful gardens.
The lands where an ancient fortress once stood were known as Columbine until the 17th century. They were acquired in the early 16th century and a new château was constructed around the original 14th-century keep where King Philip II of France once met Richard I of England to discuss peace.
In 1906, Joachim Carvallo purchased the property and poured an enormous amount of time, money and devotion into repairing it and creating what many consider to be the most beautiful gardens anywhere. Its famous Renaissance gardens include a water garden, ornamental flower gardens, and vegetable gardens. The gardens are laid out in formal patterns created with low box hedges. In 1934, Château de Villandry was designated a Monument historique. Like all the other châteaux of the Loire Valley, it is a World Heritage Site.
Nice sign!
It’s a country home, not a huge chateau. And as chateau’s go, it’s not the most beautiful. But oh, those gardens! The house is surrounded by moats that are teaming with carp that come to the surface of the water begging for food!
Every year 2 plans are designed for the planting of the 9 plots of the vegetable/kitchen gardens – one for spring and one for fall – and it’s posted on a sign in the gardens. Since 2006 the gardens have been organic. One of the great things about the gardens is that something is always blooming because the beds are planted and replanted during each of the seasons.
The borders around the vegetable gardens are planted in either shades of yellows and golds, or shades of pinks, purples, lavenders and blues. This was one of the yellow/gold borders.
These unique tulips were in one of the pink/purple/lavender/blue borders.
The ornamental garden is made up of 4 styles of hearts representing 4 different kinds of love: tender love, passionate love, flighty love and tragic love. (The garden pictured above is just one of the 4 love gardens.) These gardens are right next to the chateau so that guests in the chateau could see them from the windows.
Another view of the ornamental “hearts” gardens.Behind the ornamental gardens (in the foreground) are the vegetable gardens (to the right) and the sculpture gardens to the left of them. 115,000 flowers and vegetables are planted in the gardens each year.The vegetable/kitchen gardens.
Besides the beautiful gardens seen in these photographs, there are woods you can walk through, a maze garden, an herb garden next to the vegetable garden, and a children’s playground area.There are 1,015 lime trees scattered over the whole estate. Each winter it takes 4 gardeners 3 months to prune them.
The sculpture gardens. Love the way these trees are pruned.
Interesting trees.
A pond (the “Water Garden”) in the shape of a Louis XV mirror.
One of two obligatory photogenic swans in the Water Garden.
These gazebos are on all 4 corners of every intersection of the vegetable (kitchen) gardens. They have seating inside and the outside is covered with rose vines. They’re going to be gorgeous in a couple of weeks.
On one of the upper levels is the Sun Garden, actually 2 separate gardens with slightly different themes. There are fountains in the middle and these dogs took advantage to get a quick drink.
The other part of the Sun Garden was just starting to bloom and there were lots of unusual pink lilacs and white wisteria. I liked the grass walking paths.
…And this poppy, which was gorgeous.
We’ve decided we want this house just outside the garden walls but with windows overlooking the gardens. Maybe a kickstarter campaign…..;-)
We visited Chateau Azay le Rideau in the little town of Azay the first thing in the morning. It’s got lots of construction going on and the gardens are more modest, but it’s still a pretty little chateau. Here’s a little history:
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. It is one of the best known of the châteaux of the Loire valley.
The castle of Azay-le-Rideau, listed as a Unesco World Heritage site, is now undergoing a monumental restoration, where stonemasons, carpenters and roofers combine their talents to restore this jewel of the Loire Valley to its full glory. The project is expected to be finished in May 2017.
Below are a few photos from the Azay.
When you walk down this beautiful tree-lined driveway, you can see the chateau in the distance. Only it’s not the chateau you’re looking at – it’s one of those tarps that has a photo of a chateau on it because they doing renovations. Sneaky!
Here’s the chateau. the renovation scaffolding is visible from here. It’s really a very pretty chateau.
As mentioned above, the chateau is actually on an island. You can’t really see the island under it – it just looks like it’s surrounded by a mote.
Next to the front entrance, the wisteria are in full bloom.
This is what you can see when you look out many of the windows. Hmmm….not very chateau-like.
The rooms inside are very similar to what we’ve seen in other chateaux. But this interesting little desk in a circular alcove caught my eye.
I have no idea what this is but it was very attractive. One of the panels said 1653 on it.I don’t know that this chest is for either. It was in the same room with the item in the previous photo. It looks like a series of little drawers, each with its own individual lock and key.
This is a close-up of one of the little individual drawers. Most interesting.
The grounds were very manicured and pretty but not a lot of flowers.
Well we’re on the road again. This time we’re traveling from the Chateau de Flottemanville near Cherbourg where we spent the last 2 nights to Villandry where we’re going to spend the next 2 nights and visit a couple more chateaux. Then we’ll turn in our rental car and take the train to Paris.
This road trip was very similar to the one we took from Amboise to Mont St. Michel, just in the opposite direction. Lots of gorgeous green meadows and trees, many happy cows, a rest stop every 10 to 15 miles on the freeway, down windy roads through the villages, and lots of those incredibly beautiful yellow fields. Never get tired of seeing those. Today’s trip was about 150 miles.
The trees are not all leafed out yet and they’re beautiful silhouetted against the blue sky.
More happy cows!
This is a typical rest stop sign.. When the sign starts with “aire de” it means it a rest stop. Then the smaller signs below it tell which services are available. In this case it was a Shell gas station with food and drinks. Very similar to a lot of our freeway signs.
The rest stop we stopped at didn’t have a gas station. It just had the standard small building with interesting bathrooms, lots of picnic tables and then this cool bridge that went over the freeway and connected it to the rest stop on the other side. And then we saw this old sign with the arrow designating view (on the top) and frites (on the bottom). We thought that was odd because the only frites we know of are French fries. But we wanted to see the view so we crossed the bridge.
Once we got across the bridge we discovered way back in the corner of the parking lots that the “frites” is actually a French fries truck. It was run by a couple and they had sandwiches and sodas too.
So we had French fries and cokes and they were the best fries we’ve had for a long time – very crispy and not at all greasy.
When we went back across the bridge we noticed that the owner of the truck had also put a temporary sign in the building with the bathrooms so more people would notice it.
While we were at the rest stop looking out from the view point, I saw this little building way out in the middle of nowhere with a vine-covered chimney. I have no idea what it is. Anybody?
More of those beautiful silhouetted trees.
On smaller roads, especially through villages, this is a very effective way to slow down the traffic.
A line of trees down this country road was just stunning.
Have I mentioned how pretty these yellow fields are?
Now that I’ve been able to take some photos in the main part of the Chateau Flottemanville where we spent 2 nights, I wanted to do another post to give a little more information about the place. What a great place to stay. I believe there are only 5 rooms for rent at the chateau – there appears there’s some kind of local restriction about that. Only one of the rooms, the one we stayed in, was actually in the chateau. The others were all above the stables.
The chateau has always been in the innkeeper’s family but it’s clearly a real challenge (and expensive) to maintain. It’s run by a really nice couple and their grown son, although we never saw the son. They appear to have no other outside help. The innkeeper is semi-retired and does a little consulting and his wife teaches kindergarten in a local school. The innkeeper struggles with English but his wife’s English is very good and we enjoyed visiting with her. She told about her father and how on D-Day American troops came to the door of his home and, thinking he was German, shot him 5 times. Fortunately he survived. The Flottemanville Chateau was also occupied by American and French troops at this time.
There are 2 dining rooms in the main chateau where the guests eat breakfast every morning. I finally remembered to take my camera to breakfast so I could take photos and I’ve also included a few more from the grounds.
Here’s another shot of the chateau as you head up the driveway.
And this is the back of the chateau. There’s a big back yard behind it and along one side of the back lawn is a pond.
At the far end of the back lawn is a moat that runs behind all of the properties along here.
One end of the chateau contains the chapel that is next to our room.
On the left end of the chateau is where our room is. There are apparently 2 rooms up here which originally were accessible by these stairs. We’re not sure what’s in the room on the left – ours is on the right. The access to both rooms is now around the back.
The entrance to our room was through these flower gardens.
These are the original stables where they’ve now turned the 2nd floor into guest rooms.
There were 2 dining rooms in the main house where they served breakfast to guests.
This is the 2nd dining room. There was a fire burning in the fireplace and it was very cozy.
Chuck wrote in their guest book on the hunt table. Notice the sculptured horse in the stall next to him.
An antique rocking horse sat in the corner of the dining room.
We spent most of the day in the park in the village of Tourlaville where the Chateau de Ravalet is located. I think this is the most photogenic place we’ve visited yet. The grounds are immaculate and well-attended and the chateau looks fabulous from any angle. Unfortunately, the chateau itself is in disrepair and not open to the public. The owner of the little café on the chateau grounds said that it will take 5 million Euros to renovate and its owner, the City of Cherbourg where Tourlaville is located, doesn’t have the money.
Here’s a little background on the chateau:
The Chateau de Ravalet castle was built in the Renaissance style between 1562 and 1575. Originally a medieval manor house belonging to the royal domain, it was sold to John II de Ravalet, Lord of Tourlaville, one of Chuck’s direct ancestors, who built the chateau on the property. John II gave it to his nephew, John III, whose children, Julien and Marguerite, had an scandalous, incestuous love affair which resulted in their beheading in Paris in 1603, after a denial of clemency by the king.
Following severe financial problems, Ravalet sold the estate and it subsequently changed hands several times over the years. The chateau was used as a hospital during the First World Warand the castle was listed as a historic monument in 1930. It was occupied by the German army during the Second World War and U.S. troops in the Liberation.
The Chateau site includes a Renaissance park with a moat. The park was redesigned in 1870 with two ponds and a cave. A greenhouse was built between 1872 and 1875 and contains many exotic plants. The park was acquired by the City of Cherbourg in 1935 and became a public garden. The park was listed as a historic site in 1996.
The modest entrance to the city park where the Chateau de Ravalet is located.
Here’s our first look at the front of the chateau. There’s a small fountain in the middle of the circular driveway.
To the left of the chateau are the ruins of a medieval guard tower.
And to the right are seen the ruins of a medieval wall.
Also to the right is this unusual fountain. There’s a ledge across the top of the arch and water is dripping down all of the way across the ledge. Sitting behind the dripping ledge was a tiger.
Here’s the other side of the chateau as seen from across the lake. There are points all around the park which were clearly planned to be points from which to easily get good photos.
There’s a moat along one side of the chateau and periodically there are bridges that cross over the moat.
Even the bridges across the moat were photogenic.
There are 2 lakes on the park grounds. There’s a freeform natural looking lake directly in front of the chateau and then this rectangular one is next to the formal gardens.
The rectangular pool is where most of the waterfowl are located. The birds are very tame because people take pleasure in feeding them. A lot.
Swans and friends.
Swans are so elegant and graceful. And sometimes mean!
We named her Marie. She’s a little different from the others, very vocal. And she followed us around everywhere.
We really liked this little door and the tiny steps up to it.
The park is 35 acres with long trails through it. There were small groves of different kinds of trees. These weeping willows were so graceful.
This was another small grove of trees that was so green and pretty. These trees, as well as others, had large areas of daffodils under them – unfortunately they were already finished blooming.
This small greenhouse was built in 1873. We couldn’t get inside but it was interesting to look in the windows.
We bid fond farewell to Mont St. Michel this morning and headed our little red Fiat northward towards Tourlaville, our next stop. I must say that Chuck has shown great improvement in his manual transmission driving skills and seldom starts out from a stop sign in 3rd gear anymore.
On the way to Tourlaville we stopped to visit the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial, the site of the massive Allied assault on the Normandy coastline on June 6, 1944. It poured down rain the entire time we were there which gave an extra solemnity to the area and the reminders of its past. The Cemetery is one of 14 permanent American World war II military cemeteries on foreign soil. The government of France granted use of this land, in perpetuity, as a permanent burial ground without charge or taxation.
Entrance to the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial
Eisenhower quote at the entrance to the visitor center.
Map showing the invasion routes for the various troops.
Looking through the Garden of the Missing at the Memorial featuring a 22-foot statue, “The Spirit of American Youth Rising from the Waves.”
Robert E Jurca, Pvt 119 Inf 30 Div, Pennsylvania, July 31, 1944. He is not forgotten.
Over 9,000 servicemen and women are buried at the Normandy American Cemetery.
Looking out over Omaha Beach towards the English Channel.
After visiting the cemetery at Normandy, we drove over to Tourlaville to check in at our next “hotel.” What a pleasant surprise we had! This “hotel” is a B&B in the form of a chateau – the Chateau de Flottemanville. Our two previous lodging places have been very good but this one is over the top so I just have to share it.
We were driving down a country road when “Mate,” our Austrailian-voiced GPS, said to turn left and we had arrived. We laughed because on our left was a Medieval church with an ancient cemetery between the church and the street and we wondered what we had gotten ourselves into. But then we saw a sign for a chateau at the entrance to this driveway across the street from the church and we figured Mate was just a little dyslexic.
About half way down the lane, we saw this Unicorn in the woods next to the road. I’m positive it was a unicorn. I just knew that was a really good sign.
At the end of the driveway, this is what we saw. Cool!
We have a small suite and it’s fabulous! It is filled with antiques and even has an antique piano. There’s a fireplace and antique tiles on the floor. There’s even a book that talks about the Ravalet Chateau that we’re going to see tomorrow.
The Inn Keeper mentioned that our room has a secret window and he showed Chuck how to remove the panel from it. Our room is next to a small chapel. Our room was inhabited by an elderly person and when the panel was removed to expose the window, the room’s occupant could hear and see the service in the chapel through the hole.
This is what you see when the panel has been removed. There’s now a Madonna and Child statue in the hole but you can see a stained glass window behind them.
The Inn Keeper let us peak into the chapel even though it’s undergoing renovation so it not currently used. This is what that beautiful window actually looks like. The tiny chapel has 4 or 5 beautiful windows like this one.
Tomorrow we’re going to visit the Chateau de Ravalet.
![IMG_2175[1]](https://frenchgardensblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/img_21751.jpg?w=640&h=853)
![IMG_2190[2]](https://frenchgardensblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/img_21902.jpg?w=640&h=480)
![IMG_2331[1]](https://frenchgardensblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/img_23311.jpg?w=640&h=480)
![IMG_2381[1]](https://frenchgardensblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/img_23811.jpg?w=640&h=480)
![IMG_2321[1]](https://frenchgardensblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/img_23211.jpg?w=640&h=480)
![IMG_2295[1]](https://frenchgardensblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/img_22951.jpg?w=640&h=480)
Springtime in France 