Clik here to view.
Usse: A Sleeping Beauty of a Chateau
Reading history, I often wonder why anybody in their right mind really wanted to be King or Queen. Shakespeare had it right in “Henry IV, Part 2: “Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown.” And...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Downton Abbey Locations: Irresistible for a Fan
I managed to get to Highclere Castle, the “real” Downton Abbey, on a day it was closed to the general public. Now, I have no claim to fame and I was not invited to take tea with the current Countess,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Egeskov Castle: A Danish Midsummer Night’s Dream
This year I am in pretty-far-north Minnesota for Midsummer’s Eve, but I have to say that Minnesotans don’t celebrate the Longest Day of the Year with much panache. So I’m hearkening back to my...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Heartbreak at Notre Dame in Paris
I’m shocked to see the images of Norte Dame burning today. I was just there in December, and I took it for granted that it would always be there whenever I was lucky enough to return to Paris. I would...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Azay-le-Rideau: Island Dreaminess and Bats in the Belfry
Once upon a time a beautiful chateau rose up on an island in the middle of the River Indre…well, not really. Actually the Chateau d’Azay-le-Rideau began as a 12th-century fortress built to protect the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Chateau Gaillard in Amboise: A Smiling Monk and Oranges from Italy
There’s a new chateau in town, complementing the touristic big guns of Chateau d’Amboise and Leonardo da Vinci’s last home, Clos Luce. (It’s not to be confused with the medieval Chateau Gaillard in...
View ArticleClik here to view.
St. Hubert’s Chapel at Amboise: A Resting Place for Leonardo da Vinci
The Gothic Chapel of Saint-Hubert was built between 1491 and 1496 during the reign of Charles VIII. It’s perched right at the edge of the wall surrounding Chateau d’Amboise, towering over the town far...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Chateau d’Amboise
What if your job was to guard a strategic section of the important River Loire? And this was in medieval times when rival nobles considered themselves mini-monarchs with a duty to become maxi-monarchs...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Winchester Cathedral, Jane Austen’s Resting Place
When Jane Austen died in 1817, she was not famous. She was buried as a gentlewoman beneath the floor in the north aisle of the nave of Winchester Cathedral, with no mention of her as a writer. She had...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Fontevraud l’Abbaye
If I didn’t already believe in ghosts, I’d be positive they exist after visiting Fontevraud Abbey in France. I was looking forward to seeing it again on my last trip to France. I last saw it years ago,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Vaux-le-Vicomte: Fouquet’s Rise and Fall
Louis XIV traveled to this newly-built chateau, Vaux-le-Vicomte, on August 17, 1661. The owner, Nicolas Fouquet, was throwing a spectacular blowout party for the Sun King. There was music, dancing,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Chateau de Cheverny
Some families are lucky. The Hurault family of financiers and officials serving a succession of French kings has owned Cheverny for six centuries, with only a couple of short breaks. The entire castle...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Chateau de Chaumont: A Royal Consolation Prize
Photo by Manfred Heyde, Creative Commons Share Alike 3.0 Chaumont is most famous for being a consolation prize for Diane de Poitiers, the favorite of King Henri II of France. When he was killed in a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Chateau de Chenonceau: A Closer Look
I’d cheerfully spend an early-morning hour or two at Chenonceau every day for a week or two (maybe they have season passes?) For me, as for most visitors, I think the exquisite details get lost in the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Chateau de Chenonceau: Magnifique!
The first requirement for going to Chenonceau is a good alarm clock. It is infinitely more beautiful when you have it to yourself. You want your approach to look as much as possible like the photo...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Francois I at Chambord: Builder, Hunter and Salamander King
Francois I, after Jean Clouet, Public Domain King Francois I was twenty-five years old when he inherited the French throne in 1515. He was more than ready, having sat in on royal councils for several...
View ArticleClik here to view.
If It’s Friday, This Must be Fontainebleau
I’m continuing a brief rundown of my 9-day chateau blitz in France, with individual posts to come! Above is Chateau de Chambord, which I think of as The Really Big One With the Spiky Roof. Francois I...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Penrhyn Castle: A Neo-Norman Victorian Fantasy
I can’t believe I even have a “least favorite” castle, but right now Penrhyn is it. Why would that be? Penrhyn is spectacular in every way. It was built to impress: a fabulous Victorian gingerbread...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Arts and Crafts Perfection at Standen
If I could move into any house I wanted in the English countryside, I’d take Standen, near East Grinstead in Sussex. The house has a complicated floor plan, built in stages. I’m not exactly sure what...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Chirk Castle
Catching-up time: I’m off to England soon, so I’m posting about places I will not see because I’ve seen them before. For a hopeless Anglophile like me, England has way too many stellar sights. Chirk...
View Article
![[QLD, NSW, VIC] Samsung 65](http://files.ozbargain.com.au/n/31/978831l.jpg?h=8d64f0c6)
