Loire valley for a day.

Warning: there are many photos in this post. Scrolling through may be necessary. :D

So... on Friday I decided a mini tour was needed, since I havent seen much of the country. So I went on a mini bus (I was the youngest by 45 years. Lowering the average age is my job) and we went for a 3 hour drive to the Loire Valley.

So there are hundreds of Castles or Chateaus in the valley, its crazy. Its a beautiful area to drive though, but I would recommend a few days, and to go on your own with a car. 

Our first stop was the Château that  Leonardo Da Vinci spent the last years of his life in. Its an impressive building, and they had replicas of most of his inventions. The guy was a genius. 

You werent allowed photos on the inside.. but it wasnt that impressive. 

The area is amazing though, its on a cliff side.

The gardens are amazing, I wish we had more time to wander through, they had scale versions of his inventions in this beautiful setting...

Mill.

I really liked the tank. hah

the next stop was at Le château de Chenonceau, or the castle of the ladies. Its supposedly the most romantic in the valley.

The interiors were very impressive.

I loved the kitchen. I want one.

Louis XIV is always present...

Diana garden, the garden of the kings mistress... much bigger than the garden of the queen. Poor Queen.

So there was one queen, and her king was murdered, and she was so upset that she had a room decorated black on the top floor of the chateau and stayed there for the rest of her life... with no internet, or TV. Oh god. 

This dog was awesome.

Birds were flying at this part like crazy, I guess they were going for honey or something?

It is very pretty though.

We had lunch here in l'Orangerie. It was a set menu but still very nice. The dessert was the best of course. And the wine. Its nice to not be drinking 2 euro wine.

Chambord. The biggest in the Valley. Built by a king that wanted to show his power. He lived in it all up 7 weeks of his life. It was too large and cold for anyone to live in. It was mainly used as a hunting lodge. Most rooms are empty, but the sheer size of it is very impressive. This is also the region where Chambord the alcohol comes from. Yum yum.

The middle of the amazing staircase. 

The staircase has two sets of stairs winding around. So two people can do up or down the stairs at the same time and never meet. But you can see through little windows in the middle. 

King Louis XIV room of course. Incase he visited.

It was a very good day, long, with lots of driving, and very hot for the time of year, but I'm glad I got to see some of the country. 

I've now been in Paris 4 months, crazy. less that two weeks and my parents are here, and then we leave Paris to take on Europe for three weeks. I'm excited, as well as wanting my bed at home. Not long now!

Just a small post.

So in the last week or so, I have been to the sacre coeur twice, oh my god the stairs. Once to help a friend with her photography project (By help, I mean stand with her for a couple of hours incase someone harasses her) and again for drinks to say goodbye to a friend who is leaving Paris to go back to Winchester in England. 

Everyone is starting to leave, its very sad, but also kinda exciting, only16 days til my parents are here for our three week long adventure around europe. I wont lie, I'm kinda ready to be home now. I will miss this place for sure, but I miss my friends, parents, puppies and my bed. Oh god how I miss my bed...

Anyway...

Still filled with people, even at night. The Sacre Coeur glows on top of its hill.

Other things I've done this week. A few exhibitions, a picnic in the sun in Buttes Chaumont, Musee d'Orsay, and three eurovision nights. 

This shot is from Fauchon, pretty much the fanciest patisserie around. They are famous for their eclairs, so I bought two. I will definately have to take mum and dad here, the charcuterie part of the place looked amazing, and I want to try some of the other eclairs too.

The other Australian girl, who is lucky enough to have access to an oven, made pavlova for our picnic. Its good to have a little Australia in Paris, but I really miss baking now. I will have a month long bakefest at my place when I get back. I will need to fatten you all up by then.

Eurovision! We streamed the shows live, and I introduced the girls to the wonder that is eurovision. 

On Saturday night for the final Lauren cooked us blue cheese pasta that was amazing, and we played the eurovision drinking game. It wasnt too messy... 

Very disappointed with the winner though. We thought that Moldova, or Ireland should have won it. Probably because they were pretty ridiculous, but they were much better than the winning song. Tell me, do you know where Azerbaijan is? Because thats where the next contest will be held. 

Anyway, Tomorrow I am heading to Pere Lechaise cemetery to say hi to Jim Morrison and some others.  I have also booked to go into the Loire region for a day on friday. Trying to do as much as possible in these last two weeks, but I'm also so exhausted. 

Well theres my updates finally. Sorry it took so long. Hope you are all well!

Miss you!

a bientot!