Incredible experience.
1 Like
Wow, incredible pictures & landscapes.
1 Like
So, to France for a week. With 3 objectives. Today a visit to the palace at Versailles just west of Paris. Tomorrow heading further West to the national park of Perche (which @coco & I visited twice for ETF gatherings) I really liked the look of it & planned to go back. Finally we’ll end up at the Cote Fleury; Deauville, Cabourg, Trouville, Honfleur & Etretat trying to capture the essence of La Belle Epoque & see what so enticed Marcel Proust, Monet & Coco Chanel to the area 100 odd years ago.
But today Versailles. We’ve an Airbnb out on the western edge of the Parisian suburbs at Les Essarts le Roi which allowed us to take a very smooth, fast, double decker, commuter train service in. Seems like new rolling stock & the line passes near several sites used in the recent Olympics so their public transport currently serves multi lingual users exceptionally well. 21st Century travel. I liked it. Much better than taking a car in & finding an expensive space.
There’s an enjoyable walk to the palace from the station passing some nice cafes, antique/junk shops & a splendid looking pest control operation complete with taxidermed examples.
The palace & surroundings are interesting. it was taken from being a fairly modest hunting lodge up to a pretty grand palace by Louis XIV and then seemingly added to & refined by Louis XV and XVI (with Marie Antoinette) until I guess the cost & lifestyle got too much for the masses who turfed them out & guillotined them. Later it was used by Napoleon & subsequent Emperors
and further bits of Royalty before the government took it over & preserved it all as a museum of French history with the most magnificent grounds/lakes etc. I visited Hampton Court a few years ago & realised now that it would’ve been William & Mary who redeveloped that house & grounds along the same lines at roughly the same time ie late 17C. The similarities are striking.
Highlights of the palace include the Hall of Mirrors, the King’s bed chamber & a very elaborate chapel.
Upper balcony of chapel
The gardens are vast, formally laid out in distinct areas with fountains, follies and a large cruciform lake maybe 1Km long or more.
At the far end of the lake you could see the grandstands erected for the Olympic equestrian events.
Further down a small lake with gold statues in the centre & a great many meter long (30lb) Carp cruising about. A telescopic rod & a bit of floating crust or dog biscuits would’ve been great sport while it lasted.
Out in the grounds are two slightly more modest residences (boltholes) Le Grand Trianon & Le Petit Trianon which were refuges when life at the court became too pressing. They were both more elegant, liveable spaces than the main house. Le Petit Trianon was a favourite of Marie-Antoinette who had the contemporary designers of the day doing her interiors.
Garden of Grand Trianon
Petit Trianon
Marie Antoinette had a rock/cave structure (with waterfall) built in the gardens & then an idealised rustic hamlet which included a lighthouse by the lake, various houses, a fake water mill and a farm. These places each had vegetable gardens so it did produce milk eggs & veg for the house. But the whole thing, while cute, is also a bit Disneyland (albeit built in 1783). Small wonder the people eventually revolted.
Another highlight while walking back to the main house was seeing several red squirrels.
All in all, well worth a visit although allow the day for it. We were there (at the chateau) for 6 hours & walked about 8 miles altogether including getting from & back to the station.
20 Likes
You’ve missed a trick, you should have arranged to take an HGV to Alsace for a vinyl collection.
3 Likes
We are off to Scottow in Norfolk on Friday, stopping off at Paul and Sams on Thursday.
Never been to Norfolk before. Just planning to chill.
Any recommendations of dog friendly stuff to visit?
Interesting and informative write up Guy ! Kinda wish you wanna visit …looking forward to day 2 …
Norwich is a nice place to wander round also plenty of smaller towns …I did “ let’s find a Charity shop thingy” .I toured in camper van after one of Jim’s bake-offs …Also Cromer and Wells by the sea at the top end for some sea air …I’m sure Paul will fill in the rest …
1 Like
Wells-next-the-Sea shorely ?
I stand corrected 
1 Like
If you’re visiting any of the three best known Nth Norfolk seaside places (Wells, Sheringham or Cromer) best avoid the weekend cos they’ll be mobbed.
Norwich is nice to walk around (avoid Saturday) with plenty of historic sites, good shopping and a big outdoor market.
The Broads are close. A day boat hire from Wroxham can be great if the weather’s good. Nice relaxed cruising (wide waterways with no locks) and plenty of waterside pubs where you can moor up and have a pie/pint. (not sure about dog friendly day boat hire - you’d have to enquire)
A seal watching boat trip from Blackney is lovely, but you’d probably have to leave the doggos in the car.
Plenty of ancient and historical sites scattered all over - Grimes Graves for instance.
Plenty of interesting small towns/villages of interest - Holt, Aylsham, Burnham Market etc.
… and obvs you could come visit some fat fucker with massive horns and his Mrs if you’re passing. You be very welcome (doggos fine - we love them 
)
5 Likes
The Algarve has been decent, managed to unwind and put work bullshit into perspective.
Neither of us usually pick a sit around doing f’all holiday, but this has been one of those breaks and its been thoroughly enjoyable.
Cheap, (frankly underpriced) Ubers have allowed us to visit a few nearby towns without the faf and brain power required renting a car.
All very quiet during the day, doubt it would be anywhere near as tranquil during peak holiday season.
18 Likes
soz, this was obvs meant for @mickbald. doh. 
Is the post office record shop still there?
I don’t think so. Iirc, it’s a T shirt shop now. 
There are several vinyl shops in Norwich though, in the Norwich Lanes.
Winterton is dog heaven, the dogs take the owners there for a holiday.
1 Like
In (literally) sunny Hamburg.
I checked yesterday and the last time we were here was 2011. A lot of water under the bridge since then, and the guy on the desk told me that he was 14 at the time.
Have a Chilehaus
Mad brick expressionism. 4.8 million of them.
Also the Elbphilharmonie which is the basic point of the exercise
Years late and billions over budget and the architects would still point to it and say “yeah, and look what you got”. Absolutely teeming with people.
11 Likes
collapsing this evening?
1 Like
Ja, genau.
1 Like
So yesterday we headed West, away from Paris, past Chartres and its splendid cathedral and into Perch national park. The landscape changed from vast flats of agricultural land into more interesting rolling countryside with lots of woodland. Actually not unlike parts of central Devon although bigger in scale and with very different architecture in the villages & towns. Our first stop was Mortagne au Perche which had it’s weekly Saturday market going on. A very pretty town which seemed to be thriving with, besides the usual shops, some very high end boutiques selling nice decorative objects, fabrics & nice furniture. Also some good antique/junk shops.
Then on down to a very pretty village called La Perriere.
Where a French Lotus Elan (more recent version) owners club had gathered.
Surprised they all started again if I’m honest.
Nice view from the back of the church.
There was a very appealing restaurant in the village so decided to return there for a meal tonight.
Onwards to Belleme where the ETF took place in 2018 & 2019. But that was in a cool November. There was much more open & happening this weekend.
Gill was in her element in the various shops there.
Finally out to a very rural & quiet Airbnb. Pics from this morning.
18 Likes