Blogs from Amboise, Centre, France, Europe - page 3

Today we went to Mini Chateau which is a place that has the 40 most famous castle's around the area we are staying in. They were geographically laid out with the Loire river. There were some huge castles and some not so big. Some castles also had amazing gardens.  There where heaps of different castles. We decided to chose two or three each then decide on three to go to together. I chose the Usse Castle, the Chambord Castle and another huge castle. We all decided to go to the Usse Castle, the Chamord Castle and the Villandry. After going to Mini Chateau we went to have a look around the town near it called amboise. About two minutes after leaving mini chateau we came across one of the castles that was at the place. It ... read more

After spending a week skiing in the Alps, we went back to Luxembourg for few days. It was time for Leslie to spend a week with his grand-parents visiting Pisa and Roma. For Mari and I, a week in France to celebrate our three years together. No time to blog on the road, I've got hundred of pictures to sort out, so it will be one entry at a time. , and it could take some time... We drove from Luxembourg early morning to the Loire valley, enjoying the small roads, and a very short stop in Champagne to stock on bubbles for all my little family for the next few months. Wish we could stay longer in the Champagne region, but we did it properly last summer. We arrived early afternoon in the Loire Valley, ... read more

CHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCH That’s the sound of my teeth chattering. Day 11 and with no end in sight to the cold snap we headed off to Chateau de Chambord. Once again our Aussie Sat Nav let us down again so we relied on the Merc’s French version (she also sounds a lot sexier). I honed my European driving skills by facing a truck head on down a tiny French alley. I find repeating the “F Word” over and over again really helps you get through some of those tight squeezes. I’ve noticed that my parents have also adopted the same practice. Chambord is yet another home built by a King so he could go hunting (apparently the King only spent 42 days here all up!). The chateau is not as ornately decorated inside as Versailles or Fontainebleau, but ... read more

Geo: 47.4104, 0.981122Some weird dreams last night, but a very good sleep, if you forget about the odd coughing fit. Up early with a quick run over to Sarlat's indoor market - the Dordogne is famous for outdoor markets, but bad timing meant that I was unable to catch any of them. Nothing special, but the indoor one was a suitable alternative, given that there really were no alternatives!Back to the castle for breakfast - the place has a beautiful garden, and seems to make things taste even better. Chatting with Pierre-Henri, I mentioned that normally I don't bother with breakfast back home, maybe some yogurt or a muffin on the run. Pierre-Henri's response was "Non! You must take the time and enjoy your breakfast, this is very important!" I like how the French view life, ... read more

21st November - 23rd November Arcachon We drove from San Sebastian on Friday in the rain. Leaving behind the wonderful tapa bars. We were staying in a hotel with the Sally and Brian from Palmy. Down the road from Arcachon are the Dune de Pylon. But we did't visit them until we had the Quantock-Holmes with us. Our hotel was perfect. Kitchen and bathroom all separate from all the other rooms. Everyone had a bed with sheets and blankets. Blake The sand dunes were fast and cool. We jumped off the big cliffs. We ran down the big cliffs too. I got sand in my shoes, in my pockets and down my ****. Anton, Nic and Mason built a contraption using the skim board and some rope. They pulled each other around for nearly two hours. ... read more