Monday Nov 17th

The Chateau de Versailles








The Palace is a royal château in Versailles, in France's Île-de-France region. In French, it is known as the Château de Versailles. When the château was built, Versailles was a country village; today, however, it is a suburb of Paris, some twenty kilometers southwest of the French capital. From 1682, when Louis XIV moved from Paris, until the royal family was forced to return to the capital in 1789, the court of Versailles was the centre of political power in France. Versailles is therefore famous not only as a building, but as a symbol of the system of absolute monarchy of the Ancien Régime.



The gardens of Versailles occupy part of what was once the Domaine royale de Versailles. Situated to the west of the palace, the gardens cover some 800 hectares of land, much of which is landscaped in the classic French Garden style.









Dating from the time of Louis XIV and still using much of the same network of hydraulics as was used during the Ancien Régime, the fountains contribute to making the gardens of Versailles unique.

Sunday Nov 16th

The Chateau de Villandry and its gardens....

The Château de Villandry is located in Villandry, in the département of Indre-et-Loire, France.

The lands where an ancient fortress once stood were known as Colombier until the 17th century. Acquired in the early 1500’s by Jean Le Breton, France’s Controller-General for War under King Francois I, a new château was constructed around the original 14th-century keep where King Philip II of France once met Richard I of England (“the Lionhearted”) to discuss peace.

The château remained in the Le Breton family for more than two centuries until it was acquired by the Marquis de Castellane. During the French Revolution the property was confiscated and in the early 1800’s Emperor Napoleon acquired it for his brother Joseph Bonaparte.

Ed was like a kid in a candy store :-)



Here is Ed inside the gardens

In 1906, Dr. 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.

Still owned by the Carvallo family, the Château de Villandry is open to the public and is one of the most visited châteaux in France.

With the smallest gust of wind, the leaves would fall from the trees and it seemed as though it was raining leaves




Dinner with David and Jackie at Findi Italian Restaurant.

Saturday Nov 15th

Lunch at Montmartre



Another Cuban Cafe in route to Chantilly



The Chateau of Chantilly

Friday Nov 14th

Today we went to the Opera House to see the building architecture and an inside tour. It was breathtaking. This is Ed in front of the Opera and you can you see our Hotel in the background.



This is the front of the Opera House building.


This is Ed with his new found friend, Bourdeaux, overlooking the Siene River.







Our friends. David and Jackie arrived this morning and we went in a Dinner Cruise. It is David's Birthday today!!



Ed and David, after several glasses of wine!



The Eiffel Tower is in blue to celebrate that France is currently presiding over the European Union.

We had a lovely time at the Dinner cruise. The food was wonderful and it was great to be able to share it with our friends!

Tursday Nov 13th

Church of Sacre Cour














Funicular at Sacre Cour





















Montmartre artist village



















































Oyeme tu. George, MaryLou, we found this Cuban Cafe and thought of you guys.

















Pont Nuf.














Nothing like Isle of Cite!










Ed found his new friend, a bottle of Bordeaux!



We had another beautiful day and it got better in the afternoon. We visited the Church of Sacre Cour, and walked around Montmartre artist village. Then we took the metro to Isle of Cite and walked around Pont Nuf (Bridge Nine). The tip of the island with a Weeping Willow is said to be the most romantic place in Paris. We left the island and walked to Las Halles. We had not been there before. It was like Winter Park, Orlando on steroids. Lots of bistros and cafes. There was also a beatiful church Las Halles. You can see the Pompedeau Museum. This is a close as we will get to this Museum.
Then, we walked to the Opera and around the shops there. I had to drag Ed away from the Bvalgari store. But, we had our bottle of wine and plastic cup. We had lunch at the Tuleries garden.
Our friend David and Jackie will join us tomorrow. They should be arriving in Paris sometime Friday morning.