The Coolest Place in the World

.... and then we arrived at Vaux-le-Vicomte.

the road forks off diagonally from a small country intersection. Unspectacular except for the fact that the tree line is actually lining the road to the magnificent estate.



The Chateau was known to be the envy of Louis XIV (and thus the inspiration for Versailles). Nicolas Fouquet's lavish parties entertained guests from La Fontaine and Moliere. So inspired was Louie, that he framed our dear rising star, imprisoned him, stole the Chateau's statues and landscape architect, and created Versailles.



My opinion, though much smaller, Vaux-le-Vicomte still outclasses Versailles. Like the difference between a 2 carat diamond with a fair polish and a 1 carat diamond with an excellent polish. Though smaller, you can just tell the difference in quality. But then again, there are always people who like the bigger diamonds. I mean, what do I know about diamonds, really.



I do know that this is one of the coolest places in the world.

Crowning achievment

I have done it. The most amazing combination.

a Belgian waffle
a Blanche de Bruges (a Belgian white beer)
Belgian chocolates

in the Bruges city square.



It was quite a climactic experience.

Rodin and the movement of stone

Rodin is incredible. His statues are AMAZING. Fluid motion. Something so hard as stone can appear as soft as a blanket. Amazing.



Another noteworthy sculptor to check out at the Rodin museum is Camille Claudel's room. This one is probably one of my favorite sculptures of all time. Note the similarities to Hokusai's famous painting of The Great Wave.



And as many times as you see pictures of The Thinker or of The Kiss, it does not compare with seeing it in real life. It just doesn't.



The Rodin Museum is certainly one of my favorite museums in Paris. Truly great.

au chateau de chenonceau

The French love a little drama.... so of course when we arrived at Chenonceau we immediately took in a few stories. This is the renowned castle favored by Catherine de'Medici whose story involves kings, mistresses, revenge, and brutal uses of power.
(yes, Chenonceau is built over the water, no, it is not Disney's Magic Kingdom)



For a woman in her day, she took care of business. Despite her husband (Henry II, brother to Donald) favoring his mistress over her, after his death, she banished the mistress and for the next 30 years, effectively guided the monarchies of three of her sons (Huey, Dewey, and Louie). Way to go Catherine!
(we'll treat this as a woman's lib case and overlook her abusive machiavellian monarchy moments. I mean, she's justified right? she HAD to react that way to overcome the sexist, male-dominated society. I mean, chauvinism IS a french word....)



Catherine de'Medici's famous gardens.



She threw quite a few parties in her time, but in the end, couldn't quite figure out how to pacify Catholics v Protestants (the French edition). Her role as roaming statesperson seems oddly familiar.... isn't that what Hillary wanted Bill to be if she was elected?

Why France is beautiful

After Versailles, we headed out of town. West, in fact, to the Loire Valley. Le Val de Loire is known for its 300 some chateaux, fertile vineyards, and beautiful countrysides. This might possibly be one of the most beautiful sunsets I have seen.



A morning run takes me by flowers, vineyards, and open pastures. (yes, I took my camera with me while I was jogging. no, you can't question my judgment!)



And now we are off to visit some chateaux!

l'arrivee des mes amis

Tell you what, it is GOOD to have friends and family visit. Quite good. But with so much happening, how can one keep track of it all?

It started with my friends' visit. From the minute they came into town, our itinerary was so packed with places to go and things to do, I was loving it.

It commenced with Versailles.



Investment property of Louis the XIV, and the infamous destination of the mob angry with the lovely Marie Antoinette's culinary habits. Pretty freakin spectacular.




I'm still trying to figure out how we got into this impressionist painting. What a great place to have a picnic!



I'd have to say that Versailles is pretty amazing. However, when you hear that Louis really had just ripped off what other nobles had created, you realize that the best is still yet to come....

le chat

Seemingly innocuous. Fairly small. It's an open window to my apartment.

My friend said not to leave the windows open in Paris. I said why? It'll be hot! (more on that later) he said, no, pigeons.

well... I don't have a problem with pigeons

it's the neighbors cat.

who apparently also knows how to open the refrigerator.

I have come home now three times and chased the cat out of my apartment. Torn packages of lunch meat on the floor. Completely consumed.

Even once in the middle of the night while I was sleeping.

I'll admit, I'm a little scared of that cat. It's not your typical lazy eyed cat. It's a black cat that has big green eyes that stare widely at you and follow every move you make. As if it doesn't trust you - and certainly you can't trust it...

I decided the thing to do is to stop feeding the cat bad food and found a way to tie of the fridge door so that it won't open. so far so good. haven't seen the cat in the house for a week!