just south of Bordeaux, a few hours by train, you come to an interesting small town in the Aquitaine. Bordeaux is known for wine, especially red wine but honestly I found the wine offered experiences to be really great for novices and people who have never visited a vineyard or had the chance to hear someone’s explanation of how to appreciate wine. But I started learning about wine when I was 10 years old and visited so many vineyards in California and through the years in many countries. Wine being my drink of choice always, maybe because I grew up with it or maybe because I enjoy the incredibly huge variety of flavors and combinations of tastes that come with a new bottle. So go to BOURDEAUX if you want to learn something about wine or want to spend a lot of money to try to wines at the new exhibition hall for wine in the city. But for that reason I did not do any wine tasting in Bordeaux. Instead I experienced it in this small town. I will explain below.
Wine and cheese and salami are my evening heaven. Ever since I was a kid it was the really stinky cheeses that pleased me. Bier cheese was often available when we had guests over for a bridge game. I would sometimes sneak into the kitchen, very quietly opening the refrigerator door and pulling out the bier cheese. To understand how stinky this cheese is, you count to four after peeling back the rapper to cut a piece off in the kitchen while everyone else is in the living room playing bridge. After those four seconds mom would say in a very stern and loud voice, “ Billy, stay put the cheese back“. Two days ago I passed by a cheese shop and asked for the stinkiest cheese they had. This is what she provided. It is not quite as stinky as bier cheese but the taste is just as pungent and delicious.The train station This is a really bizarre outfit. It reminds me of a Japanese ancient Shintopriest outfit.
above I mentioned wine tasting. While walking I passed this Small restaurant and the owner, Jerome, a sommelier, greeted me and talked a little bit about the wine tasting he offers and some foods he has in the restaurant. But the most interesting things he mentioned were concerning the local and tourist attraction to big name and fashion restaurants and chains. He explained it’s not easy for independent shops like his to attract attention. Since I am not really attracted to big names or fashion I decided to give his offering a try as he provided to tastings of reds, one with a lot of tanin flavors and another one from 300 m up in the hills not far from Bayonne. That one was more interesting for me so I ordered it and then the second option on the menu which was a pork liver pate with chestnuts and a vinaigrette dressing for the lettuce and tomatoes. It went extremely well with the wine. These little shops are the places you should be visiting since they have not only good service and attention to details but they are very personalized and the people are interesting. Jerome knew some of the wines from California and so we had a discussion about some different flavors. Having the opportunity to receive an introduction to local wines and pairing foods from a sommelier is usually extremely expensive but not at Jerome‘s shop. If you’re ever in Bayonne make sure you stop by, taste a few wines and get his suggestions for the food that goes with it. This was the highlight of my visit to Bayonne.
The menu The food was delicious The Spanish gate. I was wondering if this was a dividing line between France and Spain. The old buildings still standingOld buildings in one of the plazasCathédrale Sainte-Marie de BayonneThe lone woman in a private conversationBeautiful ceilings I found this church to be amazingly beautiful The colors inside are really stunning
Reims is a pretty interesting ciy to visit, the place where French kings were crowned for many centuries .
The roman wreath for crowning kings in Reims is what the lady is carrying The old city centerMany train stations in France have pianos for people to play some music, a very interesting and enjoyable idea.
not Steven Colbert!A typical streetNice architecture. The roof identifies it as FrenchAn ancient carouselThe church where the king were crownedA main plazaLouis XVStill carrying my Lao garment bagNice coffee but not my best cigarJohn Wick’s Continental Hotel?Didn’t ask if he stayed here
Any Luxembourg Adventure starts with the main city which has free public transport (countrywide) and is also very walkable.
A memorial for the Jewish citizens who lived and perished in this country during the second world war .An interesting statueBeautiful building. This is a government building Statue of the Grand Duchess CharlotteFrom the brdge. Lots of greneryBy the river bank lots of space for people to exercise inWar dead memorialMore views from a bridgeBeggars in Phuket got dogs when they saw how many people crowded around me when I had a cute puppy. Now it is a worldwide thing. Beggars need dogs.Some hotel and archives related to Joan of ArcBeautiful churchChurches bury famous people in the floorsAncient church artworkChurch historyMoving on to Nancy in FranceMain city gateA very interesting cheeseI thought Vienna Coffee was a Japanese invention but that is not the case.One of the Grand Duke’s palacesBeautiful countrysideNice design for a public toilet
I have to clarify “Busy Lyon”. I was told by a Paris resident Lyon is a French food capital. It is! The restaurants were packed. I didn’t try a lot of the local food since I was not willing to eat the large portions presented (still on my strict diet). But It all looked so delicious. If you are into food and are in France I think you should visit Lyon. It is an interesting city, though expensive during this tourist season (June).
The good restaurants were packedLook what some kid dropped on the street.The cathedral at the top of the hill is popular pilgrimage church.Basilica of Notre Dame of FourvièreA local churchAncient Roman amphitheater In busy LyonIs this a typical old style store? I am fooling you. This is a miniature of a store presented in the Cinema Museum in LyonI told you it is packedOk…..Indian Tapas?Busy Lyon restautantsSaône RiverFrench Cuisine? Popcorn dessing?Shops along the river, very good pricesA huge Asian Food and commodity storeI finallly found the perfect cup to carry for making my own coffee
You wouldn’t think Lyon in France is where you would find one of the largest cinema museums but it is indeed here. Here are some things I found interesting at the Lyon Cinema Museum. All of the items here are from the actual movie productions. This museum is also housing many miniature movie sets that are really fascinating to see. It is well worth the entry fee if you are interested in movie memorabilia.
My new buddy from Beatleguise. A Ford Anglia I recognized right off. I had a miniature Matchbox version years ago. It was used in an England movie. Lyon Cinema MuseumA ghost capture device from Ghost Busters.Edward Sissorhands` handOne of the old movie camers used for many decades produced in the first town I lived in, for just one year.One of the original auto tape destroying recorders used in the Mission Impossible TV series.Mock heads used in the Thelma and Louise cliff dive final scene.One of the original Batman costumes.AlienDarth Vader mask and gunHellboy suit. This would be very hot to wear.The way an actor gets “run through”Gun from Bonanza
Hopping around Paris you will see really interesting things and experience many interesting people. Remember to always greet people every time you meet them and to leave with a greeting as well. You can find many interesting museums to visit at one which I recommend. It explains the Dreyfus affair.
Watch out for the deadly anglesYou can take a trip on the river SeineWhat do you think would be hiding in the blanket. Actually it’s a miniature pincer that wants to keep warm in the cool of ParisWe see something hiding here too It’s a Jack Russell with a head cone to keep it from licking a woundA typical arcade with a café outsideAn old Peugeot where everybody can take photosA tower of somebody famous Enjoying a large space looking at the Concorde Hopping around Paris managing the dogA great portraitA famous clock chimeHawaiian Poké bowl is even a thing in Paris The two dogs on a walk but I can’t reject ice creamStreet Art is not allowed Lady liberty Fresh fruit and vegetables everywhere Typical Paris CaféI had to have tiramisuI just liked this paintingDreyfus was accused of treason, and easy target to be framed partly because he was Jewish. But after five years the person who framed him confessed. You can visit this museum which has many artifacts of the Jewish presence in France.The front of the Dreyfus museum One piece of street art which is all over the city Notre Dame is now complete and available for visits free of chargea very impressive pulpit an interesting design for pipe organit was very crowded inside my friend noted that before the fire the inside of Notre Dame was very dark due to dirt and suit and hundreds of years of aging. Now it is clean and brightSome priests were gathered a beautiful design with the ceilings in the Royal French blueThe place is huge I’m not French so I guess I am not a bastard. This is a famous French bakeryThe Jack Russell stancea wonderful dessert thoroughly aged in BrandyMy first croissant in France. It is so much different than what a croissant in the US taste like. A beautiful park with a bridge whose foundation is crumbling and needs reconstruction Roast duck whiz cheese mashed potatoes. The best mashed potatoes I ever hada great restaurant. I highly recommend it a nice wine With King you could pile on all the blankets and pillows and she wouldn’t minda dog made of sandDog parking outside the storePicasso Museum an interesting interpretation I found this very interesting. It reminds me of the day of the dead in MexicoLooking out the Picasso Museum Picasso worked in many genres. He was more versatile than I had ever imagined. You should visit this museum to get a good perspective of his versatility.The famous goat
This town in the Champagne area is a really cute town to visit and they have a nice champagne winery to visit. Enjoy the photos with Bill Smale Adventures.
Our guy is showing us the different bottle sizes. He confirmed that the largest bottle size is not the one used to celebrate at the races.Down in the caves you can see how these bottles are stored in order to get the yeast to settle so they can extract it. Sometimes the extraction is done by hand.The shows a bottle with yeast that still needs to settle. Yeast venting As with all wine caves this one is nice and cool. It was pretty warm outside. These are the three types of grapes used for their champagne at Châlons en Champagne. Only the Chardonnay grape is used for the Blanc de Blanc.This shows their vineyards throughout the champagne area. The front entrance A parking mushroom Old houses on the river Beautiful old churchA Chinese restaurant named Angkor . I wonder if they’re playing with the Cambodian Temple complex name.Typical French perfume shop Beautiful old buildings in Châlons en ChampagneI think this lights up in the evening Making sure this building doesn’t fall while they are putting up a new building beside it.Pipe organ in Eglise Collégiale Notre-Dame-en-VauxBeautiful stained glass window The original remains from the church One of the original stone panels A memorial for war dead the map of the canal and locksThe different locks in the canals in France allow boats to travel all over the country a boat travels up to the lockThere is a control light indicating whether they should enter or waitThe boat passes the first lock and up to the administration window The boat owner ties the boat to the stanchions to make sure it’s not moving too muchWhen the lock is filled she can then untie the boat and proceed through the next lock This is the front lock gate Why not go fishing? a beautiful old building
After 10 days in Paris staying with a friendit was time to move on. I had this idea to see a number of castles and this town, Blois, France, seem to have a number of castles in the area so off I went. But when I got downtown the bus schedule seemed to be sparse for the castles. By 11:30 the buses had already left and there wouldn’t be any others until the afternoon at about four or five so I decided to spend the day walking around town. What I found was very interesting. There is a castle here built and occupied by many of the kings of France for the past 800 years and there are different kinds of architecture depending upon when the structures were built to serve the king of the time. And of course there are some interesting churches and a beautiful town with a Tudor like architecture of plaster between wooden beams and supports. So I highly recommend visiting this small and very interesting town.
Here is the explanation of the fleur-de-lis usage by the French royaltyThis is the whitest station I have seen in a long timeThis is a memorial to the 1901 to 1906 conflict possibly concerning the movement to separate church from the operations of government. In 1905 France became a secular country.I think this is the statue of the goddess Diana of wild animals and the Hunt.St. Vincent de Paul Church. I liked the Romanesque statue presentations in various parts of the church. This was a very interesting way to present figuresYou can see the preferred light blue color of the ceiling which was often used by royalty This altar was also very interesting with the various statues and the framing of the portrait in the middleThe church from the outside When you look at the hotel name “Hotel de France” it is reassuring to note that there is a hotel in France Château Royale de Blois
Blois royal château, built on a promontory high above the River Loire, forms the heart of the urban community. Around it is a bustling old town shaped by its history as a 16th-century royal town. There are several ways of getting to know Blois, a town of artistic and historic interest. You can follow itineraries indicated by brass studs on the ground, take a guided tour, or simply stroll along the streets or up and down the steps. Its diverse heritage spanning a period from the 12t to 20mh centuries, its links with. the Loire that is listed as a World Heritage site, its wide range of museums to suit all tastes, and its gardens with their breathtaking views constantly give visitors and locals alike a chance to see the town from a different angle.
The castle entrance The beautiful castle entrance decorations with a king on a horse this structure was built by François I In Blois, France and occupied by Catherine Medici. Catherine left Italy, Florence, to become a queen of France and I believe one of the Strozzi family also went to France with her. My interest in this is that my great grandmother was a Strotz from Luxembourg and my great aunt claimed they were descendants of the Strozzi family of Italy, closely tied to the Medici family. No one has proven either way the veracity of this claim by my great aunt so I am spending time here and there trying to uncover the truth.This is a really beautiful staircase The farthest structure was built by Gaston of Orleans as he laid claim to the title of King after the death of the current king. However, his nephew was born and it was decided he would become the future King, Louis the 14th, the one who built Versailles.You can see the porcupine emblem above the door which it seems indicates the ability to shoot quills and conquer any adversary. in the chapel you see this beautiful ceiling with the light blue of the French royaltyThis medieval structure as a defense battery remainsHey beautiful view of the town The square corner building is left from the medieval times. The structure was built by Louis XIIThe staircase was built recently but the inside decorations were finished before the building was suspended due to the inability of Gaston to become king and inherited enough money to finish the project
Gaston d’Orléans, the son of Henri IV and Marie de’ Medici, commissioned one of the greatest transformations that the Château underwent in the 17th century. King Louis XIII’s brother and for a long time heir to the throne, he became Count of Blois in 1626 and lived there from 1634, when he launched the construction of a huge palace. The works were directed by the architect François Mansart. In 1635, a new main building was constructed at the rear of the courtyard, taking the place of the “Perche aux Bretons” building. But in 1638 the works were brought to a halt. The birth of the Dauphin Louis (the future Louis XIV) put paid to Gaston’s status as heir to the crown and to a large proportion of the financial resources granted to him by the King. Although incomplete, the new wing is a manifesto for French Classicism. It has a projecting central pavilion, a colonnade, perfect symmetry, three storeys, each with a different classical order, and two superposed pediments, all emphasising the sense of verticality. If the project had been completed, the Louis XII and François I wings would have been razed to the ground and replaced by new buildings. Gaston set up his apartments in the François I wing rather than finish the works. He died there in 1660. The Gaston wing remained an empty shell until the Château was turned into barracks at the beginning of the 19th century.
The beautiful fireplace on the ground floor of the François structure Some remaining artifacts are displayed here but the explanation says there are not many left since quite a few if not most were badly damaged since the king had to move here and there to remain control of his realm, stashing many objects in trunks and carried by carriages.One of the remaining trunks Day to day life followed a rhythm of daily prayers. The fervently Christian King and Queen attended daily public masses in the chapel and also had an oratory in their residence to allow them to pray in private. The windows of this oratory, commissioned in 1858 by Duban from the master glassmaker Claudius Lavergne, were inspired by Michel Dumas’ sketches. The Saints shown with their symbols all had a link to Catherine de’ Medici and the Valois familv.The King’s bedroom where he used to accept visitors A beautiful view of the town A porcelain violin A very old town A former main street Church of Saint Nicholas under repair The main altar I really love this windowEach of the different alcoves had different color themes for the stained glass windows which I found to be very beautiful and creativeA display of the varying window concepts
Just across the border from Luxembourg and a short train ride you can enjoy a short stay in Nancy France. I had no idea what to expect in the city. It had some fairly interesting things to see so I think it’s worth a day trip. It’s very easy to get around and it’s not a large town center. So at least when you tell people you visited France I think it’s fun to tell people you visited in Nancy France.
the topping on the entrance gateThe entrance gate to the Stanislaus PlazaStanislaus was the big cheese in LorraineOne of the entrance gates. The French love to use goldIt seems obvious that these large streets were made for a large gatherings to enter, entertain and then exit. These entryways are very large. Every town seems to have a hotel de Ville. More than a hotel it seems to be the city HallThis was the best of Viennese coffee I have ever hadPitaya is a chain of Thai restaurants in France but they have their own concept of Thai food. It’s actually a Poké bowl. In Thailand they don’t put the main dish on top of the rice, they serve it on the side next to a plate of rice. This is a pretty fun name for a what? I didn’t really find out but I think it’s got something to do with cheese. But it reminds me of how I used to call my dog DC when I wanted him to come home. I would say “cheese” this way. A little hint, he loved cheese.at the museum this was the one piece of art that caught my eye. I found it an interesting portrayal of a feast on a farm. Noticed the fellow on the far right with this gigantic piece of bread he is slicing to serve people Many of the beggars in France have a long explanation of why they need money. This guy even had a T-shirt indicating he had been running for a long time in Japanese
in the outskirts of Paris there is this very interesting and modern looking home built in the 1920s by a famous French architect. Below is a link to further information.
The cars parked down below in a garage inside the area color in blue. What was unusual at that time is the servants quarters were built on the first floor.The master bath The problem that plagued the house for years was water. What many architects now know is that building roofs and tops of buildings with flat areas creates many opportunities for water to start leaking below.
