#france Archives • Page 2 of 3 • Folksy Travel by Bill Smale

July 17, 2025July 17, 2025

Hopping around Paris

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.

Deadly angles — Watch out for the deadly angles

River trip — You can take a trip on the river Seine

Blanket hiding — What do you think would be hiding in the blanket. Actually it’s a miniature pincer that wants to keep warm in the cool of Paris

Something hiding — We see something hiding here too

It’s a Jack Russell with a head cone to keep it from licking a wound

Arcade — A typical arcade with a café outside

Old Peugeot — An old Peugeot where everybody can take photos

Famous tower — A tower of somebody famous

Large space — Enjoying a large space looking at the Concorde

On the bridge — Hopping around Paris managing the dog

Hawaiian Poké bowl is even a thing in Paris

Ice cream — The two dogs on a walk but I can’t reject ice cream

Hopping around Paris painting — I just liked this painting

The Dreyfus affair — Dreyfus 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.

Dreyfus Museum front — The front of the Dreyfus museum

Visiting Notre Dame — Notre Dame is now complete and available for visits free of charge

Impressive pulpit — a very impressive pulpit

Interesting pipe organ — an interesting design for pipe organ

Clean and bright — 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 bright

Beautiful design — a beautiful design with the ceilings in the Royal French blue

I’m not French so I guess I am not a bastard. This is a famous French bakery

Wonderful dessert — a wonderful dessert thoroughly aged in Brandy

A real French croissant — My 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

Duck and potatoes — Roast duck whiz cheese mashed potatoes. The best mashed potatoes I ever had

Great restaurant — a great restaurant. I highly recommend it

Piling on the pillows — With King you could pile on all the blankets and pillows and she wouldn’t mind

Day of the dead — I found this very interesting. It reminds me of the day of the dead in Mexico

Picasso Museum view — Looking out the Picasso Museum

Picasso figurine — 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.

June 19, 2025June 20, 2025

Try champagne in Châlons en Champagne

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.

Châlons en Champagne Yeast settling — 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.

Settling yeast — The shows a bottle with yeast that still needs to settle.

Cool cave — As with all wine caves this one is nice and cool. It was pretty warm outside.

Grape types — 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.

Vineyard map — This shows their vineyards throughout the champagne area.

A Chinese restaurant named Angkor . I wonder if they’re playing with the Cambodian Temple complex name.

Perfume shop — Typical French perfume shop

Old buildings — Beautiful old buildings in Châlons en Champagne

Decoration — I think this lights up in the evening

Securing a building — 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-Vaux

Beautiful windows — Beautiful stained glass window

Original church — The original remains from the church

Original stone panel — One of the original stone panels

Canal map — the map of the canal and locks

Canal lock — The different locks in the canals in France allow boats to travel all over the country

Going up to the lock — a boat travels up to the lock

Control light — There is a control light indicating whether they should enter or wait

Entering the lock — The boat passes the first lock and up to the administration window

Securing the boat — The boat owner ties the boat to the stanchions to make sure it’s not moving too much

Ready to untie — When the lock is filled she can then untie the boat and proceed through the next lock

Front gate — This is the front lock gate

June 18, 2025June 18, 2025

Blois, France a real gem

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.

Fleur de lys explained — Here is the explanation of the fleur-de-lis usage by the French royalty

The station — This is the whitest station I have seen in a long time

Blois, France Diana — 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 figures

Light blue ceiling — You can see the preferred light blue color of the ceiling which was often used by royalty

Alter — This altar was also very interesting with the various statues and the framing of the portrait in the middle

The church outside — The 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

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.

Castle entrance Blois, France — The beautiful castle entrance decorations with a king on a horse

François I building — 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.

Beautiful staircase — This is a really beautiful staircase

Built by Gaston — 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.

Porcupine figure — You can see the porcupine emblem above the door which it seems indicates the ability to shoot quills and conquer any adversary.

Beautiful chapel ceiling — in the chapel you see this beautiful ceiling with the light blue of the French royalty

Medieval defenses — This medieval structure as a defense battery remains

Beautiful view — Hey beautiful view of the town

Medieval building — The square corner building is left from the medieval times. The structure was built by Louis XII

Beautiful decorations in the Gaston wing — The 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.

Fireplace — The beautiful fireplace on the ground floor of the François structure

Art — 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.

Remaining trunk — One of the remaining trunks

Beautiful windows in the chapel — 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 — The King’s bedroom where he used to accept visitors

Beautiful window — I really love this window

Different stain glass window themes — Each of the different alcoves had different color themes for the stained glass windows which I found to be very beautiful and creative

Beautiful window windows — A display of the varying window concepts

June 3, 2025June 3, 2025

A short stop in Nancy France

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.

Entrance gate topping in Nancy France — the topping on the entrance gate

Entrance to the plaza — The entrance gate to the Stanislaus Plaza

Stanislaus statue in Nancy France — Stanislaus was the big cheese in Lorraine

Entrance gate — One of the entrance gates. The French love to use gold

Large entryways — It seems obvious that these large streets were made for a large gatherings to enter, entertain and then exit. These entryways are very large.

Hotel de Ville — Every town seems to have a hotel de Ville. More than a hotel it seems to be the city Hall

A nice Vietnamese coffee — This was the best of Viennese coffee I have ever had

French idea of Thai food in Nancy France — Pitaya 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.

A cheese restaurant? — 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.

An afternoon feast — 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

A A beggar with a Japanese T-shirt — 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

June 7, 2024June 7, 2024

Paris – Villa Savoye

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.

Villa Savoye

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 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.

May 30, 2024June 7, 2024

Paris – around the city

Christian Louboutin shop was explained to us as the shop of the designer who invented the stiletto heel

The smaller version of the statue of liberty

The long, skinniest boat I have ever seen

Ponte Alexandre III, a symbol of Russian French alliance

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pont_Alexandre_III

May 2, 2024May 2, 2024

Paris food

This was my hamburger with sauce all over it, very French, sauce on everything

Beef tartar on the right in abundance. The portion was way too much for me but I learned it was named after the tartars who often didn’t have time or the proper cooking equipment to grill the beef. I suspect they had it raw because they had to go kill some people on a fixed schedule.

Coffee ice cream dessert. I was surprised this time all the desserts were extremely sweet, much more than I had remembered.

The menu from the restaurant in Versailles

The typical morning breakfast at the hotel

This is a very local and traditional cuisine restaurant. The food is not fancy but it seems it is very well known for its excellence

Our friend has a niece who works in this restaurant. It has been open only for less than a year but a few days after we ate here they received their first Michelin star

The central theme that night was potatoes

August 18, 2023August 18, 2023

Paris

The ride on the TGV was very comfortable and pretty fast

People were lining up for at least window shopping and maybe a few of them were actually interested in dropping a few thousand euros for something they probably didn’t need. But then again, the name is everything in Paris.

Even Kenzo has a presence near the Champs Élysées

The Champs Élysées is the street where the elite meet to eat and also where they celebrate the heroes of World War II; Churchill, Roosevelt, and of course Charles DeGaulle.

We did see a few Lamborghinis here and there and of course they were gold

What would Paris be without an accordion player entertaining us with the 1940s music of Edith Piaf while keeping company with a dog with sunglasses

This guy looking at me, was about ready to approach to try to get me to delete the photo of this scam game of ball under the glass

The Basilica of Sacré-Cœur de Montmartre

Leprechauns in Paris, driving old Citroen

For some reason, I was captivated by this model

Even in the train stations, the French have to show us how artistic they are

I just had to have the recommended steak and it was pretty good

He was crying because he lost his clothes

As I said, before, every city has to have its ferris wheel

So this is where Louis add, Marie-Antoinette lost their heads

I found out my friend Alain can’t get a job back in Paris, driving his old Citroen for tourists

These guys have a cloth with grab loops on each corner, so when the police show up, they grab the loops and it becomes an instant runaway bag

August 17, 2023August 17, 2023

Paris Louvre 1

Millions of people go to visit this museum every year. I really recommend it. Not because of the inexpensive price of €17 but it is just worth your time and effort so plan to spend at least three hours to five hours walking around. Plan to go before 3 PM because it closes at 5:30. It is better to go at about 1 PM or in the morning. The one attraction is the Mona Lisa and there are hundreds of people lining up to get close so that is at least a 15 minute line.