Versailles: A Private Tour

More than 70 million people visit Paris each year. That's a lot of people.  Of that, only 3 million venture out to the Chateau of Versailles (one million in July alone!) making the odds of sharing the Hall of Mirrors or the Queens Bed Chamber with 1000 strangers highly likely.

June in Paris

Fountain of the Palais Royale

There are few places on earth as lovely as Paris in June.  Paris is stunning, even in the rain.  And we've had lots of it - 48 days of rain in a row to be precise.  But that doesn't dampen Parisian spirits in the least.  Everyone has an umbrella and if they don't, well a short wait in a cafe or under a building overhang is just another welcome part of the day.

Omaha Beach on the Normandy Coast

Just the other day while having lunch with my daughters, the elderly man sitting with his family at the table behind us began talking to me for some reason. Upon finding out we were American, he stood up, put his hand over his heart and sang 'God Bless America" at the top of his lungs. His name is Jean-Marie.  Jean-Marie is a retired veterinarian and in his wallet he carries three black and white photos taken (by him) when he was 17 years old on the day US troops arrived in his village back in 1944.  It was his first glimpse of an American.
 

Chasing Normandy

Having spent many a childhood summer on the vast and dramatic Normandy coastline, it wasn't difficult to say 'YES' when invited along on an expedition to the area. The purpose of this trip?  To locate, once and for all, a lovely little 'Folie' (maddness) built as a hunting lodge for Louis XV that my friend had seen in a book and obsessed about ever since!

Chateau de Chambord & the May Day Brocantes

 

As the largest castle in the Loire Valley, the Chateau de Chambord seems an unlikely, yet perfect, location for the biggest annual 'brocantes' (flea market) in France. Built by Francois I in the early 16th century, this palace is a classic example of French Renaissance architecture, and a gorgeous site for the most enormous selection of treasures (and trash) I have ever had the pleasure to lay eyes upon.