Fontainbleau, France

This a must visit place. Chateau Fontainebleau was the residence of many French kings and queens prior to the French revolution and was also the residence of Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte. Marie Antoinette also resided here, and she was famous for saying "Let them have cake then" when she was told that there was no more bread to feed the poor.

Fontainbleau is 55km from Paris, so easy to get to. The pictures do not do the place justice. You just have to visit it to appreciate the grandeur of the place. The palace grounds were also massive, and it was next to the Fontainbleau forest, a favourite hunting place of the royals.

Japanese tourist

Aaahhhh....bliss.

Beaune, France

Beaune is about 30 mins drive from Dijon, and it is known as a wine tasting town. The other attraction site in Beaune is Hosipces de Beaune Hotel-Dieu, a hospital built in 1443 by Nicolas Rolin, Duke of Burgundy. It was built as the hospital for the poor as the people of the region were suffering extreme poverty and famine during the Hundred Years' War. This hospital was still functioning up till 1971. The building itself is interesting because the roofs are covered in glazed multicolored tiles. The style was so popular that it spread through Burgundy. It is now considered typical of this province to have this roof.

Morning ward round about to begin- but no patients and no consultants!

After visiting the hospice, the boys and the girls went separate ways - wine tasting vs shopping. Needless to say who went where...

Followed by lunch at Caveau des Arches, a Michelin recommended restaurant.

With friends, Sue-Ling and Gideon

After lunch, we visited another winery, Chateau de Pommard. This was an exclusive winery, and an entrance fee allows you a tour of the place, visiting the underground cellar and also wine tasting. The wines here were expensive, ranging from 40 -100 Euros per bottle. The wine tasted pretty good though, but I guess for that price, it'd better be. There was also a Picasso collection on exhibition in the gallery during the visit.

The Chateau is owned by a Mr. Giraud, and when he bought the place, he also placed two Salvador Dali bronze sculpture in the courtyard.

Vineyards behind the Chateau

Definitely worth a visit again, if we ever return to Burgundy.

Chateau de Chamirey

After checking into the B&B near Lyon, we took a drive into town. Lyon seemed very quite, and because it was a Sunday, most shops including restaurants were closed. So we had a simple bistro dinner and visited Basilica of Notre-Dame de Fourvière, which I felt was much grander and prettier than Notre Dame and Sacre Couer in paris.

B&B- Tower of the Beautiful Mother Winery

The next day, we drove towards Beaune and Dijon. Along the way, we visited a winery called Chateau de Chamirey and had some free wine tasting. Bern was pretty happy that day...

Just more chateaus and wineries along the way....

L'Isle Sor La Sorgue Market and Pont St Julien

On our way to Lyon, we stopped by a nearby antique market and aslo Pont St Julien, built in 100 BC

Avignon, France

Bern and I took the first flight from London to Nice on Saturday (not something we would do again, as we were up at 3.30 am to catch the flight). We were met by friends who were already in Nice and they kindly brought breakfast, which were a couple of pain au chocolate (chocolate croissants). As I bit into the flaky and delicate texture of the croissant, I knew we were embarking on a gastronomic journey of no return.

Palais des Papes

Once we arrived in Nice, which is a coastal town south of France, we started our journey towards Avignon. We had four days to get to Paris, which is over 700km from the south (direct route). As we were travelling in a group of four, we rented a car as it was the most convenient way to get around. Our first night, we stayed in a provincial farmhouse in Saint Veran, 20 mins drive from Avignon.

Cotes du Rhone (The Rhones wine route)

Avignon in Provence is a small city, and it feels as though it was built within a medieval fortress as there are large stone walls surrounding most part of the city. The two main attractions in Avignon itself is Palais des Papes (Palace of the Popes) and Pont St Benezet (St Benezet’s Bridge). The bridge was completed in 1185. The bridge was repaired and rebuilt many times, but the wooden bits were washed away by severe floods and all that is left standing is a half-bridge.

Pont St Benezet

We walked along the streets of Avignon and quickly found a bistro to have lunch. Most things were served with frites (French fries) and also bread. French are soooo good at making baguettes, it is not funny. Crunchy on the outside and soft inside, baguettes are great plain with a little butter or stuffed with salad and cured meats. We have lost count how many baguettes we ate! I feel like I could eat one right now while writing this...

After lunch, we took a leisurely stroll through the city and visited Palais des Papes and Pont St Benezet. A great way to start a holiday with a full tummy in a beautiful country. Staying a night in Avignon (or near Avginon) provided plenty of time to check out the city.

The most lovely thing about Avignon was our stay at Le Mas Cache, a fairly new B&B (3 months old) located in Saint Veran, 20mins drive from Avignon. The host and hostess were Tina and Marc Delacour, who were the most friendly and gracious hosts I've ever met. They have 3 rooms available on the property, which is a converted provincial farmhouse. Every room has an ensuite and views of French countryside.

The entrance to the stairway was framed by jasmine, and the beautiful scent that greeted you was a pleasant surprise. It seems like a minor detail, but it is etched in my memory. I always remember the little things...

The bedroom itself was amazing. It was grand yet comfortable and homey. Our best sleep for awhile (not hard since our flat in London is next to busy touristy streets). I will let the pictures do the talking, but it does the place no justice.

A lounge within the room

The ensuite

The view from our bedroom window

Served drinks on arrival under a grape vine patio

Breakfast in the morning

With Tina in her kitchen

A kitchen to die for

 

 

The garden

My only regret was that we only stayed here for the night. I could have stayed for the whole week. Because the first night was so good at Le Mas Cache, we feared the other places could not compare. Our fears came true. The other places we stayed were no match for this beautiful accomodation. The hospitality of the hosts were an added bonus and really made our stay all that special.

Stockholm, Sweden

Bern and I just returned from Stockholm, Sweden. It was a quick weekend trip and the main purpose was to see Dave Baxter, a groomsman at our wedding and a high school friend of Bern's who is unfortunately quite unwell and is having treatment for cancer. It was very confronting for us and we felt quite helpless, but Dave's courage is such an inspiration to us(he is outwardly still very upbeat and being the usual joker). For all who read this blog, please say a little prayer for our dear friend and his wife Judith.

Stockholm itself is a beautiful city, and we were there, coincidentally to celebrate their National Day, which was on Sunday the 6th June. Also, their Princess Stephanie is getting married, hence the excessive memorabilia on sale here.

Bern and I particularly enjoyed Gamla Stans (Old Town). It has lots of quaint shops, food stores and restaurants. It also has the most ice-cream parlours in a street I have ever seen. Needless to say that we had ice-cream. We were also being silly as well. Above are pictures of Jo the Viking and Bern the Swede.

Sweden has many islands which we did not have a chance to get to. But Stockholm has lots of water channels which made the city very breezy and very pretty. Perfect for a lazy weekend enjoying the scenery. There are also many furniture and design stores in the city. Design is one thing the Swedes are great at. In terms of food, we tried a few authentic Swedish dishes such as pickled herring. It was a little salty for my liking. Also, everything is quite expensive, even compared to London.

Pickled herring

I purchased two souvenirs to remind me of our trip. An oven mit and a fridge magnet, with a Swedish reindeer as the theme. Red to match my KitchenAid mixer and blender. Could not afford the reindeer skin rug! Haha... Australian border control would have a field day.