Yesterday’s steps:
Bruce and I walk a lot at home, but
these tours are ultra active!
Today’s plan:
Traveling on our tour bus out to the countryside, we pass field after field of yellow flowers – harvested for canola oil, these fields of yellow, along with the countryside setting, are peaceful looking – nature makes me happy!
Purple wisteria! This is our first stop and the purple wisteria caught my eye from inside the truck stop. I HAD to go take pictures! This delights me! I didn’t know it yet – but these eye-catching purple blooms were growing all over the French countryside when we were there in April!
Purple has always been one of my favorite colors.
Our first view of the castle.
Guédelon Castle is a castle currently under construction near Treigny, France.
The castle is the focus of an experimental archaeology
project aimed at recreating
a 13th-century castle and its environment using period
techniques, dress, and materials
Sancerre is a medieval hilltop town and commune in the department of Cher, Centre-Val de Loire, France, overlooking the river Loire. It is noted for its wine. I took these pictures from my window on our tour bus. These peaceful views looks like paintings and pages in a storybook.
Bourges is a major town located south of Orleans, in the center of France. St. Lazare Cemetery is a large civil cemetery. The graves are above ground; Just as when I grew up in New Orleans.
Cute & quirky get my attention walking around Bourges!
Fairy doors!
Dinner – I had to remove the skin on the fish as well as the crawfish
Our instructions:
Bakeries in the morning display their fresh breads…
Bruce and I get a sandwich to share for our lunch picnic
Cute & quirky got my attention walking around the Bourges open market!
I enjoy this way of shopping!
I can communicate well enough to make purchases.
Customers have to bring something to hold what they have bought.
When traveling I pack a fold up bag for shopping.
These look like cookies coated in powder sugar and since croissants
are with them – a pastry of some sort is a good guess.
We bought strawberries – the best ever – the color, scent, taste, juices…
I bought some of these delicious almonds covered in sesame seeds
This raincoat at the open market in Bourgs, France was a good buy.
The lightweight travel raincoats that have worked well for us
in the past aren’t up to the harsh wind and heavy rains of this trip.
These deep, zipper pockets are super handy.
Color!
Music!
Fur babies!
We get back on our tour coach and leave Bourges for Chateau de Selles sur Cher.
Chateau is the French word for a large country house or castle.
Château de Selles-sur-Cher
is a castle located in the commune of Selles-sur-Cher,
Loir-et-Cher, Centre Region, France. The château is privately owned and is a designated historical monument of France. The owner presents a wine tasting and lets us picnic on the grounds. C’est joli!
We had our picnic near this 300-year-old Lebanon Cedar tree;
which is in front of the castle.
French radishes are different from American ones.
I like the milder taste. They go well with my half of the sandwich
Bruce and I picked up from the bakery in Bourges this morning.
We also enjoy the strawberries purchased
from the open market this morning.
They are the best I’ve ever tasted.
The purple wisteria gets my
attention from across the field.
We are back on our tour coach heading for The Château de Chambord.
That means the castle in Chambord.
On our way, out of the window I see this adorable sight.
Look how the babies are jumping and skipping – just so
happy to be alive! Early spring in the French countryside has that affect!
The Château de Chambord in Chambord, Centre-Val de Loire, France,
is one of the most recognizable châteaux in the world because
of its very distinctive French Renaissance architecture,
which blends traditional French medieval forms
with classical Renaissance structures.
Rick Steves has it on the cover of our trip’s book
The Château de Chambord
What catches my attention:
This café sign because I’m from New Orleans
The pictures on the fireplace tiles inside the castle
I was peacefully watching the sheep…
…when someone with a dog came up behind me and the dog started barking.
The Garden…
What a day! This is a great tour! We are pooped!
Tomorrow’s plan:
What gets your attention here? In life? Architecture? Nature? Food? Colors?
The differences from the US?
Thank you kindly for responding on the blog.
“Walks in nature are hugs for my soul.” Julie A R Stephens
julie@handsbestrong.com
Great photos! I love the experimental archeology. I saw that castle on Tom Scott’s YouTube channel. So cool that you got to see it in person!
Thanks David, so glad that you enjoyed the photos.
This was an amazing tour with incredible opportunities for photography, which is a passion of mine. Everyone needs a passion. It’s great that some people who have the passion for this experimental archeology, were able to participate.
Another nice and enjoyable segment, Julie. I am glad you got to see Chambord. My wife and I enjoyed seeing it and enjoining an ice cream cone afterward!
Hi Tom!
What flavor ice cream?! Bruce likes vanilla and almost got a cone but ended up not.
Ahhhhh….the green meadows full of yellow…..the strawberries 🍓…your description makes me salivate!! Also the labeled wine glass with a crisp white….yummy!
The French Guidebook… ☺️
Hi Susie!
Thank you kindly for letting me know how my photographs and writing make you feel in the moment I was presenting!
Maybe some of my experiences here help bring to mind some of your own when you’ve been in France…
Traveling is a blessed adventure!