2007 Europe: Holland Netherlands, Germany & France

We arrived in Paris, France, October 2007 on Zoom Airlines.(No longer in business by 2008). We made arrangements to lease a car out of Montreal Canada before leaving for our trip. The Peugeot leasing company will meet us at the airport in a van and take us right to our new leased hatchback Peugeot where we will drive off right away to our first B&B in Ede Holland.

Jim enjoys driving the new Peugeot hatchback, as its a compact car with diesel and its fast enough with spunk to feel safe on the European autobahn. We also like that it was small enough to find parking in tight squeeze places and easier to get around small roadways.  The trunk fits our two suitcases, perfectly, and that means they are out of sight. Jim figured to lease a car as it was far better deal then renting a car...the cost 2007 ($1,200.00 for 3 weeks with 100% insurance coverage). Jim decided he was going to drive so we could have the experience of spontaneity on our adventure and to get out of the typical tourist zones.

Holland Netherlands: 

Ede, Zutphen, Appeldorn

Confusing to most of us is we hear and read about Holland and then we will find the words Netherlands. I found this explanation indicated below that helped me to understand a bit more about the history of Europe.  Buck540 on this triviasite:

Buck540 quote: "The name Holland is widely used as being equivalent to the Netherlands; its use is similar to the use of England for the United Kingdom, or Russia for the defunct Soviet Union. Mainly people from other parts of the Netherlands sometimes object to this. They will point out that they are from the Netherlands, instead of the smaller part of the country that is called Holland. People from the southern provinces Limburg and Noord Brabant (Northern Brabant), which are mainly Roman Catholic, retain some bad sentiments against Holland. During the time of the United Provinces these areas did not have any political liberties and were exploited as colonies. A culture of this exploitation and the feeling of being exploited remained until the second world war; only after this war, with the true modernization of the Dutch society did they become more free and did their relative power increase. The anti-Holland sentiment remained however, and is still relatively alive in these parts of the country." unquote

B&B in Ede, Netherlands
This house was on the front lines in WW2 
and still had bullet holes in walls.

We drove to a small town Ede in Netherlands where we have a Bed & Breakfast waiting for us where upon arriving at Jose and Cor’s Landman B&B they welcome us to their historical cozy house and most importantly, a feline welcome by their three wonderful cats!  

B&B cat who liked to join us for breakfast.

B&B cats snuggle in for the afternoon!

Our Dutch hosts put on a breakfast spread for a king and queen. In the morning we would be served a boiled egg, deli cold cuts, various fresh baked breads and croissants, fresh yogurt with berries, cheese slices, jam, and tea served in Jose’s cozy kitchen. We would pack up what we couldn’t eat and take it with us for our lunches between spontaneous adventures. They have a wonderful BIG shower and a huge soaker tub which I indulged my achy bones. Lovely garden property and we like that the B&B is in walking distance from Ede's village center.

Cor and Jose, our B&B Hosts

Cor is a historian who shared with us his passion and knowledge of Dutch history. Jose is multi-creative person who was instructing students on how to make dried flower wreaths out back in the cottage shop. We really enjoyed this couple and their vibrant outlook for art and life.

Church steeple in Ede

The history of Ede has its connections with the Canadian Military during WW2  and this B&B was on the front line for Dutch resistance during operation Market Garden. Ede sported a military camp then and its still in operation today minus the Germans and war.

We thought we had a small compact car but this little red car is half size!
Entering the village of Ede.

Little cars are popular in Europe.
The Smart car in Canada is considered small but this one is even smaller.

Ede is an up beat little Dutch town with lots of visual interest in gardens and Dutch architecture both modern and historical. People love to talk English and there is friendly service everywhere we visit. The shopping is versatile and have well stocked shops in the village. We noticed a vibrant community with relaxed shoppers to make it a joyful experience. We visited a few beer drinking pubs and each one had their own line of beer to offer and the patrons who drank there seemed happy to share their stories and favorite brew with us visitors. We where asked why come to Ede as its not a tourist type place? Jim said it seemed like a good place to check out and it was! 

Ede has lots of building decorative details 
and every window has a display of flowers, plants or objet d'art!

A fusion of modern and old style Dutch architecture.

Walking around the village of Ede, I notice how everyone has tidy landscaping with plants and shrubs. Every house is unique with subtle changes,
 no two houses are exactly the same. This adds character and charm.

No matter how small the lots are, everyone customizes their landscaping while they keep bushes and trees pruned to perfection.

Not just stores had nicely designed window displays but every self respecting home had considered their windows facing the public, to feature beautiful plants in decorative pots or large vases filled with fresh flower bouquets or objet d'art. I was in visual heaven, as I had my own display BIZ/career back in the day with store displays.  I too have considered my window sills as a place to feature plants and objet d'art. I think like the Dutch, as no matter the size of the space, there is always something to showcase with visual delight like found objects, art, sculpture on window sills and in gardens. Ede's community was filled with many little gardens and are impeccable and quaint....their attention to detail is commendable.

Walking through the neighbourhoods we notice it’s all eye candy and while we are walking, people are whizzing by us on their bikes, heading somewhere with fresh faces and flowing hair. There are not many cyclists in Holland who will wear helmets and if you mentioned it, can get a group of people arguing in no time whether it should be law or not!

You know your in Holland when you
 see a windmill and beautiful lush gardens!

Ede town square lined with shops and modern apartments.

The shopping core of Ede.

Turn around at the edge of Ede town center.

We went into several cute little shops in the village center with the focus to find me shoes to fit my obnoxiously difficult shaped feet. I have a foot type that is called the European foot, meaning wide with high arches and narrow heals but I also have small feet at 6.5 so most European feet average size 8 and find that most 6.5 size is sold out or not available. Nothing Chinese made for shoes fits my feet very well or at all. Here I am in Europe and do not care HOW MUCH $$ I have to spend to get some shoes to fit my feet. One thing I noticed in the shoe shops is that the Dutch love to wear boots of all kinds of styles but I am looking for funky walking shoes. I could not find what I liked to fit me so had to pass but did find some fun clothing shops and bought a few items. We are not big shoppers but appreciate well made European items over Chinese junk any day. 

Mushroom village!

A popular pancake restaurant with the Dutch, Pannekeokhuis in
Otterlo set in woodsy nieghbourhood.
Nationale Park De Hoge Veluwe

A popular pancake restaurant with the Dutch, Pannekeokhuis.
Authentic local sausages, Dutch pancake style and small brewery beer for dinner at a local favorite hangout. The service was friendly and patient with our million questions as the menu was not in English but we had fun and while we where deciding what to eat, the place filled up every table and everyone welcomed THE CANADIANS!

We had our first Dutch dinner pancake with a dark autumn beer Hertog Tan Bockbier at this very popular Dutch franchise pancake house called Pannekeokhuis … YUMMY!!!... it tasted so good and we earned our Dutch dinner especially after our Kroller Muller Tour & 3 hour bike ride through the Otterlo countryside!

Bikes come with park entrance fee.
Nationale Park De Hoge Veluwe

Fantastic well kept bike trails are a pleasure to ride through out the park.
Otterlo, Netherlands

While biking across historical scenic views we come 
across the 1920's hunters lodge called
 the Jachthuis Sint Hubertus on the lake.

Nationale Park De Hoge Veluwe in Otterlo, Netherlands has acres of beautiful countryside that can be explored by walking or biking. Anyone with the park entrance tickets can take one of the supplied park bicycles for a tour on their maintained bike pathways. The groomed paths took us through designated protected areas including farming, wooded areas, historical places, and even a surreal looking desert. 

Nationale Park De Hoge Veluwe in Otterlo
has a desert that is growing every year.

Nationale Park De Hoge Veluwe in Otterlo
has a desert that is growing every year.

Nationale Park De Hoge Veluwe in Otterlo. 
Biking though the park the scenery changed as we peddled.
The purple heather plants set off the beautiful greens of the trees.

Crusher dust pathways made for an easy cruise on the bike trails
 throughout  Nationale Park De Hoge Veluwe in Otterlo. 

There is every kind of bike imaginable seen on the bike trails and used by every age. The elder age riders are healthy and have no need for cars when the bike trails are scenic and well maintained.  

Here is a link to view the various styles and functions that the lowly two wheeler has to offer in design and function. I could MOVE to Holland just to be on my bike everyday with my cute little dog in a basket! 
www.urkai.com/european-bikes/

Kroller Muller art & sculpture museum in Otterlo, Netherlands

Entrance to the Kroller Muller Museum in Otterlo.

Nationale Park De Hoge Veluwe in Otterlo surrounds the Kroller Muller museum, which has a spectacular sculpture garden and the best pieces of  modern art in history, all contained in an intimate modern designed building. It blew me away with their second largest collection of Van Gogh paintings. 

Kroller Muller Sculpture Garden in Otterlo, Netherlands

Kroller Muller Sculpture Garden in Otterlo, Netherlands

I had only seen Van Gogh paintings in print up to this moment and when I came around a corner to enter another room, I was blasted out of my mind seeing the Van Goghs' LIVE for the very first time! I could get right close to see the multitude of paint layers and textural brush strokes that do not show up in print. In the fall season, there was only a handful of people so there was no head bobbing going on, to attempt a glance at the art that happens in too many busy museums. I could just stand there in front of my favorite art works and fall in love undisturbed. 

JOY SPOT

We did not have a full day to explore and suggest dedicating a full day to do all of the sculpture gardens, art museum and the bike ride around the park. Most museums today do not allow photography inside but its fine of course to take photos outside the building.

"The Kröller-Müller Museum boasts the second-largest Van Gogh collection in the world: almost 90 paintings and over 180 drawings. The Van Gogh Gallery displays varying selections of about 40 works by Vincent van Gogh. Furthermore, you will also find masterpieces by modern masters such as Claude Monet, Georges Seurat, Pablo Picasso and Piet Mondriaan".

Entrance to the Kroller Muller art museum. 
LOVE the spiral word neon art!

          

 The Kroller Muller art and sculpture musuem gallery was conceived by a wealthy family named Kroller Muller. They wanted to bring art education to their home land so the wife started to buy up as many Van Gogh and other modern European artists when it was still possible for anyone with a few dollars could acquire and collect the modern masters. Now a days this art is worth beyond most collectors and museums price tags so I have oodles of gratitude for the Mullers to have dedicated this collection of art and sculpture left for us to view for a small fee. What a treasure!

Kroller Muller Sculpture Garden in Otterlo

Kroller Muller Sculpture Garden in Otterlo

The Muller's wanted to leave a legacy of modern art and would also NEED a new modern architectural building to house it all for public viewing.  It took many years to build the art museum and was over budget as expected with all building projects! 

Kroller Muller Sculpture Garden in Otterlo

LOVE this sculpture of a modern duck!
Kroller Muller Sculpture Garden in Otterlo

Kroller Muller Sculpture Garden in Otterlo

Out front of the Kroller Muller Sculpture Garden in Otterlo

Outside the Kroller Muller building, there is a lavish display of modern sculptures. We sauntered through a passage of natural settings of woodlands and ponds. I went crazy photographing but it was time to get inside the museum as it will be closed too soon!  

"In the sculpture garden, one of the largest in Europe, you can enjoy both sculptures and nature. Distributed throughout the garden are over 160 sculptures by iconic artists, from Aristide Maillol to Jean Dubuffet, from Marta Pan to Pierre Huyghe."

Kroller Muller Sculpture Garden in Otterlo

Kroller Muller Sculpture Garden in Otterlo

Outside the Kroller Muller museum looking inside,
time to go see some paintings!

The Kroller Muller museum displays not only Van Gogh but other modern artists who I had yet to discover until I came to visit. We discovered a painting by Deigo Rivera who for a brief time hung out in Europe and did a cubist art piece like Picasso’s. Its not possible to use the camera inside the museum so all my photos will be of the sculptures outside.

Kroller Muller Sculpture Garden in Otterlo

Building is open to the outside and features common building materials
and used as a back drop to more sculptural pieces. Kroller Muller, Otterlo

Kroller Muller Sculpture Garden in Otterlo

Kroller Muller Sculpture Garden in Otterlo, Netherlands
Could not help ourselves! I got Jim to pose behind the sculpture using the common concrete brick wall as a backdrop. We call this, 'Bond, James Bond'!

After viewing the Kroller Muller art museum and as part of our entrance fee, there are bikes available for a ride around the huge park area to view the natural landscape on their well kept bike roads.

Paleis Het Loo in Apeldoorn, Netherlands
Orange tree celebrates the royalty named Orange.

An incredible place to see in Netherlands is the Paleis Het Loo National Museum in Apeldoorn. This is the favorite palace of King William of Orange and later Queen Wilhelmina. The Palace holds 300 years of history of the Orange-Nassau dynasty ranging from the 17th century to 20th century filled with every era of furniture, paintings and decor.

Paleis Het Loo Guards and Horses

ENTRANCE to the  Paleis Het Loo National Museum

Paleis Het Loo National Museum ENTRANCE. Netherlands

Inside the garden area
 Paleis Het Loo National Museum, Netherlands 

Paleis Het Loo National Museum had been home to Royals up to the 1980's. We decided to go inside for a tour and rent a headset that will tell us the stories of each room and point out the personal tastes and the era's interior design influences that span over the years. It a museum about the history of furniture!

Inside the garden has variety with ponds & fountains.
 Paleis Het Loo National Museum

Elaborate Fountains
Paleis Het Loo National Museum

Elaborate Fountains
Paleis Het Loo National Museum

Elaborate Fountains
Paleis Het Loo National Museum

MY FAVORITE Water Fountain
Paleis Het Loo National Museum

Fabulous Water Fountain
Paleis Het Loo National Museum

The outdoor gardens and the care of preserving everything so elegantly is some of the best gardens I have ever seen next to the Emerald Palace in Bangkok Thailand. 

Sculptures with sensuality and rhythm in curves.
Paleis Het Loo National Museum

Statue with water fall down stairs.
Paleis Het Loo National Museum

Exotic statues and decadent water fountains are placed within the geometric grid of patterns through out the gardens. There is a variety of fall plants still blooming flowers and we feel refreshed walking around in the cooler air with filtered sunshine. I feel like a gazillion bucks walking about the palace and just for the price of admission! There is a pastry lunch spot at the back of the palace but we packed our own B&B breakfast leftovers and just enjoyed being outside on this day!

In the distance is a WORLD GLOBE water fountain with all the astrological signs printed on it in gold. Think this would look nice in my garden too!
 A perfectionist pruner would never be done in this garden!
 Paleis Het Loo National Museum

Statue is designed around a water fall that down pours along the stairs.
Paleis Het Loo National Museum

Statue is designed around a water fall along the stairs.
Paleis Het Loo National Museum

Daisies at the Paleis Het Loo National Museum

Restaurant onsite at
Paleis Het Loo National Museum

Horse stables with historical information featuring great photos.
Paleis Het Loo National Museum

Turned out the FALL was the BEST time of the year to see the palace as it seems the local people are the only ones out to enjoy their palace and not bus loads of tourists. It was dreamy to see the gardens without so many people wondering and could put my creative mind back in time where I would be strolling with the Royals! Most of my pictures will show only few people out but be sure in the summer it would be elbow to elbow to come for a palace garden stroll.

Zutphen Netherlands. The church.

Zutphen Netherlands. The church.

Zutphen is historical and an active town in Netherlands full of medieval buildings that where fortunately not blown up in the wars. 

Nothing like having a fresh cup of coffee & pastry
 to sit outside to people watch.
Zutphen Netherlands

Nothing like having a fresh cup of coffee to sit outside to people watch.
Zutphen Netherlands

Zutphen is surrounded by water & bridges, with tight little roads and everyone rides their bikes to get around here. Its is one of Netherlands oldest towns going back 1,700 years. I LOVE this place!  Check out more information here.

No kidding… I seen a blind woman riding her own bike while her guy was on his bike, directing her through the streets as she confidently hung onto his arm… talk about TRUST!!!!

Cow wall painting in Zutphen,

Looks like a music building of some sorts with 
the relief details indicated around the blue door. Zutphen

I noticed the key to any vibrant city is #ONE...ART of course and #2 is to have education institutions for young university students who bring a fresh sense of life and vibrancy.  We only stayed for the day and sad that my camera batteries had drained to early on our day trip.

Cobble Stone Streets of Zutphen, Netherlands

SING A Long...how much is that doggy in the window! BARK BARK
The one with the waggily tail, BARK BARK!
Zutphen, Netherlands

Church door..
Zutphen, Netherlands

DOOR...Iron...Stone...Zutphen

To Tether the horse in Zutphen

The streets in Zutphen.

The streets in Zutphen.

JOY SPOT

To Sum up this part of our trip… we both fell in love with Holland, Netherlands. In the future, we will make a point of venturing more of Holland Netherlands. People where generally up beat in their moods and easy to talk too. Also cleanliness is essential... everywhere… even the farms are neat and tidy! A perfectionists dream! Most people in Netherlands could speak English very well and would skip right into speaking English if we had that glazed over look trying to grasp certain words!

Germany: 

Berlin, Dahlem, Steglitz

A piece of the Berlin wall.

This is the leased Peugeot and we are
visiting Larry at his apartment in Dahlem, Berlin.

Leaving Holland Netherlands was hard to do. We could have stayed longer but we where off to visit a friend of Jim’s who lived in Dahlem, Berlin. Long drive to get to Larry`s in Berlin from Ede but we got to drive on the Auto Bahn and excellent highways both in Germany and Netherlands. 

We noticed better drivers in Europe then Canada and there was confidence among most of the drivers too. Jim found their highway driving etiquette most excellent, for example as soon as we pass a slower car on the inside lane, its expected we move out of the outside passing lane and get back into a queue so that the next person driving even faster, like a Mercedes, or BMW could then zip right on by, making us feel like we are driving backwards. We enjoyed watching them race by us in such fine performance machines without slowing down for a tiny second. So paying attention is an absolute must and accidents are a reality at very fast speeds but usually they are caused by bad driving.

We noticed the German auto-bahns are lined along its edges with thick pieces of embossed & decorative concrete walls as well as HUGE thick plex-glass windows so that towns have a sound barrier and yet we still get to see the ancient towns in their picturesque view.

There are frequent rest stops in areas along the Auto-Bahns where anyone can sleep either in the highway hotels which are small, simple and cheap or can sleep in your car in designated parking spots. Also in the rest areas are restaurants and some franchises to buy food and gas to keep the traveler well supplied so no need to go off into the little towns that are not open 24/7.

We did not have proper maps nor a GPS but we found out that every major highway goes around any city in a huge circle to eventually hook up to connecting roads that enter the inner circle. All systems of travel seem to interlope making a very efficient travelling experience whether by car, bus or train.

Steglitz Neighborhood.

We end up staying at Larry’s apartment office suite for a week in the Steglitz neighborhood. We where gone from morning till night touring museums that are abundant in Berlin. 

 

We found this corner cafe in Steglitz to be our
GO TO every morning for breakfast and friendly service!

Our morning breakfast started here with fresh made coffee and various pastries!

Fresh coffee and fruit filled pastry...
our great European Breakfast start for the day!

We found an awesome corner cafe with a friendly morning face to greet us with coffee and pastry, which is my favorite breakfast. It is common in European breakfasts to eat fruit filled pastries and cheeses so we indulged ourselves every morning with out breaking tradition!

Late night restaurant in Steglitz, Berlin

The only late night restaurant in Steglitz  is ran by Persian brothers who served us the most excellent food at great prices. We felt very welcomed here and the fellows chatted us up getting us to linger longer before walking back to our office space with sleeping mats.

Best Food in Steglitz! Loved the wall murals too!

Jimmy had a pasta dish with a cream sauce, oozing with yummy calories while I indulged in a Cordon Bleu… Breaded veal stuffed with cheese and ham with butter potatoes on the side with salad. I couldn't believe I ate the whole meal, I apparently was super hungry after the big day of walking and museum indulgences! Later this fellow above in the picture, came over to chat with us and brought us two liquors on the house. 

Collectible memories of this era featuring
FUNKY shoe display in Steglitz shop window!

Steglitz historical apartments are
beautifully restored and maintained.

Steglitz neighborhood and historical apartments
 well maintained.

Steglitz historical apartments are beautifully restored and maintained.

Steglitz historical apartments are beautifully restored and maintained.

In the photograph, the train bridge and bus center
HERE to connect to anywhere in Berlin.
Steglitz is served by the Berlin S-Bahn line S1 at the stations Feuerbachstraße and Rathaus Steglitz as well as by the S25 at Südende. U-Bahn connection to the inner city is provided by the U9 line with the stations Walther-Schreiber-Platz, Schloßstraße and Rathaus Steglitz.

We where staying close by the train station in Steglitz. The train was a very efficient way to go anywhere we wanted to travel and some of the passes would include some museums too promoting tourism in the city which was excellent value. Check out here a comprehensive explanation about the rules, various ticket prices and what they include for the type of travelling and touring you may want to embark. Transit & Tour information for Berlin HERE.

Steglitz doorways.

Steglitz doorways.

Elaborate building details are featured on many
of the older apartment buildings in Steglitz

Steglitz apartment building details.

Walking around Steglitz we noticed its a busy neighborhood with limited and tight squeeze parking and even driving around the side streets can be a challenge for even the smallest of cars. We are thankful to have leased a small car and also found PAY parking to be expensive so we decided that it was best to usually take transit so we had the freedom to move around without having to go BACK to the car but could keep touring at a pace we enjoyed in Berlin. There is good food to buy at the train stations with fresh baked sour dough breads filled with fresh German sausages, cheese and fresh veggies. No limp thin sandwiches wrapped in plastic made FRESH a week ago like in our country!

Sculpture is noticed through out Berlin.

Going for a walk around some common woods area in a regular neighborhood we found art sculpture displayed and even NUDES.

Nudity seems not to be an issue with Berlin and I find it refreshing
 after North America seems to think
the body is pornographic so its not shown in public.

Schnitzel was a food group I wanted to indulge my taste buds in memory of living in Europe as a kid. My father had just died shortly before our trip so I felt I was travelling with him in spirit as we had lived in Germany when we where all so much younger then! Schnitzel is commonly served in most restaurants like burgers are to North America. Found a restaurant in Unter den Linden that served Schnitzel with lightly coated breadcrumbs around veal served with slices of lemon on the side... of course! Schnitzel is like cordon blue only simpler with out the stuffing. It was served with my favorite thinly sliced potatoes with herbs in a buttery pan  and then tiny pieces of ham is crumbled on top with a side salad & blonde beer…I devoured the plate and was ready for some more walking!

NOTE: When travelling Europe don’t wait too late to find places to eat unless you know which ones are open because you can go to bed hungry… unless you like lamb donairs every day.

Once getting settled into our apartment, we got out the list of Museums we had previously checked out before arriving to Berlin. Paris is expensive for everything but Berlin is the best deal for your money and many more choices of museums to view. There are several options to buying tickets, depending on how many days you want to commit to museums and some include public transportation too.

Brohan or spelled Broehan Musuem ENTRANCE
featuring art nouveau, art deco, and functionalism.
Charlottenburg Castle area

INSIDE the Broehan Museum 
featuring art nouveau, art deco, and functionalism.
Charlottenburg

INSIDE the Broehan Museum 
featuring art nouveau, art deco, and functionalism.
Charlottenburg

Glass Chandelier inside the INSIDE the Broehan Museum 
featuring art nouveau, art deco, and functionalism.
Charlottenburg

Delicate woven design in furniture fabrics.
INSIDE the Broehan Museum 

I enjoyed seeing the art work displayed with the furniture era it was created at the same era.
INSIDE the Broehan Museum

We came across the (Brohan) Broehan Museum by chance walking around Charlottenburg area of Berlin and found it tucked away not so easily to be seen but  can say we where glad we stuck our heads inside the building to find a wonderful selection of historical furniture, art and even jewelry. I found a few German women artists on display and sad to read they died in WW2.

Berlin`s Museum Island under construction 2007

Berlin`s Museum Island under construction 2007

Altes Museum ENTRANCE under construction 2007

Altes Museum ENTRANCE under construction 2007
with ancient sculptures, paintings and tapestry
 in a neo-classical style of building.

We had bought one of the 2 museums passes offered ...Berlin WelcomeCard or the Museumspass Berlin and this was on the list of museums we could see without paying at the door so we popped inside. Glad we did!

Entering the Altes Museum
Berlin Museum Island

Neo-Classical interior in the Altes Museum.
Karl Friedrich Schinkel designed this 1830 classicist structure the Altes Museum with rotunda, dome and portico as the first public museum in Prussia. After extensive renovations, the building now houses the city’s main collection of ancient art and sculptures and a gold treasury.

Neo-Classical interior in the Altes Museum.

Neo-Classical interior details in the Altes Museum.

Sculpture Altes Museum, Berlin

Sculpture Altes Museum, Berlin

Sculpture Altes Museum, Berlin

Sculpture Altes Museum, Berlin

Sculpture Busts, Altes Museum, Berlin

Sculpture Altes Museum, Berlin

Sculpture Altes Museum, Berlin

Sculpture Busts, Altes Museum, Berlin

Sculpture Busts, Altes Museum, Berlin

Sculpture Busts, Altes Museum, Berlin

Entering the museum, we walk into several neo-classical foyers that where glamorous spaces, leading us to rooms filled with impeccable ancient artifacts all enhanced with a golden glow of specialized lighting.  Again there is no using flash with cameras so it was challenging for me to take photos but managed with some play of light to capture the beauty of the sculptures. Breathe taking!

Sculpture Altes Museum, Berlin

Sculpture Busts, Altes Museum, Berlin

Sculpture Altes Museum, Berlin

Rooms filled with paintings...must go see!
Altes Museum 

Paintings in the Altes Museum, Berlin

Paintings in the Altes Museum, Berlin

Paintings in the Altes Museum, Berlin

I LOVED this hilarious old painting! Altes Museum, Berlin

I became a new fan of religious art and was captivated by the beauty captured with limited art supplies available and the long cold hours in drafty rooms with only natural and candle light available for painting. The ancient knowledge of the human figure, golden ratio, divine proportions is geometric solutions to building not only for architecture but for designing paintings and sculpture to create natural power shapes and depth of space. 

Altes Museum 

The 3-day pass we bought had a choice of over 60 museums to choose for 15 Euros (about $22.00) 2007. Our focus was finding museums on art and history but we found other museums not on our agenda and ventured inside to find some of the most incredible museums we have ever seen. Berlin has a museum on any topic it seems and we can only see so many but will be back to visit Berlin and discover new favorites.

Dahlem has planned parks throughout the neighborhood.

Older mansions in Dahlem have been made into
separate apartments but some still are a house to one family.

Modern apartments in Dahlem.

Dahlem mansions.

Larry, our Berlin friend, tells us that in his neighborhood, Dahlem mansions are full of libraries and intellects who work for museums of history. 

Two different days, we walked around the neighborhood and came across 2 museums.  Botanisches museum in Dahlem was full of plant history going back to the beginning of the world, as it turns out this museum stores all the cells of every living plant organism from the past and to the present. The artistic renditions and preserved plants are displayed to educate us about the plants we eat, build, and medicate. We enjoyed this relaxing stroll while being educated about the bounty of mother nature. We wondered into the gardens and noticed the new GLASS atrium was under construction but the older area had a selection of very old cactus plants and tropical orchids.

Sign in window, Berlin

Walking around Dahlem, Berlin

Narrow roads and cobble stone streets in Dahlem, Berlin.

Taking another day to stroll through the Dahlem neighborhood, we find Asiatishe Kunst Museum in Dahlem . It's a modern architectural designed building and inside is the history of ancient civilizations around the world including Canada's Eskimos. Many displays are filled with items like pottery, jewelry, cave paintings, carvings, even original ancient ships. The quality of lighting, the experts involved in archiving and conservation is outstanding with the museums collections. Many of the museums signs are not in English but can rent a listening device to explain the objects on display. Plan a whole day to view and I know I will be back on another visit to spend a day.

Zum Olympia Stadion

 Berlin's Olympic Stadium 1936

 Berlin's Olympic Stadium 1936

Hitler brought 1936 Olympics to Berlin. He was said to leave suddenly when viewing the games as he was insulted that the Germans where beaten by a black man named Jessie Owens from USA. Hitler did not like this of course so he gave no recognition to anyone winning who was not German. Now there are plaques giving the proper honors to these fine athletes’ who won in the 1936 Olympics.  Behind the 1936 Olympic stadium is a tower where the 1916 Olympics that was coming to Berlin but was cancelled due to WW1. 

Plaques to honor the 1936 Olympics winners.

1916 Berlin Olympic Stadium behind the 
1936 Stadium that was cancelled due to WW1

Modern Berlin is fantastic with its architecture and attention to details.
The siding is made from plastics and clay to make a long wearing, textural and colorful style to many buildings in Berlin.

Modern Berlin and its architecture and attention to details.
Ponds are part of the planning.

 Berlin's modern architecture has complex designs including water conservation, building materials using recycled plastic and clay for the siding while adding the GREEN movement consciousness to the rebuilding of this creatively enhanced city. There is many styles and interesting uses of siding surfaces, roofing design and integration of sculpture within the landscapes.

Berlin is rebuilding a magnificent city!

East Berlin is being rebuilt and we can see building going on in every direction.

Construction noises are everywhere in the city and will be back in a few more years to see these areas finished and filled with people.

New Berlin City Skyline

We walked around with our heads pointed up ward staring at the most wonderful city-scape we have seen so far. Berlin is getting no money from Germany to rebuild so it’s a city taking itself serious to generate income/investments to build such grand architecture and green space. Real Estate investment could be very lucrative to buy at this time because a few years into the future with the city restored to its past history of being the most magnificent art & culture city in the world.

Berlin's Cathedral Church called the Berliner Dom

Berlin's Cathedral Church called the Berliner Dom

The downtown areas are under construction but we are happy to witness the determination of Berlin’s outstanding vision utilizing design, history, and inventions to create an awesome experience everywhere you look. We will come back to Berlin in our future travel plans.

      

Original design encasing the outside of the building with glass.

Geometric use of siding for a modern design.

Hotel Berlin with wall murals.

Modern Architecture in Berlin

Integration with ponds of water is part of Berlins vision
for cooling the city and buildings naturally.

Kulturforum Berlin is an area for culture
and the yellow building is the Chamber Music Hall.

Kulturforum Berlin is an area for culture
and this building is Berlins Library.

                                                

Walking Berlin, we see modern architecture with ancient buildings all coming together to transform this amazing city. Much of Berlin and its buildings where flattened and some older buildings still show the destruction and damage with the blackened soot of burning and bomb blasts. Berlin is a giant swamp and every time there is s scoop of dirt, it fills up with water. Also difficult and dangerous was the WW2 weapons, bombs, etc. found all over the land so specialists had to come in to collect the dangerous weapons before building. 

Green lawn indicates the NO MANS LAND
of separation with east and west Berlin.

                                        

Here in some of the green space seen in the above picture shows where ‘no mans land’ is still there to remind people and marking the past history of the Wall with East & West territories of Berlin. 

The USA Embassy blocks a major city road that passes in front of the embassy with armed USA soldiers walking the perimeter. No one is allowed near the building or to photograph. Very strange to see Berlin’s traffic being diverted and complicated by barricades because of the USA Embassy… no one else’s embassy does that… so what’s with that???

The SONY center.

The SONY center with a lego giraffe sculpture lurking out front.

Sculpture throughout Berlin and water features in quaint city-scapes.

Sculpture throughout Berlin and water features in the city-scapes.

Sculpture throughout Berlin and water features in the city-scapes.

Tiergarten meaning animal garden in central West Berlin.

Take a break and walk through the Tiergarten.

Tiergarten Bridge

Stunning views of ponds and trees in the Tiergarten.

JOY SPOT

We found it was time to take a break from the city noise and went walking through the inner city park called the Teirgarten. It is a tranquil break and we find that it has lots to offer for garden views and photographs. Walking out of the Teirgarten we discovered a museum called the Musikumstrumenten-Museum and its on our list of FREE museums with our pass.

Musikumstrumenten-Museum

Musicians do perform here using some of the old instruments and musical scores of the past. We first noticed the building’s amazing architecture and use of textured siding. 

Musikumstrumenten-Museum Inside main floor of museum.

Musikumstrumenten-Museum Inside view from second floor.
There are times scheduled for small concerts but not today.

Inside the music museum was and open designed space that displayed an expansive collection of well preserved instruments from piano, horns, drums, harps… it was amazing to see and wonder what they all would sound like being played. I was captivated by the styles and elaborate painting and attention to details.

Musikumstrumenten-Museum
Looks like a face to me...

Musikumstrumenten-Museum
This organ still gets played.

Musikumstrumenten-Museum 

Musikumstrumenten-Museum 

Musikumstrumenten-Museum 

One side of the Musikumstrumenten-Museum 
had a glass wall with stairs that go up to the second balcony level.

 Musikumstrumenten-Museum  

 Musikumstrumenten-Museum 

 Musikumstrumenten-Museum 

 Musikumstrumenten-Museum 

 Musikumstrumenten-Museum 

 Musikumstrumenten-Museum 

Two side piano with an oil painting scene on the inside cover!
 Musikumstrumenten-Museum 

 Musikumstrumenten-Museum  

 Musikumstrumenten-Museum  

 Musikumstrumenten-Museum  

 Musikumstrumenten-Museum  

 Musikumstrumenten-Museum  

Wurlitzer!  Musikumstrumenten-Museum  

It would be awesome if they had headphones to dial in the number of each instrument to hear it play... just saying it would be very cool. 

Bauhaus, Berlin

Bauhaus, Berlin

The Bauhaus museum was open for viewing so we went inside and found the museum to be very small and not a lot on display but still it was interesting.  There is a lot of history about the Bauhaus, and how the war interrupted the modern creative institution which had been considered degenerate art by the Nazis and everyone who participated would and could be sent to concentration camps. I studied some of the Bauhaus design philosophies during my education as an interior designer.

JOY SPOT

The art museums in Berlin were profoundly & emotionally fulfilling to our creative spirits and at times we would look upon the masters' work of art with tears of enlightenment. Berlin is a worthy city to experience and will be back again. Read here for more information about the architecture in Berlin.

FRANCE:

Cerbere, Collioure, Banyuls-sur-mer, 

Carcassonne, Berry, Toulous, Orleans

Here we go in our leased Peugeot car heading to the outskirts of Europe, leaving at noon out of Berlin, heading towards the Mediterranean to a sea side town in France called Cerbere which is minutes away from the border of Spain. 

FRANCE, Cerbere on the Mediterranean Sea

The French highways are not as good as Germany & Holland but they do post warning signs to slow down for the highway speed camera ahead… none of this cat and mouse game, our country Canada likes to play with the speeding drivers.

We leave Germany’s awesome highways to discover the endless annoying French toll booths on every major highway in France. It seemed we didn’t travel a mile and another toll booth would spring out from no where. Jim finally got fed up with the constant toll booths and decided to do some countryside driving. This turned out to be an unpleasant drive once the evening started to emerge. 

We followed some little car trying to use it as our guide through the dark country roads. We followed for at least an hour...he must of thought we where tailing him. Finally he drove off to his street and abandoned us...this is when we said 'to hell with it and decided to pay the dam highway toll booths!'

The country landscape seemed very dry and desolate with very poor plain box houses. For some reason the French like to put concrete curbs in the middle of their already narrow roads so if any slight error of judgment, your certain to hit the curb with your wheels. Maybe a deterring method to curb drunken driving????.

We gave up the French country roads and went back to the toll highways and figured it was worth paying the toll $. One thing in Europe you can usually find a Roadside Park to pull over to catch a nap in the middle of the night.

Cerbere and the Mediterranean 

The morning light woke us to where we continued to drive to our destination Cerbere, France. It's not tourist season in Europe so we are not worried about making reservations. We drove the very curvaceous roads around the Mediterranean coastal cliffs which turn out to be the popular ride for ‘rice rocket’ motorcycles to speed.

Cerbere, Hotel La Vigie, the building hanging over the cliff.

Cerbere, The Hotel La Vigie
ENTER the door on street edge.

We arrive in the morning, driving to the edge of Cerbere and notice this menacing Hotel La Vigie that looms over the cliff. The 1930’s Hotel has certainly seen better days but you can find some of the family’s art work hanging precariously on some of the walls. 

We need to knock on the street side door to have someone come to answer and unlock it. We get a key code and bargain for a cash deal with the French proprietor, Francois who has all ready started drinking while reading his newspaper. The gypsy woman was cleaning the rooms and was very unnerving in her suspicious manners. She asked us if we would like breakfast in the morning… and found out it’s a rip off… so only once did we go for it and decided to find somewhere else to eat in village. We followed the local and found our fresh café & pastry shop.

Fabulous view from our hotel room.

Not a lot going on here in Cerbere, but it is very popular place for scuba divers. Every morning, boats would load up with divers and they would head out for the day. We are not in holiday season and we find out that most of the restaurants are closed for the season so we are always in search of food.

Cat off to work!

Curvaceous streets of Cerbere France

Finding the local bakery is key to our survival
but have to arrive early as they sell out fast!

We find a small grocery store that has specific hours and load up on cheese, local sausage, tomatoes, fruit and chocolates to eat in our room. We find a couple bakeries in this little town but you have to be there first thing in the morning or go hungry. We walk the hilly seaside and it’s very quiet except for the constant running of trains, racing motorbikes and a few cats.

Abandoned and gutted out buildings are throughout the landscapes of Cerbere.

At one time this mansion house would have been a beauty.
WHY? is this town in such a state?

Used to be a Hotel for the Railway traffic
but now it is only be used in one area for a cinema.

Funky looking abandoned Railway Hotel.

Funky looking abandoned Railway Hotel in Cerbere.
The trains still run through the town connecting Spain with France.

Some buildings in town are taken care of and many places are near ruins. It looks like Cerbere was once a party town in the 1930’s with lots of money but some how that time has past and only a few villagers live here all year round who appear to be not that overly friendly. 

Cerbere France.
Some places are being kept up and have fresh paint.

The main road is an unintended race track
for ROCKET motorcycles. Cerbere France

Cerbere France hillside houses.

Cerbere France hillside houses.

One would stay in shape living in Cerbere
with the hillside roads and stairways to the TOP!

The main highway through Cerebere and where the divers load up on boats.

An Art Nouveau building still being used in Cerbere.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Art_Nouveau

4 kilometers to the Spanish Border from Cerbere, France

There are a few holiday homes that have been recently built on the hills in Cerere but none of those people are here in October. I think this is the perfect place to hide out if one was a writer or an artist needing solitude to create. We decide to stay in Cerbere as it is central to other historical Castles, wineries, and my new favorite sculpture artist, Aristide Maillol. Our aim is to also to go into Spain for a day visit to experience the surreal artist Salvador Dali’s art museum in Figueras, Spain which is about an hour scenic drive into the city.

Cacti growing wild around Banyuls sur Mer area.

Banyuls sur Mer winery shops closed.

Banyuls sur Mer winery shop open for BIZ.

Banyuls sur Mer winery shop closed.

Stairways along the cliffs for growing wines etc.

Along the way...Banyuls-sur-Mer

Banyuls-sur-Mer is a village close to Cerbere and seems like a happier people kind of place with shops, winery stores, etc. that are open for business. 

We where in search of Aristide Maillol Museum assuming it was within the village center so parked the car but could not find it nor a sign saying where it was located??? We stopped to ask a local where it is located and had to get back into the car to cruise the narrow country roads, deep within the valley of Roume where hillsides of olive & winery farms lead us to a small parking space on the side of the narrow road. NOT easy to find but worthy of the discovery!

Narrow road into the country side takes us to a small but fantastic
 sculpture museum of Aristide Maillol in Banyuls-sur-Mer

Quiet and definitely no tour buses at the Musee Maillol in Banyuls-sur-Mer

We park up on the road then there is a lovely 50 meter walk
through the Banyuls-sur-Mer countryside to get to the Musee Maillol.

We arrive at the Musee Maillol where one of his nude sculptures
 is a grave headstone for where Aristide Maillol is buried.

Aristide Maillol lived here part time and used this building as his studio.
MORE ABOUT Aristide Maillol

I love Aristide Maillol curvaceous nudes and one of his models
 is responsible for raising interest in making the museum become a reality.

Aristide Maillol curvaceous nudes.

Aristide Maillol curvaceous nudes.

Minaz and the curvaceous nudes of Aristide Maillol.

Walking along the path to Aristide Maillol Museum.

We came in through the back of the museum and enjoyed the picturesque walk along a natural path seeing quaint French homes in the hillsides surrounded by trees and grapevines, etc. 

Hand painted sign in script tells us we have arrived!

We came to the gate welcoming us to the restored building. It was a final wish for Maillol to be buried here at this house and where some of his sculptures are displayed. This is where Maillol loved to spend his time and was born in this area even thou he traveled and lived other places. Maillol's model Dina Vierny worked very hard to raise interest with the French Government to make this place a permanent museum for Maillol. 

JOY SPOT

What a delightful place and intimate viewing of Aristide Maillol. We where fortunate to be the only people here except for the friendly museum attendants. Musee Maillol is located in the area called Vallee de la Roume and is an out of the way experience worth venturing if one is close enough to take a car to get to it.

Domaine Berta-Maillol winery.

Closing up the Aristide Maillol museum, we drive back towards town but not before stopping at a winery that sits right on the road with a dog that lays in the center, slowing traffic to a near stop. We decide to park and inquire about the wines. It is a historically family ran winery and the brothers speak English and where willing to stop their work to chat us up about wines, life, and art. It turns out the fellow we talked to at the Maillol museum lives here at the Domaine Berta-Maillol Winery and are relatives to artist Aristide Maillol.
Go here to find map and information.

Their wines are excellent with both the red and white wines plus they had some delicious dessert wines both red and white. We bought 6 bottles to take home to enjoy and the guys allowed us to sample everything they had for tasting. We find out they have a store in town to buy as we realize this is their home and factory… awesome wines & people. 

Beaches of Collioure France
Not too many tourists at this time of year.

An old fort in Collioure France is in process of
being rebuilt and is now a park to walk about
and see the landscapes and ocean view.

An old fort in Collioure France,
see the landscapes and ocean view.

 We only spent a few hours walking around Collioure France and could see that this area is HUGE for tourism and see all the houses along the beaches that are empty in the fall. Maybe next time we might stay in this area....read more about the history of Collioure.

A medieval wall city from the 12 century...
Carcassonne France

It’s great to have the freedom of a car so we could just zip off spontaneously to a 12 century city called Carcassonne that is listed in the UNESCO world of heritage places. A medieval walled city still thrives within and relies on tourism to keep it lively and thriving and is also a France National Monument. We luck out and find free street parking and walk up the hill to the medieval castle that silhouettes the setting sun sky.

Carcassonne carousel ride at the front
before heading into the walled 12 century village.

We are greeted with a carousel ride at the entrance and a very old castle wall surrounding the hillside. 

Entrance into the center of the walled in
city of Carcassonne.

Outside the walled in city of Carcassonne.

The walled in city of Carcassonne.

We walked around the walled city before entering the core of busy life within. We came across an old entrance from behind the city where we discovered an oasis of fine gourmet French restaurants opening up for the evening diner serving 4-5 course menus. Advertised clearly on wooden painted signs are the prices with descriptions of every course available. 

12 century buildings still being lived in today.

Strolling around the medieval fortress city of Carcassonne, there are plenty of shops filled with top décor items, quality made fashions, artisan jewelry, etc, and everything is tastefully displayed in store windows. There are very small ancient hotels that you can stay with in the walled city. Very cool place, romantic and it’s enjoyed by every age group. I found it too musky for me to be able to stay within the wall but would recommend a visit and dinner to this awesome historical place.

Well fed cats live within the 12 century walled
 in city of Carcassonne.

There are lots of fat cats who roam about keeping the mice population down. Many are very friendly and like the visitors to pet them. The atmosphere is very up and it’s all tourists except for those that live and work there. We chat to a few and people who say they make this place a pilgrimage stay for every time they go to Europe. As the sun sets the old city begins to take on an ambient feeling with the golden lights of candles.

Inside the 12 century walled
 in city of Carcassonne is many shops, restaurants, and hotels.

Inside the 12 century walled
 in city of Carcassonne is many shops, restaurants, and hotels.

People are mingling about happy and everyone is deciding which gourmet restaurant they would like to dine. We decided to dine at Dame Carcas  to order two different courses of very fine French cooking. 

Gourmet restaurants are very small and feature their small menu's
outside so can read whether or not
to stay or move on to another restaurant.

Shops are closed in the evening but can see what
fabulous items they have for sale through the window displays.

Our restaurant happens to be at the tip of the only medieval road in and out of the city. Only certain times can traffic come and go during the day/evening. There is a one way road, barely enough room for one small sized car to squeeze through the old buildings. Pedestrians have to move into doorways to get out of the way. There is a timed one way light exchange… not everyone waits for the light to change and many take a chance that no one is at the other end coming on their green light… if caught they have to back all they way up the road… that was entertaining to watch, to say the least!

JOY SPOT

We highly recommend visiting the 12 century Carcassonne village that still has a viable life force. We know there is more to see & experience here but have only the one evening to explore. We decide to head off the next day to Spain for a day trip to visit the Dali Salvador Art Musuem.

We planned a day trip to Spain going to Figueres to embrace the master surrealist painter Salvador Dali up close.  I was soooo looking forward to seeing Salvador Dali’s art. 

Salvador Dali Art Museum 

Salvador Dali Art Museum in Figueres Spain

We arrive in Figueres Spain early in the morning, arriving just as the Salvador Dali musuem doors opens up on a Tuesday. We thought  being early, off season and on a Tuesday that we might have the place mostly to ourselves like other art museums we had ventured in Europe. BUT OHHHH NOOOO we see literally acres of buses unloading crowds of frantic people, piling in to unruly line ups. We where at the front of the line so we had only moments in the museum when all hell broke out. Standing room only.

Entering the first area of the Dali Museum.
This is just starting to fill up with too many people.

The Dali museum is filling up with hordes of people with standing room only.
This is the second room into the museum,
next is to get up into the smaller rooms and squeeze inside.

Dali Museum stairway up to the second floor
 that is already crammed with people.

Jim went one way and I went the other. The cameras are flashing everywhere even thou the sign says don’t use flash… young people where all over the art work, touching & climbing all over it… the guards had their hands full trying to get these people to respect the art works. Needless to say with the abuse, the art work and art displays take on with stupid people who disrespect and misbehave...the museum is dirty, cob webbed and looks like they need some freshening up and far less clumping of people roaming through the museum.

Dali created this museum when he was alive.
Each room is featuring his art and
also some of his favorite artists.

I LOVE what Dali did for this place and would enjoy it with more restraints on the volume of people dumped off at its door step. I could see that mostly none of those people seemed to care about the art or even being in the museum.

https://www.salvador-dali.org/en/museums/dali-theatre-museum-in-figueres/

Spite all the negatives we had experienced with how the board of members and city wants the money grab, the collection of Dali art works are worthy to see and the layout of the displays very fun to explore when children and people where not crawling all over them. I had heard years later that many people complained and maybe things have hopefully changed for this wonderful Dali Museum.

The gift shops had a nice selection of fun stuff to buy and a wide range of prices too. There is also a Dali jewelry museum somewhere close by but we where frankly just too annoyed to experience another rude crowd so we left for our cliff hotel in Cerbere. We can say overall that this was the biggest disappointment of our trip.

Spain...cacti flowers.

Cactus plants grow like weeds in Spain...
beautiful SPITE the prickles.

Ebre? Ebro Spain not sure exactly where we are?

Narrow dark pathways through out this village in Spain.

Roads through the Spanish town are narrow.

When this place was originally built, it was for horses
and today the drivers ZIP through the maze of streets.

Narrow roads a cobble stone paths to the side
for pedestrians to keep their toes out of the way!.. Spain

Spain

Sharp corners for drivers! Spain

Stop off at the Mediterranean seaside where Dali
was inspired to paint these rocks and landscapes into his paintings.

Dali's inspirations...

Driving back along Spain’s Mediterranean coast, we pull into one of the small towns as we are looking for some place to eat and have a cold beer. Everything seems so deserted but a few locals are wondering about town. We stop some where (?) and finally found a little fast food joint open with a friendly Spanish woman willing to cook us up some great tasting Spanish tapas served with a cold crisp Spanish beer. 


Driving along the highway heading back to France, we see a lot of European time share holiday homes which are eerily everywhere and they are all boarded up. Not one person anywhere for miles. Found out later that the Spanish found a loop hole and said all those homes are now belonging to Spain and people where not compensated for their holiday homes. Something to do with fraud and scams with building permits issued.

Its time to leave Cerbere and our CLIFF hotel and start driving back towards Paris where our flight takes off and where the leased Peugeot will be dropped off right inside the airport perimeters.

Chateau de Valency in Berry France

We decided to go explore some more country side castles in the province of Berry. We stayed in a small hotel where a town meeting was going on in the pub when we first arrived. Our very cold room was clean but nothing fancy, we where just staying the night. We asked if any food stores or restaurants where open and again we struck out for dinner. At least we had gotten into the habit of picking up fresh bread, canned nibbles, cheese, & sausage with some chocolate for dessert. We had a bottle of French table wine to wash it all back in our bathroom cups looking over the French countryside. AHHH the good life!

Chateau de Valencay

Every morning just before opening the Chateau de Valencay to the public, someone rakes the' record like' grooves into the fine stone entrance way.
We where the first to arrive and was greeted by the Castle Kitty!

We get up early and head over to see the Chateau Valencay.  It’s not tourist season so we where the first people to enter the groomed grounds of this fine Chateau.

Castle Kitty says FOLLOW ME...to take us peeps around the kitty hood!

Castle Kitty at the far left wants to take us down this pathway BUT the Peacock thinks differently... we are at both ends watching it go down...

Whose going to give in? Feather or FUR?
Castle Kitty's ears are BACK, focused &
 walking forward while the peacock is ready to NIP!

Managed to escape the wrath of Peacock vengeance...
...time to lay ones furry head in the sunlight and convince the humans to pet and fawn over such a fine feline!

Every great Château needs to have at least one royal cat. The museum gal opened up one of the doors to toss out the Chateau Cat who was of course indignant of being awakened so early from his warm window nap, no doubt. He landed on his feet, gave his fine fur a shake and spotted us across the gardens to give us a ROYAL PURRRR-FECT greeting!. 

Castle Kitty loves my cashmere wrap.
Only the finest for this puss!

I took lots of pictures of this fine royal cat who was very affectionate and took great delight in showing us around the outside grounds. The peacocks where not such loving fans thou of the Castle Kitty but he was brave spite their hissing and would walk cautiously by the peacocks with his head held high.

                                 

The Chateau de Valency is getting a new face lift.
Excellent that there is money going towards preserving the history and we are going to enjoy our visit inside after Castle Kitty is done with us peasants!

Can you imagine cleaning these windows..GAWD!

Entrance inside Chateau de Valencay.

We enter the main doorway and get the head sets for the 9.00 Euro ticket price to tell us in English the history of Château Valencay. There once was a 12 century castle on this location but was abandoned and run down. In 1540 Jacques d'Estampes had it demolished to replace it with Chateau Valencay which was built in stages and not complete until the 18th century. Sold to many famous owners such as Scottish banker John Law in1719 and Napoleon in 1809. 

Follow through and enter the gardens
at the Chateau de Valencay.

Morning fall fog over the landscape
view at the Chateau de Valencay.

Chateau de Valencay garden and view.

The landscape is well kept featuring beautiful views of vast green landscapes & sculptures. There is a playground for kids at back of the wooded area where there is also a fun maze that you have to answer history questions to open the next door… or you could follow the peacocks to be led to a dead end like us while the peacock jumps up & over the fence laughing ‘stupid tourist!’. 

Old animal barns still in use at the Chateau de Valencay.

Small farm animals still live at the Chateau de Valency.

Town is outside the walls of Chateau de Valencay.

We where left to walk about the landscapes like we owned the place. In the woods we find the chateau’s farm animals and strolled among Classic French gardens.

The entrance to the KITCHEN of Chateau Valencay.

Would have been a busy kitchen. There is dumbwaiter lift so the food could be delivered HOT to the upper dinning rooms.

Really enjoyed going into the basement to view the kitchen and the wine cellars. We could imagine this area to be very busy and had read that food was plenty and gourmet. Loved how the light shone through the windows gleaming off the copper pots. 

How beautiful can a copper pot be!

A well stocked kitchen has LOTS of pots!

Ovens and a butter churning.

The WINE Cellar still has some bottles to sample!

The kitchen at the Chateau de Valencay

Wine cellar at the Chateau Valencay.

What a beautiful place with fashion of the times displayed throughout the interior décor with some beautiful furniture and paintings. There is lots to see and learn and with no crowds to get in the way of viewing in the fall. They also have a large gift shop with wines, foods, and trinkets to buy.

We leave right after our tour and head to Toulouse France where we will stay for a few days.

View from our Kriad Hotel window. Toulouse, France

www.eurapart.com/twostar

Another French city is on the agenda and we are making up our minds to stay as we drive into Toulouse. We seek out to find Europe’s budget hotels which are usually within the city centers. We find the mid range priced hotel chain the Kyriad Hotel that has parking included which is very important to us. 

View from the Kyriad Hotel in Toulouse France.

View from the Kyriad Hotel in Toulouse France.

View from the Kyriad Hotel in Toulouse France.

Tug boat doing its job! View from the Kyriad Hotel in Toulouse France.

There are little deals throughout the week but are always busy and booked. The Kyriad Hotels chains are clean and efficient with usually a restaurant that is open early for breakfast and dinner including Sundays. The food was good and the service friendly. 

Toulous France

Toulous is one of the friendlier city’s we experienced overall. There is also a wide range of age groups so Universities feed the city the youth and spark to make it a vibrant place.

Toulouse, France

Toulouse and it's quaint medieval row houses.

Toulouse and its famous tight inner city road ways.

http://www.toulousedefrance.com/

Toulouse is ideally situated in the heart of Southern France, between the Mediterranean and the Atlantic Ocean, the cosmopolitan and enthusiastic Ville Rose joyously mixes heritage and lifestyle, great cultural events and festival pleasures.

Toulouse Church

Toulouse is an old rich city that has managed to rebuild some old buildings after the war and kept the tight old streets with cobblestone everywhere which eventually enters a plazas filled with light, fountains, sculptures, gardens, cafes, etc. There is a working canal that circles the city and a large river called La Garonne.

Toulouse Graffiti

Toulouse is a beautiful romantic city and everyone dresses fashionably well. This is where high fashion originated before Paris. There are many fashion designers showcasing in this city. We love the window shopping. All this high fashion and small living quarters has got to have a consignment store somewhere.

We find the most amazing fashion consignment shop Groucho-retro filled with fashionable clothes, shoes, handbags, jackets, jewelry, etc. Inside are fashionable sales guys ready to help you or just following you around putting back neatly anything you might have ruffled. That is a bit annoying but it’s got lots of funk & bargains with fantastic displays which  is EVERYTHING in this city. I found some suede fringe boots and Jimmy a couple of shirts.

The weather has been excellent through out our trip (October) but still need to dress in layers (jean jacket, wool wrap & rain jacket). There was some rain but not for long and the sun came out every time. Walking on cobble stones keeps me being practical of the kind of shoes to be worn but the French women of all ages wear spikes & high heals. We think they are insane but they look absolutely FABULOUS, darling!

Sculptured fountains in Toulouse

Besides the incredible stores to buy gorgeous things there is a lot of history here and well stocked and cared for museums. Information flyer's are available at the hotel and there are guide maps or just say ‘Bonjour’ and ask someone. It is expensive to eat and the costs are determined whether you sit in the café or take your derriere outside. Since there was usually a fountain or bench by gardens & sculpture we would take our café, sandwich, & pastry outside to find a place to people ‘watch’… Once again we lost track of what day of the week it is. Even in a big city, the Catholic Sunday is for rest and EVERYTHING closes down except the Turkish Fast food Don-airs.

Entrance to the Musee des Augustins

 http://www.augustins.org/

In the cathedral area of Augustins

Augustins Inner Garden area

Augustins Gothic Art displays

Augustins not only has Gothic architecture it also displays some fine art works & sculpture totaling 4,000 pieces to view. There are separate buildings to wonder within each presenting exquisite works of art and lots of interior features.

Art inside one of several buildings in the Augustins Monastery Museum.

The Augustine Art museum...look no crowds!

No crowds again and so quiet to just meditate on a favorite work of art … total bliss. There was live Gothic music played in the cathedral earlier that day but we came too late. The Augustine Monastery is truly a wonderful museum to be lost in for few hours or a day.

Entrance to Musee Paul-Dupuy

We found an intimate museum called Musee Paul-Dupuy that exhibits diverse objects, furniture and works of art from the Middle Ages. There are many drawings and etchings by Toulouse artists, and there are collections of glassware, ironwork, enamel, gold, silver, pottery, wooden and ivory sculptures. There is always one person in the room with you. We discovered a very knowledgeable staff that is friendly and enthusiastic to share the historical knowledge of anything in these rooms if you ask. It’s not a big museum but nice to be able to fit it in on one of our walking explorations of the cities nuances.

Across the street we seen art work demanding our attention in a modern Gallery called Galerie Graal that represents living artist of unique compositions and expertly accomplished. We had a wonderful conversations with the sales women who where enthusiast to share the passion of the artist works that are within this gallery. My two favorites is Gerard Willemenot & Bernard Louredin.

www.tourisme-orleans.com/hotels-orleans.php

There was so much more to see in Toulouse but Jim had it on his mind to get closer to Paris as our flight back to Vancouver Canada is coming up fast. We leave this awesome city and head to Orléans which is a city north-central France, about 130 km (80 miles) southwest of Paris. It is located on Loire River where it curves south towards the Massif Central. Jim had in mind to visit Orleans because he lived for many years studying and performing music in New Orleans, USA and wanted to experience the birth place. New Orleans (originally La Nouvelle-Orléans) is named after the city of Orléans.

Orleans center square

Orleans Cathedral

Orleans

We see lots of shops we would like to stop in to find some unique hats and outfits. Once again we find ourselves on a Sunday and nothing open… Jim did laundry late one night hanging out with the locals and found a Persian woman who cooks & serves authentic Persian food in her little cafe but she only opens up late in the evening.

We are welcomed into her social circle of customers and friends coming and going through out the evening. She served us lamb stew prepared with authentic spices and vegetables. Served on couscous we also tried some finger foods that where awesome. When she brought out the huge dish of food we thought it was for the two of us. Needless to say we over ate but it was really good food and all hand made by her. We where going to leave the café but she encouraged us to stay longer serving fresh steamed mint tea which helped to settle the stomach. She speaks no English but we all manage to chat for hours into the late evening with our rough style French.

Very excellent... Museum of Fine Arts in Orleans

Tamara Lempicka Artist

Medieval Religious Art... gorgeous

We came to discover The Museum of Fine Arts in Orleans. It is ranked among the largest museums of France, after the Louvre, who also retains the most outstanding and most varied collections of pastels in France. There is an abundance of paintings, sculptures, prints, drawings and objects d'art and is one of the greatest collections of art representative in Europe of the sixteenth century to the present day. A whole day can be spent easily viewing this museum. They offer head phones to guide the viewer throughout the museum and it’s really an interesting interaction. There were also lots of educational papers written in every room and it was fortunately written in English too. If you come to Orleans you got to go see the collections… remarkable to walk from one century right up to current day… it’s a trip! Admission is free on the first of every month on a Sunday.

 

We give our Hotel desk clerk that evening the time we need to be awakened to get out of bed and to arrive in Paris on time to drop off our leased car and get to our plane for 11:00am.

We wake up with the light shinning in the room, realizing we didn’t get our wake up call @ 5:30am. We wake up instead at 8:30 am. We decided to make a run for it taking on the speed cameras travelling into Paris Monday morning highway traffic.

We drive by the airport turnoff… dammmmmm it ALL!!!… We find a turn around on the highway to be stopped for one last toll booth to take our $. Our flight leaves at 11:00am… we keep going anyways, time ticking away. The Peugeot lease fellows gave us a ride to the door of Zoom airlines. We rush in to find no one at the booth… I flag someone down and Jim tries out his French one more time. They say no we are too late. Something in our desperation made the guy in charge to say OK… let’s move on the luggage check in and get us through security.

We bought a box of wine that Jim thought he could take on board with him. Not allowed so we attempt to panic as Jim is not leaving his precious wine behind. We stuff it into my suitcase as his less full suitcase was first to go through the conveyor belt. We expected to find it smashed and ALL my clothes ruined when we got back to Vancouver. The airline bus waits for to us to clear security. We get on to the airport bus with the passengers saying we owe them a beer for the wait. Thanks to Zoom or the universal travel god who got us on the plane and at the end of it… the box of wine made it too!

CHEERS and SALUTE... 

Minaz and Jim 'the Canadians'