(TREES, four floors up?!)
Fabulous trip, even though it did involve two planes, five trains, two ferries and a taxi! The West Highland line from Glasgow to Fort William, then on to the West coast at Mallaig is an unforgettable experience.
With a chance to avoid the motorways this time. The route bleue (N7) and the wine territories have a much greater appeal. It does take a lot longer – but we wandered through dozens of timeless hamlets and past some extraordinary buildings tucked away in la France Profonde. (And yes, the sat. nav. can’t always cope and I did get us just a little bit lost…)
An overnight stay in Chateaudun (a town with medieval buildings that we are always keen to revisit, although we sometimes feel we should explore more adventurously) and an early morning visit to the chateau – perfect, we were the only people in the whole place, apart from a young woman energetically hoovering the ancient stone floor of the Sainte Chapelle – what a job!
I think this is the most northerly of the Loire castles (so the first you get to driving down from Paris) and it seems to be less well known to tourists. Definitely worth a trip though. There is an interesting connection to Joan of Arc. The buildings are from the 12th to the 16th century – and too close up for me to get in a single shot!
There are tapestries and furniture:
Architectural details, linenfold and – always my favourite – FIREPLACES!
But, as usual, what really caught my eye was the play of light, angles and exciting intersections:
This one gave me a shock – no idea I had taken it, but it is my ghostly shadow sneaking its way in!
Some recent geometrically inspired pieces, mixed with angles from the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna – mostly taken around the famous tea room.
The building is as splendid as the exhibits – late 19th century Viennese marble, stucco, gold leaf, over-the-top painted surfaces including the Klimpt decorations around the main staircase.
We spent a memorable week in Vienna just after Christmas. So much to see – three art galleries/ Hapsburg palaces meant we walked over 11 miles one day. Maybe the highlight was managing to get tickets for a performance of Mozart’s Requiem in the Karlskirche. But just wandering around was fun too – and you have to keep scuttling out of the way of these!
SpinningStreak 