Let Zem Eat Cake!

marie antoinette's hameau at versaille
photo by my husband, romanced by me [ The photo.  Not my husband. Although that has been known to happen,too.]

When last I left you, chers lecteurs, we were headed for Versaille. I taught about Versaille in my Art History class for years from this BOOK, which I bought for the class in 1991. 
[ It really is the best book, and I think I'll buy it for myself.]  But seeing this palace in a book, and seeing it in real life, are very different things. It's mind-blowing, isn't it? We went for the first time in 1998, and we've been there several times since.  This time we didn't feel like going into the rooms, so we parted company with Marie and Christine, and headed for the"backyard".





Even in late autumn, in the rain, with no flowers in the beds, the gardens and grounds are breathtaking.

The original gardens were designed by Andre Le Notre


Now, I am always the navigator, because I always know where I'm going.  Except when I get lost.  And lost, I got.  I took a wrong turn, Zigged when I should have zagged, and we ended up in a place where



NO Man Has Ever Gone

or so it would appear, because as we followed this path

through this hedge, and into what is known as

The King's Garden


The most peaceful park, with color to rival Vermont, and huge, majestic trees,

...there wasn't a tourist to be seen.  Just a private place of touching beauty.  Do yourself a favor, and get lost over on the left side of the back yard and wander into this private garden.  I'll bet it's equally marvelous in the Spring.


After this we strolled back to the Petite Trianon and my favorite of all places on earth, the Hameau of Marie Antoinette. I won't write about the hameau here, as it opens a Pandora's Box of feelings about the rich, decadence and artificiality, and but do click on the link if you have an interest.

choux et poireaux

marlborough tower
m a r l b o r o u g h  t o w e rm a r l b o r o u g h  t o w e r
As for me, I'm just entranced with the fairytale feeling that this spot evokes.It's a photographer's dream.
And as for my title above, did Marie really say  "let them eat cake"?  Popular wisdom today says no, but who can say for sure?  Here's one take on the subject. Personally, I think I prefer this take on Marie and Her Cake from the oh-so-talented Wendy.
I have more pix of the hameau to work on, and tomorrow we'll go to Chartres.
Thank you so much for all your sweet comments on my last post!  We all love France, don't we!!!! 

A bientôt,mes douces!

dawne

Back to France...again.

o l d  b o a t  i n  t h e  M a r n e


Thank you so much to 
all who wrote encouragement on my last post.  I think your "favorite blogger" has agreed to help me with her words, but we'll not say more about that until later...:)

I think right now you all would like to see some more pix of our November trip to France, right?  Okay, let's start with the first town we traveled to, Senlis, just an hour north of Paris.

Here are the two photo enthusiasts who traveled with us, and have become our great friends.  They are named Marie and Christine, just like the name of a shop in town!  

Senlis is a medieval town






If you remember , we went to Senlis also 
in July , and I fell in love with this little antique boutique, but lost the name. 

 Well, this time I didn't lose the card.  The brocante de charme is called       

Le Clos Eglantine

and it is owned by
Nadia Hallers

Couldn't you just do some credit card damage in here?

All of the furniture is vintage or antique,but has been painted in the loveliest shade of Paris grey. 

 I shared a few ideas about chalk paint with the owner.  She may carry the paint someday. If you're ever in Senlis, it is at

 1 rue de Beauvais, 
right as you enter the town.

We had a lovely lunch at a tearoom across the street,

shopped for cheese

spent some time in the cathedral, 

then headed to our petite château in the Champagne region


Le Château de la Marjolaine

there was a beautiful little chapel on the grounds

and a romantic gate leading to 

 a peaceful promenade along the river Marne...

before dinner in our own private dining room!
And what a remarkable dinner it was, served and prepared by jean Pierre and Bruno!!!

Tomorrow we'll move on to Versaille!
But now it's time to go and watch "Downton Abbey!"

A bientôt, mes amies,

dawne

The Book of Boo...

"...head for the trees, BooBoo!  I know those trees.  We're almost home!"

I've never been one for New Year's Resolutions. They don't don't seem to have a good reputation for working. Instead, from a young age, I would start off the New Year with a fresh calendar and I would choose a date sufficiently far into the year, and write what I hoped would have happened by then.  Like, at age 7 I might write on the Oct 13 square " I will have a pony by this day"  or when I was 13, "Mark will be my boyfriend by this day" or when I was 21, "I will be engaged by this day".  In the not so distant past, I have been known to write " I will weigh 107 by this day." [!!]

my yearly calendar

Sadly, I don't think any of those things ever happened by "that day", but yet, like Yonks, I'm decidedly optimistic about each and every year, even those "doomed" to be the end of all years!

I mean, I never actually got a pony, but I did end up with lots of horses.  And I never actually ever got engaged, but I eloped with the man of my dreams,
[and after 4 decades it seems to be working].

                                     John Upton
love struck hippies that we were


  
ANYWAY...


One of my favorite Bible verses is from Psalm 37

 via

The usual interpretation is that He will give you what you want.  That may be true.  But I also think it means, that He will "place within your heart" the right desires.


So, as my family sat down to put out into the air our hopes and aspirations for 2012, and after we had expressed our prayer for Peace on Earth, and prayers for physical and emotional healing for friends and family, we each gave one special, personal dream that we would desire for ourselves this year...  


and mine is,


[takes deep breath]


 that I might see my photographs published in a real, appearing-on-Amazon.com-and-in-my-local-bookstore- book. Photos like the one on the top, which is part of a children's story called "The Book of Boo".


I won't place that in a square on my calendar, but I will voice it here.  And I'll come back in a year and check to see what's happened.


Now if only I could find someone to write the words..


And speaking of books, maybe I've been inspired by this... have you ordered your copy?? 

And it is appearing on Amazon.com,here

Kristin's blog was the first one I ever read, back in 2005.  This book is based on the delightful stories from her blog, 
French-Word-a-Day
This book is a great read!

à plus tard, mes copines,

dawne