Winter Barn Owl

Winter Barn Owl
Life's a Hoot !

Sunday, May 12, 2019

Visiting Valognes

The village that Andy lives in is quite small, so we did a bit of local shopping in the town of Bricquebec, mainly at the local patisserie!!


We visited a bit of the city to check out
Bricquebec Castle in the middle of town.




We then headed to the Farmer's Market in Valonges





The treat of the day was finding 'ginormous' fresh oysters, 
(the size of my hand), rated #0....
which we thoroughly enjoyed for lunch...

...followed by a cheese souffle and salad.

Off to a day of remembrance tomorrow.

Saturday, May 11, 2019

Continuing on to Normandy

The following day, we continued on the journey north...French autoroutes are not the most scenic, but it was the fastest way to get to where we were headed.   Even less enticing was highway food, so we pulled off and stopped at, get this, an American themed restaurant called "Buffalo Grill".

The last thing I expected to eat in France was American food!
Cajun chicken!
We finally arrived in Normandy after another 6 hour car ride, at my Uncle Andy's lovely restored historic property, dating back to 1771.

The part to the right dates back to the 1500's
He made a little garden with the remains of the ruins 
We stayed in the left part, which dates back to 1771 also.
Me, Trish and  my niece Victoria
This house is being used as a storage shed.
Our dinner was grilled directly on the hearth

Fabulous fresh home grown tomatoes!
 It is good thing that Andy is a wine connoisseur.
Delish!
More Normandy coming up.....

Friday, May 10, 2019

First few days in France

I am blessed to have family all over the world, so visiting with them is a big priority for me.  My sister lives in the south of France
 and a visit was long overdue.  
After 12 hours of travel, the first priority was nourishment!

Homemade Zucchini  Quiche


Travelling through Toulouse, I came across the "Minotaure",an amazing piece of machinery, weighing 46 tons and 13 meters high, taking its passengers for a ride with the smoke coming out of it's nose ....what a beast.


The main purpose of this trip was to travel by car, with my sister and her family, from the south, to the north of France, in particular, Normandy, to visit with my uncle.  Before heading north, provisions had to be purchased.


When you buy wine in France, it is not always at the store, but preferably directly from the vineyard. ..Both places we visited had spectacular houses and views.


The thought of a 12 hour car trip was not particularly appealing, so we decided to do it over 2 days and spent the first night in the Loire valley.  We rented a whole house not far from the town of Chinon.  It was in the middle of nowhere, but it was  a charming restored stone barn turned into a cozy home.  A menage of animals completed the ambiance; 1 mule, 2 dogs and 4 cats.

 

While in the area, we took advantage of visiting
 the medieval town of Chinon.


We stopped in Azay-Le-Rideau to relax...

'

and visit the Chateau


Our evening sky was mesmerizing

 Welcome to Normandy tomorrow.



Sunday, November 11, 2018

Boldt Castle

On a beautiful, crisp, autumn day we ventured out with friends 
in our classic cars to Wellesley Island, NY.
  Our destination was Boldt Castle, situated on Heart Island.
The first stop was for lunch at Hackers Restaurant
 at the 1,000 Island Golf Club.
After a filling meal, we took a boat ride to Heart Island.
Construction of the full size Rhineland Castle began at the turn of the 20th century.  Millionaire owner of New York's Waldorf Astoria, George C. Boldt set out to build the grandiose structure as a display of love for his wife Louise.
Photo courtesy of Boldt Castle website


He built 'Alster Tower' as a 'play house' for his children,
 which even had a bowling alley.
Sadly, Louise died before the Castle was finished, so heartbroken George stopped all work and left it to ruin.  The '1,000 Island Bridge Authority' bought it in 1977 and started restoring it.  They furnished several rooms in the way that they envisioned it would have been if Louise had lived there.





The grounds are just as impressive as the interior.


This truly magnificent Castle is a must visit .