Wow - another post so soon. I know you are shocked! I figured I need to get all our weddings up on the blog (mainly for my looking back on them fondly purposes). In September, we traveled to Newport Beach, California for the wedding of one of my best friends. Ashleigh and I met in college and although have not lived in the same city since we graduated in 2005 (wow we are old), we have remained close and I am so glad to have her in my life.
He really did not want to pose for a beach pic.
Beach pic with the bride
The wedding was on a boat! Yes, we said a lot of "We're on a boat!"
Me, Ashleigh, and Brittany below deck helping the bride get ready (with champagne of course!)
I love watching brides get into their dresses. Such a fun moment!
Ashleigh did not have bridesmaids (just her sister as her maid of honor), so all the best girl friends wore black dresses so we could coordinate) Not the best pic of me, but its all I got. I am probably pointing at Eric and telling him to take more pictures!
Husband and Wife! They really are a couple who is meant to be.
Love you Ash!
I LOVE this picture! Aren't they such a pretty couple?!
The boat went up and down in the bay between Newport and Balboa Island. It was pretty calm since
we were not out in the open seas.
The bride's sister Rachel giving her MOH speech.
Friends :)
Love you Ash! I am so happy for you and Scott! You were a beautiful bride and had a perfect wedding. Much happiness to you and Scott (and Jakie!)
As we left Chenonceau, we took a back road down towards Loches. After consulting my helpful Rick Steves France book, I discovered we were in luck because Loches has a street market on Wednesdays and Saturdays. It was Wednesday so we decided to stop and see what we could find. The book said it was an overlooked town that makes a good base for drivers who want to see a lot of the Loire Valley region. It is set on the Indre River and is just a quaint town with few tourists.
Chateau de Loches - we did not go in, but the book said it was worth a visit.
We ended up getting some "saucisson" and "fromage" (cheese), bread, and a great looking pear, and taking it back for a quick little picnic in the car. It really was neat walking around the market and interacting with the locals. If we go back to France, I would love to spend more time in this area visiting the small towns. As much as I loved Paris, it was really neat to be in the smaller towns.
View from our drive. We left Loches and headed south to San Sebastian, Spain. This is as we were getting into Spain I believe. We drove over 5 hours and over 600 kilometers that day!
Well, Happy New Year's Eve! This is my third post tonight. It is New Year's Eve and Eric and I are not doing anything tonight. Keeping it real, we had Whataburger for dinner (along with a nice bottle of French red wine). To be honest, we haven't had the best last couple of weeks. I don't know why I have an issue with skipping things on the blog... I want everything to go in order, which is why I am obviously trying to get all of our Europe trip blogged (yes, I know we went in September) so I can update the blog with real life real time stuff! I need to update on Ollie (he had major knee surgery), we went to several weddings, we had Thanksgiving and Christmas, and most recently we celebrated the life of Eric's grandmother. But for now, let's continue with the other chateau we stayed at in Amboise, Chateau des Arpentis. Once again, since our flight was canceled going to Paris and we scrambled to push everything back, our first chateau in Amboise could not accomdodate us another night, so we luckily found this place to stay in. I guess it was okay. (Sarcasm!)
Umm even the covered the pool looks amazing. Bucket list item - to return here in the summer for a week and just relax and tour all of the beautiful chateaux in the Loire Valley and sit by this pool in the afternoons drinking a nice French white wine.
The sitting area of our room. So quaint with the fireplace.
The bathroom was to die for.
We all know I love a good bath tub and can't pass up the opportunity for a tub pic. I really should do a blog post on all the bath tubs I have taken my picture in.
Honestly this chateau was so cool. It was decorated exquisitely and the history of the place was just amazing. There was a very nice living room area you could relax in, with a fire place. Breakfast was served in a quaint little eating area. It was like out of a movie. I was actually really sad we were just here for a night - hardly any time at all to enjoy the beauty that it was. The next morning we woke up, saw one more chateau and were on our way to Spain!
After visiting the massive Chateau de Chambord, we continued on to Chateau de Cheverny. This one was on my list because I knew Eric would love it. Every night at 5:00 there is the feeding of the dogs. You see, Cheverny is still an active hunting lodge. There are 70 dogs - half English foxhound and half French Poitou and these dogs are the real thing. They are bred to have big feet and bigger stamina. Ollie would have no chance around them!
This was before the feeding - they were all just hanging out in their kennel. I love the random one sitting very regally in the middle of the chaos.
They get pretty worked up!
Hi pretty doggie!
Madness! This was like 2 hours before the feeding and they were already starting to get worked up.
Besides the dogs, Cheverny has a beautiful garden. Eric went crazy taking pictures of the impeccably kept grounds.
Cheverny - while not as large as some of the other chateaus - Cheverny is one of the most lavishly furnished of the Loire Valley. It was built from 1604 to 1634 and is uniquely uniform in style since it was built in a short time (yes, thirty years was short back then). The same family, the Hurault's, have owned the chateau since its beginnings and to this day the viscount's family still lives on the third floor. (Really?!)
Just gorgeous.
This is a prehistoric antler from some very rare animal. It was huge (and worth a bunch!)
This is the wedding dress of the owner of the house who currently resides here. The only day that this chateau has been closed is the day of the family's wedding. They are open 365 days a year.
Beautiful tapistries on all of the walls - these were there for warmth.
Pictures of the family - it was really neat to see the mix of the old and the new.
How do I get in this family?!
Ok, back to the feeding of the dogs. So the handlers remove the dogs from the feeding area. They go absolutely crazy while they put down raw meat, grains, and other food for the dogs to do a mass feeding.
They're fed once a day and the feeding (la soupe des chiens) is
a fun spectacle that shows off their strict training. Before chow
time, the hungry hounds fill the little kennel rooftop and watch the
trainer bring in troughs stacked with delectable raw meat. He opens the
gate, and they gather enthusiastically around the food and yelp
hysterically. Only when the trainer says to eat can they dig in.
Getting a little rowdy! You have to watch the video to truly understand what this is like.
We had such a fun day, both at Chambord and Cheverny! That evening we went to dinner in Amboise at Chez Bruno. Again, I got to use more of my French skills since we were in a smaller town and our waitress did not speak a lot of English. It was hard, but neat to do. In Paris, I really did not have the opportunity to have to speak French. We had a really good dinner. I think I had fish and I cannot remember what Eric had, but it was very good. We sat next to a very nice English couple who had been RVing around France. It turns out they live in the very same city as some of Eric's relatives from England. Eric's family owns a butcher shop and this couple knew exactly where the shop was. What a small world. It really is humbling to be in a completely new city in a country we have never been to and run into someone that knows a relative.
