Castle Gardens

Sunday 20th July: These gardens are extensive! There are 100 acres to explore, there are golf buggies for hire, but we decided to exercise to counter the long plane trip effect. Its exhausting! There is 1.5km from top to bottom.! There is a hidden canal at the end, which creates about another 1km walk circuit! André Le Nôtre went on to become the most famous landscape gardener in Europe, commissioned also to do Versailles, Tuileries, Chantilly, Fontainebleu, St James Park, Windsor Castle, to name a few. ***** We left here to go direct to Charles de Gaulle airport and catch our plane back to Australia.

Chateau Interior

Sunday 20th July: This chateau is in good condition, but is still under restoration, however, the interior has been very well preserved, and portrays extravagance and an idea of life in the 17th century for royalty in France. We learned that this was one of the first dining rooms ever built as the French typically ate on occasional tables in living rooms. An example of a menu back then included Pigeon Soup! Every inch of the wall and ceilings were covered in art, such as this huge ceiling painting by Le Brun. Louis XIV played backgammon here, agruably! Apparently the kitchen was still operational until the late 1950s! There are candles everywhere, which are lit for evening openings in the summer, and sometimes classical music is played. Next time we'll go in the evening. Very interesting.

Vaux-le-Vicomte

Sunday 20th July: Not far away is this magnificent chateau, which was opened in 1661. It was built by Fouquet before the Palace of Versailles, and many of the ideas and the talent used to build the Chateau of Vaux-le-Vicomte were used to build Versailles, notably the architect Le Vau, the landscape gardener Le Nôtre, and the artist Le Brun. Trouble was, it was more luxurious and magical than any of Louis XIV palaces and Fouquet was eventually arrested and imprisoned for his extravagance!

Lagny-sur-Marne

Sunday 20th July: Even though this is only 25km from Paris, around here, not much English is understood nor spoken. There was a cute old cake and chocolate shop across the road from the café in the precinct, Rue du Chemin de Fer. Specialities, once bought, were wrapped in a special box with ribbon. Shortly after this, we said farewell to our English friends, as they drove back to Calais, and we had the afternoon until our flight late tonight. It was an enormous 4 days holiday in France!

Lagny Markets

Sunday 20th July: We said 'Au Revoir' to our B&B at Gouvernes and 'Merci Beaucoup' to our wonderful hosts, Daniel and Monique. We explored the busy street markets on the Rue Des Marchés, which proved to be fruitful for a couple of french last minute items. We sat down for baguettes and drinks at a corner café 'La Loco' with good service for our large group of 7 personnes!

Sleeping Beauty Castle

Friday 18th July: We also climbed to the top of the Swiss family Robinson's Tree, explored the Jules Verne Nautilus, rode the 'Its a Small World' water boat, took the Studio Tram Tour, and investigated the magical Sleeping Beauty castle, the central icon of the whole Park. Its really very well done, its a complete sensory experience, its a must to all to visit. We certainly didn't tire of the 14 hour day, great to do with a group of good friends.

Goofy Parades

Friday 18th July: The parades and access to the Disney characters is really quite good fun! They are very well done, with quite elaborate floats and costumes. The characters act and dance along with the accompanying sounds and music, very accessible to the large crowds on the kerbsides. Minnie Mouse and Goofy were particularly in demand by our daughter and her friend. Ah, isn't it Bliss! This was probably our daughter's highlight of the trip.

Adrenalin Rides!

Friday 18th July: Early on, we sought out the adrenaline rides and used our fastpasses to great effect! Space Mountain (shown here) starts off by shooting you at great acceleration into the top of this dome, then many twists, turns, loops, spinning, all in the dark with some lighting, and.....you come out feeling rather green :-) Although this may have been a hangover from the previous Star Wars simulator ride - don't do it! The best rides were Big Thunder Mountain, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Peril, and the Rock n Roller Coaster avec Aerosmith (this was a great ride at the Film Studios park. Some we did multiple times due to not too many crowds today!

Disneyland Paris

Friday 18th July: A short drive away is this huge theme park, which is way beyond expectations. The whole atmosphere from the settings, characters, parades, sounds, smiles, colours creates a wonderful, even magical experience. Then there are the many, many rides from ambling to adrenalin which can be easily joined by booking a time with a fastpass. Lots of laughes, screams, walking, resting, watching, photographing, eating, shopping... We arrived at 10am and left after midnight. We saw the day parade and the late night illuminated parade followed by the fireworks and candellations on the Sleeping Beauty Castle. A highlight of our trip.

Chambres d'Hotes à Gouvernes

Jeudi 17eme Juillet: C'est la chambres d'Hotes, Au Victor Hugo, nous avons resté ici pour 3 nuits avec nos amies. Les hôtes, Daniel et Monique, sont trés gentils, mais ils ne parlent pas l'anglais, donc nous devons parler le francais toujours les temps dans ici. Il y a une ferme vielle, c'est trés confortable, est il y a prés de Disneyland et de Paris et au coeur de Marne-La-Vallée. Nous avons deux grandes chambres, et une grande salle de bains. Aussi, c'est une belle vue sur ce balcon, donc vous pouvez voir cette photo. Nous aimons cette chez bien sur!