Next installation of France pictures

It's certainly been hard catching up on things around here! We have our annual Missions Conference coming up in about three weeks, and I'm on the Missions Team that plans and hosts it. That's made it very, very busy for me trying to juggle everything. So...it's hard making the time to get the rest of these pictures on the blog! But, here goes --

Versailles -- the palace of King Louis the XIV, XV, and XVIi in the late 1700s and early 1800s -- this is the opulence that I wrote about while we were in France. Everything was gold and mirrors and brocade and velvet and marble...you get the idea! Here are just a couple of pictures that give only a fraction of the kind of luxury.

We visited Notre Dame cathedral one morning. The architecture was amazing -- especially considering construction was begun in the mid 1100's!



Some of the many, many stained glass windows.

Then it was off to the Louvre one day where we saw the Mona Lisa and Venus de Milo as well as lots of other famous paintings and items. We saw only a fraction of the whole in the three hours we were there. Here's Mona:

Now, here are a few of my favorites:
The really fast train we took to go from Paris to Chalon -- 200 miles per hour, and it was so very smooth traveling!

In visiting one chateau, the architecture was stunning with geometrical design created by using different shades of rock. I thought this was beautiful.

In another chateau, the kitchen had this pottery displayed that I really enjoyed. I'd like to have that displayed in my home!

Finally -- yes, this is a restroom. :-) All (and I do mean all) of the bathroom facilities in France were different. Rarely did we find one that flushed the same way as another. It was always creative to figure out how to flush the darn things. I show this picture though, to show you that there are two sides to the "flusher panels" on the wall -- a big side and a little side. Well, believe it or not, the big side flushes big, and the little side flushes little. You choose the kind of flush you need to complete the job! (It took Dick and I a few days to realize there was an option in our hotel room.) Now aren't you glad to know this fascinating fact about French toilets?


And finally, you can't visit the wine country in France without seeing lots of vineyards. It was harvest time, and here are some of the grapes!

And now I say, "Bon nuit!" which means "goodnight" as it's past my bedtime!