Category Archives: Rambles

Back in St. Louis

Posted on June 13, 2022 by John Zumsteg

After the most miserable Winter and Spring imaginable here in Seattle, we headed off to St. Louis in May to catch up on grandkid-hugging, tiki-drinking, general good fun and some warm weather. We had a great time! First: here’s the St. … Continue reading →

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Chateau Amboise and Chateau Azay-le-Rideau

Posted on September 29, 2021 by John

After seeing Chateau Blois and visiting the town, we took a day-trip to go to Chateau Amboise and then stopped at Chateau Azay-le-Rideau on the day we drove back to home base at Bois-le-Roi. This was the second time we’d … Continue reading →

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Chateau Blois

Posted on September 27, 2021 by John Zumsteg

We left Cheverny and made the half-hour drive to the town of Blois. Here sits one of the most interesting chateaux in all of France, in a very enjoyable city. We made Blois our base of operations for the next … Continue reading →

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Chateau de Cheverny

Posted on September 27, 2021 by John Zumsteg

If you once had a teenage son or daughter, they might well look at a picture of Chateau Cheverny and think, “That seems familiar…” If they were to look at the picture below and cover up the right and left … Continue reading →

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A Ramble to the Loire Valley

Posted on September 27, 2021 by John Zumsteg

We took a three-night road trip last week to the Loire Valley. It was a terrific trip; one of those where nothing goes wrong, the weather was great, sights were beautiful and historic and interesting. When we got back, we … Continue reading →

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Alsace Trip – Mulhouse

Posted on September 14, 2021 by John

Last stop on our Alsace tour: Mulhouse. Mulhouse differs quite a bit from Strasbourg and Colmar: it’s an industrial city that is having a hard time keeping its industrial base. It doesn’t have many beautiful and historic buildings nor beautiful … Continue reading →

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Alsace Trip – Colmar

Posted on September 12, 2021 by John

Colmar was next up on our itinerary. It’s not far from Strasbourg, smaller by quite a bit (around 75,000 compared to Strasbourg’s 470,000) and definitely oriented more toward tourism. The city has many beautiful and interesting buildings, built in the … Continue reading →

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Alsace Road Trip – Strasbourg

Posted on September 11, 2021 by John Zumsteg

Alsace We’ve been on a road trip to Alsace, in eastern France, for the last week and a half. We visited Strasbourg, Colmar and Mulhouse (pronounced “ma-looze,” of course). We’ve never been to this part of France and Mary has … Continue reading →

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A Ramble to Montreuil-sur-Mer

Posted on August 23, 2021 by John

Our friends Jamie and Hervé have sung the praises of Montreuil-sur-Mer since they visited the town several years ago (Hervé is from a small town not far away) and when they suggested we meet them there for a couple days, … Continue reading →

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Sancerre

Posted on August 8, 2021 by John

Last Thursday we took a day trip to the Sancerre region, for two reasons: to buy some Sancerre wine from a winery that we’ve visited and bought from since we started our long stays here, and to have lunch with … Continue reading →

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