Entertablement Abroad – St. Malo, Brittany

by Helen Kain | Apr 4, 2020 | Beautiful Towns, Entertablement Abroad, France

St. Malo, a town in Brittany on the northwestern coast of France, has some of the biggest tides in Europe. They can vary more than 40 feet from low tide to open sea, as you can see from views of the national fort, which becomes isolated at high tide. St. Malo is just...

Entertablement Abroad – The Palace of Fontainebleau

by Helen Kain | Feb 10, 2019 | Chateaux, France

We had been extremely lucky with the warm temperatures in April, but our weather- luck deserted us as we travelled the 34 miles from Paris to the Palace of Fontainebleau by train.  It was, in a word, F*ing (Frigidly) Freezing. The day was sunny and bright, just...

Entertablement Abroad – Paris in the Spring

by Helen Kain | Feb 3, 2019 | Beautiful Towns, Cathedral, Entertablement Abroad, France

Just a whiff of warmer weather and the piles of snow are rapidly shrinking. Water is splashing down the gutters in a happy symphony of gurgles. Yesterday the Groundhog predicted an early spring – fingers crossed he’s right. While we wait, though, let’s...

Entertablement Abroad – The Loire Valley

by Helen Kain | May 20, 2017 | Beautiful Towns, Chateaux, Entertablement Abroad, France, Gardens and Flowers

The Loire Valley is utterly gorgeous in the spring – abundant lilacs, colourful bulbs and tumbling wisteria. I’ve done a quick recap of some of my favourite spots from our trip a couple of years ago. In putting together the collage, I noticed I chose...

Entertablement Abroad – Aix en Provence

by Helen Kain | Apr 22, 2015 | Beautiful Towns, Entertablement Abroad, France

The final leg of our journey took us down to Aix en Provence, where we rented a very comfortable two bedroom apartment, within easy walking distance of all the sights. We had been fortunate with unseasonably warm weather in the Loire Valley, and looked forward to...

Entertablement Abroad – Chateau de Beynac & Chateau de Castlenaud

by Helen Kain | Apr 18, 2015 | Chateaux, Entertablement Abroad, France

We had been awash in elegant chateaux in the Loire valley, and were interested to see that the ones in the Dordogne region were much more austere. Built in the middle ages, their purpose was defence, not entertainment and refined living.  Chateau de Beynac...