The other part of the Jardins is a long(ish) woodland work over the valley with some amazing views of rural, bucolic France. The shade is definitely welcome in the middle of a southern French July. There is a gentle transition from the formality and order of the box hedge topiary gardens and into the more natural woodland.
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These gardens (Jardins, ooh la la!) came highly recommended and did not disappoint. A really nice day out.
There are the formal topiary gardens and a huge lovely long forest walk, which ahs amazing views over the valley. I have slit the blog post into two: One post for the cut box hedges and one for the shaded wander amongst the trees
The Château de Marqueyssac is a 17th-century château and gardens located at Vézac, in the Dordogne Department of France. The château was built at the end of the 17th century by Bertrand Vernet de Marqueyssac, Counselor to Louis XIV, on cliffs overlooking the Dordogne Valley. However; in the second half 20th century the house was rarely occupied and the gardens were not well maintained. Restoration began in 1966 and the gardens were opened to the public in 1997.
The Marqueyssac Gardens have 150 000 hand-pruned boxwood which are more than a little impressive.
Monpazier is a simply stunning town, founded in 1284 by Edward 1 of England. Its medieval centre is preserved almost completely intact and is considered probably the best of all the bastide towns to visit. Like all bastides the village within the walls is laid out on a grid pattern with straight roads criss-crossing throughout the town. These bastides were built with a very forward-thinking social plan of equality and each house is built on an equal size parcel of land. The houses all have different styles though which makes the resulting village very interesting but very harmonious too.
The centre of the town is its market place, with covered walkways and some of the original 'market gubbins' like scales and vats.
It is a bit of a cliche for a school trip, but after Paris we moved onto the battlefields of the Somme and then Ypres.This is one of my favourite tours. It is always awe inspiring and moving. This time we were there for 11th November and had a real expert with us who acted as our guide which made it even more interesting than normal. I think given half a chance, I could become a real bore on this subject! Something I will, hopefully, avoid.
I haven't been to Paris for donkey's.
I'd forgotten just how really nice it is. Although the weather wasn't at its finest... Well, what do you expect for mid November? and although I had 37 Asian school children in tow whose sole desire seemed to be to visit the flagship Chanel shop on the Champs de Lycée, a fine time was had. |
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AuthorsWe are teachers and have worked in various schools in Europe & Asia. This is really a chronicle of out travels over the years. It is meant for us to look back on, reflect and remember where we've been, what we've done and all our little adventures. If you like it too, then fab! If you don't, do you think we care? Archives
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