Friday, December 6, 2013

France {Chateau d'Esclimont}




my eight year old at Chateau d'Esclimont this past summer


On our last trip to France with the children we were only in Paris.  This time, we just travelled through.  We were with family in the southwest of France, then spent one night in Bordeaux, and two nights outside of Versailles to see the palace.  For the Versailles part of the trip, I found a castle-hotel online (a little over 30 minutes away) that looked interesting.  It turned out to be one of the most memorable, magical places we've stayed: Chateau d'Esclimont.

We had two rooms in one of the outer buildings next to the castle, where we had dinner one of the evenings.

Not long after we returned home, I read that Phillipe Cousteau, Jr had his wedding ceremony at the chateau in September.  My daughter had just been working on a project about Jacques Cousteau in 5th grade and we had made a detour on our way to Bordeaux in order to visit his birthplace, St. Andre de Cubzac.  It was fun to find out that his grandson was married at this place where we stayed shortly thereafter.

Here are some photos:


our rooms

dinner outside

the mosquitos were pesky, so they moved us indoors



walking back to our rooms after dinner

Turns out my son's new wand from Harry Potter in Leavesden works well at castles.




black swan by the moat



Upon entering the town of St Andre de Cubzac is this statue of a leaping dolphin holding Jacques Cousteau's red watch cap:




I'll post a few pictures from Versailles and Bordeaux before moving on to Denmark, where we spent most of our time.  Also, a few shopping/OOTD posts.  Have been doing quite a bit of shopping with all these sales.

xoxo


11 comments:

  1. Wonderful. We also stayed at a castle hotel in France, when my kids were 12 and 9. It was so much fun, magical. Your children won't forget it.

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  2. Love your photos! The castle looks amazing. :)

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  3. Merry Christmas! Are your girls into Rainbow Looms? My girls and all their friends are into them in CA. They sell them at Michaels.

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    1. Thank you - Merry Christmas to you too! One has asked for them but they are both getting them for Christmas so hopefully they have fun with them :)

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  4. I don't know what it is, but (children+France) always warms my heart. They way they circle around the cheese table with excitement. The way they search for mussels and shells at low tide with their grandparents at the Atlantic coast during their long summer vacations. I really enjoy children+France. :-)

    Your children are lucky to have parents who take them there! (I went to France as an Au Pair, age 23 and returned often ever since).

    Have a wonderful Christmas Season and a very Happy New Year!
    Paula

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    1. Thank you Paula! I hope you had a wonderful Chirstmas also and Happy 2014 to you :-)

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  5. I can't wait to see more pictures from your travels. Also, are you still reading the Queen of Fashion? What do you think of it? I remember when it came out but I wasn't ready for it at the time. Your sidebar photo of it reminded me I need to get a copy of this book! XO, Jill

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    1. Thank you Jill! I am slowly reading it - I've paused about half way through to read The Goldfinch. Queen of Fashion is very good and I'll go back to it. I'll sift through and post more travel pictures soon. I really enjoyed Versailles.

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