Château de Cheverny

This castle was another favorite from our Loire Valley trip.  I loved the charming grounds of this one.  They were peaceful and serene.  The staff working here were so friendly.  We actually didn't plan on spending much time here- we were seeing many castles in one day.  But after entering, we stayed here a few hours.  We really enjoyed the on-site cafe, L'Orangerie.  We enjoyed a delicious lunch here between wandering the grounds and touring the inside of the chateau.  I noticed (later) on Tripadvisor, L'Orangerie has really bad reviews from 2017 about rude staff.  Well, we didn't have any problems; our waiter was very attentive.  He did seem nervous because of the language difference, but he was very good and kind to us.  And, they offered us tap water!!

Pics above and below- I finally got a Croque Monsieur Sandwich!  I've wanted one ever since high school French class.  Even though I've been to France a few times, I've never been able to find one (except a Croque McDo, on one late evening after walking around Paris all day.  But that doesn't count).

At L'Orangerie, my son ordered chicken nuggets from the kid's menu, and I loved that they came artfully arranged on a plate surrounded by salad, and he also got fruit and a cookie with it.  (No good pics of that, though.)

 We finished with French hot chocolate.

Cheverny is still occupied today, and they have a large kennel on the property with a ton of hunting dogs.  This was the only part I didn't like about Cheverny.  There's a ton of dogs all kept together in a too-small space, and they fight, and they smell bad, and I just feel bad for them.  A lot have tumors or open sores on them.  There was a sign in French that said they were healthy and well taken care of, but still.  The pic below is just a small number of dogs that are actually there.

Pic below is a stained-glass pic of the dogs and people, getting ready for a hunt.

The inside had rooms decorated with a special Lego display.  I don't think it's there all the time, but it was cool for the kids.  There were all sorts of large animals and other stuff built all with Legos. 

**This post and photos are property of http://dishingwithdish.blogspot.com/**

The Loire Valley, France

Back in April, we took a week-long trip to the Loire Valley in France.  It was an awesome and amazing trip!!  We drove and it wasn't bad.  There was no traffic in France.  I absolutely loved the trip.  We spent one whole day seeing castles.  We also saw local sights (by the town we stayed in), and relaxed some.  One day, we took the train to Paris for the day.  I've already posted about that (our trip in 2017) so I won't share any new Paris pics.

The castle above is in Sully-sur-Loire, and it was only 10 minutes away from our Airbnb!  I loved this castle.  It wasn't crowded, was easy to find, and had lots of free parking.  We toured the inside of this one.  The pic of the red bed a few photos down is from inside this castle.

These two pics, above and below, are of the breakfast in our Airbnb. It wasn't included in the rate, but you could ask for it if you wanted and pay the owners when you checked out.  On most days we were out and about early, but we had one day right before we left where we slept in and got this breakfast.  It was SO good!

Below is the castle in Sully-sur-Loire again.  My favorite.

 Above is a fresh bread and baguette vending machine, in the middle of nowhere in a field by the side of the road.  Our whole family loved this.  We stopped a few times.  Lol.  We got baguettes and French butter (from the store, sadly, not a vending machine) to spread on them; so good.

Below, a random small castle in a town we visited.  Springtime meant all the blossoms were out.

Above, Château de Chambord.  We didn't go inside this one- we were content to look upon it from the outside.  We paid 6 Euros to park, walk around and take pics.  Very stunning in real life.  It's HUGE.  The pics don't do it justice.

 Above and below, Château de Chenonceau.  We did go inside this one- you can't see the outside or grounds at all unless you pay.  So we paid for that and for going inside.  A huge rainstorm struck as we were outside, walking the grounds to get to the castle (there are huge grounds).  All the tourists were soaking wet and vying for space in front of the fireplace when we got inside.  Lol.  My pics from inside are unremarkable, so I won't bother sharing them.  If you've watched the TV show Reign (lol), you'll recognize a lot of names from this castle, the one above, and others in the Loire Valley.

Small house on the grounds at Chenonceau, below.  There's also a maze that the kids enjoyed (on the grounds).

Another castle.... but I forgot which one.  Oops.  We saw so many.  Some were just from the road so I don't have good pics.  But it was a lot of fun going castle-hunting.  We also got some delicious pastries and went to a Michelin-starred restaurant.  Those pics were all taken on my phone and I can't find where I put them.  But later I'll share pics of my fave castle we visited, Château de Cheverny.  We spent so much time there it deserves its own post.

**This post and photos are property of http://dishingwithdish.blogspot.com/**

San Marino (the country)

Back in May, we went to the tiny country of San Marino for a day.  (We stayed at a beach town in Italy for a few nights and just took a day trip to San Marino.)  San Marino is a tiny country located within Italy, about 10 kilometers from the Adriatic coast.  It's located entirely on a little mountain. We drove up to the top and parked at either parking lot 6 or 7.  It was almost full, but we waited a few minutes and got a parking spot!  Miracle.  This was a cool, foggy day in May; I'd hate to see July or August.  We walked around the town, around one of the castle towers, and took in the views.

We stopped at a little outdoor market area with booths. At the honey stand, we sampled some honey, bought it, and asked the lady selling it where to find good food, since everything was so touristy. She recommended a place, we went, had good food, and were happy.  :)

**This post and photos are property of http://dishingwithdish.blogspot.com/ **

Predjama Castle & Postojna Caves, Slovenia

I just realized that I had never posted the pics from the very first time we went to Slovenia, back in May 2015!  We loved our first trip; Slovenia is so gorgeous with so much to offer.  For our first trip, we just went the the Predjama Castle & Postojna Caves.  They are close together, a few kilometers. This  castle is amazing; it's sticking out of a rock face/cliff/cave.  The pics don't really do it justice. Inside it's kind of cold and gloomy, but it's so worth seeing still.  Here are some pics from both inside and outside.

PS.  Eight years ago today I started this blog!  So crazy!

Bathroom break, anyone??!

These two pics (above & below) are the view from inside the castle.  Gorgeous!  If you go, get the guided audio tour (headphones) to learn interesting facts as you walk around inside.

Right before seeing the castle, we went to the famous Postojna Caves.  They are beautiful but very touristy.  You get to ride a little train to the inside though, which is cool.  (We went to the other caves, called Skocjan Caves, the next trip to Slovenia and those ones are a lot less touristy, and just as cool, if not cooler! But no pics permitted of that one.)  Anyway, here are some pics of the Postojna Caves.  It's hard taking pics inside; I think these are all without flash so that's why they might be a tiny bit blurry.

**This post and photos are property of http://dishingwithdish.blogspot.com/**

The Netherlands

The Netherlands was only about a 2-hour drive from where we were staying in Germany, so we decided to make a day trip of it, since we had never been before. We visited a small, southern section of the NL. It was very clean and tidy there, with lovely, brick-housed neighborhoods with immaculate yards, and there were bikes everywhere!

We went to a bakery (of course!) and a grocery store first. The bakery said that these mini-pies were their specialty, baked from scratch right there. I got a cherry-almond one, and my husband got an apple-cinnamon. My kids tried cherry turnovers and sugared donuts.

Then we took a picnic to a park, and spent a few hours there. There was a large petting zoo, canals, a small playground, and an old castle wall. After the park, we visited a beautiful castle that was in excellent condition.

We finished up our visit with some stroopwafels- these things are so, so, good! I wished we had bought more than just that one package.

On the way home, we drove to the border of the Netherlands, Germany, and Belgium. It was also the highest point in the Netherlands.

**This post and photos are property of http://dishingwithdish.blogspot.com/ **

Castle Ruins

Yesterday we went for a drive again. This time, we drove to an old castle we had heard about. We only really saw the outside, since the inside seemed to be a hotel. I know there's probably more of this castle to see, but we'll save that for another time. The small part we were able to see was still really cool. The kids had fun running around the ruins. This castle was built right on the edge of a cliff going down to the sea. A great spot for defense!

Part of the castle support going right down into the ocean.

After that, we drove around the city for a bit. And what would a drive in this city be without getting lost down the tiny, one-way streets?? It just wouldn't feel right! Of course, my husband insists that he was never lost, not even for a second. Ohhhkay!! I don't' think I could ever get tired of seeing/sharing these shots though... tiny, old cobble-stone paved, one-way streets.

Check out just how narrow those streets are!

We stopped at a grocery store and bought some "Massa Sovada" (Portuguese Sweetbread) rolls, and some sliced local cheese and ham and made sandwiches. We drove to a little park with an ocean view and had our lunch. I didn't take any pics of the actual food, but I am smitten with Massa Sovada and will surely have a few posts about that in the future!

Below is the view we had as we ate our lunch. Yesterday was a beautiful day; bright and sunny! Almost too bright, as we were sitting in this little park wishing for some shade. But I understand it rains very often in the fall and winter here, so I am appreciating any sun we do get!