Real history is not for the faint of heart

 I am soon to begin a series of short videos on a subject dear to my heart. History. The real stuff. The unhappy bits. The necessary turn of events that no one saw coming which make a mark in the human story.

Knowing many wish to see, for example,
the issue of slavery in this country as a more positive series of events and choices than many can agree upon, I will take a look at various points in American and western hemisphere thinking in which a look on the bright side occurred and many disputed its value.

Understanding too that history contains so many movable parts (human impressions, popularity, resources old and new, and more, I will discuss what serves as sound historical factual background now as opposed to fifty years ago or even twenty.

Times have changed. Resources are constantly being 'unearthed' or made more accessible. People change, too. So does education. So even do the reading levels of general populations.

What do people read if they find they enjoy a simpler sentence structure rather than one composed of compound sentences? What do they choose to read if they crave quick action, bold plotting and mysteries or fantastical worlds?

This and more in short videos soon to come! 

 

 

 

A gorgeous palace, chateau set on water, #Chantilly and its glories! #France

   

The entrance to the chateau

Watching the Tour de France with my husband, I yearn for more pictures from that helicopter!
     Did you?
     If so, I aim to provide!
     Here are mine of that fabulous palace owned by lesser Bourbons (and before that the Duc de Montmorency). This palace approximately 50 miles north of Paris is easily accessible by SNIF, the regular local commuter train.
    Do go!
    The walk from the train station is a bit of a hike so you may raise your hand and try a taxi. But however you go, do take your camera and save your appetite for gorgeous Rococo architecture, furnishings, the riding stable, art and fabulous lunch from the on site restaurant. Yes, they serve. And they serve a lovely array of dishes, including original Chantilly cream. Order it and do so quickly when you sit down because they tend to run out! Visit the website for more info:  Chateau Chantilly
   

      In fact, the kitchen was the site of the Gerard Depardieu film Vatel to create the kitchen of that other fabulous chateau, Vaux le Vicomte http://www.vaux-le-vicomte.com/en/.

   
     The main house tour centers on the ground floor. The beauties here include a map of the main battle of The Fronde which was an uprising fomented against the child Louis XIV. Given to the French Republic by the last nobleman to own the house, the chateau is maintained by the French and beautifully so.
   
     The major attraction for many visitors is the library, renowned for its vast collection (under glass protection) of first editions of centuries' old volumes. The other rooms include the duke's offices, a ballroom, a music room and various reception rooms. The power and majesty of the chateau, for me, was in the alabaster white of the walls with gold leaf filigree everywhere.

The private chapel holds at ihefront altar a crypt wherein all hearts of the dukes are buried.
Hidden during the Revolution, this crypt was returned after the Republics of France assumed power over governing.

Cerise loves #Paris! Come #travel with me! Part One!

Saint Chappelle built by
Louis IX
an exquisite elaborate confection
in mid Paris

So many of you know I DIG history. I love, love, heart it and try to give everyone a flavor of the Real Deal in my Regencies and my Medievals.

But I also luv to travel and when I do, I soak up the real deals and find those kernels to put into my novels.  Always when doing that, it is soooo vital to refrain from telling all—or as hubby puts it, NOT hang the draperies. (As in, I don't want to know the color, the texture of the drapes unless, of course, they are the green velvet drapes in Scarlett's drawing room and she has no clothes with which to tempt Rhett...and you get me!)

So. In that effort to entertain you with my travels...and later my stories, I have just returned from 2 glorious weeks in Paris. Two. WEEKS.
Yes, ma cherie e mon cher, I went, I saw, I ate, I walked, I lost 2 inches....

But here for your reading pleasure are a few introductory tidbits, for your eyes and heart and soul's satisfaction.

I will take you with me in the coming days on my travels via my copious pictures. With their historic significance attached. Some of which I will use in intriguing new ways in my forthcoming novels for your pleasure.

Laduree, Restaurant on Champs Elysee
where they also make Macaroons

So do return here!

Basically, what did we do in our two weeks in Paris?

Well! We went out of our rented apartment in Montmarte every day. EVERY day. Rain or shine. Ran between the rain drops, soaked up the Metro and the bullet train experiences and went to a different exciting place. Cathedrals, castles, palaces, chateaux, museums, city places, and yes, restaurants for hot chocolate that coats your tongue with creamy goodness and cafe au lait that does the same.

Escargots. Lamb. Onion tart. (Really? Yes!) Linguine with escargots, shallots and truffles in a divine cream sauce. And yes, and there is more!

Charles de Gaulle
astride the Place de la Concorde

Pictures?
Here is a wild sample!
Feast!

You know who is buried here!
Napoleon, of course!
Gives me chills every time I see this.
Was I alive then? Did I know him?

This stunning church is not in Paris.
And this picture is not from this year's trip but last year's.
I love it for its unique place in history.
This is the church in a little town in the Argonne forest.
Know it?
Called Varennes, this town was also headquarters to General Pershing in the Great War.
This church was the one in which
Louis XVI and his wife Marie Antoinette sought refuge from the Revolutionary rabble in 1790.
The townspeople turned the royal family over to the Parisians who took them back to Paris,
locked Louis up separately from his wife and children whom they put in the
Conciergerie, in the same building as Saint Chappelle (above).
From there, they took her to the guillotine.
A sad little church.