Photos from Chartwell, England

Final set of scrapbook photos which we took at Chartwell (Day 14).

In Love with Afternoon Tea in England

Meggar has fallen in love with Daphne--as I knew she would. We drove into town for Afternoon Tea, where the tea cakes were arrayed under glass. I cannot remember when the tea was so stout and the cakes so delicate. The scones had plenty of cream, for Meggar's sake. So we were in heaven (again). There was a book shop nearby and I was pleased to snatch up a photo biography of Churchill. I'm already planning a World War II unit study on the intelligent and principled leader of Britain whose home we have just toured.

Monday in England

Our last day before departure is spent back in England, where we are guests of my Rotarian's wife Daphne Hoyles. I haven't seen her for 10 years, yet she looks as good as she did 20 years ago. Her home in Kent is just south of London and closer to the airport, which will be convenient for us tomorrow morning at the crack of dawn. Daphne is an octogenarian but no one could ever guess by her independence and style. She drives us over to Chartwell, the home of Sir Winston Churchill. The English houses all have been named, which I find quite charming. And Chartwell does not leave us disappointed. Purchased for £5,000, the estate was refurbished in his early married years and Churchill himself built the brick garden walls. We walked down to his painting studio (more than 70 works there) and we tramped through the rose garden (his family planted 50 golden rose bushes in honor of the couple's 50th wedding anniversary). There is also a butterfly garden, which is rearing butterflies again for the first time in many years (won't Winger be so pleased?). And we found a nice sun-dial (to add to Polar Bear's scientific collection).

Scrapbook from Paris

Here are all the photos we took in Paris (Days 10 & 13).

Sunday in the City

Mass at the Basilique du Sacré-Cœur (Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus) is phenomenal. Another in the list of cathedrals where we have knelt to pray in awe. The parking on Montmarte is definitely difficult on a Sunday, yet we managed to snag a spot quite close up and arrive in time for a good pew. The Society of Jesus (called Jesuits) was founded here--I learned this today and am mindful of the prayer we've memorized back in homeschool by St. Ignatius Loyola! A nice unit study tidbit to share with the boys. The view from here is tremendous and gives a 360' look at all of Paris. Afterward, we enjoyed lunch in the artist district and a tour of the stalls with painters and silhouette cutters. Au Revoir, Paris! The whole Frechet family drops us off at the airport, and we are sad to leave this city of food and culture. We promise to make plans to see them again--in America and in France!

Photos from Giverny

Here is a link to see all the photos from our scrapbook taken in Giverny, France (Day 12).

Giverny--Home of Claude Monet

Wife's one request was to visit Giverny, the home and studio of Claude Monet for over 40 years. It is not far from Frechet's house, because they live on the western side of Paris already. It proves to be a short drive by car, and we are overwhelmed by the flower gardens out in front of the house (a dozen long paths). During a tour of the house, I was happiest in his blue kitchen and yellow dining room. These are pictured in my cookbook "Monet's Table," which was obtained from a quaint little French restaurant in Atlanta by Captain for our 11th anniversary. Good memories and good introduction to the Giverny. Next, we went across the street to Monet's Japanese gardens to see the water lilies, which only bloom if the water is kept warm for 30 days continuously. I'm sure gardeners must work hard to keep it visually appealing to tourists year-round. There are actually three Japanese bridges, but the famous one is covered with wisteria (here). And the paintings are everywhere in the studio. Breath-taking. And some even brought tears to my eyes!