Wednesday 20 March 2013

A Pink House, a Gatehouse, a Chateaux and Home

One of our last days in France, we visited the Chateau de Meursault.



Well, the outside anyhow.  






It seemed dishonest to taste their wine when we had no intention of buying. I'm not even certain they were open for business.



On the way there I fell in love with this pink house.



With a tower in the back garden.


What kind of person gets excited about an ornate gold arrow?


I wonder if it had a purpose at one time.



The Chateau was almost boring by comparison, I thought, to the pink house next door.



Also compared to the gatehouse, apparently derelict.

A big beige house...but with nice windows and shutters!

I think they are really missing a trick letting that gatehouse go to ruin.




Grand as the chateau may be, I much preferred the gatehouse.  



Bill has definite negative views about ivy and walls, but I still think it's lovely.



And the trees!

I feel peaceful, just looking at this.


 There is a great deal to love in France, but it was finally time to go home.  You may be sad  - or glad - to know this is the last post about this trip to France.  






We traveled north to Amsterdam as fast as we could, stopping as little as possible.  In the last few hundred miles - and I can still see that stretch of long, downward winding road - we 'lost' fifth gear.  




First the gear shift wouldn't stay in fifth gear and then Bill forced it.  I did wonder what the consequences of that might be, but driving all the way home in fourth wasn't an attractive proposition either.  Somehow fifth gear ceased to exist.  I pictured some little piece of metal  from the transmission left on the road behind us.  So fourth had to suffice after all.  Not a major problem, but very noisy.  Back in England, replacing the transmission wasn't cheap, but boy was the ride quieter!  



Storing the motor home over the winter halves the road tax; it's almost time to get it out and hit the road again!

7 comments:

Beryl said...

That Pink House is adorable and would be much easier to clean than the big Chateau. It's big but nondescript. I don't understand the tax structure, if just storing the motor home saves any taxes at all. But if it reduces the taxes, it sounds good.

Anonymous said...

Beautiful! I would love to live in a pink house. When I was little, there was an older woman we knew who lived in a turn of the century house (20th) which she had painted pink. It was pink with lovely rose gardens all around it. I adored it...and her.

Carolyn said...

That pink house is totally adorable! And the gardens are divine. I love the tree-lined avenue too; such an exquisitely beautiful landscape...

Shelley said...

Heather - Oh, to KNOW someone like that with a pink house and rose gardens, it just sounds wonderful!!!

Beryl - You definitely have a practical streak in you! We pay road tax just like in the States, but here you can do it for half a year at a time. If the vehicle is in storage it is deemed to be 'off road' and so unused, which means we only have to tax it for six months - the warmer six months when we'll use it. It's not a great deal of money saved, but it goes towards the cost of storage - and we don't have a place to park it around our house anyhow.

Rick Stone said...

Yes, it is time to get the coach out and road ready. Unfortunately, I've let mine sit too long in storage and can't get it to start. New batteries last week did not help. Mobile Tech will be out Tuesday. Got to get her up and running. Heading to Branson late next month. Oh yeah, I'm getting married while we are up there.

Shelley said...

Rick - Congratulations on your upcoming marriage.

D A Wolf said...

I'm with you on that lovely pink house, too! (And I adore ivy. I know it's not good for brick, but that doesn't change how charming it is... or an arbor with primroses for that matter - cliché though it may be!)