This holiday has been jam packed it seems, which is the reason why I have been very hit and miss with my blog posts. But, as my beautiful daughter recently reminded me, it IS a holiday and I should be relaxing. I certainly cannot argue with that!
My sister Deb and brother-in-law David left 2 weeks ago, after having spent several weeks here. It was a real wrench to wave them off at the train station, as we had loved having them with us. Before they left, we had several days in the Loire Valley, booking into the beautiful, family run Hôtel Diderot, in Chinon.
Right in the centre of town, but in a quiet ‘rue’ away from the hustle and bustle, we couldn’t have chosen a better place to stay. We felt more like family, rather than guests, something that is not often the case. We’ll definitely stay there again and recommend it to friends, as little gems like this one are hard to find. En route, we stopped at Richelieu for a coffee break (yes, and there’s a statue, park and numerous rues dedicated to this famous man) and then headed onto Chinon, which is a very pretty little town situated on banks of the Vienne River and the perfect base for exploring the Loire region. I think I may have mentioned in my previous blog that wine might factor into our few days in this renowned region. All I’ll say is that we took full advantage of what the Loire Valley has to offer, so read into that what you will… 🍷
Chinon and Richelieu
There are a lot of châteaux in France, and I mean a LOT, so we were wary of not trying to cram too many into our few days away, to avoid Château overload. It’s very easy to get carried away, as they are all stunning in their own way, but we reigned ourselves in ( did you see what I did there? 😉) and elected to visit just three – Villandry, Chenonceau and Amboise. It was a good decision.
Villandry
Chenonceau
Amboise
Homeward bound, we stopped for a few hours in Loches. Recommended by our neighbour in Brisbane, as a ‘must see’, we couldn’t agree more.
Loches
à bientôt
postcardsfromkaren 
Hi there beautiful lady, Simply stunning photos and as always I love your stories! There is going to be so much for you to tell us. I can hardly believe you will be heading home next week. Sending hugs. Yvette
On Mon, 10 Jun. 2019, 9:36 am postcardsfromkaren, wrote:
> karenr58 posted: “This holiday has been jam packed it seems, which is the > reason why I have been very hit and miss with my blog posts. But, as my > beautiful daughter recently reminded me, it IS a holiday and I should be > relaxing. I certainly cannot argue with that! My sist” >
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I know, we’ll be home before we know it!! Much easier to talk about what we’ve done, rather than write it all, so there will indeed be much to catch up on, but I’m glad you’re enjoying my posts in the meantime 😃 xxx
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Hi Karen,
I absolutely love reading your blogs – like I always say it is really like I am there – wish I was ☹ Your blogs have kept me entertained and in a really nice headspace – thank you. Life is a little different here at the moment – time ticking away – still no work and lots of time to reflect on what life after amp will be. I cant remember the date you are back ……. But a few little things – it is Yvettes 50th next Friday so we are organising a little bday breakfast Celebration next Thursday 20th hopefully you will be back as we would definitely miss your ‘hats’ 😊 Also I am organising drinks and dinner for Thursday 11th July – Michelle Leak will be in Brisbane and wants to catch up with whoever can make it. I am so happy you are having a great time – very very envious – photos are absolutely amazing. Take care and happy travels Luv Raels XXXX
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Hi Raels,
Count me in for both the brekkie ( birthday hat will definitely also make an appearance) and the drinks. I may be a bit jet lagged for the brekkie, but I wouldn’t miss Yvette’s birthday, so red eyes might be de rigueur 😃. I still can’t believe what’s happened while I’ve been away, I know I found it a bit difficult at times, even though I was happy, it’s a confusing time. Glad you’re loving my blogs, we’ve had a lovely time yet again. It’s hard not too, over here. xx
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