Interim Update #1,293

So on Wednesday May13th, we packed up, closed the apartment, Bolt-ed to the Gare du Nord, took the Eurostar to St. Pancras, the Piccadilly Line from Kings Cross to Heathrow Terminal 5, the Hertz shuttle to the Hertz lot, picked up our rental car, and set forth toward our lodging near Southampton. It was one of the smoothest removals ever until I took the wrong turn off the M3, and we then found ourselves on 5-6 miles of Google-directed single lane two-way roads through the wheatfields and wilds of Hampshire. Not Vicki's worst nightmare, but certainly in the top 10. See illustration. Eventually we found our way to the Days Inn and dinner, rest, relaxation, and regrouping. 

In any case we are now in the UK of GB for six weeks or so and have very much enjoyed our first day here, seeing Winchester, the great Cathedral, and generally reacquainting ourselves with Brits and British culture. We even had breakfast--scones and clotted cream--at the Marks and Spencer cafe. I swear we were the youngest people there and among the few not reading print newspapers. We'll continue our 2026 visit to Britain here just as soon as the blog gets us out of France, in five or six more posts.

Gare du Nord, Hall #1

Adieu, Paris; until 2027

In the wilds of Hampshire; at least they were not HGVs (heavy goods
vehicles) nor tour buses

Reward at the end of the road

Parc Bagatelle

We visited the Bois de Boulogne's Parc Bagatelle in June, 2025, a week after its tournament of roses. This year, we were a couple or three weeks early. It was still a flowery treat, and we finally managed to tour most all of the park. 

Roses doing well

Plenty of other things to see

The orangerie...it was all part of a large estate...prior to the Revolution

Click to enlarge and see some of the contestants in the International
Concours de Roses Nouvelles

The oldest of "new rose" competitions; since 1907

The place was lousy with peacocks...perhaps a dozen

All eager to show off

The day's wedding photo

The chateau...still closed, under renovation; as related in
the 2025 post, resulted from a bet between a duke and Marie
Antoinette...built in 60-some days, employing some 800 workers; 
including out-buildings (orangerie, trianon, guardhouses, 
assorted landscaping, follies, etc.); the queen lost the bet

The Trianon...also undergoing renovation...other than the grand and petit
ones at Versailles, "trianon" refers to a small elegant retreat apart from
the major structures...

Guardhouses and sculpture

Lady sphinx with a push-up bra...what other blogs would
show you this?!

Garden and grounds behind the chateau

Garden side of the chateau

Huge old copper beech...

Among the water features

Mature Monkey Puzzle; a male, I think

All of it not far from La Defense ("new" Paris)

Interesting back side of the trianon

Another water feature

In the morning we walked right in; in the afternoon there was a line...

Riding the bus back home, crossing the Champs Elysees, looking
toward the Grand Arch

Under the Eiffel Tower

Never a surprise to see a literary quote someone has posted...

Reminiscent of Barcelona

But the White Tree grows in Paris

Last Of The Louvre For 2026

Just a few more pix, hopefully not previously posted here before...

After a couple rooms of Corots, we decided we need to learn and see
more...next time

Finally, northern lights! Francois Biard, Magdalena Bay (near
Spitzbergen), 1840

David, Antoine and Angelique Mongez, 1812; note that Madame Mongez
is smiling, possibly because her husband is finance minister, and maybe
because word has not yet come back from Russia about Napoleon's
misadventure there...

Also because after this woman, Elizabeth-Louise Vigee
Le Brun (self-portrait with her daughter), portraits smiled;
and even David caught on...

Vigee LeBrun's portrait of Joseph Vernet, a late 18th century
landscape painter of note and great interest to me; looking pleasant,
not smiling, however

Speaking of portraits, this is one of our 2 or 3 favorites, Van Eyck's
Virgin of Chancellor Rollin; subject of previous bloposts here;
something I cannot resist re-posting; 1435 (!)

Clouet's famous portrait of Francois Premier, 1527; who
was famous for many good reasons, not least of which was
bringing Mr. Smoky's Special Lady Friend to the Louvre

Holbein's Anne of Cleves; designated survivor, Vicki observes;
recently restored

The Louvre now has a room or two of works the Germans
"acquired" 1940-45. mostly from Jewish families later
murdered, but whose rightful owners have never yet been
identified

One instance of which, Jacques-Augustin Pajou,
The Two Duval Mademoiselles, 1828

Finally, pretty much out of any order I can understand in the
Italian section, three Luini frescoes, a Magi, an Adoration,
and a Blessing, all 1520s

Luini was a student and assistant to Leonardo

Luini's oil paintings were occasionally misidentified as
Leonardo's in bygone centuries; I have conspiracy theories

Finally finally, as long as we're on this particular corridor, which is the
main approach to Mr. Smoky's Special Lady Friend, we note how painful
it is to see so many busloads of tourists walking past items like the large
Botticelli fresco above, not so much as glancing at all the Giottos,
Cimabuies, Fra Angelicas, Ucellos, et al.; we can't wait for the renovation
that will move the world's most visited (and over-rated) work of art to its
own special place, with its own special additional charge; some of the
proceeds should go to a shrine for Francois Premier...oh, and perhaps this
is the place to plug my newest article in Artifices, "The Best Rooms for
Napping in the Louvre"