I have to laugh. The first time I heard the name of this town I instantly thought of the Mexican soccer announcer going nuts when a goal is made. OK. This is a little obtuse. I guess you have to be inside my mind to fully understand.
My first visit to the area was by RER to meet with Arthur Morgan over lunch. We had sushi and plotted how best to attack a project he was leading. It was a conversation filled with steampunk and ideas of art and publication.
Morgan mentioned that there was a chateau at Sceaux and that it was well worth visiting.
It turns out that Jude had a book that described a visit to Sceaux. It's An Hour From Paris by Annabel Simms. For those who have time to spend around l'isle de France, this is has turned out to be a wonderful resource.
We were up and out by 11am to take the tramway to catch the RER B to Sceaux. A short ride down the line led us to a quiet village just outside the periphique.
Following the directions in Annabel's book took us across a quiet, nearly deserted town. A short stroll through a small wood took us to the middle of les jardins in front of the chateau.
Apparently the original building was destroyed during the revolution of 1789. That's one of the interesting things about France is that it's hard to tell exactly when these kinds of things were built. I don't yet have an eye for these kinds of details.
It was a cold late winter day and a walk through les jardins was relatively short. We passed through the chateau to check out a few old things. One of the big rooms was under construction and the smell of paint was heavy.
Back into the fresh air we dove. We decided that a nice cup of deca was needed so we could spend a little time sunning ourselves out on the terrace. After finding a place to sit it was nice to take in the surroundings and listen in on nearby conversations.
Morgan had, of course, been correct. Sceaux. So close to Paris. So easy to get to. So beautiful to visit.
[More Sceaux images can be found here]
My first visit to the area was by RER to meet with Arthur Morgan over lunch. We had sushi and plotted how best to attack a project he was leading. It was a conversation filled with steampunk and ideas of art and publication.
Morgan mentioned that there was a chateau at Sceaux and that it was well worth visiting.
It turns out that Jude had a book that described a visit to Sceaux. It's An Hour From Paris by Annabel Simms. For those who have time to spend around l'isle de France, this is has turned out to be a wonderful resource.
We were up and out by 11am to take the tramway to catch the RER B to Sceaux. A short ride down the line led us to a quiet village just outside the periphique.
Following the directions in Annabel's book took us across a quiet, nearly deserted town. A short stroll through a small wood took us to the middle of les jardins in front of the chateau.
Apparently the original building was destroyed during the revolution of 1789. That's one of the interesting things about France is that it's hard to tell exactly when these kinds of things were built. I don't yet have an eye for these kinds of details.
It was a cold late winter day and a walk through les jardins was relatively short. We passed through the chateau to check out a few old things. One of the big rooms was under construction and the smell of paint was heavy.
Back into the fresh air we dove. We decided that a nice cup of deca was needed so we could spend a little time sunning ourselves out on the terrace. After finding a place to sit it was nice to take in the surroundings and listen in on nearby conversations.
Morgan had, of course, been correct. Sceaux. So close to Paris. So easy to get to. So beautiful to visit.
[More Sceaux images can be found here]
When I first read this part "For those who have time to spend around l'isle de France", I read it as "For those who have to spend time around l'isle de France" and thought this was a bit cynical. A couple of rereads later it made sense.
ReplyDeleteThen I got to "We were up and out by 11am" and almost blurted out "SLACKERS!" ;-)
"Sceaux" another one for retirement!
Funny you should read the sentence as "...have to spend time..." because here, when people go away, they never go to the l'isle de France. It's too close to Paris and people thing there's nothing to do there. Provence, Brittany, Lyon, and Bordeaux are their preferred destinations. Yet l'isle de France is rich in amazing historic site and artifacts.
DeleteWe look forward to our continued exploration, whether we "have" to go or not. :-)