Sunday, June 14, 2015

Dreaming of France -- Versailles & Fire in Nantes Cathedral


Please join this weekly meme. Grab a copy of the photo above and link back to An Accidental Blog. Share with the rest of us your passion for France. Did you read a good book set in France? See a movie? Take a photo in France? Have an adventure? Eat a fabulous meal or even just a pastry? Or if you're in France now, go ahead and lord it over the rest of us. We can take it.
I have edited my original post because of some breaking new from France. Our friends in Nantes watched as the nearby cathedral caught fire and the roof burned off.
You can see the footage here on the BBC.
Or here's a photo capturing the flames:

Our friends' apartment is close by and we have many times posted shots of the cathedral from their windows.
 So sad to see this beautiful and history-filled cathedral in flames.

Back to my regular Dreaming of France post.
Have you visited Versailles?
It's one of those must-see sites in France, but usually it is so crowded that it isn't that enjoyable as seeing outdoor sites.
Here are a couple of interesting shots that Grace took on her recent visit to Versailles.

I love this one. The checkerboard floor leading up to the rounded stairs with the rich green walls. 


Can you imagine the coordination it takes to include the wallpaper, the bedspread, the chairs' upholstery, all in the same fabric?


More coordinated fabrics and some amazingly large paintings.
Can you picture living in one of these rooms? 
I guess most of us will never know.
Thanks for playing along with Dreaming of France. Please leave a comment and visit each other's blogs, too, so you can get your fix of France dreams.



12 comments:

Louise said...

I love Versailles, and have actually visited many times. It has something different to offer every time. Yes it's usually crowded, but oh my the grounds in particular are magnificent.

westmetromommy said...

I went to Versailles when I was 14 and it wasn't too crowded, but we were there in July when many of the locals are out of town. It was quite interesting!

Vagabonde said...

You know, I think people like to look at tourist photos of Paris and that’s about it. When I show just such pictures on my blogs I get many comments, but if I speak about the history of France or of Paris, it is different – no interest there. I wrote a post on the Palais-Royal in Paris and its history – and apart from my regular readers, no people who usually come for the Paris photos came. I have a friend who has a Paris blog and he told me that it is the same for him. I'm not pessimistic, just realist I am afraid. I can’t say I have a passion for France since I am French and is is my country after all, but I am not nationalistic. Good luck though with Versailles – that is a well known place.

Louise said...

BTW the matching wallpaper and fabrics were clearly in vogue at some stage. I remember them clearly from Musee Victor Hugo too.

Sally Tharpe Rowles said...

I loved visiting Versalles luckily we there long ago & off season so the crowds were not bad. Grace has taken some wonderful photo! What fun to see them!

Sim Carter said...

While I especially love the first photo it's the grounds I really loved best. The palace was just TOO MUCH for me! I must say, all that matching fabric and wallpaper brings to mind the pages of any home deco magazine in the 1980's when Waverley's coordinating designer fabrics and wall coverings were in vogue. Curtains, blending into wallpapers, blending into bed covers and the whole thing repeated ad nauseum in the master bath, walls, towels, shower curtains, the lot.
My Dreaming of France blog post today is about Frenchman Phillipe Petit and the documentary Man on Wire, the inspiration for the upcoming The Walk starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt. http://chapter1-take1.blogspot.com/2015/06/watch-incredible-true-story-behind-walk.html

Sally Tharpe Rowles said...

Oh dear how awful about the fire ...here I am in France and I had heard anything about it. But then I don't have a TV so I rarely know the news.

Paulita said...

Sally, I saw it on Facebook

Terra said...

Oh sad to hear about Nants Cathedral; I hope it will be repaired. I spent two summers in Paris, and did visit Versailles.

Brona said...

Versailles is an incredible place, but sadly I mostly remember the crowds and the old guy who flashed us as we walked around the gardens!

How awful - the fire! But at the same time, such a dramatic picture that you can't not look at it in a kind of awe.

Faith Hope and Cherrytea said...

so saddened by the devastation. And now the reconstruction and closures - all will be hard work and sense of loss.
The stairway photo leading up to the light is stunning! great shot - thanks for sharing all the news ... wondering if anyone knows if we'll be having Paris in July as usual?

Unknown said...

The church which burned is NOT Nantes cathedral. It's the basilica of St Donatien. The church you show below IS the cathedral, but the differences between the two churches are obvious.

A cathedral is not simply any large church!

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