Chantilly, France : the Grand Chateau

France has hundreds of chateaus that were built by its kings, princes, nobles and wealthy families in the past centuries. Many of them are still maintained in their graceful state.  Along the Lori Valley and around Paris, you can visit these beautiful chateaus.  I have been to five of them, including the famous Chateau of Versailles.  Recently, my wife and I visited the Grand Chateau in Chantilly.  Its architectural beauty and rich cultural contents are just stunning.

Chantilly had been developed initially on a small island in the marsh area.  After significant efforts of the de Montmorency family since the 16th century and then reconstruction by the due d'Aumale, Before the death of due d'Aumale in 1897, he bequeathed Chantilly and his collections to the Institut de France.  Chantilly is a master show piece for the French arts and cultures.  I will  compare Chantilly to Versailles and Louvre. 

(The Grand Chateau of Chantilly)

(Beautiful French garden with fountains and waterways)

(Status of hunting dogs guarding the chateau entrance)

What impressed me most is not its architectural beauty, it is the cultural artifacts kept in Chantilly.  It is home of the Conde Museum which has beautiful gallery of paintings.  Its rich collections of French, Italian, Flemish and German art works from the 15th to 19th centuries are only next to the Louvre Museum.

(The art gallery exhibits many great European paintings)



(The famous painting of Raphael - The Three Graces)

(Eugene Fromentin's Hunting for Heron)

(Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres's Venus Anadyomene)

Chantilly also has invaluable collections of illuminated manuscripts and rare books.  It has maintained a professional team to manage its great library and archives. 

(The Library)

(Professional archives team at work)

Besides arts and cultural works, Chantilly also has the Grand Stables.  Its famous equestrian training and house demonstrations bring further fame to the Chantilly.  If you are in Paris, do not spend all your time inside the city for its great food and leisurely goods.  Chantilly is just an hour ride from Paris.

(The Grand Stables and racing course)

Avignon, Aix-en-Provence and Carcassonne : romantic medieval towns in south France

Europe has many beautiful medieval towns.  When I have more leisure time, I like to visit these historical towns better than big cities. Recently, my wife and I spent about a week in south France.  We enjoyed our stay in medieval towns of Avignon, Aix-en-Provence and Carcassonne.

There are few common characters about these medieval towns. Unlike modern cities, they have much smaller population of about several hundreds or thousands. Before entering the towns, you will first come across their protective walls.  In the medieval time, the protective walls and gates were necessary to protect the towns against external threats.  Many of these walls may have been pulled down for expansion in modern time.   

(Avignon with its walls)

(Entering the walled-town Carcassonne through its gate)

The protective walls provided safety to medieval town folks.  However, they also limited their space for housing and expansion.  When you travel to these medieval towns, you will find their streets are quite narrow.  Houses are clustered closely together.  One way to navigate these medieval towns is to locate their town squares.  Town squares are used by the town folks for trades and social gatherings.  Nowadays, cafes and restaurants are opened on the sides of town squares.  You can enjoy yourself in one of these cafes and watch the activities around.

(Former corn exchange near town square of Aix-en-Provence)

Fountains or memorial statuses are common architectural structures in the town squares.  Town halls and churches are within short walk from the squares.  If you get lost inside the towns, you can ask directions for the town squares.  You can then re-orientate yourself from there.

(Fountain in town square of Aix-en-Provence)

Within the towns, many old buildings are converted into small hotels, shops and restaurants.  Tourist business provides employment to the town folks and nearby population.  Local economy of these historical towns has been supported by tourists.

For more than a century in the medieval time, Avignon was the seat of papacy instead of Rome.  When you travel there, you will not miss the impressive Gothic papacy palace.  It is a walled palace within the walled medieval town of Avignon.


(The Palais des Papes in Avignon)

 
Aix-en-Provence had been the provincial capital of Provence.  It was also the trading center for its agricultural economy in the medieval time.  Its historical corn exchange was located in the town square.  Remember to look it up when you are there.

Carcassonne had been an important outpost since the Roman time.  It also lied in the trade route between Iberia and France.  Even you travel there nowadays, you can still feel the Iberian cultural influence.  You can find good Spainish wines and food there.

(Spanish seafood rice in a hugh pan)

Chiang Mai, Thailand : rose of the North

Thailand is one of the favourite countries for world tourists.  Many of them like its beaches in the South and many like Bangkok for shopping. My wife and I prefer Chiang Mai in the North.  It is surrounded by the Northern mountain ranges and neighboring to Burma, China and Laos.  Winter is dry and cool in Chiang Mai.  It is the better season for travelling there.

Chiang Mai was first developed by the Lanna Kingdom more than seven centuries ago.  The old Chiang Mai city is still centrally located with its city walls and surrounding moat as the key city landmarks. 

(One of the old city gates along the city defense walls)

(The moat around the old city walls)

Similar to Bali, Chiang Mai has high concentration of Buddhist temples in the city. There are more than 300 temples within the city.  Many of them have long history and held significant positions in the Buddhist religion. Wat Chiang Man is the old Buddhist temple which was first established before the old Chiang Mai city was built.  If you are interested in Buddhist art and history, you will enjoy visiting these temples by walking around the city.

(The main temple of Wat Chiang Man)

(The elephant stupa behind the main temple of Wat Chiang Man)

(Father and son praying in front of the Buddha statue)

Within half an hour ride, you can reach the mountain ranges in the North.  Many tourists go there for trekking or riding elephants. The Queen Sirikit Botanic Garden is also located in the edge of the Doi Suthep-Pui National Park.  You can easily spend half a day there.

(The Garden flower clock and its green houses in behind)

 

(Wild orchid in the garden)

During this trip to Chiang Mai, we were lucky enough to join its annual flower festival.  We had opportunity seeing its beautiful flower show and parade.  Thousands of tourists and local citizens gathered around the old city moat to see the festival flower parade.

(Beaufiful Chiang Mai ladies leading the Flower Festival parade)

(Lovely orchid in the flower show)

Berbers of North Africa : retaining their cultural identity

When the Phoenicians first found their way to the new settlement in Carthage, they encountered local tribesmen who had been around in North Africa centuries ago.  After Carthaginians, there came other colonists, including Romans, Arabs, Turks and French, to the Maghreb area.  The original tribesmen, Berbers, were marginalized to the mountains and deserts.  Nowadays, Berbers are scattered in the southern parts of Tunisia, Algeria, Libya and Morocco.



(Berber man standing in his village in the mountain oasis)

(Berber woman at work)

The Berber people have their own languages.  Many still maintain their nomadic or pastoral life in the Mountain Atlas ranges and the Sahara deserts.  They survive in these challenging environments and try to retain their own culture.



(Berber tent in the semi-desert area)

(Berber cave dwellings in Matmata)

During our trip to South Tunisia, we came across few Berber villages and some of their art works.  Even though their homes are now far away from the sea, they still have fish as their symbol of fortune. 

(Fish motif in the entrance of a Berber house)

(Fish and triangle symbols are used in Berber decorative items) 

Berbers also like to use triangles and camels as their decorative motifs.  Berbers make carpets for the use in their tents and dwellings.  We have brought home two Berber carpets from this trip.

(Decorative items for Berber women)

(Carpet with Berber decorative motif)

Berber people are minority in the North Africa countries.  Younger generations are more likely to learn other languages, such as Arab and French, and move to cities for better livings.  Berber identities are in danger of dilution.  In recent years, there are new social movements among the Berbers.  They are trying to have their children learning the Berber languages and cultural heritages.  If you are interested to know more about the Berbers, you can read the book from Brett, Michael and Elizabeth Fentress, The Berbers. Oxford, UK: Blackwell Publishers, 1996.

Tunisia artifacts : East and West cultural mosaics

The long history of Tunisia and its interactions with different cultures create many beautiful and interesting artifacts.  You can see the cultural influence on these artifacts across different cultures at different time periods.  In this page, we share some of the artifacts that we saw during our trip to Tunisia.

From the Punic city, Kerkouane, in the Cape Bon, we saw many historical artifacts of 4th to 3rd century BC.  These artifacts show high skill levels of their creators and influence of the Hellenistic art.

(Terracotta lion of 4th century BC)

(Earthenware mask)

(Pottery jar with Greek motif)

Tunisia enjoyed economic growth and wealth from the Mediterranean trades during the Carthage and the Roman times.  Beautiful floor mosaics were created in both public buildings and homes of wealthy people.  Many of them are displayed in local and overseas museums.  In case you travel to Tunisia, you should reserve at least half a day for the Bardo Museum.  There is a rich collection of Tunisia floor mosaics.  If you are interested to know more about mosaics art, you can read Dunbabin, Katherine. Mosaics of the Greek and Roman world. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1999.

(Floor mosaic with multiple pictures)

(Mosaic of Greek myth Ulysses)

(One of the best mosaics in Bardo Museum - Virgil and two muses)

With the coming of Arabs to North Africa, Islamic religion and arts were introduced to Tunisia.  Beautiful arts are displayed in local mosques and household decorations.  Ceramics tiles and pottery show the influence of Andalusia and other parts of the Islamic world.

(Colourful earthenware and pottery for sale)

(Ceiling decoration with Andalusia wood work)



(Beautiful wall ties in a mosque)

(Columns from Carthage and Roman buildings are reused in a mosque)

Tunisia : a beautiful country

Last December, my wife and I have an enjoyable visit to Tunisia.  It is a beautiful country with rich cultural mosaics and friendly people.

Tunisia is in the South Mediterranean with neighbouring countries, such as Italy and France in the North and in between Algeria and Libya.  With Mediterranean Sea in its North and East and Sahara Desert in its South, you can experience both maritime and desert climates in one trip.  December is a good time travelling there as the weather is warm and present.

(Beautiful sunset in the village of Sidi Bou Said)

(Lovely blue sky overlooking the Port El Kantaoui) 

(The Sahara Desert)

(The mountain oases and old Berber village in Chebika)

Many people heard of Tunisia because of its Jasmin Revolution two years ago.  This event led to many social uprisings in the Islamic world.  In fact, this is the second successful and peaceful people movement for Tunisia since its independence in 1956.

Tunisia has long history with many great cultures.  Phoenicians came to Tunisia in the early 1st millennium BC and found the great Carthage maritime empire.  After the famous Punic Wars between Carthaginians and Romans in the 3rd and 2nd century BC, the Romans became the new master of the Mediterranean and ruled over Tunisia for its important agriculture and trade.

With the Arab Muslim invasion in the 7th century AC, Tunisia gradually became part of the Islamic world.  Until the 19th century, the French exerted its influence and put Tunisia under its protectorate status until its independence.

(Ruins of Carthage town near the Cape Bon)

(Well preserved Roman amphitheater in El Djem)

(The majestic temples of Jupiter (Zeus), Juno (Hera) and Minerva (Athena) in Sufetula)

(The Great Mosque in Kairouan)

During our trip, we saw many beautiful arts and architectures.  In the next two posts, we shall share more about Tunisia's arts and handcrafts.  Also, we shall talk more about its original people, the Berbers.

Ontario foliage : golden time before cold winter

When you live in Canada, you can easily feel the seasonal changes by observing the colours of the nature - from colourful spring to green summer, golden autumn and white winter.  It has been one of my favourite journeys in seeing the Ontario foliage along its country roads.  This year, my wife and I tried the same journey in the second week of October. 

(Wilket Park, Ontario near the Edward Gardens)

(Brown, golden and yellow on the green background)

This time, we travelled to the Algonguin National Park, the Haliburton and the Muskoka areas.  We drove through the scenic roads of Highways 35, 60, 118 and 169 in three days.  Ontario foliage came slightly late this year as the weather was still warm in October.  It was the peak time around the second week of October for foliage in the Central Ontario areas.  You can look up the colour report from the Park Canada to find out the ideal time and places.

(Clear blue sky and the red Maple)

With clear blue sky and evergreen trees as background, the red Maples, the brown Oaks and the yellow Alpines formed beautiful pictures of the mother nature.  We climbed up the viewing tower in Dorset to have the grand view in the surrounding.  We also revisited the Spectacular Lake for its peace and calm in the golden autumn. 

(Scene from the Dorset viewing tower)

(Motor boats with colourful foliage in the background)



(Fallen leaves formed the carpet in the backyard)

We prefer to drive through the country roads and to enjoy the scenic spots along the roads.  Alternatively, you can join the boat tours in the Georgian Bay or the Muskoka Lake.  You can enjoy the Ontario foliage in leisure. 

(Stream boat in the Muskoka Lake)