Azay-le-Rideau

By Alvaro

Azay-le-Rideau, Indre-et-Loire, France

Chateau d´Azay le Rideau

France

photos cjmn

Azay-le-Rideau Castle

Azay-le-Rideau Castle is located in the department of Indre-et-Loire in the town of Azay-le-Rideau, France. The castle was built on an island in the Indre River in the 16th century, on the site of a former fortress from the 12th century. The previous structure burned down during the Hundred Years’ War. The French renaissance structure has a long history. The fortress ruins were purchased by Gilles Berthelot, the Mayor of Tours and Treasurer-General of King Francis I. Berthelot and his wife Philippa reconstructed the building to include its medieval past with Italian Renaissance architecture. The structure was still incomplete in 1527 when Berthelot was forced into exile. King Francis I confiscated the château and gave it to Antoine Raffin, one of his knights-at-arms, in 1535. Both of the castle’s wings were built in the 16th century, but work continued on the building in the 19th century. From 1791-1899, the castle was owned by the Biencourt family, who added many furnishings to the chateau. The French state purchased the castle in 1905 and classified it as a historical monument in 1914. The parklands, the castle roof, and the façade were restored in 2014. Restoration finished in 2017. The castle is open to the public and serves as a museum with an extensive collection of tapestries, artwork, and period furnishings. 

Today's photo with the most hits: the church at Azay-le-Rideau, Loire valley.

Francois I adopted the salamander as his emblem, with the motto nutrisco et extingo, “I nourish and extinguish", in other words "you'll get what's coming to you".

The sulfurous salamander seen here is from Azay-le-Rideau.

Charles Schwab House

The Charles M. Schwab House was a 75-room mansion in New York City. It was built for steel magnate Charles M. Schwab and was considered the classic example of a "white elephant", as it was built on the "wrong" side of Central Park, far from the more fashionable Upper East Side.

The house was designed by Maurice Hébert in an eclectic mix of Gothic Revival and Beaux-Arts, inspired by three French castles: Chenonceau, Blois and Azay-le-Rideau. It took four years to build (1902–1906) at a cost of six million dollars.

Schwab was a self-made man who became president of US Steel and later founded the Bethlehem Steel Company. However, he was a venture capitalist and went bankrupt in the Wall Street Crash of 1929. Charles died penniless ten years later, in 1939, leaving his home to be the official residence of New York's mayors. Unfortunately for the mansion, Fiorello La Guardia, then mayor, turned it down, saying, "what, 'me' in this?" After years of neglect, the house was demolished in 1947, replaced by a large apartment complex called "Casa Schwab".

In this version for The Sim 4, I made French gardens (I found the ones in the original house a little boring :P). The interiors were a big challenge, as I only found reference images for the staircase hall, but I tried to keep the same eclecticism in all the rooms.

What I Never Knew I Always Wanted

Summary A happy family, a loving and amazing wife, two adorable daughters, all three of them stealing his heart and it felt like a wish came true for him.

What I never knew I always wanted…

A/N First oneshot of my Black Clover Next Gen Series is here, hooray! @kalolasfantasyworld, in case you also need some fluff after the Paper Hearts chapter you posted today 💜 This Oneshot was inspired by Carrie Underwoods amazing song What I Never Knew I Always Wanted, a song I love and which is one of my favorites to listen while I'm writing my Next Gen Series. For the countryside castle of the Silvas, I ended up picturing one of my favorite castles, one of the Loire Castles in France, Azay-le-Rideau. I visited it with my family last year and immediately fell in love with it, so don't be surprised that in my mind, this is how the Silva castle in the countryside looks like:

(@f-oighear, you are French, do you maybe know that one?)

Ao3 link

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Nozel woke up immediately when he heard one of his daughters cry. Without even caring about what time it was – middle of the night was all he noticed and even only barely – he immediately pushed his blanket away.

Sitting at the edge of the bed, he glanced quickly at Vanessa who was still sleeping. Nozel hesitated to wake her up. What if Nymphea or Valentina were just hungry and she would need breastfeed them? She would need to wake up in this case. But at the same time, Vanessa was in her postpartum period. Pregnancies and giving birth were never easy task and she gave birth to twins. Nozel made sure that his wife could rest as much as she could and helped here as much as he could, to take care of the babies, to ease her burden and to also to take care of her.

Heck, unusual for him, Nozel took a few days off from work and took his family away from the capital, which also meant away from nobility and their disgusting curiosity. It was a miracle that they didn’t dare to step out of the authorized visit area in the Silva Palace. Although… said miracle was probably either Nebra and Zora talking them down or Rosette making sure to make them believe that leaving the Silvas and the newborn princesses alone would be beneficial for said nobles interest.

Nozel, Vanessa and their twin daughters went to the Silva Castle in the countryside, as they could be sure that no noble would come bother them there. Except maybe for occasional marriage proposals – already, Nymphea and Valentina weren’t even three weeks old! – from desperate nobles. But well, those would land in the fire anyway.

Nozel didn’t thought that he would have come back to the Silva Castle one day, not after what happened with his mother and the curse… But after years of lonely pain, he was able to still heal and move on from his trauma, he allowed himself happiness, he fell in love and became a father.

Somehow, it had been the time to give new, happier memories to this place. And it was perfect for Vanessa to rest.

And for having family moments, just the four of them.

Nozel had no idea how much he always wished for this until he got it finally…

His daughter was still crying and deciding to let Vanessa having well-deserved sleep, Nozel stood up, feeling a bit heavy because of sleep and walked over to the crib. It was Valentina who was crying, Nymphea was still sleeping, her eagle plushie right next to her.

Softly, Nozel bowed down a bit and cupped softly Valentinas chubby cheek. “What is it, hatchling?”

It was just a whisper, but his daughter seemed to have heard him, as she opened her eyes. Her cries didn’t stop, but she was reaching her tiny hands towards him. Nozel didn’t know if babies could have nightmares already but one thing was sure, Valentina needed comfort right now.

So, Nozel took Valentina in his arms, cradling his baby and sat down on the rocking chair. How many times has he done this when Noelle still was a baby, while mother was slowly dying and even after her death? How many times has he seen his mother do this when Nebra and Solid had been that small? How many times must she have done this when he was still a baby?

Too many times to count. But Nozel remembered what his mother did. So, first thing he did to calm down Valentina a bit, was to blow a soft kiss on her forehead.

“It’s alright, Valentina… Whatever is scaring you, it will never reach you. Your mother and me would never allow any harm on you. It is normal to be scared. Trust me, I was scared many times in my life already. It is not a bad thing, though. Without fear, you can’t be brave. You just need to remember that you can always count on others. I forgot that during my worst times and I couldn’t to anyone. This will never happen to you and your sister, I promise that. You are my daughters, I need to protect you.”

Cradling Valentina and rocking her, Nozel continued to whisper her comforting things. It didn’t matter that she didn’t understood those things yet. He still meant every word. Just like his mother did.

Nozel wanted to be a good father for his daughters. Even before Vanessa got pregnant, he feared already that he wouldn’t be one. He never got a proper father figure growing up and his own father was one of the worst example he could ever think of. Lac Silva never was a father, just the conceiver and his children were only chess pieces in his eyes. As his son, wouldn’t Nozel end up like him?

Vanessa, Fuegoleon and his Vermillion aunt made sure to help him overcome his fears. It certainly wasn’t an easy task, knowing who he was. They reminded him again and again that while he never got a prime example with his father, he still got a wonderful parental figure to look up to.

His mother…

Yes, this was the kind of parent Nozel wanted to become, deep down. He never truly realized it until it was told to him. And while the fear of becoming like his own father still remained a bit, it wasn’t as strong as before. Nozel still hoped that, as a parent, he was more like his mother and nothing like his father.

Valentinas cries calmed down slowly. She was the louder one of the twins, but just as easy to comfort. Nozel remembered how difficult it had been with Nebra, Solid and Noelle. His aunt and his mother even more always told him that out of his siblings, he had been the only calm baby. Given how loud his siblings were as babies, Nozel had difficult time to imagine that he hadn’t been as loud as them, but at the same time, he had no reason to not believe his mother and his aunt.

“Better now?” he whispered, still rocking his daughter. Valentina stopped crying, but there were still some little tears shining in her amethyst eyes. The same eyes as Vanessa… It was such a wonderful colour. The most beautiful he knew and Nozel was grateful his twins got their mother’s eyes.

Valentina let out a soft babble and reached her tiny hands towards him. Like always when she wanted to grab his braid, one of her favourite things to do. It made Nozel smiled with amusement.

“Sorry that I don’t have my braid, but I don’t sleep with it. It will be back in the morning, don’t worry.”

“Ba?”

Nozel smiled, a wave of love and affection washing over his heart. Valentina was incredibly adorable, Nymphea as well. Wasn’t it a miracle that after all of his mistakes, he was still blessed with two wonderful daughters?

A happy family, a loving and amazing wife, two adorable daughters, all three of them stealing his heart and it felt like a wish came true for him.

What I never knew I always wanted…

Another small cry suddenly came out of the crib. Nozel sighed as he looked up, a tired smile on his lips. Now Nymphea was also awake and from the sound of it, it wasn’t because she had a bad dream like her twin, but more that she was hungry. Which means that he needed to wake Vanessa up. Would his beloved wife have a full night sleep again, one day soon? She deserved it so much.

But their daughters also needed to be taken care of.

Before he could stand up though, Vanessa already woken up, sitting on the edge of the bet. She was yawning in such an adorable, wearing one of his undershirts and combing her hair, slightly messed up from the sleep, in an absent way.

Even in that state, Vanessa was beautiful. The most beautiful woman Nozel knew…

“You’re ogling again, honey,” Vanessa grumbled, but he could hear in her voice that she was smiling. Did she realized what she was doing to his heart?

“I can’t help it. My wife is wonderful.”

“Aw, I love when you think so highly of me. You should do this a bit more with yourself as well. Okay, need to feed Nymphea now. Oh, Valentina is awake too? Honey, you could have wake me up.”

“But you need and deserve to rest.”

Vanessa just shook her head with a tired smile, before she got Nymphea out of the crib and went back to the bed, pushing the fabric of the shirt aside so that she could breastfeed her daughter. Nozel joined her, Valentina still in his arms.

“Honey, I’m really grateful that you do so much to help me after the birth and with taking care of our griffins. Having some days off in this countryside manor was an excellent idea. It’s not only me who needed that, but also you. Nozel, you’re doing so much that I often have the feeling that you’re almost most exhausted than I am. And I was the one who went through pregnancy and who gave birth.”

“This is why I’m doing it.”

“I know. I also know that you still have doubts about being a good father. But you don’t need to have doubts about yourself. We both know that you had this way too much in your life. You are a wonderful father, Nozel. A parent like your mother was. And you are also a wonderful husband.”

Vanessa smiled at him before lying her head on his shoulder. “All the things you’re doing for me and our daughters is a proof of that. I feel so blessed to have you right now. I know that I have many people to help me, but your help is the most precious to me.”

Nozel felt like he was about to cry, he was so touched by her words. Did she realized how much this meant to him? He was still unsure about so many things about himself, but hearing his beloved wife telling him this, trusting him, feeling blessed to have him, being grateful… After all those years in the cold of his guilt, he never realized how soothing it was that someone felt like this towards him.

“Vanessa, I…”

“I know, it means the world to you. I know that you’re not completely used it yet and that you’re surprised how soothing it is to you. Honestly, I feel the same way. I never knew I would always wanted what we have today… But here we are. And look how sweet our daughters are. Yes, Valentina, you and Nymphea are so adorable.”

“Ba!”

Vanessa giggled as their baby responded and Nozel couldn’t help but join her. Despite their exhaustion and every difficulty coming at the start of parenthood, they were still happy. Even with all the difficulties, he wouldn’t want it any other way.

He really came a long way if he was thinking like this today.

Nozel watched how Vanessa made Nymphea burb after she finished to drink, before cradling the baby in her arms, rocking her softly.

“We can be grateful that they’re not the loudest babies, especially our little water lily here. They deserve their sleep.”

“You too…”

“Hm… right back at you. How about some cuddles after we put our griffins to bed?”

Nozel smiled, nodding. Vanessa loved to cuddle and he got fond of them after all the time spent with her. It took some time before Nymphea and Valentina fell asleep. But after putting their sleeping twins back into the crib, Vanessa snuggled against him as close as he could and Nozel hold her as if there was no tomorrow.

“I love you, Nozel.”

“I love you too, Vanessa. I’m so grateful… to have you and our daughters. Maybe I always wished for that deep down…”

They fell asleep soon after, after a kiss, exhausted but happy.

AZAY LE RIDEAU - Indre et Loire

Rideau

Working on some nice designs for my portfolio. I’m having a lot of fun with packaging and paper toys, I think it’s a very nice way to tell stories thru pictures :) This one, of course, is inspired by the Val de loire castles, mainly by Azay le rideau Castle and the Chenonceau Castle with their lovely lake reflections :)

Série Que la France est belle ! Azay le Rideau. Été 2022.

Castle D Azay le Rideau in the Loire Valley France 🇫🇷

La Loire à vélo 2020

Depuis Nevers jusqu’à Nantes

* Départ le samedi 22 août

* Arrivée le mercredi 2 septembre 2020

Retour en train le vendredi 4 septembre 2020.

Trouver son parcours : profitons du confinement ! 

Trouver son parcours : profitons du confinement ! 

Notre projet a pris forme lors de la période de confinement (en mars 2020) : Le parcours de la Loire à vélo a plus particulièrement attiré notre attention. Celui-ci semblait le plus adapté à nos envies et à notre niveau (débutants en cyclotourisme), itinéraire bien balisé, dénivelé faible, paysages majoritairement au bord de la Loire et du canal, de nombreux campings sur le chemin et découverte des magnifiques châteaux…. 

Durant la préparation, nous nous sommes alors demandés comment serait-il possible de parcourir 50 km ou plus par jour et durant plus d'une semaine ? Nous n'avons pas roulé davantage avant de partir et pour autant, nous n'avons pas eu l'impression d'avoir manqué d'entraînement. Les kilomètres les plus difficiles étaient toujours les premiers et les derniers de la journée. Le vent de face a aussi été une épreuve où il a fallu se dépasser. 

Planifier son projet 

Afin d’évaluer les kilomètres et le temps nécessaire pour réaliser ce projet, je me suis aidée de plusieurs outils numériques  🛠 :

- France vélo tourisme répertorie l’ensemble des véloroutes de France. Sur ce site, il est possible entre autres de se renseigner sur les différentes étapes d’une véloroute (kilomètres, difficulté, dénivelé, commerces, marchés, hôtels, campings, lieux à visiter...) ; de s’informer sur la préparation d’un voyage à vélo et de calculer un itinéraire. Un trajet d’environ 570 km environ entre Nevers et Nantes nous paraissait faisable. Cette destination était aussi la destination idéale puisqu'une partie de ma famille habitent dans les environs.

⚠ attention,  le sens de votre parcours est à ne pas négliger !

En effet, comme expliqué,  nous avons choisi de faire la véloroute de Nevers jusqu’à Nantes puisque nous avions un objectif "familial", c'est à dire d'Est en Ouest. Cependant, d'après les témoignages des gens rencontrés sur la route et comme nous l'aurons constaté sur place, le vent souffle toujours d'Ouest en Est et peut parfois être source de démotivation lorsqu'on le prend de face ! Il est donc très important de bien réfléchir au sens de son itinéraire.

Concernant les châteaux , nous voulions visiter  : Chenonceau, Chambord, Chevergny, Villandry, Blois et Azay-le-Rideau.

D'autres châteaux valent aussi le détour : le Clos Lucé, Rigny-Ussé …...

El castillo de Azay-le-Rideau, rio Loira, Francia.

Découvrez l'EuroVelo 6 : une incroyable aventure à vélo de l'Atlantique à la Mer Noire

L'EuroVelo 6 est un parcours cyclable qui traverse l'Europe, reliant l'Océan Atlantique à la Mer Noire. Suivant les côtes, fleuves et châteaux, cette route offre des paysages variés et exceptionnels à explorer en selle. Dans cet article, nous vous présentons un itinéraire détaillé pour découvrir cette voie unique sur deux roues. Le parcours global de l'EuroVelo 6 Ce tracé emblématique s'étend sur plus de 4 000 km, traversant dix pays européens et empruntant principalement des voies vertes ou des pistes cyclables sécurisées. L'EuroVelo 6 suit les cours d’eau majeurs tels que le Rhin, le Danube et la Loire, offrant ainsi des panoramas époustouflants et des sites historiques à chaque étape du trajet. Les différentes sections de l'EuroVelo 6 Afin de faciliter votre voyage, l'itinéraire complet se divise en plusieurs sections, que vous pouvez réaliser séparément ou dans leur ensemble : - La section atlantique (France) : de Nantes à Bâle. - La section rhénane (Allemagne, Suisse, France) : de Bâle à Passau. - La section danubienne (Allemagne, Autriche, Slovaquie, Hongrie) : de Passau à Budapest. - La section centre-européenne (Croatie, Serbie, Roumanie, Bulgarie) : de Budapest au delta du Danube. - La section finale (Roumanie, Bulgarie, Turquie) : du delta du Danube à la Mer Noire. Les étapes phares de l'Itinéraire vélo EuroVelo 6 Découvrez quelques-uns des temps forts de cet itinéraire qui marqueront votre périple : Nantes Située sur l'estuaire de la Loire, Nantes est une ville pleine de charme dotée d'un riche patrimoine historique et culturel. Avant de partir pour l'EuroVelo 6, prenez le temps de visiter le château des ducs de Bretagne, la cathédrale Saint-Pierre-et-Saint-Paul ou encore les célèbres Machines de l'île. Le Val de Loire Inscrit au patrimoine mondial de l'UNESCO, le Val de Loire vous émerveillera par ses paysages bucoliques et ses châteaux emblématiques comme ceux de Chambord, Chenonceau, Amboise ou Azay-le-Rideau. Ne manquez pas non plus les jardins de Villandry et les dégustations de vins locaux dans les caves troglodytiques. Strasbourg Capitale européenne et alsacienne, Strasbourg est une étape incontournable sur l'EuroVelo 6. Admirez la magnifique cathédrale Notre-Dame, flânez dans le quartier pittoresque de la Petite France et traversez le Rhin pour rejoindre l'Allemagne via le pont Pierre Pflimlin. Le Danube Le long du fleuve le plus long d'Europe, vous passerez par des sites spectaculaires comme les falaises calcaires de la Porte-de-Bavière, le Parc Naturel Donau-Auen en Autriche ou encore le Parc National Đerdap à la frontière serbo-roumaine. De nombreux villages typiques jalonnent également ce tronçon, permettant de découvrir les traditions locales. Budapest Surnommée la "Perle du Danube", Budapest offre un panorama unique depuis le pont Széchenyi Lánchíd avec ses collines de Buda et la plaine de Pest encadrant le fleuve. Profitez de cette étape pour visiter le château royal, les bains thermaux de Gellért ou le Parlement hongrois, puis dégustez un goulasch traditionnel dans les rues animées. Le Delta du Danube Cette zone protégée offre une biodiversité exceptionnelle et constitue un paradis pour les ornithologues avec plus de 300 espèces d'oiseaux nicheurs. Entre canaux labyrinthiques et marais sauvages, vous partirez à la découverte des traditions ancestrales de la pêche et de l'élevage qui marquent cette région unique. La Mer Noire Votre aventure sur l'EuroVelo 6 se termine sur les plages dorées de la Mer Noire, où vous pourrez célébrer votre réussite en savourant un poisson grillé accompagné d'un verre de vin local. Les stations balnéaires de Varna (Bulgarie) et Constanta (Roumanie) offrent une multitude d'animations estivales pour conclure en beauté ce périple inoubliable. Préparer son voyage sur l’EuroVelo 6 Pour profiter pleinement de ce parcours d’exception, il convient de bien préparer son voyage : - Voies cyclables : informez-vous sur les pistes accessibles et les conditions de circulation dans chaque pays traversé. - Hébergements : réservez vos étapes à l’avance, en tenant compte de la saison et du dénivelé. - Budget : prenez en compte l’ensemble des frais engagés, tels que les transports jusqu’à votre point de départ, la location ou l’achat de matériel, les repas et les visites touristiques. - Gastronomie locale : découvrez lors de votre itinéraire, les spécialités culinaires de chaque région et goûtez aux produits locaux. Avec ces quelques conseils en tête, vous voilà prêt à partir à la découverte de l'EuroVelo 6, des splendeurs naturelles et du patrimoine culturel incomparable qui marqueront ce voyage cyclotouristique hors du commun. Read the full article