Summer of 2018 - France and Italy.

 

Chateau D' Avaray.

I was happy to be back in the Loire Valley of France .This was my second visit to the chateau where my friends Pieter and Susan live.  We were planning to drive through Switzerland to Italy . The final destination would be the Grand Hotel Isle de Borromees at Lake Maggiore.

Elsa de Jager.

Their friend Elsa der Jager was joining us for the trip. Her husband was the famous South African sculptor Danie de Jager  and she was the match maker who introduced Pieter and Susan to each other.  

 https://www.facebook.com/pages/category/Art-Gallery/Danie-de-Jager-SculptorStudio-1600720996843454/

 

Before we left we had a few days to relax at the chateau.I have researched the Beziade family for a while so it it always fun to come back and discover more information.The spring flowers were out and the gardens look beautiful.

Chateau d"Avaray Loire et Cher .

We also visited Blois were we had lunch. I love that town with its Royal Chateau where Queen Catherine de Medici ruled.We also saw a man leading his donkey down the Chateau's steps. 

The ladies bought shoes in a thousand year old shop.

Blois.

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After a few days we left by car for Italy. We drove and took it very easy with many stops. The car was very comfortable but it was packed to the hilt. On the highways in France they have many rest stops with rather good restaurants. Truckers use it to rest and many tourists on the way to Italy or the south of France use this highway. 

By afternoon we reached the French Alps that still had snow on them.  Passing Geneva we reached  the 11.6 kilometres Mont Blanc tunnel that brought us to Italy.

 Susan and Elsa in the car. 

Aosta .

Our first stop was the mountain town of Aosta with its arch for Augustus -a triumphal arch built in 35 BC in honor of Augustus .One can still see the walls of this old Roman town as well as its Roman Theater.It is surrounded by the Italian Alps and the hotel was on a hill that gave us a wonderful view of the mountains and city below.

The Italian Alpine town  of Aosta.

 

 

We went for dinner in the old town center. On the photo above -parts of the Roman wall can be seen.One is always struck about how old this part of the world is and to see buildings that were there before  Christ was born  is amazing.

The next morning  after a very sumptuous breakfast of home made coffee and breads , home made cheeses and sliced meats we were on our way.

Lake Maggiore. Stresa.

Lake Maggiore with Isola Bella .The hotel in the background .

We reached Lake Maggiore in the afternoon and it was a beautiful site.
It is the second largest lake in Italy and the largest in southern Switzerland .The lake and its shoreline are divided between the Italian regions of Piedmont and Lombardy and the Swiss canton of Ticino. Located halfway between Lake Orta and Lake Lugano , Lake Maggiore extends for about 65 kilometres (40 miles) between Locarno and Arona.
  The famous Borromeo family ruled over this region for many years and on two of the islands are their homes. On the island to the right is the old Castle of the Duke Borromeo .The island on the left is called  Isola Bella.Until 1632 the island was a tiny fishing village - until Carlo 111 Borromeo began the construction a palazzo dedicated to his wife Isabelle D'Adda from which the island takes it name The Duke entrusted the work to the Milanese Angelo Crivelli who was also responsible for planning the gardens.The Borromeo family is very prominent up to this day and one of their ancestors -the Archbishop of Milan -Charles Borromeo was canonized on 1 November 1610 by  Pope Paul V. 

The present Duke's daughter Beatrice Borromeo is married to Grace Kelly's grandson Pierre Casiraghi -son of her daughter Caroline Princess of Hanover.

We booked into the Grand Hotel Isle d' Borromees into suites looking over the lake.The town of Stresa is down the road  and can reached by the promenade along  the lake.
 

The Grand Hotel Isle d' Borromees opened in 1863.At first it was visited by the aristocracy from Europe but later people from all over the world came to this paradise. In 1906 when the Simplon Railway opened and the Orient Express dropped off its wealthy clientele at the Stresa station it reached new heights.The hotel was mention in many books but the most famous was by the Nobel prize winner Ernest Hemingway in his book "A Farewell to Arms"published in 1929. Hemingway stayed at the hotel several times. .The first time in 1918 when he was recovering from a war wound. He returned in 1927 and then again in 1948 .The most luxurious suite is named after him.

 
Several kings came to stay-: Leopold II of Belgium. Oscar II from Sweden and King Charles of Luxembourg. Later Princess Margaret of England also paid a visit. From America the Carnegie's
the Morgan's, Rockefeller's and the Vanderbilt's also came.

 

Our suites all had views onto the lake- and what magnificent views they were.

 

 Susan and Elsa on the balcony with the Isola Bella in the background.
 

 

The beach and promenade on the lake. 

Stresa.

Later that evening we took a walk down to Stresa and have a lovely dinner in one of their most charming restaurants. On the way back we stopped for a Italian ice cream. One of several that we enjoyed during our stay at Lake Maggiore.

Isola Bella .

 

 On Saturday morning  after a delicious breakfast of the sweetest of  fruits and other dishes ,Pieter arranged through the hotel for a private water taxi to pick us up at the hotel's pier. It was a sort ride to Isola Bella with its Baroque palace and gardens floating on the water.It is also the home to several white peacocks that grace the garden with their presence.

 

"For however fanciful and fantastic the Isola Bella may be, and is, it still is beautiful."
(Charles Dickens, 1844)

 

The beautiful White Peacocks of Isola Bella..

 

 

 

Elsa Pieter and Susan in front of the gardens and statues. 

To cool off we had another ice cream and lots of ice water It was hot and the sun was blazing down. 

When the water taxi came for us , the breeze off the water kept us cool and soon he dropped us off at the hotel.

That night we had dinner on the terrace of the dining room at the hotel.

Susan and I met in Johannesburg in 1972.So we have been friends for a long time.

I have been designing clothes for her since I opened my first studio in Johannesburg in 1974 until now.

Johannesburg South Africa 1976.

 

Paris 2016.

Susan Sterne-Louw and Elsa de Jager.

 The reason this trip was planned was that she and Pieter decided ,that after seven year they would love to get married. Elsa introduced them to each other and as as friend of them both she was the guest of honor.Susan asked me to design  her gown. The gown was inspired by the white peacocks of Isola Bella .

On Sunday evening at 6:00 pm we went downstairs to a lovely red and gold salon that the hotel arranged for us.It was beautifully decorated with flowers.

After a simple, but emotional ceremony we sat down to a wonderful wedding feast!

The room was filled with joy and love and it was a very special occasion. 

I was honored that I could be there.

 

 

 

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Pieter and Susan donated the flowers to the hotel and after the ceremony they placed it in the entrance hall, for all to enjoy.

Mont Blanc in the Italian Alps.

Annecy -Lake and Mountains.

After all the excitement of the previous evening we had a slow start and the hotel gave us permission to book out later. After a delicious breakfast we were off to our next destination.
On our way back to the Loire Valley we were stopping of at Lake Annecy  and staying at the La Palace de Menthon.
During Roman times this place was well known and it was used as a spa .It is also called the French Venice. It is known as "Europe's cleanest lake" because of strict environmental regulations introduced in the 1960s. It is a popular tourist destination known for its swimming and water sports.

 

" La Palace de Menthon" on Lake Annecy.
The third  largest lake in France.
 

 

The next morning we left and arrived back at the Chateau D'Avaray later that day. It  is still one of the most beautiful spots in France. 

Chateau D'Avaray.

Amboise.

 I had to get back to New York but Pieter and Susan wanted me to see the house Leonardo da Vinci lived in .King Frances I of France brought da Vinci to be his court painter, architect and innovator.

He brought with him the Mona Lisa that hangs in the Louvre today 

 

"Mona Lisa" by Leonardo da Vinci .

Chateau d' Amboise

 The Château du Clos Lucé is a large château in the city of Amboise.

  The place is famous for being the official residence of Leonardo da Vinci  between 1516 and 1519, where Leonardo died.

Painting by Igres 

King Frances I of France at Leonardo da Vinci's deathbed.

Afterward we had a lovely lunch in the shadows of the Royal Chateau d'Amboise's walls.

Here Pieter and Elsa are studying the menus.

As there was a train strike on I had to leave a day early so that I could catch  my flight back to New York .It was such a memorable visit -something that I will not forget .I was so honored that Pieter and Susan invited me to share this special occasion with them and Elsa.Wishing them only the best in their life together.