...en route to Normandy and the Chateau...

Chère amie, cher ami,

As we gather our family for August, the temptation to stop in Paris on the way to the Chateau is irresistible. 
 
There are lawns with scratchy grass in front of Les Invalides.

Fountains, whose splashing water throws little rainbows in the air. 

There are marionettes and merry-go-rounds.
 
There is the Louvre, with its white marble halls and walls of glass. Not to mention statues of animals and heroes, stacked rows of paintings, and mummies. 

There is a “boule de glace” to be savored nearby in a covered arcade at the Palais Royal.
 
On the other side of the River Seine, a “terrain de jeux enfantin,” an enclosed playground for young children, has just been refurbished in the Jardins du Luxembourg. But open playgrounds are found in tree-shaded pockets throughout the historic center of Paris.
 
And for properly outfitting "le p’tit bout de choux," the little morsel of cabbage, for summer fêtes and playdates, there is the tail end of "les soldes d’été," the big summer sales.

Les grandes vacances, summer vacation is almost over. I will be enjoying the very end of it en famille, until after a wedding on the first weekend of September.
 
I look forward to writing to you again soon with news from Normandy and Chateau de Courtomer.
 
 
                            A bientôt au Château!

                           Elisabeth