Travels with Tricia

Category: Travelogues

  • At a French tomato festival at the Château de la Bourdaisière, a wooden crate is filled with yellow, red, and orange tomatoes.

    You Say Tomato, They Say Tomate: A French Château Celebrates 785 Varieties

    Imagine strolling the grounds of a French château, surrounded by a kaleidoscope of tomatoes in every color, shape, and size imaginable. This isn’t a fairy tale meets cooking show mashup. It’s the annual Tomato Festival at the Château de la Bourdaisière in France’s Loire Valley. Since Shawn and I moved to France two years ago,…

  • Living “La Vie en Rose” in Amboise, France

    The coiffeuse in our neighborhood hair salon softly sang “La Vie en Rose” as I darted past her open door. Though the hair stylist didn’t know it, her singing created the perfect soundtrack as I set off to admire a pair of nearby cherry trees’ blossoms before the sun set. France’s Loire Valley gets its…

  • A multicolored hot air balloon flies over the Chapel of Saint Hubert in Amboise, France, where Leonardo da Vinci's tomb is located.

    Photo du Jour: A Hot Air Balloon Soars Over Leonardo da Vinci’s Resting Place in Amboise, France

    A hot air balloon glides by the chapel housing Leonardo da Vinci’s tomb in the French city of Amboise. During the warm-weather months, sightings of colorful balloons (known as Montgolfière in French) are common here in the Loire Valley. And if you live in Amboise’s centre-ville, as we do, they’re even likely to wake you…

  • Feeling Festive in Amboise, France: Celebrating Noël in the Loire Valley

    A rare, late-November snowfall unofficially ushered in the holiday season in Amboise, France this year. This delicate dusting of snow added flair to the town’s slate rooftops and cobblestone lanes for several brief, beautiful moments, and then it swiftly melted. Days later, Amboise hosted its annual winter parade—an imaginative affair with animated performers on stilts,…

  • Spilimbergo: Italy’s Enchanting “City of Mosaics”

    Spilimbergo, a charming medieval town nestled in the Friuli Venezia Giulia region of Italy, offers a lovely blend of art, history, and natural beauty. With its well-preserved historic center, world-famous mosaic school, and picturesque surroundings, Spilimbergo makes for a delightful day trip when you’re visiting Venice or the Friuli Venezia Guilia region. What are the…

  • Castle Strolls & Hot-Air Balloon Flyovers in Saumur, France

    Earlier this autumn, a trio of hot-air balloons escorted us home. It was the golden hour, and Shawn and I’d first spotted the balloons drifting over France’s Loire River, near the city of Saumur. A few moments later, the balloons (they’re known as “Montgolfières” in French) crossed the so-called “wild” Loire River. Then, they flew…