2015 Bucket List

Happy New Year everyone!  Bonne Année à tous! I decided to celebrate the start of the new year by sharing my 2015 bucket list with you. 2014 started with lots of unexpected renovations/reparations at our house due to water seeping into our basement – quelle horreur! Our plan is for 2015 to be much improved experience! I’ve only planned through June thus far but I’m hoping the plan for the last 6 months will be as much fun as our vineyard stay in France last October!

Art Nouveau, Angers France

My plans include, of course, a visit to Paris. I would love to return to the Rodin Museum but my biggest hope is to photograph some of the Art Nouveau (1894-1914) buildings in Paris. There are some wonderful buildings in Angers France and I want to find the ones in Paris that up to this point I’ve only seen in books.

David d’Angers, Angers France

I always return to Angers France to visit friends and when I’m there the arboretum is one of my favorite out-door spaces. I can’t leave it off my 2015 bucket list! The fact that it is in walking distance from my friend’s house is all the better! No trip to Angers would be complete without a trip to the David d’Angers Museum. I love his sculptures and the building that contains the museum!

Just north of Angers France is Château du Plessis- Bourré – a mere 10 miles so this is definitely an easy day-trip while I am in Angers! It has a huge moat, as you can see, and a fully working draw-bridge. This Château dates from 1468. Thanks to the Château website for the beautiful aerial photo!

Plessis-Bourre

Sailing in La Baule

I’m hoping to return to the beach in France and if I go to Angers, it will be easy to build in a trip to the beach because La Baule is less than two hours from Angers. Close to La Baule is Guérande which is a wonderful walled city partially surrounded by a moat. I prefer to stay here because of the “small ville” atmosphere and there is a great little hotel (Hotel des Remp’arts) just outside one of the city gates.

Not just on my 2015 bucket list but on my permanent bucket list is to continue to improve my French.  I will be continuing my studies  with Llyane Stanfield.  I’ve been working with her for several years now and really enjoy the skype lessons with her – not to mention the improvement I observe in my speaking and comprehension abilities. Whether you are just beginning with French or want to brush the cobwebs off your school-day French, From Beginner to Oh-la-la can get you ready for that next trip to Paris. Don’t discount learning a new language at any age in life – I was 53 when I started learning beginning French. I love studying the language and the benefits that come with it!

Coughton Court near Warwick England

Since a large part of our time will also be spent in England, I plan to visit several National Trust sites. Packwood House has an amazing topiary garden and Coughton Court as well as Charlecote Park both have wonderful walking paths that are easy access for us.

What’s on your bucket list for 2015?