The Beauty of The Gardens of Marqueyssac

For this weekend, I wanted to share one of the world’s most magnificent landscapes, the Gardens of Marqueyssac in Vézac in the Dordogne region (France).

The lush and beautifully designed gardens wrap around a 17th century chateau that sits perched above the picturesque Dordogne valley. 

The bubbly, rounded forms of the gardens are carefully manicured by active attendants, maintaining a design that was first developed over 300 years ago. Indeed the gardens were planted in 1861 by Julien De Cerval, an intense gardener who gave the last thirty years of his life to build Marqueyssac.

The Gardens of Marqueyssac are now available for public strolls, having been restored to their original glory for a public opening in 1996. 

The Château de Marqueyssac stretches across a large plot that includes 5 km of walking trails, a Belvedere pavilion high above the river below, a chapel and these famed overhanging gardens. 

During the summer each Thursday evening the gardens are lit by candlelight and various musicians play in different parts of the garden. A magical experience not to be missed!

Images from here.

While Vézac may be out-of-the-way for most travelers, the gargdens are roughly half-way between the Bourdeaux and Rhone wine regions, placing it directly in the path of French wine travelers. 

These Gardens are one of the few Dordogne attractions to remain open all year round. They are certainly worth a stop for a weekend, don't you think? Breathtaking... 

Have a breezy weekend,

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Most Beautiful Botanical Gardens in the World

Spending your weekend with family or friends to the most beautiful gardens in the world would be a fun activity to do, don't you think? Going back to nature to feel the fresh atmosphere along the journey to these green spaces...

Here some of my favourite ones:

Château de Versailles, France

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   www.chateauversailles.fr
2. Versailles is the most famous garden in the world. Yet ‘garden’ is scarcely a fitting designation. The scale is monumental and there is little sense of enclosure.

   
   

   The famous French landscape designer André Le Nôtre laid out these gardens southwest of Paris in the 17th century at the behest of Louis XIV. The Sun King wanted them to magnify the glory of his palace at Versailles, which was itself a monument to his absolute rule. 
   
   

   The 250 acres (101 hectares) are riddled with paths that lead to flower beds, quiet corners decorated with classical statuary, ornamental lakes, and a 1.8 km cruciform canal that King Louis used for gondola rides.

   
   There are magnificent features: huge parterres, great basins, an orangery, a vast collection of outdoor sculpture and some of the grandest fountains which have ever been made.
   
   Botanic Gardens, Singapore
   
   
   
   
   www.sbg.org.sg
   Established in 1859, the Singapore Botanic Garden is known as one of the prettiest botanic gardens in the world. 
   
   
   Its 128 acres (52 hectares) are divided into three "cores." Bukit Timah Core is geared for educational and recreational use. In Tanglin Core, visitors can find a bandstand and many statues sprinkled among favourite native plants and trees. 
   
   
   The most popular core for tourists is Centre. The National Orchid Garden is in this section, atop the park's highest point, where more than 60,000 colourful orchids bloom.
   
   
   Descanso Gardens, La Canada Flintridge
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   A mere 20-minute drive outside of Los Angeles (situated in La Canada Flintridge) you'll find a bucolic paradise with more than 100,000 plants and one of the world's largest collections of camellias. 
   
   
   The gardens and woods of Descanso ("rest" or "repose" in Spanish) unfold over 160 acres (65 hectares) of the San Rafael Hills. 
   
   
   Don't miss the Japanese garden and the International Rosarium that is home to thousands of roses!
   
   
   Butchart Gardens, Vancouver
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   www.butchartgardens.com
   
   
   You will enjoy seeing the Butchart Garden in Vancouver Island, British Columbia. This garden spans in the 22 hectare. You may see the fascinating and beautiful plants up to 700 species. 
   
   
   If you want to see their blooming, you may come there from March to October.
   
   
   Villa d'Este, Tivoli
   
   
   
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   A Renaissance cardinal decided to make life in Tivoli (Italy) bearable by turning a dilapidated Benedictine monastery into a lovely villa, the Villa d'Este. 
   
   
   This was embellished by one of the most fascinating garden and fountain complexes in the world, recently listed by UNESCO as one of Italy's 31 major historical/artistic sites.
   
   
   Among the most bewitching of the mossy fountains are the Fontana del Bicchierone (water pours out from a large shell-shaped basin); the Rometta fountain, which is a miniature Rom complete with a wolf-suckling Romulus and Remus; and the Avenue of the Hundred Fountains, where animal heads, lilies, a small boat, basins, and so on all spurt water.
   
   
   Dumbarton Oaks, Washington
   
   
   

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   www.doaks.org
   
   

   You might feel as though you've stepped into a Merchant-Ivory set in any of the gardens that make up this estate at the north end of Georgetown, one of Washington's poshest neighborhoods. Vines tumble down stone walls enclosing the Fountain Terrace.
   
   Lovers' Lane meanders past a Roman-style amphitheater built around a small deep-blue pool. And what used to be a simple cow path leading away from the pool is now called Melisande's Allée, perhaps as a nod to the haunting opera Pelleas et Melisande.
   
   You have to step your feet there!

   
   Château de Villandry, Villandry, France 
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   The Château de Villandry is a castle-palace located in Villandry, in the département of Indre-et-Loire, France.
   
   The lands where an ancient fortress once stood were known as Colombier until the 17th century.
   
   The Château is just extraordinary to visit!
   
   Gardens of the Villa Éphrussi de Rothschild, St. Jean-Cap-Ferrat
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   www.villa-ephrussi.com

   
   

   In the early 1900s in St. Jean-Cap-Ferrat, Béatrice Éphrussi, a Rothschild baroness, built a pink-confection, Venice-style villa surrounded by breathtaking gardens, with the sparkling sea beyond.
   Pathways meander through the seven themed gardens, the focal point being the French gardens, with a lily-pad-dotted pool, dancing fountains, and a Temple of Love replicating the Trianon at Versailles. 
   
   

   There are also a Provençal garden, filled with olive trees and lavender; a lapidary garden, with sculptures too large to be displayed in the villa; and Spanish, Japanese, Florentine, and exotic gardens.

   
   

   Stourhead in Warminster, England
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   www.nationaltrust.org.uk
   
   
   Stourhead is a grand example of genteel fascination with the past. 
   If you come to this garden, you will perceive the classic ambiance of the 18th century era. Henry Hoare II punctuated the gardens of his Wilshire estate with re-created ruins and classical buildings such as the Pantheon and Temple of Apollo.
   
   
   Stourhead is now home to many trees and shrubs from all over the world.
   
   
   The Master-of-Nets Garden, Suzhou
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   www.suzhou.gov.cn/English/Travel/7.shtml
6. This residential garden in southeast China, called Wangshiyuan in Chinese, was designed during the Song Dynasty (A.D. 960-1270). 
   
   
   The arrangement of pavilions, halls, music rooms, winsome bamboo groves, and waterside perches is an exercise in natural harmony. The central section is a small world within itself; piles of yellow stones form "mountains" complete with caverns, and a tiny arched bridge called the "leading to quietude" crosses a pond to a small pavilion in the center.
   
   
   Visiting this garden, you will love to see the music room, bamboo trees as well as some enticing pavilions.
   
   
   Sans Souci Potsdam, Germany
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   www.spsg.de
   
   
   Frederick the Great of Prussia built the splendid rococo palace as his summer place, where he could live without a care, sans souci. 
   Some of the important features may include busts of Roman emperors, decorative statues, and a Chinese teahouse dot the lavish grounds.
   
   
   If you love nature and like traveling, the world’s top gardens can be a feast to the senses. You can literally forget cities with hustle-bustle, traffic, noise and pollution when spending time there. 
   Each garden is so outstanding and special in its own way. It establishes a connect of mankind with the nature with a sense of serenity...
   
   Have a breezy day,

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Chinese 'Road to Heaven', Tian Men Shan

I must say Tianmen Mountain in Hunan Province, just south of Zhangjiajie City (previously known as Dayong City) is an absolutely ‘must see’ scenic area!

But...to get there, you drive up Tongtian Avenue (Avenue toward Heaven), which has 99 turns, symbolizing that Heaven has nine palaces. Then you take the Tianan stairs (also known as Tianti, or the Celestial/Heaven Reaching Ladder), all 999 steps and there's no platforms for stopping. Hmmm...heaven??

Alternatively, you can take the cable car straight from the city, which they claim is the longest cableway in the world with a distance of 7455 meters and a height gap of 1279 meters. Hallelujah!

This Chinese "Road to Heaven" is like a white dragon lying on the mountains, it is regarded as the most amazing mountain road in the world.The mountain road is only less than 11 kilometers but the elevation rises rapidly from 200 meters to 1300 meters. I read that it took eight years to finish with work starting in 1998, and finishing in 2006!

This incredible road is mainly used for mountain bike cycle races, definitely it is interesting and exiting to ride bicycle at Tianmenshan, and bicycle lovers would focus more on the beautiful sceneries along the road and the challenge to conquer such a mountain distance. (Note to myself: I am not sure if I will take my bike there though...scary!)

Photos via bestphotosite

If anyone ever made a hit parade on such roads, I think this Chinese road would be at the top of the list, don't you think?

Have a breezy day,

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Wonderful Miniature landscapes in Saigon, Vietnam

I’ve always been obsessed with miniatures and gardens. So my friday post is about some incredible miniature landscapes. They were displayed at the Spring Flower festival at Tao Dan park in Saigon. 

Don't you think they are the perfect addition to any yard or home where space are limited? Children love to see them too.

I can't wait now to create my own and unique little 'Saigon garden': Oh, Yesss!

In today’s world of everyone trying to super-size everything, I do believe these miniature landscapes are a welcome surprise that always bring a smile to our face. It’s the perfect way to remember how the beauty of nature and small things make a huge difference in the world.

http://www.bloglovin.com/en/blog/3472479/breeze-me