Life is full with surprises, just like the moment when I found this postcard in my mailbox. It was sent by my friend Eric from Lyon when he had a trip in the beautiful town of Fontainebleau. Thank you very much Eric! :)
The Palace of Fontainebleau, although not so famous as the Versailles and the Louvre, impresses me most because it has a beautiful, poetic Chinese name - 枫丹白露. I am not able to explain the exactly meaning but it is just beautiful,and seems that it was translated by a famous Chinese writer. From the card, the Palace looks magnificent and I wish I could visit it in the future. I have also learned some background of it, very impressive too, it is the famous French King Francois I who introduced the Renaissance to France and transformed, enlarged and embellished the Palace. Of course, today's Palace have been influened by generation to generation. It was declared as a World Cultural Heritage Site in 1981.
I am specially grateful to the hand postmark, which shows that Eric went to the post office in Fontainebleau and got it for me. :)
“The
long history of Lyons, which was founded by the Romans in the 1st century B.C.
as the capital of the Three Gauls and has continued to play a major role in
Europe's political, cultural and economic development ever since, is vividly
illustrated by its urban fabric and the many fine historic buildings from all
periods.” This is the brief description of the reasons why the Historic Site of Lyons has been list as a UNESCO world culture heritage site since 1998. Many thanks
to Eric for these nice postcards and I can see some architectural landmarks of
the city. The first one, sent on a special day 12-12-12, shows the Lyon City
Hall which is one of the largest historic buildings in the city. The second
card features the St. John the Baptist's Cathedral, the old houses and streets
in the Vieux Lyon (old town) and Guignol
(the main character in a French puppet show original from Lyons). Merci!!
The Loire Valley
is located in the middle stretch of the Loire River in central France. Its area
comprises about 800 square kilometers. It is referred to as the Cradle of the
French Language, and the Garden of France due to the abundance of vineyards,
fruit orchards (such as cherries), and artichoke and asparagus fields, which
line the banks of the river. Notable for its historic towns, architecture and
wines, the valley has been inhabited since the Middle Paleolithic period. In
2000, UNESCO added the central part of the Loire River valley to its list “TheLoire Valley between Sully-sur-Loire and Chalonnes” of World Heritage Sites. Merci beaucoup
mon amie Sophie, pour la belle carte postale et des timbres!
