Château d'Amboise and Clos Lucé, Amboise

The Château d'Amboise was our first stop in Amboise - a tour that lasted about 45 minutes. We we there during the week, so it was not as crowded as expected. Beautiful landscaped gardens and gorgeous views of the  river Loire. A short 10 minute walk from this château is the Château Clos Lucé - famous for being the official residence of Leonardo da Vinci between 1516 and 1519.

Scenes around Tours, Loire Valley

Tours makes for a good base for exploring the châteaux of the Loire. Small, animated - especially in the evenings- and a short drive from the famous Amboise and Chenonceau chateaux. Its famous Cathedral and old town are its main draws and while its château is not as remarkable as the others in the Loire, it is a lively city, with its university town feel, pavement cafés, cobbled streets and bustling Place Plumereau, which proved to be the perfect place for enjoying the warm late fall weather.

A taste of Tours at Odéon

One of the pleasures of travel within France is the ease of it. A fairly short train or car ride and you find yourself in a part of the country offering another piece of the country's history. We finally went to the Loire Valley - yes unfortunately the ease of travel must also equate with the availability of time - or maybe that's my poor excuse for why it took us so long to make a trip there.

As always though, despite proper planning we only just made it there in the early afternoon, which on its own is not a problem, but for my family always is. Food is always the first point of call, and you'd think knowing this we'd plan accordingly.

Faces & Co. at Galerie 59.

If you're a fan of Gregos' work, head to Galerie 59 on Rue de Rivoli, for an exhibition of his work, with 50 other artists. The exhibition is on until 11 November.

If you can't make it to the exhibition, keep your eyes peeled around the city - his work can be spotted in obscure, hard-to-reach places. Simple joys in the accessibility of street art.

Books: DARKNESS VISIBLE by William Styron

Title: Darkness Visible
Author: William Styron
Genre: Memoir
Published: 1990

This was a short read about a terrible illness. Styron writes consciously and matter-of-factly about his depression. Consciously because even before he had given it a name, so unaware of the extent to which the disease could be debilitating, he was well aware of his progression into the darkness of it.

Books: THE ASSOCIATION OF FOREIGN SPOUSES by Marilyn Heward Mills

Title: The Association of Foreign Spouses
Author: Marilyn Heward Mills
Genre: Fiction
Published: 2010

After having recently read Ghana Must Go, The Association of Foreign Spouses, a book based in Ghana, transported me right back to this country which holds a special place in my heart. Reading it was like reliving my years there, without the themes of domestic abuse and isolation, but with memories about the awkwardness of being a foreigner.

Award season has come and gone

Source: www.washingtonpost.com

I have added to my list of authors to read, Alice Munro, this year's Nobel Peace Prize in Literature winner. Yes, because she has won the Nobel Peace Prize, but more so because she is a prolific writer of short stories - a genre I am becoming more and more partial to.

With the announcement of the Man Booker prize winner last night, Eleanor Catton for her book The Luminaries - making her the youngest ever winner, with the longest ever book of this prestigious prize, we can now say that award season is over.

Books: THE COOKED SEED by Anchee Min

Title: The Cooked Seed
Author: Anchee Min
Published: 2013
Genre: Memoir

Anchee Min has written extensively about her life in China in the years prior to the Cultural Revolution, when she was chosen to be the star of propaganda films , and subsequent to that when China underwent a revolution that saw all and everything ever associated with Chairman Mao be destroyed. In The Cooked Seed she writes of the arduous journey from life as a peasant in the countryside; to a stint in a labour camp; to her years as a star of the propaganda machine; to her escape to the US as an art student to the Chicago Art Institute after the death of Chairman Mao and overthrowing of Madame Mao.

On brunching and catching up with old friends in the Marais

Brunch is one of those wonderful meals that can be extended from late morning to early afternoon with absolutely no guilt. It's even better when it's combined with catching up with old friends, simple pleasures all round.
I recently re-discovered the hidden treasures in the Marais  - more specifically around Place des Vosges.

Books: GHANA MUST GO by Taiye Selasi

Title: Ghana Must Go
Author : Taiye Selasi
Published: 2013
Genre: Fiction

Ghana Must Go centres around the Sai family; Kweku Sai, his wife Folasadé and their children. Theirs is a love story of two young, confident and ambitious Africans - he is Ghanaian and she is Nigerian - who move to the United States where he studies medicine and goes on to become a renowned surgeon, and she gives up on Columbia Law in order to support him and raise their children.
It is a story about a family, and secrets, and issues left unresolved that manage to finally tear the family apart.