Return of the Redneck

Long-time readers of this blog will remember my awesome friend Mrs Redneck, star of such posts as  Charming Chartres, Vincennes with the Rednecks and the ever-popular Reims with the Rednecks.  Well, she had the nerve to abandon me and move back to the States in January but at least she came back for a visit in September.  And since I arranged my schedule so that I didn't have to work while she was here, and since Mrs Redneck is a big fan of the "well, you'll sleep enough when you're dead" philosophy of travel, we were slightly busy while she was here.  To wit, this is what we did in one week:

Two chateaux
Two parks
Three cemeteries
Three cathedrals
Four events
Five museums
Seven restaurants
Eighteen cafés

Not to mention about 8000 miles of walking (slight exaggeration) and taking 1,113 photos (no exaggeration at all, I just counted).  Which is the reason why I haven't managed to get around to writing about it - I'm still sifting through all those photos.  But it's all coming soon...

My Top 10 (so far)

I was looking at my blog stats today, and it's quite interesting to see which posts have been the most popular with you, gentle readers.  And since it also seems that I've had an influx of new readers recently (welcome!), I thought I would let you know what this blog's  Top 10 All-Time Most Popular Posts have been thus far:

10.  No surprise that another compilation made it into the Top 10 - I had so many left-over photos of crappy outfits from 2010 that I needed to do a whole extra post just to share them all:

Totally crap outfits of 2010 (previously unseen)

9.  Ahh, the glamour of living in Paris.  You seemed to enjoy hearing about how moving is just as stressful here as it is anywhere else...

Déménagement

8.  Not much in the way of writing, but some of my prettiest photos ever:
Jour Blanche

7.  Same again - minimal writing in this travel post, but y'all sure seemed to appreciate the photos:
Charming Chartres

6.  One of my sillier moments, but I had fun writing it and it seems you also enjoyed this story of doomed feline romance:

"Tails" of romance from the City of Love

5. Another post about travel - I personally think you only liked it because you're all now hooked on cheese crack:

Why the Belgians are better than the French (Pt 2)

4. Aaaand you're back to the topic of love (although human this time, not feline); coming in at Number Four, my romantic travails in the most romantic (yeah, whatever) city on the planet :

Paris: City of Love. Really?

3.  Seriously, you guys?  This is what you clicked on enough times to put it into third place?  Jeez.  Glad you were all so amused at my hideousness.  Hmph.  And I'll have you know that my eyelashes are, in fact, growing back - I expect to look human again sometime around the end of...erm...June, or thereabouts...
The eyes have it. Well, they used to...

2.  In second place, one of my more educational and well-written (if I do say so myself - it amused me to re-read it, which is always a good sign) posts, featuring the ever-popular Tiny Dancer (previously known as Miss A before I decided I had to give people proper nicknames):
Nature Capitale

1.  And at Number One, this is hands-down, by-a-mile, the most popular blog post I have ever written - I don't know if it's because it features the awesome Mr and Mrs Redneck, or because I took some mighty pretty photos, or because the subject matter (champagne) is interesting to a lot of people, but whatever the appeal is, here it is again:
Reims with the Rednecks

So, having seen what you like (not all of which would have been in my own personal Top 10 of my best work, I have to admit - which goes to show how little I know of popular opinion!), I must conclude that you're totally down with my pretty pictures, but not so much with my yapping.  Hmmm - I am not sure if I should consider that a big "yay!" to my photographic skills and a giant "booo, you suck!" to my writing skills, but I'm hoping it all just averages out over time.  Regardless, thanks for following/subscribing/visiting, and I'll try to keep up with your high standards, gentle-but-demanding readers!  Much love, Miss K

Charming Chartres

Mrs Redneck and I took another day trip in August, this time to Chartres.  Now, there's a big difference between Fontainebleau and Chartres.  In Fontainebleau, the only reason to go there is to visit the chateau; in Chartres, the main reason to go there is to see the amazing cathedral, but quite honestly, if you're looking for a picture-postcard-gorgeous little French town?  Chartres is your place.  You can actually see the cathedral when you walk out of the train station (so it's not like you have any issues with finding the damn thing, unlike certain other places - yeah, Fontainebleau, I'm looking at you), there is a lovely little Beaux Arts museum, all the streets around the cathedral are so frickin' picturesque it nearly hurts, and there is a sweet little trolley that will take you all around the town in case you missed anything walking around.  In other words - highly recommended.  And if you do go to check it out, make sure you take one of Malcolm Miller's tours of the cathedral - he has been studying the place for 50-odd years and whenever he does a tour, he just talks about whatever the hell he wants to focus on that particular day.  Hee!  You just get what you're given and it's awesome.

View from train station - no risk of getting lost in Chartres

Dude, this is a friendly town - just look at the garbage cans...

Chartres cathedral - spectacular stained glass

Chartres cathedral - general awesomeness - interior

Chartres cathedral - general awesomeness - exterior

Chartres cathedral - more stunning stained glass

Chartres cathedral - exterior

Chartres cathedral - back is just as impressive as front

The salmon house

Just some random café but so damn charming

The adorable little trolley that will take you through the back streets

Whole town is like a postcard

Seriously!

Don't get confused, this isn't even the cathedral people come to see

So frickin' adorable