(Definitely not) Burke's Backyard

"Give me a home among the gum trees, with lots of plum trees..."
Oh how those words filled me soul with dread on a Friday night when Don Burke would grace our screens. So believe me when I tell you that my interest in gardens generally ends when I turn my BBQ off, clean up, and go back inside.
Then a dozen or so years ago on a trip to Canada, Madelene and I visited the famous Butchart Gardens, in Victoria, British Columbia, and my mind was changed forever about what a garden was, or could be. No plain rows of roses here - no sir. This was serious, cutting edge garden landscaping on steroids, and man it was impressive!
But that was then and this is now, and your intrepid journey-folk are in France, and you know what? They know what they're doing here too.

Monet's Garden Giverny
It was at Freeb's request which saw us jump in the mighty Peugeot, set Lady Penelope (our trusted GPS) to Giverny, and then navigate our way to this small village 75 kms West of Paris. Prior to visiting the Musee L'Orangerie, I was blissfully ignorant of Claude Monet's work, but afterwards, was as keen as mustard to have a bo-peep at Claude's joint, and more importantly, his garden.

When you first enter the garden, you are confronted with rows and rows of flowers, which was almost overwhelming given the blue of the sky, and the brightness of the sun. These rows lead to the bottom of this formal, structured garden and then via a subterranean walkway, you are led to the water garden, home to the famous water lilies and pond, complete with weeping willows, all traversable via a shaded ringed track around the pond.
This was such a respite to the stress of travelling here (I'll cover the whole driving in France thing on another post), and was bliss.
We then meandered to Monet's house itself, which was surprisingly modest, but unsurprisingly filled with 100,000 geriatric tourists, all vying for the best spot to take one million photos of Monet's hat stand, Monet's curtain rods, or the all important, Monet's kitchen sink (I kid you not).
I joked to Mad and Freebs, that we could've made a fortune offering a while-you-wait hip replacement service out the front, as the next youngest tourist in this place from us was wearing an "I was at the crucifixion, and all I got was this lousy t-shirt" t-shirt.
All in all though, well worth the semi-nervous breakdown to get there from Paris.

Chateau Villandy
Whilst in the Loire Valley, amid the picturesque Chateaux, the fairytale Castles, and the countless grapevines of the region, is the granddaddy of them all, the Chateau and gardens of Villandy, about an hour's drive West from our base in the Loire, the village of Nazelles-Negron.

We visited Villandry on a road trip our host Oliver suggested, first taking in the tiny hamlet of Brehemont, the Chateau of Azay-le-Rideau, and then arriving at these amazing gardens late in the afternoon, so as to miss the throngs of people whom visit this site all year round.
As a result of our timing, we got the George Costanza "Rock Star" car park out the front of the place, and meandered into a near-empty garden.
As Keanu would say, "Wo!", this place was the most - more layers of garden bed action than Sara Lee puts in her Blueberry Danish. Just incredible colours, and remember, we are at the start of Autumn here in France, so gardens are starting to die off.
Indeed, the legendary fields of sun flowers we've all seen watching the Tour de France on SBS, have all been wilted, and sorry-looking, but here in Villandry, the only thing lacking are the amount of superlatives you can use to describe this place. The gardens are in sections, and the only lack-lustre area was, in my opinion, the Maze. Then again, Mad & I had recently watched The Shining, so anything without Jack Nicholson running amok with an axe was going to be an anti-climax.
If you ever get to the Loire, and you want a garden to visit, this is the one. Unmissable and unforgettable.

Chateau D'Amboise
The real surprise package of our time in the Loire Valley was our good fortune at selecting the village of Nazelles-Negron in which to stay. Massive props to my co-worker Ros whom stayed here with her family a few years back (good work Ros - I owe you a big one). Veronique and Oliver were not only great hosts at the Chateau de Nazelles, but their suggestions re what to see and do whilst in their little patch of paradise was priceless.
The village is a 5 minute drive from the town of Amboise, which is fairytale beautiful, and filled with happy, smiling folks, all willing to help you out with our useless take on French, and their equally crap English. And the wine. To quote myself, "OH MY GOD!".

What's all of this got to do with the theme of this post? Amboise's main attraction apart from the wine, the sunshine and the hot air ballooning (that story's coming soon), is the Chateau d'Amboise, which is a regal-enough massive fifteenth-century stone Chateau. It houses a chapel containing the last remains of Leonardo de Vinci (whom retired and later died here), as well as some beautiful gardens on the upper slopes of the property.

Chateau Versailles
I've left the most impressive until last, though strictly-speaking, I don't actually know whether the gardens at the Palace of Versailles qualify as being in the same league as the others I've spoken about, as the gardens (or park lands more appropriately) located here have the stamp of King Louis the XIV and XV all over them. Meaning that because of places like this, 20,000 people (including XV) lost their heads in the French Revolution, such is the grandeur of this place.

In terms of elaboration, I guess it'd be a little bit like if Gina Rinehart, Clive Palmer and Andrew "Twiggy" Forrest all pooled the tax money they should've been paying for the last dozen or so years, then they could afford the front gate of this place. It's made of gold. The front gate is made of gold.

This place is just incredible, and it's so large, I'm sure you could see it from space. I'll put it to you this way, we walked for what felt like an eternity to reach the smaller, pink marble Grand Trianon (Louis XIV's love shack), and we were not quite half way through the gardens.

With fountains galore, forests to hunt in, and sculptures at every angle, this is hardcore gardening porn, and it's not for the feint-hearted. A beautiful place, perhaps one of the most beautiful places in the world, but it's a beauty tinged with sorrow given what the opulence of this horticultural Disneyland brought about.
Hey - France needed the revolution, and you need to visit this, or any of the places listed here.
As they say in the music world, these gardens are "...all killer, and no filler!".