August 18, 2020 – WANDERLUST FAMILY ADVENTURE

Colonial National Historical Park – Virginia

August 18, 2020 Joseph Candora Architecture, Beaches, Fort/Fortification, Hiking, Historic Markers, Historic Sites, Lake/Pond, Memorials, Museums, National Parks Service, North America, Rivers, United States, Virginia

Colonial National Historical Park is located in the Hampton Roads region of Virginia. The park protects and interprets several sites relating to the Colony of Virginia and the history of the United States more broadly, ranging from the site of the first landing of the English settlers who would settle at Jamestown, to the battlefields of Yorktown where the British Army was finally defeated in the American Revolutionary War and connecting the two areas the Colonial Parkway.
Jamestown is the site of the first permanent English colony in America.

New photo by Wanderlust Family Adventure / Google Photos

Yorktown is the site of the final battle of the Revolutionary War,

and the Colonial Parkway connects the two units.

Other nearby attractions not associated with the park are Colonial Williamsburg.

and Busch Gardens Williamsburg.

Louvre – Paris, France

August 18, 2020 Joseph Candora Architecture, Art/Painting, Europe, France, Historic Sites, Museums, Paris, Statue / Sculpture

The Louvre is the world’s largest art museum and a historic monument in Paris, France. It is located on the Right Bank of the Seine in the city’s 1st arrondissement. Approximately 38,000 objects from prehistory to the 21st century are exhibited over an area of 782,910 square feet. It is the most visited museum in the world. The museum is housed in the Louvre Palace, originally built as the Louvre castle in the late 12th to 13th century under Philip II. The museum opened on 10 August 1793 with an exhibition of 537 paintings, the majority of the works being royal and confiscated church property. The collection is divided among eight curatorial departments: Egyptian Antiquities; Near Eastern Antiquities; Greek, Etruscan and Roman Antiquities; Islamic Art; Sculpture; Decorative Arts; Paintings; Prints and Drawings.

Palace of Versailles -Department of Yvelines, France

August 18, 2020 Joseph Candora Architecture, Botanical Garden, Castle, Europe, France, Historic Sites, Museums, Statue / Sculpture, UNESCO World Heritage Sites

The Palace of Versailles was the principal royal residence of France from 1682, under Louis XIV, until the start of the French Revolution in 1789, under Louis XVI. It is located in the department of Yvelines, France, about 12 miles southwest of the center of Paris. The palace has been a site of historical importance. The Peace of Paris (1783) was signed at Versailles, the Proclamation of the German Empire occurred in the vaunted Hall of Mirrors, and World War I was ended in the palace with the Treaty of Versailles, among many other events. The palace is now a historical monument and UNESCO World Heritage site, notable especially for the ceremonial Hall of Mirrors, the jewel-like Royal Opera, and the royal apartments.

Eiffel Tower – Paris, France

August 18, 2020 Joseph Candora Architecture, Europe, France, Historic Sites, Paris, Statue / Sculpture

The Eiffel Tower is a wrought-iron lattice tower on the Champ de Mars in Paris, France. It is named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the tower. Constructed from 1887 to 1889 as the entrance to the 1889 World’s Fair, it was initially criticised by some of France’s leading artists and intellectuals for its design, but it has become a global cultural icon of France and one of the most recognisable structures in the world. The tower is 1,063 feet tall, about the same height as an 81-storey building, and the tallest structure in Paris. The tower has three levels for visitors, with restaurants on the first and second levels. The top level’s upper platform is 906 feet above the ground – the highest observation deck accessible to the public in the European Union. Unfortunately the day I was going up the tower Paris was socked in with fog 🙁

Be sure to take in the tower at night it is spectacular when it is illuminated.

Notre-Dame de Paris (Paris, France)

August 18, 2020 Joseph Candora Architecture, Church/Cathedral, Europe, France, Historic Sites, Paris, Statue / Sculpture

Notre-Dame de Paris meaning “Our Lady of Paris” is a medieval Catholic cathedral on the Île de la Cité in the 4th arrondissement of Paris. The cathedral was consecrated to the Virgin Mary and considered to be one of the finest examples of French Gothic architecture. Its pioneering use of the rib vault and flying buttress, its enormous and colourful rose windows, as well as the naturalism and abundance of its sculptural decoration set it apart from the earlier Romanesque style. The cathedral’s construction began in 1160 under Bishop Maurice de Sully and was largely complete by 1260, though it was modified frequently in the following centuries. In the 19th century, the cathedral was the site of the coronation of Napoleon I and the funerals of many Presidents of the French Republic. While undergoing renovation and restoration, the roof of Notre-Dame caught fire on the evening of 15 April 2019. Burning for around 15 hours, the cathedral sustained serious damage. Following the fire, many proposals were made for modernizing the cathedral’s design. However, on 16 July 2019, the French Parliament passed a law requiring that it be rebuilt exactly as it appeared before the fire.

I would suggest taking a cruise on the Seine the view as you come upon the cathedral from the river is spectacular.