TRAVEL AND LIFESTYLE DIARIES

For our last day in the north of Champagne-Ardennes, we spent it in Charleville-Mezieres, a twin city divided by the Meuse River just half an hour drive from Sedan. Between the two small cities, Charleville is the best place to visit. Known as the capital of the marionette (how true is this?) and the birthplace of Arthur Rimbaud, the poet. Charleville is the perfect diversion after our castle escapade or for those who came here to hike in the Ardennes mountain forests. The most impressive part of Charleville is its striking town square, Place Ducale. It is a huge blanket of cobblestones circled with 17th century imperial pavilions and arcade galleries. During certain days in the week, open-air markets are held and bustling terraces in the side lines abound. The square is said to have similarities with the oldest square in Paris, Place des Vosges, which is in fact exactly what my first impression was when I stepped into the square. Yup, it did felt like I am in Paris. I thi...

This fortified castle, in the area where the historical museum is housed, is conveniently locked away from the inner courtyards where the hotel and restaurant are located. I did my due diligence by roaming around the fort grounds and found that a large chunk of the castle and fort is not accessible to the public. The little discovery I uncovered: a small vaulted stone hallway leading to the historical castle museum, but helaas, the iron gates were locked. The only way to see the rest of the castle is to go to the entrance gate and pay the €7,50 fee. I told Dutchman we will be visiting the castle museum. As expected, he was not excited about the idea and begged to be released from this castle visiting activity. He reasoned that he is tired and not well so will just take a nap. OK, fine with me. So I tucked him properly in bed and left. Chateau Fort Sedan is said to be the largest castle in Europe covering an area of 35,000 square meters. Used to be a manor house in 1424 built by the...

‘It’s all your fault – you and your castle fetish.’ grumbles the zielig sickly Dutchman under the thick covers. He has not been feeling well since the day we left for Sedan. He had suspicions that he will get major sick as he’d been feeling woozy but it turns out the devious bug was just being polite with us to wait until we finish our Easter holiday in France. As soon as we got back in the Netherlands, the bug touched soil and hit Dutchman hard with a full-blown serious flu (he is okay now though, after a week). He tried to enlighten me that even if he agreed to this Castle Trip (for his late birthday present in exchange of Berlin), his body protested. Awww. Dutchman grew up frequenting castles, fortifications, antiquated buildings, and ruins – thanks to his cultured parents, that he thinks after seeing ten of them (he has probably seen a hundred or more), each castle would look the same as the rest, ergo why even bother. But he oblige for this trip as we have very little choice in ou...