Château Vaux-le-Vicomte, May 27, and a little sun

About 8 days ago, I headed south of Paris to stay with a dear friend of my dear friend Beanne.  Helen is the mayor of small village called Nanteau-sur-Essonne, and she lives in a beautiful home in the country.  Still plagued with jet-lag headaches, it was wonderful to stay here and finally adjust to the time change.

It's still raining and even pouring pretty much every day, and everyone says this is very unusual for May.  However, the day I drove to see the elegant château Vaux-le-Vicomte, there was a little sun.  I toured the building, then marched out to the Le Nôtre gardens, to begin the research for my Gabriel Prize project.

OK, this is going to be hard--the gardens are immense, and for the most part, pretty flat--which makes sketching the landscape extremely challenging.  This is my sketch of the château from pretty far into the gardens, but I'm interested in the approach to the building.  

Overworked the water...I'll blame it on the lingering jetlag!  At least the many french school kids who looked over my shoulder gave it a thumbs up!

Vaux-le-Vicomte from Le Nôtre's gardens. May27