Archive for December 22nd, 2022

December 22, 2022

How to get into it, and around in Chantilly !!

Indeed one of favorite castles in France, and friends of the castle as well since 2010. We love it, and been coming here since 1990 and then almost every year! This is Chantilly , a lot more than the castle/cream lol ! I have written before on it in my blog, however ,need to tell you how to get into it and around in Chantilly city !!

Hope you enjoy the post, and thanks for reading  me over the years !!! Chantilly is in the département 60 of the Oise, in the region of Hauts-de-France at the center of the forest of Chantilly, in the valley of the Nonette.Chantilly is located about 38 km north of Paris.

Very good roads in and out on the crossroads of France to the north of Europe. The old N16 or old royal route from Pierrefitte-sur-Seine to Dunkerque passing by Amiens, cuts the city south to north ; now it is the D1116. The D924A allows you to joint the old N17 or route de Flandres at La Chapelle-en-Serval, and the D924 connects you to the town of Senlis. From here you can join the autoroute A1 south to Paris. Many times done and love it !!  The parking in Chantilly is based especially for the visitor into the Orange Zone which allows longer-term parking for local residents, residential subscribers, professionals from Cannes and visitors. Parking is limited to 7 days, in accordance with the Highway Code, unless there is a specific order prohibiting parking. With the possibility of parking for 30 minutes free once a day and per vehicle. The Yellow Zone allows long-term parking (rue d’Aumale and boulevard de la Liberation) for local residents, residential subscribers, professionals from Cannes and visitors. With the possibility of parking for 30 minutes free once a day and per vehicle. You have questions feel free to contact the parking authority of EFFIA reception office, place de la Gare, 1 bis rue Roger Herlin from 7h to 13h Mondays to Fridays, Tel: + 33 (0) 3 44 54 95 77 or by email: agent.chantillyp3@effia.fr

However, the novelty here is the train station.  The Gare or train station of Chantilly-Gouvieux has three tracks, named A, M and B, and two platforms accessible by two underground passages. The station is open from 6h to 21h on weekdays and from 6h45 to 21h45 on Sundays and public holidays. The counters are open from 6h to 21h on weekdays and from 7h to 21h45 on Sundays and public holidays. It is equipped with two automatic “Grandes Lignes” ticket offices in the hall and a TER ticket office on platform A. There are five car parks around the station, all paying. The station is equipped with food distributors and a Relay, open from 6h to 13h30 and from 15h45 to 19h15 , on weekdays and Saturday from 7h to 12h30. The train station of or Gare de Chantilly – Gouvieux, opened in 1859 on the line Paris – Lille, service by the SNCF and the network TER Hauts de France ; these are lines Paris-Nord – Compiègne – Saint-Quentin – Busigny, line Paris-Nord – Creil – Amiens, and line Paris-Nord – Creil . Chantilly is located about 30 km from Roissy-CDG airport and about 54 km from Beauvais Tillé.low cost fly airport.

chantilly-train-station

The SNCF stations and connection on Chantilly Gouvieuxhttps://www.garesetconnexions.sncf/fr/gares-services/chantilly-gouvieux

The TER Hauts de France on the station at Chantilly-Gouvieuxhttps://www.ter.sncf.com/hauts-de-france/se-deplacer/gares/chantilly-gouvieux-87276113

There is a local bus network , the Duc or Dessert Urbaine Cantilienne is the bus to get around the city of Chantilly The DUC is in service from 6h to 20h45 on weekdays and from 7h to 20h on Saturdays. It does not operate on public holidays. Stops useful to visitors at the Living Horse Museum, Notre Dame Church and Castle. The Oise mobilité network: https://www.oise-mobilite.fr/en/route-schedules/6/RouteSchedules/SearchLines?partnerId=3

The Navette mini bus reach the most beautiful tourist sites of Chantilly, free every Saturday, Sunday and public holidays. The Keolis network on the navettehttps://www.keolis-oise.com/la-navette-touristique-de-chantilly

You have further the Chantilly-Senlis tourist office  on Chantillyhttps://www.chantilly-senlis-tourisme.com/en/patrimoine-curiosites/les-sites-a-visiter-et-musees/

And the Chantilly city tourist office on its heritagehttp://www.ville-chantilly.fr/category/decouvrir-chantilly/patrimoine/

There you go folks, easy in and out and a wonderful town , castle, and museum to enjoy with the whole family for a good day or more. Hope you enjoy this post on getting into it and around Chantilly as I

And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!

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December 22, 2022

The Dolce hotel of Chantilly !!

One of the highlights of a blog is that you can come to see your memories and re live them again, This is the case of the update for this post several years back in near Chantilly, Oise dept 60, region of Hauts de France, It was a business convention and when tried to be back the family had other ideas to travel, So it remained mine alone and the memories of always, Therefore, let me tell you a bit about the Dolce Hotel of Chantilly, Well , actually it is in forest of Vineuil St. Firmin near Chantilly,

I was there on September 2011 for a week on a convention. So now you know how far back this post is all about ! The visit included special treatment to visit the castle of Chantilly ; and the living horse museum nearby.  I had gone to there before paying with the family, this one was company paid! At the time the name was the Dolce Chantilly, and since then it has been included in the French Accor hotel chain part of the group Mercure under the name Mercure Chantilly Resort & Convention Hotel. 

The Hotel is located in lush greenery in the heart of the historic Chantilly, it is a large hotel and extensive green areas   that welcomes you just 40 minutes from Paris and 25 minutes from Roissy-Charles-de-Gaulle airport. The Mercure Chantilly Resort & Convention Hotel is decorated in a contemporary style, the bright rooms of the hotel all open onto the surrounding forest or onto a private golf course. They are equipped with an LCD TV and Wi-Fi access. Guests can enjoy a updated restaurant bar and 2 swimming pools. With its gym and 18-hole golf course, the hotel is an ideal base for your trip in the area of Chantilly whether business or pleasure. It is an ideal place to relax in the countryside with an 18-hole golf course, hiking or cycling trails, heated indoor and outdoor pools, hammam, sauna, fitness center, and tennis .The famous restaurant bars Carmontelle, Veranda,and Donatello are no longer and this brings nostalgia to me , right there is re design and new A L’Epicerie Foodtime by Aix&terra  ,Piano Bar, and the Cheese Bell hosted by Maison Tourrette all in a panoramic rotunda overlooking the golf course or the relaxed chic atmosphere and its terrace adjoining the outdoor swimming pool.

chantilly-dolce-hotel-sep11

The Mercure Chantilly Resort & Convention Hotel :https://www.mercure-chantilly.com/en/

The exact location is at Route D’Apremont Vineuil St. Firmin, Chantilly. Easy by car from Paris on the A1 direction Senlis /Créil/ Crepy-en-Valois and take exit sortie 8 Senlis to leave the A1, get on the D1330 direction Aprémont same route becomes D606 direction Vineuil St Firmin and then follow the signs for the resort. As this can be heavy on traffic especially the A1 autoroute du nord, I take the N1 from the Porte de la Chapelle direction Pierreffite sur Seine and here get on the D316 directino Sarcelles  stay on same road direction Luzarches /Chaumontel/Lamorlaye and into Chantilly becoming the D1016 road, go around past the City/town hall of Chantilly on D924 road (there is an Auchan hypermarket in the corner) turn right into the D924 stay on this road becoming the D606 before the castle and continue on it until reaching  the traffic circle of the carrefour d’Aumale Vineuil St Firmin  turn right on the first street whic, andh is route d’Apremont you will see the signs for the resort . It is pretty straight and much less traffic.  Hope it helps

There you go folks, I just needed to have have it in my blog for memories’ sake, Hope you can use it eventually on this luscious wonderful property , Hope you enjoy the post on my memorable Dolce Chantilly as I

And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!

December 22, 2022

The restaurant chains of France !!

Well do not know how, but looking at some of my pictures gave me the idea to write a post on some of the restaurant chains of France !! These are all family restaurants and visit them with the family in tow. So hope you enjoy them too! 

The name Courtepaille came to mind first, ok its a chain but very nice and friendly. It was my first lunch when came for my job interview in France back in August 2003 !! (of course got the job !)  Unfortunately , do not have a photo of it at Cergy Saint Christophe in Val d’Oise dept 95 and in the Île de France region.  The chain of Courtepaille is a chain of French Restaurants, specializing in grille meat. Created in August 1961 with the opening of a single restaurant on the side of the road N6 in Rouvray (Côte d’Or 21). In 2019, the chain had 300 restaurants, a third of which are franchised. The menus are prepared from local produce, delivered each morning by the craftsmen of the village, the fries are made on site, as well as the apple pies. The anecdote is that on December 20 2018, President Emmanuel Macron took a lunch break at a Courtepaille in Mareuil-lès-Meaux (Seine-et-Marne 77) had never welcomed such illustrious customers near Meaux. The others have been are at Buchelay near Mantes La Jolie in the Yvelines dept 78. We went there at least a couple times as it is right off theA13 autoroute de Normandie exit/sortie 13, and we can come in and out easy in our road warrior trips. There is another one on the A13 exit/sortie 9 coming from Paris in the Renault factory town of Flins sur SeineYvelines 78 as well. Here we had gone to shop at the nearby Carrefour hypermarket and had lunch in the Courtepaille, And even more going up to Chantilly by Creil (Oise dept 60) we have enjoyed. This one is on the D1016 road the old N16 as well. Coming over to my near area we have tried the one at the Zone d’Activités d’Atlantheix, Rue Charcot in Theix-Noyalo.  The official Courtepaille restaurants :https://restaurants.courtepaille.com/

Creil Courtepaille N16 near chantilly nov10

Flins sur Seine courtepaille MF et twins c2011

Buffalo Grill is a chain specializing in grilled meats with an American Indian theme. The brand has,as of last count 360 restaurants, including 94 in franchise, The Buffalo Grill story begins in 1980 when Christian Picart opens the first restaurant on the national road 20, in Avrainville ,Essonne dept 91 Île de France region, On September 25, 2020, the group acquires Courtepaille (see above) , On November 30, 2021, the Buffalo Grill group announces that it is changing its name to “Napaqaro”. However, the Buffalo Grill and Courtepaille restaurants will not change their names.Again, I started going to the branch at 7 Avenue de Sceaux in my dear Versailles, then on the 1540 Route de 40 sous in Orgeval both Yvelines dept 78 ,as well as the Quai des Marques in Franconville dept 95 Val d’Oise , Once moving to the Morbihan 56 we have tried several times the branch at 17 Rue Edgar Touffreau in Ploeren near Vannes, The official Buffalo Grill restaurantshttps://www.buffalo-grill.fr/nos-restaurants

SAMSUNG CAMERA PICTURES

vannes buffalo grill entrance inside aug18

Hippopotamus is a chain of meat restaurants established in 1968; mainly present in France, it belongs to the Flo group, majority owned by the Bertrand group, Over the years we started going to Hippopotamus in Le Chesnay-Roquebrune Parly II shopping mall near Versailles, Port Cergy, Cergy Pontoise dept 95 Val d’Oise, The Quai des Marques at Franconville outlet mall Val d’Oise 95, Bd Montparnasse Paris, and then moving into my new area at the Parc Lann, 4 Rue Jacques Rueff, Vannes.  Voilà always one can’t find me a picture of this resto but will leave for the memories’s sake. The official Hippopotamus restaurantshttps://restaurants.hippopotamus.fr/?q=france

Del Arte is a French restaurant chain specializing in Italian cuisine own by the group Le Duff Group. Founded in 1984 by the Accor group, it sells pizzas, pasta, salads, antipasti, dolci and other Italian specialties. Del Arte has opened around 15 restaurants a year since 2006 and, at the end of 2020, had 204 restaurants, 90% of which are owned by one hundred franchisees, We had started using them when we were in Versailles at the Parly II shopping mall ; as above in Buchelay, and then follow up with the outfit in Vannes.  The official Pizza del Arte restaurantshttps://www.delarte.fr/restaurants

Buchelay Pizza del Arte Italian c2011

Buchelay pizza del arte 2011

vannes pizza del arte dining ioom nov18

Another chain that we enjoy in the pass even if not available in my current neck of the woods are the Léon de Bruxelles, and our fav repeat was at the same area in Buchelay, near Mantes La JolieLéon de Bruxelles is a French restaurant chain with branches and franchises. The brand specializes in fresh mussels and fries. In 1893 in Brussels, the “Friture Léon” is a small estaminet dedicated to mussels and typical Belgian dishes. In 1989, the first Leon of Brussels restaurant opened its doors in Paris, and was dedicated to the same traditional dishes. Leon de Bruxelles last count had 85 restaurants in France. 3,500 tons of mussels are sold each year. Depending on the season, they come from the Netherlands, Italy or Normandy. The official Leon de Bruxelles restaurants :https://brasserie.restaurantleon.fr/fr

Buchelay leon de bruxelles out boys c2011

Buchelay leon de bruxelles MF et boys c2011

There you go folks, we have everything under the sky , maybe one more reason why France is the No 1 destination from visitors since 1949 at the official UN WTO organisation of world tourism. We have choices, for all ranges ! Hope you enjoy these restaurant chains of France while they are open, and see the different ;vive la difference !

And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!

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