Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Oops
Can anyone tell I am a little tired!! I forgot to write that Catherine won the Grand Prix Special in Viduban! It was the last class of the two week tour and Cadillac was on fire! They had a stellar ride, ridden to music from Celine Dion, and scored over 70%. We had quite the celebration. Perfect ending to a great trip!
Down-Time
So I am still high off my trip to France. I can't believe I was actually there. It was such a fabulous experience. I got to sight see in Cannes, took a day trip to St.Tropez, and spend a week on a vineyard with incredible rosee wine. The name of the vineyard is Chateau des Launes. They have a great website, check it out. www.chateaudeslaunes.com.
The drive back from France was somewhat aweful!! I drove 5 hours to Lyon on Saturday through the strongest wind gusts I have ever felt! Then I drove 15 hours from Lyon to Vechta. The first 11 hours couldn't have been smoother then 100 kilometers to the stable took forever since the main autobahn was closed for repairs and there was a 17 kilometer stau, or traffic jam! It took me forever to get off the autobahn and weave my way through every small town and village to get back to the barn! But we made it thats all that matters!
We are having an intense week getting ready for Aachen! I cannot wait to see Aachen and be behind the scenes with the horses and riders. Hopefully I will be keeping a daily journal, posted each night, for DressageDaily about my experience. We leave on Monday!
Be in touch soon...
Meaghan
The drive back from France was somewhat aweful!! I drove 5 hours to Lyon on Saturday through the strongest wind gusts I have ever felt! Then I drove 15 hours from Lyon to Vechta. The first 11 hours couldn't have been smoother then 100 kilometers to the stable took forever since the main autobahn was closed for repairs and there was a 17 kilometer stau, or traffic jam! It took me forever to get off the autobahn and weave my way through every small town and village to get back to the barn! But we made it thats all that matters!
We are having an intense week getting ready for Aachen! I cannot wait to see Aachen and be behind the scenes with the horses and riders. Hopefully I will be keeping a daily journal, posted each night, for DressageDaily about my experience. We leave on Monday!
Be in touch soon...
Meaghan
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
France
Hi Everyone,
So I have been in France for the past 9 days! It has been incredible. The first day I spent driving over 1000km to Lyon and spent the night at the cutest little French Stable. Everything was so old, but so well kept and really interesting to explore. Then the next day I drove the rest of the way to Cannes. Cannes might just be the most beautiful place I have ever been. They show grounds were right on the beach. Literally I have an ocean view from the lorry. I went to the beach everyday! Such a tough job. The stabling was in the middle of a bunch of palm trees. We stayed in Cannes for 5 days and Catherine competed in the CDI*****. The atmosphere was pretty electric, she didn't ride til 11:30pm each night! It was wild, the crowd was huge. The warm-up arena had three huge palm trees inside it!
After Cannes I drove a little but north to Vidubon, where we are staying on a vineyard for the week until the competition this weekend. The vineyard is beautiful and extremely well kept. They have the best rose wine I have ever had! Too bad we drink it breakfast, lunch, and dinner! There is an adorable 8 stall stable on the property with a gorgeous outdoor arena! The mountains surround the property on three sides making the view from the arena just breath-taking. Did I mention that Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are out neighbors!
We also took a day trip to St.Tropez. We walked around for a while and ate some delicious seafood! We then took a boat tour around the harbor! I don't know what to say it was just so cool. I grew up on the ocean, but it was nothing like this. There are ancient buildings and churches just inches from the water. There were countless yachts and the water was so clear and blue!!
I put over 100 pictures up on facebook, so I am putting the link to the album on here. Let me know if it doesn't work and I will put another album up somewhere.
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/album.php?aid=2008838&id=135600354&ref=nf
We are getting ready for a big bbq tonight...more coming later!
-Meaghan
So I have been in France for the past 9 days! It has been incredible. The first day I spent driving over 1000km to Lyon and spent the night at the cutest little French Stable. Everything was so old, but so well kept and really interesting to explore. Then the next day I drove the rest of the way to Cannes. Cannes might just be the most beautiful place I have ever been. They show grounds were right on the beach. Literally I have an ocean view from the lorry. I went to the beach everyday! Such a tough job. The stabling was in the middle of a bunch of palm trees. We stayed in Cannes for 5 days and Catherine competed in the CDI*****. The atmosphere was pretty electric, she didn't ride til 11:30pm each night! It was wild, the crowd was huge. The warm-up arena had three huge palm trees inside it!
After Cannes I drove a little but north to Vidubon, where we are staying on a vineyard for the week until the competition this weekend. The vineyard is beautiful and extremely well kept. They have the best rose wine I have ever had! Too bad we drink it breakfast, lunch, and dinner! There is an adorable 8 stall stable on the property with a gorgeous outdoor arena! The mountains surround the property on three sides making the view from the arena just breath-taking. Did I mention that Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are out neighbors!
We also took a day trip to St.Tropez. We walked around for a while and ate some delicious seafood! We then took a boat tour around the harbor! I don't know what to say it was just so cool. I grew up on the ocean, but it was nothing like this. There are ancient buildings and churches just inches from the water. There were countless yachts and the water was so clear and blue!!
I put over 100 pictures up on facebook, so I am putting the link to the album on here. Let me know if it doesn't work and I will put another album up somewhere.
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/album.php?aid=2008838&id=135600354&ref=nf
We are getting ready for a big bbq tonight...more coming later!
-Meaghan
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Update...
So we didn't make it to Wiesbaden, which was a bummer. Catherine's back isn't feeling all that great so she is resting up for our tour in France and Aachen. This weekend we have a National show where Catherine, Casey and Natallie are showing. Then Morthen will be coming on Sunday and Monday for a clinic and Tuesday I am off to France. Tuesday morning, bright and early, Maximus, Cadillac and I will be on the road to Lyon. That will be the first leg of our long trip to Cannes. Lyon is about 1000 kilometers from Vechta about a 12 hour drive. In Lyon I will stay overnight and the next day continue to Cannes, which is another 400 kilometers. It will be a long trip but I'm sure well worth it. Cannes is right on the coast and about 40 kilometers from Nice. We have two shows to do in France, right on the coast! How cool is that! A Dressage Arena a few yards from the beach! So we will be there for about two weeks. Can't wait to share those pictures and adventures with everyone! After France, we will be home for a few days and then its off to Aachen!! I cannot wait for Aachen!!
Last week we all took a trip up to the Northern Sea. It was about an hour from our apartment. The town was called Nordeny! It was an adorable little beach town with souvenir shops and Ice Cream Cafes. We packed a picnic and had a nice day at the beach. The beach wasn't exactly like our beaches at home on the East Coast. The water was alot darker, pretty but more green than bright blue. There were some areas that had sand but then there were alot of areas that had concrete. I know it sounds weird, but there were beach chairs (which are more like beach huts) all over the place. During the summer months families rent them out.
Pictures:
The Beach Huts!
The Beach!
The Boats!
Last week we all took a trip up to the Northern Sea. It was about an hour from our apartment. The town was called Nordeny! It was an adorable little beach town with souvenir shops and Ice Cream Cafes. We packed a picnic and had a nice day at the beach. The beach wasn't exactly like our beaches at home on the East Coast. The water was alot darker, pretty but more green than bright blue. There were some areas that had sand but then there were alot of areas that had concrete. I know it sounds weird, but there were beach chairs (which are more like beach huts) all over the place. During the summer months families rent them out.
Pictures:
The Beach Huts!
The Beach!
The Boats!
I fell in some quick sand! Oops!
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