"La Belle du bois dormant"

The Trout and I have one granddaughter, Rachel. Rachel was born in 2004, so when we went to France in 2006 and toured the Chateau d'Usse', I knew I had to take special pictures to remember this place for her. The chateau is in the Loire Valley of France, a beautiful part of the country where many chateaus dot the valleys and hills. But, you see, this was a very, very special castle. This was the castle of "La Belle du bois dormant", or "Sleeping Beauty."

We climbed up and up until we reached the top of the turret and there we found the sleeping quarters of "Sleeping Beauty." Even I was reliving my childhood and my imagination came alive. I saw the children's room where they had played with toys and a table was set for a child tea party. Disney had produced the entire film within the walls of this gorgeous chateau. I knew I had to make this special for our only granddaughter. We took pictures of the scenes that Disney still had set up in the castle, but the outside of this chateau was remarkable. This is a chateau built in the 14th century and in the 17th century, Charles Perrault wrote about Aurora, the Sleeping Beauty.

When we got back home, I purchased the book "Sleeping Beauty" and inside the cover, I put the pictures that we had taken of the real castle for Rachel, to enjoy as a child and to carry forward to her own children.