The Loire River
Valley is chateau country. Today Patrick moved our normal
breakfast-and-bus-loading schedule forward a little so we could get an
early start at Chenonceau. It was a crisp, cool morning with
brilliant sunshine streaming through the trees, misty green meadows,
and a multi-colored hot air balloon slowly drifting over the quiet
countryside (honest!). We knew that
Patrick was a master at planning our arrival times; but weather and
that balloon - who knew? If all this sounds like something
Walt Disney Productions would create, that's OK because this place
really
has a magic kingdom presence. It is b-e-a-u-t-i-f-u-l.
The overall condition of the place was impressive. Even the kitchen, bakery, and eating quarters were fully equipped. Although this was originally the sight of a humble hunting lodge, it evolved to become a show place for the owner's wives and the mistress of Henri III. These ladies certainly left their mark. The bereaved wife of Henri III painted the ceiling of her bedroom black and white; the official royal mourning colors).
Visit the video link below to get Patrick's perspective on "the chateau of the ladies". If you only have time to visit one chateau in France, pick this one!
Factoid: The Chenonceau (the Chateau) is located in Chenonceaux (the town) .... any questions?
Also starting out as a hunting lodge, in many ways Chambord is the antithesis of Chenonceau. It is modest in decoration and landscaping, impossible to heat, could only be used in warm weather and situated in a 13440-acre national park - the largest in Europe. On the ground floor of the royal wing (north) in the room behind carriages there are many decorative stone elements perhaps left over from the construction activity. It is interesting to examine the detail of these items and imagine how these extremely heavy and somewhat fragile shapes were handled 400 years ago. The grand double-helix staircase (possibly designed by Leonardo da Vinci) ensured that those going up would not interfere with those going down. We had the clever idea to go up the "down" staircase hoping to get a good picture of everyone else - bad idea. We can attest to the fact that you really can get lost in this place! We didn't see most of the tour group again until we met later for our picnic lunch.
 
 
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