We are in the Loire Valley. What else is there to do but look at chateaux?
We started with Chambord, the biggest and most ostentatious of them all. Chambord was built by Francoise I as a hunting lodge, but it remained uncompleted by his death, and in total he spent about six weeks here. The place is massive - 440 rooms - and was never furnished. Every time the king came to stay, the entire furnishings, kitchen equipment, horses, wall hangings etc etc were bought here for him, by his entourage of around 2000 people. Chambord today remains a palatial structure of huge, cold, empty rooms; echoing hallways; myriad fireplaces; and a roofline that was built on the king’s orders to resemble the skyline of Constantinople.
While we were here, we decided to go to the show ‘The Chevaliers du Roi’ (The King’s Horsemen), which was a great fun mix of dressage, history, horsemanship and comedy. I got roped in as part of the comedy section, as a token English person, to assist a broken down old knight revive his ‘dead’ horse. It came down to a choice of kiss the horse or kiss the knight - guess which one I chose!! It certainly revived the horse in a hurry!
Next up Chenonceau, the ‘ladies chateau’. This one was spectacular in its location, as it is built in the form of a bridge across the river Cher. It was occupied by two royal ladies, firstly Diane de Poitiers, Henri II’s mistress, and then, on Henri’s death, his wife Catherine de Medici evicted Diane and took over Chenonceau. It is a real contrast to Chambord, with its smaller rooms, and much more lived in feel. The kitchens are open to the public, and the whole place is beautifully furnished with period pieces, including a well-stocked kitchen, and massive floral arrangements in every room. Very beautiful.
Finally, Villandry, famous for its gardens. We arrived here about 15 minutes before the chateau closed, so just got tickets for the gardens, which remained open as long as you wanted to be there, and spent a couple of hours wandering amongst them. Very refreshing after a hard days sightseeing.
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| Chambord |
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| Chambord courtyard |
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| Francois I, owner of Chambord |
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| Chambord rooftop terrace |
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| Chambord horse show |
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| Me reviving the horse |
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| Chenonceau |
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| Flower arrangements at Chenonceau |
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| Chenonceau on the river |
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| Villandry |
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| Carp in the moat at Villandry - we spent a fair while feeding our leftover bread to them |
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| Gardens at Villandry |
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| The vege garden - almost as good as George's!! |
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| Painted window at Villandry |
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