More of the Loire Valley

June 18, 2012

It was up for breakfast at the respectable hour of 9:00 a.m.  So nice not to set an alarm.  We had croissants, baguettes, and farm fresh eggs laid the day before… fabulous J 

Danika found the best use of a fresh French bagette is in dealing with little brothers.

Then it was back to the Chateau Chenonceaux for a tour of the inside.  We refrained from outside pictures as we took so many last night.  As you walk in the front door, there are a family crests engraved.  You can tell if one belongs to a married female because there are two sides to it, her husband’s and her father’s.

When we went inside, it was really interesting to look at the floor because it was all original.  It mostly looked like plain peach tile until you looked at the edges of the rooms where it had not been worn down.

The chateau has its own chapel.  The most interesting thing I found here was that the guards of Mary Queen of Scots had carved sayings in the walls.  It looked like graffiti.  They said  "Man's anger does not accomplish God's Justice" (dated 1543) and "Do not let yourself be won over by Evil" (dated 1546).  Amazing to see things carved so long ago so close up.

We bought audio tours for Danika and Jason specifically designed for kids.  They loved it as the stories were really interesting.  Danika is seen here with Queen Catherine’s desk.  You could write a postcard on this desk if you had brought one with you...amazing that you have such access to these amazing antiques.  Those flowers are fresh.  The whole place smelled fabulous because there were fresh flower arrangements everywhere and they were extremely fragrant.

Here are some other flower arrangements.  You can really get a feel for the size of them with David standing next to one.

This is Diana’s bedroom.  Diana was King Henri II of France's mistress.  He gave her this chateau in 1547.  However, when he died, his jealous wife, Catherine, booted her out and made her live elsewhere (in another chateau, so it's not like it was really rough).

This is the great hall.  It spans the length of the bridge (200 feet) and was used for parties.  Catherine loved to have big parties.  I could just imagine dancing here overlooking the river… how romantic…

The kitchens were the most interesting part of the castle.  They were very modern indeed for the 1500s, and actually look really impressive in 2012.  Nothing much has changed, it seems, in 500 years.  They had a room for everything:  pantry, meat, cooking, servants' quarters.  All of this is in the basement to keep the fires close to the river water in case of problems, and so that the heat will rise to heat the chateau.

Going up to the next level this staircase  was unusual in France in its day because it was the first non-spiral  staircase and therefore quite the talking point.

From this level you can walk out on the balcony overlooking the gardens.  This first garden was designed by Diana (the mistress of Henri II).

After Diana was booted out, Catherine designed this garden.

Cathering had five daughters, and each one had their crest on the ceiling of this room.  

This was Catherine’s bedroom. 

And this was the bedroom of the widow queen Louise of Lorraine, who came to live here after her husband King Henry III was murdered by a monk .  She wore only white (the color of mourning in that day) and became known as the White Queen.  She decorated the room all in black and had symbols of sorrow everywhere. 

After touring the entire inside, we went for a stroll in the gardens.  Last night we heard so many frogs and could barely see them, much less take pictures.  During daylight they were much easier to find.  Here is one in between the shadows of Danika and Jason.

Of course we had to return to the kids favorite spot, the labyrinth.  Danika made it to the center quite easily.

Jason made it back out again.  You can just see his tiny little head and arm waving…

The kids were getting hungry, so I told Danika she was in charge of food.  She decided on something French, and found this escargot…

In reality, we ended up having to do laundry.  So we drove into Amboise and did laundry in this little launderette.  It was interesting trying to figure everything out.   In the end, it was a really great system, and it felt great to get the stinky socks out of the car J

Then we headed for the grocery store and made dinner back at the B & B.  I think we were all tired from going nonstop.  So we just had a relaxing time just hanging around the farm and playing basketball and such.

I also took some time and started the blogs from Mont Blanc.  Hopefully I will get those posted sometime soon. Nite…

~Mary