Blois

Another Royal town today - Blois! The Loire was certainly the power centre of France during the 14th- 18th century. Each town has a story to relate it to the machinations of the power elite of France. Blois was no different, being the royal castle during the reigns of Louis XII and Francis I and Henry III. High drama in the royal bedroom saw the turning point in the wars of religion. Henry III had organised for the Duc of Guise, leader of the ultra catholic league,  to be murdered. The castle also saw the Estates General to meet here on a number of occasions. 

We arrived relatively early in Blois with a need to do some 

shopping for the van. We stopped in the suburbs of Blois

 to shop and were interested in the ethnic mix of Blois. The supermarket reflected this mix with the amount of space devoted to a variety of ethnic related products. 

We later were lucky to find parking along the banks of the Loire near the centre of Blois. From here we set out to explore the town, coming across the Saturday market that spread around the lower regions of the Chateau Royal.  

Why did these geezers build their chateaus on the top of the highest peaks!  We poor folk have to climb theses hills on a daily basis to get the great vistas from the heightened elevation. Our fitness levels have greatly increased over the last few weeks. 

The Royal Chateau is at the centre of Blois. Once you have climbed the stairs to the chateau, you get incredible views across the city and the Loire. 

We later walked to the other hill where the cathedral dominated the peak. Again, the views were worth the effort, as were the gardens surrounding the Bishops residence. 

We later wandered back through the town and back to the van on the banks of the Loire. 

A different view of the Royal Chateau. 

An interesting colour display in the middle of Blois. 

An even more unusual feature on the Royal Chateau hill -  the "Maison de la Maggie". 

Later we went to the Resistance Museum with a display showing the history of the Resistance in the area of the Loire. Nothing in English but it is France!  Some interesting displays but we have seen better in other areas. 

Pont Jacqueline Gabriel today and 1944. 

Many of the Allied bombshells hit the Blois whilst trying to hit the bridge. 


We think we have seen this name before - photo in the museum. 

Amboise and Chaumont-sur-Loire

We continued our Loire travels again today with our main visits being to Amboise and Chaumont-sur-Loire. We started the day in Angé, a very pleasant  village catering for a number of motorhomes each evening - very good for business. Met a Brit who was wasting no time in France - he just drives straight to his Portugal property from Calais - never seems to explore anything else on the way! Not like some!

We made our way to Amboise this morning with little in mind after yesterday's attack on the senses. Amboise  is another of the very scenic towns along the Loire with an imposing chateau overlooking the village. It was the royal residence of France back in the day (late 15th and early 16th centuries), with a direct link to Leonardo da Vinci who happens to be buried in the grounds of the castle.

The first duty of the day was to visit the market which was set up along the river embankment. This had to be one of the better weekly markets we have come across - mostly rubbish at many of them but today's market had a wide range of quality items - along with the regular fruit, veg and meats. The range of cheese across the market indicated just how popular cheeses are with the French. One supplier was just dealing with brebis (sheep) and chèvre (goats) cheeses - and they were delicious. 

Amboise had a number of galleries around the town all welcoming English speaking folk. We think they were  mainly interested in the American visitors who make the day trips from Paris to the Loire towns. Some of the art work was outstanding. 

We were fascinated with the "three" ladies enjoying lunch in Amboise. The lady on the left was waiting patiently to be served her own "pâté du canard" from the tray. 

Kelly, the Bichon.

We later drove on to Chaumont -sur-Loire where we had lunch by the river - a very popular place judging by the numbers stopping and picnicking there. Later we took a long walk to the chateau - another perched up on a rocky outcrop overlooking the river. The history of the chateau here links into the story of the chateau at Chenonceau. Château de Chaumont--sur-Loire was a royal residence with Catherine de Medici occupying it on the death of her husband,  the king. On his death she insisted that the dead king's mistress move from her chateau at Chenonceau to make way for Catherine. Part of the deal was that Diane de Potiere (the mistress) was to take over the Chaumont chateau. Aah, the French!

After another chateauring day, we moved on to the lovely and quite village of Chouzy-sur-Cisse for our overnight stop by a small lake. 

Château de Chenonceau

What a spectacular day!  Our visit to Château de Chenonceau was quite outstanding, expecting a very slick presentation and, perhaps, being a little sceptical of the marketing surrounding this château, we were very impressed with the whole experience of the visit. 

Château de Chenonceau is one of the most visited chateaux of the Loire. With over four thousand visitors a day we thought getting there early would see us clear of the crowd! It was a good plan because as the day advanced so did the visitors. Even with these numbers the streamlined organisation enable people to enjoy and not being on top of each other as you might expect. 

Château de Chenonceau is consisdered the ladies cháteau because the major contributors to its history and development were mainly women. From the seventeen year old wife of a king, Catherine de'Medici,  a mistress to the king, an enlightenment woman in Louise Dupin who saved Château de Chenonceau during the revolution, to Simone Menier who turned the cháteau into a hospital during WWI, each made major contributions to the what we see here today. 

Built on the site of an old fortified castle in the 16th century, Château de Chenonceau spans the River Cher a dividing line between occupied France and Vichy France in WWII. 

A very pleasant walk to the château. 

The Marques Tower in the foreground - what is left of the original fortified castle. 

Another angle - can't get bored with these pics. 

As you walked around the cháteau the sumptuous furnishings and decorations depicted the lifestyle of the very rich and powerful. 

Portrait of King Louis XV. 

"The Three Graces" in Francis I drawing room. 

Catherine de'Medici's bedroom with Flanders tapestries and a painting,"The Education of Live" by Correggio. 

The Gallery. 

The gardens tell us a great deal about the development of the château with stunning layouts and balanced symmetry. 

We later traveled a few km along the Cher to the village of Ange for our overnight stop. 

Château de Chenonceau - from the advertising brochure!

Montlouis-sur-Loire

A frustrating day! An overcast morning before 5-minutes of sunshine and then the drizzly rain came. We had hoped to spend some time in Tours where the annual Garlic and Basil Festival was being held. 

We arrived in Tours as the incessant rain, frustrated drivers (me), car park locating and accessing the city. We persevered for over an hour but it defeated us - first time this trip! So, with the rain still falling, we put our tails between our legs and hightailed it out of Tours! "Tours can go jump in the lake!"(Family joke)

The impressive Hotel de Ville in Tours....


... and with the fountain. 

We drove a little further along the road to where we had planned to stop yesterday, Montlouis-sur-Loire. Our travels along the Loire have taken us past numerous cave-homes - some today were quite elaborate and stylish in a troglodyte kind of way! Many of these caves in the hillside have businesses operating out of them. Mushroom farms and wine caves (cellars) seem to be a popular use. 

Our overnight stopping place was at one of these "caves" where we took the opportunity to sample a range of wines from the vineyard of  a very friendly and welcoming Frenchman. An interesting experience!

The wine cellars were situated in the caves that had been carved into the rocks over 700 years ago. These caves were originally a home.

The tasting room was the bedroom for the family- with straw to block the window areas during the winter. 

The larger cavities were basically used as storage areas for old disused equipment, but it is possible to see beyond  the clutter and view how a family lived in these caves. 

Beyond the clutter you can see the kitchen area when the caves was a home. 

Today the vintages are stored in various nooks around the caves. 

We tasted many of the varieties and found only the rosé to our liking. So we purchased a few bottles before retiring to the Hilton to have them with dinner.