Last Day in The Loire Valley

We made several shorter stops on this last day in the Loire area. We loved wandering in a little town, shopping at an art shop, where we bought sketches of the Chateaus and enjoyed talking with the artist, then visited a church where Joan of Arc had her vision, saw one other charming garden, then on to Chateau de Villandry. I seem to recall that we were relying heavily on 'Freda', our GPS, this day =].

The gardens of Villandry are "justly famous", and we felt we needed to see them! The Garden Lover's Guide to France also says it is " inadvisable to go there in August" so on this cool day in September we were rewarded with an afternoon of blissfully quiet wandering. It is an amazing crazy-quilt with formal lines, and is best viewed from the high terraced walkways surrounding it.

To quote again~ Villandry occupies a fine position overlooking the river Cher. It is an ancient place~there was a great house here in the middle Ages~but the present Chateau was started in 1536. The garden dates from the early 20th century, though it honors the spirit of the Renaissance...

The management and maintenence of a garden such as this is of bewildering complexity. The logistics of raising and planting the numbers of annual plants are awe-inspiring. The curious thing is that the place, which is flawlessly kept, has an atmosphere of serenity, with no sense of stress or srain.

Birthday~Part 2

After saying goodbye to our favorite Chateau, and walking back to our hotel in the dusk, we enjoyed a fabulous French dinner, served by our wonderful hosts. It was an unforgettable way to end my birthday! I'm sure I'll never have another quite like it. Shannon had brought cards from everyone back home, and sweet drawings from the kids,{ I was missing all of them }. Holly called on the phone, Lorent served us Champagne and sang Happy birthday in French...well it was all amazing!

Chateau Chenonceaux

This amazing Chateau was in the little town in which we were staying although we couldn't see it until we actually went there. {It's hard to explain the lay-out and all.}

It is justly famous~a stunning Renaissance building to which, in the mid-16th century, Diane de Poitiers added a brilliant wing, in the form of a galleried bridge spanning the river Cher. Her garden was also famous, and is one of the best documented of its period.

We saved this breathtaking 'Chenonceaux' as a treat for my birthday, knowing that it would be fabulous! We pretty much spent the whole day there~inside, outside, gardens, potager, IPod tour, history, little picnic in a secluded corner~yes fabulous, fabulous!

Our Favorites

One of our favorite chateaus was one that was actually still being lived in. Therefore, we didn't tour the inside, but had a rather interesting experience there.

It was being run as a winery by the Count who owned and lived in it. We met him and he immediately sent us into this funny cellar-like room to watch an ancient flick about the making of wine barrels. (Charley Chaplin like, but in French !)

We emerged from the 'theater', much more knowledgeable about barrels =] . He handed us a notebook with explanations about the grounds and gardens,( in English, thank heavens) which we enjoyed exploring on our own, thankyouverymuch. It was actually very charming! A pigeon-coop and chapel each in their own, almost matching, domed buildings, covered in brilliant red Virginia Creeper, wonderful gardens, and a little glass greenhouse.

We were the only ones there. That was part of the charm. {Since we have this thing about tourists, you know.}

Chateaux~Some Details

As I said, we loved the chateau. We were so glad to have the leisure and independence to explore on our own. Here are some crazy-quilt collages that I have put together. The extraordinary variety in the architecture, roof lines, and interiors astounds us.
{They are so full of intrigue and passion, and are woven into the whole, intricate history of France in such a way, as to make us realize our pathetic ignorance.} But we'll leave that alone for now and just enjoy their amazing aesthetic!

Chateau of France

The Loire area of France, which we are now in, contains the greatest number of Chateau and is blessed with a climate that allows beautiful gardens to flourish. The area boasts some of the finest, and most irresistibly attractive architecture in all of France and the rich alluvial soil has provided agricultural wealth for hundreds of years.


It's impossible to describe the surreal feeling when approaching one of these stunning Renaissance buildings. One feels in a fairy tale. I don't think the photos can do justice!
Here is a quick view of 3 of our very favorites. More details in the next few days.

A bit of 'surreal' editing of my own on these photos :) . Maybe we really were just dreaming after all!

Each one has a charm and character all it's own and we visited about 12 in the week we stayed here, exploring the gardens and interiors.

Rain and Fog In Loire

We get a slow start on our first day in Chenonceaux... it's raining and we're enjoying our cosy inn. So finally we walk out in our little town and are very charmed but get very wet...we'll try driving.

We pass this chateau in the fog and stop for some photos. Beautiful but not open to the public~it's a private hotel.

This little Pagode de Chanteloup is within easy driving so we'll start with it. We climb the 150 step, circular, ancient, staircase to the top.Whew! Great view, though and we're the only ones here. This is not exactly a chateau { just what is left of one and it's surrounding park-land} but we'll start on the real ones tomorrow.