Chateaux of the Loire Valley.

First of all, I went to school this afternoon, despite being quite tired and it being the last day. Trudge trudge.... off I went. And when I got there I found out that most of the students were on strike, and Claudine and I had one student between us! Oh well, he got some fairly intensive tuition I guess you could say. :-)
But back to yesterday. As I had my last exam on Wednesday, and my services weren't required at school yesterday, I booked for Barbara and me to go on a chateau trip. She needed to do something touristy while she was here. There is a limit to how French you can feel whilst sitting in a very small room! We were lucky to get a booking as they close for the season on Saturday.
Louise had found a company called Acco-Dispo in the Lonely Planet, and I would endorse that recommendation. It's a pretty competitive market, so I said to the chap who was our guide - Pascal - that I would put the website address on my blog. Just in case you are planning a trip to France. And I'm sure that some of you must be! Anyway, it's www.accodispo-tours.com Have a look anyway!
We got up early and were on the train to Tours just after 7.30am. It was my first time in Tours, and I was quite impressed. Anyway, we got picked up at the Tourism Centre by Pascal, and there was a young Japanese couple in the van too. Incidentally, the weather gods were favouring us. Obviously we were dressed warmly, but it wasn't too cold at all - probably a tropical 7 or 8 I would think. Which was a huge improvement on the 0 - 2 we have been enduring. Anyway, our first visit was to the gardens at the Chateau de Villandry. Well, of course it's out of season, and nothing is flowering, but I still thought it was stunningly beautiful. I especially loved the ornamental gardens made from box hedging. (Barbara and I both got quite carried away and took zillions of photos there, so by the time we got to the last place my battery had done its dash!) It set things up nicely - we thought the trip was worth it just seeing the first place!


Next was a visit to Azay-le-Rideau. You can probably google all these places to get more info, so I'll just say a few bits. The state took over the ownership of this castle in 1905, after an interesting history of ownership, including Gilles Berthelot who became the Lord of Azay and acquired the chateau in that way in the early 1500s. He then became the general tax collector and Treasurer of France. It would seem that he collected the taxes in order to line his own pockets. Certainly his career and the redecoration of the castle flourished. I thought it was lovely, sitting on the Indre River as it does, but then again, I do tend to like chateaux regardless. Easily impressed. But it was nice. In hindsight I think I should have taken notes, becasue the pictures I have in my mind are merging with those of the next chateau. Suffering a little from the ABCs, but it was all good!

We then went back to Tours, had a quick bite to eat and a brief look round the shops. Back to the van and we had more patrons for the afternoon. In fact the van was full, which is unusual for this time of the year. Our first port of call was Chenonceau, the most frequently visited chateau in the Loire Valley. It really is quite magnificent, and a real bonus was being there in December - the Christmas decorations were absolutely fantastic! Someone is employed year round and fulltime to do the flowers and special arrangements, such as for Noel. Stunning. It is the only castle anywhere I believe that actually spans a river - the Cher. I'll let you look up all the stuff about Henry II, his wife Catherine and his mistress Diane de Poitiers. Suffice to say, it really is a wonderful castle, my favourite parts being the gallery and the kitchen. (I re-read that and found I had used magnificent 3 times so had to think of some other superlatives!) Owned by a very rich family who made their fortune in chocolate I believe. What a life! Anyway, well worth a visit.



The next visit was to Amboise Chateau. It has a rich history too, as of course they all do. It sits on top of a hill and has wonderful views of the Loire Valley, including the Loire River. There is a little chapel in the grounds, and this has gained renown due to the presence there of Leonardo da Vinci's grave. Whether he actually is buried there is a bit of a grey area, as there are other claimants. But until it's proved otherwise, I'm happy to believe he is at Amboise! As are the locals I'm sure. The photo of the view is from the top of the Amboise Chateau - the others are of Chenonceau; the gallery, the kitchen and a bit of detail in the design.

The reason that old Leo is buried there is that he spent the last three years of his life in Amboise, and the final place we visted was the Chateau du Clos Luce, his home. It was certainly interesting in itself, but I think I mostly enjoyed the rooms given over to a display of his models. I saw the Da Vinci exhibition at Auckland Museum and was amazed at his genius then, and continue to be. Really, I think he invented just about everything!
My camera had run out of puff by then, as had the day and the weather. It was quite dark by the finish and had started to drizzle lightly. But what a day! It was really worthwhile. We had a meal at a Chinese place then got the train back to Poitiers, another 'tired but happy' ending!
Barbara flew out just after lunch today, so it will take a bit of getting used to the quiet again. But I've got a few things to do, and then I'm off to Grenoble on Tuesday. And I need to rehearse saying to the hairdresser on Monday, "Please don't blow wave it into an old lady style like last time!"