What About Sue and George: August 2013

The Loire Valley stretches from Orleans to Angers along the Loire River in central France just south of Paris. It holds France's extravagant royal past, the so-called Valley of the Kings. Rich in history, fertile in lands, and the beauty of ancient towns dotting the landscape has designated this area since 2000, as an Unesco World Heritage Site.

Chateau de Chambord is by far the largest castle we saw during our travels. King Francois I intent was to build it as a hunting lodge, completed by 1537. The park surrounding the castle encompasses 21 square miles and includes almost 20 miles of stone walls. Chambord has 282 fireplaces, 426 rooms and 77 staircases. And speaking of staircases, the most significant architectural aspect of Chambord is its double helix staircase history suggests was designed by Leonard da Vinci. Two people can walk apposing steps and never meet. Francois I wanted to reroute the Loire River beside the castle but the tasks became insurmountable so instead the River Cosson was rerouted. The chapel in the castle was significant during the Second World War in that collections from the Louvre Museum and Chateau de Versailles were stored here, the Mona Lisa among them.

Chateau de Chambord

Chateau de Chambord - double helix staircase

Even though each of the castles we visited were all built within 100 years of each other, each had their own unique style and varying architecture, and were impressive beyond belief, their probable intent.

Within close proximity to Chambord, is Chateau de Cheverny, completed in 1634. We took a tour of the inside and the surrounding gardens.

Chateau de Cheverny

The uniqueness of this castle is that there is a 90+ kennel of foxhounds. I have never seen a more relaxed bunch of dogs. They all seemed very content, sleeping the day away. Signs said, "Do not excite the dogs." But we could hear them barking from time to time on the grounds, not all of them, but a few. Their kennel was surprising clean and odor free given the number of dogs living there.

Chateau de Cheverny - foxhounds

Our room the prior night felt fit for a king or queen, an 18th century chateau converted into a hotel. We wished we could have stayed a bit longer, but so many things to see and do, onward west we traveled. It doesn't hurt to splurge once in a while, but really it wasn't a princely price.

Chateau of la Rozelle - our hotel for a night, exceptional staircase

Chateau de la Rozelle - our hotel for a night

Our homework for this trip told us we should bring our bicycles since the Loire Valley is a super popular biking area. There are over 1550 miles (2500 km) of signposted cycle routes. They are very well marked, some more difficult than others for sure. Remember we are in valleys so what goes up, must come down, UGH! After touring Chateau de Cheverney we checked into our hotel in Amboise and set out toward the town of Tours on bikes. Never quite making it there because we kept seeing interesting things along the way and stopped for a closer look.

The bike trail from Amboise to Tours is a phenomenal ride meandering mostly through vineyards and off road, asphalt rolling trails passing through small villages with little or no traffic. We spotted this gentleman putting his horses in for the night, and stopped to talk with him. We had a good conversation for about 10 minutes, he was so nice. We told him about ourselves and he told us about the beauty of the different castles in the area...and of course the wines, you cannot leave out the wines in this area!

In his bicycle's white box is bread and vegetables for the horse with
a bungee cord over the top so the horse could not steal it on their own.

Taking the horse to the barn for the night, what a life!

Our stay for four nights in Amboise, was a good base for us to tour other castles and towns, and of course bicycle some more in the countryside. Amboise is situated along the banks of the Loire River and each evening four or five hot-air balloons rose from the horizon and floated over the town. From our hotel door, we were able to bicycle to Chateau de Chenonceau, our favorite castle of all. It was a fantastic ride too, traveling through forests, large fields of sunflowers, wheat, and corn, small villages, and passing other bicycle enthusiast leisurely pedaling along.

Chateau de Chenonceau - magnificent

Chateau de Chenonceau

We spent the entire day at Chenonceau, touring the interior and surrounding gardens and walking the river banks, eating lunch within view of the castle. When originally completed in 1521, the castle did not stretch across the River Cher, only years later with several additions, is what we see of the castle today. Imagine looking out your living quarter windows and seeing a river below, WOW! We continue to pinch ourselves on a regular basis with experiences such as this.

Along with the furnishings placed in the castles to reflect the times, there were extraordinarily beautiful tapestries in all the interior spaces of the castles we visited. But this one struck me so. It is a 16th century Brussels tapestry inspired by the discovery of the Americas: silver pheasants from Peru, pineapples, orchids, pomegranates, animals and plants unknown in Europe until 1492.

Chateau de Chenonceau - 16th century tapestry

The River Cher was the line of demarcation during the Second World War. The passageway through Chenonceau allowed Resistance fighters to shuttle large groups of people into the free zone on the far side of the river. During the First World War, Chenonceau was a hospital that occupied all the rooms in the castle.

What is most interesting about staying and exploring Amboise is that Leonardo da Vinci lived and died there. Francoise I conquered Milan at the same time da Vinci was living there. Francoise I held Leonardo in high esteem and coaxed him into coming to France appointing him "First painter, architect, and engineer" to the king. Francoise I provided him the residence Chateau du Clos Luce, in Amboise, which is where da Vinci worked and died.

In the autumn of 1516 Leonardo da Vinci at the age of 63, crossed the Alps on the back of a mule with several of his disciples. He brought with him from Rome three of his favorite paintings in leather saddlebags including a Florentine lady painted from life, most likely the Mona Lisa.

Chateau du Clos Luce - Leonardo da Vinci's residence

Located in the basement of the residence are approximately 40 models created from Leonardo's drawing of ideas and inventions. Models of a swing bridge, parachute, paddle boat, helicopter, lifebelt, lifting jack, car, double hulled ship, military armored tank, ball bearing system and many more. What I found interesting is that the paddle boat could not have work at the time Leonardo imagined it - because at the time, energy or power, such as steam power, was not yet thought of to push the paddle boat. Leonardo was centuries ahead of his time.

Parc Leonardo da Vinci is both cultural, educational and fun for all ages. There are giant working models of his ideas, large scale drawings and paintings throughout the park. It is a place to experience nature the way Leonardo enjoyed the property during his last years.

Taking a break from visiting castles we walked the self-guided tour in the medieval town of Chinon. Once a royal residence, Joan of Arc came here in 1429 to acknowledge the king. There is a lot of history here, beginning in the 7th century, BC. The fortress on the cliff top reflects Chinon's important heritage.

Chinon, France - Joan of Arc

Chinon, France

Back on the castle trail our next stop was Chateau de Villandry, built in 1536. We decided to skip the interior tour and concentrate our time on the exterior and what a feast for the eyes it was, absolutely...stunningly...beautiful!

Chateau de Villandry

Our last castle stop was Chateau d' Azay-le-Rideau another gem of the Renaissance and built by 1527. Not as grand as the other castles we have been sharing with you, this castle sits on an island on the smaller River Indre, a setting that is more natural than opulent. We did not tour the interior and the exterior is currently under renovation. It is a beautiful setting nonetheless and we sat on our picnic blanket in the shade from the hot sun and enjoyed the moment as the sun was setting.

Chateau d'Azay-le-Rideau

On our last night we settled into the town of Sancerre. A town that sits high on a rocky peak offering panoramic views of the Loire River and the surrounding vineyards. Upon check-in to our hotel, the young fellow behind the counter ask if I was German. I said my husband's ancestors are from Germany. A bit later he was helping us park our bikes in an outside shelter and I could hear him asking George the same questions. So you have a German name...pause...you drive a French car...longer pause with confused look on his face...and you speak English. Yes, true, it would appear confusing to most!

We jumped on the bikes for one last ride along the Canal Lateral a la Loire and experienced similar sites on our bike trip in Auxerre, several weeks ago.

Sancerre, France

Sancerre, France - panoramic views of the Loire River

Sancerre, France

Here's some more photos at this link:
http://flic.kr/ps/285kjt

This weekend we returned to the town of Auxerre since our first visit was in the freezing cold weather. Auxerre sits along the picturesque Yonne River with two large churches rising up from its cityscape.

Auxerre, France

Auxerre, France - on one of the bridges a plaque honoring
Thomas Jefferson referencing the French-American friendship

Auxerre, France

But the thing we wanted to do the most in this region was ride our bikes on the towpath along the Canal du Nivernais. There are about 500 miles (800K) of cycle tracks in the Bourgogne region alone. This was our first time biking in this area of Bourgogne, previously we have cycled north of Dijon.

Map of Bourgogne region cycle paths

On Saturday we rode south of Auxerre about 15 miles to Sainte Pallaye. We initially thought we could ride from Auxerre to Clamecy without realizing the distance and of course considering the return to the car. But as it turned out, Sainte Pallaye isn't even a third of the distance to Clamecy. So there is so much more to discover in this corner of Bourgogne.

With numerous people on houseboats riding the canals and at the locks, you can hear conversations with the canal attendants about where people are from, and where they are going. There was a lady riding her bike with a freshly picked wild flower bouquet, and picnickers galore. Lots of fisherman too.
We passed several groups of people with saddlebags on their bikes and had to assume that they were traveling long distances. There are companies for hire to transport your bags from one location to another and reserve accommodations in advance along the towpath. It was picture perfect ride!

Here's some sites we saw along the way:

Canal du Nivernais - not sure what this was other

than a reenactment of by-gone-days in France

Canal du Nivernais - Chateau along the towpath

Canal du Nivernais

Canal du Nivernais - passing through the lock system

Canal du Nivernais

Canal du Nivernais - Sainte Pallaye, a canal attendant's home

Canal du Nivernais

Canal du Nivernais - home along the canal

Canal du Nivernais

We were recommended a fantastic restaurant for Saturday night, something way beyond our normal fare. Upon arriving to the restaurant, the hostess pointed to George's shorts and said, "Sir, we don't allow shorts to be worn in this restaurant." Oh jeez, we just drove 25 minutes from our hotel, we both looked at each other -What are we going to do now. But she said "Don't worry we have a pair of pants that you can wear."

As George was changing, a prior conversation while we were packing for the trip came to mind. Husband-"Do you think I should pack long pants." Wife-"It might be a good idea if we eat in a nice restaurant." In all fairness, you wouldn't have known George was wearing pants of the rental kind. The meal was incredible and the service was outstanding. The restaurant was located next to the Yonne River offering beautiful views from the terrace for our aperitif before we were taken to the dining area.

As previously mentioned we've been to this area before, but we didn't give the town of Chablis a second thought, I think because we saw tourist buses. Say no more. But this journey put us in Chablis near the end of lunch time. If I haven't said it before, I'll say it now. When in France, if you don't eat between 12-2:30, you are plumb out of luck for a decent meal or no meal-period, restaurants either close or stop serving (large cities don't count).

So we stopped and had a very nice lunch in a sun-filled courtyard. Chablis is an extremely small town but it is probably safe to say that its name is a draw for tourism. But even if it was named something else, it would be a must see in this region. In the heart of some of the best wines you can find, you will also find narrow cobble stoned streets winding through the town with several wine tasting locations in addition to several cute shops for finding that unique French memento.

Here's some photographs of Chablis:

Chablis, France

Chablis, France - a walk through tunnel

Chablis, France - love this exceptional sign work

Chablis, France

Our last stop on the way home was pure luck. We randomly plugged in Ancy-le-Franc into the GPS and interestingly enough discovered a castle. Chateau of Ancy-le Franc was built in the 16th century during the rein of Francois I and was designed by an Italian architect in the renaissance style. I was just reading about Francois I and Leonardo da Vinci, but I'll leave that for another blog.

The castle and the grounds are immaculate. We were able to take a self-guided tour, but there wasn't enough time to tour the grounds.