| Day 1: London to Paris Day 2: Versailles Day 3: Tours Day 4: Châteaux Day 5: Bordeaux |
Day 4: Beaucoup de châteaux! Friday, 12 September, 2003 Our original intention upon traveling to Tours was to travel between the city and various châteaux via the local train system. After investigating the options, however, it became clear that we would not be able to see as many châteaux as we'd hoped via this method. Using the 'when's-the-next-time-we'll-be-in- the-Loire-Valley' logic, we decided to drop a few extra Euros on an all day excursion to visit four châteaux and a bonus visit to a wine cave for a wine tasting. When we arrived at 9:15 Friday morning at the designated spot we were a little surprised to find that, instead of the tour bus we had envisioned, a Volkswagen Caravelle mini-van awaited us. Next to the van was our driver/tour guide for the morning, Phillipe, who drove in a way that had me frequently searching for an emergency set of rosary beads. The ride in itself was quite an experience--I'm convinced that to drive in European cities you must be either exceptionally talented or certifiably insane. I'm not sure which of these categories Phillipe fell into. (I'm telling you, there's a very particular rush to be found in passing three cars at once while riding in a VW minivan down a narrow lane.)  A covered arbor in the gardens of Villandry. The first stop of the morning was the château de Villandry. On Phillipe's recommendation we skipped visiting the inside of the châteaux in favor of concentrating on the gardens. Indeed, if the gardens of Chenonceau had an Alice in Wonderland vibe, Villandry was a full out through-the-looking-glass experience. The flowers were gorgeous, the herb garden was extremely aromatic, and the entire effect was just fantastic. |
 A sculpted tree with the château de Villandry in the background.  Hmm... kinda makes you want to play croquet. |
After leaving Villandry we
traveled to the nearby château Azay-le-Rideau. The
placement of this smaller château couldn't be better--a
renaissance island in the middle of the river Indre. To be
honest, I was a bit underwhelmed by the interiors here--they seemed
dark and uninspired. That may very well be because of on going
renovations within or, perhaps, because Chenonceau's interiors set a
hard standard to follow. I can't deny, though, that the
craftsmanship throughout is excellent. Stone work in the ceiling of the great staircase at Azay-le-Ridea. We returned to Tours for lunch and, after a quick sandwich, re-embarked to the east. (The first two châteaux had both been to the west of Tours.) On the way to our first stop, the château de Chambord, we stopped to get a view of the château d'Amboise from across the river Loire. The Chapelle St-Hubert on the château's grounds is said to be the burial grounds of Leonardo da Vinci. A naked statue of him in bronze is placed across the river. ("No ladies can go to see the statue," our tour guide said. "It's too well endowed.") I did not expect to be blown away by Chambord--after all, I had seen Versailles only two days before and figured the enourmous-size trick had played itself out already. What I wasn't counting on was the astounding beauty and elegance of the design--accompanied by an immense complexity of details. I could, without much encouragement, go on for a great length of time about Chambord--I'll do my best not to. Leonardo da Vinci, it is said, assisted king Francois I with the initial design for the château. The building is laid out around an incredible double helix staircase that is placed in the exact center of the keep. Each of the three main floors is exceptionally tall--at least 20 some feet--and all of the bedrooms have either four or six closets, often arranged on two different levels. The most interesting fact about this château, though, is how utterly unsuccessful it has been as a residence. That is to say, if you added up all the nights its been occupied by its various owners over its nearly five hundred years of existence it comes to about 12 years. For a large picture of Chambord taken from a courtyard balcony click here. (Ben can be seen taking a picture.) We explored the château for well a couple of hours, stumbling across endless rooms. One of the most surprising was a gallery of hunting trophies (read: mounted skulls with antlers) all shot in the early 20th century by a female hunter. We left Chambord to visit the last château of the day: Cheverny. Cheverny was different from the other châteaux we saw in that it remains a private residence of descendants of the original owners. Unlike their ancestors, however, the current residents live in apartments on the top floor of the building leaving the grand rooms on the first two levels open to the public.  The château de Cheverny. The interiors of Cheverny are markedly different from the other châteaux we had visited. This is due both to the fact that Cheverny dates to the early 17th century (rather than 16th) and to the fact that, as an actual residence, it features stylistic influences all the way up to the 20th century. Very charming, really. The real stars of Cheverny, however, are the puppies. For hunting purposes the owner keeps a pack of 100 or so hounds. They get fed every day at 5pm sharp. And damn are they ever hungry. Here they are. We had a nice time tasting wine at the Vouvray cave and then it was back to Tours. |
 The château d'Amboise seen over the Loire. The small spire surrounded by flags in the middle of the picture is atop the chapel in which Leonardo da Vinci is buried.  The double helix stair case at the ground floor of Chambord.  The giant spiral staircase breaks through the roof to create the tall spire in the center of the building. |
