Laughter in the Loire!

Oh my gosh...the Loire Valley is lovely!!  It's no wonder that there are more than 1,000 castles and palaces in this area.  Medieval castles, were replaced by rich Renaissance palaces and hunting properties among 16th century royalty (kings, their ministers, and their mistresses.  Hundreds of these chateaus (castles) are now open to the public, owners now enjoy some financial assistance from the government, if they open their mansions to the public.  The Loire Valley is also the most important agricultural region in France.  And then there is also the Loire River that wends it way through the region...all making for beautiful vistas at every turn!  

We decided to focus on just a few of the major chateaus, as we want to have a relaxing pace, and there is just so much other rich sight seeing here (wineries to visit, Leonarado da Vinci's final home is here...and just way too many cute little villages to count!)

We headed off to Chateau Cheverny which is immaculately preserved and still actually being lived in full time.  The bottom 2 floors are open to the public, leaving the 3rd floor for the family living quarters.  The Hurault family has lived in this chateau since its origin and it is flawlessly maintained.  The grounds are amazing and we were free to wander around.  In fact that is something that has surprised us, visitors are left on their own...no docents in any rooms telling you not to touch things, nobody outside telling you to keep off the grass.

I loved the detailed ceiling beams.

Bunnies hiding everywhere!  They apparently decorated big time for the Easter holidays here.

Beautiful painted beam ceilings in most of the rooms!

The entire house was still decorated for Easter celebrations...bunnies everywhere!

 The current Viscount still goes hunting (on his private hunting grounds) twice a week and keeps 100 French hunting hounds.  We had heard that there was a "public dog feeding spectacle" at 11:30 each day; we were so disappointed to learn that they are no longer feeding the dogs in public (but we still got to see them lounging around).

What are the bros talking about?!

 

Now, let me throw in a sidebar about our car...our Citröen (the model is called a "Spacetourer" which cracks me up...and seems pretty appropriate!) is very comfortable, has tons of headroom, great visibility, and all that...but it has a HUGE design flaw.  We asked for an automatic transmission and that darn gear shift lever is in the most ridiculous, most awkward, most stupid place ever!  It is on top of the steering wheel, above the turn indicator/window wiper control.  In other words the wiper control gets hit every time you go to park, start, or reverse the car...so all day, our wipers were going on at random times, and as the day went on we all 4 got more and more giggly every time it happened.  So there we were, multiple times in the day...4 American senior citizens hysterically laughing to the point of tears and being unable to even speak!  I'm sure we were quite a site to anyone passing by!

Babette had found a family-owned winery that sounded fun (I mean, don't they all?!). It was on our way home so we stopped in for a tasting.  If you are ever in Amboise I highly recommend stopping by Plou et Fils winery which has been in the same family for 23 generations (since 1508).  That's what I love about France...the age, tradition and history of everything - it's not the new/shiny thing that is so valued.  We tasted quite a few, purchased 6 bottles, John and Babette walked through the vineyards, and we were on our way (hitting the windshield wipers of course!). Most amazing of all were the prices of the wine...6-12 euros per bottle!  We were shocked (and so pleased)...such lovely wines for such a low price!  All further questions about specific wine details should be directed to John and Babette...all I know is I got a bottle of rosé and a bottle of sparkling wine that were yummy!

Last stop of the day was back in Amboise, just a block from our "home" at the Château du Clos Lucé.  This château was built in 1471 and several French kings used it for their country residence.  in 1516, King Francis I invited Leonardo da Vinci to live here, so Leonardo crossed the alps, bringing with him the Mona Lisa, the Virgin and Child with St. Anne, St John the Baptist, and all his manuscripts...(this is how those 3 paintings ended up in the Louvre!).  The king just wanted Leonardo to be free to work, think and dream...so he set him up in this château with a beautiful view of the Château Amboise where the king spent time.  Leonardo passed away here at age 67 with King Francis I by his bedside.  The grounds are stunning, and they have life-size models of many of Leonardo's inventions placed throughout the garden/grounds.  there were lots of lucky French school children here on field trips...somehow I think the French kids get better field trips than our kids ever did in Walnut Creek!

This is a model of Leonard's aerial screw (or helicopter)...so interesting how many of his inventions were ahead of their time...

And we all loved how there were shear panels of Leonardo's art work peeking out through out the lovely gardens.  Talk about tranquil and peaceful!

What an awesome day, filled with such beauty and history...we are falling in love with the Loire Valley!