Chateau de Chenonceau and Chateau de Chambord

If you've ever looked into visiting the Loire Valley, you'll have found that there are dozens of beautiful chateau's to visit.  The trick is picking the best ones...or, more importantly, the best ones that suite your family.  Some are rich in drama with stories of war and love, others are more simple.  Some are fully decorated (some ostentatiously so), some are mere ruins.  It's a touch choice...if you're smart, you'll ask someone from France (or that region) to give you some tips...or, if you're like me...you spend hours on end researching where to go.  But, I must say, my hard work paid off.  In our nine days in the Loire Valley, we saw a total of 5 chateau's (one's that we actually toured the inside) and not including the Palace of Versailles...which, we went back towards Paris to see.
Now, the next hard part was trying to figure out which ones to see on which days.  We woke that first morning in our chateau to brilliant blue skies and sunshine.  For my selfish reasons (getting wicked good photos) I wanted to see a couple of the chateau's that were really cool looking.  (even though we had promised Sara we'd see the Sleeping Beauty castle that day) 
After a gorgeous breakfast of eggs, bacon and champagne...we packed up, grabbed the tour book and piled in the car.  First stop...Chateau de Chenonceau.  

This chateau was just flat out beautiful to me.  I loved the way it was positioned over the river.  The chateau has been rebuilt a few times...but the one standing now dates back to 1521.  There is a neat history of ownership, and it ended up in the hands of Queen Catherine de' Medici.  She was known for spending a fortune on elaborate parties and the chateau itself.  The first ever fireworks show was held there in 1560.  During World War I the gallery was used as a hospital ward; during the Second War it was a means of escaping from the Nazi occupied zone on one side of the River Cher to the "free" zone on the opposite bank.  (for more history: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ch%C3%A2teau_de_Chenonceau)
Other than the Palace of Versailles, this is the most visited chateau in France.
The girls were totally stoked about seeing "castles" and they enjoyed running from room to room looking at the decor.  Of course, they could care less about the history and therefore mommy and daddy didn't get to do as much looking as they would have liked.  (Matt kept trying to read about the different items in the rooms...then to find that me and the girls were three rooms ahead of him..he gave up in the end)
The gardens were lovely...even though we were a bit early for all the spring blooms.  The best part was that there was hardly anyone there at all!! 

We grabbed a bite to eat at the stables...turned restaurant of course.  And planned where to go next.  The other chateau that got rave reviews was Chambord.  It didn't seem too far away, so off we went.  

When we arrived we found we had precious little time to see the chateau..it was nearing closing time (big bonus?  only a handful of people were still milling about).  Once I told Sara were had to hurry to see it all...well, that just gave her a total second wind.  We flew through the castle in hopes of seeing every room.  This place is massive...SO much bigger than Chenonceau.  Up and down flights of stairs...in and out of rooms...snapping shots as I went.  We actually had a lot of fun...and managed to see everything...if only briefly.

A bit of info about the chateau:

Chambord is the largest château in the Loire Valley; it was built to serve as a hunting lodge for François I, who maintained his royal residences at Château de Blois and Château d'Amboise. The original design of the Château de Chambord is attributed, though with several doubts, to Domenico da Cortona. Some authors claim that the French Renaissance architect Philibert Delorme had a considerable role in the château's design, and others have suggested that Leonardo da Vinci may have designed it.  (more history: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ch%C3%A2teau_de_Chambord)

One of the coolest features is the double helix staircase...supposedly designed by da Vinci himself.  This unusual stairway consists of two parallel stairways wrapped around one another, where two people can walk up and down without ever meeting.  

I wish we would have had more time to check everything out, but all in all it a great time.

  

With too very tired kids, we left the chateau and headed back to our own "little" chateau.  (compared to Chambord our chateau would be a condo.)  But first, we had to find food (and wine)  Found a local grocery store and stopped in.  Talk about a unique experience!  At least here in Saudi most things are in English as well as Arabic.  In France...french.  duh.  But, it made shopping a bit hard.  Still we managed to get stuff for breakfasts and some dinners (lots of pork products in there let me tell you.)  Not to mention that Bordeaux wine in France is just silly cheap compared to the States.  We didn't mind taking on the task of sampling the local varieties. ;)  Our first dinner in the chateau was a nice pasta spiked with lardons (aka bacon) and mushrooms.  (oh yeah, and salad)

(okay, so not my best photo, but I was in a hurry...wine was waiting for me! oh, and food)

Another day in the books...more chateau's to see tomorrow!

Off to the Loire Valley

Chateau La Noue

Our travels continued as we left Paris by TGV train and headed out to the Loire Valley.  The girls had so much fun on the train...not that they looked out the windows much, they were too busy coloring princess pictures.  :)
We arrived at the Tours train station and headed outside to catch a taxi.  We needed the taxi to take us to the Tours airport where the car rental place was located.  In my mind I pictured us walking outside to a line of waiting taxi's ready to whisk us off.
Instead, I walked outside to a line of waiting people.  There were a grand total of 4 taxi's in service.  We waited for a good half hour...not fun. 
We got to the car rental place...it was closed.  We were late and the guy had given up waiting for us.  Thank goodness for another kind French taxi driver...he called the number on the door for us and got the guy to come back.  Car loaded up, kids buckled in, iPad map up and running...time to find our home for the next nine days.
Thankfully we had good directions and we were able to get to Chateau La Noue without any issues.  But, upon arrival...once again...no one was there.  We drove around a bit, tried doors..and then finally a gentleman came walking up.  He was the owners brother.  He spoke very little English, but he was very kind.  He showed us around the part of the chateau that we'd be staying in and then offered to show us the rest.  The girls had found their room, complete with toys, and were beyond happy.  Matt and I set off with John to see the rest of the family castle.

It's a very pretty chateau that they are in the process of renovating...themselves.  It's a big project.  But, we love seeing old homes and enjoyed the tour.  John even grabbed a bottle of wine from the "wine cellar."  (bottles of wine lined up on the steps leading to the basement level)  He told us a lot about his family (in broken English and bits of French we picked up)  Finally we asked him where we could find food.
The chateau is off by itself...it's not really part of any town.  The closest town is very small and we were told there wouldn't be much there.  The next town would be bigger with a grocery store and restaurants.  But, as John informed us, it's Sunday...and well, good luck finding something open.  Instead we decided to head to Amboise.  A large town about 15-20 min away.  It is also home to Chateau Amboise...and I really wanted to see one of the chateau's that were on my list while in the Lorie Valley.  
We set off into the French countryside.  It was so beautiful.  Green fields for miles...small towns, villages, old and new homes, old churches, huge fields of golden flowers...it was just wonderful.  As we arrived in Amboise, the beautiful chateau loomed out from across the river.  We crossed the bridge to the main part of town and it was like a ghost town...everything was closed...there were hardly even any people about...we drove around and around looking for ANY restaurant that was open.  Finally we gave up and crossed back over the bridge...then I spotted a restaurant that looked to be open...we pounced.  It was a little bar that served appetizers (no main dishes) so, we ordered a bunch of different app's and a bottle of wine.  Best part was the view of the chateau across the river all lit up in the night sky.

Back home to the chateau.  Matt managed to find a place selling wine, so kiddos off to bed, and the hubby and I curled up on the couch to watch a movie.  
It had been a long day that started off leaving Paris and ended in our own little chateau.  The following day we would head out to see some of the famous chateau's of the Loire Valley!  (post to come!)

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