The Loire Valley

Today we started the drive through the Loire valley. Maybe it was the route we took, but at no time did we see or feel like we were in a valley. We have only planned on visiting 2 castles out of the many that are here. Chateau Chambord is one of them and is the first one for today. From our rest stop it was roughly a 60 km drive to get to Chambord. But not even 30 km in did we spot our first castle. Sully-sur-Loire was definitely worth a stop so we pulled into the parking lot and started to take some pictures and walked into the grounds. We did not plan to go inside though, as almost all the castles in the Loire valley charge from 7 euros and up. This one was no different. It was a truly magnificent castle with a moat and everything.

We moved on feeling pretty excited about the drive and it wasn’t too long after that we were driving in Chambord’s nature reserve on route to the castle itself. Chambord castle is truly remarkable. Julie felt that it looked more like a church then it did a castle. To its defense, it was built as a castle but used as a hunting lodge. This is the first castle we have been in that actually uses the fireplaces. This proved to be a great way to warm up. We spent a few hours wandering around the castle, a few of the rooms were done up while some were stripped bare. On the third floor was an exhibit of all the products that bare Chambord’s name. It was really amusing to see and to learn what they did to sell to the Americans. The castle was truly great to see.

I decided I wanted to see the other castles mentioned in the book so we added them to our route. These were Chateau de Cheverny and Chateau de Chaumont. But in the end, they weren’t as accommodating as Chambord. High gates and bushes made it impossible to see. Whereas at Chambord, you could walk the grounds for free. On our way to Chinon we spotted another small chateau and took some pictures, though we didn’t get out of the van this time.

The campsite in Chinon is located directly across from the castle. It would have been great views if it weren’t for the huge restoration taking place. They are planning on rebuilding the entire castle to its former glory by 2010. When complete, it will be pretty impressive. We opted out of seeing this one even though Joan of Arc spoke to the Dauphin here. I decided today, since it was so nice out, I would get Julie to shave my head. I haven’t bic’d it yet but this is the closest haircut I have ever had (to my memory) so I might not do that. Julie says I look younger and completely different from behind and isn’t sold on it and neither am I frankly.