Of Châteaux And Gâteaux

Our now done and dusted summer holiday was spent in a new to us area of France. This year we ventured further south to the Loire Valley. This region appealed especially to himself who who has long wanted to see some of the famous châteaux. Our comfortable cottage turned out to be in a central location ideally situated for touring the area. What is more we had access to a television set for the all important World Cup Final. The weather was fine if a little too hot and humid for me - a new word entered my French vocabulary ~ 'canicule' i.e. a heatwave. Fortunately a cracking thunderstorm eventually cleared the air and made being a tourist more comfortable. 

So the stage was set for a week of château visiting ~  images of endless spiral staircases, tapestries, four poster beds, paintings and statues as well as whirlwind of historical facts are still circling around my brain. First there was Chenonceau which was the finest of the bunch according to the literature I had read beforehand. This turned out to be the biggest disappointment. Not only was it unbearably crowded (maybe our fault for visiting on a Sunday afternoon) but part of the chateâu was covered with scaffolding and tarpaulins - what a shame. Himself and I agreed that perhaps the best method of visiting would be by boating under the arches which span the river. Still there was a most interesting kitchen garden to stroll in afterwards ~

Then on to Amboise from its lofty perch high above the river ~

Moving on to Valençay where we were treated to a most entertaining open air performance ~ 

This was followed by a trip to Chaumont-sur-Loire which was the most enjoyable visit for me. Now I wonder if this could be because the chateâu is the setting for an annual garden festival. More of this magical setting and the garden festival in another post ~

From Chaumont to the smallest chateau we came across all week - the chateâu at Fougeres-sur-Bievre  ~ 

We rounded the week up with a visit to Chambord which is the largest chateâux of the Loire Valley  and according to our French host the most French of the chateâux. We gave up trying to count the rooms ~ 

   

Of course such dedication to the cause required some energy and what better to fortify us than consumption of gateâux - as usual France did not disappoint ~