Visiting Chenonceaux
Tuesday, May 02, 2017
Chenonceaux, Centre, France
Left the hotel today at 8:30 AM for the 1.5 hour drive to the Chateau at Chenonceau. We crossed the Cher River just before the chateau and it was Sunny for a change. This chateau is unusual in that the construction was over seen by women starting in the 1500's. The chateau spans the river and is surrounded by beautiful gardens. There are many priceless tapestries hanging in the chateau along with period furniture in many of the rooms. The beds are small although some of the kings were tall, but people in this era did not sleep in a reclining position but rather sitting up. After spending two hours at the Chateau, we drove to a viewpoint to see the Amboise Chateau from a park featuring a reclining statue of Leonardo de Vinci. Then it was off to Montlouis for lunch in Le Cave Restaurant. We became troglodytes since the restaurant is actually dug into the cliffs and is a real cave. They had a fire burning in the center of the restaurant so we selected the table closest to it to warm up. Above the restaurant there is a home dug into the face of the cliff. The lunch finale was a baked Alaska. Next we went to the gardens of Chateau Villandry just outside the town of Tours. The gardens are meticulous and consist of hedges, flowers and vegetables. It started raining during our walk of the gardens, but we survived. Then went back to the hotel where we rested for awhile before going to a small supermarket to buy wine, fabulous bread, cheese and salami for a light bite tonight and lunch on the road tomorrow. It is an early night since we hit the road at 8 AM tomorrow for Mont St Michel.
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2025-02-11
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jberkow
2017-05-03
Hi Guys,
Just got caught up with your blog. Great, as usual. I haven't heard of most of the places you are visiting. Enjoy! Enjoy!
Love,
Jeff and Kathy xxx
Mike and Joyce
2017-05-05
Hi Jim and Diane. You're in my country! We have friends in Amboise and love the places you went. Have a great time