The next morning, Mom and I walked next door to the local boulangerie, arriving about 5 minutes before they opened. The smells were incredible. There was a bit of a communication gap, but it’s not too hard to end up with croissants and pain au chocolats when you are in France. It may have been the freshness, or the setting, or the fact that they were the first ones we had in France, but they were by far the best we had the entire trip. We made a short walk looking for coffee, but decided to wait until we were on the road for the caffeine jolt.
We made a 40 minute drive through the French countryside to Chateau de Chambord; Francois 1st’s hunting lodge and inspiration for Beast’s castle in Beauty and the Beast. I drove past the turn-in to the “parking lot” so that we could enjoy a scenic view of the chateau. That’s what I told everyone. Then I turned around and went back to the parking lot. We had not got our caffeine fix, so we stopped at a small cafe as we walked in. We had Americanos and hot chocolates outside the old converted stables before making our way to the entrance.
We decided to do the audio guides for this one. We wondered around the expansive rooms and played on the double helix winding staircase until we ended up on the roof. The view was spectacular and the close up views of the architectural details of the many spires kept us busy for awhile. The graffiti from the 17th century piqued the girls’ interest.
We walked out far enough to get a comprehensive view of the entire chateau. We walked back by a model in a photo shoot and made our way to the car. We had noticed what appeared to be bullet pockmarks on the outer walls as we came in, and did some quick research to find that part of the history included housing the Mona Lisa and Venus De Milo during WWII.
We headed to Amboise for lunch and to make a quick stop at Clos Luce, the home of Leonardo da Vinci for the last three years of his life. We took in views of the Chateau de Chaumont from across the river on the drive to Amboise. We drove through the city center and found a nearby parking area. The chateau is elevated, and the street on the opposite side of the river is shadowed by impressive walls. There was a street fair going on, so we got to enjoy some music and food without having to make a decision on a restaurant. We ate mostly sausage and potatoes, with everyone giving all the food a try. We grabbed some Nutella crepes and then strolled through the other vendors. We were intrigued and then sold on a couple tourteau fromager, a burnt cheesecake. We added a couple of large Breton biscuits and made our way up the hill towards Clos Luce. The road narrowed between shops and homes on the right and cliffs on the left. Many homes and buildings were built into the cliffs. We stuck our head in and looked at the front of da Vinci’s last abode, and surveyed the large grounds. There were several life size models built from his notebooks.
We then made the drive to Chenonceaux (the town) to visit Chenonceau (the chateau). While what made Chambord impressive was the size, the setting of Chenonceau is what makes it the 2nd most visited chateau in France, behind Versailles. It straddles the River Cher and has predominately been appointed by women, making the interior much more inviting. The size coupled with the number of visitors can make it feel very small, but we fought the crowds to visit all the rooms. The kitchen was straight from Greene’s dreams. They had a pulley system to receive supplies from the river below.
It also had historical importance during WWII, serving as a route from one Nazi occupied side of the Cher to the “free” zone on the other bank. The Germans kept a gun trained on the chateau in case it became necessary for them to destroy it.
The grounds also included a hedge maze that was filled with giggles from many families. The kids had fun trying to race to the middle.
We left the chateau and made the drive back to Chemery. We walked past the WWI memorial that all French towns seem to have. It listed many names, with some grouped by battle. We went to a small restaurant for supper, but they said they were full and directed us to the bar/restaurant down the street. The owners – I think husband and wife – spoke little English, so we opted to go with pizzas. We communicated with pointing, guessing, broken English, fractured French, and pictures. A family sitting close joined in the fun and supplied the English word if any of them knew it. The wife started bringing the ingredients out to match to words, and also employed Google translate on her computer. We ended up with some delicious pizza and plenty of laughs. We turned in that night to the sound of the church bells next door. I’m sure they were there the night before, I was just too tired to notice.
From Tennessee To Texas to Saudi Arabia 