Playing Catch Up, Part 2 of 4
Day 5: Wed. Oct. 26th -- AMBOISE, BLOISFrench banking discovery: I’m not allowed to withdraw more than 300 Euros in cash per week! (Not to shock anyone, but this little jaunt cost more than that.) Things worked out in the end. My France guidebook said there were buses and tours available for visiting area châteaux, but Mary Ann and I had difficulty finding them. We went to Blois ("blwah") in the hopes of finding a bus tour for the Sologne, which the book gave its own spread and made look very appealing. Nothing. But we did find a bus to the Château de Chambord. We had about six hours to explore this château, which was a great leisurely pace. It was originally built as a hunting lodge for François I, so there were taxidermy pieces in many rooms. Uhh… thanks for that. It’s known for the double-helix staircase (probably designed by da Vinci) which ensured that a person descending wouldn’t meet a person ascending. Huh. It’s also known for its illogical layout, as bedroom leads to bedroom leads to bedroom… the last one of which finally leads to the hall. :o) I think my favorite part of the day was sitting outside and enjoying the view while chatting with Mary Ann. Ahh.
see my “Chambord” photo set
Day 6: Th. Oct. 27th -- AMBOISE, TOURS, & four area châteaux
Since we wanted to cover some major château ground, we found a (not free) tour to take us around. Our driver was a guy named Pascal, who ended up being this touring business’s owner. He was really nice and spoke English very well (though Mary Ann and I invited him to speak French when the rest of the tourists weren’t around). He had narratives ready for just about everything we saw, which rendered our trip through beautiful country landscapes interesting as well. In the morning we hit Villandry and Azay-le-Rideau. Villandry is known for its grounds and we actually didn’t even pay to go inside since our time there wasn’t very long. Azay-le-Rideau was, in my opinion, probably the (heh, heh) homiest château we visited. Surprise, surprise: It was one of the few that was designed by a woman. (I’m not sayin’. I’m just sayin’. You know what I’m sayin’? And a shout out to the Shing.) I liked Azay’s size and the size of its grounds. The afternoon began with Chaumont, which may have been my favorite château (also designed by a woman). It wasn’t as touristy and was nicely kept. Chenonceau ended the day. It had sprawling grounds and was HUGELY touristy. Oh, and there was a wedding getting ready to happen! The bride, at least, was an American. Can you say, “Wow!”???
see my “Four Châteaux in One Day” photos
posted by Kate @ 2:51 PM
11 Comments:
"...which ensured that a person descending wouldn’t meet a person ascending." Reminds me of Irving Jr. High's divided stairways with directional arrows. A good idea in theory, but when I got to LHS I freaked out. "How do you keep from bumping into each other on the stairs?!" I wondered. What an idiot I was.
And an American girl getting married in France? I have to clear my throat... *cough*Daddy's money*cough.*
Again, wonderful pictures. What are the approximate dates for these chateaus (chateaux?)? Are they very old? And were villages originally built around them?
--Mom
Did you tour the hedge maze at Chenonceau? It was pretty small and closed (although we toured it anyway :) ) when I was there.
ANNE:
I’m right there with you, idiot. :o)
MOM:
Yes, the French plural of château is châteaux, both of which sound the same: "shah-toh". But the English plural is either chateaux or chateaus -- and, more importantly, you pronounce the end of both "shah-tohz". So you have to decide where your linguistic loyalties lie.
The construction dates for these five châteaux range from the 14th century to the early 1500s. Amboise was the only one with what I'd call a real town surrounding it, which makes sense because it was built back in the 12th century. Uhh... that's all I know. :o)
K-DUB:
We actually were on a pretty tight schedule at Chenonceau (Pascal was a man with a plan!), which was a shame because it's so freakin' extensive. I took a picture of the hedge maze (camera held above my head), but we didn't have time to enter in. By "small" did you mean not covering much ground or short? Because if you meant short, and what with you being not-so-short, that reminds me of a dream I had about an obstacle course with an ankle-high hedge maze which only *I* was wise enough to simply step over. Ha!
Every time I read the beginning of this post, I read "French baking discovery:..."
Bake is not the same thing as Bank. Unfortunately.
I think that comment indicates that it's time I get a new post up. Working on it!
Is the new post going to be about French baking discoveries? If so, I am VERY interested. :-)
BESS
I meant short. If I recall, it was fairly extensive, but its been a while and my memory is fading.
I'm laughing here at the fam comments. Clever all of you, really!
So have you memorized all those keyboard codes to get your accents on these blogs all fancy?
Those places are gorgeous! I feel the fresh air just looking at that grass.
Great pics, Kate!
Actually, Jessica, my secret is the Character Map (I'm almost always on my American-made laptop). I think the C.M. is on all relatively modern computers, following Start to All Programs to Accessories to System Tools to the Character Map -- or at least that's how it is on mine. I keep a short list of the ones I use often in a document on my desktop.
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