Chateau de Chenonceau

Our last chateau in the Loire Valley was Chateau de Chenonceau.  It was built in the 15th century in Renaissance style and was built to be arched over the Cher River. This chateau has been maintained perfectly. It was just picture perfect. It is actually known as "the chateaux of the ladies" since it houses numerous famous women over its many centuries.

You approach the chateau down a beautiful tree lined path, then cross over three moats and two bridges to enter. The Marques tower in the front was original from the early 15th century and when the chateau was built in the 16th century, they kept the tower and built the rest of the palace in the same style.

 The chapel survived the vandalism of the French Revolution because the lady of the palace filled it with firewood and when the rioters came all they saw was wood - nothing royal or religious. The windows were blown out during World War II and are replacements done in the 1950s.

 If you looked in the corners you could see the detailed tile floors that used to be all over the chateau.

 There were fresh flowers all over the palace. They were in every room and were absolutely beautiful. This is Diane de Poitiers' bedroom, King Henri II's favorite lady. The four poster bed is from the Renaissance period.

 This is the green study - Catherine de'Medici's study in the 16th century.

 

 The whole palace was impeccably maintained and the kitchen was decorated as it would be in the grand days of the chateau. This was the dining room for employees only.

 A 16th century Italian cabinent.

 The Five Queens Bedroom - given this name in memory of Catherine de' Medici's two daughers and three daughters-in-laws. 

This is a Renaissance fireplace  and the tapestries are part of the 16th century tapestry that illustrates The Life of Samson.

 The river actually marked the border between free and Nazi France during World War II.

 Catherine de' Medici's Garden 

 Diane de Poitiers' Garden

 Second Floor Hall

 That is the old fortified castle and mill that was left when Chenonceau was built.

 There is also a vegetable and flower garden that was fun to walk through and take pictures of the beautiful and unique flowers.

 We couldn't figure out what these were...

Chateau de Chenonceau did not disappoint! We were very impressed by it as we were told we would be. This is one not to miss in the Loire Valley! 

Chateau des Arpentis

Well, Happy New Year's Eve! This is my third post tonight. It is New Year's Eve and  Eric and I are not doing anything tonight. Keeping it real, we had Whataburger for dinner (along with a nice bottle of French red wine). To be honest, we haven't had the best last couple of weeks. I don't know why I have an issue with skipping things on the blog... I want everything to go in order, which is why I am obviously trying to get all of our Europe trip blogged (yes, I know we went in September) so I can update the blog with real life real time stuff! I need to update on Ollie (he had major knee surgery), we went to several weddings, we had Thanksgiving and Christmas, and most recently we celebrated the life of Eric's grandmother. But for now, let's continue with the other chateau we stayed at in Amboise, Chateau des Arpentis. Once again, since our flight was canceled going to Paris and we scrambled to push everything back, our first chateau in Amboise could not accomdodate us another night, so we luckily found this place to stay in. I guess it was okay. (Sarcasm!)

 Umm even the covered the pool looks amazing. Bucket list item - to return here in the summer for a week and just relax and tour all of the beautiful chateaux in the Loire Valley and sit by this pool in the afternoons drinking a nice French white wine.

 The sitting area of our room. So quaint with the fireplace.

 The bathroom was to die for.

We all know I love a good bath tub and can't pass up the opportunity for a tub pic. I really should do a blog post on all the bath tubs I have taken my picture in.

Honestly this chateau was so cool. It was decorated exquisitely and the history of the place was just amazing. There was a very nice living room area you could relax in, with a fire place. Breakfast was served in a quaint little eating area. It was like out of a movie.  I was actually really sad we were just here for a night - hardly any time at all to enjoy the beauty that it was. The next morning we woke up, saw one more chateau and were on our way to Spain!

Chateau de Cheverny

After visiting the massive Chateau de Chambord, we continued on to Chateau de Cheverny. This one was on my list because I knew Eric would love it. Every night at 5:00 there is the feeding of the dogs. You see, Cheverny is still an active hunting lodge. There are 70 dogs - half English foxhound and half French Poitou and these dogs are the real thing. They are bred to have big feet and bigger stamina. Ollie would have no chance around them!

 This was before the feeding - they were all just hanging out in their kennel. I love the random one sitting very regally in the middle of the chaos.

 They get pretty worked up!

 Hi pretty doggie!

 Madness! This was like 2 hours before the feeding and they were already starting to get worked up.

 Besides the dogs, Cheverny has a beautiful garden. Eric went crazy taking pictures of the impeccably kept grounds.

 Cheverny - while not as large as some of the other chateaus - Cheverny is one of the most lavishly furnished of the Loire Valley. It was built from 1604 to 1634 and is uniquely uniform in style since it was built in a short time (yes, thirty years was short back then). The same family, the Hurault's, have owned the chateau since its beginnings and to this day the viscount's family still lives on the third floor. (Really?!)

 Just gorgeous.

 This is a prehistoric antler from some very rare animal. It was huge (and worth a bunch!)

 This is the wedding dress of the owner of the house who currently resides here. The only day that this chateau has been closed is the day of the family's wedding. They are open 365 days a year.

 Beautiful tapistries on all of the walls - these were there for warmth.

 Pictures of the family - it was really neat to see the mix of the old and the new.

How do I get in this family?!

 Ok, back to the feeding of the dogs. So the handlers remove the dogs from the feeding area. They go absolutely crazy while they put down raw meat, grains, and other food for the dogs to do a mass feeding. 

 They're fed once a day and the feeding (la soupe des chiens) is a fun spectacle that shows off their strict training. Before chow time, the hungry hounds fill the little kennel rooftop and watch the trainer bring in troughs stacked with delectable raw meat. He opens the gate, and they gather enthusiastically around the food and yelp hysterically. Only when the trainer says to eat can they dig in.

Getting a little rowdy! You have to watch the video to truly understand what this is like.

We had such a fun day, both at Chambord and Cheverny! That evening we went to dinner in Amboise at Chez Bruno. Again, I got to use more of my French skills since we were in a smaller town and our waitress did not speak a lot of English. It was hard, but neat to do. In Paris, I really did not have the opportunity to have to speak French. We had a really good dinner. I think I had fish and I cannot remember what Eric had, but it was very good. We sat next to a very nice English couple who had been RVing around France. It turns out they live in the very same city as some of Eric's relatives from England. Eric's family owns a butcher shop and this couple knew exactly where the shop was. What a small world. It really is humbling to be in a completely new city in a country we have never been to and run into someone that knows a relative.