Today is the day we are to visit some of the chateaus in the valley. We get a little later start than we had planned. The garbage collectors wake me up at 4:00 AM and although I am able to get back to sleep an hour or so later, I oversleep. Pam's devotion to the e-mail experience also delays us somewhat.
We take the train to Blois. I still can't pronounce it correctly but it is anything but "blah." We walk to the chateau which is slightly uphill from the train station. The vistas are beautiful. I take a number of photos which you can see on my photo album page under "Loire Valley." The chateau is beautifully preserved and has a fascinating history. I, of course, take more pictures.
When we complete our tour, we walk through the center of town to the train station. The town of Blois has configured a number of walks highlighting different aspects of its history and attractions. Each walk has a different symbol attached to it. These symbols are inlaid into the cement of the sidewalks so it is easy to follow the correct path. Because of this, Pam and I make it safely back to the train station without getting lost. This is where we are to board a municipal bus that visits both the Chambord and Cheverney chateaus. We like the idea of being dropped off to explore on our own and then re-boarding the same bus to go to the next chateau. It's better than using scheduled busses or even a "hop on, hop off" tourist bus.
Chambord is overwhelming: hundreds of rooms, dozens of stair cases, many turrets and walkways and 500 years of history. It took almost a hundred years just to finish its construction. In the hour and a half we have, we can barely scratch the surface. I particularly like the royal apartments of Louis XIV. The copies of Italian paintings are the least worthwhile attraction in my opinion. We only get lost three or four times while exploring the place. The grounds are also beautiful but we have no time to walk them so we just appreciate them from afar as we stand on the chateau walls.
We move next to Cheverney. If Hollywood created a Chateau, it would most likely look exactly like Cheverney. It's near perfect. My Loire Valley photos do a better job of illustrating this than my words can. Cheverney is still owned by the original family and they have done a magnificent job of maintaining it. Aside from the main house which is exquisitely furnished, the lawns and gardens are incredible. The trophy room has hundreds of antler racks hanging from the ceiling and the walls. The owners keep over a hundred dogs for the hunt which is done European style as opposed to the U.S. style of stalking. They must get permission every year from the government to take a certain number of deer so that those that are left can survive on the available food. We are sorry to go when we have to board the bus back to Blois.
The train we take to Orleans is a very local, local. It stops many times and gives us an opportunity to see small villages and settlements. We arrive in Orleans very hungry and immediately head for an Alsatian brasserie we had scoped out previously, La Cigogne. The choice turns out to be a definite improvement over the previous night's venue both in terms of food and service. I order sausage with choucroute. Choucroute is sauerkraut that's been rinsed in white wine. For my palate, it is far more edible than German style sauerkraut. Pam has a salad as usual and also samples my plate of goodies. I eat and drink so much, I can't even consider dessert but it's worth it.
I have trouble sleeping because I seem to have picked up an allergy to something in the Loire Valley air. I think it's the wheat fields that trigger my sneezing, watery eyes and headache. The customers at the brasserie immediately beneath our open window do not provide a soothing backdrop either. Pam comes up with an anti-histamine so I at last drop into a drugged slumber.
(Continue)
(Return to EJ's Place Home Page)
After the Cathedral we head for the Hotel Groslet, built in the 16th century as a palace for Francois II, it is a strange little place with much historical significance and some beautiful appointments and paintings from the 17th and 18th centuries. It also has a delightful garden we stroll around in and take pictures, of course. After the hotel we head for Martroi square and the statue of Jeanne d�Arc. We also check out Place Generale de Gaulle but it turns out to be �tres ugly.� Across from the square, we try the The Joan of Arc House where she stayed for 10 days during the siege of Orleans in 1429. Pictures of Orleans can be seen in the Orleans Album. Unfortunately it's closed so we go back to the hotel, grab a quick lunch at the Eucalyptus Brasserie, pack up our dirty clothes and head for the nearest launderette which is about a kilometer from the hotel.
While waiting for our clothes to wash, I look for a place to enjoy a beer and do find a nearby caf� that is getting ready to close but whose owners are willing to allow me to have a quick beer while they clean up around me. After moving the clothes to the drier, I convince Pam to join me at the Cambodian delicatessen down the street and we have some horrible snacks that the owner heats up in the micro-wave. I think I�ll stick to brasseries from now on.
We return to the hotel and spend the rest of our �day off� reading and napping. We go out for dinner and I decide to try a pint of a so-called abbey brewed beer, Gimbrel�s. One of its attractions is that it�s 6% alcohol as opposed to the usual 4.8%. One of its drawbacks is a very strong sour after-taste. I think I�ll stick to pilsners and lagers from now on. We head for the restaurant area we had uncovered the previous evening row and decide to try the Le Brin Restaurant which features mussels. The French steam their mussels in a wine, cream and onion mixture which at first, I thought would be unappetizing but it is delicious. I love French mussels. Unfortunately the rest of the meal is barely average and the house white wine is below average. We are disappointed. This is, after all, the Loire valley.
We decide to have dessert at a different place preferably, a sidewalk caf�. We find a likely spot on the Place du Martroi and order a Tarte Tatin, an incredibly delicious apple concoction. The coffee and cappuccino are �tourist� quality. I expected better but I discover the French do not take their coffee as seriously as the Italians do.
We stroll back to our hotel and I read myself to sleep while Pam voraciously attacks her e-mails. The noise from the downstairs brasserie drifts up through our window and is annoying but doesn�t keep us from sleeping after a while. Where is Larry�s static machine when I need it?