CHATEAX CHEVERNY AND CHAUMONT

Wednesday, November 15th, 2000 Blois, France

Slept in a little bit. Arrived at Chateau Cheverny just as it opened at 9:30 am. Lovely Estate still owned by the descendants of the original builder. It has been open to the public for about eighty years, but the family living quarters have only been open for about fifteen years. Beautifully maintained over the centuries. Many sequoia giganteum trees from over three hundred years old to new ones are all over the huge park on the estate. The Orangrie is still used for meetings and receptions. During WW II, many of the State Treasures were stored there including the Mona Lisa. In the store, Jim had a hard time resisting a landscape tapestry. It would have been perfect in the dining room over the atrium window. But the price was six hundred dollars and he just couldn’t spend that much money!

Left about eleven and headed towards Chateau Chaumont on the Loire River. This was owned by Catherine De Medici. When her husband, Henry II, died she moved into Chenoneceau (considered the best of all the Loire Valley Chateaux) and put the mistress, Diana de Poitiere at Chaumont. Very long walk from the parking area up through the park to the Chateau. We walked fast as we’d arrived at the stroke of noon and the sign said that the ticket office closed from 12:30 to 1:30 for lunch. It was about half mile and all up hill! But we made it! The chateau didn’t close so once we had our tickets we could take as long as we wanted! This Chateau was actually lived in by owners until late in the 1800’s.

Back to the car about 1:30 pm; we ate our lunch standing outside the car! Jim had his last can of tuna! The cheese and bread has worked well except for the mess in the car from the bread crumbs. Drove back into town along the Loire River and decided to spend the rest of the afternoon exploring Blois. The Eglise Saint Nicolas, a very old, large Catholic Church, was very stark; but the small chapel behind the main altar was stunning in comparison. All of the stained glass windows are modern in design as all of the original windows were blown out during WW II. We visited St. Vincent’s across from the Blois Chateau and it only had one stained glass window left after the war. They’ve never replaced the others except with clear glass.

Walked downtown and found several pastry shops and bars where we could get an early dinner. Picked up an English Newspaper and two candy bars for dessert later. Finally about 5 pm we decided on a very clean and smoke free pastry shop. Ate a Croque Monsieur (ham and cheese sandwich) and split a slice of pizza with cokes. Walked around town some more and then back to the hotel by 6 pm. Plan to wash my hair tonight so this is perfect! Leave tomorrow for Paris!

DRIVING THE LE MANS RACE TRACK!

Tuesday, November 14th, 2000 Blois, France

Up before 7 am and on the local roads by 8. We arrived at Le Mans just before 10 am. Weather was overcast all the way there. Drove around a bit and then Jim went into the museum as soon as it opened. I decided to stay in the car and mend the driver’s seat that had started to tear at a seam; only had brown thread and the seat is blue! Oh well! It was only about an inch wide when we got the car last September and it hadn’t gotten any larger until just this past week. Suddenly it was about five inches. Had a rainstorm while Jim was inside the museum, but stopped before he came out. We had some fun driving the course that is on public roads. Filmed some straight-aways and corners. We drove in and out of the infield and found several cars using an area to test their cornering abilities with braces on the cars so that they wouldn’t tip over.

Back on the road by 11:30 and headed south to Angers to see the famous tapestries at Chateau Angers. The place was huge. We walked the wrong way from the parking area and ended up walking all the way around the outside! Very massive Chateau wall. Only a small portion of the buildings inside of the Chateau are still standing. The moat has been turned into a beautiful garden area with photo like designs done with plants and shrubs. We ate lunch in the car and then headed for Chinon about 2:00 pm.

We drove East along the Loire River for miles on our way to Chinon. Reminded us of the Mississippi River. On the way we passed by the Chateau Saumur, among others. That looks like one we’d like to visit on another trip!

Arrived at Chinon about 4 pm. Only had an hour to tour. It was much more than we’d expected after reading the guidebooks. Joan d’Arc was there in 1429 when she spotted the Dauphin who was hiding and convinced him to give her an army to fight for his crown. There is a photo of a fireplace in the slideshow that has a plaque stating that they were standing next to this fireplace when the historic event took place. It was Charles VII. Also, Henry II died there and Richard the Lionhearted died in the town. We left without seeing the old village; which is worth a return visit to see. We left the hiking stick from Germany in the park at Chinon. Seemed appropriate since we don’t have space to take it home.

Arrived back in Blois, took the auto-route for a faster trip, about 6:30 pm. Freshened up and walk to the Italian Restaurant called Le Duc de Guise. Excellent pizza! The Kie wasn’t as good as we’d had in Burgandy area. But a very nice dinner and then we walked about the town for half and hour looking for different restaurants that were recommended in several of our guidebooks. Spent the rest of the evening watching a French dubbed movie with Mel Gibson and Julia Roberts while I split up the France Photo Album for better management in the computer.

CHATEAU CHENONECEAU

Monday, November 13th, 2000 Loire Valley

Slept well in our new hotel, actually very quiet during the night considering we face a busy street. Roll down metal shutter helps. Nice breakfast and then on the road to see some Chateaux. Not raining but very overcast. Jim’s cheese that he purchased at the store yesterday is stinking up the whole car! It’s a Camembert Cheese. I put it into a zip lock bag last night but that wasn’t helping much! It must be very RIPE!

First to Chateau d’Amboise where Leonardo da Vinci was buried. The small chapel where he is buried sits on the corner of the bluff and is visible from the town and the river. Then over to the Clos Luce where he spent his final three years of his life. He was very popular with the French King who gave him the house which is very close to the Chateau. Actually has a wonderful view of the Chateau from the windows. The basement is full of models of many of his inventions most of which were recreated by IBM. Both had lots of beautiful furnishings.

Ate our lunch standing outside the car before starting out again. Jim enjoyed his cheese! Ate the whole thing! We left about 1 pm. The sun keeps trying to peek out from among the clouds! Checked out the homes that are built in the cliffs; all you see are the outside wall with windows and the rest is underground.

We arrived at Chateau Chenoneceau about 1:30 pm. This is the crown jewel of all the Chateau’s of the Loire Valley (in my opinion). It’s the third time we been to see it. Privately owned, the flower arrangements are always new! Many of the arrangements were done in wire baskets with moss serving as the container! Something new. Walked to see the view from a different angle and take some photos. Got a good one of the two of us with the tripod just as it started to rain. Jim didn't have his umbrella so we rushed inside before it started to pour. So enjoyed our visit. Still raining as we left.

Headed for Blois and the hotel and drove past another Chateau that sits right on the Loire River. Returned to the hotel about 3:30 and repacked the suitcases. Sealed up the box with some of the cans of soup and all of the material and place-mats from Provence. The suitcases are just as heavy as ever, but I think they’re ready for the airplane next week. Put two bottles of wine into the larger case and Jim and I will each carry two bottles in our backpacks. [This was pre-9/11 and all the liquid requirements!]

Thought about mailing some books and then decided to just pay the airlines extra if necessary to take it all home with us. Walked to dinner about 7 pm. Rain had stopped but we took umbrellas. Very cold. The Pizza Restaurant that Jim had picked out was closed on Monday but we found a cute little bar café down by the river called the Le Penalty. It was a sport’s bar! The waitress was Sophia who was from Denmark and she spoke excellent English. She spent a lot of time talking with us about her job and how she’s working in France for a year to help her to become fluent in the French language. Nice walk home looking at potential Restaurants for the next two nights. Watched “Leaving Las Vegas” with French subtitles. Not my choice of movie but only thing on TV in English! Set the alarm for tomorrow as we want to get an early start as we’re driving to Le Mans. We've got good maps now so we shouldn't have any trouble finding the race course.

CHÂTEAU DE BLOIS

Sunday, November 12th, 2000 Traveling towards the Lorie Valley

Woke early and finished breakfast before the French couples came out. In the car and on the road before 9:30 am. Overcast with no sun! Made it to the self-serve car wash in Pouilly before the rain arrived. Our first experience and it went well except that we were short on change and didn’t get the car as clean as we wanted. Have yet to see a full-service car-wash!

By noon we were seeing our rain. Stopped a few times, but rained most of the day. Jim said to make a journal entry about his candy. It’s the anis (liquorice) that we bought the other day. They are little tiny balls that you suck on. He’s been eating them steadily since we purchased them while driving in the car. Said they help keep him from getting hungry!

Stopped about 12:30 pm at a grocery store for supplies for the car for lunches. They turned out the lights as we left…we just made it! Store that are open at all on Sunday generally close about noon.

Arrived in Blois about 3 pm. Found our hotel, the Anne de Bretagne, a lovely old hotel near the Chateau Blois. We rested; Jim played with the remote control….no English but he’d missed changing the channels. Then we walked in the rain to the Chateau and did the tour. Very interesting. Blois was the seat of government for the Kings prior to moving it to Paris.

No restaurants open but we found a bakery with sandwiches so we got a slice of pizza to split and two pieces of quiche Lorraine. Ate them right there as it was raining outside! Then we walked around town for a while before returning to the hotel and an evening watching French TV and computer work. I found out accidentally that I could open my photos full screen from the Explorer window! Had fun looking at lots of the photos I’ve taken.

Well, time to close and shower. Tomorrow we start to see as many of the Chateaux in the Loire valley as we can manage to squeeze into the next three days!

ARMISTICE DAY IN FRANCE

Saturday, November 11th, 2000 Bueane, France

Had breakfast with the French couple and his father. Husband was a cardiologist in Paris and wife was also in the medical profession. But, they didn’t speak much English. On the road about 9 am we made it to Semur-de-Auxois in time to watch their Armistice Day celebration. They had the local police and Boy Scout troop marching, wreath lying at the statute in the park and the local band played La Marseilles and other national songs. Very nice and it helped that the sun was shinning brightly for the first time in days. The flower gardens in the park and town were a combination of vegetables and flowers….cabbage, several different varieties that were prettier than many flowers. Their church is in the process of restoration, but was very beautiful. Loved the steeples. You could see them long before we entered the town. Another very quaint and beautiful old town. There were four ancient towers in one area.

Back to the autoroute about noon and on to Vezelay. This is a town that you can start from on the St. Jacques de Compostelle Pilgrimage to Spain. There are at least five different cities that you can start from, Paris, Vezelay and more. You can take up to ten years to complete the journey, but only by walking or riding a bicycle. No motorized vehicles are allowed. Jim wants to do this trek one day! Me thinks he's waited too long. You must have your book signed at each spot. Lisa and David said that they have visitors who are on the pilgrimage. They have to sign their books. Chateauneuf on the hill above them is one of the stops.

Another beautiful town. Most shops closed due to the holiday. One must park at the base of the town and walk the way of the pilgrimage to the top where St. Madeleine’s Basilica is located. It has a “Santa Porta Door” that we walked through just like at St. Peter’s in Rome. Also in the crypt under the church there were some relicques of St. Madeleine. Very large park behind the church overlooked the entire valley. You had about a two hundred seventy-five degree view! Spectacular! And the air was crystal clear with the sun shinning. But, as I forgot to mention, it is COLD! Gloves and earmuffs are the dress of the day!

Left about 2:30 and headed for Dijon on the autoroute. Arrived about 4 pm, found the Cathedral of St. Benigene and discovered they were about to have a Mass. Parked the car and made it about two minutes before it started. Turned out to have about nine priests and was a High Mass. Church was nearly full. It had been recently restored and was truly beautiful. After mass we headed on the local roads to Beaune where we had dinner reservations at the restaurant that we eaten in on Thursday.

Arrived in Beaune, found parking on the Village Square and headed for the public water closets nearby. Rain had stopped but it was very, very cold. Walked to the Restaurant and arrived about two minutes till 7 pm. Not open until 7 so we were the first again. Ordered the Kir, soooo good! Jim decided to splurge and order a Premier Clu wine…about 100 F for half a bottle. But it was very, very good. I had a salad that had broiled fish pieces on top – they were warm; and then duck in cider – served in a black pot. Jim had a cold ham with vegetables pressed into it and then Venison (bambi)! We both had cheese plates then a wonderful dessert of mergienge with caramel sauce & nuts all surrounded by sweet cream. During the dinner two young American couples came in. We talked with them a little bit. One was from San Francisco, the other San Diego. The wives were sisters. They were using a French/American dictionary to try to understand the menu. It was all in French and the chef and waitress didn’t speak any English!

After dinner we found the birds had peppered the car with you know what. After they’d spent the day eating grapes! But we were home about 10:30 pm. The other guests, two French couples, were still out! They arrived shortly after we went to bed. Finally a beautiful day with lots of sunshine!