CHENONCEAU CHATEAU

After a few Cathedrals we journeyed on to the Loire area to see the Chateaux. I think I expected to see them from the road and appreciate their magnificence and glorious gardens from the comfort of my raised seat. However, they all seem to be tucked away behind forests and I suppose if I had built myself a chateau I would have placed it away from the main roads too.
We were camped close to Chenonceau Chateau and so we rode there on our bikes, only to find that we had left the lock behind. We returned in the afternoon to find that many of the bus loads of tourists were gone and the rest were in the gardens, so we locked up the bikes and sauntered down the avenue to the front door.The entry smelled wonderful because of this amazing display of lilies. The rooms were all decorated with an abundance of enormous flower displays. We toured the bedrooms of many famous people from the past. Catherine de Medici, Diane de Poitiers, Henris I and II and Louis XIV were some I remember, but not whose was this one. We promenaded the galleries built on the long section over the Cher River. And admired the gardens, great kitchens, paintings and tapestries. Because the chateau was undergoing some renovations, parts were not open but so as not to spoil the view the scaffolding had been wrapped like an art installation with the image of the missing section on display.

I liked that bit best.

It poured with rain for two days after our visit so you won't have to read about any more chateaux in this blog because we headed south to the seaside and warmer climes.

Cheers Gillian