Belle-Vue Amboise

Our final chateau - Chambord. Everything about Chambord is done on a grand scale and on apporaching the chateau one is awe struck by the size, not only of the chateau but the grounds which cover 35sq kms! Inside has over 400 rooms, some bare conrete walls, some with renaissance art hanging on the walls and several had the full works - tapestries, furniture, frescos. <br><br>The history of the chateau was also very interesting as it was home to whom would have been next ...

... as they contained some lovely period furniture and frescos on the roofs and walls. 4 types of architcutre can be seen from standing in the centre court yard - flamboyant gothic, classical, early renaissance, and gothic. Our favourite was the renaissance wing. <br>

Next stop Cheverney. This chateaux had less of a grand opening as it was able to be seen from the road, however the size of the grounds impressed. One would not have guessed what lay inside. We were wowed by Chenonceau but by Chevereny we were blown away. The detail of the rooms were simply overwhelming and at times hard to take it all in...just check out the photos we have uploaded on this page.

From Amboise we had a short drive to Chenonceau where we keen toursits along with one tour group we there early and had to wait 10 minutes until the chateau opened for day. Once through the gates it was a lovely walk through the forest where the leaves were all changing colour - amber, yellow, red - so pretty. As we approach the end of the forest the chateau appears before us and its like stepping into a fairy tale. The chateau sat on ...

Thursday 29 Oct<br>Drive to Amboise - Loire Valley<br>Feeling good we took on our longest drive yet to Amboise, nestled in the heart of the Loire Valley and on the banks of the Loire River. We used the time during the drive to type up our blog ready for upload once we hit our next McWifi. We arrived just after dark and found several other campervans parked near the river so we decided to join them. Kim ...

... history and grandeur. It was quite extravagant and took us 4 hrs to see all of it. The grounds were just as impressive - serving as a nature reserve with an abundance of wildlife. The circumference of walls built around the property is about 35 kms in length.<br>The castle in Blois was smaller but also interesting, composed of several wings built in different time periods and styles.<br>Having completed our detour, we headed for our last stop in France: Paris.

... of the chateau. Dating back to 1536 this chateau has been rebuilt several times and in 1906 Joachim Carvallo, the great grandfather of the current owner, came from Spain and redeveloped the chateau and gardens back to their renaissance style. Family pictures are placed around on tables and walls, and the current owner came and stopped to talk with us for a while. He seemed a very warm and quite humble man. There is also a collection of Spanish Art, in ...

... short effort at sightseeing we headed home via a local wine merchant where we picked up our dinner supplies for the night. It has become a bit of a tradition when we travel to do a room picnic one night with ridiculously expensive food and wine that would be way too expensive to order in a restaurant. It is essentially skimping on the ambience factor in order to eat great food and drink expensive wine. It started in London and has continued on most trips since then ...

... ran to the Cathedral St. Croix. It was one of the most beautiful churches I've ever seen. The walls were extremely high without obvious external buttresses. The stained glass was very clear and realistic with wonderful light. We had lunch at a local creperie with locals as it rained and then finally stopped. Visited Jean d'Arc's birth home right on a very busy square with a very ultramodern train line running directly in front of it. Inside was ...

... the night in a small cabin at a campground on the edge of Rotterdam and then drove on to the Loire Valley the next day. The first night was spent in Chenonceaux at a lovely hotel overflowing with flowering rose bushes. We had a lovely dinner at the hotel restaurant and then wandered the quiet streets before turning in for the night. We could walk to the Chenonceau chateau the next day. In the ...