Escale Oceania Orleans

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.

The history of the chateau was also very interesting as it was home to whom would have been next ...

... enjoy the scenery and avoid the motorways.
Our drive through Belgium was lovely, through the Ardenne Region. Lots of forest and 'chocolate box' villages. France was just as gorgeous, especially the drive along the Champagne Tourist Route (No stopping, just looking)! Such a beautiful and picturesque part of the country. Fields of corn and wheat. Small villages of old stone houses, colourful window boxes everywhere ...

... br>


 

 This place is monstrously huge!  I think it's about the biggest chateau in France. 
 At one point Napoleon gave this to one of his buddies... must have been nice eh?

... airfield I am entertained by helicopters and planes taking off and landing, at one point directly above my head! I arrived at my hotel at 3.30 pm, 8 hours exactly since departing Dreux, and parked my bike in their conference room - which is currently being refurbished so should be okay in there. Despite taking in 3.5 litres of liquid en route I know that I am dehydrated and will suffer leg cramps later (Sure enough, right on schedule!) I am also a ...

¡Hoy tocaban castillitos! Hemos visitado los castillos de Chambord y Cheverny que están a unos kms de Blois. Bueno, qué decir. Creo que las fotos hablan por sí solas. Son dos castillos espectaculares y enclavados en un paisaje de impresión. De camino a los castillos, hemos parado a desayunar y estaba todo tan rico en la pastelería de un pueblo que se nos ha ido un poco la mano pidiendo... nos hemos puesto tan tibios con palmeras, hojaldre con melocotón y cruasán que no había dios que ...

... opportunity. Adaquately fueled up, we headed to the chateau which anchors the town. The tour is impressive, showing rooms and apartments renovated by each of the monarchs who stayed there. My favorite was actually a bathroom/powder room used by Marie Antionette. The palace was built over a midieval dungeon, which I was disappointed not to see. But the whole experience in French noble/royal decadence was striking. We also ...

... the massive crowds that were lined up to go in when we went back the next morning to look around the rest of the island. We were luck enough to be able to walk all the way around Mont-St-Michel as the tide wasn't in yet ... although the signs saying watch out for quicksand were a bit of a worry! From there, we drove 5 hours to see the Chateau de Chambord. We had a couple of massive storms during the day ...

... the day. It's worth it though, my lap-top shut down on me this morning with a low battery. I hadn't used it much either. We haven't been able to get a wi-fi connection yet, so I'm prepping this in OpenOffice Writer, to cut and paste as soon as I can. We should have brought some DVDs with us - it's bucketing down and I've lossed the urge for a pre-prandial stroll. Oh well, we bought some nice wine in Nogent. Cheers.

After an exciting drive from and through Paris, guided by our trusty Tom-Tom that wasn't so trusty at the start since it was accidentally set to walking paths, we nervously arrived in the Valley of the Chateaux. We picked these to visit over 2 days: Chambord, Blois and Chanencaux.

Järgmiseks läbisõidu kohaks oli 112 600 elanikuga Jeanne d'Arci poolt vabaks võideldud linn. Orleans oli arhitektuurilt ja üldmulje poolest modernseim seninähtud linnadest. Vähem esines vanu saksa stiilis maju - pigem meenutas see skandinaavia stiili. Linna keskust läbib loogeldes Loire'i jõgi. Kuna oli pühapäev, siis oli enamik poode suletud ning jalutasime vaid läbi peatänava, tegime mõned pildid Jeanne d'Arci kuju juures ning suundusime tagasi auto juurde, mis oli ...