Hostellerie de la Renaudiere Chenonceaux

... cliff a few times we finally found the campsite.(Damn you GPS) .We are trying to stay away from night driving but when the drive is 5 hours long and its dark by 5pm it gets difficult.

I also remember that France has A LOT of farm land. That’s all we drove through. It’s crazy. Anyway, after a quick stop here it was off to Bordeaux for the real fun to begin!

... I know I'll wonder how I did so much living in so little time.

Something special happens to an estate that's been around for almost 250 years. It starts to take on it's own personality, and through that it attracts the type of people that would make what it is that much better. My hosts at La Meslerie treat the people that visit with such undying grace and character that it's easy to chock it up to some mystical ...

... of France after the revolution, but he insisted on being crowned under the King colors rather than the tricolor of the revolution. As a result Napoleon stepped up to the plate and took the prize from under his nose. In more recent history the chateau was used to hide and store much of the Lourve's art work during WWII.

Words can't describe all that we saw in the Loire Valley so we hope our photos help.

Goodbye Loire Valley, hello Dordogne here we come!

Awoke to blue skies - yippeee - as it was forecasted for more rain. We set off to Blois chateau first thing. We never really intended to come to Blois but it was part of our multi-entry ticket. Blois is all about the architecture, however the state apartments were ...

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.

... that straddles the River Cher and is surrounded by gardens which even though its late October are still stunning. Inside over 3 floors we take in the places beauty - all of the rooms werer specatuarly painted withj deep blues, green and gold finishes, fine tapestries hang down the ceilings, large oil paintings litter the walls, period furniture gives us an insight into the life of its inhabitants over the years. This chateau wowed us!

... huge basketball tournament every day. There would be a court in each hallway and the winner of the round would eventually move up a floor until the best two teams would finally compete up on the roof. We really couldn't imagine what else such a huge space could be used for. Apparently the castle was used to store works of art, including the Mona Lisa, during WWII when the French realized that Paris would soon fall. Overall, the Chambord Castle was ...

... how much I miss the lively Spanish nights, with the beautiful, aimless walking. I miss the paseo!!! Though I tried again tonight, there just aren't any good walking areas here. Recently, there's been too much eating and too little activity - my pants are getting tight! Back at the hostel, many people were sitting in the cafeteria watching a French soccer match - I watched for a bit, then retired to my room for a bit of reading. Sigh ... how I miss my beloved Spain ...

... roads and Chenonceau accept credit card, we are totally fine with money. I won't go in to a ton of detail about our time at Chenonceau other to say it was magical. We rented a small boat (a great deal actually at 4 euros for ½ hour) and had an unforgettable time rowing around the lazy river around and under the huge palace. ... Go to http://www.chenonceau.com/media/gb/inde x_gb.php for an idea of the place. It was amazing. Depending who you believe, this ranks as the ...

... salile de mese, ale personalului si cele oficiale, am privit gradinile de pe terasele castelului si ne-am imaginat intriga si povestile de dragoste care se teseau acolo, am admirat drumul drept care ducea la castel si ne-am imaginat calareti aducand vesti schimbatoare de istorie. Ne-am incantat cu operele de arta expuse prin castel. Am mers in labirintul viu din gradina si am inteles, duh, ca aia n-au cum sa se piarda pe acolo, ca de fapt nu e un singur drum corect, ci ...