Le Blason 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 ...

... We decided to head into the heart of France and spend some time in the Loire valley looking at castles. Unfortunately, the weather had turned sour and most of the bus tours had closed down for the winter but we managed to see Chambord, the most famous chateau of the area and the castle in Blois. Chambord had been built as a hunting lodge and has an interesting history. It is now open to the public and the rooms are mostly exhibits defining the chateau ...

... levels. Although, I have to say, it wasn't exactly what I had expected, there were several more explosions than I had pictured (between food grade hoses, tractor tires, and tractor engines it was quite a few mind you), and I never really pictured myself drinking Calvados at 7 a.m. with a team of transient Bulgarian grape harvesters. But after having survived through the process, it ...

... the smart thinking of the incumbant female resident who placed firewood in rooms to give them the appearance of storage rooms. In WW1 the chateau became a hospital for wounded soldiers, and in WW2 the chateau was right on the border of the occupied and unoccupied zones of France, as it straddled the river. Although the germans watched the chateau closely it was often thought that more people entered the chateau on the occupied side than ...

... the concept of a mistress to a 4 year old? We wandered through the enormous grounds, including a maze and despite rain and those damn Scaffoldi Brothers it was still definitely worth a look. Our lack of sleep and the pace of our "holiday" was really starting to catch up with us as we neared the end of our month of travel. Exhausted, we headed to our Novatel Hotel in Amboise for an afternoon nap. It was lovely to get to the hotel and find that it was one ...

... 2 of 32 made it.  The men were with no support.  9000 American men and boys are buried at the bluff overlooking Omaha Beach.  Normandy was full of dairy farms and is still a major dairy area for France. The stench of dead animals, the air full of flies, and the mooing of the cows who wanted to be milked was too much for many servicemen, along with the other difficulties of war. Roel,  from Victory Tours,took us to many places, but late in the afternoon he made a detour ...

... live on the third floor. In contrast to Chambord, the rooms at Cheverny are beautifully furnished. There are even recent wedding pictures and other family pictures in some of the rooms. The chateau itself seems small after Chambord, but in reality it's a huge place compared to any normal house. The owner likes to hunt and keeps a kennel of 70-100 hound dogs for this purpose. Man, do they STINK ...