Mercure Orleans Centre 3m

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 ...

... old churches-lovely to hear their tolling bells. Fields of sunflowers. I could go on and on....(yes, that's enough - Ed).
By now, it's getting quite late in the afternoon. Too much oohing and aahing going on and not enough attention to looking for campsites. Ardent campers swear there are camping signs everywhere but where are they when The Cables need one.
It's after 6pm now so we stop in a little village and ...

 From Chenonceaux we plan to drive about an hour east, to the town of Chambord with it's magnificent chateau.  Got kinda lost on our last visit here, bringin' a road map and google directions this time ...

... such as the USA, South Africa and Australia, of endless or 'big' skies. And as the weather has been superb since I left home, with a well-directed north-easterly to encourage me along, the sky is something I have had chance to see rather a lot of! This part of the trip is 75 km, which will give me 115 km for the day. But the conditions are with me and I continue to make good progress. I cycle into the town of Patay around lunchtime to discover a ...

... a) . Es graciosísimo porque parecen todos exactamente iguales y se ponen a ladrar todos a la vez cuando les da el arrebato. Eso sí, absteneos los de nariz delicada. La zona tiene un cante jondo que no se pué aguantar. Un manguerazo no vendría nada mal... :) Lo que más nos ha llamado la atención de ambos castillos es que no hay apenas gente. Es raro porque es fin de semana y encima en Semana Santa pero se ve que tenemos suerte. Tanto en las carreteras como en los palacios se puede ...

... smoked ham, and pain chocolat, which became our deliciously simple supper (I told you I could live on cheese right???!) I usually hate to make promises about the future, but we intend to tour Orleans, and possibly a chateau of the Loire Valley (Chambord?) before proceeding on to Brittany and Normandy for the rest of our stay in France. but as always, plans subject to change. The excitement of the unknown is thrilling!

... 30 of petrol into my Passat TDi estate...Having counted to ten several times over, I mentally banked that one away for the future !!! Thank heaven for Huw's friend Gareth Hockey who sent a crew to recover us, drain the petrol, drop in 40 ltr of diesel which had us on the way with NO time to spare. The journey will have a veil drawn over it, but we arrived with 2 minutes to spare on the ferry. A lovely 50 min crossing saw us at Boulogne, and looking for ...

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.

... ended up back at the same statue square and decided to wait for PJ to arrive to drive back to Bourges... We spent the evening watching movies (Black cat - White Cat / Lost in Translation) and using the Internet... and we didnt manage to find ourself a host for the next day. We were then thinking of reaching Lille and then decided to go to Belgium or see what was going to happen. ------------- October 19 We slowly prepared ourself to ...

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 ...