{"id":651,"date":"2016-12-29T02:57:00","date_gmt":"2016-12-29T02:57:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rochellesroost.com\/index.php\/2016\/12\/29\/loafing-around-the-loire-valley\/"},"modified":"2026-10-08T04:59:44","modified_gmt":"2026-10-08T04:59:44","slug":"loafing-around-the-loire-valley","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rochellesroost.com\/index.php\/2016\/12\/29\/loafing-around-the-loire-valley\/","title":{"rendered":"Loafing Around the Loire Valley"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

\nDecember 3, 2016, Saturday: <\/span><\/b><\/div>\n
\nLoafing Around Loire
\nValley<\/o:p><\/span><\/b><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n            <\/span>Since Llew needed to be at Charles
\nde Gaulle airport at 7.00 am for his 10.00 am return flight to the US, he left
\nour place at Cite Universitaire<\/i> at
\n6.00 am. I decided to wake up and leave with him and spend the day in the Loire
\nValley using the Rail Europe pass I had that was valid for one more day. I did
\nnot know what to expect in terms of my rail journey. Our previous attempt to
\nget to the Loire Valley via a train from Gare Austerlitz to Orleans had been a
\nfailure. This time I did some research on the internet and discovered that I
\ncould take a train from Gare Montparnasse to Tours\u2014which was another way to get
\nto the Loire Valley.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n            <\/span>Accordingly, I paid the 9 euro
\nsupplement to use the TGV train from Paris to Tours and boarded one at 7.11 am.
\nI got off at St. Pierre de Corps where I had a one hour wait in a tiny
\none-horse town that offered absolutely no interest on a fairly wet day. While
\nwaiting for a connecting train to Blois, I bought myself a coffee and a
\ncroissant and had breakfast in the bar attached to the station. It gave me free
\nuse of the SNCF\u2019s internet network and enabled me to read up on the places I
\nwould be covering that day. I was back on a train at 9. 27 am and arrived in
\nBlois 20 minutes later. I took advice from the staff at the station on how to
\nget to Blois Castle and on being told that it was merely a ten-minute walk
\naway, I strode forward. <\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n <\/o:p><\/span>What Makes the Loire Valley of
\nInterest?<\/o:p><\/span><\/b><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n            <\/span>The Loire Valley grew into one of
\nthe most affluent parts of France from the 14th<\/sup> century onwards when
\naristocrats began to build themselves extensive homes that came to be called
\n\u2018Chateaux\u2019 (castles) in the vicinity of the river Loire. Within a century, most
\nof the country\u2019s most prominent families had a country estate that bordered
\nextensive inherited lands that were used for hunting, shooting and other such
\npass-times. These chateaux are museums today stacked with architectural
\ninterest, interior decorative details and furniture and accoutrements<\/i> fit for kings. Many of them can boast extensive
\nlandscaped gardens that are still beautifully maintained and come into their
\nown in the summer.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n            <\/span>Visitors could spend as long as
\nthree weeks in the Loire Valley and not see all the chateaux. Most visitors
\nspent 3-4 days and see a couple of chateaux a day. Each of them offers two or
\nthree highlights that make them different from the other. I did not have the
\nluxury of spending quite that long in the Valley\u2014nor did I believe that I would
\nbe able to spend more than one day taking in tours of interiors. Hence, I made
\nthe decision to spend one day there and to see two chateaux as conveniently as
\nI could without the advantage of a car or other form of personal transport.
\nConsidering that I relied only on public transport, I did not do too badly at
\nall, for I found out from the Tourist Office, once I got to Blois Castle, that
\nI could easily see the whole place at leisure, then return to the town square
\nto take a bus at 12. 30 that would take me to the next castle, Chambord, that
\nwas not too far away at all. At 5. 15 pm, there was a bus outside Chambord that
\nwould take me directly back to Blois for my return train to Paris.  <\/span>I could not have been happier. It seemed that
\ndespite my apprehension, I would be able to cover two castles quite
\nconveniently that day. <\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n <\/o:p><\/span>Exploring Blois Castle:<\/o:p><\/span><\/b><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n            <\/span>You enter Blois castle through a
\ngrand Gothic archway that is crowned with an equestrian statue of King Louis
\n(who became St. Louis). I was also happy because they accepted my Met ID card
\nat Blois\u2014so all I had to pay for was the audio guide (4 euros). I gave myself
\nabout two and a half hours to see it\u2014and off I went.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n            <\/span>The castle of Blois was home to six
\nkings and countless aristocratic visitors through a couple of centuries. As
\nsoon as you enter the central courtyard, you are struck by the fact that it has
\nfour distinct architectural styles: Gothic (13th<\/sup> century),
\nFlamboyant Gothic (1498-1503), Early Renaissance (1515-24) and Classical
\n(1630s)\u2014based on the fact that different rulers had occupied it and had
\ndiffering tastes. The most striking architectural feature is a spiral stone
\nstaircase that leads from one floor to the next. After I took pictures of the
\ncourtyard, I began my ascent up the stairs.        <\/span>    <\/span><\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n            <\/span>Inside, the castle took me a bit by
\nsurprise. I suppose I expected something more in the Baroque vein\u2014as in the
\nLouvre or Fontainbleu. Instead, I found that it was completely redesigned by
\nFelix Durban in the 19th<\/sup> century who decided to make an empty castle
\na receptacle of 16th<\/sup> century decorative artistry. Thus, you will
\npass by pillared arches decorated with gilded paint, stained glass windows and
\nstone motifs that sport the salamander\u2014the logo of Francois I who spent a great
\ndeal of time here. On the ground floor, I went briskly through a museum devoted
\nto stone sculpture that was salvaged from the castle. On the second floor, you
\npass through bedrooms that are well-refurbished. They contain Renaissance
\nfurniture, paintings and objets d\u2019art<\/i>.
\nThe salamander as a motif appears on mantelpieces of the many fireplaces
\nscattered about the castle. The walls are thickly painted to resemble wall
\npaper in close geometric designs that imitate the interior of Italian pallazos<\/i>. The floors are formed of
\nceramic tile in elaborate designs and colors. There is a Long Gallery with a
\nnumber of kingly portraits. One of the rooms that I found most unusual and
\ninteresting was one containing 237 wooden panels that are painted in such a way
\nas to imitate 16th<\/sup> century leather tooling as found on
\nbook-bindings. The room was said to have been occupied by Catherine de Medici,
\nmother of King Henry III, who is rumored to have hidden poison in the skirting
\nboards to be taken in case of her capture. She died in the room in 1589, a few
\ndays after the most notorious murders took place in the castle (those
\ncompartments today hold Renaissance knick-knacks.). <\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\nThe
\nstory of the murders are to be found in a room devoted to the gruesome murder
\nof the Duke of Guise and his brother, the Cardinal of Lorraine by Henry III.
\nTheir deaths were avenged a year later when a monk assassinated the King
\nhimself. The story is depicted in large and very realistic paintings that left me
\nspellbound as there is very little I know about French Renaissance history. As
\nyou walk through one bedroom after the other, you marvel at little details: a
\npainting of a hirsuit young child who suffered from an illness that produces
\nhair all over the face is of special interest. The beds are pretty interesting
\nthemselves\u2014if you peer under their drapery, you will see paintings on the
\ninside of their canopies. Finally, if you have the energy, you can spend a
\nwhole afternoon studying the various paintings in the extensive museum of fine
\narts which is also a part of the castle. I was not only tired by this point but
\nfound my sense of aesthetics saturated by an overdose of splendor. Thus, I
\nmerely marched through the museum and took in carefully just a couple of
\npaintings by Rembrandt. Blois offers a lovely platform with a parapet that
\nprovides a lookout point for a panoramic view of the city and the river Loire
\nupon whose banks it has been built. From the platform, I nipped into the
\nchapel\u2014which is quite small and plain but for its stained glass windows–but it
\nwas once the center of all religious activity.     <\/span> <\/span><\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n <\/o:p><\/span>Off to Chambord:<\/o:p><\/span><\/b><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n            <\/span>Following instructions, I arrived at
\nthe bus stop at 12. 15 for my 12.30 bus to Chambord. It arrived on the dot and
\nfor 3 euros (paid to the driver) ferried me to Chambord. Often when one
\ntravels, it is the least exciting elements of one\u2019s journey that provide the
\ngreatest interest\u2014this was certainly the case here as the 20 minute bus journey
\ntook me into the tiniest, quietest villages filled with small cottages that I
\nadored. When we did arrive at Chambord, we drove along an allee<\/i> of trees (similar to the castle of Vaux le Viscount) near
\nParis that I had visited four years ago. <\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\nExploring Chambord:<\/o:p><\/span><\/b><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n            <\/span>Chambord is gigantic\u2014it is probably
\nthe largest of the castles in the Loire Valley. A part of it was under
\nscaffolding as renovation on so huge a place is constantly on-going. If you can
\nbelieve this, this humongous place was the \u201chunting lodge\u201d of King Francois
\nI\u2014he of the salamander motif.  <\/span>It\u2019s
\nowner\u2019s motive in building it was to outshine the buildings of the Holy Roman
\nEmperor Charles V who was known as the greatest builder in the universe. There
\nare more than 440 room and 85 staircases\u2014and only a fraction of these are open
\nto the public on the self-guided tour.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n <\/span>Here, too, I was permitted to enter sans<\/i> entry fee as I had my Met ID card.
\nHowever, I did rent an audio guide for 5 euros that hardly worked at all. It
\nwas governed by a sensor which was most insensitive. The end result was that I
\nmissed out on a lot of details.  <\/span><\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\nThe
\nfirst thing that strikes the visitor at Chambord is the double-helix staircase
\nthat is said to have been designed by the great Leonardo da Vinci who died in 1516
\nin nearby Amboise castle. The ingenuity of the design lies in the fact that
\nalthough one climber might occasionally pass someone going in the opposite
\ndirection, they will never be able to see each other despite the existence of
\nwindows cut into the staircase. On each floor, there are a multitude of rooms to
\nbe explored and I grew deeply fatigued as I tried to see them all. Some rooms
\nare practically empty, others are full and the level of grandeur in each one is
\ndifferent. Furthermore, the castle was simply freezing (even before the onset
\nof winter) which explains why the Marquis of Poland who was offered refuge here
\nfrom his enemies, did not stay very long! The few fireplaces had fires
\ngoing\u2014and they were very welcome too as visitors stopped to warm their frozen
\nfingers at the embers. Some of the more striking rooms here was the Hunting
\nTrophy Room hung with gorgeous paintings of wild life and surrounded by
\nvitrines filled with stuffed animals and birds. The Chapel was also a large,
\ndouble-storied room, rather stark in decoration, but pretty piously atmospheric.
\nChambord had marvelous wrap-around balconies that connected the various wings
\nand bedrooms that were quite spectacularly furnished. One of its star
\nattraction is the rooftop, which you reach through a winding staircase, up
\nseveral tiring floor, to arrive at a sheer confection of domes, cupolas,
\npillars, arched doorways, etc. all decorated thickly in Gothic stone tracery.
\nThere is a bell lantern or cupola which is also very visually interesting. You
\ncan visit the kitchens on the ground floor, if you have the time and energy.
\nChambord also has massive gardens that are all landscaped in the formal Italianate
\nstyle\u2014but in the autumn, there is not much to do except walk in them for
\nexercise. As for me, I was so tired by this point that I could barely muster the
\nenergy to take a look at the adjoining church which was, perhaps fortunately,
\nclosed. I browsed about some of the shops at the entrance before I caught the
\n5. 15 pm bus back to Blois station (passing once again the pretty village
\nvignettes of the morning) and arrived on the 6.02 train back to Paris about an
\nhour later. <\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\nThe
\nLoire Valley had been a revelation and I was absolutely thrilled as it ticked
\none more item off my Bucket List—I had been desirous of seeing this region
\nforever. <\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n <\/o:p><\/span>Grocery Shopping in Paris:<\/o:p><\/span><\/b><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n            <\/span>I badly needed groceries for the
\nweek, so although I was ready to drop, I soldiered on to a small Monoprix<\/i> for basic items. I bought a bag
\nof chocolate brioche for breakfast, a bag of salad, a bottle of cream dressing,
\na packet of smoked salmon, a round of blue cheese and a baguette. With these
\nbasic food items, I would have enough to eat for days\u2014because I was delighted
\nto find a small refrigerator in my room! I took a shower and did a bit of
\nwashing of my clothing and went to sleep at about 10.20 pm when I was ready to
\ndrop.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\nA demain!     <\/span><\/o:p><\/span><\/i><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n <\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

December 3, 2016, Saturday: Loafing Around Loire Valley             Since Llew needed to be at Charles de Gaulle airport at 7.00 am for his 10.00 am return flight to the US, he left our place at Cite Universitaire at 6.00 am. I decided to wake up and leave with him and spend the day in… <\/p>\n

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