Loire Valley: Day 1

Alex had a three day break in his schedule, so we headed down to the Loire Valley to check out some chateaus. Here are some highlights from our trip.

Chateau du Clos Luce

Leonardo da Vinci spent the last three years of his life in this chateau, located in the town of Amboise. King Francois I gave it to da Vinci in 1516 so that he could listen to da Vinci converse about various subjects. The royal palace is right down the street (we visited the palace on day 2). The original bill of sale from when King Charles VIII purchased this chateau is hanging in the reception room. The King gave this chateau to his wife, Anne of Brittany.

Chateau d'Azay-le-Rideau

Our first chateau, located on the banks of the River Indre. It rained all afternoon and evening on Friday, so the sun was a welcome sight. This chateau was built in the 16th century by Gilles Berthelot, the Treasurer of Finance under King Francoise I. It was completed in 1529.

Chateau d'Usse

Also located on the banks of the Indre River is the Chateau d'Usse, located in the village of Rigny-Usse. This chateau is supposedly what inspired Charles Perrault to write the fairy tale Sleeping Beauty. The gardens on this estate were designed by Le Notre, the architect of the Gardens of Versailles.

Karen looking out of the Sleeping Beauty tower. The tower houses many rooms which depict key scenes from the Sleeping Beauty story. Kind of creepy, but maybe because mannequins freak us out.

Chinon

Francois Rabelais was born in the town of Chinon. This is where Rabelais' house once stood.

This street, rue Haute St-Maurice, is lined with many medieval and Renaissance houses. You also see many Joan of Arc memorials, as Chinon was where she met with the future king, Charles VII and asked to be placed at the head of his army. You can see random plaques all over the place which tell you the exact locations where Joan set foot around town.

Chateau de Villandry

Our last chateau for the day was built in 1536 near the Cher River by Jean le Breton, the first Minister of Finance under King Francois. These people in charge of royal money sure had a lot of money of their own.....

In 1906, Dr. Joachim Carvallo and his wife, Anne Coleman (grand-daughter of one of the founders of Bethlehem Steel), purchased the Chateau de Villandry and restored the 16th century gardens. The gardens span more than 3 acres.

Alex in the maze. It's probably harder to navigate the maze during the spring/summer, when the bushes aren't so bare.

View of the chateau from the gardens.