If I ruled the world (Loire)

Loire Valley:  Chambord

Now there’s a sobering thought dear reader.  I’m not sure that I would have my castle at Chambord.  Then again, maybe I’d have several, just like the French kings.

We are just back from Du Chateau de Chambord and I’m watching the conclusion of stage 6 of Le Tour on Sky.  We have TV via satellite and yet, no internet.  Aside from delaying the posting of all this week’s blog entries it has stopped us finding answers to some questions that come up in conversation.  I miss Google.

I discovered today as we drove through Gizeux that Le Tour is going right through the little village and we drove some sections of Le Tour on the way to Chambord.  There are signs everywhere warning of road closures.  They are taunting me.  Apart from the Sky coverage, those damn signs are as close as I will get … this year.  Yes, Jayne and I are already discussing our return in 2014 or 2015.

The good weather didn’t eventuate, although the rain dissipated over night.  It was low cloud and a cool breeze for most of the day and didn’t really warm up till after 4pm.  Summer – they have no idea.

I had the usual battle with the French roads again.  No real moments with other drivers, today it was the toll roads.  There is neither rhyme nor reason to the system that I can discern.  Drive up to the toll plaza expecting to pay and you are given a ticket.  If you expect a ticket, you have to pay.  Sometimes you just pay for the trip, others you pay when you leave the motorway.  The most challenging aspect is actually paying for your drive.  On the way out I tried to use both debit cards – declined.  Amex it is, gate opens and off we go.  At the next plaza I went straight to Amex, all good.

The trip home on the same roads proved a little different.  At the first pay station my Amex card was accepted without drama.  The next?  How did you know?  Rejected.  Both debit cards, rejected.  My Mastercard, rejected.  While Cait was trying to scrounge €1,70 I went through all 4 cards again.  The gate opened, I’m not sure when or to which card, but we got through.  I don’t understand and it is incredibly frustrating.  Anyway, to the chateau …

Chateau Chambord was quite remarkable.  Not for the opulence of others like Versaille (apparently this one was a little less formal) but for the extravagance of it in size.  Several Kings were involved in its construction over quite a period.  The centre of the keep is a double-helix style central staircase and the four towers are built of it.  Four levels of rooms with terraces and sweeping views of the surrounding parklands.  The wall around the grounds is 32 kilometres in length and was designed to keep the game in because the resident king or count liked to hunt.  There was actually a plan at one point to re-channel the Loire River right up to the castle so that Louis XIV could travel to the castle by boat!  That would have been an amazing engineering feat and while commenced, it was not completed.

What fascinates me the most is the double-helix staircase.  It is the heart of the building, its DNA and is reputed to have been designed by Da Vinci.  How does a renaissance artist, architect, engineer come up with a concept like that?  Cait and I think he must have been a time traveller, especially when you look at some of his other inventions.

We spent over 3 hours exploring the castle’s four levels and skillfully (we are now quite practised at this) dodging the Japanese tour groups as well as the school excursions.

After that we paused for lunch, people watching and a browse through the ubiquitous souvenir shops that always seem to line the entrances to these big tourist draw cards.  In my quest to try something different I had a beer with lunch.  It was called panaché and it was sweet, not in the colloquial sense.  Different and unusual, but quite refreshing.

And so tomorrow is our last full day in the Loire – a trip is planned to the slightly closer Chateau de Chenonceau with its beautiful gardens and mazes as well as decors that mark the residence over the centuries of 5 different mistresses – hence its nickname – the chateau of the ladies.  Friday also marks the conclusion of the school year in this region so we expect a lot of holiday traffic to be on the road on Saturday as we head back to Paris.

Random question: how far can you move from your bike before wearing bike shorts is inappropriate?  In Europe?  Answer: bike shorts are daywear over here.  Not pretty.

Stupid comment of the day overheard purchasing tickets to the castle: Do you want an audio guide?  No dear, I don’t need one. I have you.