Loire valley for a day.

Warning: there are many photos in this post. Scrolling through may be necessary. :D

So... on Friday I decided a mini tour was needed, since I havent seen much of the country. So I went on a mini bus (I was the youngest by 45 years. Lowering the average age is my job) and we went for a 3 hour drive to the Loire Valley.

So there are hundreds of Castles or Chateaus in the valley, its crazy. Its a beautiful area to drive though, but I would recommend a few days, and to go on your own with a car. 

Our first stop was the Château that  Leonardo Da Vinci spent the last years of his life in. Its an impressive building, and they had replicas of most of his inventions. The guy was a genius. 

You werent allowed photos on the inside.. but it wasnt that impressive. 

The area is amazing though, its on a cliff side.

The gardens are amazing, I wish we had more time to wander through, they had scale versions of his inventions in this beautiful setting...

Mill.

I really liked the tank. hah

the next stop was at Le château de Chenonceau, or the castle of the ladies. Its supposedly the most romantic in the valley.

The interiors were very impressive.

I loved the kitchen. I want one.

Louis XIV is always present...

Diana garden, the garden of the kings mistress... much bigger than the garden of the queen. Poor Queen.

So there was one queen, and her king was murdered, and she was so upset that she had a room decorated black on the top floor of the chateau and stayed there for the rest of her life... with no internet, or TV. Oh god. 

This dog was awesome.

Birds were flying at this part like crazy, I guess they were going for honey or something?

It is very pretty though.

We had lunch here in l'Orangerie. It was a set menu but still very nice. The dessert was the best of course. And the wine. Its nice to not be drinking 2 euro wine.

Chambord. The biggest in the Valley. Built by a king that wanted to show his power. He lived in it all up 7 weeks of his life. It was too large and cold for anyone to live in. It was mainly used as a hunting lodge. Most rooms are empty, but the sheer size of it is very impressive. This is also the region where Chambord the alcohol comes from. Yum yum.

The middle of the amazing staircase. 

The staircase has two sets of stairs winding around. So two people can do up or down the stairs at the same time and never meet. But you can see through little windows in the middle. 

King Louis XIV room of course. Incase he visited.

It was a very good day, long, with lots of driving, and very hot for the time of year, but I'm glad I got to see some of the country. 

I've now been in Paris 4 months, crazy. less that two weeks and my parents are here, and then we leave Paris to take on Europe for three weeks. I'm excited, as well as wanting my bed at home. Not long now!