Chateaux de la Loire

I learned something this weekend. There are a lot of castles in France. A lot of them. I suppose I knew this on some level or another. But, it is one thing to look at pictures and read statistics in a textbook, and another thing to actually see them all. Just right there. Sitting so casually, some for hundreds of years, others for a thousand or so. Waiting for you to visit. And that is what I did this weekend. I visited some castles.

This is CIDEF excursion two of three. That means we are getting on a bus, this time for the better part of the day. Alas, the soccer bus was taken this weekend, so we had a run-of-the-mill motor coach. A few things to note on the bus ride. First, the bus was a stick shift. Last week’s bus was a stick shift. All the cars here are stick shifts. I don’t think there is an automatic transition in all of Europe. Second, those roundabouts seriously are everywhere. Finally, maneuvering a tiny car (and all the cars are tiny) on some of the French streets (bloated sidewalks, more like it) is impossible. And yet our fearless bus driver drove onward like it was her job because, well, it is her job.

Okay. So we leave Angers on the bus and get play-by-play on everything going on outside our window. Look! There is a good restaurant. Look! There is a really cool castle from the 15th Century. Look! There is an even better restaurant that Nicolas Sarkozy ate at a couple months ago. Look! There is an old abbey. An old castle, only this one has been modernized into a hotel (and it has a really good restaurant). Another castle that is over 1000 years old, originally built by a not-so-nice guy named Fulk Nerra (Google him if you are interested). Over there is the oldest nuclear power plant in France turned museum next to a more modern, active nuclear power plant. Do you get the idea here? There is just stuff everywhere.

The better part of the journey to castle one took us along the Loire river.


A couple of interesting facts on the Loire: It is the longest river in France. Of the big five rivers in France, it is the only one that is one hundred percent French (i.e. neither it nor any of its tributaries originate outside of France) and, hence, a major source of pride. The river floods about twice a year (November and February). In fact, the road we are driving on right now is elevated so as to contain the water during flood season. Also, due to the ever-changing water levels, the riverbed (under and near the water) is extremely dangerous. It is illegal to swim in many (possibly all) locations along the river.

After an hour of driving, we finally arrive at castle one: Azay-le-Rideau. The original fort/castle was burnt down sometime in the 15th Century. Lucky for us, some rich guy (and his wife, the heiress to some other rich guy’s fortune) bought the property and built the existing castle in the 16th Century. Think Renaissance. I wouldn’t know Renaissance architecture if it came up and introduced itself to me, but the brochure says Renaissance, so I believe it. Take a look for yourself:



There are apparently some Gothic themes floating in there too. Whatever. It just looks like a cool building to me. Interestingly enough, this castle is one of the first to proudly display its stairs. In the Middle Ages, the stairs in castles were located in the back or out of sight. Here, the stairs are right in the front door. Also, the castle sits on top of the river Indre, a tributary to the Loire.


The inside was a little of a let down. Only two floors were open and about 6 rooms per floor. Nothing all that interesting; just a couple of displays with what the furniture might have looked like at certain points in the castles history. Through the years, the castle changed hands between rich people and even richer people. Apparently, Louis XIII stayed a few nights while visiting the Lord of Rideau. What I found most interesting was that the wood floors squeaked like crazy when you walked on them.

Everyone back on the bus. But wait. There is a soccer practice/game going on. I played soccer next to a run down middle school. These kids get to play soccer next to a castle.


The route to castle two was more of the same. Castles and villages and the like. Notably, we passed by the great French romantic Balzac’s house. He had a pretty big house in the Loire Valley where he penned many a novel (about the surrounding area) and successfully avoided his Parisian creditors. The locals are very proud of their former resident (and the many other French novelists that have lived/stayed near the Loire over the years).

Castle two.


This is Chenonceau. Your eyes are not deceiving you. It is actually built on top of the river Cher, a tributary of the Loire. The castle was originally constructed from 1513 to 1521 by a rich guy for his wife (that is love if I’ve ever seen it) and then added onto over the years. It comes complete with a chapel, library, lots of bedrooms, a giant kitchen (the entire basement), and lots and lots of gardens. There were no bathrooms that I saw, but I'm sure they got by somehow.

And who is they? Who exactly lived here? The story of Chenonceau is pretty juicy. Henry II gave the castle to his mistress, Diane de Poitiers. When he died, the queen/widow/really angry wife, Catherine de Medici, took the castle away from Diane and kept it for herself. She lived there off and on as did her daughters and daughters-in-law. Francois Premier and Louis XIV also stayed in the castle at least once as did a selection of their obscure family members (i.e. Cesar de Vendome, the uncle of Louis XIV). Sadly, Louise de Lorraine (daughter-in-law of Catherine de Medici) retired to Chenonceau when her husband, King Henry III, was killed. She lived a life of prayer and silence and, per tradition of royal mourning, only wore white.

The gallery (long hallway over the river). I’m not entirely sure of the function of this room. It is really long and skinny. Maybe shuffle board. The natural light, even on a cloudy day, was stunning.


One wing of the kitchen (there were a couple of others). The most important part of the entire building.


The bedrooms all seemed to have the same set up, just different colors.



Above, Diane de Poitier’s bedroom (something tells me she spent most of her nights with Henri II, if you know what I mean) and Louise de Lorraine’s bedroom (she was really upset about her husband’s death).

Perhaps as impressive as the castle were the grounds. Two giant gardens aptly named “Jardin de Diane de Poitiers” and “Jardin Catherine de Medici,” respectively below (Catherine’s has some construction going on).



Also on the grounds, a farm (with animals) and a labyrinth. The latter is actually a maze made from hedges (think Harry Potter and the Goble of Fire).

Unfortunately, the castle was under a bit of construction, but you have to give the French some credit for trying to “cover” it up.


Okay, it is time to leave Chenonceau. To castle number three.


Chambord

Isn’t that roof impressive? Symmetrical asymmetry. You got to love it.

Construction began on Chambord around 1519 (Renaissance yet again), under the command of Francois Premier (king of France). He wanted a hunting lodge, so he built himself one. Would you believe that the man reigned for 32 years (Chambord was built early in his reign) and stayed in this giant for a mere 72 days? Believe it. Other notable residents/visitors: Louis XIV and a slew of obscure royal family members.

To match its excessive exterior, Chambord has an equally outlandish interior. Guess how many rooms it has. Go on. Guess. Whatever you said, double it. Yeah. This castle has 426 rooms. Now guess how many fireplaces it has. Pop culture claims 365: one for each day of the year. The brochure claims 282. Either way, it is way more than necessary. Some of them are still used today! The place is monstrous, and to install central heating would cost a lot of money and probably look bad, so they still heat the castle the old fashioned way.


Francois Premier had this place built, and he wanted everyone to know it. To ensure his legacy would live on, he had salamanders and giant F’s carved all over the place (his sign/trademark is the salamander). Look at the walls and exterior of the building (they were all over the ceilings too).



Perhaps the coolest part of the castle is the central staircase: two giant spiral staircases wrapped around each other (a double helix if I’ve ever seen one).


And the whole reason the castle is here in the first place. The grounds.


Chambord is now a national park. It is the official hunting ground of the President of France (but the current president doesn’t hunt).

One last bit of history. The Nazi’s actually controlled Chambord during WWII. It was the source of a lot of propaganda. The Allies strongly considered bombing the place. Also, the Mona Lisa (that ugly painting everyone seems so excited about) stayed in Chambord for a couple of days during the war in an attempt to keep it safe from destruction.

I’m tired and hungry. Lets go back to Angers. How long is the bus ride? Three hours. On the bright side, we get to take the French toll road back. Actually, this is not a bright side. The French toll ways are just as boring as American toll ways. I guess some things ware the same everywhere.

Coming Soon: Chateau d’Angers. Angers has a castle all its own that I visited a while back, but I’m saving it for a special occasion (i.e. when I don’t have anything else to write about).