Le Val de Loire

France, too, has its valley of the kings. In this case, the royal chateaux in the Loire valley. Today, we visited four chateaux in the Loire Valley, each beautiful, unique and distinctive. We took a train down to Tours where we joined one of the many chateaux tours. (We had booked this well in advance). I actually wanted to write a rondel (or maybe a rondeau?) to commemorate this occasion but that's going to have to wait a bit. I've only got two lines at present.

We joined a group of 6 others – 2 ang moh ladies, and 4 Hongkong girls (looked fairly young) - for the tour. Our guide was this young and slightly introverted French lad who was not exactly an authoratative driver or tour leader. A stark contrast to the charming young lady we would meet in Avignon (but more of that later). We were looking forward to the day, to visiting these royal residences in the beautiful Loire Valley.


First, we visited Chenonceau, the chateau of the ladies. A gift from Henri II to his mistress, Diane de Poitiers, Diane learnt the difference between the Queen and the mistress of the King once Henri died young, in a freak jousting accident. Catherine de’ Medici, Henri’s Queen, turfed Diane out of the castle and proceeded to rule France (she must have learnt a thing or two from Machiavelli) from her study in the chateau in the stead of her young son. Catherine also extended the chateau across the river, so what was then merely beautiful became indeed truly spectacular.

I eavesdropped on a tour group somewhere in the middle of the great hall of the chateau. Apparently, during WWII, the dividing line between occupied and "non-occupied" France was the Cher River. As Chenonceau is built straddling the river, it was possible to slip from occupied to un-occupied territory through the chateau and a few people escaped that way. (Chenonceau was used as a hospital during WWII).

The second chateau was Amboise, built high upon a hill. Unlike Chenonceau, which had only a small donjon and the river for protection, Amboise had some fortifications remaining – and of course, it had its high, extremely solid looking walls. One could see that it was built in a far more uncertain time. Amboise was surrounded by its village (also called Amboise) – cafes, tourist shops nestling around its base, which gave it a certain charm. The main frontage of Amboise is best seen across the river... the photos on the chateau grounds are really of the rear of the chateau and not half so pretty.


Unfortunately we did not have time to explore Amboise (took a rather long time over lunch, which we had at the foot of the steep hill leading to the chateau). Leonardo da Vinci settled down and died in Amboise; his grave is in the small, exquisite little gothic chapel in the chateau grounds. His home is nearby; unfortunately we did not get to see it. Compared to Chenonceau (which was royal bedroom after royal bedroom) Amboise was also more spartan in terms of furnishings. The focus appeared to be on the King's council chamber.


We next visited Chambord, which is really the original fairy tale castle with its turrets, spires and bell towers.

Surrounded by a small moat, Chambord makes all its visitors walk around to the back to enter. At its centre, a double staircase in marble, purportedly designed by Leonardo. Precursor of a double helix???!!! Anyway, the two staircases are separate from each other so they don't intersect. This was the largest of the Chateau we visited, re-built by Francois I. There was a large group of children being led by their guide, dressed in monk's clothing. He was teaching these young children court etiquette. We didn't see what he taught the girls, but he taught the little boys how to make their bow to le Roi et le Reine - how to sweep their hats off their heads and onto their hearts, to keep their head held high and their eyes steady, and then to make their bow.

Next, and last, Cheverny. What really endeared me to the place was that it is a working chateau, the family is still in residence (they stay in one tower of the castle) and their family photos adorn the place as well. As such, the furnishings were more modern (relatively speaking) than the other chateaux. Most of the time, I really felt that we were visiting someone's house. The chateau was also apparently the inspiration for Tintin's home base, Marlinspike Hall in the Tintin comic book series. As such, there's a permanent Tintin room in the grounds of the chateau.

Last but not least, there is a pack of hunting dogs residing on the grounds (a sign asked us not to “excite” the dogs but it did not seem to me that they needed any external source of excitement). And so, instead of having a separate "pooch post", I shall insert my daily dog photo here:

We were really tired when we got back from Paris. It was a rush to catch the train (almost missed it) and we had to find a place for dinner once we got back. Finally.... New Shanghai, near the apartment sheltered these two tired travellers. We had pho for dinner that night (yes, in a Chinese restaurant). Such comfort food.

What really struck me about this day's visits was that despite their junking their royals many years ago, France still seems to have this hankering for pageantry, pomp and ceremony. The royal chateau are indeed a reminder of this "glorious" past. More photos of the chateau are here (and I really do recommend taking a look, they are just so gorgeous).

P.S. I forgot to mention the minor moment of triumph I had today. We were having our lunch in this café with a great view of the chateau’s chapel and the street alongside it. The café does a special deal with tour groups, as could be seen from the many tourists patronizing it. The table next to us were these American ladies. They called for “the check”. However, the waitress did not seem to understand. They were probably more familiar with “the bill”, as in the Queen’s English, as compared to the American English word. Fortunately, yours truly was at hand. “L’addition, s’il vous plait”, I said. And with this double translation, all was well.

(Note: And yes, still no internet. We contacted the Apartment Paris contact who told us that the instructions for the internet connection were in the "black book". Of course, a search of the apartment revealed no black book.)