Loire Valley, France

Our wonderful journey through France brought us to the Loire Valley for an amazing few days!

Where we stayed:

We found a perfect Airbnb in Amboise.  If you're looking for a place to stay in the heart of town (parking included), right off the Loire River, I highly recommend this find.  Right down the street we found the most delicious boulangeries.  Now we're hooked on chocolate croissants, and crunchy baguettes...A pretty sustainable diet.

There's a great Sunday market in the town of Amboise and it's one of the largest in France.  They sell everything, and it's not to be missed! Live chickens, trees, flowers, produce, food, clothing, hardware, furniture you name it, they have it.

Look at these chickens! Have you ever seen ones like these?

The crusty breads...

cured meats and fine cheese...

and dozens of farm fresh fruits and veggies to choose from.

The Loire Valley is home to the best preserved château's of the French aristocracy. There are over 15  châteaus to visit and we chose three that we were most interested in seeing.

Château Chenonceaux:

Just a 20 minutes car ride away from Amboise is the beautiful Château Chenonceaux arching gracefully over the Cher River.  The château was once the home of Catherine Medici, who once her husband died, acquired it by trading her residence with her husbands mistress. That was quiet a friendly trade... I don't think they do that nowadays.

We took an audio tour of Chenonceaux but I think it is too long (and the mans monotone could put you to sleep).  It's best to just walk through on your own with the information pamphlet in hand.

Our favorite part of Chenonceaux was the kitchen, which reminded me of the kitchen in Downton Abbey.  I loved all the copper cookware. 

We went through the maize

and found a gardeners paradise

Château de Chambord:

We loved Château de Chambord. 

Chambord was built by King Francis as his hunting lodge.  This didn't seem like the average size "lodge" with 440 rooms.  It took him 32 years to build and he only spent 72 days of his life there.

A beautiful clock in Robbins Egg blue

 And of course you need a room to show off all your game

There was a great 18-minute video about the Château.  They talk about the beautiful architecture of the building; no one knows who the architect was but there is thought that Di Vinci helped influence, and maybe even to have drawn up the blue prints.

The hunting grounds are impressive! King Francis kept guards here to permanently protect all 5,500 acres surrounded by a 20 mile wall so that he would have plenty of game to hunt when he visited.

All this talk about hunting sure does bring out my wild side.

I think we found our next property to buy...wink wink!

Château de Cheverny:

When visiting the Château's it's easy to daydreaming about what life was like living in a beautiful mansion. To sit on chairs made of the finest silks, drink out of delicate porcelain cups, walk the halls where Louis XIII once walked.  Château de Cheverny is one of the places where the idea of living this dream is a reality. The descendants of the builders (Huralt Family)still live the Château and their family pictures can been seen in rooms that you can visit today. 

There are so many beautiful rooms to see, with artifacts dating back to letters written by President Washington.

Nearby you can hear the hysterical barking of the 70 hunting hounds on the property.  The dogs are half English foxhound and half French poitou-and they are bred to have big feet and bigger stamina. 

They get exercise by going hunting twice a week (year round) and if you check their feeding times you can watch them devour their raw meat.  I was impressed at how obedient they were: the trainer opens the gate and the dogs gather enthusiastically around the food, but only when the trainer says they can eat do they dig in. 

 mmmm.... yummy?

 Getting ready... the trainer has his whip ready

 and its chow time!

Check it out live by clicking below

We finished off our trip to the Loire Valley with none other than what they are famous for...Tarte Tatin. At Bigot you will find the well known delicacy in it's finest form!  Just ask for it because it is not on display with all of the other beautiful pastries. Jordan is usually a fan of the chocolate variety for dessert however he confessed this was the best dessert he has had so far in Europe.

We had a great time exploring parts of France we have never seen, and we will be onto the next adventure before long!