The Loire Valley: Château de Chambord

After touring Château d’Amboise yesterday afternoon we bought a bottle of wine and some cheese and headed back to Château des Arpentis to relax before dinner.  Olivier, who lives on site, started a fire in the huge fireplace in the salon upstairs, and I wandered around this floor of the château—which houses the private rooms of the owner when he stays here.  I have been dying to explore and Olivier told us it would be okay.


Château des Arpentis

We had hopes of having dinner at La Forchette, a restaurant I read about that got rave reviews.  We wandered the streets of Amboise and were happy when we found it, only to be immediately disappointed as they are closed until October 24th.

This morning we venture a little further afield to Chambord, about an hour’s drive from Amboise to visit Château de Chambord and Château Chevenry.

Château de Chambord
Château de Chambord, a truly grand Renaissance castle—the largest in the Loire Valley—was intended as a hunting lodge.  Begun by King Francis I in 1519, only the keep and the royal wing were complete upon his death in 1547.  In his 32-year reign, he only spent 72 days at Chambord. 

The keep is in the shape of a cross with double spiral staircases, each winding independently, at its center.  This is pretty ingenious for the time and there is some speculation that Leonardo di Vinci had a hand in the design.

There are three floors, reached by the central staircase; the First Floor (second to Americans) consists of the royal apartments: the State Apartment, the Queen’s Apartment (occupied by Louis XIV’s wives, Maria Theresa of Austria and Madame de Maintenon), the 18th-Century Apartments, and the Comte de Chambord Museum.  These rooms contain some of the best perserved tapestries I've ever seen. 

The State Apartments: Louis XIV's Bedchamber



The Queen's Apartment

There is also the Chapel and King Francis I’s Chamber (in the Royal Wing) accessible by a hallway or exterior staircase.



King Francis I's Chambers

The Second Floor with it’s stunning ornamental ceiling vaults contains the Hunting and Wildlife Art Foundation.  I must admit that I am somewhat fasinated by the skulls and antlers hanging from the walls, which are morbidly beautiful. 

Hunting Tapestries

From the terraces there is a wonderful view of the park, which covers 5440 hectares (800 of which are open to the public) and is the largest enclosed forset park in Europe.  From here we have a spectaular view of the roof.

Off to Cheverny...

For more pictures of Château de Chambord click here.

The Loire Valley: Chateâu d’Amboise

After sharing a quick sandwich in the gardens of Chateâu de Chenonceau, Mr. Man and I head for Amboise—we had dinner here last night at a wonderful restaurant, La Reserve where we were shown to a table in the back (we did not have a reservation) and were soon joined by two other tables of English speakers.  Mr. Man made the mistake of assuming we were all Americans and was quickly corrected; both of the other tables were seated with Canadians. 

We walk the narrow, cobble-stoned streets window shopping.  I swear that I cannot tour another castle, but manage to dip into my reserves and we head for Chateâu d’Amboise.  There is first a set of stairs and then a long ramp to reach the courtyard of the castle.  This isn't as easy as it was six years ago when we were walking and climbing our way through Italy, and I remind myself to start walking more when I get home.

The castle is not as splendid as Chateâu de Chenonceau, but the views over the Loire Valley are lovely and we stand on the tower with the wind whipping our hair (okay, my hair) soaking up the view before moving on.
 

We start out in the small chapel (St. Hubert chapel) where Leonard da Vinci is buried.  Leonard was invited to Amboise by King Francis I in 1515 and died here in 1519.  The chapel was built by Charles VIII and was reserved for the private use of the royal family.

There are two styles to the castle: the flamboyant Gothic style of the Charles VIII wing (on the left) and the Renaissance style of the Louis XII wing.

Chateâu d’Amboise

Gothic Roof Windows

The Gothic Wing consists of the Guard’s Room, Sentries Walk, Noble Guardsmen’s Room, Drummers Room, which once served as a royal dressing room, and the Council Chamber.

The Sentries' Walk

The Council Chamber

The Renaissance Rooms consist of the Cupbearer’s Room, King Henri II’s Chamber, and the Franciscan Antechamber.


The Cupbearer's Room

King Henri II's Chamber

The Louis-Philippe Rooms—Louis Philippe was given the Chateau d’Amboise by his mother Louise-Marie-Adelaide de Bourbon-Penthievre (now that’s a mouth full)—consist of: The Louis-Philippe Study, Bedchamber, and Music Room.

The Louis-Philippe Study

The Bedchamber

And of course, the garden, which is formal and not really to my taste, but we did delight in taking pictures of what we dubbed the “bubble garden.”

For more pictures of Chateâu d’Amboise click here.

The Loire Valley: Chateâu de Chenonceau

The air is crisp and chilly this morning, and we scramble into our warmer clothes (we knew we brought them for a reason).  After a quick breakfast of pastries and coffee, we head out for Chateâu de Chenonceau.  Built on the River Cher in the 16th century, it is stunningly beautiful.  We walk its stone floors for well over an hour trying to picture what life must have been like here.  The Chateâu is built over the river with a magnificent hall built by Catherine de’Medici and is embraced with formal gardens on either side.

The gallery built over the river

My favorite rooms are the kitchens with all the copper pots hanging from the walls and huge fireplaces for cooking and roasting meats.  There are several rooms: the pantry with a large fireplace and bread oven, the larder which would have been filled with grains and produce is off to one side, and the butchery with its hanging meat rack is off to another.  There is a small dining room beside the pantry where the staff would take their meals and a bridge to the larger kitchen with roasting spit through a small bridge. 

There are of course the rooms for the King (Henri II), the Queen, and the King’s “favorite lady,” Diane de Poitiers, who had the bridge build upon which Catherine de’Medici built the gallery.  But the most interesting room is that of Louise of Lorraine, who, after the death of her husband, King Henri III, took up residence at Chenonceau surrounded by nuns, and spent the last 11 years of her life in mourning.  Always dressed in white, the protocol for royal mourning, she was dubbed the White Queen.  Her room is black: ceiling, walls, drapery, even the linens upon her bed. 

There is also a 16th century farm; a great example of how growing food can be beautiful as well as practical with flowers and vegetables growing side-by-side.



For more pictures of Chateâu de Chenonceau, the gardens, and farm click here.