Loire Valley

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From St Malo, we will drive to the outskirts of Tours in the Loire Valley, known for it’s gigantic and extravagant château. On the way to Tours we will drive through Fougeres with it’s gigantic fortress. Our hotel is about 10 km south of Tours: DOMAINE DE LA TORTINIÈRE (www.tortiniere.com ). The Loire Valley is known as the Garden of France and the Cradle of the French Language. It has world-famous castles, such as the Châteaux d'Amboise, Château de Villandry and Chenonceau.
The landscape of the Loire Valley, and more particularly its many cultural monuments, illustrate to an exceptional degree the ideals of the Renaissance and the Age of the Enlightenment on western European thought and design.
The castle of Azay-le-Rideau is one of them, today delicately nestled in a green setting on the bank of the river Indre. It is hard to believe that it was a defensive fortress in times past. It was even once set on fire in the 15th Century when the Plantagenets and the Capetians were ruthlessly fighting each other for the Crown of France. Indeed, Paris was under anglo-burgundian rule in 1418, when the Dauphin of France --the future Charles VII-- escaped with his fragile power to the Loire Valley and wandered from castle to castle. Even though the terrible One Hundred Years war was finally over, the aftermath continued to overwhelm the country. Epidemics and wars with Italy followed, one after another. However, the kings and lords were returning from their warring campaigns filled with wonder at the new Italian art, their chests full of its products and fruits. At the same time, French society was undergoing a complete transformation: individualism and personal success were taking center stage.
The castle of Villandry has a unique and endearing character for many reasons. The entrance courtyard is not enclosed by the main body of the building, but on the contrary, it is open to the outside. Therefore, the castle loses any defensive function and presents itself instead as a welcoming residence that offers a delightful view of the river flowing down beneath it. Joachim Carvallo, a young Spanish doctor, came to France in 1893. He was to study in Paris where he joined a medical research group and quickly fell in love with a young American intern, Ann Coleman, the daughter of a master blacksmith from Lebanon, Pennsylvania. They got married in 1899, and lived in Paris where their first three children were born. Seven years later, they sunk all their savings into their dream family home: the castle of Villandry. They left Paris for a new life where they could engage in their passion for restoration. They worked on this exceptional propriety and its surroundings, while also supporting the cause of other older residences in need of repair. They transformed the romantic park, originally created by Jean Le Breton, by designing a series of stunningly beautiful gardens that we can still admire today.

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Photos

Our hotel just outside of Tours
La Tortiniere

Azay le Rideau
Azay le Rideau

Fougeres castle
Fougeres castle

French charcuterie
This one is in Chinon

Near Tours
I forget the name of this village.
It is one of 150 "Plus Beau Villages" of France.

Chateau Villandry
View of the formal gardens