Of Kings and Castles

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Of Kings and Castles

Today was our first brush with French royalty. We stayed in our hotel in Tours for only one night. So we were up bright and early this morning, with rucksacks ready to go, a quick bite to eat, and onto the bus. Our guide Michael may be from Ireland, but he speaks with a British accent, and we are all charmed by his vocabulary. Yesterday, he saw some people having a “chin wag.” A what? Once the kids realized that meant “having a chat,” they kept asking Michael, “Are we going to have a chin wag?” So, now we all carry our rucksacks, wear our costumes at the beach, and take our jumpers for the cool nights. Oh yes, and we never miss an opportunity to go to the loo.

The agenda called for three stops on the way to Paris; two castles (okay, one castle and a really nice chateau), and a cathedral. All of this in the Loire Valley, home to many kings and queens over the years. The valley itself is a lush landscape with many trees and dense forests. In about 45 minutes we arrived at the chateau Chenonceau (pronounced Shin-non-so). Here’s the website in English for your curiosity….http://www.chenonceau.com/media/gb/index_gb.php

Chenonceau was the lovely bit of real estate that King Henry II gave to his mistress, Diane de Poitiers for her amusement. Henry’s wife, Catherine de Medici, wasn’t so amused, but this is what the “Royals” are all about. Head out to the web site and see what we saw; only our view was in 3-D. Currently, the estate is owned by a candy company. Go figure.

We toured the ground for about 90 minutes, before heading to the castle of all castles - Chambord. When you picture a castle in your mind, Chambord is it. It’s an imposing structure that dominates the landscape: 440 rooms and a fireplace in almost every room. Our stay here was a bit longer, as it included time for lunch, and the place is just so darn huge. Go to http://www.chambord.org and see for yourself.

King Francis I was the guy who started building the castle in 1519. The design is first and foremost a medieval castle with a little Italian Renaissance thrown in. It was intended as a hunting lodge for the early royals, Sadly, Francis I never saw his dream completed. Although he lived for 27 years after construction began on Chambord, this was just too big a project for one king’s lifetime. It was his son, Henry II, and Louis XIV much later, who completed the job.

While we were at Chambord, we grabbed some lunch before we drove on to Chartres. By the way, if you are ever in the area, don’t buy the pizza. They don’t bother to cook the crust. That’s probably what killed Francis I.

Chartres is about an hour south of Paris. Since we were headed in the direction of Paris anyway, we stopped in for a look-see. The cathedral is famous for many things, the most important being the veil of the Virgin Mary. Supposedly, Mary wore this veil when she gave birth to Jesus. A fire destroyed much of the cathedral in 1194; however, the veil and a stained glass window of the Virgin were spared. The locals took this as a sign to rebuild. And rebuild they did! It took only 25 years to complete, an amazing feat in those days. Most structures of this size took a century or more to complete.

During our visit there was a wedding in progress. It must have been a strange feeling, saying your vows with hundreds of people milling about, snapping pictures of stained glass windows, gothic columns and such. I guess that’s the price you pay for getting married at Chartres. A few fun facts about Chartres can be found here…http://cathedrale.chartres.free.fr/

Finally, we drove to Paris to see the sights and sounds of the City of Lights. It was no small feat for our bus driver to weave his way through the tiny passages in the Montparnasse District (The 15th arrondissement, for those of you in the know).

We arrived in Paris around 7:00 and had a little while to get settled. Dinner was at 8:00; at least that was the plan. It was closer to 9:00 when we finally got our salads. We were all crammed into a lower room of the restaurant named Forever. And guess what, the name fits. We were waiting forever to be served. Even Michael and Christophe (our bus driver) were peeved. They actually went upstairs to check to make sure we weren’t forgotten. When the main course did arrive, sometime after 9:15, it was a tasty slice of turkey, served with french fries. Some thought it a bit dry, but everyone was very hungry by then, and the plates were cleaned by the end of the meal.

Now, I have been questioning several members of our group regarding this potato thing. There have been blank faces, smirks, denials and puzzled looks. Some have even had the nerve to accuse me of supplying the spuds. As of today, there is still no suspect in custody.

We ended the evening with a quick trip on the Metro to the Eiffel Tower. Those who were seeing it for the first time were amazed by its size. To honor France as assuming the presidency of the European Union, the tower is lit up with beautiful blue lighting. There are 12 stars in a circle on one side to represent the 12 stars on the EU flag. Every evening at 10, 11 and midnight, the tower comes alive with thousands of twinkling lights flashing over the entire structure. It is quite spectacular and lasts for 10 minutes. People congregate on the Champs de Mars beyond the Eiffel Tower to drink wine and enjoy the light show. We enjoyed being part of the festive atmosphere. The oohs and ahhs could be heard all over the vast complex. Time didn’t allow us to go up in the Tower; however, everyone with a camera is coming home with some impressive photos. There was a mass of humanity milling about as it was a Saturday night during the summer in the City of Lights.

Everyone is doing well. The temperatures have been unseasonably cool, which has been a welcome relief to us all. We have put some very impressive miles on our “tennies,” and we’re feeling very fit after all our walking, stair-climbing, and tower-climbing.

Bonsoir to all.

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Photos

The Queen's Garden
Catherine de Medici's garden at Chenonceau.

Buying Tickets
Michael and Madame Robb try to swing a deal at Chambord.

The Eiffel Tower
Lit up at night to celebrate France's assumption of the EU presidency through the end of the year.