Francois I was a show-off

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Geo: 47.1661, 0.238081

We checked out of the Best Western at 8:15 and met our new driver, René, who despite the name is Dutch. He was wearing a watch with the biggest face I've ever seen and when someone mentioned that they were intrigued by his watch, Rolinka said it was because he doesn't want to wear glasses so he needs a big watch. This is the guy who's driving us around France!

On the coach (which, by the way, is called the Heidebloem, which means "heather flower"😉, Rolinka gave us a quick rundown of French history, all the way up to President Sarkozy, who is known as Monsieur Bling-Bling. We were on our way to see one of Francois I's chateaux, so she particularly wanted to give us a bit of background on him. He was a pretty good king, a humanist, and embraced the spirit of the Renaissance. In fact, it was he who invited Leonardo da Vinci to spend his last days at the French court. Leonardo brought three of his paintings with him from Italy, one of which was the Mona Lisa.

We arrived at Chambord (pronounced "shahm-borrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr"😉, which is the biggest castle in France, even bigger than Versailles. It was built as a hunting lodge for Francois, but in the end he only spent 72 days there. He never even got to use all 365 fireplaces! There are 440 rooms, but tourists are only allowed in one particular wing and the roof. There is a famous double-helix staircase that has been credited to da Vinci, but since he died the year that construction of Chambord began, he may not have been the man who designed it. You can walk up one of the staircases and not see anyone coming down the other staircase. It's pretty nifty, actually, but tiring to walk up because of the low risers.

On view were various rooms used by Francois and also the duke who thought he would be Louis XVIII. Francois's symbol, the salamander, is all over the place, and it tends to look more like an ugly dragon than an amphibian. Also on display were costumes from operas that were performed on the grounds this year. I especially liked the costumes for "The Imaginary Invalid" by Molière. Everything looked as though it would have been disgustingly ornate in Francois's time, but surprisingly the chapel was quite plain and pleasant.

The view from the roof was a good one because you can see for several miles over the grounds. In fact, it's where the ladies of the court would go to watch the hunt in the surrounding forests. (There are still deer and wild game in the forest today.) Plus, you're right there at the base of the turrets, and there's a nice view of an exterior, towered spiral staircase, which is very pretty.

There were several little sandwich places and crêperies just outside of the chateau on the grounds. I sat with Anne, Bert, Linda (who may or may not get the viola, but is considering getting a violin that is currently being made) and Christina. I had a very tasty jambon et fromage galette and a boulée of cider. Some of the other women had ice cream as well, but it was almost time to get back to the bus so I didn't get any.

On our way to Chinon we passed through Vouvray (famous for producing Chenin blanc wine) and made a quick stop in Amboise just for the ladies. Rolinka said it was a big secret, and all the men had to stay on the bus. She led us down toward the river to see a reclining -- and quite naked -- statue of Leonardo da Vinci. We all giggled a lot and posed in front of him, and then got back on the bus and felt very smug about not telling the men what we were doing. Turns out, a lot of them seemed to think it had something to do with shopping, even though we didn't come back with any extra bags.

We arrived in Chinon just after 4:00 and had to walk a short ways from the coach to the Hôtel Diderot (www.hoteldiderot.com). It's a lovely building, with a couple of out-buildings, and an orange and white cat who ignored us, then showed off his white tummy, and then came over to us specifically in order to shed on all of us who were wearing black trousers. His name is Boobie. Seriously.

My room (#8) is bigger than the one in Paris, but smaller than last night's room. I have a shower stall with a 2/3 shower door. The room has a bit of a tilt to it, and there is a timber beam and pillar combination in one corner.

After settling in, we walked with Rolinka down to the main square, and then Holly, Yvonne and I walked across the river to get a good view of Chinon Castle. We also stopped in at a grocery store (Shopi) so Holly could get some soap to wash clothes with. Yvonne ended up buying five boxes of KinderSurprise eggs. I must try one. I went back to the hotel a bit early so I could wash a few things in the sink (hope they're dry by tomorrow!), and then we met for dinner at 7:00. The restaurant was Restaurant Hôtel de la Treille; "treille" means trellis.

We started with squash soup. I took two bites and decided that it's still one of the most vile vegetables ever. The entree was a salad and a pastry of ground, spiced pork and apples. It tasted better than it sounds, and the pastry part was especially nice. It tasted a bit like fancy Thanksgiving stuffing. The main course was small slices of pork in a white cream sauce, mustard mashed potatos, and everyone had different vegetables. The mashed potatos were awfully good. Dessert was a poached, spiced pear with a little ball of sorbet.

Once again, I am not managing to get to sleep any time before 11:30. Fortunately, we don't need to leave the hotel till about 8:50 tomorrow, so I can sleep in a bit.

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Photos

Boobie
It's a passable otter impression.

Shop sign
Sign for a shop called "Tic et Puce" (Tick and Flea). I think that's a St. Bernard on the right.