Four Chateaus in one day!!!

---

We slept through breakfast and checked out about 11:30. After we explored our own chateau, it was time to find a cappuccino, a baguette and explore more chateaus. Our first stop of the day was Chateau Chenonceaux. This remarkable castle has a tangled history of love and betrayal. It was given to Diane de Poitiers, mistress to Henri II. Diane’s power over Henri’s heart infuriated his reigning queen, Catherine de Medici. However, after Henri died during a joisting tournament in 1559, Catherine had Diane thrown out of Chenonceau. , Inspired by her native Florence, Catherine added the two story gallery that spans the river. In honor of my father, I found the mechanics of the chateau to be the most interesting. It has a rotisserie that automatically rotates three different stakes, perhaps roasting up to 30 hens. It does so by a mechanism that uses a combination of the weight of the running river water, connected by rope to interlocking gears controlled by a time piece like pendulum to create slow deliberate rotation in front of the burning embers. The castle also boasts an impressive art collection, including two Rubens paintings. But perhaps the most interesting, is a portrait of Diane as the goddess Diana. (I took a photo of this for Aunti Di). The girls loved hearing Lisa narrate the tour following our English literature. Cristiana continually asked Lisa to repeat various excerpts to clarify what she was looking at. However, undoubtedly, the favorite for the young ones was the maze. We paired in teams several times trying to beat the others through the hedges.

After a bit of a detour up the A10, a toll way with limited exits, we arrived at our second chateau, Chateau Villandry. The 16th Century Renaissance Gardens are the draw to this one. So, out of the car with 4 cameras in 4 hands, we set out determined to get some good garden shots for Sheila. The carefully groomed mini-hedges outlined most of the gardens. There were gardens of herbs flowers and vegetables; one of them contains all the French vegetables (except the Potato, not known to France in the 16th Century.) No surprise, it was the maze that was the most exciting. Again we paired up and raced our way thought the tall hedges, ending breathless and laughing. We took photos of waterfalls fish and flowers. Oh… the Chateau was pretty too.

Next stop, Chateau Azay-le-Rideau. It was built by the finance minister of François I, Gilles Berthelot. Even though it was completed within budget constraints, it was so beautiful that François accused Berthelot of misappropriation of funds. Berthelot fled, thus reverting the castle to King François. The chateau contains a unique staircase with “straight flight steps”, architecturally uncommon for the 16th century. We enjoyed exploring salons of the interior and photographing the grounds surrounding the castle. With everyone of us carrying a digital camera, it has become quite a show with Dad taking pictures of old furniture, Mom taking pictures of the girls in front of France’s treasures, Cristiana taking pictures of gardens and HGTV French Country Decorating ideas, and Grady taking pictures of tree bark and rocks. We manage to consume a few Megabits.

The Chateau d’Usse was the final stop of the day. This is the Castle from which the author of Sleeping Beauty took his inspiration. We visited the Chapel, the Cave (wine cellar), the stables, and finally the castle. The Sleeping Beauty Tower contained wax figures of the Disney like scenes of the story. It had beautiful antique toys and furniture as well as expansive views of the valley. After descending the tower, we toured the main chateau. It had most of its original furniture, so it was lovely and interesting.

We drove on to Chinon where we eat at a Creperia/Pizzeria and found our lodging for the night (Hotel Didero). This is a beautiful small hotel with friendly owners. They were blown away by Cristiana’s French. They commented repeatedly about her “French accent”. It made us proud.

Cristiana’s Favorite part of the day: Sleeping Beauty Castle and the garden mazes
Margrethe’s Favorite part of the day: Sleeping Beauty Castle, all the rooms except the
witch room

---

Photos

Chateau Usse
Sleeping Beauty