Off to catch a bus at the railway station to visit a couple of chateau's near Blois. The bus does a circuit of three chateau's. A get on and off deal for 6 euros each. Pretty good value. At the railway station and Annette starts talking to this wild, good looking woman and it turns out not only is she Australian but used to live in Casterton and Camperdown. Bus arrives 20 minutes after time displayed but we are off. First stop the chateau Chambord. A hunting lodge built by spoilt royalty, Annetttes words not mine, though I agree 100 percent. I can only say it was a tad over the top.
Huge in fact and I think the architect who designed the roof must have been abusing some sort of substance. I don't think it matched the bulk of the building. That said it was still impressive and it has this famous twin spiral stairway in the middle of the keep, phenomenal it said. Yes, well it's there but don't bother going if that's all your after.
If you are into French history and huge estates, still 5440 hectares, it's got a lot going for it. Again, the difference between the rich and the poor back then is beyond belief and I'd have chopped all their heads off too.
Just working out where you were on the top deck was hard enough.
They must have tired of having to decorate the rooms so a lot had this sort of arty look. Just what we have come to France to see. Money well spent no doubt.
One of the coaches. Four house power I believe.
As you can imagine Annette was enjoying it all and we missed the next bus by a couple of minutes so it was a two and a half hour wait for the next one. (One less chateau).
Off to the next one, the chateau Cheverny. From the bus it looked like it was next to a pretty enough town and the chateau was only a fraction of the size of the last one.
Now for all those that read widely when they were children this place should ring a bell. Captain Haddocks pad was based on this chateau in the Tintin books.
You could actually imagine people still living in this building, apart from the heating bill. Nicely furnished and you got to just walk around taking your time.
It even had a bit of a garden out the back in front of the orangery and a vegetable flower garden behind the hound kennels which houses about a hundred French hunting dogs. Yes I know, but the info said they were FRENCH.
Did not hear one of them bark. The arty types had been here as well and the veggie garden had been taken over. There were paths made out of broken mirrors, blue glass, smashed slate, the sort of practical things you can do at home that I thought had gone out of fashion before old Kevin had his garden program on TV. Didn't see any 44 gallon drums.
Back waiting for the bus and popped into the local church and was pleased to see that they still had the old stalls.
Back to Blois and back to planning the next few days and the domestic duties of washing.
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