Picture this: grand chateau, seen across an expanse of grass and water…. This was our view as we cruised around Chambord in our little rowboats. Saturday the 23rd, we hopped in our oversized tour bus and headed out for a visit to les chateaux de la Loire. The first, Chambord, was large and magnificent. Once inside, we split up and climbed the famous double helix staircase; even though both groups were ascending in the same area, there were only brief moments when we could see each other. From the roof, we looked out at an expanse of lawn, upon which lawn were two renaissance men riding horses. go one level down, and we are met with an exposition of modern art lining the ancient walls. the old and the new are perfectly combined. The first two floors have relics of the ages: tapestries and paintings, hunting spears and boars heads. One hall was full of nothing but skulls with antlers. The tapestries and paintings, however, were simply grandiose, with detail and passion of only the best artists.
The other chateau, Chenonceau, was small but charming. It was set up as if it was still the 1600s, with a bed for Catherine de Medicis and chairs for her ladies. Around the edges of the floors, where people do not walk, one can still see the paint that used to cover the floors entirely. After seeing the turrets from which to toss burning oil on enemies, our guide led us to the kitchens. There were many rooms, one each for preparing fish, vegetables, et cetera. Next, we headed to the gardens. They were fantastic. The flower beds were lined with what at first appeared to be shrubs, but were actually apple trees cut very short. And so, with tasty apples to fill our stomachs and our pockets, we headed back to Angers.
Margaret Hart
Angers Summer 2, 2011
Chapel Hill, NC

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 27th, 2011 at 3:30 pm and is filed under ANG Summer 2, ANGERS (ANG), Country, France. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.