Blois
Every hour on the hour, the unassuming facade of a villa across
from the imposing Chateau de Blois transforms into an enormous mechanical
clock.
Against a backdrop of clanging
bells and eerie music, six golden dragon heads emerge out of
windows, snapping their jaws and a serpentine tail twirls from the attic window.
The installation was created in
1998 by French artists Michell and Jean-Pierre Hartmann, and is an homage to
the legendary magician and illusionist Jean Robert-Houdin.
Chambord
The Chateau Chambord is
in Europe's largest enclosed wooded park and enclosed by a 20 mile-long wall. Chambord,
is the largest château in the Loire Valley.
In 1516, François I, king of France since 1515, came
back from Italy with Leonardo da Vinci with a desire to create a large
structure in the Italian Renaissance style.
The size of Chambord is astounding, with its
156 metre façade, 426 rooms, 77 staircases, including the famous
‘double’, 282 fireplaces and 800 sculpted capitals.
We had a picnic before going in but forgot the
spoons for the yogurt. This fine spoon pictured was made from a twig and silver
foil.
Loches
Loches is a very picturesque town with its chateau, castle,
the Church of St Ours and beautiful riverside gardens.
We ventured into the old Vignemont stone quarry, now a
750-metre underground attraction It used to be a troglodyte dwelling, a
mushroom farm and a refuge for the townsfolk in violent times. We had the place
to ourselves and the sculptures with sound effects by Will Menter made the
experience spookily impressive.
Tours
Took the train from Ozain to Tours. Impressed by Saint-Gatiens Cathedral, a daredevil cat, the trams and the lunch!
Amboise
Our visit ended with a visit to Amboise where Trish finally did some shopping (clothes and a handbag. The lunch was superb!
