We sleep again until 8, after a busy night as Zeno peed in his sleep. So, we take a much needed shower in the Cher and eat our oatmeal at its banks, emerging in our holiday mood
At 9, we leave to visit the Chateau de Chenonceau. it’s only a 30 minutes walk, but we take the car to save some energy of our 3-years-old.
A plane tree lane guides us to the castle. It’s Tims fourth time at the castle, Olga’s second. We first pass the Tour of Marques on our right, this is the oldest part of the castle, dating back to the 11th century. The 16th century castle is build on the foundations of an old mill.
We pass the moat to enter the castle through an old port with the name of the castle builders, Katherine Briçonnet, carved in the wood. The tiles on the floor are still original. We’re surprised that the door nor the tiles or much else is well protected. We can also take our tripod and photo sticks inside, while we normally have to leave them with the guards.
Although we arrive sharp at opening time, it’s already busy. This is the second-most visited castle in France, just after Versailles. We join the many tourist inside, and visit the rooms of the waiters, the chapel that survived the French revolution thanks to its repurpose as wood storage to ensure the religious character of the room was hidden.
Next is the bedroom of Diana de Poitiers, the maitresse of King Henri II. She got the castle as a gift from the king and ordered the building of the bridge, giving Chenonceau it’s unique character. There’s also a cabinet with the archives of the castle and a book where you can recognise the signature of Diana de Poitiers.
After the maitresse it’s time for the wife as we visit the green room of Catherine de Medici, the wife of King Henri II, who requisitioned the castle after the death of the king and she ruled the empire from this green room. She also ordered the building of a gallery on top of the bridge over the Cher.
This gallery is the highlight, with its memorable black and white tiles. There is a doors open to a small balcony, providing cute views over the Cher. The was also a hospital and hidden passway in WW II, as one side of the Gallery was in German occupied France, and the other bank was Vichy France.
A massive kitchen is hidden in the bridge pillar. It’s quite well decorated. The stove originates from the time of WW I, when the castle also served as a hospital.
We climb up to visit more rooms filled with paintings of Van Dijk, Rubens and many Flemish carpets on the walls. We even learn that Georges Sand, who lived close to Perassay, was family of the last owners of the castle. We quickly visit the formal French gardens as there is no shade and the sun is scorching hot already. We finish with a circle shaped labyrinth which lies hidden in the cool forest. Zeno is in shock when he exits at the wrong side and he thinks his parents are gone. Luckily they were just a few dozen meters to his right.
Since it’s Sunday we have to hurry to the supermarket to get lunch and diner. After lunch Olga and the kids enjoy a refreshing dip in the Cher as Tim takes the car for a spin to view another nearby castle and some Roman ruins.
When we reconvene, we decide to go canoeing as the sun has lost some of its power. The river is calm but busy with other water enthusiasts. We canoe to the castle and pass under the ancient arches of the beautiful chateau. We continue a bit further down river until we can’t see the castle anymore. We turn back and when we reach the castle we do a last loop through the arches and work our way back to our starting point across the river from our camp site.
We are offered a complimentary drink on the terrace which we enjoy before we head back. Olga starts dinner as Tim and the kids take a plonge in the pool. After dinner Olga goes on a hike while Tim and Cleo go for a final swim in the river. We rinse ourselves off under the shower and wind down as the sun sets in the river
