Le Chateaus

June 10, 2012

What we saw from our Bicycles - Chambord

Fougere

Leonardo's Double Helix Staircase

The Loire valley is well known for a plentiful selection of chateaus built by various royalty through the middle ages as hunting retreats. Some were only attended a few times by their original owners and others became the spoils of wars.

Bicycling in the Loire

Fougere is located close to Mont St Michel and St Malo and isn’t in the heart of the Loire but it is a grand old castle fortified with a moat and drawbridge in classical style. One of the best to just walk around.
Blois’ chateau has become part of the downtown core of the city and our hotel was about 75 metres from it.
Sandra and I have wanted to bicycle some of the paths here ever since we took the kids over in 1991 and this time with Heiko we took 1 day and cycled from Blois to Chambord and back approx. 36 kms. It was a breeze going, literally, but we sure paid for it coming back with winds near 45 kph.
Chambord’s staircase, a double helix style, allows a person to enter the staircase from either side of the floor and not walk with another person who would climb the other staircase wound with it. Leonardo Da Vinci is said to have designed it! Chambord’s other claim to fame is it’s fireplaces, over 250 we’re told! This is one huge drafty castle when the wind is blowing. All the steeples you see on the roof are actually flues for the various fireplaces.

Spires

Cheverny is another of the classic chateaus as is Tournessy, Villeregard, and Chenonceau. It was great to travel through the countryside to see them but we decided that after seeing Versailles and Chambord completely the remainder would just be more of the same so we didn't pay for entrance to them all. It would have added another 2 days of touring time as well.

And more

The countryside around this area is so neat with many villages house fronts actually built into the cliffsides as if they lived in a cave but they added a front door and window to it. Of course there are many caves used for storing wines and cheeses here as well.

Our last day with Heiko we had all gone to the morning market and bought something for the afternoon happy hour. Heiko bought a couple of different local wines, we bought rustic baguette breads, a really flavorful cheese and Fois Gras. It was a very traditional Loire valley meal.
Finally we moved on to Angers at the west end of the Loire valley. Our day ride out here wasn’t the best and our record has been dashed and splashed with a rainstorm that got us pretty wet. But then sun eventually did pop out again and we toured the Angers Chateau here as well as the Cathedral. The pipe organ here is way bigger than anything else we have seen and the Chateau houses the tapestry of the apocalypse from the Book of Revelations.