Chateau Chenonceau

You pay your money to park your car and to gain entrance, and then you walk down this lovely tree-lined lane.

We explored a garden to the left.

Photo op!

The garden had a labyrinth and several other grecian surprises. One of the lady owners put some caryatids in the park that once adorned the chateau. (Yes, it's a new word for me, but it means grecian female column statues.  This one looks like both genders.

This tower is one of the first parts you see of the chateau.

I loved all the bird activity around it!

Coat of arms on the front door.  

 Classic renaissance architecture.  Except for the tower, which was a part of the original mill on this site.

This is the hallway as you enter.  The rooms are off this main hall, and the hall directly above it.

This is the famous hallway that crosses the Cher river.  A famous prisoner exchange took place mid-way here in WWII.

Almost all chateaux have their own chapels.

Each bedroom had its own lovely fireplace.

I won't show them all, but they were all unique.

Something they do well here, is that they always have fresh flowers in each room.  I thought this vase was pretty.

Kitchen area was unique, too. 

Beautiful pieces of art are displayed.

This might be Francois, or Henri II.  Henri II let his mistress live here.  When he was killed in a tournament, his widow made her leave and live in a lesser, older castle-style chateau.

William and Tim went on a little garden walk.

I always think the out buildings that supplied the chateau with workers and where foods were stored and processed are interesting.

Quaint.

Charming.

There were formalized gardens for beauty.

The tower and the well are still from the original site.

While these gardens are pretty, they also had orchards and produce gardens.

 Always owned by a ladies...

 ... it is called the 'Ladies' Chateau.'

It is also known as 'The Wonder of the Loire Valley.' 

Set on the river Cher, a tributary of the Loire.

I think it is so beautiful and well done.  Although, if you're in the area, Chambord is also very nice! 

You can see that during wars, it was used as a hospital.

No tour is complete without taking a look at the wine area.  Where they happily were selling bottles, and so we bought one!

Brew-ha-hauler.

Old School way of getting around.

Old, old school way of getting around! 

Then,we left to get to the next stage of the Tour de France.  Mis-calculation on my part... when I asked at a rest-stop where to get food, she suggested a place further down, just off the road.  But, NO!  Won't finding one in the town be better?  Rush hour traffic, a loop around, hard to park, had to walk across this town square, etc.  Get back on the road... only to see the grocery store she suggested only a few exits down.. right off the freeway. 

It was really beautiful, but it meant the road to the top of the climb was closed by the time we arrived.  So we had to park down the mountain, and climb up to see the race.  Oh well, that was a wonderful experience as well.