Loire Valley Chateaux and Vineyards

Peter's mom, Terumi, decided to stop by Paris last weekend on her way to Switzerland for business. We were thrilled to have her visit, and since we had the time, we all decided to use our weekend together to visit a part of France none of us had ever seen. The Loire Valley is one of the most famous French regions, known for its amazing chateaux and wines.

We decided to stay in Blois, which is about 2 hours south of Paris. Blois itself is an adorable town hosting its own incredible chateau, as well as beautiful old churches, parks, half-timbered houses, and gorgeous views of the Loire River.

 

Alice in Wonderland...in France

Joan of Arc

 The Loire Valley is known around the world for its wines. Vineyards dot the countryside and most allow visitors to stop by for a taste. We took advantage of having our trusty Renault with us and visited a few. And if you're wondering if we made any purchases, let's just say the car was dragging a little on the drive home from the extra weight.

Some wineries are also farms, and one we stopped at also produces goat cheese!

 

The wine-bottling apparatus at La Presle winery

Lucky for us, Saturday was a big market day in Blois. You may think we've been to enough French markets at this point that we are starting to lose interest. But seeing and sampling fresh food, sold by the farmers themselves is always intriguing. We can't get enough, and we've come to find that each market is just a little bit unique. We spent some time at this one before heading to the chateaux.

Fresh eggs...

We had to drag ourselves away from the produce, flowers, hand-made straw baskets and wine samples but were not disappointed by our visit to Blois Chateau. What makes this chateau stand out is that it is comprised of four distinct wings surrounding a courtyard and chapel, each wing representing a different historical period. The Gothic wing is the original 13th century body of the castle. It was then inhabited by various French Kings including Louis XII at the turn of the 15th century whose beautiful grey stone spiral staircase still stands today. Francois I has his early 16th century red-brick wing, followed by the Gaston d'Orleans 17th century wing . The chateau sits smack in the middle of the city of Blois, and while the outside is less eye-catching than other chateaux, much of the interior has been restored so visitors can truly imagine what life was like for Kings in Blois.

A great, spiral staircase

 A great hall repainted in the original patterns of the Renaissance period.

Many gargoyles have been restored, and some resemble humans and dogs.

The View from the Chateau

Chateau de Blois was fascinating and beautiful, but we couldn't resist a stop at the world-famous Chateau de Chambord, only 20 minutes away. This enormous chateau is breath-taking and stunning and really made me feel like I was staring at an illustrator's page for a Disney classic.

The interior is like a small museum, displaying carriages, pottery and some examples of the types of furniture that would have adorned the house.

Chamber pots and water jugs found in the "royal plumbing" during excavation.

A "stove" in the kings' chambers because the kitchens were so far away.

One highlight was the famous double-helix staircase in the center of the chateau. Both staircases revolved around a central column so that two people ascending at the same time would never run into one another.

 We were pretty blown away by the Loire Valley. Not only is this area only 2 hours from Paris by car, it has everything we were looking for: a small town feel with big-town attractions, history, culture, food and wine! The scenery and weather were beautiful, and we can't wait to go back.