The first visit we made was to the castle Chambord. It was a true fairytale princess castle. It was build by King Francois I and was commissioned to be designed by none other than Leonardo Di Vinci. The project began in 1519 and was intended to be a hunting lodge. Well, if that is a hunting lodge then Northern Minnesota has a long way to go to catch up. It has 77 staircases, 282 fireplaces and 426 rooms. Francois I died in 1547 and only spent 72 days at Chambord. His son Henry II and Louis XiV were those who finally saw it through to completion.
Next we visited Chateau Cheverny. This structure while being very impressive is not nearly as expansive as Chambord. It has a long and rich history and has been owned by the same family since the 1600's. The owners and their 3 children live on the 3rd floor but the first two floors are open to the public. It is still completely furnished and is a great example of the extravagance of the period. Rich decor abounds. The dog kennel is home to more than 60 hounds that are still used for hunting fox, stags and boars.
After an outdoor lunch on the patio behind the local deli we boarded the bus to return to Blois for a couple of hours of shopping followed then by the 3 hour trip back to Paris. We checked in to our hotel and then had dinner in the restaurant next door. We actually had Italian tonight and it was very good. We adults shared a nice bottle of Chianti.
It was a fun day. Our group is wonderful and we are making friendships that will hopefully last beyond the next week.
Good night, we'll see you tomorrow!
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