Day #3: Blois and Chenonceau

So today was chateaux #2 and #3. This was my first time visiting Blois, and I found it really interesting. It's a great example of the four main types of architecture in France from the 13th-17th centuries because there are four separate sections which were built at different times. This photo shows three of the four different sections. The white structure in the middle is the oldest, it was built in the 13th century. It's an example of simple gothic architecture. The brick and stone section on the right (L'aile Louis XII) is an example of flamboyant gothic architecture (it's called flamboyant because some of the designs look like intricate flames). There are even some Renaissance elements, because at the end of the 15th century France was still in the gothic period while Italy was in the Renaissance. The white stone structure on the left is part of L'aile Francois I and it's a great example of Renaissance (Renaissance art being the rediscovery of Roman/Greek themes in decoration...characterized by lots of flowers and verdure, lots of naked figures who were supposed to ressemble Roman/Greek gods or goddesses). The protruding spiral part on the outside is a staircase, because in France in the 16th century when this was constructed they were still building staircases outside to maximize the space inside. The fourth wing is "L'aile Gaston d'Orleans" and it was built in the 17th century in Classical style. The wings were supposed to form a complete square, but the construction of "L'aile Gaston d'Orleans" was never completed, so there's a 50 foot gap or so that allows people to walk up to the edge of the chateau's walls and see the Loire River below.


Our tour this morning was guided, but brief, and we had a chance to look around for ourselves too. We had lunch at a cute little restaurant in Blois (unfortunately I forgot to get their card). I skipped the entree for lunch because their special dessert of the day was tarte au citron which happens to be my favorite. It's odd that a fruity dessert should usurp chocolate as my favorite, but apparently not impossible. My plat principal was a cut of steak (I am perpetually guessing which cut, I know what entrecote looks like but the rest are a mystery to me). It was tasty though, and that's what counts.


Then on to chateau #3, Chenonceau. I'd already seen it before when I toured the Loire Valley with Mimi M., Mom, Trey, and Holly. Like Mont St. Michel and other parts of Normandie, it was interesting to go back a second time. We did not have a guided tour of Chenonceau (Dr. Barbor thinks one per day is enough). I've already heard the tour schtick once, so I focused on enjoying the views and taking some cool pictures. The one below is a giant cutting board which was down in the kitchens (which were cavernous and filled with lots of very shiny copper pots). Actually the whole Chenonceau experience seemed a little Disney-esque to me. The kitchen was brightly lit and all of the wood was polished to a shine and there were baskets of fake vegetables featured under subtle recessed lighting. It seemed just a little too clean for a chateau that is hundreds of years old. But I guess that's how they get to many visitors - there were infintely more people there than at Blois. The sort of funky picture is the brand name on one of the copper pots...and afterwards I realized my face is Picasso-esque in the reflection.


So then we found a labyrinth. It wasn't very difficult to reach the gazebo in the center, so we had a photoshoot once we all got there. Oh, also, while we were exploring we found a few grape vines near the Cher (the river which the chateau sits on top of) and Peter and Wright proceeded to start chucking some at me. So, of course, I retaliated and one of the small grapes I threw lodged itself in Peter's ear! Talk about serious aim! I think it's all the practice I have tossing pretzel nuggets to my dad... Kara was using my camera to take pictures of the group and she snapped this photo of me, sort of candid. Yes, it's a little vain, but I think it turned out all right, so I put it up here too. Tonight for dinner we went to "Le Buffet" again (the same place as Monday night). Our dinner on Monday wasn't extraordinary, so I wasn't super excited. But I ordered the risotto with asperagus and olives and it was downright tasty. It had hearty flakes (more like medium-thinly sliced squares) of Parmesean Reggiano on top and the whole dish had a lot more depth of flavor than I was anticipating. It's always nice to be pleasantly surprised.
Now it's time for bed. Tomorrow we have two more chateaux and then on Friday morning we're departing from Tours. We'll be in Paris on Sunday! Yay!