A pathway built over a small pond with red bamboo sticks
As we walked up this was just some dripping water from the trees - then it started smoking . . .
and it ended up being a smoke filled garden - it was really cool!
The rains started hard but we made it through the Goualoup loop. We took shelter for a while and started into the Festival Gardens. These were even more special.
Logs making a pathway on a pond and chickens in a fenced area
Beautiful plants, colorful objects
Many of the small gardens had symbolic meaning - we visited them all!
The chateau as seen from the Festival Gardens
Then we visited the stables - many art exhibits there too. Very creative.
This was a sculpture in the horse foot washing area at the stables
The stables with art on the walls
And another modern art interpretation in the stables
Then we walked through the Historic Grounds - beautiful as well.
The chateau as seen from the historic grounds
A really weird structure that we could walk through in the historic grounds
Beautiful Chaumont sur Loire Castle
A beautiful sculpture in the castle walls at the drawbridges
The King's bedroom
The chapel
The inner courtyard
Unlike other castles, we got to visit the third floor and see where the servants lived and to view storage rooms that hadn't been touched. That was fascinating. Last, back to the main stable - it was elaborate and interesting
The stable at Chaumont sur Loire
The tack room in the stables - very elaborate with wood paneling
An old coach fit for a King!
We finished the day at Chaumont in a few of the gardens that we had to skip because of the earlier rain. More creative things to see . . .
This was like a pot of gold at the end of a small trail
Tim "trying on" the "red flower dress" - can you see it????
The red wires on his chest are the bust area and the flowers are the skirt!
Beautiful colors in the gardens every where we went
Then we drove 20 minutes to Beauregard Castle. Also privately owned. It's claim to fame is the Portrait Gallery where 327 original portraits adorn the walls.
A fountain in the gardens - the gardens were needing some help at this chateau
Beauregard Castle
The front of Beauregard Castle - or is it the back?
237 original portraits at Beauregard Castle - Kings, Popes, Queens, Noblemen, and others from
1328 to 1643
Queen Elizabeth I - top row, 4th from the end
This was a magnificent room at Beauregard Castle - portraits lining all of the walls above
These were the last paintings chronologically - King Louis XIII
A last view of Beauregard Castle
The gardens at Beauregard - the gardeners need to get to work here!
We returned to Loches, filled up the car with diesel for our trip to Paris tomorrow, and returned to the B&B for a short rest. Jerome invited us for champagne and cheese at 7 pm and we had a great time with Jerome and his partner, Jean-Luc. We sat on the patio and talked. A fun time. We told Jerome that we thought he had a twin in Oslo, Norway - our friend Dag Arne who lives there favors Jerome and acts like him too. Small world!
At 8:30, Tim and I went to dinner at Le Gerbe d'Or - the kernel of gold. We sat on the terrace and had a great dinner. Fish again for me to watch my diet. A British couple sat next to us and I was almost in hysterics - she went on and on and on about being a "raging alcoholic" and she needed to go away to get help - but her companion kept saying - "But my darling, I'll miss you terrible". I couldn't wait for them to leave so I could tell Tim about the entire conversation - felt that I was eves-dropping, but it was funny.
Tomorrow, we head back to Paris. Jerome helped us with how to go. We decided to leave about 9:30 and go to Blois and explore it for a while and then head to Paris to arrive by 3 pm. We decided to skip Chambord and Cheverney as we've been to both before and we expect there will be crowds there. Blois tomorrow will be a new experience.
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