Then Jerome walked with me to the Pharmacie. The pharmacist spoke no English but between my little bit of French and Jerome we made it work and he filled my prescriptions just in case my feet and ankles get worse. The bill was 9.04 euros - about $12 US. Unbelievable. We complain so much about our health care system but I understand the French system is better.
Then we walked out of the B&B, went up the stairs to old Loches. First stop was the church, then the Donjon, then the royal home, Maison Lansyer. There were great views and interesting displays of old clothing. The the old prisons and the torture chambers were interesting.
The inner courtyard at Closserie Saint Jacque where we stayed in Loches
Our "dressing room" in Loches
Our bedroom at Closserie Saint Jacques in Loches
Our B&B as seen from the steps going up to the old city - a "Royal City"
The Church of Saint Ours where Agnes Sorel is buried
Inside the Church of Saint Ours
The two steepled ceilings are one of the "attractions" at the Church of Saint Ours
The tomb of Agnes Sorel - she was the 1st official mistress of King Charles VII.
She died mysteriously in 1435 at the age of 30.
The Church of St Ours
This was a gorgeous chateau in the old city between the church and the Donjon
We left the Church of St Ours and walked along a tree-lined street to the Donjon building (Dungeon) in the Royal City of Loches. This was interesting with the prison cells, costumes, and wall art.
Tree-lined street leading from the church to the Donjon (Dungeon)
One of the torture rooms at the Donjon (Dungeon)
Fabulous costumes from the period on display
Intricate wall carvings in the Donjon - many made by prisoners
View from one of the towers at the Donjon
View of the church and royal homes from the Donjon Tower
Wonderful wall art still on the walls in many colors in the Donjon - these made by prisoners
The Donjon in Loches
From the top looking down the inside of the Donjon
One of the prison cells
Then we went to the royal palace where the King of France, Charles VII, had his first official mistress, Agnes Sorel. I thought it was interesting that they labeled her the first "official" mistress. I guess there were many others. She bore him 2 children. She is buried in the church right next to the castle. Here too they had a display of old clothing.
Tim going into the Royal Residence in the Royal City of Loches
Fabulous costumes here too! This was the outfit for the king and queen in an opera
Portrait of Agnes Sorel
Another depicting Agnes Sorel as the virgin mother
Dog statutes guarding the entry way to the Royal Residence - the French love their dogs
Montresor is a great smaller castle owned by a Polish man and the castle is just as he left it when he died. Beautiful furnishings and art. The town was beautiful.
The scenic church in Montresor
The "Fallen Angel" statute at Chateau Montresor
The dining room at Chateau Montresor - the table opens up to seat 40 people!
The oriental rugs throughout were beautiful - I couldn't believe they were letting us walk on them!
A winding, Cuban mahogany stairway - they let us use this too!
A replica of the ceiling from the Paris Opera House
Chateau Montresor - there was a "treasure room" but it was closed as there had been a robbery!
Then we drove to Montrichard to visit the Bourre Quarry where they have carved a town in the caves. We drove and drove as we didn't have an address and the signs weren't the name in our book. We found it but the tours were only in French and Tim would have none of that - so we looked around and left for Montpoupon. This too is a privately-owned castle and beautifully furnished. They had lots of horse things that Tim really liked - beautiful grounds.
Chateau Montpoupon
The chapel at Chateau Montpoupon
This is the building that houses the chapel
Beautiful fields - there are walks but it had been raining and the paths were very wet
The stables at Montpoupon
Chateau Montpoupon - privately owned!
One of the 5 or 6 pyramids out in the forest to mark the boundaries. This was Pyramid Genille.
We left about 7:30 for Chemille sur Lac to a small restaurant on the lake about 20 minutes from the B&B. She knew we were 2 Americans as Jerome had called them when he made the reservation. When making the reservation for 2 Americans, there was silence on the other end of the line - and after many seconds, Jerome said "Hallo"???
The small lake where we ate dinner
She recognized us as Americans when we walked in and pronounced out loud "La (There!)" Right in front of the burning fireplace where they cook the steaks over the fire. It is 80 degrees outside and we were burning up. She finally opened another door and there was a breeze for a while and then it cooled off. We were HOT during most of the dinner but we got to watch the chef sear the steaks that were ordered.
Our table was in front of the hot wood fire used to cook steaks
We had paella with chicken and seafood and it was great. They had "chicken" described on the menu as something exotic - when I asked her what it was she responded "pollo" which is chicken in Spanish. Tim picked up on that immediately.
Several things on the menu was interesting - "Lady black as a ceasar salad" and then there was the dish with "Salmon smokes house / small news potatoes / cremated by horseradish". We didn't order either but we got a laugh from the translations on the menu. Glad we like new things!
We only ordered main course and dessert - with a bottle of white wine (Chinon) and it was a good meal.
The menu at the restaurant on the lake
We drove back home with thunder and lightening all around. We made it in but Jerome had closed up the entire house - may be a "warm" night - oh, that's right - there is no word for warm. OK - it's HOT.
Off to bed - we have an hour's drive tomorrow north to get to the next 2 chateaus to complete this trip to the Loire Valley. Jerome and his partner have invited us for drinks on the terrace in the afternoon. Another fun day. And we were able to catch up with the things we missed yesterday when I was ailing. Back on schedule!
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