Chambord

Leisurely start and then off to visit our Chateau for the day.  We were on our own, as Marie Louise and Boudewijn wanted to visit Orleans.  We had decided on what is considered the biggest and grandest chateau, Chambord.  It certainly was both.  It is a spectacular chateau.  We particularly liked the symetry about it.  It has a central double helix staircase.  It was started in 1519 by  Francis I, although it was not finished in his lifetime.  Chambord was finally finished 30 odd years later, by his son Henry II, and then Louis XIV.

Chambord was intended as a hunting lodge, but its architecture makes it an extravagant chateau since it is 156 metres long and 56 metres tall with 77 staircases, 282 fireplaces (and it was still cold) and 426 rooms.  We spent about four hours wandering around the various rooms, the chapel and the displays.

Our only disappointment was that the gardens were very plain.
From Chambord we decided to drive around and view (from the outside) a few of the other chateaux in the area.  This proved to be a mistake, as although we found them, they were well disguised and hidden behind trees or walls.
Finally we headed for Blois and visited the Cathedral of St Louis and the Hotel de Ville.  The Cathedral is a church in the XVll Century Gothic style, however the façade and belltower were built in 1544.  The cathedral has an interesting crypt that we were able to access.
We then found the spot where Rita and I had had lunch 20 years ago (almost to the day)!
After that we met up with Marie Louise and Boudewijn for a superb dinner at Vinomania.  It was made all the more special because of our lovely sommelier, who spent a good deal of time discussing and describing the wines to go with our meal, which was superb.
She also gave us the name of a Gite in Blois, operated by an Aussie,  Closerie Falaiseau.  http://www.loirevalleyholidayrental.com/

Driving up the Loire River

We headed off after saying our goodbyes to Stephanie and her husband, our lovely hosts.
Our first stop was Langeais where we were going to have a look at the medieval castle, but it started to rain.  The nice thing about this chateau is that the drawbridge is still raised and lowered each day at close and opening times.





Then onto Azay-le-Rideau which was a delightfully pretty town, with a very lovely looking chateau.  We knew that we didn't have enough time to wander around the chateau, so after a quick lunch we headed off.

We also came across Chateau La Chatonniere which is known for its magnificent gardens.  Once again, not enough time.









Finally, we headed to Villandry, expecting another pretty little town, only to find another wonderful chateau, that we would love to have visited if we had more time.  It also has a beautiful garden.
We then headed to Tavers to meet Marie Louise and Boudewijn, before heading off to Blois for dinner.  We found Vinomania and had a great meal with lovely wine.

Velo Vintage Fete in Saumur

After a delightful breakfast with Aneke & Yves we all drove together to Saumur.  We were deviated all over the place for what turned out to be a family cycling day along the banks of the Loire,  When we got there we found we were in the middle of a 'fete' for cyclists.  There were a number of exhibitions and lots of people dressed up  in period costume.  They looked oh so French.

We visited the Saumur Chateau and took some photo's of the panorama down to the Loire.  We made our way to the Cave Ackerman, where we did the cave tour and had a taste of their sparkling wine.  They make a sparkling wine that is, apparently, quite famous although it is not champagne.

On the way home and in the evening we found it difficult to find somewhere for a meal and we ended up at a Pizzeria in Brissac (overlooking another beautiful chateau,Chateau Brissac).

Avranches and Dinan (part two)

Ann and I made an early start, leaving M-L & BT to have breakfast by themselves.  We drove ≈50Km to Avranches to see the Scriptorium, which is a museum that houses the collection of manuscripts of Mont Saint Michel, deposited in the municipal archives during the French Revolution. It is one of the largest collections of medieval illuminated manuscripts in France, outside national and university libraries.

Then we drove to Dinan Port and took the boat excursion of  ≈10Km on the Rance up-river from Dinan, through the lock number 47 at Lehon and passing the l'abbaye Saint Magloire.  

We had a further wander around Dinan with M-L & BT before heading to Cancale for a magnificent seafood dinner.

Dinan

It was raining quite heavily so we had a lazy morning
By mid-afternoon we figured we had to do something so we all headed to Dinan.

One of Brittany's most authentic medieval towns is Dinan.  It is encircled by it's medieval battlements and watchtowers.
According to Wikipedia some of the oldest buildings date back to the thirteenth century.  Imagine living in something with that much past? 

The mainly thoroughfare has, we were told, barely changed for hundreds of years.  

Ah, good.  Success at the shops!

In addition to this it also boasts a delightful port which is on the river Rance.  

Adjacent to the port there is also a long, tall viaduct.  It was built under instructions of Napolean.

Dinan was so interesting, and we'd made such a late start that we've decided we'll need to go back tommorrow.

You can find out more about Dinan at: http://www.travelfranceonline.com/Brittany/Dinan_Rue_Jerzual_Port_de_Lanvallay.html

Dinard

Lazy morning and we finally got moving just before lunch.  We went to Dinard in separate cars, travelling via St Briac sur Mer.  St Briac sur Mer turned out to be less than we'd hoped (we think we may have gone to the wrong St Briac! - there's more than one).
So without too much delay we moved on to Dinard which was, apparently, a bit of a French outpost for 19th century well-off British ex-pats / Francophiles.

 So it has quite a few unique British style mansions, which makes an interesting point of difference.  Despite this, Dinard also was not quite up to our 'French prettiness' standards.  
Never-the-less we had a pleasant lunch overlooking the bay then a very pleasant walk along the waterfront promenade.

We then heaaded back to the gite for a bit of a break before heading back to meet ML & BT for dinner in St Malo.
John and Boudewijn enjoyed mussels (the smallest I've ever encountered; but, never-the-less, a great treat) while Ann and Marie-Louise tucked into local fare.

Mont St Michel

Today we ticked a 'bucket list' item: Mont St Michel.

It is a truly remarkable site, started in 708AD bu Bishop Aubert of Avranches as a devotional chapel on the summit of the island following his vision of the archangel Michael, whose gilded figure perched on the gilded dragon is perched on the tip of the Abbey's spire. (Incidently the gilt statue was only added in 1897, 25 years after it was classified as a historic monument in 1874, and subsequently listed on the UNESCO World Heritage Site list in 1979).  It was  expanded and rebuilt pretty much continuously for the next 600 years.  It is very well preserved and maintained.  But, predictably, it is not for the faint hearted.  There's a four kilometre walk just to get there from the car park, then there are countless up and down stairs all day.
We wandered through the Grande Rue, the main thoroughfare of the small village on the way to the abbey.  There were lots of tacky souvenir shops and all sorts of food outlets in this area. 

We decided to do the English speaking guided tour of the abbey, which was very comprehensive and informative. We learnt that the abbey has three levels which reflect the monastic order, the monks lived in the church and cloister at the top, the abbot entertained noble guests on the middle level, and pilgrims were received in the basement.   Both of us marvel at the workmanship and engineering feats of these ancient artisans.  The abbey has been built on a ridge atop the mount, with chapels north, south, and east which support it on the steep rocky slopes.  Perhaps the most remarkable part is the section known as La Merveille (The Marvel).  This is the cloitre (cloister) and is surrounded by a double row of carved arches. This is atop the refectoire (dining hall).  There is still a presence of monks, albeit minimal.
After the tour of the Abbey, as we descended we decided to wander around the ramparts, which date from the 13th to 15th centuries.
How all this was done with the tools that were available at the time is amazing.

In the evening we went for a drive to a nearby village, known for its oyster farming, and had a delightful dinner in one of the local restaurants.

Rennes

Today we visited Rennes, about 75km from La Fresnais.  On the way we stopped and watched a boat through the locks on the Canal d'ille et Rance near Hebe.  We both love watching canal boats so enjoyed  this detour.

Then on to Rennes.  Rennes is an interesting town with lots of history and historic buildings.  Ann and I, however, preferred St Malo yesterday.  We're not quite sure what it was, but Rennes just didn't 'do it' for us.  We 'did' the walking tour around town and saw St Yves Chapel, St Pierre's Cathederal, The Portes Mordelaises, Places des Lices, The Parliement of Brittany, St Germain's Church, Palais du Commerce, The Hotel de Ville and The Opera House.

Saint Yves Chapel 

Portes Mordelaises

Some interesting roofs

Cobbled Street view

St Yves Chapel is 15th century and looks it.  St Pierre's Cathedral was not open so we just looked as we passed.  The 15th century Portes Mordelaises was probably the site we appreciated most.  The other buildings are all well preserved and still being used.

St Malo

Took a leisurely drive along the coast to St Malo.  Now this is a town with a lot of history and very proud of it, it is too.  The old city is walled and very authentic.

There are good interpretive signs all around in the town explaining the various extensions that were done, mainly by reclamation.  It was all achieved by money.  I got the distinct impression that state sanctioned piracy had a lot to do with the wealth of the citizens at that time.  Apparently it suffered major damage during WWII and has been completely restored.  It is amazing the quality with which these ancient towns have been repaired. 

All the houses in this part of France are built with local stone.  Under the dull skies of today it is a bit drab.  I look forward to seeing everything under good light.

On our way back we followed the coast and visited La Pointe Du Grouin.  The coastal scenery was lovely, especially when we noticed that you could see Mont St Michel in the distance.



Leaving Normandy

Once again a leisurely start to the day.  We were leaving our lovely Gite and heading towards Brittany, between Mont St Michel and St Malo.
On the way we stopped at a town call Domfront.  None of us had ever heard of it before, but it was a beautiful town with  lovely environs.  It had a medieval centre with cobbled streets, which we wandered around, and also the ruins of a medieval castle. 

Part of the ruins of the medieval castle site

Delightful cobbled street

It was absolutely beautiful.  We then enjoyed lunch before heading off the rest of the way to La Fresnais.  We arrived at about 4.00pm.

John reached Charles de Gaul,Paris at approx 1:45 and, after picking up a hire car,drove about 380km  to La Fresnais, arriviving at 8:15pm.  It was great to see each other again after almost 4 weeks apart.  We can now enjoy our holiday together.