We have always approached the castle of Montpoupon from the main road – already an impressive view as you can see from the photos below – but today we cycled there for the first time and took a small road which meant we arrived upon the castle from the rear. Montpoupon was built over a …
Category Archives: Châteaux de la Loire
Balloons & Boats at Chaumont – Ballons et bateaux à Chaumont
We arrived on our bikes at Chaumont just in time to see SIX hot air balloons take off! This spotted red one was the last; The boats are the typical flat-bottomed boats on the Loire called gabarres. We’re having an Indian summer! It was 25°C this afternoon. Nous sommes arrivés sur nos vélos à Chaumont …
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Chambord Gardens – Les jardins de Chambord
Today we went back to Chambord Castle, this time without the crowds, as it’s midweek. The gardens are not very easy to photograph with an iPhone so I’ve posted another two photos below! Aujourd’hui nous sommes retournés au château de Chambord, cette fois-ci sans les foules, puisqu’on est en milieu de semaine. Les jardins ne …
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Crowds at Chambord – Foules à Chambord
Do you see that crowd? This is why we didn’t use our free tickets as residents of the Loir-et-Cher today – we’ll go back during the week. Expect a photo of the new gardens taken from the roof very soon! Vous voyez la foule ? C’est pour cela que nous n’avons pas profité de notre …
Glass Reflections – Reflets de verrerie
This photo was taken inside Château Gaillard. The very pale stained glass windows cast the most delightful reflections. The one on the left depicts Charles VIII who, after visiting Italy in 1496, recreated his “earthly paradise” with the help of Pacello de Mercoliano, the “greatest gardener in Europe”, and 22 Italian artists. Cette photo est prise à …
Château Gaillard
The site of the first orange trees to enter France; More information tomorrow when I have a better Internet connection!! Le site des premiers orangers en France. Plus d’i’nfos demains lorsque j’aurai une meilleure connexion internet ….
Reflections of a Château – Reflets d'un château
The superb château of Azay-le-Rideau is now completely renovated after two and a half years and the result is stunning. Built on an island in the Indre River during the reign of François I in the 16th century, it is set in a beautiful garden landscaped during the second half of the 19th century. Le superbe …
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Amboise Royal Chapel – La chapelle royale d'Amboise
We did a little round trip by bike from Chaumont to Amboise yesterday, delighted as ever with our power bikes. This was the view while eating our ice creams – the Saint Hubert’s chapel built at the very end of the 15th century where where what are thought to be the bones of Leonardo da Vinci …
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This House is in Blois? – Cette maison est à Blois ?
I was very surprised when I came across this house this evening on my way back by back from eating an ice cream next to Blois Castle (see below). It’s not the shape you usually see here! J’étais très surprise lorsque je suis tombée sur cette maison ce soir en rentrant en vélo du centre ville …
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Chaumont at Noon – Chaumont à midi
I stopped to take this photo of Château de Chaumont on my way to Amboise today. It is always so photogenic. The sky cleared later on but this evening it’s quite overcast. Hope it doesn’t rain for the Bastille Day fireworks! Je me suis arrêtée pour prendre cette photo du Château de Chaumont aujourd’hui en …