Chateau Chenonceau

Today we drove to the tiny village of Chenonceau, with the chateau of the same name. First we stopped at Montrichard, a little village we picked off the map, headed for the 'main' square, parked, and walked into a beautiful, authentic little restaurant where no-one spoke English and the food was divine. We're getting good at this, gotta love it!

Lunchtime!

Paul and I had been to Chenonceau years ago, and remembered it as being 'the ladies' chateau, mainly but not exclusively owned by women. In actual fact, 5 queens of France lived here. At one stage the chateau was given to the king's mistress in perpetuity, but when the king died, his wife kicked the mistress out and reclaimed the chateau for herself, and who can blame her.

There is also an interesting was history - the chateau bridges a river at a time when on one side France was occupied by Germany, and on the other ruled by the Vichy. The priest of the chateau led the keys for the secret passage and refused to give them up, letting Jews and other resistance workers through to safety as he could. We have learnt about bravery and selfless acts of extreme courage again and again on this trip.

The chateau today was not grand in the sense that Versailles was. It was furnished according to the era in which it was dwelt, and was in many places dark - dark bedcovers, tapestries on the walls to keep out the drafts, dark ceilings and floor tiles. So not flamboyant and no gilt! I think Amelia was a little disappointed, and for me too, it wasn't up to my expectations. But it was so interesting, we used audio guides and learnt an amazing amount (most of which I have already forgotten - hopefully some of it has stuck).
I especially enjoyed exploring the kitchens, in the part spanning the river, at the bottom, so periodically will flood, poor servants!

The kitchens

After spending a few hours nearly by ourselves, we wandered the gardens, which are huge and symmetrical. 

The stables were larger than most schools, and the authentic carriages were inspiring.
Altogether a beautiful afternoon, and we were blessed with the weather - it rained on the way there and back, but our window of 4 hours or so when we were out and about were fine. Thank you! It seemed a long drive home in the dark, and on the long wet road from Bourges to la Charite. We found out it is an old Roman road (hence the straightness) and goes through to Switzerland!!! Our NZ history does look just a trifle new by comparison!