Log piles, great views and a bit of a wrong turn

After our wet and windy cycle to Amboise the next day it was still wet, but thankfully not raining and there was no rest for us. We only had two nights in Amboise and the plan was to cycle to the Château de Chenonceau, we'd seen a sign the day before so roughly knew our route. And if you remember I said that it was all downhill into the centre of Amboise, so our route out of the town was all uphill. And it was hard going.

I managed to cycle enough uphill to get approving glances from the locals out for a chat, as you do. Well I think it was approving glances, maybe it was the usual madness of the English look. Who knows! We retraced our route which was thankfully less wet and windy than the day before. 

We turned right and followed the Loire a Velo signs towards Chenonceau eagerly anticipating what the new part of the route would bring. It wasn't long before I spied a log pile in the distance. And it's amazing what can make me pedal harder but, sadly, a photogenic log pile is one of them. And this reminded me of our trip cycling in Bavaria, but as I found out bigger!

More log piles than Germany

I told you they were bigger!

An even larger log pile

Having left the bike I was patrolling up and down in awe of the log pile, when I spotted a lone foxglove. I told you they were photogenic didn't I?

A foxglove and logs

As I was heading back to where I'd left MOH and the bikes I realised the field behind me - although log pile free - was equally as pretty.

Not forgetting the beautiful field behind me

Before long we were back on our bikes, we'd passed through a small village and got slightly confused with the signs. We headed off confidently, but after four or so kilometres and no more signs MOH agreed we might have gone wrong. So back we went. That was eight kilometres we weren't expecting.

By now, despite having a large breakfast I was starting to fade. So it was time for a stop. Back in the village where we went wrong. I was hoping for some of our packed lunch, but MOH whipped out some gel bars and gels. 

cycling off in the horizon

Ah well, they did the job and I amused myself at why there was a picnic bench and some bike racks in a random field in the French countryside. But I was oh so glad there was. The bench, like the bike racks were concrete and the lichen patterns were fantastic.

Parking my bike as you do
A lichen covered picnic bench

After a much needed break, and a much longer cycle than we'd expected - it was 23 or so miles there - Chenonceau was in our sights. I'll admit I wasn't looking forward to the journey back. As we parked and secured our bikes, the rain that had been threatening throughout our cycle made its presence known so it was a quick scramble to don our waterproofs and for me to cover my saddle with a plastic bag!

And then we headed into Chenonceau, only to be refused entry because we had a picnic. We could either leave it in a locker or go out and eat it, so that's what we did. I understand why they wouldn't want the place littered but it seemed a bit OTT to me. Later on we discovered the prices inside the chateau grounds were way higher than those by the entry points, and that just felt a little too mercenary. 

Arriving at chenonceau

Before I finish this post I'll leave you with our first glimpse of Cháteau de Chenonceau, which from this angle doesn't look quite as special as I'd expected, but don't worry more was to be revealed. I'll also tell you that our cycle back was a lot shorter than getting there, at closer to fifteen miles. It turned out we'd been on a circular route and had gone the scenic way first, which I think on reflection was the right way round!

A glimpse of chateau de chenonceau

More soon on the gardens at Chenonceau - there are three - and of some more usual shots and a look at the sumptuous interiors. It really was a great chateau to visit, and I'm glad I'd arranged the trip to include this one.

Have you been, did it live up to your expectations?

Ceilings, fireplaces and fancy floors

So my last post from the Chateau de Blois was of gargoyles and stonework, this one is, well just a bit fancier. We're inside the Palace and for some of this post inside the Royal apartments, so they should be fancier shouldn't they? 

But before we get there, let's enjoy the ceiling in the Great Hall. It reminds me very much of the ceiling at Saint Chapelle in Paris, and this google search (if the link works) should tell you why. Interestingly enough I was quite taken with the gargoyles outside there too. Yes, I really do have a thing for gargoyles. And ceilings.

Anyway, one of the things that struck me about our visit in Blois was how accessible things were. I mean in this fantastic room there was a pretend throne, which all of the kids - and MOH - tried for size. I'd share that photo here if it wasn't so blurry. I have to practice giggling and taking pictures.

The great hall in the chateau at Blois

The fireplaces throughout were pretty spectacular. As well as large and highly decorated. They looked similar - and these are just a few of them - and on more than one occasion I found myself popping back to the one I'd just visited to check if it was the same or not. And mostly they weren't.

A fancy fireplace
The fireplaces are all similar, but different
A second style of fireplace
And yes, there are a lot of fireplaces in the chateau

Some though were more fancier than others.

In the photo below you can see the decorated ceiling too, as well as glimpses of patterned wallpaper around the tapestry. I've said before they really did do pattern and colour didn't they in days gone by?

An ornate fireplace with a tapestry and a decorated ceiling

The lady in the bottom left of the photo above had ten or so school children with her, all drawing elements of the room. And I can tell you they were all so well behaved and polite, and that was great to see too. We kept bumping into them around the chateau as they rushed to the next room for their next activity and having sussed out we were English some tried their English out on us, giggling as they did so.  Hence quite a few more blurry photos.

But anyway, I haven't shown you any fancy floors yet and I promised you some.

A very fancy - and shiny - tiled floor

Just look at the shine on that.

Shiny huh.  And fancy obviously.  I was lusting after tiled floors on our visit here, but then realised I'd need another house to put them in so that plan's on hold for the moment. 

How about this for a party room? Yeap, I'd be pretty happy with it too.

P1110389.jpg

Apparently most of the entertainment would conclude in the King's bedchamber, which I guess if you can you would, wouldn't you? And that was, as you'd expect, more lavishly decorated than the rooms before it.  The wallpaper in the shot below and the patterned panel on the fireplace are fantastic patterns which would, I think, translate to a modern setting. They might need to be on a reduced scale, but their geometric and repeating patterns don't look outdated to me.

As you'd expect the Kings Bedchamber has one an ornate fireplaces

I think I might give this floor a miss, but I can't say it's not fancy.

Patterns galore - floor, walls, ceiling and fireplace

There's even wallpaper with his initial too.  And an alternative floor H pattern.

More H designs, another floor and the wallpaper too

Seriously though the decoration throughout the chateau was great to see and at times mind blowing. The ceiling below was so very different than any we'd seen before. But then the more I looked at it, the more I could see a kaleidoscope pattern and couldn't help but wonder, what came first, the ceiling or the kaleidoscope?

Who knows...

The ceiling in the Counsel room

So all in all the Chateau de Blois, the Royal Apartments especially were a feast for my eyes. With colour and pattern overload - even for me - but such a great experience. I've more to share from here, but I think my next post in the Loire Cycle Tour will involve a long cycle in the rain, so look out for that one!

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Gargoyles and stonework in Blois

I do like a gargoyle. Obviously I don't have my own, although at times I think it would be nice to add one, but where would you start?  I know they're supposed to be grotesque, but did you know they also have a spout designed to guide water from a roof and away from the building to avoid water running down the walls and eroding its mortar. You see, useful. And the more I think about it and our water-on-the-windows problems (a bad design involving windows in our mansard roof) I really do think a gargoyle would help us out.

If only I'd known when I saw these at the Château de Blois. Although they would have been tricky to transport on our bikes wouldn't they?! Before we got inside the chateau in the centre of Blois we already spotted these.

A decorative drainpipe
Looking up at the château de blois
Framing the window
The royal porcupine

Once inside the chateau this was the view we were met with. Absolutely stunning and my eyes didn't know where to look first. There was the classic French chateau architecture immediately in front of us, reminiscent of many chateaus we'd already seen. But there were plenty of things that were different too, the staircase on the right being just one of them. 

It turns out that the royal chateau of Blois has had quite a bit of work done, with each of the four wings showcasing French architecture from the 13th through to the 17th century, with each addition making it grander and slightly more bizarre. I guess, it really is a rather grand example of adding an extension in a completely different style. And when you learn that seven kings and ten queens of France, it's easy to see why the architecture became grander and grander.

Inside the courtyard

It was the Françoise I staircase though that really caught my eye. It's inspired by the Italian Renaissance and is ornately carved. It was initiated in 1515 and I'm sure was just as fantastic then. It's open to walk up and down too, so of course we did and I'm sure I wasn't the only one to imagine how this might have been in days gone by. 

My favourite view of the chateau de blois
A view back into the impressive courtyard

As we moved through the various parts of the chateau we found ourselves in a section with an exhibition of stonework and some of the gargoyles too. And it was great. There were plenty of information boards in both French and English which meant we spent a fair time exploring this area. 

Did you know that during the French Revolution of 1789 royal emblems were systematically destroyed. Which makes sense when you consider what it was about. But to restore the hammered out emblems castings were made of those found at the nearby Château of Chambord, which as a private residence fared better than the royal palaces. 

Royal emblem of Francois Ist

Having spent more time than I'll admit looking at these gargoyles my favourites are the creature sort rather than the human sort. Every time I look at the one above I see a certain Labour leader and it makes me smile, I'm not quite sure why.

A collection of gargoyles in Blois

But don't you think I should have one of these, maybe not a dog - although the one of the right above looks quite a character. Perhaps I should have a cat gargoyle, not a cute fluffy sort that wouldn't go with the ethos behind them would it. But it got me wondering, if you could commission a gargoyle, what type would you have?