Now That's a Castle!!

Today we saw three different castles, every one of which was the kind of castle that you think of when you imagine an old castle. They totally made me think of “Slipper and the Rose.”  It was a fun day to be an old lady pretending to be twenty!

So, for each castle I’m just going to give you a few facts that I found interesting, and you can just enjoy the pictures. I found that this day was more enjoyable if I just walked and looked, and didn't try and remember the dozens of facts they were throwing at us! And I apologize in advance for the pictures because I had no battery in my camera and I had to use my iPhone.  What a bad day to not have a real camera! camera, especially because much of what made these visits beautiful was the grounds.  Wow, the French can do gardens!!!

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Azay-le-Rideau Chateau

Built in 1518

Considered French Gothic

Also considered a small chateau

I didn't know this: straight staircases like this come from the Italians, up until this time in history staircases were always spiral.  This castle boasts possibly the first strait staircase in France

Just the interior beams.  Maybe because I'm in the middle of my own building project, I thought these were awesome!

This little chapel sat between two of the bedrooms and allowed for the owners to have their own personal worship and meditation spot.

One short history lesson:  This chest is representative of the many many chests we saw this week.  This is because the people owned these castles never lived in them full time, they actually moved around their little kingdoms on a regular basis, so everything they had was portable and packable, the chairs, tables, desks, and even the beds.  Most all the chests were decorated like this one, and they are mostly made out of oak!  One of the reasons I thought this was so interesting was that it explains the etymology of the french word for furniture: "meuebles", or mobil.  So now you know!!

By the time the last king, Louis Phillip lived in this chateau, the furniture had changed to the more closely match the English word "furniture", or furnish

An indoor well!

The mote/river surrounding the castle.

It was morning when we were here and standing on the bridge the birds were going nuts!  It was wonderful!!!

Brittany, Chloe, Darian, and moi!

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Chenonceau

Begun in 1513, five women would eventually live here and leave their mark

Gothic to Renaissance 

Not a small chateau, but truly a castle

I think this one was my favorite, it was the best preserved, but it also was the most well organized for the tourist.  You always knew where you were and what you were looking at, and I'm telling you, that really helps!

I didn't get a good picture from this angle

The approach....

Voila!  The front entrance!

 

This was very cool.  The river came along one side, and underneath, but they diverted it at this point and created a moat that went around the entire property.

This is the little "in house church" for this castle.  And in a story we heard often here in France, all these windows were blown out during WWII and have had to be replaced.

The servants dinner table.

An early rotisserie fire. Notice the gears to the right, it was all hooked to an elaborate weight and pulley system that turned the meat in from of the fire

This entire kitchen was in the "basement", surrounded by the water which kept it cooler then the rest of the house.  These guys were pretty smart!

Dianne de Poitiers

This scandalous woman was the lover of Henri II.  She appears all the history during this time because of her tremendous influence over him.  He gave her this castle as her home while he was alive.  But after his death, his wife Catherine de Medici humiliated her by forcing her to exchange this for a smaller castle.

This is the garden Dianne had built....

....and to the left is the garden designed by Catherine when she took over.   Soap opera's have been happening for centuries!!

It's likely that one of the reasons this castle was one of my favorites is because of the enormous flower arrangements that were scattered throughout.  This is one of the simpler ones, but my friend Darian is a florist was taking pictures like crazy; the flowers were wonderful.

The grounds also had an English maze!  I confess I've always loved them thanks to my fetish with European novels and movies, so this was pretty fun!

These woods were so beautiful!  But don't they remind you of the movie Robin Hood with Kevin Costner? 

All the help for this castle lived in a small village on the grounds....

....I think I would be just fine living here!!

Your average castle vegetable garden!

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Ambois

Built in the 1400's

Charles the VIII was born here

Leonardo da Vinci is buried here

The red house in the center of this out of focus picture is the home of Leonardo da Vinci.  I know it's a bad picture, but with an iPhone what do you expect, I figure it's better then nothing.

This is the room where the trial was the held for the conspirators in Huguenots uprising The Huguenot protestants wanted to demand freedom of religion and were planning a violent takeover.  When caught and convicted they were hung from the balcony of this castle for the amusement of Catherine de Medici, Francois II, and his wife Mary Stuart.  

These castles obviously had a dark side!

A more modern decor from the final owner before the castle was sold to the government.

A napping bed!

Many of these castles are built on the highest point of ground in the surrounding area.  This is because they also functioned as defensive forts, and such is the case for Amboise.  This meant that this and so many others of them have insanely high walls and sides, but it also means that the view is always nice.

Look closely, I'm standing right over a gargoyle/rain gutter.

I love the roofs!

I've never been a fan of overly sculpted shrubs, but the french have softened my opinion on this!  I may have to get me some good clippers when I get home!

It was interesting to me to know that this entire complex at one time was all built out in a large expanded castle similar to Versailles, except a few centuries earlier.  When it fell in to disrepair most of it was torn down and the materials were used to build the surrounding town.

The church, the windows in this one also were blown out during the war.  I don't know why, but story always makes me melancholy when I hear it.

I know this has been a marathon email, trust me, it was a marathon day!  So while you are rubbing your wrist from the ridiculous computer scrolling you've just had to do we must bid a sad farewell to my red shoes.  France has killed them!