Day 38 Around the Loire Valley (day 2)

Day 38 Around the Loire Valley (day 2)

Today we took the easier option and walked into the village and to the Chateau d'Azay le Rideau.  This is a very different chateau to yesterday's - Chateau de Chenonceau.  This is a smaller chateau which has not been restored to the same level.  They did have a terrific display on the restoration of Philippe Lesbahay's bedchamber which included the use of hand braided bulrush matting on the walls and floors used in the renaissance period for warmth and insulation.  Interestingly this bulrush was harvested in Bedfordshire (UK).

Chateau de Azay le Rideau

A tremendous amount of oak has been used in the vaulted roofs.

Alan finds a comfortable chair and enjoys a moment of "reflection".

The gardens while not so expansive are delicate and quite well set out.  The building is again made from the white/grey stone typical of the area.  We spend around 2 hours going through the chateau and gardens.  Again well worth the visit and not nearly as busy!   

We decided to have a quick bite to eat and found a lovely cafe (a rare breed in France) and had coffee (tea) and either a fish or vegetable soup or an omelette then walked back to the hotel and set off for a drive in the cars.  

We set off for Chinnon and ended up at Usse and decided to stop at the Chateau de La Belle au Bois dormant in the village of Usse.  On the way back we stopped at a small family run wine cellar/ roadside wine sales.  They use caves craved into the rock over the centuries as cellars for their wine storage.  A very friendly chap greeted us in broken english.  We bought several bottles as it was quite a pleasant drop.

Chateau de La Belle au Bois dormant in Usse - Referred to as Sleeping Beauty's castle

This chateau was reputed to have inspired Perrault to write his famous stories including Sleeping Beauty.  It is a beautiful and majestic castle built mainly in the 15th and 16th century. The stuff of fairytales!   This chateau was again quite different from the other two we had visited previously.

Dinner tonight was once again in town - next door to the pizza establishment (which shared the pizza kitchen) and Dale and I opted for a "cook it yourself" hot rock with beef, venison, duck and pork tenderloins.  

Day 37 Round the Loire Valley

Day 37 Round the Loire Valley

In a region where the Chateau's are world famous we couldn't resist the temptation and visited Chateau de Chenonceau - an absolutely fabulous example of how Kings, Queens and other royals and their "hangers on" lived. So large and grand that it took nearly all day to go through the 20 or so rooms on display.  The quality, detail and opulence is magnificent . 

One of the many interesting bridges in the Loire

Chateau de Chenonceau

The down side is that it is a huge tourist attraction so is extremely busy!  Biggest problem is with the large crowds the flow in and around the rooms of the chateau is poor with people having to push past one another – not pleasant.There is an English audio you can hire for an extra 4 euros which explains in great detail the features of each room - well worth the cost.

Chateau de Chenonceau - front forecourt view

Inside - the Great Hall

Ruth, Mike and Noeline in one of the Kitchens

On the way back we drove through a number of villages – all buildings are quite elegant but stark in the grey stone.  It really is Cinderella country with beautiful elegant grand chateau's dotted all over the countryside. 

Later in the afternoon we did catch some bad weather and got quite wet (nearly drowned in the MG). Fortunately we were not far from home and a warm shower. 

On the food front - for dinner tonight we opted for pizza!  It was actually quite a lovely change.  The wine was also excellent 

Day 36 Domme to Azay Le Rideau in the Loire Valley

 Day 36 22/6  Domme to Azay Le Rideau in the Loire Valley

(Notes again kindly donated by Noeline and Dale)
Today we drove from Domme in the Dordogne region to Azay Le Rideau in the Loire valley. Travelling through Sarlat, around Perigueux and Angdulems into the Loire region.  

Ruth and Mike's 12/50 leaving Domme

Today we left Domme but had to wait until the laundrette opened and once Maritta emerged with a smile from ear to ear carrying her bag of fresh clean clothes -what a luxury- we were on our way.  

Lovely 12/50 friendly road leaving Dodogne

It was a long day mainly on motorways except for a couple of pretty towns as we had around 230 miles to cover.  We did not arrive until just on 6pm and collectively decided to eat "in house".  This hotel has a system whereby they offer an evening meal (choice of 3 in each course) which is outsourced and the staff obviously  heat and present. It wasn't too bad but nowhere near what we have become used to. The rabbit terrine with beetroot ""foam" was an interesting dish. 



There is a notable difference in architecture but mainly a complete difference in the color of the stone.   In the Dordogne area the stone is a warm golden sand colored stone with red/brown terracotta or stone roofs.  In the Loire valley the stone is a stark white/pale grey with dark grey or black slate for the roofs.

The grey / white stone is distinctive in Loire region

Arriving in Azay de Rideau

Day 35 Tour outside Domme in Dordogne region.

Day 35 Tour outside Domme in Dordogne region.

(Notes kindly donated by Noeline - with some additions from Dale)

Friday morning we left for a sightseeing run with the thought of being in Sarlat at some stage to look for a laviriere (laundrette).  Not sure about the French, they are either wearing dirty clothes or they wash them in secret. The only time you see any washing on the line is in a peasant village   Nelleke had done some laundry for us but laundry's or washing facilities are non existent.....and we are now at the desperate stage!

We had wound our way out of our walled village which is all one way (except for the locals who seem to drive any which way) down the hill which was almost a 3 point turn for the 12/50's, turned left into another village and lo and behold a laundry!  It was better than any tourist attraction for Dale and Maritta especially who desperately need to wash jeans.  It's a bit difficult to wash them out in the room!
 

Walking to the parked cars

12/50 just makes the turn in Domme

We drove on through a couple of very pretty villages, one with market, but we couldn't stop to browse as Alan had to roll start the car so did not want to chance it not starting.  The scenery around was absolutely amazing with two medieval castles built on the rocks high above the villages.  We drove past one sign for 'Jardins of 'Marqueyssac' which I had thought would be interesting to see and then on past another sign leading to them.  Mike was apparently just watching the road, not noted any signs of interest!  We caught up to him and said we would like to go back which we did, arriving at the same time as a busload of 'grey nomads'!  unfortunately we blended in!  

One of the advantaged of such groups is that they generally have a guided tour booked on their arrival. Such was the case here and although it did cross our minds to just walk in with them we opted for honesty and paid!  Their tour leader was from Derbyshire (UK) and didn't mind us joining on their guided tour which was good as it was in English.  

The chateau and gardens are a private estate dating from the 17th century. Restoration works are gradually being carried out  to the Chateau, the roof itself a job worse than the Sydney Harbour Bridge. The stonemason can only achieve 1 square metre at a time - so laborious is the process.  The gardens themselves consist of only box plants and it is fascinating. 

The superb gardens of Marqueyssac - Dordogne

 There are more than 6 kilometers of walks and as the estate is quite high there are stunning views from a most everywhere.  The gardens themselves were planted around 1861 but had been let go for many years. They were restored and reopened in 1997.  It is incredible that the totally overgrown box which had lost most of their shape were able to be nurtured and groomed back to their present state.  The basis of a really great garden.
 
Even those among us who are not garden fans were totally enthralled,so interesting was the whole place.
after a picnic lunch of fresh baguette and leftover "24 euro olives and dip" we visited the Chateau de Castlenaud, a medieval fortress dating back to1214.  These castles, fortresses  etc., are just fascinating for us whose history is so young.  Every corner has some ancient history on it!
 

Chateau de Castlenaud

The fortress had a fascinating display of armaments and weaponry from the 12th to 19th century.  The amount of work that wen into making the cross bows was over the top with engraving and embellishments considering most of them would have been left lying on the ground after a battle.   The displays include in depth explanations of the work and skill of the craftsmen who designed and created all forms of weaponry and armaments used to defend or retake this fortress.

This fortress castle landed back in the hands of the English six times before coming back into french hands.  A lot of to-ing  and fro-ing went on.  

A superb collection of Armour.

These 2 visits filled in our day and we raced back to Domme so Dale and Maritta could go and do their laundry.  We made our dinner reservation later allowing them to get their washing done.  But in no time they were back??  The laundry is run by an English couple who had obviously seen a gap in the market. They actually do your washing with the motto "no one touches my machines" so they left the washing with them and came home for drinks instead.
 
Dinner was at a little place in town which had been closed til today.  The Moules a la Creme were so good Noeline, Dale and Mike couldn't leave any of the juices behind.  They are tiny mussels, not at all like we are used to.  Braised lentils with Chicken was Alans choice and very good.  All meals were enjoyed.