Last Exit to Chambord

I was tired by the time I got to Château de Chambord, the largest château in the Loire Valley and the final stop on my tour of the great châteaux.  Leonardo da Vinci may have been involved in the creation of the building, which was never completed.

After a v full day of traipsing up and down ancient staircases, I was glad Chambord was last on the list, because there were no great period rooms to explore at the château.  In fact, it’s almost entirely devoid of furniture.

Behind the glory of its stunning exterior, the château is a beautiful, empty shell.

For reasons that have baffled historians for centuries, the Château de Chambord was never given to Diane de Poitiers.

Release the Hounds!

Château de Cheverny is famous for its kennels, which were created in 1850.  Today they house more than 100 hunting dogs.

I didn’t know that when I arrived, and only visited them as an afterthought, because I had a little extra time.  I’m so glad I did!

I don’t know anything about dogs, but, damn, these guys were big and beautiful.  I found out later that they’re a cross of English Fox hounds and French Poitevins.

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Feeding Frenzy at Cheverny

The dogs are fed at 11:30 every morning, and the resulting feeding frenzy always draws a crowd.  I was too late to see it, which was probably for the best, since I’ve heard that their meal is made largely of chopped-up American tourists.

A couple of earlier, obviously non-American visitors have posted some exciting videos of the action.

Château de Cheverny — The Daytrip Continues

Château de Cheverny

After lunch at Chenonceau, it was on to Château de Cheverny, which, except for a couple of intervals in the 15th and 18th centuries, has been in the same family for over six centuries.

Cheverny was “lost to the Crown because of fraud” under Henri II, who gave it to his mistress, Diane de Poitiers.  (He apparently made a habit of giving her châteaux.  Lucky Diane!)   She preferred Chenonceau, however, and sold Cheverny to the former owner’s son.

The family later sold the estate in the aftermath of the French Revolution, but was able to buy it back 22 years later.

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Here are some of the things I saw at Cheverny.

Lunch at the Chenonceau Orangerie

After I left the main building at Chenonceau, I walked past the formal garden and across the lawn to the château’s Orangerie, where I had a reservation for lunch.

You’ll never guess what I had for a starter.  At the beginning of this series of notes about my 2016 visit to France, I mentioned that I planned to concentrate on classic bistro cooking and on period rooms.  Over time, and without intent, that sort of narrowed into a running comparative analysis of a variety of French onion soups and four-poster beds.

The main:  Suprême de Volaille Roti, Legumes de Jardin, Sauce Champignon.

Boneless chicken breast with a mushroom sauce, and vegetables fresh from the garden.  This dish—this entire meal—was worthy of the location, which is the highest possible praise I can give it.  French haute cuisine at its best, perfectly prepared and beautifully presented.

I’ll remember this elegant, delightful meal for a long, long time.

And then there was the dessert du pâtissier, with pineapple, white chocolate, vanilla ice cream, and a tasty crumble.   Another happy ending.

“Last Night I Dreamt I Went to Chenonceau Again.” — (not-quite) Daphne Du Maurier

It was time for a road trip.  Early one morning, I left Paris for the Loire valley, to explore three of the great châteaux.

My first stop, the Château de Chenonceau is, famously, the “Château des Dames”— “The Women’s Castle”—because of the role women played in its creation, design, and defense.

In the 15th century, when the architect of the château was called away to war, his wife, Katherine Briçonnet, took over construction.

The château was seized for unpaid debts by King François I.  After his death, his son, Henri II, gave Chenonceau to his mistress, Diane de Poitiers, who added the bridge across the river Cher and developed the gardens.  When Henri died, his wife, Catherine de Médicis, evicted Diane de Poitiers, who got another château in exchange, and made Chenonceau her own.

After the assassination of her husband, King Henri III, the widowed Louise de Lorraine lived out her sad last years at Chenonceau, and, later, Louise Dupin saved it from destruction during the French Revolution.

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The Chenonceau web site has a wonderful series of 360 degrees images showing most of the rooms in the château.

Here are a few of the photos I took during my visit:

The Approach to Chenonceau

Chenonceau Entrance 

 

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Breathtaking, isn’t it?

Chenonceau has been modified, looted, remodeled, and restored countless times over the centuries.  The Château itself was bombed twice during WWII–by the Germans in 1940 and by the Allies in 1944.  Before its 1951 restoration, it was described as “dilapidated.”

Clearly, the upholstery and the wallpaper and the scuff-free flooring and some of the pristine furniture haven’t survived intact since the 1500s.  It’s a re-creation, closer to a magnificent decorator showhouse than a museum.

But really, does is matter that Diane de Poitiers or Catherine de’ Medici might not recognize anything in a given room?

In a way, Chenonceau is and has always been a fantasy.

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Note:  I didn’t take the photo of Chenonceau at the top of this post.  Wish I had.  All the others were mine.