We started the morning with a visit to a french market. I got specialty cheeses and apples and chocolate. Brad got chips and breads and veggies. We were set for another day of exploring France.
First place on the agenda- Chateau Chambord. This was the first 17th century Chateau we saw and boy did it impress, It was originally designed and built by Francois I (contemporary of Henry the 8th) with design help from Leonardo Da'Vinci. It is structurally set apart from other Chateau's because of the huge central spiral stair case. Francois originally was going to re route the Seine to surround it- but too many other political agendas and then he died before it was completely finished. It was finished by his son Henry II whose son married Mary Queen of Scots, and then partly renovated and finished by Louis the XIV. It was fun to imagine all of the fancy court making their way around the halls and to the chapel. Especially after all of the books and movies I have read depicting 17th century royal culture. But being inside on a cool day made it very obvious how cold and hollow this type of home would be on a daily basis. No wonder they took their court from chateau to chateau- it must have given them something to look forward to.
We munched on snacks for lunch and decided to check out the town of Blois. It was built right against the Loire River and had a beautiful romantic bridge across the Loire leading to steps to the middle of the city. We stumbled into a big crowd and a parade complete with dancing and firecrackers. It was to celebrate Indiafest and it seemed the whole town was out for the afternoon. We walked around the city and found the cathedral and another Chateau- which was apparently the royal headquarters until it was moved to Paris. We had dinner (schwarma) standing on the bridge looking over the city and then found our way to our hotel in Auxerre.
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