Chateaux of Loire Valley [Part 2]

Saturday, 28th July '12 cont...
I was very sleepy on the second half of the day, which was unfortunate, as the afternoon session involved longer visits to much, much larger castles. I was lazier with my pictures, so there might not be as much as there should be.

Visit #3: Chambord

This is the biggest of all the Chateaus in the Loire Valley. It's probably the most famous because it's quite distinctive with it's blend of French Renaissance. It's built on a huge plot of land and was used as a hunting lodge and has something like 1,200 stables. It's also said that Leonardo da Vinci had a hand in designing it. It's also famous for having a double helix staircase, and it's pretty sick, I will admit that.

Visit #4: Chenonceau
This was the last castle to visit. It was getting late, my feet were tired, my eyes were tired, my brain was tired... but it turns out to be my favourite. The gardens were just beautiful and it had a huge 16th century farm where vegetables and flowers were grown. The Chateau, although small, is built over a mother-effing lake. How much cooler does it get than that?

It was also the only place that appeared to be a little more substantially furnished and was clean, well signed and well-lit. It was very beautiful.

It's history is sort of hilarious, it's been passed to all types of different women, with so much drama. Bequeathed originally to the official mistress of the king, and then when the king died, the queen kicked the wench out of the house and then, between them, a lot of the gardens and everything were added. Uh, French aristocratic bitch fights. I like it.

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