For our first foursome European adventure, we chose the Loire valley, a UNESCO World Heritage Site a couple of hours south of Paris. It is a region renowned for its wine, beautiful paths for walking and cycling, and its numerous chateaux (castles). In the centuries past, it was a key strategic area where kings, queens, dukes and nobles established their feudal strongholds.
Expecting chateau-fatigue, I only arranged ONE measly chateau visit. Per day. For 5 consecutive days. That's utterly reasonable, ne c'est pas? Not for this bunch:
Oh gosh, we are so sick of seeing chateaux after chateaux...It's the same type of grand staircases, the same furnishings, the same decadent lifestyles....and too much *education*
Here's what we'd rather be doing: Wading in sand and dirt, digging for hidden treasures, searching for bugs...
The first castle we encountered was the Chateau d'Usse, supposedly the inspiration for the fairytale, La Belle au Bois Dormant (aka Sleeping Beauty). Now, not many years ago, we were told that *another* castle in Germany was the inspiration. So, which one is the real thing?
Next up, Chateau Cheverny. It has the distinction of being the castle that inspired Marlinspike Hall in the Tintin comics. I will never forgive myself for not paying homage to the place. The chateau itself is a very symmetrical, classical and elegant building with immaculate grounds; not very large so definitely manageable, and has an modern, clean feel to it (as modern as a 300-year-old building can be). And to top it all off, it has a permanent exhibition dedicated to Tintin. What's not to like?!
Copy of original sketch for The Calculus Affair (or in its original French name: L'Affaire Tournesol)
Snowy!
The Secret of the Unicorn!
The man himself! And Captain Haddock!
A satisfied fan!
We broke the monotony of castles with a trip to the Maison de la Magie (Magic House) in Blois, the former home of watch-maker, inventor and conjurer Jean Eugene Robert-Houdin, from whom the famous magician Houdini took his stage name. Apparently, one of his most famous performances in the 17th century was to levitate his 5-year old son on stage. It was an interesting place to bulk up on your history of modern magic, with all its card tricks, optical illusions, etc.
Six mechanical dragons emerge from the maison every hour. Here, Ju is clinging on to me for his dear life, refusing to look at them.
Blois town centre in the background. The sky was overcast. We have been having wet miserable English-style weather this summer.
It's handy when the kids start to read. Here, Sophie is reading the commentary of the landmarks that we were passing while taking a horse & buggy ride through Blois town. She then pointed them out to us excitedly the way in which 6-year olds are predisposed.
Right, enough of a diversion. Let's go back to castles. Castle No. 3 was Chateau de Chambord, the biggest and wildest of all Loire valley chateaux, and like many of the best specimens of castles in the Loire valley, belonged to King Francois I of France. Apparently the French court was a mobile court during the 16th century, and they moved from place to place, castle to castle.
The kids did not give us a chance to step foot into the actual castle because they were lured by these monstrosities of a bicycle. You cannot deny kids of their pleasure, not when you expect them to behave while you trek through a 600-year old massive castle.
The kids demonstrating their happiness when I finally gave in to the buggy ride.
An "illegal" picnic in the grounds of the chateau. I know we can picnic in the grounds, but I'm not sure where, so we rushed through our stash of leftover pizzas, bread, and juice,
changed the baby, and packed up.
One of the most notable features of the castle is its double-helix staircase, reputedly designed by Leonardo da Vinci. More about da Vinci in France later. There are two staircases next to each other in a double-helix structure, such that two persons taking the stairs can see each other but will never meet.
Taken from one of the terraces
"Oh yeah, King Francois I did what?! Wow, he was an awesome dude!"
YL and I had to surrender our audio guides to the kids to keep them entertained, even though they were more intent on pushing the buttons and hearing it respond, than finding out what battle plans Francois I had.
The next day was the wettest day of our trip, so it seems apt to visit the Chateau de Chenonceau. It is unusual in that it is built over the Cher River, over a series of graceful arches.
View from inside the chateau, looking out at the Cher River.
Next up was the Chateau d'Azay-le-Rideau, a small one surrounded by a watery moat. By this time, as you can imagine, like you, my travel companions were getting glazed looks on their faces when faced with yet another "dazzling" chateau. So we actually did not enter the castle, but explored its grounds instead. We only went in 30 minutes before closing time, and by which time the main entrance had actually closed, so we snuck in from a side entrance, and traipsed cursorily through its rooms, just to get our money's worth.
Here's what it looks like, in case you are wondering.
And many, many attempts later (which includes Mamma jumping around like a monkey):
A perfect family shot!
Wait! I am not done. There is one last chateau, although it is really more like a mansion. This one is interesting because it was actually the home of Leonardo da Vinci during the last 3 years of his life. He was invited to move to France from Italy in 1516 when he was 64 years old by his biggest fan, King Francois I, and given this mansion to use. Here he did more tinkering, thinking, and sketching. There are models of his inventions in display in the basement, and in the grounds of the mansion.
YL attempting to absorb intelligence via Leonardo da Vinci's chair in his bedroom.
Look, it's Leonardo coming back to life! And he's bald! Oh no, wait, it's just YL.
"And look, Soph, who is this?"
"It's Francois I."
"How do you know??"
"I can recognise his face already!! I want to see a castle that belongs to Louix XIV, not Francois I!"
This was an actual conversation. What do they put in the food of kids these days???
An original da Vinci sketch, detailing one of his inventions, a swivel bridge.
A model of an armoured tank. Yes, it was also invented by da Vinci.
In fact, the stuff that he invented are so commonplace these days, you never thought, oh, you mean someone had to actually sit down and invent these things? Things like the car jack to change tires, the retracting ladder that firemen uses, the wrench, etc. He did fail in one thing that fascinated him the most - flight. When we visited Florence 3 years ago, we went to see the spot where he experimented with his rudimentary "flying machine" and failed.
Sophie seemed to have absorbed the da Vinci vibe, and immediately got to work "inventing" something when we sat down in the grounds for a rest. Ju, her ever-adoring brother, followed suit, and we actually had 10 minutes of peace as they got to work.
This is what they made. Soph said it is a kite. Use some imagination, people!
And here's another rare family shot, with the mansion, Le Clos Luce, in the background.
(Yes Soph is frowning and Ju is looking away. YOU try to take a nice photo with two kids and an impatient Baba.)
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