France- the Loire Valley

The Loire Valley region has turned out to be one of our favourites of France.  The villages, towns and Chateaus have been beautiful and there has been numerous free aires and stopping places.

Aire at Villaines les Rochers

Whilst we were still in Villaines-les-Rochers, our water pump stopped working again (this happened in Morocco and our friend Roley managed to fix it for us).  So because we had watched Roley fix it a couple of months ago, Dale was able to take it out and clean it again as that was what fixed it last time.  We had no luck that morning, but Dale was able to get it going again that night.  It really is just suffering old age and is inevitable that it will probably need to be replaced (a job once we get back to England).

So that made a slower start than we would have liked, but we got to our first stop Azay-le-Rideau late morning.  We packed a picnic lunch and went into the Chateau there.  For 8.50 euro each we were a little disappointed to see quite a bit of the grounds under renovation.  The whole site is ungoing renovation until 2018, funded partly by entrance fees.  The Chateau was interesting and originates from the 16th century.  It has a cool attic- the roof is a timber framework which is quite special and is also curiously home to about 50 female bats and young.  The grand staircase is also important as it is in the middle of the building and straight, unlike the curved staircases in turrets which was common at the time (and yes it also has these!).  There is also the apartments, great hall, dining room and kitchen to see.

Next we drove to Villandry, whose Chateau is renown for its gardens.  We chose a stealth approach and went up to the church which gives a tree obstructed view into the garden.  One reason for us not going in was that it isn't the optimum time to visit the garden as only a few flowers were out, and also we plan to visit two other Chateaus in the next few days.

We went to the Villandry tourist information and the assistant was extremely helpful, able to answer all our questions (which ranged from motorhome parking, horse racing and Chateaus).  We were also able to pre purchase tickets for 2 Chateaus at 40 euros, saving us 7 euros.

Next we headed to Tours, the biggest city of the region.  As directed by the tourist information in Villandry we used the new motorhome parking (so new the books and websites don't seem to know about it) and caught the bus into the city.  The bus and tram system in town looked pretty impressive and appeared to be recently updated ie. new ticketing machines, live updated time boards.  Being a Sunday, we unfortunately noticed many free parks around and probably shouldn't have worried about driving in this city, but oh well.  Tours probably owes a lot to it's mayor from 1959-95 Jean Royer which during his time restored many parts of the inner city and make them an attractive place today.  The city is known for it's medieval half timbered buildings and it's Gothic Cathedral.  The Cathedral is a real stand out owing to its numerous stain glass windows and has panels in English and French about most of them, which added to the experience.

After a quick stop in a small town, Vouvray, we continued onto Amboise where we stayed the night at the aire.  There are two in town, one is 12 euros and the other free.  You can guess the one we picked.

Amboise Chateau and town

The next afternoon after a stroll around Amboise we spent at Chateau de Chenonceau, one we had pre purchased tickets for.  Looking back (as I'm now writing this a week later) it was my favourite.  The Chateau design was unique, the property was well cared for and the flowers were in bloom.

The next day we went to Chambord (which we had advance tickets for also).  The grounds are free which means the inside really has to be special in order to justify 9 euros each.  Unfortunately the parking was 7 euros a day as well (seems to be a money making venture, as that is the only place to park nearby).

That night we headed to Chateaudun to a lovely aire overlooking the Chateau.  We were stopped by French Police at a checkpoint on the way for a routine check, this time for a drivers license, insurance, van registration and breath test check- all passed.

The aire at Chateaudun

We then stopped in Chartres the following day as they have a wonderful Cathedral there.  It has a lot of stain glass, like Tours and I was lucky enough to hear a singing rehearsal by some school children at the time of visit.

Next stop was Paris and Versaille!