After visiting Flavigny-sur-Ozerain on the way, we ended Tuesday with a visit to the Château of Blois and the nearby Maison de la Magie.
Bridge over the Loire River in Blois
The Loire River has a lot of history. It has separated Southern France (where we have been) from Northern France (where we will be) for centuries, running east-west in a not straight line. We spent two days along the Loire with Marc and Joëlle.
The façades at this Château are in Classic, Renaissance, and Gothic styles.The porcupine is the emblem of King HenryClose-up of statue over the door
Blois castle was a beautiful area, with architecture from three different eras. We were given devices to learn more, but in both languages the devices were confusing. If you saw the right place to scan, you could look at the room as had been in the past, with furniture, in 3-D. This made walking around difficult, or perhaps interesting, because other visitors were seeing things that were not there physically, so you could walk right in front of them and they would not notice. However, if they were just listening, not looking, the other visitors could get angry if you walked in front of them. At subsequent sites, we decided not to use these augmented reality devices when offered.
Courtyard at Blois castle Spiral staircase from Francis I, Renaissance Era.Gargoyles. So strange to us, but useful for getting water off the roofs in Renaissance times. Always, Joëlle is the Queen.On part of the famous stairwayCeremonial or decorative vases, so beautiful, from one of the King Henrys (Clare thinks it is the one whose wife was Louise) and H for Henry floor tilesA beautiful tapestryA royal bedroomAll women depicted in stained glassSalamander emblem for King Francis IA suit of armorThe golden dragons, hanging their heads out of the Maison de la Magie are animated, but were not working on the day we visited. This picture depicts Robert Houdin, whose life is celebrated here. The magic show was humorous in any language, because the magicians did not speak at all. Not to let anything bug us, this guy was large!At this lovely restaurant all four of us enjoyed monkfish for dinner!Sunset over the Loire, at the end of our day.
Bunch of Geeks go Traveling 