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.
This stop was not planned, but Brian talked about it so much that Marc and Joëlle decided to deviate. This small town was nice, fun to wander around. Marc got a Geocache, of course.
The village church was used in many scenes for the movie Chocolat.Wooden woman in the windowBuilding downhill from the church that looks similar to the chocolate shop in the movieBuilding with interesting towersChurch tower
In part because of the movie, but mostly because Joëlle remembered the beauty of the shop, we visited the famous candy store in town. It is also a museum. The displays were beautiful and informative, if you wanted to learn the history of candy making using anise, and one section asked you to test your sense of smell. Joëlle’s sense was the best of all four of us.
Candy factory scenes and Joëlle testing her sense of smell which is critical in the COVID era.HistoryA depiction of Flavigny being blessed in the 9th centuryRuins from the 8th century abbeyMore columns and archesThis and similar stones were placed in the countryside to direct folks to the abbey.
We stayed the night at this chateau in the middle of Burgundy. The arrangement was made by Joëlle’s sister Aurore and her husband Francis. Francis knows the owners of this chateau, and Aurore gave Brian and Clare the best room! They also gave us a nice price.
The beautifully restored chateau featured spiral stairs in each tower to access the upper floors from doors in the courtyard. Breakfast was in the room adjacent to the terrace on the right. Wine tasting was in a basement room.The modern sign at the entrance gate and the restored doors to the towers. There are many contrasts of old and modern.The stairs up to the our room.The bed, sofa, and mounted antlers on the wall.Opposite to the bed, there was an old fireplace and a flat-screen television (not used by us).The view from our balcony looking over the courtyard.We tasted wines made at the chateau from Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grapes. Each wine is made from grapes from a particular area to emphasize certain characteristics of the terroir. There was a friendly cat in the courtyard.
This large spread was a collection of transport vehicles and military planes, a bit of a surprise.
The chateau and every other space is filled with various collections.Fiat Abarth race cars were always red, but not an old Harley-Davidson motorcycle. There were few signs or explanations in the collections, but we guess this motorcycle is from the 1940s.Out among vineyards we found the collection of fighter jets and other aircraft, the largest such collection in the world. Brian was interested in the F-104 on the right as his godfather piloted this plane in the 1960s.The courtyard was nice but it was too hot without some shade.Vines on the walls in the courtyardIn the basement there were rooms for wine production and storage. Note the stalactites hanging from the ceiling!
Bunch of Geeks go Traveling 