Les Vallées de La Loire et Le Loir

Who knew there were two Loir(e)s, one right beside the other? We didn't until we began to search for a gîte (the French word for rented holiday house) in which to spend a week with some of our family. As three young granddaughters, aged 1½, 4 and 7 would be with us we immediately thought of châteaux and then, of course, La Loire. The search was long and interesting. Gîtes include everything from small cabins for two to huge chateaux for 20. Somewhere in the middle was what we were searching for. We would be seven, wanted an unusual and memorable place, isolated enough that the children would be free to be children. And so, we came upon the Manoir de la Vallée close to Le  Loir. Yes, one is masculine, the other feminine-French genders are difficult! This smaller Loir is as lovely and historic as the large Loire to the south, although more gentle in character with smaller towns and villages lining its banks. On the other hand, the Manoir was huge and grand and we loved having the experience of being Lords and Ladies of the Manor.

Constructed in the 16th century, it was once the largest and most prosperous house of the area. Sitting high on a cliff overlooking the river and the little town Chartre-sur-le-Loir, it had a strategic advantage as well. The aristocratic owners disappeared at the time of the Revolution, the family crest torn from over the fireplace. We began looking for stains on the wood floors! Our host, Jean-Louis was born in the Manoir and is very proud of its history. He pointed out the remains of flour ground into the wide staircase, dropped from the bags as they carried it up to the attic where it was safely stored. David and I occupied the large bedroom and bathroom in the old attic. It was clear from the construction of the stairs from elegant to utilitarian that we were in the former storerooms. However,we enjoyed the lovely room, the view out over the valley and the
early morning birdsong--a complete change from La Rochelle

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We were in another area of France now, again steeped in history. This time it was the history of kings, queens and mistresses so we set out to explore. Our seven and four year old granddaughters are both intrigued by princesses and queens so they were excited explorers with us. As long as there were enough opportunities to practise the new skill of walking along, the one and a half year old was happy!

  In order to accommodate all seven of us, we rented an enormous Nissan van and in it we comfortably toured the countryside. Hats off to the drivers, David and Tim, who manoeuvred the monster through small village streets and a number of demi-tours as we tried to interpret some interesting road signs and find our way on back roads.

Our first excursion was to the magnificent Château de Chenonceau.

Built on the Cher River in the 16th century, it is called the Château des Dames after the many famous women (queens, mistresses and commoners) who occupied and loved it. One of the cleverest, Mme. Louise Dupin saved the château from destruction during the French Revolution, reminding the revolutionaries that it was the only bridge across the river for many miles and essential to travel and commerce. In 1913, the Menier family, famous for their chocolates, bought the château and still own it. It is a wonderful place, well cared for and full of beautiful rooms and furniture.

Then, in response to a request from the little girls to know more about dungeons, we googled 'dungeons on the Loire River' and quite by accident discovered the wonderful mediaeval town of Loches.

There are in fact two châteaux in Loches, the one with the dungeon, dating from the time of Henry II of England and Richard the Lion-Hearted and the more 'modern' château further down the cobbled road.
 

The fortress was used as a prison from the 14th century until 1923. It contains various horrors like cages and leg irons that fascinated our usually gentle children! The Royal Lodge currently has an exhibition on the exhumation of the body of Agnes Sorel, the mistress of Charles VII. Altogether a day of macabre sights!

Desolée!!

This is a well-used expression in France. "Desolée", we don't have any bananas today, your cleaning isn't ready, you can't have an appointment with the doctor for 3 weeks . . . And I am desolée not to have a new post today. We are in the middle of wonderful family visits, so full of adventures and fun that there has not yet been time to sit quietly and write.
A bientôt!