Chenancou and Wine

Day 3 (May 23)

Hooray Jetlag.

*note HEAVY sarcasm

As you may be able to surmise (due to the fact that the first sentence of this entry is laden with copious…yes, I mean copious…amounts of sarcasm)…today was a LONG day. Very little sleep + being in charge of communication + navigation duty + super crowded tour site that I have already seen + going to see the site again in a week+ little amount of breakfast + not getting enough food for lunch = very crabby and difficult Hannah. Not fun.

So, it starts of pleasant, I ordered a carafe of coffee and we ate some of the goat cheese that we picked up at the store (along with a roll Mom snatched from dinner the evening before) and an apple (again bought at the store). Next off to.

Chenonceau is  a Chateau in the Loire Valley, thought to be one of the lovliest in the Loire Valley due to the location of it. It was originally constructed as a “simple” manor, but was expanded into a pleasure chateau, with re Chenonceau naissance gardens, and a hallway stretching over the Cher river. During the first World War the Chateau was used as a hospital for wounded soldiers.  The placement of the chateau during the first World War was exceptionally interesting, for half of the chateau was in occupied territory, while the other half was located in the “free zone.”  The kitchen is really interesting as well, for it is located directly above the Cher River, and has an area where boats may steer directly under the kitchen and deliver food. You are still able to see the levers and pulleys that were used to access the delivery boats. 

There are still numerous original copper pots and pans in addition to the origional “appliances” in the kitchen!

One thing that never ceases to amaze me is how long the French have used these Chateaux. Many of them were used as either private property or fortresses or barracks or hospitals up until the second World War.  It is not uncommon to find an ancient Chateau with origins in the 12^th Century to be used as lodging or military bases during the World Wars. Not to mention, some of the furniture has held up remarkably throught 900 years of usage!  I was sitting on chairs older than our country!  The manor part of the Chateau is rather intricate as well.  It bears the emblem of Francois I, Henry II and Catherine de Medici. 

Henry II had a mistress, to whom he gave the chateau after the previous owner, Francis I's death. His mistress, Diane de Poitiers, remained the owner of the Chateau from 1555-1559 (the year of Henry II's Death). Catherine de Medici then had Diane de Poitiers expelled and traded it for Chateau Chaumont.  Catherine de Medici had a particular love of the Chateau and invested a great amount of her furtune in the Chateau and it's construction.

*did NOT take this pic...there was construction on the chateau