Today was another day of beautiful châteaux, but these were the first two that were completely new to me, so I was excited to see something different.
We started our day at Azay-le-Rideau with intentions of having a guided tour. I guess I had been living under a rock because today (the 23rd) was the day planned for a huge grève (strike) throughout France. [Strikes are super popular in France and happen all the time. One day in Dijon the buses weren’t running due to a strike, and when we were driving through Bourgogne we ran into a parade of carnival workers on strike.] No one was working at the national monuments today because of issues with pensions, so we didn’t have a guide. We were at least able to go in and walk around the grounds, but we weren’t able to go inside the château. Azay-le-Rideau was a beautiful and surrounded by a nice park, but it definitely won’t go down as one of my favorites. We did about two circles around the grounds and then stopped at the little café for a Perrier.
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| Azay-le-Rideau |
The group stayed in the same town for lunch, and we headed to Villandry next. Fortunately, Villandry is privately owned, so we were able to go inside and get views of the GORGEOUS gardens from up above. The château has always been a residence, so it was interesting to think about people actually living there. Since it’s still privately owned there were some family photos, which made it more personal and also a little more creepy at the same time.
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| Le Jardin d'Ornement |
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| Le Potager |
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| Le Jardin d'Eau |
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| Le Jardin de Soleil |
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| Villandry |
The best part of Villandry, though, is the gardens. It starts with Le Jardin d’Ornement (Ornamental Garden) that has sections designed with the themes of “tender love,” “passionate love,” “fickle love,” and “tragic love.” Next is Le Jardin d’Eau (Water Garden) with a large pond and fountains, followed by Le Jardin de Soleil (Sun Garden) made up of the “cloud room” with blue and white shrubs and the “sun room” with orange and yellow plants. There’s a labyrinth and finally Le Potager (Vegetable Garden). Each garden is laid out in a very precise pattern, and I can’t imagine how much work it takes to keep up the entire grounds. It was sooo pretty.
We came back to Tours for our last night in the hotel here (thank goodness), and we’re getting ready to head out to a group dinner (not very excited about the restaurant since it’s a repeat). Tomorrow we continue on to our next château, Fontainebleau!
À bientôt!
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