Bus Trip Day 4

Bonjour tout le monde!

4^th day bus trip

6/10/2016

Today was an action-packed day. Last night we stayed in another interesting hotel in Tours. We left at 9 AM and after a 45 minute bus ride we found ourselves at the château in Azay le Rideau. 

Walking up the château in Azay le Rideau

Unfortunately this château had quite a lot of restoration/construction work taking place so we weren’t able to completely take in the beauty of it from the outside, but we were able to take a nice audioguide tour inside. After, we walked along the ground for a little bit and then we left for castle number two, château Clemenceau.

The pretty part of the château in Azay le Rideau

This castle was definitely the best castle out of the day. Not only was the castle itself gorgeous, set over the river, it also had beautiful gardens, such as the Jardin de Catherine de Medici and the Jardin de Diane poitiers.

The beautiful château Clemenceau over the disgusting water of the river

 The inside was also very nice, and it was interesting because we were able to see all of the huge kitchens, whereas in most castles you can just see the bedrooms. We also got a couple sandwiches for lunch in front of the gate to the castle.

Looking over the jardin de Catherine de Medici

After this we were off to our third and last castle of the day. This castle was the château Amboise. This château had a whole field and gardens and all of it was fortified and above the rest of the town. 

The portion of the château that housed private residences

Unfortunately, over 2/3 of the castle was destroyed, but there was still a major part left standing, as well as a cathedral where Leonardo da Vinci’s bones are buried. The château and the gardens provided some amazing views of the town.

Looking over the town from the château

We left that castle and went to the town that we were staying in, Blois. This city also had a castle that we walked by to get to dinner, but the tour for that is saved until tomorrow. France is amazing, and the amount of castles here is surreal.

À bientôt,

Claire Hunsaker