Thursday, November 07, 2013

The best rest stop ever....


Truth be told, we were looking for a McDonald's on our 10 hour trek from Normandy to Provence... But, you see, in France odds are 20 to 1 that you will come upon a historic site way before you will ever spot a fast food joint..... so, that's what landed us here.... 6 hungry bellies betting that a Chateau would at least have a small cafe for us to grab something for lunch.....

Imagine our delight when we walked down the tree lined path to catch a glimpse of.....  


this.....
a beautiful 16th century chateau; once serving as home to Catherine de Medici as well as a hospital during World War I 

the monogram of Diane de Poitiers, King Henri II's "lady friend" (this was her home before Catherine, Henri's widow, kicked her out)
(see... trouble in love as well as the love of a good monogram go way back) :); 

as well as this stunner.... another testament to classics never going out of style...
My 13 year old actually admonished me before entering "Mom, you cannot scream when you come in here" (has it really come to this?)..... No worries because I was struck speechless.... I mean, can you imagine attending a 16th century ball here?..... 

It was quite clear that this chateau is very lovingly managed;  beautiful displays of fresh flowers grown on the property in each room and a keen attention to detail....


... in the gardens too....



...the chateau's ingenious perch above the River Cher (the windows in that beautiful ballroom above actually overlook the water)


  my girls were giddy upon discovering this Italian maze.... frankly, I was too...


a truly magical couple of hours....

...oh, and, by the way, their cafe makes a mean burger and fries.... not to mention, clean restrooms... score! :)

5 comments:

  1. Magical! But... were the burgers heart shaped? And I can't stop laughing just thinking about the comparison to a rest stop here. Seriously, you have entered a storybook!

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    1. Ha! Sadly, no heart shapes.... but much better tasting! :)

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  2. I think I said "wow" about ten times reading this. What a treasure to stumble upon. I also have to tell you that your travel photography has developed quite nicely. You capture so many great shots!

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  3. Great post! I REALLY wish I was there. -Teresa

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  4. These pictures are amazing! I am enjoying following your travels!
    -Shelley

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Thanks for sharing!