The first destination for the day was Villandry. With Danielle's excellent navigation through what seemed like a dozen different highways and toll booths, and a heavy downpour of rain, we arrived safely mid-morning. We were welcomed to Villandry by some of the residents.
Villandry was built in 1536 and, like most châteaux, it seems, built on top of a medieval castle. The only remaining element of the castle is the keep, or tower (on the right in photo below).
The château was never a royal residence and has been privately owned but open to the public for several generations. Although it was built in the 16th century, most of the decor was in 18th-century style. Danielle got some great interior decorating ideas, which are sure to be inexpensive...
In the right of the picture above, there is a bathtub that is designed so the bather can receive guests while taking a bath. Shea wants to design a toilet based on the same idea.
The architecture and decor of Villandry is certainly impressive, but the main event is the gardens...There are seven distinct gardens, each one beautiful and unique. Our favourite was the food garden, which could easily be mistaken for an ornamental garden in spite of it being planted entirely with edible plants.
After a quick sandwich and ice cream (caramel salée...mmmmm), amidst spandex-clad cyclists, we left Villandry behind and headed towards Amboise and Leonardo da Vinci's last home at Château du Clos Lucé.
Leonardo lived here for the last 3 years of his life and died here. He was a great friend of François I, who had a residence at the nearby château d'Amboise. Clos Lucé is a museum devoted to da Vinci's time there as well as his work. They have constructed models of some of his inventions - some smaller scale models are shown inside, and some full-scale models are displayed throughout the large park area around the building. Below are Leonardo's "tank" and "helicopter".
Unfortunately, Leonardo did not invent air conditioning and it was well over 30º so we were pretty fried by this point. Fortunately, our Opel rental car did have air conditioning, so we recharged somewhat on our way to the nearby Château de Chenonceau. Chenonceau, like most things in France, is under repair, which is why you can see a big tarp and scaffolding in Shea's otherwise flawless picture below.
Chenonceau was built in the 16th century over the river Cher (a tributary of the Loire). It is considered "the ladies' château", as it was primarily lived in by women. Henri II left it to his mistress Diane de Poitiers, but after his death, his wife, Catherine de Médici forced Diane to swap it for another residence.
Chenonceau is a big place with lots of rooms, but some of the highlights include François I's bedroom, which allegedly has one of the most splendid Renaissance fireplaces.
Louis XIV had a very understated portrait in his drawing room, in a simple frame...
Catherine de Médici also had a bedroom here. The woman seems to have had a bedroom in every place we've been so far...
We saw all of the 5 food preparation spaces in the basement of the château: the servants' dining room, the butchery, the larder, the kitchen, and the pantry. We were really excited by the bread oven to the right of the fireplace, although just the thought of a raging fire on that day made us even sweatier.
The gardens at Chenonceau were also really impressive. Diane de Poitiers and Catherine de Médici each created their own expansive gardens on the site.
There is also a lovely 16th century farm on the site with a beautiful veggie garden, with some residents of its own.
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