Bon Anniversaire a Moi - Part Deux
After reading the first BLOG, it looks as if we did nothing but drive and eat. It definitely makes me laugh. In my haste to update the BLOG, I forgot to add drink! We partook in some fantastic wines and champagne. The latest rage in France this past year was the Rose. So when in France…but I digress.
Our early morning departure from Domain de Tortiniere lead us into a small town where we stopped at the local bakery for breakfast before hitting the road. This day would introduce us to the most majestic spectacles we have ever seen. The road tightly followed the contour of the Loire River. And our first experience with the Renaissance would begin at Château de Chenonceau. The Chateau was an engineering marvel that combined French sophistication and beauty with medieval integrity.
The grounds were beautifully appointed and were, in themselves, a priceless works of art. We will definitely be incorporating some of its design concepts into Château de la Croix (our Virginia home). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ch%C3%A2teau_de_Chenonceau
A beautiful sunny day, the gardens, the water rushing by, and a castle, it was really like being in a fairy tale. We walked the grounds, playing in the maze where kings walked and romances flourished. We stopped at the garden café and had a café au lait and enjoyed the warm sunshine and before leaving.
Our next stop would take us across the Loire and Northeast to Amboise. For you history buffs, it was from this location where Francois I, left for Italy and “discovered” his new court appointed muse, artist, and engineer – Leonardo Da Vinci. Da Vinci honored with the King’s benefaction, was given le Clos Lucé to live in and a pension of 700 golden crowns per year. The King asked for nothing more in return than the pleasure of listening to Leonardo converse. In one corner of the basement is the entrance to an underground passage connecting le Clos Lucé to the Château de Amboise, giving the King a direct link to the home of the master he so admired.
What is impressive is the distance between Clos Lucé and the Château. The tunnel must be at least 2 miles long. Da Vinci is buried within the Chapelle St. Hubert, on the grounds of the Château. We have some wonderful pictures of the Chapelle and the Château de Amboise.
The Château itself, is a more a medieval castle in château clothing. It is a massive fortress; stark, sparsely decorated and cold. In 1560, during the Wars of Religion, a conspiracy by members of the Huguenot House of Bourbon against the House of Guise (which virtually ruled France in the name of the young François II) was uncovered by the comte de Guise. This conspiracy was quickly stifled by a series of hangings, which took a month to carry out. By the time it was finished, 1200 Protestant conspirators were gibbeted, strung from the town walls & hung from the iron hooks (that held pennants and tapestries on festive occasions) and the balcony of the Logis du Roi. The Court was forced to flee the smell of rotting corpses. After this massacre, the château was left abandoned by the Royals and fell into disrepair. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ch%C3%A2teau_d’Amboise
Ok, I know, this is turning more into a history lesson, but it was important for me to share with you the historical significance of these magnificent locations.
Our last Château stop was at the pièce de résistance! Château de Chambord, designed by Da Vinci is literally the most amazing engineering feat I have ever observed. It was built by 1200 masons over the span of 20 years. There is no possible way to describe the sheer size of this Château. The skyline is nothing less that breathtaking. Its moat stretches for miles, and it boasts the longest wall in France. Most of your exposure to Chambord comes from its production of the raspberry liqueur. I know most of you know about Liqueur. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ch%C3%A2teau_de_Chambord
We journey on from the Loire Valley, back through Paris then onto the last portion of our journey. We drive (from Paris) another 125 km east to Epernay. We arrived at 8pm, and we were personally escorted to our Château (Hotel Clos Reymi – an Art Deco master piece) by a local cab driver. The Hotel was the personal home of Chandon. Epernay is a town made famous by its Grand Cru champagne production by Moet & Chandon, and specifically, its vintage Dom Perignon. We toured and then finally tasted the vintage champagnes by Moet & Chandon. Moet & Chandon’s current marketing campaign is “Be Fabulous”. I could not describe it better. The tour exposed us to 18 miles of champagne caves, holding millions of bottles of precious elixir. I wanted to move here.
I could go on and on… the views of the vineyards, the sun in my face and a sweet champagne buzz. After some walking through the quaint town, we left Epernay for Reims to visit two other champagne houses. We stopped in Reims to visit another thousand year old basilica and finally headed back to Paris. The drive was a quick return to the city of light, but on our return we noticed all of the scents that we smelled the evening prior. The different soils were emitting beautiful fragrances into the evening air as we made the drive.
Our arrival into Paris was greeted with the warmth of the late afternoon sun, lunch at a café looking at Notre Dame, and some perusing of the local book stores. Before we checked into our hotel, we then made our way to the Champs-Élysées to do some shopping at Chanel & Dior. We carved our way out of Paris to the CDG Airport, checked in, showered and changed for dinner. After a grueling drive back into the city center, we toured around and finally stopped at the Eiffel Tower. It was now midnight and our trip had come to an end. Rena was expecting to return to the hotel, but I had one more surprise up my sleeve. Precisely at midnight, I parked the car and we walked a block to the center of the Eiffel Tower. Just as we arrived, the tower began to twinkle. Although cliché, there is nothing like the Eiffel Tower –particularly when it’s glowing in the Parisian night like a gigantic sparkler. We shared a kiss, held hands for a bit, and made our way back to the hotel for our morning departure.
Au revoir Paris… je retourne.