Tuesday 23rd – Week 2 – Loire Chateaus

The usual early start and then we were on the road to the chateau at Montreiul-Bellay. We knew that the chateau itself was closed, but there was a market in the village on Tuesdays and French markets are always good, so we were keen to go for a walk around the chateau and visit the market. The drive was pleasant and the walk around the town and the chateau was interesting, but the market was a major disappointment – it appears that markets in the Loire aren't nearly as big an affair as they are in Provence and are really just a local vegetable market, so it didn't really warrant a trip.

From there we went to the Ussé chateau, the inspiration for the sleeping beauty fairy tale. The Chateau is set on a hillside beside the river Indre. There is a small chapel in the grounds and some nice box gardens in front of the chateau,beneath an arched entranceway to the chateau. Once inside the chateau, you got to do the usual, walk through the family rooms, but we also got to walk through the attic in the roof of the house and see how it was constructed and the mud and straw insulation that was used.

After that we walked around the ramparts inside the external facade, which provided great views of the surrounding countryside. At one stage, we saw a really interesting tapestry. I'm not usually a big tapestry fan – they seem to always be of war or religious scenes and although I can appreciate the artistry and the detail, they all come across as pretty much of a muchness. This particular tapestry has been described as “a realistic country scene” by the Michelin Guide, but too me it is more of a raucous party. Note, this is a massive tapestry and covers most of a large wall. On the tapestry it shows a scene of country folk sitting round tables drinking. On closer inspection however, there appear to be a couple of gents getting a bit too friendly with some of the local ladies and there are even two gentlemen relieving themselves against a fence. I was amazed and delighted not only that the scene had made it on to a tapestry, but the same skill and craftsmanship that goes into all the other tapestries had been applied to this scene of obvious debauchery – superb.

Usse's final point of interest is that is had an underground cave that used to have a tunnel that lead all the way into the forest that could be used to make a hasty escape if the locals turned nasty. This unfortunately collapsed at some time in the past, so you are no longer able to go exploring through it.

Last stop for the day was the Chateau at Langeais. Good bit of scandal here – Anne of Bretagne who owned and lived in Langeais, inherited her title (Queen of Brittany) and money at the age of 11 in 1491. At that time, Brittany was owned by Britain and not France. At the age of 14, Anne was married to Maximillion of Austria, but that marriage was annulled after a year, when she got a better offer from the king of France. That marriage lasted for 6 years, until he died and then her marriage contract stipulated that she would marry whoever became the king of France. This backroom dealing essentially united France and brought peace to the land – a good bit of negotiating for a 14 / 20 year old.

The most notable thing about the chateau was the gardens, which has a massive tree hut built into one of the trees. (see pictures). I climbed it all the way to the top, which was great, although I don't think the class of school kids who weren't allowed on it were particularly impressed that this old guy was climbing around on it.