The Loire Valley and Toulouse, France

Last week we had the pleasure of visiting long-time friends Chris and Jerry Doerr in France.  They picked us up at the airport in Paris, and we continued south through the Loire Valley visiting a number interesting sights, then on to Toulouse where they have had a vacation flat for about ten years.  We were grateful to have their knowledge of the areas we visited, their expertise in the language, and their ability to translate menus for us!

The first two nights we stayed at a lovely, typically French, small family-owned hotel in Villandry, and the food was good, too.

Chris and Gary in Front of our Hotel in Villandry

Dinner included foie gras, trout, duck, dorado
(a Mediterraean fish) and lamb.

The Châteaus of the Loire Valley

Chambord was the first château we visited, and it was truly amazing.  Construction was started in the mid-16th century by Francis I, but as with so many European castles and cathedrals, took many years and even centuries to complete.  Francis I never saw his original dream completed and actually only spent 72 days there during his lifetime.

The Loire Valley châteaus are primarily built with local tufa stone which is a cream-colored, rather soft and crumbly limestone-like material, so restoration is a constant factor.

Chambord is unique in that it has an unusual interior double spiral staircase - if two people each take one set of steps they can see one other through the openings in the central column, but will never meet!

Chambord  - Built originally as a hunting
 lodge, but ended up with
77 staircases, 282 fireplaces, and 426 rooms.

So Many Interesting Roof Features

Double spiral staircase

Denise Peeking Through the Staircase

The Gardens at Villandry are well-known, and even though it was a cloudy and drizzly day, were still beautiful.  Over 100,000 flowers and vegetables are planted each year, and the 1,000 Linden trees take four gardeners three months to prune.

The Château was built around 1536 and during the next three centuries was added to, changed, and brought up to "modern standards" for the times.  In 1906 a Spaniard, Joachim Carvalloro, made it his life's work to restore the château and the gardens to their original Renaissance grandeur.

The Gardens at Villandry

Some of the Linden (Lime)Trees

One of the Last Flowers of Summer

The Kitchen Garden

Langeais was the oldest of the châteaus we visited, built originally as a medieval castle in 992 and rebuilt as a château in the 15th century, and has a drawbridge, imposing towers, and decorative chimney pieces.  Today it is the most fully furnished castle in the Loire Valley and takes one back to life in the 15th century.

Langaeis Château

Gary, Chris, and Jerry

Banquet Hall
Note the buffet on the left - the upper shelf was reserved
for those foods fit for the King once the Taster
approved (survived?) the dish.

15th Century Infant High Chairs and a Baby Walker

Picturesque Stream Running Through Langeais

Interesting Medieval Roof in Langaeis

Château d'Amboise was the last castle that we visited, built in the 15th and 16th centuries and the first in the Loire Valley where Italian tastes were introduced.  It was built on a spur of land above the Loire River that provided obvious strategic advantages. The Château d'Amboise is surrounded by a lovely medieval village.  It became a favorite of the French kings from Louis XI to Francis I.

Château d'Amboise

Looking into the Village of Amboise

Drains and Cannon!

Saint Hubert's Chapel
It was reserved for the royal family's
private use.  Leonardo Da Vinci is buried here.

Medieval Village Roof-line

Half-timbered House

Cedar of Lebanon

The Abbey at Fontevraud 
Robert d'Arbrissel, a preacher from Brittany, conceived of the Abbey as a Monastic, Utopian village that was under the control of women.  The inhabitants consisted of the famous and ordinary, the rich and poor, royalty and repentant prostitutes.  Construction began in 1101 and evolved over the centuries, being a monastery from 1101 to 1792, becoming a prison in 1804 and finally inclusion in the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2000.  Work is ongoing in the restoration of the buildings and serves as a cultural center today.  It was interesting to walk around the grounds and imagine what it was like in those early days, with the extreme range of individuals and the control by women.

Abbey Church

Abbey Church Nave

Interior of Abbey Church
From 1804 to 1963, during its time as a prison, this
lovely church was made into three floors of
prison cells.

Abbey Kitchen with Byzantine Roof Style
Brought Back from Crusades

The Troglodyte
Community of Rochemenier
There are examples of Troglodyte communities around the world from the Cliff Dwellings in Arizona and New Mexico to the cave homes carved out from the volcanic rock in the north west of Iran.  The homes in Rochemenier are carved from Falun, a limy sandstone.  The carved stone was transported to the fields to correct the acid conditions of the crop fields.  In all there are around 40 underground farms, consisting of about 250 rooms.  There is everything from living quarters to wine storage and animal shelters carved from the stone.  The most ancient of the rooms dates to about the end of the 17th Century.  The two farms we visited were average size composed of 20 rooms.  The reason the cave rooms were dug was not primarily for defense, rather they required no building materials and were easy to construct and modify as the need arose.  

Reinforced Entrance to Excavated Room

Excavated Courtyard

Interior Showing Two Side Rooms (Sleeping Areas)
When another child was born, another "bedroom"
was just dug out.

The layout of the farm was several excavated courtyards surrounded by rooms for living or animals.  The rooms were kept dry due to absorption of water by the porous limestone and design for water runoff.  The average temperature of the rooms is 12 degrees C and thus warm (if you consider 54 degrees F warm!) in the winter and cool in the summer.  An added benefit is that there is no risk of fire.  

Stone for Pressing Walnut Oil

Wooden Shoes Anyone?

An Enoteca or Wine Tasting Restaurant/Pub

As a side note, it has become trendy today to buy and modernize a Troglodyte home and use it as a vacation home.

In Front of a Deluxe "Modernized" House
Circa Early 1900"s

The New "Modern" Kitchen

A Tot's Walker

Toulouse and Castanet 
Castanet Our last stop was in the small town of Castanet where Chris and Jerry have a small apartment.  It was a long drive from Rochemenier, and we arrived around 10:00 pm.  The next morning, we walked along the Canal du Midi, a World Heritage site that connects Toulouse and the Mediterranean Sea.  It is a lovely tree shaded path along the canal where barges traverse the many locks.  

Tow Path Along the Canal

Touring Barge on the Canal

Serene Setting Along the Canal du Midi

One of the Locks on the Canal

Gypsy Camp along Canal

We drove into downtown Castanet and did some sightseeing and shopping.  Castanet-Tolosan is a village of around 10,000 about 11 km from Toulouse.  

Chris and Jerry's Apartment Building

View from the Apartment Balcony

Main Street Castanet

We purchased our daily baguettes here!

Toulouse  We took the Metro from near Castenet to the center of Toulouse.  The Metro is very new and clean and arrives in the downtown area quickly.  As we saw, the Metro is the way to go, as parking can be challenging.  Toulouse is a very old city with many winding narrow streets filled with interesting shops.  Also, as a University town, there are many young people giving it a vibrant feel.  Also, as in Munich, there are numerous wonderful old Cathedrals that have been or are being restored.  We spent about three hours wandering the streets and peeking into buildings and got a flavor of life in the city.  Toulouse has an urban population of about 1.2 million which is about the same size as Munich, however the narrow streets and close packed buildings had a feel of a much larger city.  Also it felt as if driving would be much more difficult than in Munich.  All in all a pretty city with great architecture.

One of the Many Interesting Narrow Streets

Place du Capitole

Bascilique Saint Sernin

Ancient Mural in the Basilique

Notre-Dame du Taur with Bell Wall (Not) Tower

Interesting Typically French Metal Balconies

Interior of Couvent du Jacobins de Toulouse
with the Tomb of Saint Thomas Aquinas

Another Lovely Narrow Street

Our time in France came to an end and we returned "home" to Munich, which has become familiar and comfortable.  Many thanks to Chris and Jerry for planning such a great trip and helping us to experience the Loire Valley, the châteaus, French culture, and navigating the language for us.