the loire valley is known for its chateaux (more than 300) and beautiful countryside. though many of the chateaux were ransacked and burned during the french revolution, some have been restored and opened to the public (for a fee), while others are still lived in as private homes.
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| the chateau de chenonceau changed hands many times over the years and was at one time given by king henry II to his mistress as a gift |
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| during WWI the gallery was used as a hospital ward |
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| during WWII the chateau was used to escape the nazi occupied bank of the river cher to the free bank on the other side |
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jenny was pretty excited to see the mini pumpkin patch, since it was so close to halloween.
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| the labyrinth. |
from chenonceau we drove to the chateau de cheverny which was actually presented to king henry II's mistress as a gift before he offered her chenonceau, but because she preferred chenonceau, she sold cheverny to the former owner's son.
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| inside one of the sitting rooms the walls are lined with dozens of hand-painted panels depicting scenes from cervantes's don quixote |
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| over 100 hunting dogs are kept on the grounds and tourists often make it a point of showing up at dinner time to watch the feeding frenzy |
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| the dogs were fed a mixture of pasta and raw meat (chicken, duck, turkey, and even goose) |
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| chateau de moulinsart, from the belgian comic book the adventures of tintin, was modeled after chateau de cheverny. the grounds house a tintin museum in one of the out buildings. |
