The Loire Valley

We had a bit of a surprise after our 5 hour drive south from Normandy. The house we rented used to be the stables of an old chateau. The structures were built about 350 years ago. Turns out that the Sun King, Louis XIV, had a mistress that he gave the region to. She needed a lawyer to do all the land deals, and he got rich from the process, so he built this chateau. It had a certain level of quality to it that is not normal. We also had a lot of fun exploring part of the 250 acres it sits on, complete with trails and giant oak trees.

On Monday we went to visit Chenonceau which was the seat of government in the 1500s. Quite impressive for that time period, but there were a lot of tourists. I didn't know that the capital used to be outside of Paris during that time. Much of it is beautifully preserved.

Tuesday and Wednesday were down days for us. Naomi and I went to the supermarket on Tuesday, one of our favorite things to do in France, and were surprised by the amazing books and toys they had there for kids. We ended up spending nearly 200 euro. Their birthday presents are covered though! Wednesday we had the house to ourselves as my parents had fun exploring Le Mans. It is more than just a racetrack!

On Thursday we were going to go to a mushroom museum, a giant cave that they grow mushrooms in, but Naomi was too sick. She picked up a bit of pneumonia. She was sick for the entire holiday, but finally went to the doctor. He was very helpful and we got some antibiotics straight away. Had to pay in cash though...and we barely had enough. Emptied out all of our coins from the car. Kind of embarrassing.

On Friday we visited another chateau - Le Lude. Fun to imagine what life was like then. Saturday was a sad day as Grandma and Grandpa left on their 9 hour journey to Brussels, avoiding the toll roads and Paris. When we left on Sunday we paid the tolls (40 euro), saw the Eiffel Tower and Sacre Couer from the highway, and made it to Belgium in just four hours. The girls even found one last bit of unicorn poop before we crossed the border. Apparently unicorns only live in Northern France.

A town on a hill where we stopped for lunch on the drive south.

Our cottage next to the chateau where we stayed for a week.

The stables at Chenonceau.

The kitchens.

Looks like the gardeners cottage.

Catherine of Medici's garden.

The former seat of government - Chenonceau.

The maze at Chenonceau.

The cathedral in Tours.

Part of the cathedral was in ruins.

Chateau Le Lude.

The kitchen.

The water tower.

The granary. 

Abigail was missing Grandma and Grandpa.

The last bit of unicorn poop.

Abigail drew her seal in the car.