Wednesday, September 10, 2014

Loire Valley

We're in a tiny little village in the Loire Valley.  Our cottage is like a dream come true.  Our hosts, Karen and Craig, renovated this cottage and two others from the ground up.  She said they were ruins.  She has added some nice touches, even some fresh lavender hanging in the closet.  She also left us a bottle of crisp white wine and some goodies for breakfast.

We arrived in the area via train from Paris, picking up our rental car in Orleans.  A beautiful drive on the "Bonne Route" brought us to our first chateau, Chambord.  It's magnificent with 77 staircases, 282 fireplaces and 426 rooms.  25 year old King Francois I was only 25 when he initiated the huge enterprise of building the Chateau in 1519.

Back view

 Front view

Our cozy cottage

Our view

We are totally into relaxed mode here--just what we needed after an exciting week in Paris.  The quiet here is profound, like the sound of one hand clapping.


Chuck opening a bottle of wine to begin our regimen of sitting quietly.

Ahhhhh


Karen's garden of flowers and vegetables.  She placed fresh flowers throughout the cottage.

A fresh zucchini from the garden--I sauteed it with some fresh Greek oregano to make a pasta sauce for our dinner.

After our best night's sleep, breakfast provided by Karen.

C&C

No comments: