Today was... Hot. We are experiencing a heat wave in the Loire Valley (see previous blog post). Notwithstanding the heat, we visited one of the most iconic châteaux in the area today --
Château de Chenonceau. Stefani and I took many many pictures!
Due to the extreme heat, we decided to start the day by seeing everything we could see outdoors (we knew by 1pm it would be unbearable outside). The Château has a beautiful park.
Complete with a maze:
Any many picturesque spots to hide/peek/pose:
The immense flower and vegetable garden has its own beehive.
The donkey park is not pictured -- the donkeys were hiding in their barn to avoid the sun and heat. Smart donkeys.
When touring the carriages, we found a name plate for Stella!
Then we took some pictures of the Château. This 16th century château has a fascinating history. The girls were particularly taken by the story of Diane de Poiters (Henri II's mistress) and her eviction by Catherine de' Medici (not exactly an eviction since Catherine traded the Château de Chenonceau for the Château Chaumont).
The kitchens were particularly fun and interesting.
After our visit to the kitchens, the girls began discussing how PERFECT this château would be for a game of Sardines. They thought of many excellent hiding places. For those readers unfamiliar with Sardines, it is like reverse hide-and-seek.
Stefani and I agreed, this château (really ANY château) would be an excellent location for a game of Sardines.
We next visited the wine cellar. The girls have done an excellent job speaking for us in France. Here, Stella asked this very nice (and very French) man how long they had been making wine at the château and how many bottles they made. He joked with Ellie when she ordered a bottle of Jus de Raisin and several bottles of wine for us.
Stefani discretely snapped this picture of him while we were tasting the wine.
It was around this time that the girls decided to create new travel related Instagram accounts (Stella already had an anonymous Instagram but it was primarily devoted to lemons). They spent a considerable amount of time discussing how to take good photos and how to post good photos using their secret Instagram identities.
After the Château, we found the Domaine Merieau, recommended to us by a wine importer/distributor from France 44. The caves were blissfully cool (it was at least 99 degrees by this point in the afternoon) and everyone there was very nice.
There was even a children's play area:
We dropped the girls off at home (they were droopy) and went to get groceries at the Intermarche to make dinner:
Then we took a few process shots while Stefani cooked and I assisted:
We made a little (a lot) too much food, and generally had a lovely evening. As we were finishing our meal, we spotted this cheerful hot air balloon:
Goodnight!
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