Castle: Chateau de chenonceau

We went out in the countryside of France for the night. It was amazing!  It was so nice to get out of the city. Someday, I'll come back and just tour little villages in France. It would be so relaxing I think.

We got to see a couple of castles in the last couple of days. Of course, Raelee was disappointed that they don't have sparkles and pink and purple gems on them like she is used to, but I think she will remember it later fondly.

This is where we went today: Chateau de chenonceau (click me)

It was beautiful, but again...under construction. I would have loved to see it without scaffolding and fake pictures on the front.  It is a castle that a family that farmed chocolate owned. It is still privately owned. I didn't know that if you claim your residence as a 'castle' and got tax breaks from it, you HAVE to open it to the public for a certain amount of time every month/year. That was interesting.  This castle had a moat, but not the typical kind. There was a river that ran underneath this castle and they built a place around it so the water could free flow through. Cleaver idea, I thought.

Can you believe I didn't get a  picture of the front of the castle....construction and all? Crazy.  Anyway...here are pieces and parts of it...for what it's worth.

See the Cliff Swallow's nests?

Backside of the castle...with the water going under it.

  Rotisserie that is automatic...quite inventive in it's day. It has a weight that is outside attached to a rope. The weight is lowered and it turns gears that also turn whatever meat that is in front of the fire. It was a neat contraption.

The tapestries on the wall that you see is typical of every room we saw. They are from the 16th Century. Is that not amazing?

This is the Marques Tower in front of the castle.

Raelee enjoyed a VERY chocolate ice cream. I don't think I have seen chocolate ice cream that is THIS rich..lol. 

And after we dipped her in bleach....(joke!) we played around in the labyrinth.

Stay tuned for more of our trip to Ambroise France.