David's Diary: Tuesday, August 21, 2001

Loire Valley: Blois and Chateaudun

Blois is the center of the Loir-et-Cher department (departments in France are specific administrative regions), an agricultural region producing wheat, wine, strawberries, bulbs, and vegetables. But visitors know it mostly know it for its mediaeval streets, along with its Château. We ate dinner in Blois last night and explored a few of the steep and winding streets linked by staircases. Blois is located on the right bank of the Loire on a hillside, which overlooks the river. The view of Blois from the left bank of the river welcomes the visitor with its variety of colors, skyline, and monuments.

Family Walk

The children were not keen to see the chateâu so we decided to take a walk through Vienne, the old mariner's quarter of Blois, on the South side of the town. Blois was a stop on the old postal route from Paris to Tours. Remnants of the old inns that lined the streets can still be seen today. We also visited Saint Saturnin, the former parish church of Vienne, which includes a chapel to mariners.

Chateaudun

Rather than return to Paris on the motorway, we decided to take the secondary roads and visit the town of Chateaudun. The town is known for its Château, which has changed owners only once in a thousand years. The Château was first a fortress with the original keep still remaining today. Then it became a great manor house following the Hundred Years War with great windows overlooking the surrounding countryside.

One interesting feature of the Château was that the basement level was open. It contained a display of kitchens, wine and food storage, and a bakery, all necessary for the day-to-day running of the Château. The upper levels were bare of decoration, so it was necessary to use your imagination to picture the feasts and banquets that took place here in the past. A climb to the top of the Château provided splendid views of the countryside that we were driving through and after a short stop in the center of Chateaudun for ice cream we were back on the road to Paris.