Traveling with Rob in La belle France

Chenonceau is built over the river Chere. The gallery or long reception hall spans the gently flowing water like a bridge. Looking out from the big, recessed stained glass windows, you feel floating on a riverboat.

For most of its history, Chenonceau has been in the possession of queens whose legacy has survived the ages. Queen Louise,
widow of Henri Ill, created the black room after the death of her husband. The sad beauty of this lasting testimony of mourning is still haunting visitors today.

I was especially impressed by the huge, vaulted kitchen,
storage, and work area located at the foundation pillars of the castle. I visualized wonderful feasts being prepared on those spacious, heavy oak tables and countertops. Only robust chefs with strength and stamina could operate those heavy cast iron and copper cauldrons, pots, and pans over the gigantic spits and artistically crafted wood stoves. And yet they also had to possess
the exquisite finesse and gastronomic savoir typical of French cuisine.

The grounds are artfully landscaped. Trimmed hedges, manicured lawns, trellised vine arbors, pruned trees, shaped flowerbeds, and paved paths are skillfully arranged to create symmetrical designs. Rob and I feel pleasantly tired after a leisurely walk through the forest-like park, which has retained some of its natural wildness.

Late afternoon, we reach the famous Villandry castle and gardens. The air is still balmy, and the sky is without a cloud. We seem to step into a picture book. Against the backdrop of the flawless sky, the architecture of the gleaming white castle and the arrangements of the meticulously groomed, terraced gardens seem perfect. We are awed and delighted by the intricate geometrical designs and patterns created by the artful interspersing of colorful flowers, herbs, vegetables, shrubs, hedges, small trees, and trellised vines. We feel transported into an époque of the past when splendor was a way of life, and natural surroundings were shaped into art pieces.

In the golden glow of the setting sun we drive off to our final destination, the Castello de Brays and Mons.

“There will be a surprise for you, Mom!” says
Rob with a promising look on his face.