Give me books, French wine, fruit, fine weather and a little music played out of doors by somebody I do not know.
– John Keats, English Romantic poet

We had scheduled three days in Amboise, the Loire Valley. It was our third day, and we were game for two more châteaux. David pointed out in retrospect that we should have visited just three châteaux and leisurely examined all of the grounds. I wish that, too, but sometimes on your first trip to any new country, any new place, is a splash, so to speak. You go in and see everything that you can, with the understanding that you will return. At least that’s what I’m hoping!

Château de Chambord
Château de Chambord is a beast of a château – allegedly six times the size of the average Loire castle! The entrance is from the back, but as you walk around the building, you begin to appreciate the scale of this massive château, which boasts 440 rooms and a fireplace for every day of the year, according to Rick Steves. Its history is equally expansive and fascinating. In 1515, François I was enthroned and became king of France. He began construction of Château de Chambord in 1519, the same year that his dear friend, Leonardo da Vinci, died in the Loire Valley. The château was still under construction when François I died in 1547, but his son, Henri II, carried on the construction as he ascended to the throne. The work was suspended for some 70 years until Gaston, Duke of Orléans was granted possession of Chambord. After the duke died, Chambord returned to the crown, Louis XIV. In 1725 the former king of Poland, Stanislas Leszczynski moved into Chambord. After Leszczynski moves out in 1733, Chambord is granted to Maurice, Count of Saxony, by King Louis XV. Maurice died in the château in 1750, and in 1781, the park and the château are entrusted to the royal stud farms. During the French Revolution, in 1792, the furniture was auctioned off. Two more dignitaries would be granted Chamboard, but in 1840, the château became the first on the list of Monuments historiques de France to be registered.

Unbeknownst to us, Château de Chambord is surrounded by Europe’s largest enclosed park, a game preserve with a 20-mile-long wall and wild deer and boar. Originally a hunting lodge, Chambord became somewhat of a monument to the royal sport. The château is laid out in the shape of a Greek cross – four towers and wings surrounded by stables – and has four floors with soaring ceilings. The architecture of the château is modeled after an Italian church. The ground floor hosts reception rooms, the first floor royal apartments, the second floor temporary exhibits of contemporary artists and a hunting museum, and the rooftop boasts a terrace with fantastic “far as the eye can see” views of the gardens and beyond.

The main attraction of Château de Chambord is its double-helix staircase. This grand spiral staircase sits in the middle of the structure and consists in two separate flights of stairs, twin helices proceeding upwards around a hollow newel post. “If two persons choose to use different flights, they will espy each other through numerous loopholes as they ascend – without ever meeting.” Hmmm. I didn’t notice that while going up and down the staircase. While not a cozy place – indeed, many inhabitants found it too big and too cold – there’s a stateliness about Chambord. I can’t imagine spending a winter there, but I bet it was beautiful throughout the seasons.

We lunched at one of the outdoor cafés, amusing ourselves with a group of Chinese women tourists, who brought their own portable reflectors, for professional-grade photographs. One woman was dressed in a bright, crowd-stopping red flared dress and wide-brimmed hat. She posed the most, no surprise. But luckily, again, we didn’t encounter elbow-to-elbow tourists at the châteaux. After we ate our artfully prepared lunch, we headed out for the last château in the Loire Valley.

Château de Cheverny
After the massive, thick, and brutish Château de Chambord, we found Château de Cheverny to be more refined and stately. This hunting château was built and furnished in a 30-year span, from 1604 to 1634, which is a blink of an eye compared to the construction phases of the previous châteaux that we visited. Château de Cheverny has been in the same family – the Hurault family – since the beginning. It was opened to the public in 1922. The viscount and his family actually still live here, on the third floor. Interestingly, Château de Cheverny survived the French Revolution – at the time, the count’s relatives were well liked by all, including the village farmers, even up to today.

The rooms were fully furnished. There was an interesting Lego exhibit at the Château de Cheverny. Every room had a Lego character or structure. We weren’t privy to what was going on or what each exhibit meant, but we enjoyed seeing these Lego structures/characters, some of which are contemporary, in this historical setting.

We checked out the kitchen garden, which has a hanging orchid garden, which misted the flowers at timed intervals. We walked through the apprentices’ garden, which stands between the Château de Cheverny and the Orangery. The garden reflects a combination of French classical geometry and formal flowerbeds and English-style perspective with its views of the ground. We had ice cream at the Orangery, which is at the end of the walkway. The 18^th century orangery was originally used to shelter the orange trees in the wintertime. The first orange trees in France were said to have been brought from Spain to Queen Anne de Bretagne for her gardens in Blois. During WWII, it is said that the Orangery sheltered numerous French national property, including the Mona Lisa! Today, it’s a charming café.

When you are at Château de Cheverny, you can hear barking and howling. The kennels near the trophy room and kitchen garden house some hundred French hounds, which have a V for Vibraye shorn into the right flank of each hound. Cheverny remains an important hunting venue, much to Isabella’s dismay. We missed the labyrinth maze, the Jardin de Tulipes (tulip garden), and the canal with electric boats. We also didn’t see the Expo Tintin Exhibit. I’m familiar with Tintin but not intimately; Château de Cheverny was prominently featured in one of the Tintin movies.

By the end of the day, we were effectively and collectively château’d out. We decided that on our last night we must dine out in Amboise. On the recommendation of our host and Rick Steves, we made a reservation for La Fourchette (9 Rue Malebranche), on a quiet, dead-end street near Rue Nationale. It was a short walk from our Amboise house. This tiny, unassuming family diner is deceptively simple in its décor and cuisine. But the food is incredibly flavorful. The restaurant offers only two options for entrées and plat at fantastic prices. We ate outside and witnessed many disappointed people who didn’t have reservations being turned away. They likely had three serving times, and after that, the restaurant is done for the evening. We definitely recommend eating here if you find yourself in Amboise. We’re so glad we ate here for our last meal in Amboise, and in the Loire Valley.