weekend at the loire
Since Dino had the last weekend free of any group meetings and INSEAD activities, we quickly decided to take a drive down south to the picturesque Loire Valley - known for its many magnificent chateaux.
We first stopped at the 16th century Chateau de Chambord which not only is very grand in terms of scale, but is also architecturally very impressive. Its main feature is a double-turn spiral staircase, by which people can ascend and descend simultaneously without meeting each other. How cool is that? Even as an architect, it took me a while to undertand how it works! Pretty amazing, it is believed to be designed by Leonardo da Vinci.
We first stopped at the 16th century Chateau de Chambord which not only is very grand in terms of scale, but is also architecturally very impressive. Its main feature is a double-turn spiral staircase, by which people can ascend and descend simultaneously without meeting each other. How cool is that? Even as an architect, it took me a while to undertand how it works! Pretty amazing, it is believed to be designed by Leonardo da Vinci.
We then drove further for about 20 minutes to get to a Michelin-star restaurant for a very impressive lunch. Then, half hour more drive to a chateau-turned-hotel to check-in and relax before dinner. Lovely place and not even that expensive, the three of us spent some really relaxing and quality time together.
The next day, we went to visit the Chateau de Chenonceau, which was mainly done by the several powerful women in French history - Catherine de Medici and Henry II's mistress Diane de Poitiers among others. So one could easily see the feminine quality of the chateau. Probably my favourite chateau so far, it is lush and is built over the Cher river. Its interior is very well maintained too. I loved the kitchen - the size of it is like a modern day's house with several rooms (i.e butcher area, pastry area, rotisserie area, servants' dining room, serving area etc)
From there, we drove back and in the car, Dino and I were just thinking about how lucky we are to be able to see all these various parts of France that is not only historical, but also very authentic. Hopefully there'll be more to come, as it's a shame otherwise since we're here for the year!
posted by miss-cream @ 3:47 PM
4 Comments:
very lucky indeed! :D
i don't think as tourist, one would be able to explore so much.
yup, very lucky indeed. Looking at pictures wouldnt be as good as being there too! (However, we wouldnt mind more pictures though hehe)And true what nins said. Explore and do tell us more.. :)
yeah you're right nins, as tourist it's unlikely for one to go anywhere beyond paris.
i'm glad you all don't mind reading my blog that has turned into more of a travel journal! :)
sha2! have replied your emails.
lyD - read your last comment. didnt realize that it sounded as if i gave birth to the triplets! heheh...nope, they were not mine!
Post a Comment
<< Home