We never got to watch a movie last night because, as I was posting the last blog, I met Caroline and Callum from 100 kms north of Bourke in Australia. They’ve taken time out from their cattle property and are travelling with their three children, Callum (10) and twins Grace and John (8). They’ve been to Dubai, hired a huge RV in Paris and are now dashing around France for 2 weeks and today they are on their way back to Paris before flying to Edinburgh and then America. While the children watched ‘Sinbad’ in French on the Campsite TV, we drank wine and discussed the cheeses and meats in front of us. They seem to have treated their time around France as a gourmet trip and despite the weather have had a wonderful time.
On Wednesday morning, we packed up again and then drove to the Chateau de Chambord, apparently the biggest of all the chateaux in the Loire region. It is a wonderful chateau, both inside and out. There are 365 spires and you can actually walk around the roof of the chateau and marvel at them all. Inside there is the most amazing double spiral staircase which may, or may not, have been inspired by Leonardo da Vinci. There are 2 concentric spiral flights that wind independently around a hollow central column. So if 2 people take different flights they can see each other through the openings, but they will never meet. It’s great fun and I fancy one in my home one day; we’ll just need a far bigger house to fit it in. We wandered around the numerous rooms spread over three floors and then had very nice quiche lunch in a café next to the Coach Room, under the Royal wing.
After our comprehensive coverage of the chateau, we drove up to Blois and found an Aires for an overnight stop, right behind the Chateau de Blois in the centre of town. We wandered through gardens, around the Chateau, down medieval streets and discovered that France had actually opened today. At first it felt strange to be amongst traffic and busy shops, but we soon got used to it. Then after a gourmet meal of beans on toast and one episode of Michael Palin’s ‘New Europe’, we settled down for another night in Eileen, this time, for the first time, in the centre of a town.
