All I Can Say Is...Beautiful!
September 16th
Villandry in my mind is one of the great Chateaux in the Loire or even in all of France. The gardens are exquisite and I have never seen anything to compare...but who am I? Just a tourist appreciating the environs. Villandry was originally built in the 12th century and the keep is still visible. Through the years the Chateau and the gardens have been redesigned as each owner has taken possession. In 1532 the treasury secretary to King Francois I purchased the property and in 1754 the ambassador to King Louis XV became the owner. In the 19th century the younger brother to Napoleon I purchased the property and redesigned the gardens into an English style park. Since the 20th century the ownership has been handed down to the great-grandson of two scientists, one from Spain and one from the US. He is still the custodian of the estate. We have toured the Chateau before but today we decided to just do the gardens which really are my favorite anyway. Sorry for all the photos but I couldn't help myself!
We rode our bikes to and from Tours to Villandry which turned out to be about 30 miles. It's a flat ride and it wasn't hot so that made it a really fun day. Here are some scenes along the route.
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| Great Coffee Stop in Tours |
Dinner was at L'Etable just at the end of our street. We had a great meal and a wonderful bottle of Cab Franc, Saumur Champigny, for only 24 Euros!
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| My scallops were yummy! |
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| Jay had trout with shrimp |
