Friday, September 22, 2006

Friday Trip Blogging

Day 2 - Driving tour of some Loire Valley castles

Our cute little Opel Meriva. Manual transmission, so I got to have some fun driving it.
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Nuclear power plant seen on the road to Chambord.
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Unfortunately back-lit pic of Chambord castle. It was a hunting lodge for nobility, thus all the chimneys for keeping warm during hunting season.
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Looking up the middle of Chambord's famous double-helix staircase, rumored to be designed by Leonardo Da Vinci.
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Chenonceau castle, spanning the Cher River.
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Impressive fireplace mantel in one of Chenonceau's bedrooms.
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The chapel of Amboise castle, overlooking the town.
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Amboise castle from the front.
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Villandry castle.
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Hungry fish in Villandry's moat.
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Funky, multi-colored chili peppers in the Villandry gardens.
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View over a portion of Villandry's impressive gardens, the real attraction at the castle.
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View of Azay-le-Rideau castle from outside the gate. We got there too late to get in. The castle has a cool moat that makes the castle look like it's floating on the water.
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Ussé castle, also closed, but we were able to get a good shot from outside. This castle inspired the original Sleeping Beauty story.
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I'll pick this up again on Monday. Have a great weekend!