We were up early to help Jim get off to the airport and go pick up our rental. We were going to ride together in the Uber but it was a Toyota CH-R – first one of the day – and the driver had a bunch of stuff in his front seat. Ash and I decided it would just be more comfortable to take the subway, so we did that.

We picked up the car, made our way back to the apartment to finish packing, and were on our way out when we realized we left Ash’s phone in the apartment. Locked. The host was already on her way so it didn’t delay us too much, and we finally were on the road around 10:20am.

Soon after we’d met and I mentioned to Ash my love of castles on one of our early morning Paul walks, Ash said “well then we must go to the Loire Valley in France.” Which I’d never heard of but sure, sign me up! This is that trip.

We found a brochure where we are staying that lays out your castle options in this region. Just a few to pick from. And the one we are staying at now isn’t even on the list so apparently this ain’t all of them.

Our first stop was Chateau Royal d’Amboise. This is near the town of Amboise but not exactly it, although there is a quaint village that developed around the castle.

We were navigated to this odd point, we thought, on some obscure side street, but itended up being a staircase down into the village.

This is a castle on the Loire River owned by the d’Amboise family, until Louis d’Amboise was executed for plotting against King Louis IX in 1493 and the monarch confiscated it. It was a favorite of French Kings from then through Francois I.

It was after 1:00pm at this point and I was starving. I’d been wanting crepes the entire trip and we found a place in the village.

Ash got a salmon salad.

I decided to use the half eaten photo of my crepe so you could see the inside: ground hamburger, potatoes, cheddar cheese. The crepe itself was amazing with that slight crispness on the outside. With that rich egg, this was comfort food and I loved every bite. Super satisfying.

This is sort of the backside of the castle, but the first thing you see as you approach.

The Loire Riiver.

Continuing the series.

I used panorama to get this shot, as well as several others below.

What distinguishes a castle from a palace is that it’s built primarily with defense in mind. This was built high on a hill and you entered it through that walkway on the left, coming up from street level. It faced the river so couldn’t be attacked from that side.

A family crest of sorts? I don’t know, I just like dragons.

Another panoramic shot of the Guards Walkway.

The Great Hall. There’s a throne right behind that left pillar.

Cool stained glass window.

The King’s Bedroom.

The Music Room.

Looking back to where we were standing when we took that selfie, on that tower in the center of this photo.

Leonardo da Vinci had become a close friend of King Francois I who had so respected his work, and he lived out the last period of his life here, and is buried near here.

We’d eaten under that 2nd group of umbrellas from the bottom up.

The stairs we’d come down were at the end of the castle there on the left.

The gardens weren’t extravagant but they were pretty.

Looking back at the castle from the gardens.

By the time we got back to the car it was close to 3pm and we made our way to our final stop for the day, another 1.5 hours away.

This, by the way, is a Toyota CH-R. It’s what the Uber driver had, and is our rental for the week. And it’s the same car I bought in 2018, down to the color. This one is probably newer and is a hybrid but otherwise it’s like being at home.

Welcome to Chateau de Briancon, where we are staying for 2 nights. This is in Loire-Authion, an area more than a town. I haven’t been able to find out about the history of this place yet since all of the brochures are in French so will have to work on that. We are definitely out in the countryside where English is not as used as it is in Paris. But it’s pretty, no?

Grand staircase off the lobby. This is used now both as a hotel and as a respite for families with children with disabilities.

Our room. It’s practically as big as the 3 bedroom apartment we had in Paris.

We unpacked a little and took Paul out for a walk in the woods.

He met a horse, and there’s a donkey about to come out of that shack in the back.

Just beautiful.

It’s very quiet, all you hear are birds and bugs.

One of those times where the photo doesn’t quite capture it but I’ll remember what it looked like in real life!

We relaxed a bit and headed out for dinner around 7:30pm.

We found ourselves back along the river. Ash was excited to see the hot air balloon.

This is the town of Loire-Authion.

The receptionist has recommended this place as popular with the locals, it was across the street from that church.

Le Cosy, another creperie.

Ash’s selfie from across the street.

We started with charcuterie which were simple but tasty.

Ash had a salmon crepe.

I had beef tartar, much better than the one I had in Paris last year. With potatoes – can you see the butter? – and a simple salad. Eating tartar always reminds me of eating my mother’s raw meat loaf!

We split a caramel crepe for dessert that was so perfectly done. The high quality of the caramel was amazing.

I grabbed a screen shot of the map to give you an idea of where we are.

We missed getting a table with this view so took it in before we left.

The sunset out our window back at the chateau.

We were both exhausted by the time we got back and went straight to bed. It’s approaching 7:30am Sunday morning. We will eat breakfast here then head to Mont Saint-Michel for the day.