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<blockquote data-quote="BillB" data-source="post: 2313192" data-attributes="member: 9985"><p>So the time came to set off on the Tuesday morning. Traffic was very light on the French motorways, even around Paris on the péripherique, although we only drove a short stretch of it. We arrived around the time the GPS indicated, although we stopped for a coffee and later for lunch at motorway services. We were relieved to see that all precautions were being taken, including greater distances between tables, hand sanitisers freely available; staff were masked, gloved and worked behind clear plastic screens. Customers were not allowed to handle the food, the counter staff would pick up the rolls, etc., with their gloved hands and place it on a plate which would then be placed on the customer's tray. We felt pretty well protected.</p><p>When we arrived at the hotel the bags were removed from the boot for us and were delivered to our room within a few minutes of checking in. We reserved a table for dinner that evening in the Bistrot as the gourmet restaurant is closed on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday evenings.</p><p></p><p>Our room was fairly large with a magnificent view of the Chateau de Chambord. That riot of towers and chimneys always stops you dead in your tracks, no matter how many times you've seen it. We spent the time unpacking and then relaxing before we went down to the terrace for our apéritif .</p><p>Dinner was excellent, even though social distancing was being observed with the tables, and we thoroughly enjoyed the food and the attentive and friendly service. We ordered a bottle of local wine, a white Cheverny, which we liked so much that we drank it almost exclusively when we had dinner or lunch in the hotel.</p><p></p><p>We had a leisurely breakfast next morning but as our son wasn’t due to arrive until the afternoon we had a morning to pass. We walked over to the line of restaurants and the gift shop to do some browsing, which is where I ended up buying a miniature bottle of Chambord liqueur, whose story has already been recounted on this thread.</p><p></p><p>We made our way back to the hotel’s terrace, settled ourselves at a table in the shade and ordered a glass of Cheverny which we drank as we chatted and waited for our son. We hadn’t seen him since January, so even though we talk to him and his wife every week it’s never quite the same as face to face. Running his own rental business doesn’t give him much time to drive to Luxembourg very often.</p><p></p><p>He had been delayed for a while as he was picking up some spare parts for appliances in a couple of his flats along the way, but when he arrived it was great to see him so he sat himself down, ordered a local beer, and we passed the afternoon catching up on each others’ news over the intervening time.</p><p></p><p>We’d reserved a table in the restaurant for the three of us and had a splendid meal in the warm evening as darkness slowly crept up on us. My son and I finished with the cheese course followed by a cognac.</p><p></p><p>Before going to bed we arranged to meet up with our son the next morning. He was staying in a nearby Air BnB and we planned to visit two chateaux not very far away, Cheverny and Blois - one in the morning and the other in the afternoon.</p><p></p><p>He turned up shortly after we finished breakfast and it wasn’t long before we were tootling down the road heading for Cheverny. Part of the route took us along the banks of the Loire River and I could see clearly why it is known as the only non-navigable river in France. The river itself is shallow, very shallow, and always one can see sand banks within the river, creating ever-narrower channels.There are areas where even a punt would run aground, let alone a small cabin cruiser.</p><p></p><p>We duly arrived in Cheverny, found the chateau’s car park with plenty of space and made our way into the grounds. As we approached the chateau Jackie said we had been there before, having visited it on a previous visit when we toured the Loire Valley, visiting numerous chateaux when on our way back from two weeks in Brittany. I was completely blank as I didn’t remember a thing about it, not even when we were faced with the beautiful facade the chateau, surrounded by its carefully tended gardens.</p><p></p><p>We walked down the gravelled drive, up the front steps, sterilised our hands at the distribution point and went on inside. This is utterly beautiful, with period furniture, upholstery and curtains. I’m firmly convinced that the attractiveness is the result of the chateau still being in the hands of the family that built it. And members of that family still live there, as they have for the last 600 years.</p><p></p><p>We were quite enchanted by the chateau and as we emerged at the back of the building to make our way to the Orangery where a snack bar has been set up I suddenly remembered that I had indeed seen this building before. I have no idea why the view of the Orangery should awaken my memory when the glorious facade of the chateau didn’t. But I’m now in no doubt that we had visited Cheverny on our previous visit to the Loire Valley. Well, that’s life, I suppose, when you’ve passed your 80th birthday.</p><p></p><p>After Cheverny we had tickets to visit Blois Chateau where we started heading, but as our hotel lay between the two chateaux we decided to stop there for lunch. Jackie and I had both discovered a weakness for the Bistrot’s Cesar Salad, which came with lots of chicken slices and a fair helping of Parmigiano shavings. The day was hot and sunny but we found a table in the shade and enjoyed lunch which was accompanied by, yes, you guessed it, glasses of Cheverny.</p><p></p><p>After coffee we headed for the town of Blois, where the chateau is situated in the centre. Another piece of god fortune is that there is a large underground car park within easy walking distance. I think it’s true to say that Blois Chateau is more a castle than a chateau, both in size and in architecture.</p><p></p><p>We began by climbing to the top of the spiral staircase which is situated in the courtyard and working our way downwards. There were lots of paintings and much about the assassination of the Duke of Guise by the King’s Bodyguard.</p><p></p><p>There were works of art, statues and historical artefacts but by the time we had descended about halfway Jackie began to experience aches in her knee, the one recently operated on, so she made her way down to the courtyard to seek a bench where she could rest while our son and I continued the tour. I didn’t make it to the end of the tour either, so I rejoined Jackie and we relaxed until he appeared in the courtyard. As Jackie said later, “It was a chateau too far,” and we vowed to keep to one chateau per day.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="BillB, post: 2313192, member: 9985"] So the time came to set off on the Tuesday morning. Traffic was very light on the French motorways, even around Paris on the péripherique, although we only drove a short stretch of it. We arrived around the time the GPS indicated, although we stopped for a coffee and later for lunch at motorway services. We were relieved to see that all precautions were being taken, including greater distances between tables, hand sanitisers freely available; staff were masked, gloved and worked behind clear plastic screens. Customers were not allowed to handle the food, the counter staff would pick up the rolls, etc., with their gloved hands and place it on a plate which would then be placed on the customer's tray. We felt pretty well protected. When we arrived at the hotel the bags were removed from the boot for us and were delivered to our room within a few minutes of checking in. We reserved a table for dinner that evening in the Bistrot as the gourmet restaurant is closed on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday evenings. Our room was fairly large with a magnificent view of the Chateau de Chambord. That riot of towers and chimneys always stops you dead in your tracks, no matter how many times you've seen it. We spent the time unpacking and then relaxing before we went down to the terrace for our apéritif . Dinner was excellent, even though social distancing was being observed with the tables, and we thoroughly enjoyed the food and the attentive and friendly service. We ordered a bottle of local wine, a white Cheverny, which we liked so much that we drank it almost exclusively when we had dinner or lunch in the hotel. We had a leisurely breakfast next morning but as our son wasn’t due to arrive until the afternoon we had a morning to pass. We walked over to the line of restaurants and the gift shop to do some browsing, which is where I ended up buying a miniature bottle of Chambord liqueur, whose story has already been recounted on this thread. We made our way back to the hotel’s terrace, settled ourselves at a table in the shade and ordered a glass of Cheverny which we drank as we chatted and waited for our son. We hadn’t seen him since January, so even though we talk to him and his wife every week it’s never quite the same as face to face. Running his own rental business doesn’t give him much time to drive to Luxembourg very often. He had been delayed for a while as he was picking up some spare parts for appliances in a couple of his flats along the way, but when he arrived it was great to see him so he sat himself down, ordered a local beer, and we passed the afternoon catching up on each others’ news over the intervening time. We’d reserved a table in the restaurant for the three of us and had a splendid meal in the warm evening as darkness slowly crept up on us. My son and I finished with the cheese course followed by a cognac. Before going to bed we arranged to meet up with our son the next morning. He was staying in a nearby Air BnB and we planned to visit two chateaux not very far away, Cheverny and Blois - one in the morning and the other in the afternoon. He turned up shortly after we finished breakfast and it wasn’t long before we were tootling down the road heading for Cheverny. Part of the route took us along the banks of the Loire River and I could see clearly why it is known as the only non-navigable river in France. The river itself is shallow, very shallow, and always one can see sand banks within the river, creating ever-narrower channels.There are areas where even a punt would run aground, let alone a small cabin cruiser. We duly arrived in Cheverny, found the chateau’s car park with plenty of space and made our way into the grounds. As we approached the chateau Jackie said we had been there before, having visited it on a previous visit when we toured the Loire Valley, visiting numerous chateaux when on our way back from two weeks in Brittany. I was completely blank as I didn’t remember a thing about it, not even when we were faced with the beautiful facade the chateau, surrounded by its carefully tended gardens. We walked down the gravelled drive, up the front steps, sterilised our hands at the distribution point and went on inside. This is utterly beautiful, with period furniture, upholstery and curtains. I’m firmly convinced that the attractiveness is the result of the chateau still being in the hands of the family that built it. And members of that family still live there, as they have for the last 600 years. We were quite enchanted by the chateau and as we emerged at the back of the building to make our way to the Orangery where a snack bar has been set up I suddenly remembered that I had indeed seen this building before. I have no idea why the view of the Orangery should awaken my memory when the glorious facade of the chateau didn’t. But I’m now in no doubt that we had visited Cheverny on our previous visit to the Loire Valley. Well, that’s life, I suppose, when you’ve passed your 80th birthday. After Cheverny we had tickets to visit Blois Chateau where we started heading, but as our hotel lay between the two chateaux we decided to stop there for lunch. Jackie and I had both discovered a weakness for the Bistrot’s Cesar Salad, which came with lots of chicken slices and a fair helping of Parmigiano shavings. The day was hot and sunny but we found a table in the shade and enjoyed lunch which was accompanied by, yes, you guessed it, glasses of Cheverny. After coffee we headed for the town of Blois, where the chateau is situated in the centre. Another piece of god fortune is that there is a large underground car park within easy walking distance. I think it’s true to say that Blois Chateau is more a castle than a chateau, both in size and in architecture. We began by climbing to the top of the spiral staircase which is situated in the courtyard and working our way downwards. There were lots of paintings and much about the assassination of the Duke of Guise by the King’s Bodyguard. There were works of art, statues and historical artefacts but by the time we had descended about halfway Jackie began to experience aches in her knee, the one recently operated on, so she made her way down to the courtyard to seek a bench where she could rest while our son and I continued the tour. I didn’t make it to the end of the tour either, so I rejoined Jackie and we relaxed until he appeared in the courtyard. As Jackie said later, “It was a chateau too far,” and we vowed to keep to one chateau per day. [/QUOTE]
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