Blois….

We journeyed through beautiful countryside with the roof down to Blois spying kids kayaking on the Vienne, power stations, road stops and eventually châteaux on the banks of the Loire. What we didn’t see were any vineyards!

With the roof down we heard the squeals of these young people before we saw them!

Well warned by drivers flashing lights that this was coming up!

We had seen the plumes of steam from this miles away the previous day.

One of many chateaux on the banks of the Loire

On our arrival in Blois around 2pm we were able to book in to our hotel, another Lonely Planet suggestion Paul was keen to experience. The guy at check-in was extremely helpful and showed us to our room. Well, from a whole farmhouse to a spacious cottage then a quirky one up, one down we now found ourselves in a shoebox! There was enough room for one person to move round the bed at a time! I think it was just about smaller than the room we had in Fort Augustus on Jogle, when we had to put our suitcases on top of the wardrobe to have space! Good job we didn’t have suitcases here!

It also had a lack of power sockets! There was one in the room…. difficult to charge 4 devices overnight, hence the blog is getting behind again! We did find one next morning in the bathroom, what’s that about!

Blois is a hillside city on the Loire River, the capital of the Loir-et-Cher department in central France. It is dominated by the Château Royal de Blois is a former royal palace with ornate chambers, and paintings and sculptures from the 16th to 19th centuries. We took the tour…. the site is made up of four palaces constructed over the centuries and it is easy to see the different styles.

Classicism to the left, The Gaston d’Orléans wing, 1635-1638

Renaissance to the right, The François let wing, 1515-1520

Flamboyant, The Louis XII wing, 1498-1501

Built by François Mansart this wing is a masterpiece of French classical architecture.

Stained glass window in The Oratory dating from the 19th century.

The King’s Chamber under Henri III… Legend has it that the Duke Dr Guise was assassinated in this room.

Window in the chapel.

King Paul – for 30 seconds 😂

Opposite the castle is La Maison de la Magie. Robert-Houdin explores the history of magic and holds live performances. We didn’t take a tour but we did see the salamanders give a display…

The house of magic

And before we leave the castle area… evidence that work goes on…. he must have been roasting!!

On our way back to the hotel we stopped at Eglise St’ Nicolas in the heart of the old town. The former Benedictine abbey was built between the 12th and 13th centuries, a masterpiece of Gothic style and was classed as a historic monument in 1840. The long nave is illuminated by stained glass windows which caught beautifully the evening sun.

The bridge over the Loire at Blois is the Pont Jacques Gabriel…. Not the prettiest bridge we have seen so far!

Our hotel – The Cote Loire, oldest Inn in Blois, is recommended in the Michelin guide 2018 for dinner, unfortunately it wasn’t opened, as was our experience with a number of other recommended establishments in the town – they were either closed or fully booked. We need to get a bit better organised. We did however, enjoy a love!y meal in Le Duc de Guise before going back to the castle for a light and sound show at 10pm.

Totally amazing….