The Valley of Kings...

We've been to the Loire Valley twice, both times with Betsy.  So it seemed natural to retrace our steps and see if it was as magical as we remembered.  So, this morning, leaving the castle keep, we turned Jill GPS north and drove (on superior highways, BTW) to the Loire.  This was the playground for the French kings.  They ALL built castles here for a weekend getaway, sorta like we do with vacation homes at the lake. Only each king tried to outdo the other kings, like some of our status-conscious people in the U.S.!!  In any case, the castles have been a big draw for visitors all year long and you find hordes of people wandering in towns where they exist.

But, now that we are away from the mountainous Alps area, we are in the area of flat fields for as far as the eye can see.  And here is where they grow grapes, among other things, for wines like Vouvray and Sancerre, both of which are white and we like. And there are caves where they grow mushrooms.  I guess wine, which is stored in caves here, has much in common with mushrooms?? The towns wind their way near the Cher and Loire rivers and the area looks way more prosperous than when we were here 10 years ago. Ask Betsy what she remembers and she will tell you it is the hot chocolate she had in a little village called Amboise.  She literally squealed after tasting it. "It really is just melted chocolate! Nothing else!"  And she, to this day, says it is the best chocolate she's ever had!

In any case, we went back to our trusty Domaine des Hauts des Loire, a former hunting estate that is now a hotel.  And, up a set of stairs.  I know, the stairs thing is getting a bit old.  But we are lodged in the top floor of a former stable  AND...we have our own living room, balcony, bathroom with state of the art shower, and separate bedroom.  So the stairs don't seem to matter as much here.

What we remembered from this place was the fabulous meals we had here, especially the cheese course.  Cheeses in France are not pastuerized and they are the most yummy cheeses ever! Betsy said one smelled like old leather boot.  BUT it was yummy! We tried a cheese course in Britian, much to our disappointment, after ummming here.  No comparison! And that's true of the states as well.  So, if you ever get a chance, try it in France.  You'll never want dessert again!  And since we were last here their restaurant has acquired two Michelin stars.  So tonight we had dinner there.

Tomorrow we shall leave our tower and go visit two castles -- Chenanceoux, which is the castle given to his mistress Diane de Poitiers by Henri II -- and then Chambord, which Diane had to accept when Catherine deMedici, Henri's wife, kicked Diane out of Chenanceoux when Henri was killed. The scoop was that Henri II was 12 when he fell in love with the beautiful widow Diane, who was in her 30's -- and stayed in love with her his whole life!  And she remained gorgeous into her 60's (love that part!)  He was forced to mary Catherine de Medici, didn't like her at all (but they had plenty of kids!) and refused to give up his Dianne.  And that is the rest of the story!   This keeps me up to date on my history of French kings!  And, if you know me, I am already hitting the books and wikipedia to extend my knowledge of the area!  Since it is supposed to rain, maybe that is a good thing to do...