Tour - Tours

Couldn't resist.  I like those double words.  Like Tu-Tus and Ta-Tas (yeah, I can say that...my blog).  Oh, and a big one over here, vous-vous.  "You-you," for some linguistic reason which escapes this remedial French student.

So I'm touring around Tours.  This is the heart of the Loire (River) Valley, and the Chatéau/Castle capital of France (I think...at least it should be).   Surprisingly, for so many chatéau I haven't visited but one today.  It's a guy thing.  Has every thing to do with planning, then screwing up the plan, then screwing up the planny-plan (that's the new plan according to Dilbert).

Set the GPS for Tours, but told it "I don't want no stinkin' toll roads."  I figured that was the best way to avoid "slab," and you know how I hate slab.  It worked pretty much.

Started out on the Nantes loop and took N249 past Clisson to Cholet, connecting to D960 there, taking it through Saumur (there's a great chatéau there I didn't stop to see),   Just outside of Saumur I took D952 passing by Ussé, Langeasis, Azay-le-Rideau, Villandry, and into Tours.  I mentioned those places because, like Saumur, they have great chatéaus that I also didn't visit.  Why?  I don't know.  It was just great riding weather and Betsy was humming sweet-nothings in my ear and we just sort of rode around stopping for coffee and stuffs and just moving.  I'll get there...some time.


Stopped to check out the status of the wine crop.  As you can see, it's still in its early stage.
Interestingly, when I came by this section there were lots of blackbirds sitting on the stakes to which the vines are afixed.  I don't know why here, or what they were doing, but I expect they like their wine in the earlier stages and were checking out the crop like me.  I'm gonna wait on mine though.

The farmer here is growing a fine crop of wheat too.  I'll tell you, the soil is so rich here you can grow rocks.  I'm pretty sure of that because I passed some fields where they were actually doing it.








While parked taking these pictures I noticed a speck in the sky in the distance.  Pretty soon I heard the whine of a small engine working for all it was worth.  Looking up, I spied this guy having a nice Saturday morning.

Man, that looks like something I would really like to do.  The only thing stopping me is good sense and the fact I don't even like how tall I am.

After passing through Tours D-952 hugs the Loire River and is a wonderful ride.  I had to stop when I saw these folks on the river.

This scene took me back to our stop along the Snake River in Wyoming on July 2, 2006.  My riding buddy, Bobby J., and I parked and watched rafters coming down the Snake while drafting "Man Laws" for the occasion.  (Link is: July 2006 - Alaska Ride)
Boy, I sure wish Bobby J. was making these rides with me here in Europe.    (Though, I'm not sure Europe is ready for the Blonde Dog.)

When I got back from taking the river pictures I found Betsy playing on the swings.

About forty kilometers east of Tours I (finally) stopped to check out a chatéau.  It is called Chaumont-sur-Loire (Link: Chatéau deChaumont).

You can read up on it at the link if you are so disposed.  I'm pretty impressed that something has been sitting on this hill since the 10th century.  This chatéau was purchased by Catherine de Medici in 1560.  You've, of course, heard of the Medicis.  They were among the richest people in the world back then (remember what I said about rich folks living on all those hills...on the "high ground?")

I arrived, purchased my ticket (9,5€), and started up the hill.

I overtook the church on the road below.

I even managed to rise above the houses to see the beautiful view of the river.







But that was as far as I got.  By this time I'm remembering my walk up the Champs-Élysées to the Arc de Triomphe...and not liking it.  My left leg feels like it wants to get out and not walk, while my left buttock is trying to get a strangle hold on my upper femur.  I look up that hill and decide I just can't go.

So I turned around and, slowly, headed back down.  Upon reaching the entrance I handed my ticket to one of the attendants assisting people and told her to give the ticket to someone coming in as I couldn't make it.  She then pointed out there was a second entrance around the road just outside the gate and that it didn't require such long distance walking.  C'est marche.  Betsy and I can climb hills.  As long as Betsy's doing the work.

Upon entering you see this neat pond with a tree growing in it.

Around the corner a restaurant with some great roses growing against the building.  You see a lot of this here...and it's always beautiful.  Makes one thinks the French may have invented roses.  But we all know that was probably Al Gore, huh?

A (thankfully) short walk and I'm at the entrance.

I can't help it.  It always gets me when I see something like this.  When this stone was laid, Columbus had discovered American only sixty-two years earlier.  I've been on the planet less than that.
(I know what you're thinking Morgan!)

Entering that portal I go into a small room with a great mirror.  (Naturally, given the number of tourists, some fat guy got in the picture as I was snapping it.)

Up some stairs. 

Here's a tip for you would-be tourists out there:  Whenever you are negotiating spiral stairs, try to remember that the width of the steps is much narrower toward the center than on the outside.  If you pay attention to this little tip, perhaps you won't slip in your big-assed motorcycle boots and damn near break your neck.  (Some guy actually did that while I was there.)

This was billed as "Rogierre's (spelling?)Bed Champer.  Evidently, he's more popular with the administration of the Chatéau than with Wikipedia....

I asked one of the attendants about the furnishings in the castle.  She said it was authentic 16th century furniture but was not the same furnishings as when Catherine Di Medici lived here.

I can just see my buddy Roger R. getting out the sandpaper and stain remover while drooling over this furniture.  (No, Roger, it's not the kind you sand and re-stain!!!!)

A music room

I assume most know that humans have gradually gotten taller over the years.  Trust me on this, if you are my height you need to bend down before you use these doorways.  If you don't...well, let's just not go into what happens if you don't.  Suffice it to say that the scalp bleeds easily and profusely. 

(Another tourist tip: It's a good idea to wear a red hat in these places.)

Mystery
Okay.  I need some help on this one.  What, exactly, is this seating thing here?
Note the differing levels of seats.  I sort of visualized a His, Hers, and Child's chamber pot holder of come kind.  But I checked and the seats don't lift up.
Whatever it is, I hope they didn't have to sit in it long.  This would be seriously uncomfortable. 

You know me, I can't resist this sort of thing. 
My interpretation:  Don't piss Catherine off!
In 1559, she forced Diane de Poitiers, longtime mistress of her late husband, to trade the bigger, and, one assumes, better Chatéau Chenonceau for Chaumont.

Given that, I don't know what this person had to do to have his/her bust removed from the stand.



 (By the way, the comedian Gallagher had a great question: Why do they call them busts when they stop at exactly the point for which they are named?)

The dining room.
(The sleek lass walking through was  purely serendipitous. I did not follow her on the entire tour.)

Great fireplace at the end of the dining room

Another great music room

A very nice private chapel.





I've given this some thought and decided why so many of these folks had private chapels built into their abodes.  They were very religious.

I would be too.  I'd be in here every day thanking God for giving me liege rule over so many people, allowing me to extort masses of riches from masses of folks while convincing them that I had a "divine" right to do it.

I wonder if those Wall Street Bankers have little chapels in their third or fourth homes on the Maine coast?

Evidently, there were TV sets in the 16th century.

(Roger, you can take the sandpaper to this one!)

On the exterior I spied Atlas practicing up.

And there was this great old pine tree just outside the Chatéau.

Couldn't resist taking a shot of the tree in the pond from the other side

Tomorrow?  Who knows, perhaps I'll visit a Chatéau.

Update: In the morning.

I didn't visit any  chatéaus this morning.  Slept in a little and, upon getting up, discovered it was raining.  I checked the forecast and it called for light rain in the morning.  The problem is, not checking the weather before leaving yesterday, I didn't pack up any rain gear.  Yeah, I know, stupid, but what can you do?  Everyone at work was talking about how great the weekend looked forecast-wise, so I just assumed...yep, there's that word again.  But, no big deal.  Deciding I would remain uncomfortable even after the drizzles stopped I headed for home.  Got a little wet, but not bad and was home by 11:15am. 

Now I know I have to come back.  This is a pretty quick, and nice, little ride, and I want to see that Chatéau Cathrine De Medici forced Diane de Poitiers to trade her.  Then, of course, there's the monster, Chambord, built by François I as a hunting lodge, though what he was hunting was his mistress, Comtesse de Thoury, Claude Rohan, wife of Julien de Clermont, who lived next door.  Hint: it wasn't like next door as in I can see my neighbor's house from my yard.  So, that'll be a nice ride in the next couple of weeks or so.