On February 28th I set out for the country house, and didn’t come back until March 13th. Definitely one of the greatest two weeks I’ve ever had in France. I saw 5 castles of the Loir, learned a lot about my family, and had an amazing time going on bike rides, hikes and getting to know what the French-country side is really like.
I loved it.
The first castle; Château Brissac. It looked neat.... but sadly we couldn't go in because it was closed.
Welcome to the chateau Gien. Castle number 2.
The cathedral located next to the château was visited by Joan of Arc!
Possibly one of the coolest cathedrals I've ever been to. It was made entirely out of brick! The part of France that we were in had a lot of brick structures, including the castle. It was so amazing!
Now in the Château Gien, checking out the hunting museum inside with Andrea, Cedric, and Marie Faustine.
Vegetarian's worst nightmare.... or at least Andrea's worst nightmare.
Quality father-daughter time.
Andrea's parting words, "A vegetarian almost puked here."
Pony time! The kids and their cousins took pony-riding lessons. Adorable beyond description.
This is Marie!
Guilhem riding Pepsi.
Maëlle-Marie
Guilhem
Sarah (one of the girls Andrea takes care of)
Little Marie!
Marion (Andrea's second)
Château Chambord!!!!!! That's 3.
It was freezing that day! Thankfully there were fires around the castle so we could thaw out a bit.
The double-helix staircase! You can see each other, but you never meet!
This Castle was constructed by King François I, as you can tell by all of the F's.
Château de la Ferté St. Aubin. Number 4!
We were able to see how madeleines are made in the château's basement kitchen!
The castle had lots of really neat, old stuff. Who doesn't love neat, old stuff?
The country house!!! This house belongs to Cedric's parents, Annie and Loïc. It's so great!
Château de Sully; and that makes 5.
Andrea and I visited the castle with Aymeric and Maëlle-Marie. It was a hoot with these two!
Bird in the windowsill, very exciting.
Oh! They love each other!
The bird in the windowsill was beat by the awesome swan!
But then the kids noticed these guys, and the swan excitement was beat by the muskrats...
Is this a slide?
Ha ha, her face says it all.
I have loads of stories I could share about the country house and our adventures there, but if you care to know you'll just have to ask me when you see me. For now the pictures will do. Really, really, really great time. I LOVE France.
