In the morning we packed up and left Tours to see the castle at Blois. Not going to lie, it was rather lame. Highlights: this one was built in sections too, and there are four distinct architectural styles present. Also there were some crazy gargoyles that they salvaged from the original building before they restored it, now on display with a bunch of other worn-away stuff in what used to be the castle kitchens.
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| Panoramic view of the town from the terraces |
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| Small chapel in the courtyard |
In the afternoon we reached Chambord, having driven there after Blois while eating more sandwiches in the car. Chambord was my favourite castle overall, since it’s considerably larger than the others and had more interesting stuff inside. In the very middle of the castle there’s a huge double staircase winding all the way up to the rooftop terraces. The staircase was possibly inspired by Leonardo da Vinci’s designs and very innovative for the time. It’s made so that if two people went up the separate staircases they could see each other across the central column but never meet. So it is like this. According to the internet, it’s supposed to be so that the king and his servants wouldn’t have to use the same staircase.
Up on the terraces, you could look down on the vast expanse of the castle grounds where noblemen used to hunt wild boars. There was also a chapel of some sort, and the spires rose high up into the cloudy sky.
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| Pretty tree on the grounds |
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| Witty postcard at a souvenir shop |
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