Blois

I travelled to Blois yesterday. It was great weather for travelling and the trains seem to always be on time. I had never before had my train ticket checked by anyone. Up until yesterday I had just got on the train and got off the train, and tried not to cause any problems during the trip. Yesterday my ticket was checked both way! I’d say they were becoming suspicious of me, but they checked everyone else too.

Blois is another beautiful city. It’s the capital city of this area of France, and is on the Loire River – a big river. Not like the little river Loches is on. They have these adorable little electric shuttle buses running around town, and a huge number of big tour buses that have brought tourists here to see the chateau.

I was in Blois about 35 years ago and it’s changed quite a bit. It’s grown up a lot and become quite a bit more tourist friendly. The site for visiting the chateau has changed too. They have audio guides in English. I expect there’s some sort of government money for towns with historic places.

I went into this public garden, thinking it was just a little place, but it turned out to be quite huge.

With good views.

And this is one of the places I came to see. It’s called La Maison de la Magie de Robert-Houdin. It’s a combination museum of magic and performance location. But I didn’t get to see any of it, except the outside. The gardener told me they were on vacation and would be back April 15th. Damn! That was half the reason I was in Blois!

The House of Magic was up on top of the hill right across from the chateau. There’s a garden there too, and lovely views of the roof tops and chimney pots.

And here’s the other reason I was in Blois. It’s the Royal Chateau of Blois. I spent a couple hours inside and have lots of photos.

Were going in through that little door to the right of the big one.

The chateau has four distinct wings around a courtyard, each one from a different period and in a different style. Standing in the centre I’ve taken pictures in each direction.

You clearly see the Gothic, Flamboyant, Renaissance and Classicism here. I learned a lot about different types of columns. I really enjoyed walking up and down those amazing stairs. It’s a tower that has a staircase inside and lots of openings. It looks like so much more! The walls in that section of the chateau are six feet thick. (I think it was that one – it’s hard to tell from inside.) The oldest building is from the 13th century and the most recent from 1600’s. Francois the First lived here, among lots of Henris, Louis and Charles. Anne of Brittany had something to do with the fancier details. That would be the Flamboyant wing.

Inside pics tomorrow. In the meantime, love to you all.