Chambord

So first full day in the Loire, and what to do? Well hell, there are chateaux galore to discover, and we might as well start with the furthest away from us. So to Chambord, a massive monument to ostentation. A show of grand wealth in what really amounts to little more than a hunting lodge. It's really no wonder the middle and lower classes revolted... But it's a truly stunning building and the freedom to wander throughout it was great, and we've also hit on a couple of benefits of coming at this time of the year. The main holiday season is winding down here (from the end of the month most attractions reduce their opening hours) which means at Chambord at least the crowds are not so much crowds as trickles. The car park is maybe only half full, and there is space to stop and take everything in. The other benefit is that the weather is still fantastic - easily cresting 20 degrees, and a perfectly blue sky to match.

On the crest of the first success of the day, and on the back of a nice, quick croque monsieur and gallette lunch, we shuffled back east to Montrésor, which, as the name suggests, is a pretty little village. L'un des plus beaux villages en France, according to the sign as we entered (still not sure who decides these things, but it appeared to be an official designation). Much of that is down to a pretty little castle, owned for a number of generations now by a Polish family who helped out wee Napoleon Bonaparte.

A little walk around the village and along the river through it rounded off the afternoon (complete with a couple of large splashes from the opposite bank that I'm positive were coypu which live in the area), before the drive back to the cottage.