A visit to one of the most reknown chateaux in the Loire Valley - Chenonceau was the agenda for the day.

It has an interesting history of ownership - having changed hands many times. An intriguing story of strong female characters (with the men mainly absent) who oversaw the construction and some of the major alterations.
Initially built by partially demolishing and redeveloping a fortress and mill to showcase the art collection of some aristocrats, some owners were forced to sell it to repay debts, others pressured into selling. Eventually it was purchased by the King and gifted to his Mistress, and then retrieved later by his wife.

The inside was well fitted out - the bedrooms all had sumptuous 4 poster beds with intricate carvings. Tapestries and renaissance paintings filled the walls. The kitchen was particularly impressive with copper pots lining the walls, and butlers blocks and fireplaces with spit roast racks. The ballroom that expansed the river was dramatic with black and white tiled floors and windows either side - it was easy to imagine it in use.
Outside there were two formal gardens. Very attractive designs - one centred around a fountain.
Tlere were lots of woodland areas with tiny little purple cyclamen in patches under the trees. There was also a sign amongst the woodland area saying " the toilettes are free please make use of them and respect our gardens" - good grief! A farm section and vegetable garden and a small labyrinth completed the set up.

Having had our fill of Chateau we left the Loire Valley, pleased to be ahead of our planned schedule as we have quite a few kms to traverse over the next week and a half, and we're finding that travelling by campervan takes that little bit longer too.
We picked out an overnight stop on route to our next destination that we thought would please the children - a goat farm.
It did. Both types of kids enjoying the attention, plenty of patting, scratching and rubbing. Some cats and kittens also added to the enjoyment.
We got to watch the goat milking, and then selected some goat saucisson (sausages) a terrine and a young cheese to add to our supplies.

Darryl:
A very symmetrically structured chateau created in the renaissance style with a touch of flare.

Scott: I liked the animals, the chateaux was a bit boring. The rabbit bit my finger. There were donkeys, a miniature pony and chickens too.

Sarah: I liked the gardens and the fountain. The chateaux was very big. The kitchen was my favourite area - there were five parts to it.

April: the gardens were pretty amazing - the vegetables garden had everything from Aubergines to Zucchinis (A-Z!!). Dad "borrowed" an apple - it tasted pretty good.