Wine Wrangling Woman: Day 13 Ville de Blois and its Château

After leaving the Château de Chambord, we loaded the buses and headed to Blois, France. Here we ate lunch and toured our last chateau of the Taste of Bordeaux. We ate at a small restaurant in Blois that served horse steaks, I found out after we ate.

My meal was delicious. I chose La Fromagère, which is a open faced bruschetta with an assortment of cheeses and prosciutto. It was served with a salad and of course, Rosé.

After we ate, we walked up what must have been a million steps to get to the Château de Blois.

Château de Blois

The château at Blois positively oozes with history. Not only was it an important residence for French kings during the 16th century, but it was also the castle where Joan of Arc was blessed before setting off to defeat the English at Orleans, the turning point in the Hundred Years War.

Kings and queens were forever in and out of Blois, the Loire Valley's finest in-town château.

They all left their marks, so the four side of the chateau show the evolution of castle architecture.

all above pics without dates via the internet

where we entered the tour

a closeup of the architecture above the entrance to the tour

At the centre is the monumental spiral staircase, covered with fine bas-relief sculptures and looking out onto the château's central court. François I's see-and-be-seen outside spiral staircase, underlining power with display, is a sight to behold, together with the beautiful gargoyle downspouts.

The interior of the château, with its heavy colors, hangings, a vast Gothic hall paintings and the wallpaper, has to be seen to be believed. One of the beautiful ceilings in the château above and below.

entry ceiling

The chamber of King Henry IV

King Henry IV and Queen Margaret

Did you notice the floor in his chamber?

Chamber of Margaret of Valois-Catherine de Medici's last surviving daughter, after her death. She married the future Henry IV.

Catherine de Medici

pic via internet

This room in the Château de Blois contains 237 small cabinets hidden in the beautiful woodwork. The room was in fact associated with Catherine de Medici, and she was suspected of some poison related crimes.