Walters Press: May 2009

We woke up at 9am and it was freezing in the room! Our room was the three tiny windows you can see on the roof of chateau.

From France Day 3--Bourges, Sancerre and Chambord

We went down to breakfast which we had to pay 14 euros each for (everywhere else it was included). Breakfast was fruit, cured ham, salami, cheeses, cereal, that gross yogurt and croissants with jelly again.

We got ready for the day and set off in the little car. Our hotel was quite a bit off the autoroute so we got to drive through some nice countryside on our way.

From France Day 3--Bourges, Sancerre and Chambord

We drove on the toll road to Bourges and stopped in there to look at the cathedral. It was huge and beautiful!

From France Day 3--Bourges, Sancerre and Chambord

Mass was going on so we went in and heard the organs and choir. There were not many people attending mass (compared to the massive size of the cathedral).

From France Day 3--Bourges, Sancerre and Chambord

We sat until it ended and then walked around and took pictures. The church had amazing stained glass.

From France Day 3--Bourges, Sancerre and Chambord

We went back to the car and drove to Sancerre. Sancerre was a hilltop town that from afar looked a bit like Tuscany. We made the steep climb up into town and it was totally dead. We finally found the town square and there were two restaurants that were open but didn’t look promising, so we moved on to the next town. The weather was much warmer here so we put the top down on our car for a brief moment.

From France Day 3--Bourges, Sancerre and Chambord

We stopped at the autogrille for lunch again. It’s cheap and quick and I'd rather see sights than experience France in a restaurant (that's just me). I got a chicken salad sandwich for the third day in a row. They do not have turkey sandwiches here, only chicken and ham, which I found odd.

We drove north on the freeway and exited at Briare—there was supposedly a lock system for the boats which I wanted to see, but we never found it. What we did find was a beautiful church with mosaic floors and tiling all over. Mosaic making is done around this region.

Notice the mosaic aisle in the church

From France Day 3--Bourges, Sancerre and Chambord

We then found the Pont Canal—a long bridge you can walk on top of that carries a canal of water over the Loire River.

From France Day 3--Bourges, Sancerre and Chambord

We then drove to Gien which, curiously, had a brick chateau and cathedral. It was the first we brick we have seen here. It definitely wasn’t as pretty as the others.

From France Day 3--Bourges, Sancerre and Chambord

Sully-sur-Loire was the next town we drove to. A beautiful 14^th century chateau is here with a 600 year old wooden roof! It is moated by the River Sange. There were beautiful white geese, just like at the Chateau de Bouceel that were calling out loud! Lots of mallards and an animal which I thought at first was a beaver, but on close examination did not have the tail of a beaver. It looked like a huge rat—we still don’t know what it was. The chateau was beautiful and so tranquil.

From France Day 3--Bourges, Sancerre and Chambord

Maybe it's a river otter?

From France Day 3--Bourges, Sancerre and Chambord

The next town we drove to was St. Benoit-sur-Loire. The town has a of Romanesque Basilica that is considered a masterpiece.

From France Day 3--Bourges, Sancerre and Chambord

At the next town, Chateauneuf sur Loire, we could not get on the freeway because of blocked roads, but that turned out to be a blessing. It forced us to drive to Chambord which was a treat. Chambord is actually a protected forest and is truly beautiful. When we drove by the chateau we were amazed! It was HUGE and completely overwhelmed us. It put Chenonceau to shame. Chambord was closed but we were able to park and get pictures of the outside. We got an amazing picture of the front of it while the sun was setting and no one was there.

From France Day 3--Bourges, Sancerre and Chambord

We then ran around to the back and got a picture there but it was much darker because the sun was already behind the chateau.

From France Day 3--Bourges, Sancerre and Chambord

It was dinner time so we decided to eat in Blois. I looked up a restaurant in the Drive Around book and found a good restaurant on the banks of the river in Blois. The restaurant, Le Bistrot du Cuisiner, was excellent. Chris had a shrimp souflee appetizer. For the main course, Chris had duckling, salad and a shepherds pie with chicken and andouille. I had larded beef tenderloin with “a minute” potatoes. For dessert Chris had chestnut ice cream and I had a chocolate tart with coffee ice cream. All very good. Total it was 80 euros.

To see all our pictures from Day 3 click here.

Today my dad turns 64 years old. He is the hardest working man I know but his family always comes before work. He has taught me a lot of things, some that I am just now realizing, and I'm sure there will be many more lessons for years to come.