France Day 4: Chambord, Chenonceau

On Day 4, we rented a Ford Fiesta, somehow navigated ourselves out of Paris, and then drove to see Château de Chambord and Château de Chenonceau.

Château de Chambord - the architecture was pretty amazing, but its history was weird. It was commissioned by King François I as a hunting lodge, but it was barely used and stayed incomplete for two decades [read: boring]. The King's royal emblem - an F with a salamander - is carved onto everything, which I found somewhat fascinating. The chateau has been through so much repair, however, it's difficult to tell what is original and what has been remodeled. The staircase is quite wonderful: two stairwells that never meet. It is thought to have been designed by Leonardo da Vinci.


I have this nearly exact same photo (above) from my trip in 2001, taken on black and white 35mm film. We have a large print in our bedroom. I'll scan it for you to see...later.













Château de Chenonceau was completely different. It had life and stories and was filled with paintings by some of the most famous artists. In its current state, it began as a place to host parties for French nobility (including the same King François I from Chambord); was then Henry II's mistress's residence (she built the gallery (hallway with black and white flooring, which is a bridge) and the garden); then Henry II's widow, Catherine de' Medici [pictured in a painting, below, with her emblem] seized it and threw more parties while ruling the nation. It was passed on to more king's wives and mistresses and beyond. France was ruled from here and kings were mourned. Leaders of the Enlightenment (Voltaire and Jean-Jacques Rousseau, among many others) partied here. Then for World War I, the gallery was used as a hospital ward. For World War II, it was used to sneak people from the Nazi occupied zone on one side of the river to freedom. It's absolutely fascinating. The Château was filled with blooms from its own working garden. There was a labrynth and caryatids. We were so sad we had spent too much time at Chambord and were rushed to see all of the grounds at Chenonceau.

















And then we spent the night at a tiny hotel in Loches. This was the view from the deck area that evening:


Don't forget to add pretties to your home with prints from my SHOP! If you like an image posted today that isn't a listing in the store, you can purchase the "Custom Print" and I'll get it right to you!

Xoxo, Kallie

Note: Contax 645 with Planar T* 80mm f2 lens and a few iPhone photos.

all images © Kallie Brynn Photography