Herbstferien Part 1 (Oct. 6-8)

Saturday, October 6

I picked up the car from the Köln-Bonn Flughaven on Saturday morning. After picking up some last minute supplies from the grocery store we loaded up for a day trip to the Ahrtal about a half hour drive south and west of Bonn. A gorgeous drive along the Rhine then through the valley of the Ahr river with its steep hillsides full of grape vineyards. The medieval town of Ahrweil lies tucked within the city of Bad Neuenar. The old stone walls of Ahrweil separate the town within the city. We puttered around the old town until the rain began to pour and we were forced to return to the car and mosey home through the rain. Spent the rest of the day finishing up the packing for our trip to France.

The gate in the wall around Ahrweil.

A grapevine trainer up the wall of a house--it went across the phone line and to the building across the street!

The first glimpse of the central Marktplatz.

The shop where I bought my shopping/picnic Korb.

Treasure from Ahrweil: a picnic/shopping Korb (basket) like the one my mom still has from our days in Marburg.

Sunday

We were on the road by about 8:15. The traffic was light and the GPS steered us quickly and cleanly. How did we get by before GPS?! We got off the highway around noon and followed some "local interest" signs to a small village along a lake (Cléry sur something) that had docks and camping spots open for fishing and camping. We parked along the side, spread out our blanket, pulled out the cooler and ate our lunch beside the lake. The swans came to join us and the sun was shining!

Racing to get the wiggles out before loading back up into the car.

The car: a Ford Galaxy with 5 on the floor; sort of like a super-sized station wagon with two extra seats in the cargo area, but still a little storage behind. We stuffed our duffel-bags and backpacks in a single layer behind the rear seat row and under the girls' feet. The cooler and picnic Korb sat in a middle row side seat with bags of other snacks on the floor. The two littlest girls were in their booster seats in the middle row (middle seat and other side seat).

Back on the road soon after and it was smooth sailing until we hit traffic in Paris. We all caught a glimpse of the Eiffel Tower and the Sacre Coeur in the distance. Traffic cleared and we continued on about another 1.5 hours southwest to our destination, Blois. I wasn't sure what to expect of our "hostel", but was pleasantly surprised. The location couldn't be better: across a plaza from the Château, one of the old churches, and very centrally located to the old city section. Rather than being a youth hostel in the traditional sense, it was more like a cheap hotel--small rooms, bare basics, and a little ramshackle. Just our style! The big girls shared a double and J and I were in a room with the two littles. It was cramped, but clean, and the beds were decent. We poked around the old city, the outside of the Château and found the tourist office before heading back to the hotel for a supper out of the food in the cooler and picnic basket.

Looking back across from the plaza at our hotel, La Renaissance (the red and white sign).

Found a playground behind the church!

First glimpse of the chateau balconies from the plaza below.

King Louis XII. Notice the porcupine with a crown (a favorite emblem of royalty) on the wall just below the center of the statue. There will be many more porcupines...

The souvenir shop where we got the girls' first collection items in France.

Joan of Arc came to Blois when she was gathering her army to save Orleans.

The French garden outside the chateau with the Cathedrale St-Louis in the background (HR in the pink coat).

Cathedrale St-Louis and lots of red chimneys. LOVED the red chimneys. Could not take enough pictures of the red chimneys...

The Loire river and the Pont Jacques Gabriel (The Jacques Gabriel bridge, 18th century, built from 1716 to 1724, by Ange-Jacques Gabriel, 1698-1782, is the last humpbacked bridge on the LOIRE river.)

The front of the Chateau Royal de Blois.

View from our hotel room window.

Things we forgot: a sweater for HR, MK's tennis shoes (she wore her Crocks to the car), bottle opener.
Moments of brilliance (mostly mine!): bringing a cutting board and knife, and a roll of trash bags!

Monday

We tromped out in the rain after a breakfast of Pain au Chocolat and Croissants (J went out early to the Patisserie) and headed for the Château Royal de Blois. Rain continued to drizzle down on us from time to time but we were inside the castle most of the time so it wasn't too much trouble. I'll let the pics and captions tell the story...

Misty morning from the French garden looking out toward the Loire and the city roofs.

The Royal Chateau de Blois combines four distinct wings around a courtyard. Each wing corresponds to a distinct period and architectural style. I found this chateau to be one of the most interesting of all the ones we visited, although it was not the most grandious. There was a Gothic wing a Flamboyant wing, Renaissance and Classical. See if you can tell which is which!

The State Room built by Count Thibault VI in 1214 and was used as a courtroom by the counts of Blois.

All of the chateaus we visited have the initials of some nobility carved into the walls, painted onto the ceilings, and in the stained glass windows: Here you see "L" for King Louis XII and an "A" over a "T" for Anne de Bretagne.

From left to right: HR (age 6), MK (age 11), GE (age 3), ME (age 9)

We ate a light lunch at one of the cafés on the plaza then headed back to the car: the rain was coming down steadily so rather than stay and walk around in the rain in Blois we decided to go to another château and walk around inside. The beauty of our style of vacation in France, better known as "The Fairfield Turtles Do France", is that we don't plan very far ahead. We haven't scheduled anything but instead let our fancies shape our day or let the kids' energy level, the weather, and our whims combine. So we start each day with a vague idea of how it might go but nothing is set in stone.

Next Destination: Château de Chambord

This palace was a favorite of mine from my family's trip to France in 1988. It is H UGE. The rain let up long enough for the girls to enjoy being out on the ramparts and the older girls were given audio guides for kids and cut loose to explore on their own. I had GE and HR taking turns telling me which  room to go into next and what floor to exit onto off the HUGE central spiral staircase. Basically I just followed them around snapping pictures, pointing out salamanders (the King's favorite emblem) and gargoyles! J chased us through the castle always one step behind or one floor too far away! He could hear us but not see us.

Looking up the grand double spiral staircase.

One of the interior small staircases.

Big sister trying to keep the youngest in tow. Not working so well as you can see by the blur that is GE...

Salamanders (another favorite emblem of nobility) and the initial F for King Francis I who initiated construction of Chambord in 1519. Chambord was intended as a hunting lodge but was instead an extravagant chateau with 77 staircases, 282 fireplaces and 426 rooms! The stone used to build the chateau is called Tufa limestone and comes from underground quarries of the Loire valley. King Francis' sons, Henry II and Louis XIV oversaw the completion of the construction.

The trophy hall.

Think my girls would make good princesses? Think again! :)

Gravel, all a girl needs.

On the trip home we stopped in a village to follow signs to the Carrefour (a popular large chain grocery store) to restock the cooler and picnic Korb (clearly a moment of genius when I bought the basket in Ahrweil--it is the essential item with the paper plates, utensils, baby wipes, bottle opener, dish towels, and more for any impromptu picnic). Then we pulled over into a park for our supper à la grocery-store-raid.

Tradition begun today: buying a small chocolate treat that gets divied out over the course of the day at unexpected times (never if a child asks for it) and must be followed by a "YAR!" (this is something inherited from J and his brothers). Today: a Lindt milk chcolate bar purchased earlier in the morning at a small shop in the old town of Blois (J was looking for a bottle opener).

We have continued to add to the girls' "collections" at nearly every stop: spoon, thimble, plate, schnapps glass... J also got a Chambord bottle opener since we forgot the one from the apartment!