Les chateaux de la Loire

side facade of Chenonceau, chateau of Diane de Poitiers and Catherine de Medici, mistress and queen of King Henri II, respectively. No, they did not share the chateau. It was originally given as a gift to Diane by Henri, and after his death, Catherine "exchanged" another chateau to obtain Chenonceau from Diane (basically ousting her from the lovely chateau).




















One of the most well-known portraits of Louis XIV.




















Chambre of Diane de Poitiers















The kitchen! Note the profusion of copper pots hanging on the walls. I could die of envy.















Chateau de Clos Luce, last residence of Leonardo da Vinci, one of the greatest geniuses of our human history.















Chateau Azay-le-Rideau, built by rich financier Gilles Berthelot at the height of favor (though he later fell out of that royal favor, and hence the chateau is not complete).





















Chateau Langeais, dating from the Middle Ages, built by Louis IX. The politically key marriage of Anne de Bretagne and Charles VIII was held here (there is a pic of a slightly creepy wax model reenactment that I decided not to post.)


This weekend, the students on the CUPA program (I included, of course!) went to visit a few of the magnificent Chateaux de la Loire, what I like to call the "valley of the Kings" a la Ancient Egypt except there are no tombs, only chateaus.

It was terribly terribly cold, and I, poor fool that I am, did not think of to bring my long wool coat. Despite the leggings I wore under my jeans, my pauvre derriere spent most of the weekend half frozen.

How can I begin to describe the chateaux? I cannot, words are too trite. It is not the apparence of the chateaux, as they begin to meld together after you've seen a few...but the history behind them. Each chateau is a living microcosm of history, culture, of intrigue, of rise and fall.

At Chenonceau, you must close your eyes and tread along the path that Diane de Poitiers walked.

At Azay-le-Rideau, you must imagine the arrogant wealth of its creator, of his immense pride in his own fortune.

At Langeais, you must let yourself feel the excitement and furtiveness of a secret marriage that changed the history of France forever.

Only thus can you truly appreciate each chateau...


It is feeling these emotions, living history through closed eyes and imagination before the artifact of historical memory...that is so beautiful.

I could see myself in Paris, in the future. Everything I love, admire, and would like to become is here. Every day, I notice things that make me smile to myself--the elegant poems written on the subway, the lean intellectuals who peruse Marx and Proust, propping themselves precariously on the doors of the metro. The little child, red cheeked, staring solemnly at you staring curiously at him. The chic older woman clicking her heels rapidly against the cobblestone as she dashes into a boutique. The affectionate husband who bickers at his wife to avoid the dangerous side of the sidewalk. The straw shopping baskets filled to the brim with peeping turnip leaves, dill and pots of rillettes. The white haired man humming a patriotic song.

Oh the love of books, the love of study, of perusal, of intellectualism, of discretion and manners and understatements and hidden meanings.


The pride of Parisians in this city that is beyond comparison and beyond extraordinary.

I am on the precipice of becoming a flaming, incurable Francophile.