The first château that we saw was Château de Chambord. It was used as a hunting lodge by the Duke of Chambord. The château was very fun to explore but it was quite cold inside. Central heating isn't really something found in old castles and it was slightly drafty. Luckily we found a great little fireplace with a fire inside the castle so we warmed up there when we needed.
After that we went to a small vineyard where we got a tour of the winery and had our first wine tasting. We got to try white, rosé and red. My favorite was the red. We also were supplied with fresh goat cheese and baguettes. The experience was definitely dampened by the cold weather but we still had a great time. We stayed the night in a very nice hotel, where we were treated to a great meal of salmon and risotto plus bottomless bottles of wine.
The next morning we went to the Château de Blois. This was by far my favorite château because it was filled with a lot of historical artifacts from the original palace, including some amazing art work. The town of Blois is a quintessential French town, with small patisseries on every corner and narrow, cobblestone streets. We all really enjoyed getting to discover the town.
The trip was really great because it gave everyone on my program a better chance to get to know each other. I also made the decision to start eating chicken again. Meat in France is completely different than the US and it tastes incredibly fresh and delicious. I also didn't want to miss out on anything in Paris and that includes the food. The French really have a hard time handling vegetarians and the chicken dishes here look too delicious to miss.
Make sure to check out my photo tabs for more pictures from the Loire Valley!
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