After going through the grounds and gardens, we went to the chateau itself.
The chateau was founded in about 1000, and is best known for being home to Catherine de Medici when she was the Queen of France. When Catherine became regent, she took Chenonceau and gave the chateau to Diane de Poitier. Famous guests include Nostradamus (Catherine's astrologer), and Benjamin Franklin.
The wings of the chateau, and even some of the interior decorations show the transition of styles during its development. The interior portions shown to us in our tour had a definite Spanish appearance as they would have had during Catherine's time.
The king's emblem -- the porcupine.
The king's bed chamber. Next to the bed is a large fireplace. Our guide explained that the servants as well as anyone who was anyone would crowd into the room to keep warm at night. She also explained, as we had heard in other places, that the bed is very short in part because the people of the day were shorter, and also because they slept sitting up. Lying down was thought to invite death, since only dead people lie down.
The queen;s bedroom.
These medallions were made as we make photographs of our friends. They were very idiosyncratic, and reflected their subjects in great detail. There were two cases of them; the guide said that the medallions in the smaller case were worth about $10m. A recent tourist had said that she had one just like them that she got at a garage sale for $300. Before the tour she had no idea of the value of her medallion.
This one is Benjamin Franklin.
The salon.
This chest has a combination lock. if it is ever closed, no one knows how to open it. It has always been sold with the house.
The details in the carving on this mantle are extraordinary.
The contemporary library
Our visit ended with the chapel.
The holy water font is a clam shell from Tahiti. Think about the trip it took getting here!
We left the chateau for a visit to the stables.
No comments:
Post a Comment