Cheverny

Château de Cheverny was built between 1624 and 1630. The owners committed fraud and Cheverny was turned over to the Crown. King Henri II gave it as a gift to his mistress, Diane de Poitiers.

She didn't want it.


She had other, better palaces. It's good to be the mistress. So she sold it back to the original owners, who were very, very happy to have it back.

The family essentially pawned it again right at the end of the French Revolution, but bought it back during the Restoration of Charles X. Money was the main issue, but I'm guessing it also wasn't very wise to be caught owning a palace during the Reign of Terror.

The Herault Family Tree

The main palace

Some of the out-buildings (behind me in the first photo)

One of the out-buildings housed the hunting beagles, who were very excited to meet everyone.

View out the back window onto a part of the gardens, and what I think is a conservatory.

The chateau had a major interior renovation done in the mid-1700s, so the interior looks much more "palace"-like than castle-esque.

Corridor to the right of the entryway.

Detail of the corridor ceiling. Isn't it crazy?! The colors were actually a lot deeper and richer than they look in the photo.

Some rooms on the main floor:

Dining-room mantle detail. Everything was very ornate.

A sitting room (one of several)

A lady's desk

Check out the ceiling!

Special Flemish tapestries.

The nursery

The lady's dressing room. [Insert Blazing Saddles quote here.]

The library

The Weapons Hall!

All Along the Loire

After Christmas, it was off to Paris to bring in the new year!

The first part of our Parisian trip...was to leave Paris. We went on a day-long bus tour of three chateaux in the Loire Valley: Chambord, Cheverny, and Chenonceau. A~M~A~Z~I~N~G!!

Chambord

Chambord was built in 1519-1547 by King François I as a "quaint hunting lodge"--so quaint that I could only fit a small corner of it into my camera's lens view. Here's a photo of the north side I found online:

Photo from www.wikipedia.org

It is most famous for its giant double-helix staircase, thought to be the design of Leonardo da Vinci himself.

As a side note, in the movie Ever After, the king is this very same François I, and giving da Vinci (or Leonardo, as historians and art snobs like to remind people) a decent supporting role in court life isn't that much of a stretch--at least as far as Hollywood goes.

Some photos I took of Chambord:

Yep, definitely a hunting lodge.

Emily

Lots of turrets

Blueprint of the second floor

And to finish off, my favorite picture I took:

A Christmas Carol: Verse Four

The next day, Mom, Emily, and I went for a walk in Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens, while Kyle and Dad checked out the Imperial War Museum.

On our way there (through St. James' Park--lots of parks that day), we stumbled across the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace.

I like the young guy who missed his cue.

Hyde Park:

Mom and daughter in front of the Serpentine.

Kensington Gardens:

The famous Peter Pan statue in Kensington Gardens!

Afterward, we trekked over to Kensington Palace and took the tour.

We then met up with Kyle and Dad in front of the Victoria and Albert Museum, where Emily and I tried on some stylin' threads.

Emily shows off her under-hoops, while I model the "classic" style of cravat.

In a bold fashion move, Emily ties the "Byron" knot.