Today was a long one, since I had a 6:30 flight from Palma to Paris, where my cousins were waiting for me. I saw the sunrise on the flight to Paris, and that was the last sun I saw in the morning…it was raining hard when we landed. We picked up the rental car, and headed toward the Loire Valley, towards Amboise, in the rain (and it was pretty cool after being in Mallorca!).

Along the way we saw that Chambord was not far out of the way and visited that magnificent castle with it’s double staircase, remarkable gardens, and walked into a lot of the chateau’s rooms and up to the balconies overlooking the gardens and fields in the distance. It is the largest chateau in the Loire Valley. The castle is amazing as one approaches it…seems like something out of a movie.

The idea of Chambord was that of King Francois I of France. It was not designed to be a permanent residence, but rather a hunting lodge. The King was proud to show to sovereigns and ambassadors as a symbol of his power engraved in stone. The plan of the castle and its decors stem from a central axis, the renowned double helix staircase, inspired by Leonardo da Vinci, an ascending spiral leading to a profusion of chimneys and sculpted capitals on the terraces. The castle was not finished upon Francois 1’s death, but was completed by Louis XIV.

There are initials F for Francois I and salamanders, his emblem on doors & ceilings throughout the castle. Below are some of the rooms in the chateau (and an interesting downspout).

Below, the double helix central staircase is amazing. as are the gardens.

The castle is surrounded by a 13,000 acre park and is now owned by the French government, though it was abandoned several time over the centuries after it was first imagined.