Built on an island in the Indre River, Azay-le-Rideau has been undergoing a meticulous restoration to
bring it back to its 16th-century glory. Gilles Berthelot transformed the existing medieval castle into a
Renaissance château that Balzac once described as “a faceted diamond set in the Indre.”
BROCHURE STATEMENTS VS REALITY
While the château is on the smaller side (compared to others in the Loire Valley), it boasts impressive interiors, 16th- and 17th-century tapestries, and 19th-century gardens say guides.
The interior is quite stark and bare in most places.
we were asked to climb up 4 flights of stairs and start the visit from the bare attic. The stairs had a caution note... they are steep and a tad slippery in some places.
Guides say the following
The staircase with a handrail to the right, in the centre of the main building, is the most innovative
element of the Château d'Azay and demonstrates the importance given to Italian influences. Traditionally, French châteaux have spiral staircases, the most famous one being that of Blois. The staircase with banisters on either side, crossing the main body of the dwelling, appeared in the early 16th century: that of Azay is one of the oldest preserved. The adoption of this architectural choice was not without adaptation problems: as the stairs cross through the entire main body of the building, the mezzanines are at intermediate levels, which breaks the alignment of front openings. Thus isolated, the staircase is monumentalised by its rich decoration and wide open bay windows.
During the Renaissance, castle walls were covered with tapestries or rush mats , which insulated the
rooms from the cold. Although no example of rush mats has been preserved in France, documents
(inventories, drawings, tables) bear witness to this mode of insulation, to which therapeutic virtues were
also attributed. Indeed, the smell of rushes was supposed to chase away moods and purify the air.
Anyway, the exterior and the mirror rehlection were AMAZING
THE WATER MIRROR
The famous water mirror is partly an invention of the twentieth century. In the previous century, a terrace ran alongside the south wing. It was only in 1950 that the branch of the river was expanded so that water bordered the foundations of the château: the work had the effect of slowing down the flow: ever since then the château has been reflected in a water mirror.
pretty bridge withthe river gushing under...
Église Saint-Symphorien d'Azay-le-Rideau
we drove back to our apt and called it a day.
DAY 19, OCTOBER 4, 2022
Drive to Paris
STAY
Paris 1 night, IBIS, CDG Airport
started off at 6.30 am in the fog and dark. There was a jam near Paris. We reached CDGairport car rental only by 11am. Our deadline was 10 am with 30 min grace. Petrol also had come down 1 bar.
But Avis rental signed us off.
We walked to the IBIS hotel at the airport , checked in by 12 noon.
NASTY MESSAGE FROM APARTMENT GUY IN lARCAY ... TOURS BASE
the guy sent an sms saying you've left some important documents and some clothes.
then another sms saying you;ve disrespected my apartment..he called us names!
we ignored it. We were flabbergasted at his baseless charges.
He sent a message to Booking.com and said we havedisobeyed the rules and he wanted 50 euros.
we had left the apt clean as we do always.
we had paid 185 euros for 4 nights including 20 euro cleaning fee.
we told Booking.com, we did not disobey any rule and we are not paying anything.
That was the end of it.
it did surprise and sadden me
SOME MAINTENANCE GUY TRIED TO ENTER OUR ROOM
we packed our bags for the trip back home , our flights were at 10.10 am and 10.40 am.
THERE WAS SOME MAINTENANCE GOING ON NEAR OUR ROOM, WE COULD HEAR OCCASIONAL BANGING.
There was a weird knock on the room door at 6.30 when we were about to retire for the night. I did not answer, then the knob started turning [though the night latch was on].... some one had the access card. I screamed, son came from the washroom where he was shaving and asked who's this.
A guy mumbled something and went off!!.
Anyway we had got up quite early that morning and we slept off
DAY 20, OCTOBER 5, 2022
Walked to our checkin counters at 7 am. Flight back home after a fabulous time in France
I've another road trip report pending. I'll start on it soon.
Cheers and Happy travels!
Report on our road trip in the US from Houston, Texas to Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Napa valley and Redwoods starts here
