The lady of the lake

Here’s part 5, halfway through my “September ad-French-ure”. My real life has this nasty habit of happening at a rate that outpaces my ability to document it online, hence the tardiness of these posts. At this rate the write-up is taking longer than the trip itself – I hope you’re still with me!

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The Government House in Rome covered in scaffolding. Boo...

A recurring theme on our travels is that places are always being cleaned or restored when we visit them. This happened to us in Rome, with the glory of both the Piazza Navona and the Government House both obscured by scaffolding, as well as several of the temples in Japan.

In keeping with this tradition, the Chateau de Chenonceau was being restored when we visited.

I don't know why the buildings are always hiding behind masks

Not that we missed out on much, just a nice “front door” picture. Everything else was accessible, and just as amazing as the other chateaus. Chenonceau has one of the most unique profiles of the Loire chateaux because it’s built across a river.

This isn't one of our photos (yeah, right... I wish). I stoles it from Wikipedia

Let me make up for lost time by getting to the pictures without further ado. Enjoy:

A tree-lined path leading up to the chateau

I was trying to figure out why the pidgeons kept throwing themselves at the wall. Turns out they were looking for insects in the cracks

One of the external walls. You can see how it might need a bit of cleaning once in a while

The chateau had its own little chapel, big enough to sit about 10 people. This is one of the intricate stained glass windows therein

It was a bit disappointing to see some decorations being replaced by these horrible cardboard-looking things...

... then on the other hand, these frames probably cost as much as the paintings (which both probably cost some ridiculous amount)

High quality real paintings adorned the walls with jealousy-inducing regularity

A tidy little bouquet in one of the bedrooms

Yet another photo of an exquisite flower arrangement

Er...

As with all the other chateaus, they don't do things by half - all of the produce here is real

"Where's my dinner?"

We have heaps of photos like this, but I think it's best if I don't show too many lest you figure out what a silly couple we really are

Mmmm... imagine how delicious a roast would be cooked on that rotisserie!

A nice mother and daughter shot

Surprise! Another massive, immaculately kept garden

The chateau even has its own breed of rose

A crazy pumpkin patch

My parents would probably be thinking of all kinds of dishes and soups right about now

Yes, Villandry gave us a taste for a life of crime. (Almost) caught in the act again here...

Getting sick of chateaus? Yeah, so were we by this stage, but there’s just one more that you have to see…