Château de Chenonceau

Our trip to the Loire valley included a visit to the Château de Chenonceau (pictured below).

The château was once a royal residence.  It was home to French King Henri II and his chief mistress Diane de Poitiers (and, later, the home of his jealous wife French Queen Catherine de' Medici).  The story is that King Henri II gave the château to his mistress Diane as a gift.  She took great delight in it, expanding the château and building her own special ornamental garden.  After the king died in 1559, the king's strong-willed wife Catherine forced Diane to leave the château.  Catherine then took it over and built her own garden on the opposite side of the grounds.  This year, the château is celebrating the 500th anniversary of Catherine's birth.  

Like the other great châteaux of France, the château de Chenonceau has been redocorated with furniture, paintings, tapestries and rugs from the period.  When we visited, we felt as if someone actually lived there.  

The interior of the château was decorated with beautiful flower arrangements.   

Throughout the château are sculpted letters "H" and "C" representing the names of Henri and Catherine.  Of course, if you look again, you might also see the letter "D" for the king's mistress Diane.  Some historians say that the entwined letters were originally H and D, and that Catherine had them modified so that the curvier letter "C" appeared where the D had so obviously been in the past.

The château is built next to the Cher river, which feeds the nearby Loire river.  Next to the river are two lovely ornamental gardens, the Garden of Diane and the Garden of Catherine de' Medici.

The Garden of Diane

Garden of Catherine de' Medici

The château was built next to the Cher river (pictured below) and part of it was built over the river.  A bridge joined the château and crossed the river to the opposite bank.

The Cher river

Over time, the bridge was covered with a two-story structure attached to the château, including a long gallery for all sorts of events. 

The château's gallery 

If case you didn't recognize the Château de Chenonceau at the outset, below is the "money shot", the view that makes Chenonceau iconic.  

And below is Marie-Chantal with friend Melinda.

Thanks for visiting the Château de Chenonceau with us.

P.S.  While visiting the château, we learned that it is well protected.   A guard cat is always on duty.