Our last day on the tour and we started with Le Château de Villandry. They had wonderful gardens, developed last century.
These are the decorative gardens, set out with hearts (and daggers, when love goes wrong), which are overlooked by the chateau.
But these are the large vegetable gardens planted out with leeks, cabbages, beetroot, basil, white beet, carrots, pepper, pumpkins, tomatoes and more in geometric patterns -- each bordered with a small hedge, based on earlier, medieval, patterns. Small pear trees dot the gardens.
There is a water garden and canal.
They have a herb garden again replicating a traditional garden of the Middle Ages.
Don as always was struck by the espaliered fruit trees, and also by the use of very short apple trees as hedging -- still productive though!
Luca organized a picnic lunch down near a river. We had fresh baguettes with ham, cheese, including goats cheese, chicken and salad, and a fish quiche. Sadly only half a bottle of wine was consumed, forcing us to carry the rest away.
A village church I liked the front of - very wavy.
Our last visit was to Chartres Cathedral, bits of which date back to the 4th century although it is basically 12th. It has two towers of different heights, built in different centuries and of very different styles, the later one ultra gothic.
This is a labyrinth on the floor of the cathedral.
The Blue Virgin Window from the 12th century.
Remains of the Gallo-roman wall from the 4th century.
Large buttresses on the outside.
We said a fond farewell to our tour group and returned to the Hotel Normandy.
- Posted from the source of Sue's first cappuccino avec soja for six days
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